I have just two more Emblazon titles lined up to share with you. I’ve been trying to read one from every author, but I keep finding myself drawn into entire series. Such is the case here. I read Stephanie’s Princess Kandake last spring, when I was screening authors to join me in the Emblazon group. […]
Esperanza Rising, by Pam Munoz Ryan
I’ve reached the end of my Friday posts. Esperanza Rising marks the last of the content I wanted to save from my self-hosted site. I’ll now be posting only once a week again, as I’m almost finished writing Song 2 and I’d like to finish Song 3 before school ends. Sometimes a book comes out that […]
Princess Kandake, by Stephanie Jefferson, 2012
Historical fiction is still one of my favorite genres, and Princess Kandake is a real treat. Stephanie Jefferson has created a strong teen female lead and set her within ancient Nubia. Kandake knows exactly what she wants, and she’s determined to go after it. Then life throws her a curve. How can she meet her obligations and […]
The Light (Tales of a Revolution Series), by Lars D. Hedbor, 2013
Lars D. Hedbor, author of The Prize, which details Revolutionary War activities on and around Lake Champlain (see my review), has just come out with a second novel in his Tales from a Revolution series. The Light features Washington’s crossing of the Delaware. While that particular event may be well known to every American, the details surrounding it are less […]
The Secret School, by Avi, 2001, Book Review
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 […]
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 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 […]
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, by John Boyne, 2006, Book Review
This is a startling look at the holocaust through the eyes of a nine-year-old German boy. Bruno is the son of a Nazi Commandant. As a result of a promotion, Bruno and his whole family leave their lovely home in Berlin and follow Father to his new assignment—head of Auschwitz concentration camp. Bruno can see […]
Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry, 1989
Annemarie lives in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is 1943. Her best friend, Ellen Rosen, is Jewish. This is a beautifully told story appropriate for fourth graders. It is sweet in it’s own way, and pulse-poundingly adventurous, though not in a way I’d ever want to experience for myself. It is a deadly serious look at how […]
The Girl Who Came Home, by Hazel Gaynor, 2012, Book Review
Today I would like to discuss some things self-published authors should NOT do. Unfortunately, this book will be my shining example. I happened to stumble upon this novel on a blog I admire. It was a guest post by the author promoting her work. I’ve always had a morbid fascination for the Titanic disaster, especially […]