Things I've Read Recently (56): School Part 2

If you're new around here, Things I've Read Recently is a series of posts I do that are basically mini-reviews of books that I either forgot to review, didn't have enough to say for a full review, or just didn't want to do a full post about for whatever reason. I had so many books for my last school-themed post that I decided to go ahead and do another!

And then I forgot about it for two years. Whoops.

Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary

Published: Originally published in 1968, this edition was released on March 19th, 2013
Genre: Contemporary MG
Binding: Paperback
Page Count: 211 plus an excerpt from Ramona the Brave
Part of a series? Yes, there are eight Ramona books, and the Ramona series itself follows the 6-book Henry Huggins series.
Got via: This exact copy I borrowed from the library, but I own two others because I wanted to check out the new edition/new illustrations.
Amazon / Book Depository / Indiebound

Summary (from goodreads): Ramona Quimby is excited to start kindergarten. No longer does she have to watch her older sister, Beezus, ride the bus to school with all the big kids. She's finally old enough to do it too!

Then she gets into trouble for pulling her classmate's boingy curls during recess. Even worse, her crush rejects her in front of everyone. Beezus says Ramona needs to quit being a pest, but how can she stop if she never was trying to be one in the first place?

Thoughts: I loved Ramona as a kid, although I don't think I read this exact one. This edition has updated illustrations, which are larger and more detailed. That was a pretty big adjustment, and kind of justifies keeping the other copies to compare in my mind (it doesn't take much justification, though, honestly), but I do think they make the book appeal more to today's young audience. They also have a lot of personality, are much more modern, and are very cute.

The books have aged well. Beyond a few slightly dated things (rubber boots over oxford shoes, jeans with only one hip pocket), they're good. There's still enough to appeal to kids today, and like my praise with Junie, many of the things Ramona fears or worries about are very true of kids. Ramona has a ton of personality, and she's really an individual. While this one will obviously be going back to the library (possibly to my Storytime kid who will be starting kindergarten in the fall!), my copies will be returning to my bookshelves.

Judy Moody Goes to College by Megan McDonald

Published: First published in 2008, my edition was released probably around 2010 by Scholastic
Genre: Contemporary MG
Binding: Paperback
Page Count: 131 plus a glossary.
Part of a series? Yes, this is the 8th book of 11 in the Judy Moody series, plus there's two companion series, Judy and Stink, and just the Stink series, plus a bunch of companion/side books and stuff related to the movie.
Got via: I think I bought this and a later book in this post at a sale at a school near here during a town-wide yard sale. They both have cards in the back, which is pretty much only done at schools now.
Amazon / Book Depository / Indiebound

Summary (from goodreads): Judy Moody is in a mood. Not a good mood. And definitely NOT a math mood. The substitute teacher in Class 3T thinks Judy's math skills need improving. So Judy has to start meeting with a math tutor. Does this mean flash cards? Does this mean baby games? Does this mean school on weekends?

But when Judy meets her tutor — a sick-awesome college student with an uber-funky sense of style — and gets a glimpse of college life, Judy's bad math-i-tude turns into a radical glad-i-tude. Pretty soon, Judy's not only acing her math class; she's owning it. Time to say good-bye to Judy Moody, old skool third-grader, and say hello to Miss College! Small-tall upside-down backward non-fat capp with extra whip, anyone?

Thoughts: This series is pretty much past my time as a kid reader. (I was a really advanced reader.) I think I may have read one or two before now, but I'm not sure. I do kinda like the movie, though. It's kind of terrible and adorable, and I enjoy that. While there are references and context in this book that would make more sense had I read previous books, I think they can be read as standalones fairly easily.

Judy fits pretty well with Ramona and Junie B. Jones, although she's a bit older than either of them, as are the audience her books aim at. This book also has a lot of lingo and slang, although it's largely made-up to be unique to the world of the book, which is something that can be challenging for kids to read. I do think, though, that this kind of book would appeal to a lot of young readers. Judy's near hero-worship of her college-student math tutor is adorable, and I really liked the focus on making math seem awesome, especially using girls to do so.

