Reviews (15)

Courtesy of Teens Read Too
Washington State native and young adult literature veteran Chris Crutcher is no stranger to censorship. Many of his critically acclaimed novels have been persecuted for their content anduse of "inappropriate language," as well as the thematically taboo nature of the stories themselves. THE SLEDDING HILL, Crutcher's latest novel, deals with the issue of censorship, and the struggle students, as well as pro-literature advocates, must undergo to ensure the right to read contemporary works.
A boring dud
What started out as what I thought was a good idea quickly turned into what read like a spoiled brat spewing venom because of some imagined slight.B O R I N G !!!

strong topics but weakly written
Chris Crutcher's book, The Sledding Hill, focuses on points such as life after death, censorship, and religion. The main character Eddie goes through some hard knocks when his best friend Billy and his father die within three months of each other.
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Subjects:  1. Censorship    2. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - Religious    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Death    5. Fiction    6. Future life    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Religious - Christian    9. Social Issues - Death & Dying    10. Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings    11. Social Issues - Special Needs    12. Juvenile Fiction / General   

Reviews (8)

Subway
I am somewhat surprised by the descriptions of many of the reviewers here at Amazon since my first impression of the book was entirely different.
An incredible journey inward
A pity that Hollywood has ruined so many story endings by making them all so damn uplifting. What's wrong with a little melancholy?
Originally published in Taiwan
I love this book. It seems I can never finish reading any page, which is so rich in imagination and details.
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Subjects:  1. Animals - General    2. Blind    3. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    4. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    5. Children: Grades 4-6    6. Fiction    7. General    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Lifestyles - City & Town Life    10. People with disabilities    11. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    12. Social Issues - Special Needs    13. Transportation - General    14. Juvenile Fiction / General   

Reviews (1)

No car?No problem!
Pick up a copy of "Ruby Lu: Empress of Everything" and turn it over to the back cover. There you will find a blurb by author Megan McDonald that says, "I love Ruby Lu. She's just like an Asian-American Judy Moody!". That's McDonald comparing Lenore Look's character to her own personal creation, and as such I'm sure she's saying this as a very big compliment. As a reader, I feel a little torn by the quote. On the one hand, that line is going to go over very well with parents and grandparents that want to get books for their kids that are at all similar to the ubiquitous Judy Moody. On the other hand, Ruby Lu is so much better a series of books in terms of humor, pathos, and deft writing that I don't like anyone, even an author, equating her with anything less than Ramona. But if it gets `em reading "Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything", I'll shut my trap and applaud with the rest. This second installment of the Ruby Lu series is filled with (as mentioned in the author's acknowledgements), "new, and preferably more harrowing, adventures". The lack of children driving cars (shudder) is just a nice plus.
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Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    2. Children: Grades 3-4    3. Chinese Americans    4. Family - General    5. Family - Siblings    6. Fiction    7. Friendship    8. Immigrants    9. Juvenile Fiction    10. People & Places - United States - Asian American    11. Social Issues - Friendship    12. Social Issues - Special Needs    13. Juvenile Fiction / Ethnic / Asian American   

Editorial Review

At the discretion of the social welfare system, a 5-year-old boy namedAmerica trustingly leaves the safe haven of his foster home for a visit with hisdesperate, drug-addicted mother. And because of that one lapse in adultjudgment, a child is lost within the system until almost 11 years later when hetries to end his own life. It is the patient therapist Dr. B. who must coax anembittered and damaged America into revisiting all the dark alleys of thatlonely suicide road in order to face down his fears and dare to be found. "I'mnot that little kid anymore.... I'm not white and I'm not black and I'm notanything, but I'm a little bit of everything.... I look down and it's just me."Searingly raw and so painfully honest it nearly draws blood, young-adultnovelist E.R. Frank's powerful sophomore effort about a boy nearly broken byneglect and abuse will dampen every eye and brand every heart. Reminiscent ofHan Nolan's Read more

Reviews (26)

Life or Death
What does it take to get to the point were life is better than death. This is the life of America, the son of a crake head mother and an unknown father. After year of treatment that no child should ever,suffer he ends up in a mental institute for teens. Now suicidal, his new therapist Dr. B. tries to unlock the life and memories in the abyss of America's mind. This is a great story for young adults, but isn't for the faint of heart.

