Avi is one of my favorite children’s authors. This isn’t one of his more celebrated works, but it’s still a cute read, well-written, and it illustrates the difficult life of farmers in Colorado in the 1920’s. Most especially, it highlights the one room schoolhouse. Ida Bidson is in eighth grade. Next year she’s looking forward […]
Out of the Dust, by Karen Hesse, 1997, Book Review
I’ve been slowly picking away at the list of Newbery winners. The medal is a sign of skill and quality, the best book of the year, and usually I enjoy them. But not always. I didn’t care for Out of the Dust simply because it doesn’t follow a traditional story format; it’s a collection of […]
A Single Shard, by Linda Sue Park, 2001, Book Review
I had the vague feeling that I read this book before. I remembered bits and pieces, and some settings I recalled quite strongly. The characters were sort of like those familiar faces you run into now and then and know you should place them but they elude you till you stop and ask. I guess […]
The Lemonade War, by Jacqueline Davies, 2007
This was a short, easy read, and it just so happens I read it over Labor Day weekend, which is when this book takes place. Evan Treski is about to start fourth grade. Then the week before the year begins a letter comes in the mail. His summer is ruined! His school year is ruined! […]
The Accidental Hero (A Jack Blank Adventure, book one), by Matt Myklousch, 2010, Book Review
This book was recommended to me by Erik, from ThisKidReviewsBooks. In fact, he reviewed it in a guest post here on my blog. This summer, when he reviewed the sequel on his blog, I decided book one might be a great read-aloud to start out my son’s homeschool year. Erik assured me he would love […]
The Impossible Journey, by Gloria Whelan, 2003
“Comrade Sergei Kirov was killed on the first day of December. That same night my parents disappeared.” It is 1934 and Kirov was the man competing with Joseph Stalin for control of Russia’s Communist Party. Stalin wanted no competition. So Kirov was conveniently assassinated, and in the name of justice hundreds, perhaps thousands of arrests […]
Things That Go Bump in the Night (3:15 Season One), by Patrick Carman, 2011, Book Review
I won this book last year from Erik, over at Thiskidreviewsbooks.com. (Thanks, Erik!) Since Halloween had just passed, my son and I waited to read it till the season rolled around again this year. We’re only about halfway through, but I thought this would be a great time to post a review. Because the book […]
Such Wicked Intent (The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein, book two), by Kenneth Oppel, 2012
I loved the occult-free scariness of book one. It left me with the same nicely unsettled feeling as the classic novel, Frankenstein, for which this series serves as a prequel. But in book two, after the Elixir of Life fails to save his brother, Victor burns all his books of alchemy and turns his focus […]
Summer of the Gypsy Moths, by Sara Pennypacker, 2012
If you’re looking for a sweet story, you probably wouldn’t consider one in which two twelve-year-old girls bury an old lady in the garden and lie about her death so they don’t have to be shipped off into foster care. But that’s just what Stella and Angel do, and sweet is just the word I’d […]
Michaela’s Gift, by Cordelia Dinsmore, 2012, Book Review
This is a book I was given in exchange for a review. It’s a cute story about a twelve-year-old girl who is on the brink of inheriting a magical ability. But more important than magic, it’s about discovering oneself and about love and family. Michaela is so excited to be visiting the mountain where Granny […]