The Book Search

So now that I'm home for at least two weeks, I have PLENTY of time to get caught up on some of the book reviews I've been leaving until I had some free time!  YAY for an upside to all this crazy and what a better way to spend your time but wandering around in some worlds that are completely different and a little scary! The first one is called The Thieves of Wierdwood.  It's written by Christian McKay Heidicker.  It's about two twelve year old boys, Arthur and Willy who live in a pretty strange place.  It reminded me a bit of Victorian England, until things got, well, weird.  Arthur and Willy are thieves - they are part of a notorious Black Feather gang, but they aren't in very good standing.  Willy has a brother who is in a completely horrific sounding hospital and when Arthur gets in trouble, his dad, who is also thief, gets sent to the hospital too.  Both boys feel an urgent need to get them out, and take a huge risk to break into Weirdwood Manor,...

So you might not be able to tell from the blog, I'm not a big fan of scary stories.  I like suspense but a lot of the scary things are, well, just too scary for me.  I had nightmares after Doll Bones and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.  So I have NO IDEA why I chose "Scary Stories for Young Foxes" by Christian McKay Heidicker.  It WAS scary but it was SO well written and I think it's going to be perfect as a mentor text for my students. It's told in two different voices-Mia and Uly.  Both are fox kits that are living really different lives.  Mia comes from a family with a loving mom and brothers and sisters that are kind and supportive of one another.  Uly, not so much.  Uly has a deformed front paw and his sisters seem bent on getting rid of him.  Each one tells a tale of how they end up separated from their moms and their litter mates (terrifying), how they survive,  and then how they come together to help each other.  E...