Ink Spells talks THE SOFTWIRE

I love Science Fiction (SF). I love it with a passion that really defies reason, and stops just short of dressing up and being one of the wacky fun people that go to the conventions. I've read SF since I was an advanced reading child myself, and I hope to review some of the classic SF tomes in upcoming blogs.


But today Ink Spells is talking about a contemporary SF novel for the middle grade readers, The Softwire, by PJ Haarsma.




RL: 4.7 CSM: n/a Rating: PG Content: mild peril


THE SOFTWIRE, Virus on Orbis 1, is a classic SF book that has lots of aliens, spaceships and intrigue, with humans at the center of it all. It's the story about a boatload of young orphans (their parents died enroute on the seed-ship), including one special boy who is a softwire - he can talk directly to the computers. The children become slaves on a series of rotating ring-worlds around a black hole, and the mystery just starts to unfold from there. While this book is not at a challenging reading level, it is a thinking book, as the young softwire and his friends are presented with one moral dilemma after another as they try to make their way in this alien world.


The action is swift, the aliens bizarre, and story has more twists and turns than your favorite rollercoaster. Kids ages 8+ will enjoy the ride on this neo-classic SF adventure!


Check it out: PJ Haarsma has a great website about The Softwire series, including games, forums, and a promotion for Kids Need to Read, a program promoting books for school libraries.

NEWS for Advanced Readers

Thanks to the wonders of Google Alerts, Ink Spells will have an on-going feature that will look at news that may be of interest to Advanced Readers, and the parental units and teachers that guide them. Of course, that old-fashioned relic of the past, the newspaper, can be a great source of challenging reading material.

But this blog post is about news that applies directly to Advanced Readers.

Disney is bringing the e-reading experience (ala Kindle and Nook) to PCs for the elementary set with Disney Digital Books. Disney hopes to tailor the reading experience for varying levels of readers by adding features like Story Builder, which allows kids to add their own pictures and text to the story.

Sounds cool! Can I get one?

So far, Disney does not have a portable reader out, so Digital Books will be available only on the PC, and is unlikely to replace those paper books we know and love. There are some who think novels, as we know them today, are on the way out, but I think stories will always be here, although their form and delivery may change. Soon Junior may have his own Kindle (or Nook, or the oddly name Que). Whether is this is a utopian or dystopian future, I leave to you, the gentle readers, to decide.

Ink Spells talks THINGS NOT SEEN

RL: 4.5    CSM: 10+  Rating: PG   Content: Puppy Love

THINGS NOT SEEN by Andrew Clements is a sweet book about a boy who wakes up invisible. The reading level on this book is not likely to be challenging, even to younger readers (8-10). The protagonist is a sassy teen and there is some very innocent puppy love as he bands together with a blind girl to solve his invisibility problem. But it is a very sweet friendship kind of love, no kissing, with this 15 year old invisible boy more interested in being a Spartan Warrior than sneaking into the girl's bathroom. While not a challenging read, THINGS NOT SEEN is fine for ages 8+, but younger readers may not be as interested in it, due to the focus on the growing relationship between the invisible protagonist and his sightless girlfriend.

The growing list of great books by Andrew Clements can be found at the author's website.

Young Adult Books

I truly love young adult (YA) books, but I don't think they are appropriate for the middle grade (ages 8-12) readers this blog is focusing on, no matter how advanced their reading level, or even their intellectual understanding of the world. Young adult books are attracting more and more adult readers. Twilight is an obvious example, and I enjoy sharing Twilight with my nieces (ages 13+) - although there is a lot of breathiness in that story, there are also some wonderful messages for young girls about love and waiting for marriage.

As a writer, I see the attraction of YA books - everything is fresh and new for teen protagonists. First kiss, first love, first broken heart. First friend betrayal, first time breaking away from parents, first temptation with drugs, sex and other dangers. There are a lot of wonderful stories to be written for those first experiences and I've considered writing a few of them myself. There are also some dark themes that have increasingly crept into the YA genre - rape, incest, and other brutalities. Even the parent of a teen reader needs to be aware of the books their children are reading.

