Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn

Genre - Fiction Young Adult

Rating - 3.5/5

Age group recommendation - Grades 6-9

The Scoop - When Ali agrees to spend the summer with her aunt and cousin at the family's lake house, she has no idea of the family mystery that has been hidden for thirty years.

The Story - I think certain students will find this book exciting and suspenseful.  Parts of it are intriguing and the family dynamics are easy for a variety of students to identify with.  I found the middle of the book very irritating to read; Hahn uses arguments and petty dialog to establish the rifts Sissie causes between Emma, Ali and Dulcie.  She shows this effectively, but I wanted to stop reading because the dialog was so annoying.  I am not sure how students would react to this or if they would view it as anything other than a part of the story.  There are some other good elements to the story - teenage independence, relationships across generations, and the consequences of lying and secrets.  Since Hahn was a children's librarian, I would have to assume that she knows this age group's taste and preferences.

Educational applications -  With help from the State Library of Louisiana.  

Georgia Performance Standards


S6CS9. Students will investigate the features of the process of scientific inquiry.
ELA6RC2 The student participates in discussions related to curricular learning in all subject areas.
ELA6RC3 The student acquires new vocabulary in each content area and uses it correctly.
ELA6W1 The student produces writing that establishes an appropriate organizational structure, sets a context and engages the reader, maintains a coherent focus throughout, and provides a satisfying closure.
ELA6W3 The student uses research and technology to support writing.
The teacher and media specialist will introduce the Library of Congress Everyday Mysteries web site to the class.  Students are divided into groups of two, select a mystery from the web site and use the scientific process to question and research the mystery they chose.  Students may use any additional resources needed either print or online.  All resources must be reputable.  Student will compile their information into a simple report to share with the class.

Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn 
 New York : Clarion Books, c2007
Copy from Atlanta Fulton County Library

The Puzzling World of Winston Breen by Eric Berlin

Genre - Fiction (Tween)

Rating - 5/5

Age group recommendation - Grades 3-6

The Scoop - Winston Breen sees puzzles everywhere, in everything.  When Winston buys an antique box for his sister for her birthday, he has no idea that the puzzles pieces hidden in the secret compartment will lead him to solve a twenty-five year old puzzle.

The Story - This book is a lot of fun. The story is interesting in several different ways - the mystery of the puzzle pieces, the mystery of the treasure hunters and other characters involved in the hunt, and the puzzles Winston creates for the reader to solve.  The plot always moves the story in a very natural way.  Even though puzzles unrelated to the overall story are interspersed throughout the text, the puzzles never detract from the pacing of the book.  In fact, the break of the puzzles tends to heighten the tension related to the mystery.   If this were part of my collection, I would keep copies of the puzzles in the book to give to students who check out the book.

Educational applications 

Georgia Performance Standards 
ELA4W2 The student demonstrates competence in a variety of genres.
ELA4LSV2 The student listens to and views various forms of text and media in
order to gather and share information, persuade others, and express and understand ideas.
ELA4C1 The student demonstrates understanding and control of the rules of
the English language, realizing that usage involves the appropriate application
of conventions and grammar in both written and spoken formats.
ELA4W3 The student uses research and technology to support writing. 

Working collaboratively with the classroom teacher, the media specialist introduces the students to the genre of mystery prior to reading the book or excerpts from the book.  They are given a list of questions to think about while reading -

* What do you think a mystery should be?
* When you think about mysteries, what comes to mind?
* What is your favorite mystery book, movie, or TV program?
* What do you find suspenseful?
* How did the author make you curious?
* What do you think makes a good mystery?

After reading, students are asked to create their own mystery story using the information from their answers to the questions.  Students may also use web sites to research further ideas like Mystery Net Kid's Mysteries.  Student may work individually or in assigned groups.

The Puzzling World of Winston Breen by Eric Berlin
New York : Putnam, 2007

Copy from Atlanta Fulton County Library