Moon Over Manifest

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

This year's Newberry Medal Winner. I have mixed feelings about this award, some have been pretty spot on the perfect choice for kids and others complete duds (this is just my opinion ;-)
So this Easter holiday this is one of the books coming home with me.
Here's the summary.
Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works on a railway job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train at Manifest Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was.

Notes from a liar and her dog

Notes From a Liar and Her Dog by Gennifer Choldenko

Synopsis:
Ant MacPherson's basic rules of life.
1. Dogs are better than people.
2. The more you say, the longer they ground you for.
3. Lying only works if you keep it short.
4. Never be nice to people who make fun of you.
5. It's okay to keep a chicken in your house, as long as it's housebroken.
6. Make sure that school doesn't get in the way of important things like your friends.
7. Don't waste the truth on people who won't understand.

Ant MacPherson is totally misunderstood. At least, that's how she feels. Sandwiched between two perfect sisters and stuck with parents who just don't get her, antonia (but please, call her Ant!) finds it easier to lie. After all, only her dog Pistachio, appreciates her anyway. But when her teacher starts to see the turth behind Ant's stories, Ant is in for some big changes....

I want to say - "I loved it (cause I really like this author) , but, unfortunately I was really only so-so on it. I think it does have some redeeming qualities - how good friends behave, how to work through tough situations-without lying, and how to figure out parents who think your invisible most of time until they think your bad.
I hope some of you will try it, and give me reason to maybe give it a second chance.
REad On.

School of Fear

School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari

Everyone's afraid of something...
Madeleine Masterson is deathly afraid of bugs, epecially spiders.
Theodore Bartholomew is petrified of dying.
Lulu Punchalower is scared of confined spaces.
Garrison Feldman is terrified of deep water.

Which is why this may be the scariest summer of their lives. Worse than detention or summer school. Even worse than the orthodontist. The foursome must face their phobias at the exclusive and elusive School of Fear. The school is unusual, to say the least. But "terrifying" would be a more accurate description.
The curriculum is simple: Conquer your fears in six weeks or find out just how frightening failing can be.

Well, would you be willing to face your fears?
Here's the book trailer.

Girls acting Catty

Girls acting catty by Leslie Margolis

Dogs can be trained. Cats are a whole different story...

For Annabelle, starting middle school hasn't been so bad. She's made an awesome group of friends, and it turns out that taming those wild boys is a lot like training a puppy! But now Annabelle is about to encounter a whole new kind of headache: Taylor and the Three Terrors.

There is no tyraining manual for this clique of girls; they are too cool for school, and they definitely don't like Annabelle and her friends. But sometimes Taylor acts super nice, and Annabelle feels torn. Is Taylor just being fake? Or has Annabelle accidentally fallen in with the wrong group of friends?

Here's the book trailer.

Read On.

Brain Camp

Brain Camp by Susan Kim, Laurence Klavan and Faith Erin Hicks

Fun, creepy graphic novel about summer camp.

Neither artistic, dreamy Jenna nor surly, delinquent Lucas expected to find themselves at an invitation only summer camp that turns problem children into prodigies. And yet, here they both are at Camp Fielding. settling in with all the other losers and misfits who've been shipped off by their parents in a last ditch effort to produce a child worth bragging about.

But strange disappearances, spooky lights in the woods, and a chilling alteration that turns the dimmest, rowdiest campers into docile zombie Einstein's have Jenna and Lucas feeling more than a little suspicious ... and a lot afraid.

Love the art work.

Scumble

Scumble by Ingrid Law

Loved it!

Ledger kale always dreamed of the awesome magical power he's get when he turned thriteen- the day when folks in his family inherit an extraordinary talent called a savvy. But Ledge's dreams are soon in pieces. And so are the toaster, the televison, and the wipers on the family minivan. After the Kales decide it's safe to head to a family wedding in Wyoming, Ledge's savvy grows. Worse, there's an outside witness to his monumental mess: thirteen year old Sarah Jane Cabot, eagle-eyed reporter and daughter of the local businessman. Now Ledge has to stop Sarah Jane from turning savvies into headlines, stop her father from getting too close to Uncle Autry's astonishing ranch, and scumble his savvy into control before he causes everything to fall apart.

Starting nine years after his cousin Mibs's Savvy journey, Ledge's story brings characters both fresh and familiar to the legendary Wild West for another rollicking, riveting, fantastical adventure.

here's the trailer and an audio clip

Finally

Finally by Wendy Mass

You can pierce your ears when your twelve. You can go to the mall with your friends when your twelve. You can babysit little Timmy nextdoor when your twelve. You can get a cell phone when your twelve. Hey, you can even ride in the front passenger seat when your twelve.

When your twelve, when your twelve, when your twelve...

My name is Rory Swenson, and I've been waiting to turn twelve my whole life. In exactly 18 hours, 36 minutes and 52 seconds, it will finally happen.

My life will officially begin...