YA books are in a different section of the bookstore for a reason - their content makes them largely inappropriate for Tweens (8-12). And if you're tempted to think the reading level is higher, just because it's a "teen" book, think again. The reading level of Twilight is 4.9. Some other popular teen books are similarly low reading levels (Uglies RL 5.2, The Wild Things RL 5.3). These books are set apart by their content, not their reading level.

There are some YA books that have Tween or young teen protagonists - Hunger Games and Ender's Game come to mind. Just because these books have Tween protagonists does not mean they are appropriate for Tween readers. The reading levels are low (Hunger Games RL 5.3, Ender's Game RL 5.5) but the content is more in the YA range, and that is where you will generally find these books housed in the bookstore. Hunger Games (CSM: 12+) entails teens battling it out in a bloody-reality-show-to-the-death - not a book for young readers. Ender's Game (CSM: 12+) has murderous Tween protagonists that also torture animals - again, not for young readers. These books may pose some very interesting moral questions, but they do so with violence that makes them best saved for teens better able to deal with the content of these books.

Are there books with advanced reading levels, that tackle compelling moral questions without the excessive violence or sexual themes that would make them inappropriate for young readers?

YES!

And Ink-Spells will be hunting those books down and serving them up to you in the weeks to come!

Thinking and Non-Fiction

Part of finding good books for advanced readers is finding books that engage their brains. This isn't just about complex vocabulary or richly turned phrases - it's about books that make you think.

Non-Fiction is a fabulous way to get little brains chugging, and I think this is part of why so many kids who are advanced readers are drawn to non-fiction. It's raw material to help them understand how the world works, and what cool stuff is out there. Really good fiction can also make you think, and I believe kids crave those kinds of reads - especially when they reach the 10-12 year old range where they're catching glimpses of the wider world and want to know not just how it works, but why.

Why.

My most favorite question.

As a young reader, thinking books were the ones I loved the most, and as I writer I hope to create books that make kids think, as well as spin a good story. Ink Spells will be scouting for thinking books and reviewing them as we go along.

In the meantime, a great resource for non-fiction books can be found at Ink Think Tank (love that name!). They've compiled a searchable database, so that you can find books by grade level and subject area. Fantastic for kids doing research projects, teachers providing materials for said students, and parents who want to get more raw material for Junior's latest obsession with sea-creatures that have tentacles.

Because you can never know enough about tentacles.

Enjoy the weekend! Ink Spells returns on Monday.

Ink Spells talks ARTEMIS FOWL

RL: 5.0  CSM: N/A   Rating: G    Content: Suitable for 8+

ARTEMIS FOWL is a fast paced book, perfect for kids who like their Faeries souped up with jet powered fairy-wing packs and Trolls extra-large sized. While I've only read the first book in the series, eldest son loves the rest of the books and actively hunts down anything written by Eoin Colfer - and middle son has just bought into the obsession. The reading level might challenge younger readers, but a story about a 12 year-old-evil-genius-boy will capture the imagination of many children. There is, according to my own 10-year-old-evil-genius-boy, more complexity to the plots in the later books, but the first one is a fun rocket ride and there's a reason Colfer's books are on the NY Times Bestseller list.

Artemis is so popular now, that it has spawned its own on-line game and adventure. In general, if your kids enjoy a book, they may find the author interesting as well, and most authors now have websites where they promote their books, and often have extra fun content for kids.

Reading Levels

I blogged before about what it means to be an advanced reader, and how the reading level test your child takes can mean different things. But how are reading levels for books calculated?  My kid's school uses a program called Accelerated Reader, which assigns a reading level and reading points to the hundreds of thousands of books in their database. Once a child has read the book, they take a computerized test on their comprehension of the vocabulary and content of the book. AR uses the ATOS Readability Formula to assign reading levels, which uses grade-level vocabulary lists and data from actual student reading evaluations. This program is great for giving you an instant snapshot of a book's reading level.

For any given text block, Word will give you a "reading level" that is based on vocabulary, but it doesn't have the same data-based evaluation as ATOS (but nevertheless is helpful to writers with works-in-progress, such as myself!). AR also offers an option for teachers and writers to submit a section of text, like from a magazine or website, or an entire book, and have the reading level evaluated.

In addition to reading level, the Accelerated Reader site has a brief summary of book plots, and a measure of Interest Level (Lower Grades (LG), Middle Grade (MG), and Upper Grades(UG)). Interest Level can be used as a general estimate of age appropriateness, but the final decision on whether a book is right for your child should always be in the hands of the parent. Ink Spells will talk more about age appropriateness, ratings and content guides in blogs-to-come!

