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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Winterling, by Sarah Prineas, 2012, Book Review
My blog’s been a little shy on sweetness lately, but this book fits the bill nicely. It was a wonderful surprise. First, I have to comment on how gorgeous the cover art is. I made it really big because I love it. Not only did it draw me to the story, it reflects it perfectly. […]
Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu, 2011, Book Review
I’d like to say I liked this book. It has beautiful a flow, beautiful images, beautiful prose. Ms. Ursu has an amazing skill with the written word. Her subject has substance, her characters are many-faceted. Every thought is well-developed and wrapped up tight. She draws from no less than eleven well-known children’s stories and delivers […]
The Fires Beneath the Sea, by Lydia Millet, 2011, Book Review
The jury’s still out on how much I liked this one. It has some beautiful moments. It also has some awkward moments. The story is entertaining, but I’m really not compelled to find out when the next book of the series comes out. The characters are all likeable, but I didn’t fall in love with […]
Peter and the Sword of Mercy, by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, 2009, Book Review
This final book in the Starcatchers series was an afterthought by the authors, written at the request of readers who weren’t satisfied with a trilogy. It’s crafted with the same humor and style, but it takes place twenty years after the others and, incidentally, one year before Mr. Barrie published his classic Peter Pan play […]
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman, 2008, Book Review
Because of the title, I went into this a little leery. And the first few pages didn’t help. It starts with a man creeping through a house holding a knife. “The knife had done almost everything it was brought to the house to do, and both the blade and the handle were wet…The hunt was […]
Child of the Mountains, by Marilyn Sue Shank, 2012, Book Review
I loved this book. I sank into it immediately, like an overstuffed couch, and only came out for chores. It’s a beautiful, gentle story of strength despite injustice with a good dose of picturesque Appalachian culture. A wonderful combination. Eleven-year-old Lydia finds herself unexpectedly living with her Aunt Ethel Mae and Uncle William after a […]