MMGM: Disappearing Act

Today's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday pick

Disappearing Act, by Sid Fleischman

Disappearing Act

Written by Sid Fleischman
Cover art by Chad Beckerman

Greenwillow Books, 2003
Ages 8 and up
144 pages, 21500 words


Themes:
Humor, Mystery


Opening:
       Hear that screaming? That's my sister, Holly. It's not exactly screaming. It's singing. She's practicing to be a world-famous opera singer. She thinks people will actually pay to listen to her.
       I have to listen because she's driving. We're heading for California in her old VW with about a million miles on it. The only thing holding it together is the green paint. Holly couldn't find Los Angeles without me, Kevin. She gets lost going around the block. Aside from her sense of direction, she's brilliant.
       We have to get out of New Mexico. Some guy is stalking her. Us,  I mean.


Thoughts:
Holly and Kevin are orphans on the run from a mysterious stranger. They try to disappear among the colorful residents living and performing in Venice Beach, California.  But a middle-schooler and an opera-loving twenty-one year old are hard to hide, especially when they may hold the key to a lost treasure. Their pursuers are not above murder. It will take all the kids' ingenuity, plus a little help from their friends, to unravel the mystery and get their lives back to normal. As normal as it gets in their eccentric neighborhood.

All of Sid Fleischman's books are brilliant, but I have a fondness for this particular book. I can't tell you why. Normally I am drawn to stories set in the past or something with a bit more magic, but Disappearing Act probably appeals to me because it is so fresh. The voice is spot on. The setting so welcoming. The main characters plucky, pathetic, and likeable. The ludicrous, yet true-to-life characters they meet win your heart. Oh, and it's just plain funny.


Bonus: 
 1. If you enjoyed Disappearing Act, you can read dozens of other books by Fleischman. The Ghost in the Noonday Sun is my all-time favorite, though not a comedy like this one. Fellow MMGMer, Janet, recommends the classic The Whipping Boy, reminiscent of both The Prince and the Pauper and The Ransom of Red Chief.



The Ghost in the Noonday Sun, by Fleischman.
Cover art by Tim Jessell, illustrated by Peter Sis

The Whipping Boy, by Fleischman.
Cover art by Dan Andreasen, illustrated by Peter Sis

2. If you love comedy, you can read more about the winners of the Sid Fleischman award for humorous kidlit on the SCBWI website. You may find a few new favorite authors among them.

 

3. Interested in the man himself? Bookpage posted an interview about The Giant Rat of Sumatra, and Reading Rockets did another amazing interview. View the transcript or watch the video below.

 

Have you reviewed a Marvelous Middle Grade Book along this theme? Please leave the link in the comments below. Thanks!

Check out all the Marvelous Middle Grade Monday recommendations for October 17, 2016.

MMGM started way back in 2010 by Shannon Messenger, author of Keeper of Lost Cities. Each week, participating bloggers review our favorite books for ages 8-12. Why not join us?

Read Instead

Join Screen-Free Week
May 2-8, 2016

How do you get your kids unplugged?

• Lead by example. 
• Substitute screen time with face time. 
• Plan a family activity.

Years ago we discovered the fun (and benefits) of reading out loud.

Thanks to Margaret Mary Kimmel and Elizabeth Segel,* we built irreplaceable family memories around a bowl of popcorn and The Wizard of Oz. Next came Mr. Popper's Penguins, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, and A Bear Called Paddington by firelight. And nothing can replace the summer we drove to the shore with a copy of  The Ghost in the Noonday Sun. We started it on the drive, but finished it in rocking chairs overlooking the ocean. I still recommend a family gathering around Sarah, Plain and Tall. Start your own traditions this week and see where your bookish adventures lead you.

Sarah, Plain and Tall,
By Patricia MacLachlan

The Ghost in the Noonday Sun,
By Sid Fleischman

Try a few of these titles from your local library. They make great read-alouds.

Celebrate Screen-Free Week

*For more information and recommendations, check out For Reading Out Loud!: A Guide to Sharing Books With Children.