My Personal Favorite
I have read literally TONS of young adult fiction novels and I would have to say that this is my favorite along with When Kambia Elaine Flew In From Neptune by Lori Aurelia Williams and Ms. Frank's other book, Life Is Funny.I am fourteen years old currently but at the time I read this I was twelve almost thirteen and it has still resonated with me.I stayed up an entire night to read the book which was over two hundred pages but I couldn't stop.I felt a great desire to know what was happening next and I couldn't stop.
Cathy is, once again, wrong.
Cathy says AMERICA uses gritty language authentic to the experience of the protagonist. She's right about that.Then she says it's not appropriate as a library book.On this point, she is dead wrong.In a perfect world, characters like Frank's chronically abused America would only exist in works of troubling fiction. But as the author understands, there are thousands of kids living America's life in our free nation every day.Some do not suffer to the degree America has in the broken foster care system. Some only suffer a taste of abuse.But every teen that believes he or she is the ONLY one living this kind of life will find great comfort and kinship within the pages of America, in part because Frank doesn't shy from the authenticity Cathy finds "offensive."Well, in a way I agree with her. It is deeply offensive that children must endure the kind of pain America and real kids like him have to endure.But telling their stories is NOT offensive.Telling their stories can, in fact, save lives.America may not be for all readers, but that is for each parent to decide for their OWN children. It's not Cathy's decision to make. And as long as Cathy has the intellectual freedom to say it does NOT belong on library shelves, my right to see it safely shelved is protected as well. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    3. Emotional problems    4. Emotionally disturbed children    5. Family - Orphans & Foster Homes    6. Fiction    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Racially mixed people    9. Social Issues - Adolescence    10. Social Issues - Prejudice & Racism    11. Social Issues - Sexual Abuse    12. Social Issues - Special Needs    13. Juvenile Fiction / Family / Orphans & Foster Homes   

Subjects:  1. Bullies    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    3. Children: Grades 1-2    4. Fiction    5. Juvenile Nonfiction    6. Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings    7. Social Issues - General    8. Social Issues - Special Needs    9. Social Issues - Violence    10. Fiction dealing with bullying, truancy & school problems   

Reviews (53)

A Mango-Shaped Space
A Mango-Shaped Space
A Mango Shaped Space
What if the color blue tasted like cotton candy?Or that everybody's name had a color?Well this scenario is real to 8th grader Mia Winchell.In A Mango Shaped Space, Mia sees colors and shapes for words.When it gets around about her colorsher parents take her to a psychologist but it just turns out that she has a condition called synesthesia.While she struggles in school because of confusion with the condition, her cat, Mango, is becoming sicker each day.In the middle of the night Mango starts twitching.With an attempt to visit the vet, Mango stops breathing.Mia was so shocked that she can't even see her colors anymore.I think this book was very good.
A Wonderful Book
Have you ever been called weird or a freak? Well hopefully you haven't but that is one of the things that happened in A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass.In this novel, Mia Winchell, the main character sees colors when she hears sounds. This condition is called synesthesia, which means that two or more of your senses are joined together in your mind involuntarily. In this story, Mia had a cat named Mango, who reminded her of her late grandfather- she even said she could feel his presence through him.Mr. and Mrs. Winchell first took Mia to a psychologist, who sent them to a neurologist who diagnosed her with synesthesia. Mia's parents forced her to go to a synesthete meeting and she met a boy named Adam who has a similar type of synesthesia. Adam and Mia became very comfortable with each other and, they even kissed! The two met on a synesthete site given to her by her psychologist Dr. Jerry Weiss, and the two became fast friends.Mango, Mia's cat was very close to her, and she still went to her grandfather's grave very often. In this book, Mango dies, and sometimes synesthetes loose their colors in a tragic situation so at that time Mia lost her colors. All throughout this novel, Wendy Mass expresses that Mia doesn't want to be a freak, but when she is stripped of her "colors" she is able to see who she really is.
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Subjects:  1. Animals - Cats    2. Cats    3. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    4. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    5. Fiction    6. Friendship    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Senses and sensation    9. Social Issues - Adolescence    10. Social Issues - Death & Dying    11. Social Issues - Special Needs    12. Synesthesia    13. Juvenile Fiction / Girls & Women   

