Dear OOMers,
Today on OOM we are celebrating “Dear Diary Day.” I’ve always loved writing and it is no surprise that growing up I kept countless journals detailing my entire childhood. From the heavy competition of my grade-school field days to coverage of my first argument with my best friend, keeping journals has helped me express my feelings in a healthy and positive way.
Below are some exciting books from Scholastic to inspire writers, readers, and diary enthusiasts.
Happy Reading!
Stephanie
The Notebook of Doom #1: Rise of the Balloon Goons (A Branches Book)
By Troy Cummings (Ages 6-8)
Alexander has just moved to a new town where he is about to uncover all sorts of monsters! He finds an old notebook with the word “DOOM” inscribed on the front cover. The Notebook of Doom, which Alexander now holds, contains top-secret information about monsters! In this first book, Alexander goes up against spooky balloon goons—unique and twisted arm-waving balloon men! This book is full of humor, engaging black-and-white illlustrations, and of course...monsters!
Dear Dumb Diary #1: Let’s Pretend This Never Happened
By Jim Benton (Ages 8-12)
Take a peek inside the diaries of Jamie Kelly! She's cool (sometimes), nice (mostly), and funny (always). Jamie Kelly promises that everything in her diary is true...or at least as true as it needs to be. In this book, Jamie contends with Angeline, the school’s prettiest, most popular girl (who Jamie thinks is a goon!) and the impending visit of her troll-like little cousin. Will Jamie survive? Will she go mad? Will she send her mom’s nasty casserole to starving children in Wheretheheckistan? You’ll just have to read the first installment of Dear Dumb Diary to find out!
Star Wars: Jedi Academy
By Jeffrey Brown (Ages 8-12)
Roan’s one dream is to leave home and attend Pilot Academy like his older brother, father, and grandfather. But just as Roan is mysteriously denied entrance to Pilot Academy, he is invited to attend Jedi Academy—a school that he didn’t apply to and only recruits children when they are just a few years old. That is, until now...This inventive novel, written in a journal-like form, follows Roan’s first year at Jedi Academy where, under the tutelage of Master Yoda, he learns that he possesses more strength and potential than he could have ever dreamed, all through Roan’s comics, journal entries, letters, doodles, and newspaper clippings. Oh, and he learns other important things too—like how to make a baking soda volcano, fence with a lightsaber, slow dance with a girl, and lift boulders with the Force. Readers can continue to follow Roan’s adventures in the second book in the series Return of the Padawan!
Dear America: Down the Rabbit Hole
By Susan Campbell Bartoletti (Ages 10-14)
In the autumn of 1871, fourteen-year-old Pringle Rose learns that her parents have been killed in a terrible carriage accident. After her uncle Edward and his awful wife, Adeline, move into the Pringle family’s home—making life for her and her younger brother, Gideon, unbearable—Pringle runs away with Gideon to Chicago, seeking refuge from the tragedy, and hoping to start a new life. She becomes a nanny for the children of a labor activist, and quickly finds herself caught up in a web of intrigue and lies. Then, when a familiar figure from home arrives, Pringle begins to piece together the devastating mystery of what happened to her parents, and realizes just how deadly the truth might be. But soon, one of the greatest disasters this country has ever known—The Great Fire of Chicago—flares up, and Pringle is on the run for her life. The Dear America series is written in diary like form for readers of all ages.
