The Book Search

 It may seem like this post is a little late, being two days PAST Halloween, but these magical titles are so great, you're not going to want to miss them!   The first one is the latest offering from two of my favorite authors-Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass.  They co-wrote another book called "Bob" that remains one of my favorites, even though it was published five years ago.  They are both masters at plot twists so I was super excited to read this one.  It's told from a few different points of view, which at first is a little confusing.  The first character's voice is Mortimer, a cat that lives in a library and rescues mice that have moved in there.  He feels very guilty about something that happened (but readers don't find out what actually happened until almost the end of the story).  The second storyteller is Evan, a boy who is just finishing fifth grade.  He lives with his loving parents, his dad who is an exterminator that relocates mice r...

Well, THIS is different, isn't it?  We started distance learning this week and after two days, it's going pretty well.  People are naturally worried about a lot of things that are different from learning in person but we seem to be figuring it out. What's also good is the number of amazing opportunities authors are putting out right now.  Authors,  illustrators, and publishers have been SO GENEROUS with their time and energy.  I know the kids must love seeing all the storytelling, drawing lessons, and writing lessons they've been offering.  I know I have! I was lucky enough to read some excellent middle grade fiction this week.  I'm a big fan of Rebecca Stead's work and her latest one is as least as good as her other work, maybe even better.  This one is called "The List of Things That Will Not Change".  It's about Bea, who has two parents who love her dearly, but live in separate houses now.  It's apparent from Bea's voice, almo...

After a bunch of dogs, I hit a winning streak this week.  I read three completely awesome books that you SHOULD NOT MISS.  They are all advanced readers copies that I read from Netgalley, so look for them in book stores SOON. The first one is called "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead.  I have been mystified by why people love Rebecca Stead's writing.  Ok, well, I get why they like her writing, she writes about quirky, interesting characters, but I've really hated some of the plot twists she puts in. "When you reach me" and "Liar and Spy" I found annoying BUT "Goodbye Stranger" is so great!  She has these completely amazing characters-Bridge (short for Bridget) who was in a life threatening accident as a third grader and told that she must have some big purpose in life to have survived such a terrible accident so now as a seventh grader, she's still wondering what that purpose might be.  She has two best friends, Tab (short for Tabi...