Editorial Review

One day in her apartment in Reno, Bernadette heard a pitiful sound in the hallway. She opened the door a crack and saw a young woman standing there in her raincoat, her bare legs spattered with dried mud, holding a crying baby wrapped in a blanket. The baby was Heidi, and they had come from the almost-empty apartment next door for help. Heidi's Mama can't tend her week-old child because she has, as Heidi later says, "a bum brain," so Bernadette steps in and cares for them both tenderly. Mama says her name is "So Be It," but with her twenty-three-word vocabulary, this is all the information she can give Bernadette.Read more

Reviews (52)

Blue bonnet books
I think So B. It is a great book.It is kinda of cool that Heidi wants to find out her history.If I was her, I would too.But it is pretty sad that Mama dies.When I got finished reading it, I felt like there should be more, but I would never be able to think of such wonderful ideas for another end. My friend Emily, felt strange when she ended it.So did I.All the surprising things like Mr. Hill being her grandfather when he was so mean on the phone.I thought for sure he was just an old grumpy man. Elliot, I thought was Mama's husband and mama just ran away with her baby.If you haven't read it, I think you should.That is my opinion.

Astonishing Book
Astonishing Book
So B It
Have you ever wondered if there was another side to your past? Well, so did Heidi It. But unlike most others, Heidi was determined to find out every single detail of her past, even if it meant traveling to the other side of the country.
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Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    2. Children: Grades 4-6    3. Family - Parents    4. Fiction    5. Identity    6. Identity (Psychology)    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Mental illness    9. Mothers and daughters    10. Social Issues - General    11. Social Issues - Special Needs    12. Juvenile Fiction / Family / General   

Reviews (2)

Great Self-Help Book for Teens with Learning Disabilities
Discusses using your high school and teenage years to become the best possible adult.Includes sections on making and keeping friends, using the IEP process to get a good education, relationships with the opposite sex, and whether or not you should get a part time job. It brought relief and a smile to my daughter's face!
After a particularly tough few weeks getting back to school, I bought this book for my 14 Y-O daughter, who has some Learning Differences after surgery, & radiation for removal of a brain tumor. Today, she was bouncing again and all smiles, as she read aloud to me some of the paragraphs from the book.Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Young Adult Social Situations    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    3. Juvenile Nonfiction    4. Juvenile literature    5. Learning disabilities    6. Learning disabled teenagers    7. Life skills    8. School & Education    9. Self-help techniques for teena    10. Self-help techniques for teenagers    11. Social Issues - Special Needs    12. Adolescent children    13. Coping with personal problems    14. Teaching of children / adults with specific learning difficulties    15. Teaching of those with special educational needs   

Reviews (9)

An entertaining picturebook approach that has an underlying theme of explaining to young readers just what AD/HD is
The newly published second edition of Shelley The Hyperactive Turtle by Deborah M. Moss is very nicely illustrated by Carol Schwartz and is the creative tale of Shelley the Turtle and his problem with AD/HD. Introducing the colorful tale of Shelley's hyperactive, energetic behavior, Shelley The Hyperactive Turtle is an entertaining picturebook approach that has an underlying theme of explaining to young readers just what AD/HD is and the serious effects that unrecognized or untreated it can have on some people's lives, but with the proper help, the condition AD/HD can be helped and an active, positive life can be led. An important addition to school, community, and family counseling collections, Shelley The Hyperactive Turtle is very highly recommend for all parents, teachers, physicians, and counselors searching for a sensitive and effective introduction to AD/HD based hyperactivity which would be suitable and appropriate for children ages 5 to 8 .

