Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Sometimes the Monsters are Men

The scariest books to me are those that realistically portray horrible situations.  These psychological thrillers often deal with abuse, kidnappings, and death. These books portraying monsters of the human variety are definitely for older teens and adults.

Desert Angel by Charlie Price
In the California desert, fourteen-year-old Angel is on the run from the man who abused her, killed her mother, and intends to kill her too.

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
After being abducted when she was ten and abused for five years by her kidnapper, Ray, Alice's only hope of freedom is in death, but her only way to achieve such an escape is to help Ray find the next girl for his collection.

The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin
Seventeen-year-old Matthew recounts his attempts, starting at a young age, to free himself and his sisters from the grip of their emotionally and physically abusive mother.

Sold by Patricia McCormick
A novel in vignettes, in which Lakshmi, a thirteen-year-old girl from Nepal, is sold into prostitution in India.

Tenderness: A Novel by Robert Cormier
A psychological thriller told from the points of view of a teenage serial killer and the runaway girl who falls in love with him.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Aaarrgghh! Read These Pirate Books at Your Own Risk



Looking for a rollicking good book to read?  Try one of these pirate yarns.

Fish by Gregory Mone
Eleven-year-old Fish, seeking a way to help his family financially, becomes a cabin boy on a pirate ship, where he soon makes friends--and enemies--and is asked to help decipher clues that might lead to a legendary treasure.

Little Wolf: Terror of the Shivery Sea by Ian Whybrow
In a series of letters to his parents, Little Wolf tells of setting sail to find the lost treasure of his legendary ancestor, Blackfur the Pirate.

The Pirates of Turtle Rock by Richard Jennings
Jenny Snow of South Florida finds the adventurous life she craves when she joins forces with Coop DeVille, a seventh-generation pirate, to seek the lost turtle totem of the Ugiri-Tom.

Uncle Pirate by Douglas Rees
Wilson is one of the most bullied fourth-graders at the chaotic Very Elementary School until his long-lost uncle, Desperate Evil Wicked Bob--a pirate--and his talking penguin arrive and begin making everything ship-shape, one classroom at a time.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins & Fenway Park by Steve Kluger

Dear Allie:
I'm considering a relationship with you. And by the way, forget that Mrs. Fitzpatrick calls me Anthony. You can call me T.C.     -- T.C.

Dear Anthony:
I appreciate your interest, but I'm not accepting applications at this time. Your letter will be kept in our files and someone will get back to you if there is an opening.
Thank you for thinking of me.
Respectfully,
Alejandra Perez
P.S. It's not "Allie". It's "Ale".

And so starts the relationship between T.C. and Ale.

This is the story of T.C. and the many relationships in his life.  There is Augie who is such a best friend, they and their families consider them brothers.  There is Hucky, the deaf orphan who T.C. befriends.  And there is Ale, the girl T.C. loves and will do anything to get.

This is also the story of dreams coming true.  There is the dream of opening a baseball field at Japanese internment camp Manzanar.  There is the dream of becoming famous actors and actresses.  There is the dream of true love.  And there is the dream of meeting Mary Poppins.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Shhhh! Bedtime Books

Here are a few of my favorites stories about bedtime . . . although they might cause more giggles than actual snores.

Dinosaur vs. Bedtime by Bob Shea
Little Dinosaur roars his way through a number of daily challenges, but he cannot seem to defeat bedtime.

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow
A counting book in which one by one the little monkeys jump on the bed only to fall off and bump their heads.

Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein
Little Red Chicken wants Papa to read her a bedtime story, but interrupts him almost as soon as he begins each tale.

Race You to Bed by Bob Shea
Follows, in rhymed text and illustrations, a young rabbit's adventures on the way to bed.

While Mama Had a Quick Little Chat by Amy Reichert
While Rose's mother has a "quick chat" on the telephone, Rose is supposed to get ready for bed but finds she is hosting a party instead.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

What Happens Next?