This one isn't my favourite, but I'll be keeping it for the good points.

Sideways Stories From Wayside School by Louis Sachar

Published: Originally published in 1978, this edition was released in 2003 by HarperTrophy
Genre: I guess MG Fantasy?
Binding: Paperback
Page Count: 124 plus a listing of some other books
Part of a series? Yes, there are three books of Wayside stories, plus some companion books like the arithmetic books.
Got via: I think I bought it at the same school sale as the Judy Moody book.
Amazon / Book Depository / Indiebound

Summary (from goodreads): There'd been a terrible mistake. Wayside School was supposed to be built with thirty classrooms all next to each other in a row. Instead, they built the classrooms one on top of the other ... thirty stories tall! (The builder said he was very sorry.)

That may be why all kinds of funny things happen at Wayside School ... especially on the thirtieth floor. You'll meet Mrs. Gorf, the meanest teacher of all, terrible Todd, who always getss sent home early, and John who can read only upside down - along with all the other kids in the crazy mixed-up school that came out sideways. But you'll never guess the truth about Sammy, the new kid ... or what's inside for Wayside School on Halloween!

Thoughts: If you're not familiar with Wayside, these are books of short stories. This book has 30, and the others probably do, too, for the 30 storeys of Wayside School. They're very silly, ridiculous stories, and they can be a lot of fun. They're very popular, and I can see why. I do caution that there's a mention of some animal violence in one of the stories in this one that very sensitive readers may find disturbing, and I really don't like the fat jokes regarding the three Erics. If I recommended this one to a kid, I'd make sure to talk about the jokes and how they're rather mean-spirited, but with that in mind, I probably will still keep this one, because I like these books, just not that part, and honestly, middle grade/YA was horrid to fat kids in this time period... and can still be... and I've seen way worse. Cautiously recommended.

Now, onto another collection of short stories that are pretty different!

Haunted Schools by Allan Zullo

Published: January 1st, 1996 by Scholastic
Genre: MG Horror (you know, for a loose definition of horror)
Binding: Paperback
Page Count: 128
Part of a series? Yeah, there are a lot of these "Haunted So-and-So's" books, like Haunted Teachers, Haunted Baby-Sitters, Haunted Animals, etc.
Got via: I think a yard sale, or something like that. Maybe from a book order way back when I was actually in school, but I'm just not sure at this point.
Amazon / Indiebound / AbeBooks

Summary (from goodreads): Brynn is haunted by the moans of a burning man. Laurie attends her high school graduation, eleven years after her death. A young man who died in a steam explosion haunts and kisses girls at an academy. These and other true spooky stories make up this collection from the "True Ghost Stories" series.

Thoughts: Well, first of all, excuse the not amazing cover photo. I'm working with what I can find here, and the pickings were a little scarce. I actually do like this cover, though. I like the creepy apple, and the colours are very vibrant.

If you don't know what these are, there's collections of short stories to a specific theme. I own a couple, I believe. This particular one is obviously ghost/haunting themed, but I think I own a UFO one, too. They claim to be true stories, but I think the closest to true they are is that they're sort of urban legend type stories. Someone probably told them, I mean. Or maybe I'm just cynical. (Although frankly the dialogue is somewhat unrealistic at times, and how would one guy know all these conversations people had anyways?)

Anyways, they do have a lot of atmosphere, so kids who like scary stuff will enjoy how easily it is to freak themselves out. The stories aren't too creepy, so nobody should have awful nightmares or anything. Nobody is really hurt, and there's no gore or whatnot. They're kind of that middle ground for kids who want to read something scary things, but don't want to be too scared. I also think short stories can be great for reluctant readers, as you can skip stories you're not interested in, and there's a lot less commitment than with a longer novel. With this being a pretty slim volume as well, it will be keeping its spot on my shelf for the time being, for future kids in my care mostly. They're kind of silly, but they have definite appeal for the right audience.

Okay, hopefully you enjoyed this really old post! Thanks for reading!

Peace and cookies,
Laina