I've put a link to Accelerated Reader on the blog because it is a handy reference tool. Check it out!

Ink Spells Talks FRINDLE

RL: 5.4    CSM: 9+     Rating: G    Content: Suitable for all ages

FRINDLE by Andrew Clements is a great example Book Candy - a great, simple read. FRINDLE won't likely challenge your children's reading or comprehension - its clear, clean prose makes it a very accessible read. However, this fantastic little story about a boy who is unique, a young man with big ideas and the will to put them to use, will strike a chord with any child who has ever felt different from her peers. And what kid hasn't? I'm not ashamed to say I cried little tears of happiness at the end of this heart-warming tale (but then I'm kind of mushy).

FRINDLE is a case in point why you don't want to restrict your child to books that challenge their reading level (like that's possible, right?).  Not sure why CSM rates it 9+, but it might be due to the reading level . . . I think FRINDLE is great for all ages.

What is an Advanced Reader?

Maybe your child started reading early, or started with her peers and then zoomed ahead. Maybe a teacher told you he was an advanced reader, or showed you some Reading Level numbers to prove it. Many schools test for reading level to help guide students as they learn to read.

Either way, if you're interested in this blog, you likely have a child or student who reads above her grade level. And eventually, you will find it difficult to find appropriate books, because while they may read at the 9th grade level, you don't want them reading about teenage angst when they're only 8 (or 10).

Reading Level

I'm not a teacher, or a reading specialist, but I am on my local school board, and I know more about academic testing than your average bear. There are several ways to measure reading level—both for a book and for a child. When your eight year old takes a test that says they are reading at the 9th grade reading level, this means one of the following:

1. your child scored as well on the test as a 9th grader would

2. your child can decode typical 9th grade vocabulary

3. your child is savvy enough to intuit the meaning of words they don't understand from context

4. your child is smart enough to out-wit the test (which is not a bad thing)

There is a big difference between being able to read something with complex vocabulary and sentence structure, and being able to understand what you are reading. Many advanced readers can tell you what a book says, but have no idea what it means. This is because they are still little kids and the material is probably beyond their experience level and understanding in life. This. Is. Okay.

The biggest danger for advanced readers comes from 1) falling out of love with reading, which can happen if they don't have a steady supply of books they enjoy, or 2) not advancing their reading comprehension skills, which are also likely above grade level, just not quite as far as the tests may show.

Ink Skills will try to help with both of these issues.

Falling out of love with reading—How can my adorable child not want to read, when they are so good at it, and have loved it for so long? This can happen, and not just to kids who are advanced readers. Many, many kids drop reading as a pasttime when they reach Middle Grade levels. When asked, the kids say it is because they don't have books they love. At these ages (8-12) they still depend on parents and teachers to help them find books. This is one of the main purposes of this blog, so look for more to come on that.

The right book for your child is the one they want to read (caveat: unless it has objectionable, to you, material in it).

Not advancing reading comprehension skills—How can my talented child be challenged unless they’re reading books at their “reading level”? A varied diet of all kinds of books, magazines, newspapers, cereal boxes and anything else with the printed word is fine. Nay, necessary, for your child to continue to enjoy reading and improve their comprehension of information from a wide variety of sources. But keeping at least some fraction of that literary diet filled with challenging material—whether it's challenging in vocabulary or comprehension—is also important. This is the other main purpose of this blog, so more to come on that as well.

The reading level of this blog is 8.1 (because Word is just that cool).

Ink Spells will mostly focus on fiction, but I will throw out occasional pitches for non-fiction material as well. To wit . . . read the newspaper!

Newspapers are a great source of non-fiction reading at higher reading levels, but you need to be selective—not just to avoid war and murder stories, but about reading level as well. In my random survey of articles, USA Today has a RL between 7th and 10th grade, whereas the Wall Street Journal has reading levels between 8th grade and 13th grade (yes, that’s college level!). Comprehension is much more demanding in the Wall Street Journal than your average daily paper (we have both in our house), as well as having longer, more in-depth articles.

