By:
On:
In: Elementary Book Reviews, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade Reviews, Multicultural, Realistic Fiction
With: 0 Comments

I guess it’s a universal truth: human beings are fascinated by imagining our own destruction.  Who hasn’t seen movie after movie, tv show upon tv show of the end of the world as we know it: life during and after the apocalypse, the alien invasion, the viral plague, or the crushed citizenry living under a ruthless, post-Armageddon regime?  Not to mention the avalanche of distopian fiction, populated by heroic characters whose grit and determination helps them rise up against the horrors that have pulverized the rest of humanity into pitiful shadows of their former selves.  And I’m not saying that the best of all ofRead More →

By:
On:
In: Action & Adventure, Elementary Book Reviews, Middle Grade Reviews, Sci Fi & Fantasy
With: 0 Comments

Ever since I was a child, I have loved books that begin with a map.  I love referring back to it as I read the story; to put myself right next to the characters as they live their adventures.  This book has a map!  That being said, I am not sure how to write this review.  By the back cover artwork (and I knowwe are not supposed to well, judge a book by its cover),Matthew Jobim’s The Nethergrim is a face-paced, nail-biter, page-turner of an adventure book…not that it isn’t, but nor is it. Edmund, Katherine, and Tom do fight for their lives, and for thoseRead More →

By:
On:
In: Action & Adventure, Elementary Book Reviews, Middle Grade Reviews, Sci Fi & Fantasy
With: 0 Comments

Green dust and meteors streak across the sky in Scrap Town Sixteen, bringing with them remnants of other worlds. On the eve of an imposing chair, Micah arrives at the door of Piper, music box in hand, ready to let the master do her work. Piper has always had a way with machines. She is recognized as the town machinist – even though a young, orphaned teenager. Micah’s music box is in almost perfect condition, amazing for something streaking through the universe.  The scrappers scour the earth after each storm, but Micah is too young to beat off the experienced scavengers, so how did heRead More →

By:
On:
In: Elementary Book Reviews, Middle Grade Reviews, Mystery & Suspense, Realistic Fiction
With: 0 Comments

When Theodora “Theo” Tenpenney’s grandfather, Frank, dies unexpectedly, she is left to take care of her mother – a recluse obsessed with mathematical equations. The family house in Greenwich Village is in disrepair. The food is almost gone, except for the chicken eggs. Each morning Theo gathers the new eggs and places the purest, most perfect, egg in the place of honor on the mantel. Serving as an enlarged reflection is Frank’s painting – a large white egg. Theo knows there is something special about that egg. Frank had managed to whisper something about “treasure” and “under the egg”. But what was it? When someRead More →

By:
On:
In: Elementary Book Reviews, Ideas You Can Use, Picture Book Reviews
With: 0 Comments

The first time I picked up Moonday by Adam Rex I only looked at the pictures. BEAUTIFUL illustrations help to tell the story of the day the moon comes out of the sky and hangs in a girl’s backyard. It’s so imaginative and something I think most children wish would happen to them! I love how the story also follows the town and answers the question, what would happen in our town if the sun did not come up one day? This is the perfect book to aid in a teacher’s writing lessons. It would be great for teaching detail because the girl describes whatRead More →

By:
On:
In: Elementary Book Reviews, Picture Book Reviews
With: 0 Comments

“I’ll be all right, I’ll be all right, I’ll be all right some day.” So begin the words of a song deeply rooted in the Civil Rights history of our country. Beginning in the time of slavery and continuing until present day We Shall Overcome: The Story of a Song-written by Debbie Levy and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton-takes readers on a journey of a song that positively influenced African American people as they fought for freedom and equal rights. The book would be a great addition to any elementary classroom studying Civil Rights as it touches on slavery, the fight for equal rights, theRead More →

By:
On:
In: Elementary Book Reviews, Middle Grade Reviews
With: 0 Comments

Most middle school students dream of days off of school – not the student’s of Kaboom Middle School. A brand new school 20 miles from Horsemouth, New Hampshire has opened up.  Desperate parents find flyers promising information, and more importantly, refreshments, at an informational meeting. Though the headmaster’s teeth and mixed up speech seem strange, there’s no other choice. By the time the last paper cup was thrown away 55 students were on the list – destined for some educationology (Marcel S. Kaboom, patent pending). The campus is a converted asylum and uses unconventional methods. Students swallow their books in the form of pills, dodgeRead More →

By:
On:
In: Elementary Book Reviews, Picture Book Reviews
With: 0 Comments

If you’re looking for a fun, easy book for a beginning reader, this is it!  Duck, Duck, Moose! by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen with pictures by Noah Z. Jones would be a great addition to any new or beginning reader’s library. With only two words throughout the book, children have the opportunity to comprehend the story on their own by looking at the pictures. It is also a great story for teaching students about being good friends with anyone. The main characters, Duck and Moose, are opposites in every way but they are still best friends Posted by Dani R.Read More →

By:
On:
In: Action & Adventure, Elementary Book Reviews, Middle Grade Reviews, Sci Fi & Fantasy, Supernatural & Horror
With: 0 Comments

Dirk Lloyd, I mean Jamie Thomson, continues his harrowing, humorous tales of exile in Dark Lord: Schools Out. While Dirk has “acclimated” to the inane and foolish customs of the humans amongst whom he’s been exiled, he still chaffs and the confines of his magic-deprived, powerless human banishment.  His attempt to return to The Darklands has gone tragically wrong and instead of finding himself back home, somehow his minion Sooz has been transported there instead.  Tormented by the injustice of this, the Dark Lord insists that Chris, his only remaining minion, help him contact Sooz and save her from what Dirk knows will be aRead More →