I love Wendy Mass and her writing style, it's easy, fun and puts you right there in the heart of things. So it's no wonder that Finally is already a hit with so many readers at G.S. Lakie.

Read On

39 clues

The Viper's Nest Book 7 in the 39 clues series by Peter Lerangis

The hunt for 39 hidden clues that lead to an unimaginable power have taken a heavy toll on fourteen-year-old Amy Cahill and her younger brother, dan. They've just seen a woman die. They're wanted by the Indonesian police. They're trapped just seen a woman die. They're trapped on an island with a man who knows too much about the death of their parents. And a tropical storm is rolling in. Just when they think it can't get any worse, it does. Because the Cahills have one more rattling skeleton for Amy and Dan to discover ... the terrible truth about their family branch. (from the back cover.)

This was one of the books I read on the weekend, and while I liked it, it isn't my favourite in the series. I did love the fact that the search took them to Africa. Once again there was some great riddles and word ciphering to be done but of course Dan is great at that so he sees the clues long before I do. Anyways anxiously awaiting the 8th.
Read On

Percy Jackson

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Demigod Files by Rick Riordan

Hey just read this sweet little addition to the Percy Jackson stories. It includes three short stories or should I say further adventures of Percy and friends, interviews with your favourite characters, a map of camp half-blood and some fun puzzles and word searches at the end of the book.

If you can't get enough of Percy Jackson or you need a primer before seeing the movie this one will be perfect (it's only 151 pages!)

Read On

Skeleton Key

Skeleton Key by Anthony Horowitz

from the publisher - For fans of the Alex Rider graphic novels Point Blank and Stormbreaker, the wait is finally over. Alex is back! Featuring the same action-packed, manga-esque style as the previous installments, Skeleton Key brings all the thrills and the gadetry to life in colorful, page-turning form.

Winner of a graphic novel, fun fast paced just like the novels. Couldn't put it down.

The Dark Pond

The Dark Pond by Joseph Bruchac

from the back cover:

As soon as he arrived at the North Mountain School, Armie sensed something strange about the dark pond in the forest. An eerie presence haunts his dreams and keeps drawing him back to the pond - something dangerous that lurks in its depths.

Armie turns to the tales of his Shawnee ancestors for help-but if he's right about what lives in the still, black waters of the dark pond, he may need more than his wits to survive...

Much like Skeleton Man - Bruchac creates a story based around Native American mythology and then gives us a thrilling good suspense ride. If you've enjoyed some of his other stories you'll probably like this one too. I did.

Read On

Children of the Longhouse

Children of the Longhouse by Joseph Bruchac

Joseph Bruchac is one of my many favourite authors and once again I enjoyed one of his books. This time travelling back in history to about 1493, set after the founding of the Iroqois Confederacy and before the arrival of European settlers. I enjoyed how many native american teachings were interwoven into this book, and I think it would make a great story to be read aloud or done as a novel study for Grade six because it has a terrific tie in with the Social Studies curriculum and explains the traditions and layout of the longhouse in a way that can be visualized.

Summary- When Ohkwa'ri overhears a group of older boys planning a raid on a neighbouring village, he immediately tells his Mohawk elders. Has he done the right thing? but he has also made enemies. Grabber and his friends will do anything they can to hurt him, especially during the village-wide game of Tekwarrathon (lacrosse). Ohkwa'ri believes in the path of peace, but can peaceful ways work against Grabber's wrath?

Red Blazer Girls

The Red Blazer Girls by Michael D. Beil

It all began with The Scream. And ended with ... well, if we told you that it wouldn't be a mystery. But in between The Scream and The Very Surprising Ending, three friends find themselves on a scavenger hunt set up for a girl they've never met, in search of a legendary ring reputed to grant wishes. Are these sleuths in school uniforms modern-day equivalents of Nancy, Harriet and Scooby? Not really, they're just three nice girls who decide to help out a weird lady, end up hiding under tables, tackling word puzzles and geometry equations, and searching moldy storage rooms for "the stuff that dreams are made of." Oh, and there's a boy, who complicates things. As boys often do.

Intrigued? The Red Blazer Girls offers a fun, twisty adventure for those who love mystery, math( c'mon, admit it) and a modest measure of mayhem. (from the back cover).

If you enjoy, Nancy Drew, The Calder Game, The Wright Three, Chasing Vermeer - this will probably be a great option for your next read. A puzzling mystery ~ a mystery with puzzles, enjoy doing both with this book.

Read On.

When you reach me

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Another great read, Yeah! I'm on a roll lately with book after book that I love.

This book even started with a quote that would resonate throughout - "The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious." Albert Einstein ~ A mix of realistic fiction, mystery and science fiction doesn't always combine to make a great book but I assure you this book ends up being pure yumminess. I enjoyed the chapter headings which are based on the $20,000 pyramid game. This one will be one to add to your TBR shelf - for sure.

