I really liked this book! I was hesitant at first, not knowing what to expect. The sentences seemed a little simplistic, the details redundant, and the humor a bit corny. But I quickly realized this is not a middle grade novel but one aimed at a slightly younger audience, unusual for a Newbery winner. It’s […]
Around the World in Eighty Days, by Jules Verne, Book Review
This entertaining novel was first published in 1873 by French writer, Jules Verne. It is the story of a rich English gentleman who accepts a bet to travel around the entire world (no easy feat in 1873; one that had only recently become possible) in 80 days. The gentlemen of the Reform club, of which […]
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 […]
Why Animals Talk, by Eric Pullin, illustrated by Chris Davis, ebook review
I was encouraged by other kids-on-Kindle enthusiasts to try out Eric Pullin’s Why series, so I purchased a .99 download. I didn’t know what I was getting into, but I was happily surprised. Why Animals Don’t Talk is sixteen pages of versed rhyme slightly below my usual range of expertise. This one’s a charming read-aloud for the […]
The Bronze Bow, by Elizabeth George Speare, Book Review
How have I missed this book for so many years? I’m familiar with Elizabeth George Speare. Her Newberry-winning story, The Witch of Blackbird Pond was one of my very first lasting favorites as an adolescent, and I later fell in love with The Sign of the Beaver. How did I miss The Bronze Bow? I stumbled […]
Frindle, by Andrew Clements, Book Review
Nick wasn’t a bad kid. He just got these ideas. Bright ideas. Fun ideas. Ideas that sometimes got out of hand. So when Nick decided to call a pen a frindle, he should have known that all of Westfield wouldn’t be able to contain the after effects. Frindle, by Andrew Clements, is a delightful, quick […]
Messenger, by Lois Lowry, Book Review
I did not like this book. It felt dark, unfamiliar and unkind. For such is the world Ms. Lowry created within it. Yet, I could not put it down. It was magnificently crafted, with the beauty and imagery and suspense she is well-known for. And among the dark, tangled evil dwells honor, and compassion, and sacrifice, […]