Here’s a brief note on several of Cybils Middle Grade Fiction nominees that I’ve read this week:

The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester by Barbara O’Connor. Owen and his friends Travis and Stumpy reminded me for some reason of the Little Rascals, and they even have a pesky girl next door named Viola. When Owen and company find something very special next to the train tracks, Viola is the only one who knows how to take advantage of the find. It’s sort of a slow, little story with no great thrills or emotional highs and lows, just some kids having a summer adventure.

The Archaeolojesters by Andreas Oertel. Cody, Eric, and Eric’s twin sister, Rachel try to save their town’s economy by perpetrating a hoax to bring in visitors. The ending is a bit unbelievable, but the the book is supposed to be the first in a series. So either the kids will reap what they sowed in the next installment, or the series will segue into a fantastical adventure that requires lots of suspension of disbelief.

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood is also the first in a series about three children who were raised by wolves. The story, which features governess Penelope Lumley, a fifteen year old graduate of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, is rather cute and fun, but it ends practically in mid-sentence with most of its questions unanswered. The next book in the series, The Hidden Gallery, will be in stores Feb 22, 2011. You may want to wait for it and then sneak a peek at the ending to see if the words “to be continued” are again the (non)ending, if that sort of thing bothers you as it does me. These books look to be similar in tone and attitude to Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth by Sandra Dutton. This book attempts to reconcile a straw man version of creationism with the fossil record. Young earth creationists are presumed to be ignorant, abusive hillbillies with sort of good hearts but very, very little brain. Oh, and the “Christian” mother threatens Mary Mae with homeschooling her if Mary doesn’t forget about fossils and quit asking so many questions about the Bible. Then Mama slaps Mary Mae for being sassy. That was the last straw for me. Mary Mae’s mama believes that fossils are tricks that God put in the earth to test our faith. Blech. I’m not a believer in a young earth myself, but those who do hold that view deserve more respect than this piece of didactic stereotyping gives them.