From the back cover:

By sixth grade, Miranda and her best friend Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it's safe to go, like the local grocery store, and they know who to avoid. Like the crazy guy on the corner.

But thing start to unravel. Sal gets punched by a new kid for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The apartment ky that Miranda's mom keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then a mysterious note arrives, scrawled on a tiny slip of paper:

I am coming to save your friend's life, and my own. I ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter.

The notes keep coming, and Miranda slowly realizes that whoever is leaving them knows things no one should know. Each message brings her closer to believing that only she can prevent a tragic death. Until the final note makes her think she's too late.

Read On

Lawn boy by Gary Paulsen

Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen

This is a perfect, short book for fans of Gary Paulsen. Maxing out at 88 pages, this is a story all about getting rich quick and who wouldn't like that. Recommended for 6th graders who dream of making money.

From the back cover:

One day I was twelve years old and broke. I set out to mow some lawns with Grandpa's old riding mower. One client was Arnold the stockbroker, who offered to teach me about: The beauty of capitalism, Supply and demand. Diversifying labor. Distributing the wealth. "It's groovy man," Arnold said.

The grass grew, and so did business. Arnold invested my money in many things. One of them was a prize-fighter. All of a sudden I was the sponsor of my very own fighter, Joey Pow. That's when my summer got really interesting.

Night of the howling dogs

Night of the Howling Dogs by Graham Salisbury

From the back cover:

On the Big Island of Hawaii, Dylan's scout troop hikes down into the desolation of an ancient lava flow to camp on a small beach below the volcano. It's beautiful. Peaceful. But there's a problem: Louie Domingo. He and Dylan share a secret history, and it lies like a shark beneath the surface of everything they do.

Until the world comes apart.

Foreshadowed by two mysterious howling dogs, a disaster of unearthly proportions strikes. No one is spared its horror. But over the next hours Dylan learns the true meaning of leadership and the will to survive. More amazing still is the this story actually happened.

I read this one this weekend. I liked the fact that it is a retelling of an actually event - a huge 7.2 earthquake that unleashed a tsunami, and the idea that a boy scout troop is camped on a deserted beach and is eleven miles from the nearest road (uninhabited) makes this into a trilling survival story. I thought the tension between Dylan and Louie added a more complex thread to the story and would recommend this book lots of our readers.

Great non-fiction books guys should try

Swords an artists devotion by Ben Boos

This is a beautiful book to look at, but beyond that I learned stuff - I learned about swords and other handheld weapons from ancient times and cultures. The information is kept to short snippets, general and specific information on the different styles and uses of a wide range of swords. Beautifully detailed illustrations makes this an awesome book for those of you who love the topic of war, warriors/combat and the tools of their trade - swords!

Some of you have already designed and illustrated your own interpretation of some of the swords in this book and have shown me your works. Way to go - obviously I wasn't the only one inspired by this book.

More about The Graveyard Book

I promoted The Graveyard Book this week to most of our library classes. If you'd like to hear the chapters read by Mr. Gaiman, check out his website - http://www.mousecircus.com/ , go to the link "video tour" and press play and start listening to the book.

Hope you enjoy this one.

Read On

Newbery Winner

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Well your looking at this years Newbery Award Winner,

I forgot I had an advanced reader copy of this one, so I picked it up again and read it this weekend. I have to say it wouldn't have been my pick, my pick would have been Savvy (which did end up being a honour book for 2009).

I love a good first sentence, followed by a good first paragraph, followed by a good first page and well The Graveyard Book does have this. Here's that first sentence.

There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.If that doesn't grab your attention I don't know what will.

The story follows a young child Nobody Owens (orphaned on that first page) also known as Bod, the only living inhabitant of the graveyard, where ghosts, ghouls, werewolves and witches are his new family and friends. he undergoes a unique education and will have to use his graveyard skills to survive the monsters of the human world.

Like I said not my choice for the big best of children's lit but I'm sure it will be one that I can promote for it dark humour and adventure.

Dog sense

Dog sense by Sneed B. Collard III





This was one of the books I picked up at the K-9 conference I was at. So I thought it appropriate that I read the canine book.


Dog sense is the story of Guy Martinez who has recently moved to Montana from California (and life sucks, until the day he gets to choose a dog from the SPCA - enter Streak the border collie). The first day of school he makes his first enemy, school bully Brad Mullen and his first friend Luke Grant. Guy's relationship intensifies with both these characters through his dog Streak. Luke encourages Guy to enter Streak in the town Fair's Frisbee-catching competition. This also happens to be Brad Mullen's main event. The rivalry between Guy and Brad escalates until an impulsive wager pits the boys head-to-head and places Streak in jeopardy.

Although I found some of the characters to be stereotypical, I found the dialogue (especially Grandpa) to be well done. I learned stuff about a sport I never would have known and this is always a good thing. Having been around border collies in my life, I thought that Collard did a great job of explaining their intense personalities that are in constant need of challenging.

Read on