Tag Archives: reading

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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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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PPBF! Miss Lady Bird’s Wildflowers by Kathi Appelt

4 Jan

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 like that this story is about how one person can make a big difference.

ladybirdMiss Lady Bird’s Wildflowers – How a First Lady Changed America

By Kathi Appelt

Illustrated by Joy Fisher Hein

40 pages – ages 4+

Published by HarperCollins on February 15, 2005

Theme/Topic – Nonfiction, First Ladies, Nature

Opening and Synopsis –

“Deep in the heart of Texas lives a woman who loves flowers. “Wildflowers,” she says, “are the stuff of my heart!”

“There was a time when our roadsides were ugly. The were cluttered with billboards, rusted old cars, and miles of trash.

They might still be this way if not for the woman we know as Lady Bird Johnson.”

Claudia Alta Taylor was born on December 22, 1912 in Texas. Her nanny called her Lady Bird because she was pretty. This book tells the life of Lady Bird Johnson from her birth to her days in school to marrying Lyndon B Johnson and becoming the First Lady of the United States. Lady Bird Johnson with the help of her husband was able to get Congress to pass the “Highway Beautification Act” which cleaned up all the roads across America and planted wildflowers in  the trash and junk’s place.

Why I liked this book – This is a great Nonfiction book! I like that it taught me about a person I didn’t know about – “Lady Bird” Johnson (I think maybe a lot of kids don’t know who she was). She was more than the wife of Lyndon B. Johnson (Heeeyy… I just realized! Both of their initials are “L.B.J.” :) ). I liked learning about the National Wildflower Research Center that Lady Bird started and how they try to preserve wildflowers and birds.  The story of her life is told in a nice way that was interesting to me. The story is pretty long and is a good picture book for older kids, but I think it would make a great read aloud for parents and kids. The illustrations are marvelous! When I was reading the book I thought the pictures really made me calm. See what I mean? -

ladybird2

Activities and Resources –

There is a wildflower identification spot it game in the back of the book. There are pictures of different wildflowers and you have to find them in the book.

I think driving around and looking at the wildflowers with your kids would be a good activity. Maybe get a field guide to try to identify native wildflowers in your area.

You could visit the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas in Austin (click HERE to go to their website). That would be a cool thing to do.  If Texas isn’t close you could find a local nature center and see if they have information about wildflowers native to your area.

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

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Don’t Feed the Boy by Irene Latham

19 Dec

dontfeedboyDon’t Feed the Boy

By  Irene Latham

Illustrated by Stephanie Graegin

289 pages – ages 10+

Published by Roaring Brook Press on October 16, 2012

What 11 year-old kid wouldn’t LOVE to live in a zoo??? Whit Whitaker, that’s who! Whit did not like living in a zoo, but he had no choice. His mom was the zoo director and his dad was the elephant keeper, but  his parents seem more interested in the animals than him. Whit hated living at the zoo. He wasn’t allowed to go out of the zoo at all. He was even home schooled (or is that zoo schooled?) right in the zoo by a tutor. Whit didn’t have any friends and parents that didn’t know he existed most of the time.

Whit notices a girl that comes and draws pictures of the birds at the zoo. He sees her almost every day and decides to talk to her. Whit and Stella (the Bird Girl) start meeting every day at the zoo and become good friends. Whit learns that Stella’s father abuses her family through violence and she comes to the zoo to get away from her home. Whit wants to help his friend, but helping her may get him into a lot of trouble.

This was not the usual action adventure story I love to read. In fact here wasn’t much action and maybe just a little adventure, but I really liked the story. I cared about what happened to Stella. I wanted Whit’s parents to pay attention to him. They were both great characters. Ms. Latham’s writing style really let me get to know the characters. I liked that they both needed each others friendship and they helped each other. The story had a strong message about abusive families (both kids had abusive families, although Stella’s was a violent one and Whit’s parents just didn’t pay attention to him). There was some cool stuff about all the behind the scenes at the zoo in the book when Whit shows Stella around. I really enjoyed reading about that. Although the book talks about abusive families, it is written really well for kids.  I was sad I found some editing errors in the book (misplaced periods, a couple of places Whit’s name wasn’t capitalized), but I liked the story so much I didn’t think about that when I gave the book my rating. I recommend this book to kids 10+ only because it deals with the subject of abuse.

Five out of five bookworms for excellent friendship story “Don’t Feed the Boy.”

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To learn more about Ms. Latham and her books, including “Don’t Feed the Boy,” Please visit her website HERE.

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A Day To Be Thankful

21 Nov

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. A day to be thankful. A day for giving. A day for family and friends. A day for eating turkey and mashed potatoes and thinking about all the things you should be Thankful for.

I am Thankful for my mom and dad and my sister Josie, all the rest of my family, my friends, my home and my life. I am Thankful for all the people who visit my blog and take the time to read it and comment. I am Thankful I get to go to school and learn.

What are you Thankful for?

One more thing I am Thankful for at this time of year – COLD WEATHER…okay maybe not the cold weather, but that means it brings SNOW!! I LOVE SNOW! I am Thankful that we live in a place that gets a bunch of snow in the winter. :D

I hope we get snow.

Speaking of snow, I have two great winter picture books with snow in them to tell you about today! They both get a rating of 5 bookworms from me!

Snow Games

By Joanna Marple

Illustrated by Maja Sereda

31 pages – ages 3+

eBook Published by uTales,  2012

Bear, Owl, Squirrel, and Mouse are going out to play in the snow. They go sled racing, but Mouse came in last. When they have a snowball fight, Mouse’s snowballs fall too short. Will Mouse find a snow game he can shine at?

The story in this book is very nice. I love books about believing in yourself and realizing you don’t have to be the best at everything. The illustrations are cute and the rhyme of the story is excellent! Mouse was a very nice character who wanted to prove that he wasn’t horrible at all the snow games. I think kids 3+ will like this book!

To learn more about Joanna Marple, please visit her website HERE. Click on the book to go to uTales to find her book.

Next up is -

Cold Snap

By Eileen Spinelli

Illustrated by Marjorie Priceman

40 pages – ages 5+

Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers on October 9, 2012

It’s really cold in the town of Toby Mills. At first the kids enjoyed playing in the snow, but the temperature keeps dropping and the townspeople are freezing. The icicle on the statue of the town’s founder (General Toby)’s nose keeps growing each day and the temperature keeps dropping! The townsfolk are having problems, Mr. Moffat was stuck on the train for 2 hours because the doors froze shut. People are slipping on the ice. The chilly wind blew kids off the playground swings!  As it gets colder and colder, the townspeople (and their pets) do everything they can to stay warm. The townspeople complain to the mayor, but what can he do? Then the mayor’s wife hatches a plan to thaw everyone out.

BRRR – I got chills just reading this book! I love the story about all the townspeople and how they deal with the COLD. The mayor’s wife’s solution was an awesome ending to the story. I won’t give it away, but I will say that it was a great way to lift the townsfolk’s spirits (and warm them up).  The story makes you feel happy. :) The illustrations are amazing, you can feel the cold in them too! The picture I have of the cover of the book doesn’t show how frosty it is. It is actually all sparkly and it gives it a very pretty effect. There is also a great recipe at the end of the book that you use snow to make…all I need now is snow for it – LET IT SNOW! I think kids 5+ would like this book!

To learn more about Mrs. Spinelli and her other AWESOME books, please visit her website HERE. Cold snap can be found in all bookstores!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

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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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The Firestone Crystal by Linda M. David

12 Nov

Happy Monday! :D

First I wanted to tell you, that the online November issue of the Upper Bucks Free Press is up! I wrote an article about Children’s Book author/illustrator Lee Harper for the issue and told you about it on my  blog on the first of November (click HERE to read it), but because of the hurricane the editors were not able to get the online version published until just now! You can read it by clicking HERE (check on page 15 ;) )!

I also went to the Lititz Kid-Lit book festival on Saturday! It was a lot of fun! I got to meet a bunch of AWESOME author and illustrators and take a writing and illustration class. I will blog about it later this week.

Now on to my review!

The Firestone Crystal

By Linda M. David

282 pages – ages 9+

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Agathea (A.K.A. Thea) was angry with her mother because she had canceled their vacation and were sending her to live with her grandfather for six weeks while her parents were at an archaeological dig. When her grandfather’s childhood friend, Xenn (who just happens to be an ALIEN!), suddenly comes and asks Thea to join an outer space school called the Firestone Academy, Thea agrees. Thea becomes the first human at the Academy. She easily made a friend in her roommate, Annalije, but not all the kids are friendly to Thea. Just as Thea starts getting used to the Academy, someone starts sabotaging the school and Thea starts having weird dreams that have something to do with what is going on at the school. Thea and Annalije try to solve the mystery and stop the saboteur. Will they be able to save Firestone Academy?

Ms. David wrote a really great book. The story also started out a bit slow, but by the time Thea was getting started at the Academy, I was hooked! I liked learning about the other creatures and aliens, cool technology, and the landscape of the planet at the school. I wish that there would be a sequel to it because I really enjoyed  the characters and reading about life at the Academy. I especially liked the character of Annalije. She was cool, kind, and a bit like a modern girl (just with cat-like body because she is an alien). I liked how Ms. David kept me guessing who the bad guy was (I can usually figure out what the ending will be in books, but not in this one). There were a couple of confusing parts to the story like how Thea went from a spoilt brat (I just learned the word “spoilt” from the book and I like it better than “spoiled”. I think I’ll use that from now on ;) ), to a caring, nice person in a super short period of time, but mostly the story was a great read. I recommend this book to kids 9+!

