Tag Archives: literature

Dreamwalkers Part One By D.M. Andrews

1 May

dreamwalkerDreamwalkers Part One

By D.M. Andrews

41 Pages  – Ages 12+

Published in 2013 by D.M. Andrews (ebook)

Cal (age 17) liked to dream because it took him away from this world into a world where he wasn’t bullied. Cal didn’t know what to do when he learned that a girl from his dreams, Ash, is real! He hadn’t seen Ash in real-life before the day she joined his school (and sat next to him in English Literature class). Later he realized that they could “meet” in their dreams (and that if they get hurt in their sleep, they wake with a pain in our world). Cal and Ash together learn that they aren’t in control of “their” dream, and they want to find out who dreamed this place up. The problem is, the people who ARE in control (or under the control of the Guy In Control) are out to stop them!

This was a great YA novella (also good for middle graders)! I like the idea of the “Dreamframe” (as Cal calls it). It is a cool (and a bit scary) idea. It was a great first book in the series and I am anxious to read the next. There is no foul language or over-the-top violence, though Cal is bullied. I like Ash. She was a nice character. I also like Cal. He sounds a lot like me. He prefers books to almost anything else. ;) Mr. Andrews’ writing style is great. I like how the plots in his books are interesting and exciting. His descriptions of the worlds he creates for his characters really let you see what they are seeing. I think kids 12+ would like this novella.

I give “Dreamwalkers” 5 out of 5 bookworms.fivebooks

To learn more about Mr. Andrews, please visit his website by clicking HERE. Visit his facebook page HERE.

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Stuart the Bug Eating Man by Calvin Innes

20 Mar

Before I get to today’s review, I want to tell everyone to go visit Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog and vote for their favorite spring-time story in her “The In Just Spring” story contest”! The finalists are HERE to vote on. There were a lot of great entries! I am honored to mention that my story (Spring Schming) got an honorable mention. ;)

stuart

Tiny Twisted Tales: Stuart the Bug Eating Man

By Calvin Innes

69 pages – Ages 7+

Published by My Little Big Town on December 7, 2012

Stuart liked eating bugs. The squirmier the better. Sadly, his family didn’t share his unusual taste. His wife wanted him to get a job but Stuart didn’t know what to do. He never went to school and he has no talent other than eating bugs. Stuart finally realizes that being himself and doing what he likes is the perfect answer (even if it is kind of gross).

I am not a fan of gross-out books, but somewhere in all the bug-eating in this book is a nice message about believing in yourself. There are illustrations on each page of bugs or Stuart eating bugs (**shiver**) that went well with the story. The number of words on a page is small and I think younger kids and reluctant readers would love this book. The story is told in simple rhyme that doesn’t always flow the best, but is fun to read. The message of believing in yourself no matter what others think, is a good one. This is a great book for boys! “Stuart the Bug Eating Man” is part of a series called the “Tiny Twisted Tales” series, where each book can stand alone and be read out of order. The other titles in the series are-

Pale Henry

(about a kid who is afraid to go outside)palehenry

and

Jenny

(about an 8-year-old werewolf hunter)

twistedjenny

All the books in the series are about whacky/odd characters, but they also have a nice message in each book too. I recommend these books to kids 7+.

I give Stuart the Bug Eating Man 4/5 book worms (and I hope Stuart doesn’t eat them)!fourbooks

Learn more about the Tiny Twisted Tales HERE.

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Creative Kid Thursday! Meet Kid Poet – Landon!

14 Mar
Have I got a cool creative kid to tell you about today! Meet Landon Staples, kid poet and book lover! Check out that illustration he did on his poem too (he’s standing next to it)!
photo(1)Landon’s mom emailed me the poem Landon just wrote for school and I LOVED it!! Huge amounts of talent must run in Landon’s family because his great-aunt is the wondercellent (wonderful and excellent) Penny Klostermann (click HERE to go to her blog, “A Penny and Her Jots”)!

Landon is almost 9 years old and he’s in the third grade. Besides being an awesome poet, Landon likes to read, play with LEGOs, do origami and ride his bike. Landon wants to be a Librarian when he grows up because he LOVES to read!

Here is Landon’s poem for all to enjoy!

Buried in a Book
By: Landon Staples
Age: 8
I’m known to own a lot of books,
but when I start to read,
I just can not get out of it,
for the book is in the lead!
And then when the book is making pictures in my head,
it just feels like my feet are made of lead.
I just simply can not get away,
Because, of course, the book is in the way!
-
-
AWESOME poem Landon! I agree with it!!!
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PPBF! You Never Heard of Willie Mays?! by Jonah Winter

22 Feb

Susanna Leonard Hill has a feature on her blog called Perfect Picture Book Friday. It is a list of “perfect” picture books recommended by all sorts of people. I chose this book because I never heard of Willie Mays before I found this book in a bookstore! Plus, February is Black History Month and I thought this was a good choice to end the month. :)

willieYou Never Heard of Willie Mays?!

by Jonah Winter

Illustrated by Terry Widener

40 pages – ages g+

Published by Schwartz & Wade on January 8, 2013

Theme/Topic – nonfiction/sports/history

Opening and Synopsis –

“You never heard of Willie Mays?! THE Willie Mays?! Oh, geez, where to begin? How about… Birmingham, Alabama. 1941. A kid with his ear glued to the radio.”

This book tells the story about how young Willie wanted to be “the next Joe DiMaggio” and practiced VERY hard. When he was growing up, African-Americans were treated unfairly and weren’t allowed to play in the National League. They had to play in the Negro League. The thing is, a lot of the Negro League teams were better than the National League teams, but the African-American players weren’t allowed to play. Willie started to play in the Negro Leagues at age 15 with the adults until “the major leagues ended their stupid rule barrin’ black guys“. Willie was signed to play with the New York Giants and lead them to the World Series! He could do it all, bat, run, throw. He became the best player of his time and he was a nice person.

Why I liked this book –  Well, first off, just LOOK at these illustrations! They’re MARVELOUS! -

willie2

I like the way the story is narrated, I love the ‘voice’ of the book! I can totally hear someone telling the story! The message is totally awesome – I hear the message “with great power comes great responsibility” in the story… oh wait that was Uncle Ben in Spiderman. Well, you still get that message in this book. Mr. Mays had great powers and he used them for good. The story says that if you work hard, you get great rewards even if you are up against tough things! There is a baseball glossary in the back of the book and all of Willie Mays statistics. I like how there are little fact boxes spread all throughout the book to tell you different facts about baseball at the time Willie Mays was playing. I think kids 6+ will enjoy this book!

Activities and Resources –

If you can’t visit the baseball hall of fame in real life, you can visit the website by clicking HERE and learn about Willie Mays. There are video biographies about Mr. Mays.

You can also visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum to learn more about the history of African-Americans in baseball – click HERE.

Check out all of Willie Mays baseball statistics HERE!

How about going out and playing baseball with your kids or taking them to a game (I suggest the Philadelphia  Phillies ;) ) ?

To find more Perfect Picture Books please visit Susanna Hill’s blog  HERE!

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The Fellowship for Alien Detection by Kevin Emerson

23 Jan

fellowshipforalienThe Fellowship for Alien Detection

By Kevin Emerson

432 pages – ages 9+

Will be Published by Walden Pond Press on February 26, 2013

Uncorrected Proof Reviewed

Something weird is going on… People all over the country are having dreams that aliens are coming down to Earth. In fact, it gets weirder. Some people, and the entire town of Juliette, Arizona are missing. Kid investigator, Haley, gets a “Fellowship for Alien Detection” from a super secret organization that wants to prove that aliens exist. Haley and her family go around the country to try to research “Missing Time” reports in the US and France. Another kid investigator and Fellowship winner, Dodger, is going to research Juliette. When Haley finds out the alien’s Missing Time pattern, She actually takes place in a missing time event – but instead of freezing in time, she kept moving. That’s where “the Alto” comes in. He’s like a secret agent. He put a device on Haley that made the Missing Time not effect her. They escape from the aliens and leave. Dodger is in Roswell when the aliens create a Missing Time event and Haley and the Alto arrive just in time to give Dodger one of those devices. Then they travel to the place where Juliette was – in a flying saucer. They then get inside the time loop around Juliette and want to save the people of the town, but the aliens are there and now the three investigators are the ones the aliens want to abduct!

This book rocked! Hailey and Dodger were awesome main characters. They were very modern kids that I think I’d be friends with (if they were real ;) ). I loved the plot of the story – alien abductions and trying to find proof of aliens. Maybe it is because we just visited Roswell NM this fall, but I was totally into the storyline! Mr. Emerson wrote a great action story for kids. It is full of excitement and kept me turning the pages. I recommend this book to kids 9+

Five out of five bookworms for “The Fellowship of Alien Detection! fivebooks

To learn more about Mr. Emerson and “The Fellowship for Alien Detection,” please visit his website by clicking HERE.

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The Girl Who Remembered Horses by Linda Benson

21 Jan

Today is Martin Luther King Day in the USA! I wanted to share my favorite MLK quote with you -

“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”

Martin Luther King leaning on a lectern. Deuts...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today is also my sister’s ninth birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSIE!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today I also have off of school! ;)

rememberedhorss

The Girl Who Remembered Horses

By Linda Benson

182 pages – ages 9+

Published by Musa Publishing on November 2, 2011

Sahara kept having dreams of horses. She dreams of riding them and how horses and human work together. She is told to forget about such silliness. Sahara lives in the future, past the Dark Days, and no one has ever ridden a horse. Horses are hunted and used as food. Sahara lives in the Trader’s Clan, people who find goods and trade them with other clans. When visiting the Gardener’s Camp, the Keeper of the Books gives Sahara an ancient book that has pictures of people riding horses. Sahara now knows that her dreams are real. Soon after finding the book, she saves a hurt horse from a group of hunters and tries to help it , but it escapes. Later, Sahara finds a dying horse and has to battle wild dogs to try to save the horse’s foal. Sahara is determined to raise the foal, but can she convince her clan that horses are more than just food?

This was an awesome dystopian book. I know a lot of people love horses and I think they will LOVE this book. I like horses, but I don’t think I am a huge fan and I LOVED this book too because it was written really well and it is a great adventure. The characters were original and I loved the dystopian world Ms. Benson created. I like Sahara. She is nice, smart and she perseveres. I thought the book ended a bit too soon, but maybe Ms. Benson is thinking of a second book (I hope). The book is a clean read for young advanced readers.

I give “The Girl Who Remembered Horses” 5 out of 5 bookworms!fivebooks

To learn more about Ms. Benson  and her books, please visit her website by clicking HERE, follow her on Facebook HERE or on Twitter HERE.

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Cracking the Code: Spreading Rumors by Kris Yankee

14 Jan

crackingthecodeCracking the Code: Spreading Rumors

By Kris Yankee

168 Pages – Ages 9+

Published by Nelson Publishing & Marketing on December 15, 2012

Toby Karlson (A.K.A. TK) was a pretty popular guy. That is, until he accidentally “hip checked” an elderly secretary at school when he was pushed into a table. Toby is suddenly hated and made fun of by pretty much every other 5th grader because rumors start going around about the incident which says that it is all Toby’s fault. His best friend, Drew, hates him the most and wants nothing to do with Toby and Toby doesn’t understand why. Toby wants to get his reputation back. He sees a chance when the 5th graders go camping, but needs help. Toby gets help from Morgan, a super smart but very “nerdy” kid. How can Morgan help Toby? And what about the class bully, who hates Toby too? Will Toby ever get his reputation back?

This was a good book about friendship, the harm of rumors and life as a fifth-grader. I do like the “code”. It is a series of rules Toby lives by and the “code” is the title of each chapter (like  “CODE 1 – No Matter What, Don’t Hip Check Little Old Ladies” – “CODE 2 – Sometimes Taking One for the Team Means Putting Your Head in a Toilet”). I like Uncle Jack, TK’s guardian (TK is an orphan). He’s pretty cool and sensible and gives TK good advice. I also like Morgan. There are a lot of references to ice hockey in the book which is fun for boys, but you don’t have to be a hockey fan to like it. Ms. Yankee also put some great humor in the story too. The word “cr**” appears a couple of times in the book. I don’t think it needs to be there, but other than that the book is a clean read. I recommend this book to kids 10+.

I give “Cracking the Code” 4 out of 5 bookworms.fourbooks

This is the second book by Ms. Yankee I have reviewed. She also wrote “Saving Redwind: A Wallpaper Adventure” (See my review HERE), a great fantasy adventure that I really enjoyed. To learn more about Ms. Yankee and her books, please visit her website by clicking HERE!

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Rebirth by Debbie Brown

7 Jan

rebirthRebirth
By Debbie Brown
181 pages – ages 14+
Published by GMTA Publishing on December 4, 2012

Aleksei didn’t know how it had happened. He didn’t even know WHO did it. Although he suspected it was aliens who were attacking the town. And he was trapped in some rubble from a building. He had lost all hope when two brothers, Mitch and Jamie, found him and dug him out. They hid and were able to steal an abandoned Jeep (all the humans abandoned town). They drove out of the town and picked up more kids they found along the way. The other kids were Krisztina, Ally, and the baby, J.J. The group of kids drove outside town into a park with hot springs and caves. They set up a shelter and lived there. They realize they are alone. They have no parents to help them and aliens all around them.  The kids have to get along, stay hidden in the caves and somehow manage to survive. until they came…

The Boxcar Children is one of my favorite series from when I was littler. I loved to read how the kids worked together. I especially loved the first book where the kids had to survive out in the woods in a boxcar and avoid being captured. I remembered getting very involved in that story. So why am I talking about the Boxcar Children? I felt the same way reading this book! I think it’s kind of a cool dystopian Boxcar Children book… only with aliens! :) The kids live in the woods with no adults… But then the aliens come and… Nah. Not gonna tell. ;) I LOVED this story! Ms. Brown’s writing style had me on the edge of my bean bag chair while I was reading it. The characters were great and they all had different personalities. The only problem I had with the book was the amount of cursing in it. I reviewed another great story Ms. Brown wrote, Amethyst Eyes (see my review HERE), and it didn’t have all the cursing. I think the cursing in this book could have been changed for younger kids to read. :( That was upsetting. The ending of the book was awesome and like Amethyst Eyes, there is a great message in the book about why we should care for our environment. I recommend this book to kids 14+.

I give “Rebirth” 4 out of 5 bookworms.fourbooks

To learn more about Ms. Brown and her books, please visit her website HERE.

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Chug The Bug: Chug Makes New Friends By Robert B. Hill and Brent Angie

17 Dec

mza_367884220627570142_320x480-75By Robert B. Hill and Brent Angie

Illustrated by Erin Koehler

28 Pages – Ages 4+

Published by Kid’s Play Books, LLC on July 25, 2012

*3D book app reviewed

Chug the Bug wondered what type of bug he was. He is furry, had lots of legs, and could roll into a ball. On the first day of mza_9093685666183686430_320x480-75school, Chug walks along and meets lots of bugs also walking to school. Chug hopes to make friends. The other bugs know what type of bug they are. Will Chug ever get to know what he is?

mza_6722643151630078941_320x480-75I reviewed the 3D book app version of this story. I wasn’t sure what 3D meant until I got the book. WOW! The illustrations are cool and they are 3D! The story is cute with really nice rhyme. I think pre-school kids will love the story and older kids will love the graphics. I like the noises accompanying the pages. You can tap different interactive things on each page.  The interactive objects are very cool. The graphics are just awesome. I think kids 4+ would enjoy this app!

