Breaking Stalin's Nose

by Eugene Yelchin

Summary:
Sasha has waited for the moment he could finally become a Young Pioneer for almost his entire life, all ten years of it.  His dad is his hero, a guard for the Kremlin who roots out anyone who doesn't support Communism.  He thinks Stalin is the best leader that Russia could ever have, and writes him letters telling him so.  But all that changes when his father is taken by the police on suspicion of being a spy for the West.  Sasha must choose between being loyal to his father or supporting his beloved Communism.  He realizes that perhaps everything he had believed in isn't quite what he was told. 

Review:
What I liked most about this book is the way Sasha evolved from being a boy who idolized a system and saw no flaws in it to one who was able to see in a quick period that no system could ever be perfect.  Many children who grow up in dictatorships or other types of systems know no other way of being, so they accept that their system is the best with no qualifiers.  Sasha sees Communism as the absolute best, and Stalin as the best provider they could have (I liked one scene where he is given a carrot as a treat and thinks that he is lucky because American kids have probably never had a carrot.)  The book is well written and provides some history with a story that is engaging for children (though depressing for adults who know more about Russian history.)

Genre: Historical Fiction
Age Level: 4th Grade

The Adventures of Captain Underpants

The Adventures of Captain Underpants

Author: Dav Pilkney

Publisher: New York : Blue Sky Press, 1997.

Plot Description:

            George and Harold are always in trouble.  Not because they like for bad things to happen to people, they just have a mischievous streak a mile long.  One of their best creations is their comic book about “Captain Underpants.”  Unfortunately, though a random series of events, they end up hypnotizing their principal (who HATES captain underpants cartoons) into believing that HE is actually captain underpants!  Which might have been ok, if he hen hadn’t gone off to fight crime.  Now it’s up to them to find out how to get everything back to normal!

Review:

            The Adventures of Captain Underpants is a fun filled adventure filled with not just the story but also terrific illustrations.  Harold and George are fun characters, who cause tons of trouble but the trouble is so great that it’s hard to fault them for it.  The book will definitely appeal to tweens, especially to boys.

Genre: Humorous Fiction

Reading level: 4^th Grade

Similar Books: Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Reader’s Advisory:

Personal thoughts- Entertaining

Subjects/themes- Heroes, Friendship, Humorous Stories

Series information- The first of several in the Captain Underpants series

Character names/descriptions-

            George and Harold- the troublesome duo who create the Captain Underpants

comic

            Mr. Krupp- the mean principal of their school who ends up believing he is

Captain Underpants!

            Dr. Diaper- the evil genius who Captain Underpants (aka Mr. Krupp) tries to

catch

Annotation: What if the comic book you created came to life!