Second Section! Reading My Library

Having sampled the picture book section, I now move on to the juvenile series stacks.  These move from what I'd consider early chapter books to real books, so some I'll read as picture books with the kids, some I'll read and offer to the kids, and some I'll read and send back.  I deliberately tried to get a mix of "boy books" and "girl books" even though I have a strong prejudice against the girly ones.

What did I start with:

American Girl: Meet Kaya (Book 1).  Janet Shaw.  American Girl books follow girls from different American cultures; the Kaya books follow a Nez Perce girl in 1764, whose struggles to control her bragging provide the framework for the description of her setting and community.

• Cam Jansen #28: The Green School Mystery.  David A. Adler.  Cam commits moments to her photographic memory with a "click," and this time she uses her mental photo album to figure out who stole the money the school raised for an eco-friendly sky light.
• Dear America: The Journal of Biddy Owens.  Walter Dean Myers.  I was surprised to see a big name children's author in the series stacks, but looked forward to what Myers would write.  It wasn't quite as dramatic as his own works, yet still seemed to give a good feel for the last season of the Negro Leagues.  I liked that Biddy didn't actually make it to the big leagues, but I didn't like not really knowing what was fact and what fiction.
• Dear Dumb Diary #9: That's What Friends Aren't For.  I found the diary style a bit tedious but the depiction of middle school was alien enough to be interesting.  My middle schooler also enjoyed this one. 
• Girls of Many Lands (Ethiopia): Saba Under the Hyena's Foot.  Jane Kurtz.  Although I found the main character a bit too humble and timid, I liked learning about a history and culture I had never encountered before.  I may peek at some other books in this series.
• Guardians of Ga'Hoole #8: The Outcast.  Kathryn Lasky.  Although I easily followed the plot in this mid-series book, I did feel that I missed some of the emotional depth by not knowing the scenes that came in earlier books.  The story of the misunderstood chosen one was one I would have lapped up with a spoon in my own younger days.