Dragonball Z

Dragonball Z written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama.

ISBN: 1591168082

26 volume manga series continues as a sequel to the Dragon Ball series. Goku continues his martial arts training. Goku and his son, Gohan, are martial arts masters. They must protect the earth from the Saiyons, brutal warriors who have been destroying the galaxy. They want the seven magic dragon balls.

A popular favorite among middle school students. Books read from back cover to front, and pages from left to right. Colorful, action-packed anime cartoons draws the attention of the readers.

Toy Story 3 Movie

Toy Story 3 written by Michael Arndt, directed by Lee Unkrich and produced by Disney Pixar.

Andy's toys continue their friendship and adventures. As Andy prepares to leave for college, his toys accidentally end up at a day care center. The toys quicky discover that not all kids play with toys like Andy did, plus the other toys have plans for them. Woody must go to the rescue of his friends trapped in the day care center and bring them all back to Andy where they belong.

While adults cringe to see younger children have access to age inappropriate toys, the kids in the audience love to see the misuse the toys get. Kids may be frightened by "Baby" who's head spins and is unable to talk, but will enjoy the teamwork that the toys use to get back to Andy. Toward the end, the toys find their way back to Andy's house right when he's leaving. Andy needs to make a hard choice - should the toys get stored in the attic or go to a good home; Woody needs to make a hard choice - to let Andy go or stay with his friends.

Several rescue scenarios are cleverly executed. Lots of humor for kids and adults alike. Like other Pixar films, this segment has lots of entertainment value for the kids, but lots of thought provoking sentiment and jokes for adults. Life's choices, for the toys and for Andy, are not always black and white. Great movie for 10 to 13 year olds.

P.S. There's a cute scene with Molly, Andy's sister, reading Tween magazine.
Visit the Disney ToyStory website.

Daredevil Club

Daredevil Club (2006) by Pam Withers. 103 pages.
ISBN 10: 1-55143-614-0

Kip is living in Peever, a small town where there's not much to do. He started the Daredevil Club with his only friends - Caleb, Fraser and Vlad - and came up with the series of dares they were to complete. Each dare more dangerous than the last. The dares even gave them status as heroes and popularity at school. Adding to the challenge of completing dares, was to do them before the Wildmen.

During the fourth dare, a jump off a cliff into a lake, Kip smashed his leg on a rock. It's so severe he receives physiotherapy. He's making progress and then finds out that the clinic has to close before his therapy ends. On top of that, completing dares is more difficult and his membership in the club is threatened. Kip struggles with these two realities and discovers who his friends are.

This is a quick and exciting read, bringing the reader through dangerous episodes in a some dares. Although the reading level is 3.9, the plot is not patronizing and story is appropriate for 11 to 13 year olds.

This is an Orca Soundings book. These are high interest, low reading level books with appealing titles and covers and contemporary themes for middle and high school students.

Resource Guide from Orca.

Shrek Forever After

Shrek Forever After -The Final Chapter directed by Mike Mitchell and produced by Dreamworks Animation. Starring Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz.

The twisted fairy tale continues. Shrek is now a family man with three kids and a wife. Dissatisfied with his life, longing for the days of being a scary ogre, Shrek gets a chance to re-live a day from his old life. Signing a contract with the dubious Rumplestiltskin, Shrek finds himself single and experiencing how life would be without being married to Fiona. At first it's fun, but then he becomes concerned when he discovers that the contract he signed was signing away the day he was born, thus he never existed.

Donkey tells Shrek about the contract's escape clause (he needs to kiss Fiona) and Shrek joins the ogre resistance against Rumplestiltskin, to reclaim his life. He has to undo what's he's done. Lots of jokes and humor for kids 9 to 12 years old.

Artemis Fowl - The Graphic Novel

Artemis Fowl - The Graphic Novel (2007) by Eoin Colfer. Adapted by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin; Art by Giovanni Rigano, Color by Paolo Lamanna. 112 pages.
ISBN-10: 0-786-84881-2

Artemis Fowl books have been a favorite of middle-schoolers since 2001. The Graphic Novel is an adapted version of the first book in the series. The color illustrations are amazing, a combination of fun comics and intense detailed graphics. Many scene panels actively move the story without dialogue. Dialogue is interesting although, at times, complex. Characters are introduced throughout the story by secret government files.

Artemis the Second is a twelve year old prodigy and criminal-mastermind, who aims to restore his family's fortune at the risk of causing a cross-species war and destroying civilizations. His genius allows him to make scientific observations and invent advanced technologies. Accompanied by Bulter, who has extreme martial arts and marksmanship skills, Artemis obtains and translates "The Book" that contains vital information about the "People" of the underground. Underground live the gnomes, trolls, elfs, centaurs, dwarfs and goblins. Elves have fairy magic enhanced by technology.

Captain Holly Short, an elf and only female member of the LEPrecon police, is sent to locate a rogue troll. Artemis and Butler capture Holly, as part of their plan to acquire some of their magical powers and getting a ransom of gold. Led by Commander Root, LEPrecon fights back using Foaly's technical genius.

Full of adventure and fantasy, this novel will not disappoint Artemis Fowl fans and it will draw in new readers. It's consistently interesting and exciting, mixed with humor. Great read for 10 to 13 year olds.

ISLAND Book One: Shipwreck

ISLAND- Book One: Shipwreck (2001) by Gordon Korman. 129 pages.
ISBN: 0-439-16456-7

Adventure, survival

A program called "Charting a New Course" brings together six young teens on boat with a captain and first mate. Each teen has been sent there for a reason - getting in arrested, fighting, causing havoc, watching too much TV, having a breakdown. They are quickily put to work manning sails and cleaning decks.

The ship leaves Guam where the kids feel like they are in the middle of nowhere. Stuck on a boat they don't want to be on and living in tight quarters, the kids learn to deal with the mean captain's mate, sea-sickness and terrible food. But that's not all, a terrifying storm comes. The schooner is severely damaged, the captain is lost at sea, the first mate abondons ship and the kids are left to fend for themselves. Through will and problem-solving, they work together to survive.

This is a fast-moving, adventurous story taking place over 15 days. The plot keeps the reader interested in what will happen next. Good read for 10 to 13 year olds.

This book is the first in a series of three: Shipwreck, Survival and Escape. At the end of the book, the author encourages the reader to "continue your Island adventure online" at Scholastic (linked here) where you can meet the crew and take the quiz, "Can you Survive?"

Official Gordon Korman Website