ADD Minus!
i have add, but i like to add and subtract.ha ha a joke.it is almost thanksgiving and you should get this book because we don't eat turtles we eat turkey!this book is good because i like baseball and the turtles are playing baseball on the cover i haven't learned what to do when the field catches on fire, so don't set the field on fire that would be bad and smelly because i see a lot of dog poop in the field

ADHD and Helping A Young Child Understand
Shelly the Hyperactive Turtle helped my daughter understand why she was missing information and instructions. My daughter may not like taking her medication, but now she understands that there are others like her who need something to slow them down a little so they don't miss the little details. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals - Turtles    2. Attention-deficit hyperactivit    3. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder    4. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    5. Children: Grades 2-3    6. General    7. Hyperactive children    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Juvenile literature    10. Social Issues - Special Needs    11. Social Situations - Special Needs    12. Disability: social aspects   

Reviews (27)

The Cay Book Reveiw

Not as Interesting as the Cay
The life of our little young and mature character changes through out the story. He got rescued from the diminutive cay which is going to appear again. After rescued Phillip was passing through a hard time in his house, while in the other part 14 year old Timothy is living his own life trying to be a sailor. Timothy of the Cay was written by Theodore Taylor. It is a sequel but at the same time a prequel of the first story. It is a sequel because it tells you about the life of Phillip after the cay and it is a prequel because it tells you about Timothy's life before the cay.
Don't read it!

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Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure - General    2. Blacks    3. Caribbean Area    4. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    5. Children: Grades 4-6    6. Fiction    7. Shipwrecks    8. Social Issues - Prejudice & Racism    9. Social Issues - Special Needs    10. Survival    11. Juvenile Fiction / General   

Reviews (1)

Clear, easy signs demonstrated by cute illustrated babies!
"Get your fingers ready to shear a sheep...!" (snip, snip)
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Subjects:  1. Children's Baby - Boardbooks    2. Children's Books/Baby-Preschool    3. Children: Kindergarten    4. Juvenile Nonfiction    5. Language Arts - Vocabulary & Spelling    6. Poetry - Nursery Rhymes    7. Social Issues - Special Needs    8. Social Situations - Special Needs   

Reviews (1)

To explainthe kids
This book give you the words to explain the child with Tourette Syndrome what's going on with him/her. It's a complete and easy book to read that explain everything about TS and the most important how to communicate the child in a natural way, what is the Tourette Syndrome and what expect about it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children with Special Needs    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    3. Education    4. Education / Teaching    5. Health & Daily Living - Diseases    6. Juvenile literature    7. Special Education - Socially Handicapped    8. Tourette syndrome    9. Illness & disability: social aspects    10. Special needs & learning difficulties   

Subjects:  1. 1880-1968    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography - General    4. Biography & Autobiography - Historical    5. Blind    6. Blind-deaf women    7. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Biography    8. Children: Grades 4-6    9. Education    10. Health & Daily Living - Physical Impairments    11. Juvenile Easy Readers    12. Juvenile Nonfiction    13. Juvenile literature    14. Keller, Helen,    15. Social Issues - Special Needs    16. United States    17. Juvenile Nonfiction / Biography & Autobiography / General   

Subjects:  1. Children's All Ages - Fiction - Historical    2. Children's Books/All Ages    3. Children: Grades 4-6    4. Family - Siblings    5. Health & Daily Living - General    6. Historical - United States - 19th Century    7. Historical - United States - General    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Juvenile Historical Fiction    10. Social Issues - Special Needs    11. Juvenile Fiction / Historical / United States / General   

Subjects:  1. Attention-deficit-disordered adults    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    3. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Religion    4. Children: Grades 4-6    5. General    6. Health & Daily Living - General    7. Interviews    8. Juvenile Health Sciences    9. Juvenile Nonfiction    10. Religion - Inspirational    11. Social Issues - Special Needs   

Reviews (1)

A misguided attempt
This book is subtitled, a first look at disability. I ask this though; wouldn't kids get a much better first look across the lunch table at their neighbourhood school? I'm not sure why authors think that we need all of these books to teach us about disability, It seems like an n out-of-date notion to me. Give us an engaging storyline not a medical lesson. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children with disabilities    2. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    3. Children: Grades 1-2    4. Children: Kindergarten    5. Handicapped    6. Handicapped children    7. Health & Daily Living - Physical Impairments    8. Juvenile Nonfiction    9. Juvenile literature    10. People with disabilities    11. Preschool Informational Books    12. Social Issues - Special Needs    13. Juvenile Nonfiction / Health / Physical Impairments   

Subjects:  1. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    2. Curricula    3. Education    4. Education (Young Adult)    5. Education / Teaching    6. Handbooks, manuals, etc    7. Handbooks, manuals, etc.    8. Juvenile Nonfiction    9. Juvenile literature    10. Learning disabilities    11. Learning disabled teenagers    12. School & Education    13. Social Issues - Special Needs    14. Special Education - Learning Disabled    15. United States    16. Education / Curricula    17. Special needs & learning difficulties   