Listening To YA

If your family is like ours, we spend half our time in the car driving to our next obligation. Audiobooks are a fantastic way to "read" even on those days when your family is in perpetual transit. Normally we opt for unabridged narration, but here are a few of our teens' favorites by Full Cast Audio. They do full justice to the text and are a pleasure, be it on the first, or fifteenth time around.

Cyrano, Geraldine McCaughrean's brilliant adaptation
of Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac

Disappearing Act, by Sid Fleischman

The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale

And just to prove why I generally prefer narration to performance, try The Graveyard Book, narrated by the author.

The Graveyard Book,
performed by Neil Gaiman

What's in your ipod?

Rain Is Not My Indian Name

Since there are no Perfect Picture Book Friday reviews today, I thought I'd share a Middle Grade book instead.

Excellent audio edition
of Rain Is Not My Indian Name
available from
Listening Library/Random House Audio
narrated by Jenna Lamia

Rain Is Not My Indian Name
Written by Cynthia Leitich Smith
HarperCollins, 2001
Fiction, ages 10 and up
144 pages

This book was very well written in an authentic voice. Generally teenage angst is not a subject I would rate highly, but Cynthia Leitich Smith has created a compelling glimpse into her character's life. The main character and her world may not be in the realm of many readers' experience, but the writing draws you in, and makes you believe in this girl, sympathize with her, want to know where her journey ends. Thought-provoking and fresh, Rain is Not My Indian Name is high on my list of choices for reluctant readers from middle grade up. One should note there are topics discussed in this book which may be mature for younger readers, but they are handled thoughtfully and with appropriate language.


Bonus:
1. Take a group of teens on a photo scavenger hunt. Make a list of places and objects to photograph or compose a list of crazy stunts like posing your group making faces with a stranger, jumping in the air simultaneously, or all blowing bubbles at the same time (bonus points for taking the shot through a window or in a mirror).

2. Improve your teen's digital photography skills with tips from the Digital Photography School.
3. Subscribe to a photography newsletter for teens.
4. TeenInk publishes articles, photographs, and videos exclusively by young people.
5. Learn more about bridge-building competitions. University of Minnesota Duluth
6. Discover your heritage at the National Archives.
7.  Learn how to research your American Indian* roots step-by-step.
8. If you enjoyed this book, here are a few more you might enjoy.

Indian Shoes,
by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Walk Two Moons,
by Sharon Creech

Journey,
by Pat MacLachlan

Disappearing Act,
by Sid Fleischman

Stay tuned next Friday for another review of books for older readers. Perfect Picture Book Friday will return on April 4, 2014. Please hop to Susanna Leonard Hill's blog to read the entries for the March Madness Fractured fairy tale contest or check Thursday's post for my entry, Goldie and the Three Squirrels. Voting begins next week.

*I use the term American Indian, because one of the elders of the tribe I stayed with several summers ago took offense to the term Native American. He asked me to say Indian or American Indian when referring to his people.

Booklist Status Update

Eeek!  I just looked at my calendar.  The end of November is here and I'm a little behind on my reading schedule.  Back in March, I challenged you all to read along with me as we devour 50 books in 2012.  I've been so focused on writing, reading, and drawing picture books this month that I let my book list slide.  I counted 43 to date, so my plan is to get back on track by finishing the books below before month's end.

Tales for the Third Ear,
by Verna Aardema,
art by Ib Ohlsson

Chancey and
The Grand Rascal,
by Sid Fleischman,
Art by 
Eric von Schmidt

The Dagger Quick,
by Brian Eames,
cover by
Amy June Bates

Rain Is Not
 My Indian Name,
 by Cynthia 
Leitich Smith
Cover art by Lori Earley

If you have a reading goal for this year, why not take the time to evaluate and get back on the wagon, or the bookmobile, as the case may be?

Dr. Seuss Day

Read Across America celebrates Dr. Seuss's birthday and encourages literacy and love of books.  Read to your favorite someone today.

Here are some of my top picks for every age group:
Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss
Bear Snores On, by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman
Six-Dinner Sid, by Inga Moore
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, by Deborah Hopkinson and James Ransome
Judy Moody, by Megan McDonald and Peter Reynolds
The Ghost in the Noonday Sun, by Sid Fleischman
A Long Way From Chicago, by Richard Peck
The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley