Books for Middle School

Just in time for summer, Pierdomenico Baccalario shows up with 50 Adventures to Have Before you turn 14. This easy to grab up book has 50 different adventures designed to fill a summer of fun for youth. I can’t wait to tell you all about it!

What I am Reviewing

50 Adventures to Have Before you Turn 14.
Pierdomenico Baccalario
Tommaso Percivale
AntonGionata Ferrari (illustrator)
Sourcebook Jabberwocky
176 pages, 10-14 years, Trade paperback
Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

CAUTION: this handbook is for serious adventurers only
Are you an experience-chaser and a thrill-seeker? Then this book is for you. Full of 50 quests and adventures that will push you to explore, create, discover, and even get a little dirty, this handbook is the perfect guide to set you on the path of true adventures.
Decode secret messages, record interesting creatures your encounter, track your points for each adventure you complete, and much more!
So go ahead, accept the challenge for once in a lifetime experiences that are too good to miss!

The Details

The excitement starts when you open the very first page. This book for a specific adventurer only, a place where they can record what they did, when and how. Everyone else either needs to get their own book or.. keep their hands off. It comes complete with rules, contracts and helpful advice to get the daring adventurer on their way.

Each adventure takes 3 pages. Two to explain the adventure and one to record what happened when you did it.

The explanations include words of caution when needed (making a slingshot, mushrooms) and making note if parental supervision is advised. The explanation might simply be information about the night sky, animals that live in forests, or the history of kit flying. Materials needed and instructions are amply supplied.

Learn photography skills taking pictures of plants and animals, develop wood working, outdoor skills, explore nature, the arts, and history. Fill your days with adventures at the beach, in the woods, visiting friends and playing games. Create a treasure hunt and stay up sun up til sun set.

A list of all adventures is found at the close of the book, making it easy for the adventurer to find a new way to expand their horizons.

My Recommendation

This is a neat book. It would be so fun to hand to youth who, once the freedom of being out of school waned, says “I’m bored”. You could simply hand this book to them and say “get busy then, adventures await.”.

Granted, some of them would require some assistance, such as going to a petting zoo or exploring an old ruin, but most of them require few ingredients and the willingness of adventurer to explore.

Many are what you might expect in a book of this sort, like exploring in the woods, making a time capsule, or flying a kit. I was delighted to see a few I didn’t expect like sleep in a scary place, identify mushrooms, secretly trail a friend, and inventing a magic potion.

My son looked through this book (seeing in my stack of review books and thinking it looked interesting). “I like it mom, it has some good ideas in it.” He then mentioned an 11 year old friend saying he’d probably really like it.

The target age range is perfect I think. The adventures are nicely varied and would make for a great summer of adventure (other than the sledding adventure). Go get it for your adventurers! 🙂

Raincoast books sent this interesting book to review called “the man who went to the far side of the moon“.   This is the story of Apollo 13 Astronaut Michael Collins.  This is a neat book that will wonderfully supplement a study on outer space, or a deeper look into Apollo 11.

From the Cover:

Everyone knows the story of the first astronauts to step foot on the moon.  What about the astronaut who manned the spaceship orbiting the moon 14 times alone in space while the others walked? ….. This lauded book describes what Michael Collins did, saw, and thought about during his journey.  It tells the larger story of how the astronauts prepared for their historic space flight, what they brought with them and what they left behind. Reminiscent of a scrapbook and featuring drawings as well as photos taken both in space and on Earth.  This is a book for anyone who has ever looked at the moon and wondered what it would be like to see it up close.

What you Get:

Fascination!  🙂

Seriously though, this was an easy read on a quiet Friday night as I waited for my hubby to get home from work.  Filled with photographs, sketches, and diary entries to tell the story.  The focus was on Collins as he orbited the moon in solitude while his companions became the superstars. 

The main text was in a rather small font which made it really easy to tell apart from the more explanatory text that accompanied many of the photos. 

I loved how interspersed among the stories were images of journal entries and duties he needed to attend.

1 am alone now, truly alone. and absolutely isolated from any known life. I am it. Michael Collins Click To Tweet

All the photos brought the story to life, especially how they were combined with journal entries. All the trivia would be of solid interest to space minded readers.

My Thoughts:

If you have any interest in going to the moon and its heroes, get this book.  It was such an interesting book into a man that most pay no attention to.  Why worry about a man who was only the support staff?

A thoroughly enjoyable read filled with tons of information about the Apollo 11 mission and vehicle, the duties expected and Mr. Collins’ thought while isolated in Apollo 11.  

Good Book.

The man who went to the far side of the moon. 
Bea Uusma Schyffert
Chronicle Kids
Trade Paperback, 80 pages, 
Biography, Space, Astronomy, Outer Space, Moon, Astronaut
Reviewed for Raincoast Books. 

Another book about Michael Collins that I reviewed was called “I love you, Michael Collins”.   You can find that here.   Other books on space “mission to Pluto”. I remember a great study we did on the moon from Amanda Bennett.