Reviews (5)

I wanna be just like you
There are children's books that are enjoyable.There are children's books that stay in your mind long after you've read them.And there are children's books that contain excellent writing in terms of story layout, themes, and rock solid emotions.You are lucky if you can get a combination of two of these requirements.You are blessed beyond words if you somehow manage to find a book that fulfills all three.Pick up a copy of "Hurt Go Happy" and you can actually tick off these requirements one by one as you read the first chapter alone.Funny, horrifying, intelligent, and full of more twists and turns than you could hope to expect, "Hurt Go Happy" is without a doubt one of the strongest children's books of the year.
Beautiful, Evocative and Empowering
For anyone who has ever been outraged by man's inhumane treatment of animals, this powerful story about a young deaf girl and a signing chimpanzee reminds us that one person can make a difference, and inspires us to do so.
A touching, beautiful book
Ginny Rorby is one of the finest authors I've read, and this is her best book yet. It's poignant and beautifully crafted with characters and themes that will stay with you long after you've finished the book. I recommend it to both those who enjoy books dealing with these subjects--and those who want to write them. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals - Apes & Monkeys    2. Children's All Ages - Fiction - General    3. Children's Books/All Ages    4. Children: Grades 4-6    5. Chimpanzees    6. Family - Parents    7. Fiction    8. Hearing impaired    9. Juvenile Fiction    10. Sign language    11. Social Issues - Special Needs   

Reviews (5)

An involving read and a solid set of insights into a little-discussed condition
Marcia Byalick's Quit It is one of the best books on Tourette Syndrome to appear for teens: Carrie is in 7th grade when her symptoms begin appealing, and her fidgeting and habits only get worse as she grows more self-conscious. From a peer counseling group she has to hide from her parents to the reactions of adults - including her own - to her growing symptoms, Carrie has too much on her hands. Her efforts to accept her condition make for an involving read and a solid set of insights into a little-discussed condition.

A must read for all ages!
If you would like to know what it feels like to live with Tourette Syndrome and/or OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), you must read this book. The book may be geared toward pre-teens and teens, but adults will love it just as well! SO GREAT SO FAR
I cheacked this book out last week and am only on th 3rd chapter. This book has been great so far. It is about a girl who has a disability. She has to learn to accept herself as she is. It is hard because teachers think she is a clss clown, old friends are embarressed about her "ticks", her parents try to act like it is not a big deal, and to top it off, her sister is a total obsesser. She is obessed with good and healthy food, she eats food that has certain tastes and colors. Carie trys to believe that her life will be normal again, SOMEDAY! Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - General    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    3. Children: Grades 4-6    4. Fiction    5. Friendship    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. Schools    8. Social Issues - Special Needs    9. Social Situations - Special Needs    10. Tourette syndrome    11. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / Special Needs   

Reviews (71)

Crazy Lady by Jane Leslie Conly
Crazy Lady by Jane Leslie Conly is a wonderful story of friendship and differences.The story takes place in a neighborhood of working class America. Young thirteen year old Vernon is dealing with the loss of his mother, struggling in school, and just being an adolescent in the world today.There is also `crazy lady' Maxine who is dealing with raising her mentally handicap son and coping with her drinking problem daily.Eventually the lives of Vernon and Maxine collide due to certain circumstances.Vernon and Maxine develop a friendship over time which changes both their lives. Vernon begins to look at the world around him while learning he has the power to help others.Vernon also learns he shouldn't judge people before getting to know them.Maxine, on the other hand, learns that making the right decisions in life can be trying at times.
Crazy Lady!
Crazy Lady was a good story at some places. The fair was a good idea to get new shoes. The load thing is everyone leaves. His anut and uncle are very mean but,he had reasons. Maxine was funny running on the road.

Crazy Lady
I did not like certain parts in this book. I don't think Maxine being drunk so much is a good thing. Vernon is nice though. Ronald is also nice. It showed me not to judge people by the way they look before knowing them. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - General    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    3. Children: Grades 4-6    4. Death    5. Family - General    6. Fiction    7. I