C is for Cookie

Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies

by Erin Dionne

I couldn't help but pick this book up. The cover has Oreo-ish cookies all over it! Models + oreos (or Trader Joes Jo Jos/Newman O's in my house) = must read.

Summary

Eighth grader Celeste knows she's a bit overweight. She's comfortable with it though. She's comfortable with her track pants and hoodies, she's comfortable with her daily Oreo snack, and she's comfortable with her quiet (though not glamorous) existence at Al Ho Middle School. But one day, Celeste finds herself looking at her weight in a new light. After a torturous afternoon of being fitted for a hideous dress to wear in her cousin's wedding (and noting how her other cousin's slim, athletic frame looks good even in the "peach monstrosity"), Celeste's aunt picks up a flier for the HuskyPeach modeling competition and decides that Celeste just has to enter. Faced with the idea of having to be a model - and not just a model, but a HUSKY model - Celeste finds herself reconsidering her shape. Though she's powerless to do anything about the sneaky way her aunt enters her into the contest, Celeste decides she can still sabotage the whole thing and save her own dignity by shedding some pounds - no way she can be a HuskyPeach model if she has a "skinny banana" body, right?

And so begins an adventure in self-examination, friendship, confidence, growing up, and of course ... giving up those daily Oreo cookie snacks.

Worth staying up past bedtime?

Definitely worth it! I was intrigued by this book because I wanted to see how author Dionne would handle the issue of young girls and dieting. Many a chick lit novel has been built around the "fat girl loses weight in order to (insert goal of getting a man, revenge on an ex-friend, etc. here)," but with youngsters, there's a fine line that must be walked, in my opinion. I was happy to discover that Celeste was one smart cookie (ha!) when it came to re-vamping her diet. She didn't do anything stupid or harmful, but she also didn't act like the changes she made were the easiest thing in the world either. She still had to struggle and deal with temptation, along with the other issues that come with being 13.

I also enjoyed Dionne's portrayal of middle school social issues, and could totally relate to the daily drudgery of eighth grade that she described. There were a few cheesy scenes involving a teen pop star that made me roll my eyes, but ... well, I'm not 13 anymore either. : )

Definitely recommended, ages 12 and up.

This One's for the Dogs

Once I Ate a Pie

by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest

illustrated by Katy Schneider

Today ... a book of poems! A first for Up Past Bedtime! It's kind of hard to describe a book of short poems without just giving away the actual poems, but I'll give it a whirl ...

Sumamry

Once I Ate a Pie is a collection of poems about dogs, all written from their own unique perspectives. Each poem is named after or describes the dog telling the story: there's Mr. Beefy, a rotund pug who admits to stealing (and eating!) tubs of butter off the table; Lucy, a shelter dog who now has things that are all her own; Louis, a fluffy pomeranian who BARKS! all the time; and Pocket, a tiny, hand-sized pup who doesn't understand why all of his things are so small when he feels so big.

Each poem is accompanied by a drawing of the canine narrator in action, and there is a subtle flow in the ages of the dogs, from new puppy, to wise old beast.

Worth staying up past bedtime?

I loved this book so much I bought two copies of it for Christmas gifts, and plan on giving more out in the future! So yes, it's definitely worth it! Any animal lover, especially one who understands dogs and the distinct personalities that come with each breed, will adore these poems, and will likely find one that he or she can relate to. The poems almost read like short stories, and the illustrations give a real personality to each pup. As a girl who has grown up with shelter and rescue pets all my life, I will admit that the poem about Lucy, the shelter dog, makes me tear up almost everytime I read it.

Recommended for any age.

Hippie Librarian Seeks Reluctant Reader

Miss Brooks Loves Books (and I don’t)
by Barbara Bottner
illustrated by Michael Emberley

Miss Brooks came to my library and was immediately passed around amongst the youth center staff. I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this book before now!

Summary
The title pretty much sums up the main plot. Miss Brooks, the school librarian, loves books, while our young protagonist narrator does not. Our narrator doesn’t understand why Miss Brooks gets so excited about books. Miss Brooks dresses up for reading circle, reads books for every season, even asks the class to bring in their favorite poems to read on Halloween.