My 10 year-old munchkin is an avid reader of both the comics (in the daily paper) and the front page of the WSJ, mostly because it is always sitting on the table at breakfast time.

One year of the WSJ print edition: $155


Your ten year old asking about the housing price graph in the Personal Finance section: Priceless

Ink Spells Talks HARRY POTTER

The most popular children's books. Ever. The boy wizard who charmed the world. Hardly needs recommending, right?

J.K. Rowling has created an amazing world and my boys love romping through her playground. But the series is a great example of books that get more mature as you go through.

For this blog, I dug out my ragged cheat sheet on the Harry Potter series, scarred with scratched out notes saying "TOO MATURE" and "WITH MOM FOR NOW".  So here's the Ink Spells take on the boy-who-lived and the books large enough to choke Hungarian Horntail.

Harry Potter and the . . .

Title	RL	CSM	Rating	Content
Bk 1: Sorcerer's Stone	5.5	9+	G	Peril of characters
Bk 2: Chamber of Secrets	6.7	9+	PG	Peril of characters
Bk 3: Prisoner of Azkaban	6.7	9+	PG	Peril of characters
Bk 4: Goblet of Fire	6.8	10+	PG	Death of character, Puppy Love
Bk 5: Order of the Phoenix	7.2	10+	PG	Mild torture, a chaste kiss
Bk 6: Half Blood Prince	7.2	11+	PG	Death of major character, snogging
Bk 7: Deathly Hallows	6.9	12+	PG	Characters injured, tortured and killed

RL = reading level (grade.month)
CSM = Common Sense Media rating

The First Three Books
This is one of the few times I will disagree with Common Sense Media's assessment, because they are usually spot on. However, the first 3 HP books are substantially more light-hearted, gee-wizard fun than the later, darker and more sexually aware books. In fact, I think books 1-3 are fine for kids as young as 8, possibly younger if they are not too sensitive to scary spiders and three-headed dogs and the like. Younger advanced readers will find them a nice challenge, with reading levels several grades ahead.

The Second Three Books
At Goblet of Fire, the books take a darker turn - a child character dies, and there is the suggestion of puppy-love as the characters grow older. Order of the Phoenix is positively chilling in its depiction of the handwriting torture session by a creepily evil teacher and there is the beginning of snogging (kissing). The Half Blood Prince, recently shown in theatres in a substantial turn to the dark side in the movie version, is also more violent. It has full-blown teen-pining for the opposite sex plus the death of a major character that younger readers might find upsetting.  For these reasons, books 4-6 are best saved for kids 10 and over, where they have more maturity to deal with these subjects. At age 10, these books are still sophisticated enough to be challenging reads.

The Deathly Hallows is in a league by itself. I gaze at the size of that book, a full 2 inches thick, and I'm tempted to quote Darth Vader. Impressive. Most impressive.

If your kid's not scared off by the size alone, you should still urge them to wait until they are 12 to attack it. It is the darkest of the books, with mental, emotional and physical violence that can be wrenching to read, especially when it happens to beloved characters. There is more teenage love, but the main reason to hold off on Deathly Hallows until 12 is the level of violence. That said, it is a wonderful book your children will love when they are ready for it. At twelve, the technical reading level will not challenge your child, but understanding the deeper allegories, especially to Britain in World War II, will bring a richness to their reading that goes beyond the wizarding world.

We've jumped right in with our first review, but there is much more than just reviews to Ink Spells. In the coming weeks, we'll talk about kids and ratings, reading levels and book candy, and much more. Stay tuned!

Ink Spells Takes Flight!

Ink Spells was pushed out of the nest by a comment made by MamaSavage Rhonda on Super Agent Nathan Bransford's blog, "Who will write for my son?" Her son is an advanced reader, and she struggles to find books appropriate for him.

I am so that mom!

With three boys, ages 6, 8 and 10, all reading above grade level, I've literally spent years keeping a steady supply of good books available to them. I've toyed with the idea of blogging about children's books for some time, and recently came back to my childhood love of writing. My middle grade book-in-progress is the fourth child in the family right now, waking me up in the middle of the night with plot details and character development.

So, I am also that writer!

Ink Spells will talk about good books for kids (what does that mean, anyway?) - reading them, writing them, getting them in the hands of eager readers to expand those awesome little minds.

Thanks, Rhonda, for making me jump!