*NOTE I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I give “The Firestone Crystal” four out of five bookworms.

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Chase Danger, Super-Spy, Book 1 – Mystery of the Special Sauce by Lisa and Chase Olivera

5 Nov

Chase Danger, Super-Spy, Book 1 – Mystery of the Special Sauce

By Lisa and Chase Olivera

Illustrated by Adam Goodman

32 pages – ages 6+

Published by Magic Fire Music Studio, 2011

Chase Danger is a six-year-old super-spy. Actually, Chase was a super-spy since birth. His job: take out super bad guys who have super bad guy plans. Chase uses awesome spy gadgets like the “Chasin’ Danger Super-Spy Speeder”. In this book, Chase goes to stop his arch-nemesis,  the evil Igor Fimple. Fimple teams up with the evil Mr. Crocs, another long-time enemy, and the villains try to take over the world with a mind-controlling sauce that they added to innocent pizzas at Chase’s favorite restaurant! Will Chase Danger, Super-Spy, save the world from Igor Fimple’s evil plans? Will he ever get a normal pizza again? Read the book to find out!

This is the first book in the Chase Danger Series. I’ve already asked my mom to get me the second book ( “Pirates of Pineapple Island” ) because I liked this one so much! OK, it’s kind of hard to imagine a six-year-old kid doing all this stuff, but it is a fun story! It is a picture book with a lot of action and adventure. There is some comic type violence, but only Chase beating up Igor Fimple’s goons/thugs/minions (whatever you prefer). The comic book like illustrations are great and add a lot to the story. All the spy gadgets and ear described in the book is really cool. I also really like that the book is written by Lisa Olivera and her son, Chase, who came up with most of the ideas.  It has everything a kid could want in an adventure story- spies, bad guys, super cars, flying saucers, and pizza. The book also comes with a CD that you can listen to real people play out the book and read it to you and also hear songs created my Ms. Olivera’s husband. The CD is called “read along theater” and it is more than just someone reading the story, it’s like a whole play going on. That was cool! I recommend this book to children 6+!

I give Chase Danger 5 out of 5 bookworms!

To learn more about the Chase Danger Series, please visit the official website (click HERE).

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The Storytellers: Anterria Book 1- by Rebecca McKinsey

29 Oct

HELLLOOOOO FRANKENSTORM a.k.a. Sandy! Thank you for giving me a day off of school but I hope you don’t knock out our internet connection! If I am gone for a couple of days, you’ll know why – no electricity, but I am hoping that doesn’t happen. I hope everyone in the path of the storm is safe and dry!

Now on to my review!

Storytellers: Anterria Book 1

By Rebecca McKinsey

230 pages – ages 9+

Published by Booklocker.com, Inc. on December 15, 2010

Hannah Merchant was a tomboy that liked creating her own worlds and stories. One day she was at a party her wealthy parents made her go to. She snuck up to the library of the building and started writing in her journal. When she got bored of that, she went outside, and everything went black. She awoke and found herself in the path of Aaron McKay, who was being chased by an evil shadow creature. He pulled her along until they were safe and far away from it. Aaron took her to a train station. There he explained some of the things that were going on, like the reason he was being chased. Hannah finds out she is a Storyteller, like Aaron and she has powers she never knew she had. Books and illustrations  The train conductor took Hannah and Aaron to Anterria, a world different from ours. There they enter a dangerous war between the villagers of Anterria and the King and his men. The shadow creature is there too, taking over all. Will Hannah and Aaron come out alive?

I enjoyed reading this book. I loved the plot. The action in it was exciting but written well for kids. The reading level is good for older kids or advanced readers and it is a clean read. I also thought the story idea was unique. I liked the mythical creatures Ms. McKinsey wrote into the story (like pixies, centaurs and satyrs). Hannah is a great main character who loves writing and creating her own worlds. I liked her a lot. The Storytellers were pretty cool. I like that what they say is true in their story, becomes true. There were parts of the story I wished were explained a little more because I got “lost” but for the most part, the story read well. I like the cover, I thought it was kind of pretty. The second book in this series is called Atlantis. I already asked my mom if she can get it! I recommend this book to kids 9+.

Four out of five bookworms for this great adventure story!

**Note – I got a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

To learn more about to learn about Ms. McKinsey and The Storytellers series, click HERE.

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