I give “Chug the Bug”  5 out of 5 bookworms!fivebooks

Chug The Bug: Chug Makes Friends is available as an ebook at AMAZON or iTunes. The interactive app (what I reviewed) is available at iTunes or the Mac APP store.

To learn more about Chug the Bug, please visit the official website (there are also some games and activities on the site)  HERE.

The trailer shows how cute the illustrations are! :D

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The Lititz Kid-Lit Book Festival 2012

13 Nov

I usually don’t post on Tuesdays, but I wanted to tell you about the Lititz Kid-Lit Book Festival that was held this past weekend in Lititz, PA. This is the second year I went to the festival and I already can’t wait for next year! The festival is put on by Aaron’s Books, an AWESOME independent book store in Lititz (click HERE to go to their website). Sam of Aaron’s Books told me that the event was a big success and that they are already making plans for next year!

There was a bunch of authors there and it was really great to meet them! I really enjoyed hearing Nick Bruel talk about his book, “Bad Kitty”. He was totally funny! I like how he reads. Did you know that some of the foods Kitty gets from the supermarket in the book are real (like Chicken Cheesecake and Buffalo Burritos!)? Isn’t that cool?

I also took a kid writing class with author Jessica Spotswood (author of “Born Wicked”)! She talked about writing arguments in novels and about writing conversations.

We then got a chance to write our own arguments (we had ten minutes to write it and then we read them out-loud to the class). Here’s the argument I wrote in the class -

Angela twirled around and faced Jamie, anger flashing in her eyes.

“Are you saying that you want me to turn my back on my family, even Evan, to join a cause to stop some “Lord Darkness” from taking over, when I have NO IDEA what’s going on?!” She was at the verge of tears.

“Yes, Angela. They want us to help them. I agree that you shouldn’t walk away from everything you know, but this is important.” Jamie was calm as he spoke. ”You don’t want to be ruled by some maniac who thrives on shadows, do you?” Angela hated how calm he could be at times when she felt out of control. Jamie continued to speak.

“Why you…” She suddenly struck him. Jamie brought his hand up to his nose which was bleeding, his face scrunched in pain.

Angela gasped, “Sorry Jamie! I didn’t mean to! Please forgive me! I’ll go get Sarah. She’ll stop the bleeding.”

“It’s fine. Lets get you up to date.” Jamie replied, his voice pleasant and smooth.

I heard the author of the Library Mouse books, Daniel Kirk, read his books, play his guitar, and have a sing-along! He was nice!

I also joined in a drawing class with authors Brian Biggs (Everything Goes) and Amy Ignatow (The Popularity Papers). In the class, I drew a cover for a possible comic book titled “The Cow Who Loves Steak” ;) ! I liked the tips they gave us for drawing comics! They both made us laugh! :)

I got to meet Froggy of…well…Froggy fame :) Who doesn’t LOVE the Froggy books?!?

I also got to go to a great seminar by kid mystery writer Michael Biel (The Red Blazer Girls books) who talked about writing mysteries and what it takes to be a good detective. He also told us where he got his idea for his newest book, “Summer at Forsaken Lake”. It came from a movie called “The Seaweed Strangler” he made with his brother when he was 12! He showed us the movie too ;) It was very funny!

I also got to talk to A.S. King, Courtney Sheinmel, and Alison Formento, who were all awesomely nice!

Best of all I got some great books to read! :)

I got (going down):

“Stella Batts Book 1: Needs a New Name” by Courtney Sheinmel

“Elf Realm Book 1: The Low Road” by Daniel Kirk

“The Popularity Papers Book 4: The Rocky Road Trip of Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang” by Amy Ignatow

“The Summer at Forsaken Lake” by Michael Beil

“These Bees Count!” by Alison Formento

“A Bad Kitty Christmas” by Nick Bruel

“Library Mouse” by Daniel Kirk

“Everything Goes: In The Air” by Brian Biggs

After the festival, my parents took us to Chocolate World in Hershey PA.

Authors + Books + Chocolate = AWESOME time!

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