Like most people, I love to read books in a series.  I don't want the story to end.  I always want to know what happens to the characters next.
Here are some three series you might not be familiar with . . .

The Casson Family by Hilary McKay
A family in England deals with everyday life including a father who moves away, a sister who breaks up with her boyfriend, bullies at school, and much more.
1. Caddy's World
2. Saffy's Angel
3. Indigo's Star
4. Permanent Rose
5. Caddy Ever After
6. Forever Rose


The Dalemark Quartet by Diana Wynne Jones
This fantasy series is set in a world of gods, political intrigue, and war.
The books can be read either in published order or chronological time order.
Published Order
1. Cart and Cwidder
2. Drowned Ammet
3. The Spellcoats
4. The Crown of Dalemark
Chronological Order
1. The Spellcoats
2. Drowned Ammet
3. Cart and Cwidder
4. The Crown of Dalemark


Araminta Spookie by Angie Sage
Araminta Spookie lives in Spookie House with her Aunt Tabby and Uncle Drac when she meets the Wizzard family.
1. My Haunted House
2. The Sword in the Grotto
3. Frognapped
4. Vampire Brat
5. Ghostsitters

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Great Reads for Guys!

Check out the following great books for teen guys!

Airman by Eion Colfer
When Conor Broekhart discovers a conspiracy to overthrow the king, he is branded a traitor, imprisoned, and forced to mine for diamonds at Little Saltee prison.

Deadline by Chris Crutcher
Given the medical diagnosis of one year to live, high school senior Ben Wolf decides to fulfill his greatest fantasies, ponders his life's purpose and legacy, and converses through dreams with a spiritual guide known as "Hey-Soos."

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Nobody Owens is a normal boy, except that he has been raised by ghosts and other denizens of the graveyard.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
Pursued by power-hungry Prentiss and mad minister Aaron, young Todd and Viola set out across New World searching for answers about his colony's true past and seeking a way to warn the ship bringing hopeful settlers from Old World.

Pop! by Gordon Korman
Lonely after a midsummer move to a new town, sixteen-year-old high-school quarterback Marcus Jordan becomes friends with a retired professional linebacker who is great at training him, but whose childish behavior keeps Marcus in hot water.

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley
Seventeen-year-old Cullen's summer in Lily, Arkansas, is marked by his cousin's death by overdose, an alleged spotting of a woodpecker thought to be extinct, failed romances, and his younger brother's sudden disappearance.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Spots and Dots Everywhere

Who ever knew there were so many picture books about spots? 

Press Here by Herve Tullet
The reader is given directions to manipulate yellow, blue, and red dots.

Dot by Patricia Intriago
Pairs of dots show examples of opposites throughout the day.


Lots of Dots by Craig Frazier
Dots are spotted in familiar objects and everyday situations.

The Dot by Peter Reynolds
Vashti believes that she cannot draw, but her art teacher's encouragement leads her to change her mind.

The Big Blue Spot by Peter Holwitz
A spot realizes that it is lonely and asks the reader of the book to help it find a friend.

Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni
A little blue spot and a little yellow spot are best friends, and when they hug each other they become green.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Unremarkable by Lizzie K. Foley

Jane Doe is a very ordinary girl.  In fact, she is the only ordinary girl in the town of Remarkable.  Everybody in town is remarkable at something - geniuses at painting like her brother, geniuses at math like her sister, a famous literary author like her father or the world's best architect like her mother. 

But not Jane.

Jane is the only person so ordinary that she attends the public school.
Jane is so ordinary that people forget her as soon as she tells them her name.

Until . . . a pirate moves to town who no longer wants to be a pirate.
Until . . . her grandfather decides to sabotage the new bell tower on the post office.
Until . . . her teacher decides to start giving pirate lessons rather than regular school lessons.

Then Jane Doe realizes that being ordinary is a wonderful thing.