An above-normal student and an all-around good kid, Eric can’t figure out his recent string of bad luck. The missing homework. The sudden problem with bullies. The strange noises only he can hear. Objects appearing out of thin air. This must involve something more than luck. But what? Here Comes Mr. Trouble starts off suspenseful […]
I've reviewed lots of books and written 20 of my own.
Why Read the Classics?
I love to see what’s new in the world of children’s literature, and I’m so excited about the new ebook revolution with its possibilities and opportunities for new authors. But I am and always will be a great proponent of the classics. These are stories that have stood the test of time. They became classics […]
Hate List, by Jennifer Brown, Book Review
I met Jennifer Brown at a conference a few weeks ago. She was the sweetest girl. She chatted with me all through lunch, and I so wanted to like her book. Unfortunately, I found little I admire in Hate List. Valerie Leftman survives a school shooting with only a bullet wound in her leg. But […]
Seranfyll, by Christina Daley, Book Review – Bargain eBooks
Seranfyll, a brand new novel by Christina Delay, will take readers to a wonderful place where horses fly and houses sneeze, where mops and pails bark like dogs and clean of their own accord, where trees walk and butlers are created – willy-nilly – out of chickens. It’s a delightful place. A place of animation […]
The Magnificent 12: The Call, by Michael Grant, Book Review
I have just finished reading The Magnificent 12: The Call, the first in a brand new fantasy series by Michael Grant. With twenty-one phobias and counting–including a fear of phobias–twelve-year-old David MacAvoy (Mack) seems an unlikely hero. But through the pipes in the boys’ bathroom, Mack receives word from a 3,000-year-old man that the Pale […]
Crispin: The Cross of Lead, by Avi, Book Review
Crispin’s mother just died, taking with her any knowledge of his past. In fact, the boy didn’t even learn his name until the priest told him–after the burial. He’d always just been “Asta’s son.” But the priest said his mother could read and write, that she hadn’t always lived as a serf bound to Lord […]
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Book Review
Probably ten million folks have written opinions on Harper Lee’s classic during the last fifty years, but I’m going to add my ten cents to the pot anyway. Because To Kill a Mockingbird is worth every coin we toss in. This is the story of a black man standing trial in Alabama for a crime he didn’t […]
Newbery Honor Books, 2000-2010
Here’s where to find Newbery Honor books and my reviews. Asterics indicate the books I’ve read for my ongoing Newbery challenge but not reviewed. 2010 Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, by Phillip Hoose. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly. The Mostly True Adventures Of Homer P. Figg, by Rodman Philbrick. Where the Mountain […]
Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins, Book Review
***Mockingjay is book three in the Hunger Games trilogy. If you have not read the first two, skip to my Hunger Games review (book one) or my Catching Fire review (book two). It’s over. I’ve finished the last book. Mockingjay ends as I knew it must end. And Katniss claims the man I knew she must choose. Yet the […]
Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins, Book Review
***Spoiler alert! Catching Fire is book two in the Hunger Games Trilogy. If you have not read the first one yet, do not continue reading this. Instead, skip to my Hunger Games review then go out and get your hands on that book as quickly as you can! Though I loved The Hunger Games, I […]