When Book Week is announced, our narrator doesn’t know what to do. Miss Brooks asks everyone to share their favorite book with the class. Obviously,our narrator doesn’t have a favorite book, and even asks her mother if they can move to a new town so she won’t have to find one. (“My mother says there’s a librarian in every town.”) But Miss Brooks is not discouraged. She sends her fickle young reader home with stacks of books, hoping to find just the right fit. While many get dismissed for reasons ranging from “too kissy” to “too silly,” a comment from mom plants an idea about a book that might be just the right fit ...

Worth staying up past bedtime?
Wooooo! Yes! This book is awesome for so many reasons. Picky reader plus diligent librarian makes a great combination, and shows that it’s not bad if you don’t like the books that everyone else enjoys. It just means you have to find what works for you. Also, the illustrations are fantastic, and really give a sense of each character’s personality. Parents and kids will enjoy this story, and will most likely find some aspect of it relatable to a personal experience with books and school library time.

Recommended for any age.

Apostrophes, Commas, Misspellings, Oh My!

The Girl’s Like Spaghetti: Why, You Can’t Manage WIthout Apostrophes!

by Lynne Truss

illustrated by Bonnie Timmons

Any of you grammar nerds out there (stand up! don’t be shy!) should recognize the name of this author. Lynne Truss wrote Eats, Shoots, and Leaves, a wonderfully entertaining book about grammar, spelling, and all things editing that I immediately adored. I had no idea she had written a kid-friendly grammar book, but luckily my mom found this and sent it my way!

Summary

Writing is hard. All those contractions and different spellings of words that sound EXACTLY the same when you say them. It, its, it’s. Where, were, we’re. One misplaced or omitted apostrophe and you’ve changed the whole meaning of your sentence. Luckily, we have a clever, grammar-loving author to help us out.

The Girl’s Like Spaghetti is a hilarious illustrated book that shows how a simple grammatical error can cause quite a bit of confusion. Take the title as an example: “The Girl’s Like Spaghetti.” Umm, I’ve never met a girl who resembles spaghetti. I have met a girl who likes spaghetti though. Ha! So clever! Miss Truss also throws in some of those tricky apostrophes that go after an “s.” I can’t tell you how many battles I have fought over the proper way to write Texas in the plural. Texas’s, Texas’ ... it’s enough to make anyone go mad. The last pages of the book break down each of the examples, and explain the various plural and singular possessives that are used.

Worth staying up past bedtime?

Heck yeah! This is a quick and entertaining read, and the illustrations drive the grammar home perfectly. Don’t be fooled: this is not a boring, “let’s learn how to use apostrophes and write properly” kind of book. It is a great balance of entertaining and educational material, and I think readers of all ages can learn something from it!

Recommended for any age!

Sweet and Spicy

Gingerbread

by Rachel Cohn

Last month, I fell hard for Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares, coauthored by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn. I learned from the book jacket that it was the third book the pair wrote together, the first being Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist. A little more research pointed me to a few titles that Cohn had authored independently, one of which was Gingerbread, which I actually owned but had never read.

Summary

As a love child born to a woman having an affair with a married man, the only time Cyd Charisse has met her father was when she was 5-years old and got to have lunch with him at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. He gave her a doll and some gingerbread, a treat which inspired the name for her doll.

Cyd’s troubled beginning in life seems to have set the tone for her later years. When Gingerbread readers first meet her, Cyd has just been kicked out of boarding school and has returned to her home in San Francisco where she lives with her mother and stepfather. Her uber-controlling mother is driving her up the wall, and once she realizes that her boyfriend isn’t as sure about her as she is about him, Cyd is ready for a change. In a rather fortuitous act of timing, her father (the real one!) has recently asked if she could come visit him in New York for a bit. Her mother relents, and Cyd finds herself off to a city she has only thus far dreamed about inhabiting. What follows is less of a quest for distraction and play time, and more of a journey of self-discovery and understanding about herself and the people in Cyd’s life.

Worth staying up past bedtime?

Gingerbread was a pleasant surprise for me. I didn’t think I would like it at first (Cyd is quite tough, and for some reason her initial attitude grated on my nerves), but I was quickly won over. Cyd can be tough to like - she is defiant, rebellious, and totally honest - but under her tough exterior, she is caring and smart, and just wants a little love and respect, as well as some understanding about her rather screwy life. Definitely a book worth staying up for.

Recommended for ages 13 and up.