The Book Search

I do love me some fantasy fiction!  I found this new one on Netgalley, although according to it's publication date, it came out last year.  Oh well, I just found it this week and it's going to make a great addition to our elementary school library.  It's called "The Red Sun" by Alane Adams.  It starts off with a mom and a dad who are really excited to welcome their first child.  At first, I thought I was reading a grown ups book, but that changes with the first chapter.  Sam is a regular kid who likes video games, burgers, and his friends but has a hard time controlling his temper.  He's gotten in trouble for fighting and is trying to figure out ways to channel his anger.  Some pretty weird things happen, like his favorite teacher is out one day and the substitute is really strange.  And then he meets a boy named Leo who says it's his job to protect Sam.  It turns out that Sam is a son of Odin, the Norse God and his mom is a witch and has been hidden by hi

I've been reading grown up books as a little change of pace and I found two really great ones.  One I had reserved at my local library so long ago that I completely forgot why I had reserved it.  It's called "Big Little Lies" by Liane Moriarty.  When I started reading it, I almost put it down because the characters were some much like some of the parents at my school!  The story is set in a small community on the coast of Australia.  The community is kind of split between the working class and some fairly well to do families.  They all know each other from school and the story revolves around the parents of kids in kindergarten.  The story is told in a kind of fragmented way, where it jumps around from the past to the present and it's clear right from the beginning of the story, that someone was murdered.  And that's what's awesome about this book.  The characters jump to conclusions about each other and about their kids that leave you guessing and second

I stopped in at Barnes and Noble yesterday to have a look at some of the picture books I haven't read yet.  One of the things I dislike about Netgalley is that they give you picture books on a device and for me, the magic just isn't there.  There's something special about holding a book in your hands and feeling the pages, the magic of turning them and being able to closely examine the pictures.  So when I read one on a device that I really like, I need to go and put my hands on it!  That happened yesterday.  I read a completely awesome little picture book called "The Most Magnificent Thing" by Ashley Spires.  It's about a little girl who has a great idea to make the most magnificent thing.  She makes things all the time so it should be "easy-peasy".  She makes a plan, gets an assistant (her completely adorable dog) and starts.  But as with many things, it doesn't go according to plan.  So she tries again.  And again.  And AGAIN.  And then she ha

I've flopped down into the fiction section of my reading list... aaahhhh...  It's pretty hot and humid here so it's a relief to come in and flop down on the couch and pick up a book.  The hard part is choosing which one!  Here are some that I've been reading this week. The first one was some wacky fantasy fiction.  It's called Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye by Tania Del Rio and designed by Will Staehle.  It has kind of an old fashioned, Roald Dahl-ish feel to it (which you notice right away if you read the table of contents, where every single chapter starts with "In which...", like chapter 1 "In Which a Mysterious Guest Arrives").  The main character is Warren the 13th.  He comes from a long line of Warrens who are the caretakers and operators of the Warren Hotel.  Sadly, the hotel has fallen on hard times because Warren's father (the 12th) died years before, leaving the hotel to his brother, Rupert, and his son, Warren (13th).  Ru

I've been reading some advanced readers copies this week and this week's pile seems to be non-fiction.  The first one is called Fur, Fins, and Feathers by Cassandre Maxwell.  It's a picture book biography about Abraham Bartlett who is considered the founder of the modern zoo.  As a small boy, he had the opportunity to interact with big animals that were on display and fell in love with them.  He taught himself about the care and needs of animals by reading and observation.  When he was appointed the director of the London Zoo, he was able to put his ideas into practice, creating more humane spaces and more successful feeding strategies.  The pictures are bright and engaging and I think kids are really going to like this one.  It would be good paired up with "Mother to Tigers" by George Ella Lyon, which was about Helen Martini, the founder of the Bronx Zoo nursery. The second one is called "Book: My Autobiography" by John Agard.  It's a non fict

I've been on vacation for a month and it seems like vacation was a bit busier this year than in year's past.  We went to my sister's house, as usual, which is awesome.  There is the usual amount of cooking (since my husband is a chef, it's kind of what we do) and hanging around the pool, but this year there were additional guests (my parents, my brother and his partner, my sister's father in law) and so there were extra trips and outings and now that I'm home and fighting jet lag, it feels good to just hang around and try to get caught up on some of the little things that haven't gotten done over the last month (like taking naps and reading for long periods of time!).  Weeding occupied my time this morning but it's so smoking hot outside now, that I'm glad to come into the air conditioned house and have a look what else I've been missing. I did have time to do a LITTLE reading while I was gone (ok, on the plane ride home) and wow, were there so

This week I've been trying to finish up reading the new Sunshine State Young reader books.  This first one I liked a lot. It's called "Freaky Fast Frankie Joe" by Lutricia Clifton.  Frankie Joe lives in a trailer park and has lots of friends, all of whom are retirees.  Frankie Joe's mom has made some questionable choices and suddenly, Frankie Joe's dad is there to pick him up and take him to his house.  As they are driving, Frankie Joe finds out that his dad has remarried (actually, he never married Frankie Joe's mom) and has four sons there.  Frankie Joe finds that some things are better at his dad's house (Lizzie, Frankie Joe's stepmom is a great cook), most of the people are very nice and are willing to pay for Frankie Joe's speedy bicycle skills.  But some are not so great, including his oldest half brother.  Frankie Joe makes an elaborate plan to run away to get back to his mom.  But things change and so does Frankie Joe.  It would be grea