Showing posts with label Week in Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Week in Review. Show all posts

Looking Forward ~ Looking Back... This Week In Books



This week brought some great books my way. I want to thank LibraryThing, Chronicle Books, Tundra Books, and Amazon's Vine program for these good reads.




ON THE NIGHTSTAND:



I thought Janice Weaver's Hudson was a very good reader-friendly history book. She doesn't bore you with dates but presents the facets of Henry Hudson's story in lively fashion. I'll be reviewing it on the site next week.



(Thank you LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program for the review copy.)



Chicken Big is a smart book for little kids. I really liked that it wasn't as fatuous as other 'chicken' books. Chicken Big is entertaining .AND. also has things to think about.


Reviewed it here.



A Long Piece of String is a fun ABC book that actually surprised me at first because I couldn't figure out where the author/illustrator was taking me.


The string is strung around creatures and objects from A to Z.



INCOMING:





Day and Night is based upon the Pixar short featuring these fabulous little guys.


Adult fair here.


The description for The Wave -- In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean -- says:


For centuries, mariners have spun tales of gargantuan waves, 100-feet high or taller. Until recently scientists dis­missed these stories—waves that high would seem to violate the laws of physics. But in the past few decades, as a startling number of ships vanished and new evidence has emerged, oceanographers realized something scary was brewing in the planet’s waters. They found their proof in February 2000, when a British research vessel was trapped in a vortex of impossibly mammoth waves in the North Sea—including several that approached 100 feet.



Looking Forward ~ Looking Back... This Week In Books


I'm still reeling from last week's bad read. Probably because I read another book that sort of let me down. Fortunately the library has delivered up Ook and Gluk which had me smiling because it had my kids rolling on the bed laughing.


ON THE NIGHTSTAND:





Well, this one wasn't as fun as I was expecting. I picked it up at the library on a lark and was hoping that there would be cool information that I could use with the kids. Info, for example, on how to make fire like Native Americans, or a solar oven.


I have found information on the later, although I'm sure it's sufficient to build my own. And I found some interesting information on sanitation that could be useful at campsites, but in general the book seems bloated and repetitive at this point. And it suffers from funky artwork and a too heavy dose of 'cutesy'.





Okay, Ook and Gluck isn't anyone's idea of high literature but it had my kids laughing and reading and re-reading it.


If anything the tone is ever more low-brow than Captain Underpants; but Pilkey proves, yet again, that he knows his audience.


BUY THIS if you child liked Captain Underpants.


INCOMING:




Dark Life takes place in the future when the polar caps have melted and most of the world is underwater. The principal character is 15 year old Ty, who is the first child born in the underwater frontier.


His experience in the deep is thrown into contrast by Gemma, a feisty above-world girl that he meets in the first chapter. (Which is as far as I've gotten.)


This looks to be an good sci-fi type book for middle graders.



Outgoing:::




Riding Invisible is just excellent. I highly recommend this one to people that like a good ole satisfying story, well told.

I know you'll be tempted when the movie comes out. Get it at the library.


Looking Forward ~ Looking Back... This Week In Books


Gosh, can it be true that
Summer is almost over.

























Well, I Am Number Four is not one you'll see reviewed on our site. It was just too much of a disappointment.


While we expect to see big hype because it's a franchise of the movie (and not the other way around), we can't recommend it for Young Adults. The writing is just juvenile (yes, it would be okay for most Middle Grade Readers** although it is written at the Entering 4th Grade level - AR 4.0), and the plotting just doesn't compare to Hunger Games or any other books that it's being compared to.


**There are 2 suggestive scenes where John and his girlfriend 'might have done something' if they hadn't been interrupted. Handled well, I don't know that Elementary aged children would even notice.


It Wood Be Fun is a cool book that we'll be reviewing shortly. The author has years of working with children as young as 5 and the projects range from very simple to more complex, 1/2 hour to over 2 hours.







INCOMING:::







Can't remember who-all of my LibraryThing buddies recommended this book, but it's now worked it's way to the top of the TBR.


The Product descriptions says:


Tormented and abused by his older brother Will, Yancy runs away from home on the night that his brother viciously attacks his horse, Shy. With just a backpack, a flashlight, his horse, and a journal, Yancy takes to the California desert on a journey of self-discovery. There, he will learn the hardships of being homeless, experience his first kiss, and meet a Mexican laborer, Tavo, who has a thing or two to teach him about life and love.


Absolutely brilliant writing and Absolutely NOT for kids. Clinch has come out with a wonderful second book that is even more engrossing than Finn was.


I'm reading Kings of the Earth now and based on what I've seen thus far, I'd recommend it those who like Cormac McCarthy or Castle Freeman.



Looking Forward ~ Looking Back
This Week In Books


Who would guess that horror would be the theme of the week. But like bookends on either side of Rick Riordan's most excellent "Red Pyramid" my reads were creepy tales. The "Prince of Mist" takes place at the verge of World War II on a beach where an old evil lies in wait. "The Boneshaker" takes place even further back in history, at the beginning of the 20th Century. And in it's case, the evil comes seeking the small town of Arcane.


Outgoing:








Red Pyramid: I must admit that I was worried that this new series wouldn't stand up to the wonder that is The Percy Jackson series. BUT it did. And if anything, Red Pyramid proves Rick Riordan is one of the best kidlit authors out there today. This book is smart and funny and I think it's great that there is so much to learn.

The story is told from the perspective of siblings, and it's got it's roots in Egyptian mythology. Yes, there's a similarity to the Greek god motif of The Olympians, but if anything, RP is even funnier -- and certainly more cheeky.








Prince of Mist is a Gothic-styled horror novel. There's no graphic violence but instead a creeping evil. And Zafon, of Angel Game fame, does a fabulous job of building tension in this 200 page novel.


The story takes place in a seaside community where the Carver family has moved.On the eve of WWII, they settle into a house where, unbeknownst to them, a tragic tale previously unwound. It's a story of love, friendship, and the horrible power of a promise.


Teens and Young Adults.








Currently Reading Finished late last night:





Don't confuse Kate Milford's Boneshaker with that of scifi author Cherie Priest's. They are two different animals.

Milford's The Boneshaker is a creepy tale set in the sleepy little town of Arcane, Missouri, in 1913. It starts with an introduction to thirteen year-old Natalie, a girl whose more interested in machines than wearing dresses and conforming to stereotypes.

When Jake Limberleg and his traveling medicine show arrives, a series of strange events unfold that leaves Natalie scrambling for answers and a way to save her family and small town from the forces that threaten to tear it apart.



Milford writes well and the end of the book found me whipping through the pages, frantic to find out what happened.






Incoming:







Lost Cyclist: When I saw this one described on Amazon's Vine program list, I had to grab it.

The description reads: "In the late 1880s, Frank Lenz of Pittsburgh, a renowned high-wheel racer and long-distance tourist, dreamed of cycling around the world. He finally got his chance by recasting himself as a champion of the downsized “safety-bicycle” with inflatable tires, the forerunner of the modern road bike that was about to become wildly popular. In the spring of 1892 he quit his accounting job and gamely set out west to cover twenty thousand miles over three continents as a correspondent for Outing magazine. Two years later, after having survived countless near disasters and unimaginable hardships, he approached Europe for the final leg...." and he never made it.

What can I say. I want to know what happened to him in Turkey.




Dewey: The True Story of a World-Famous Library Cat

It's true. I haven't read this widely proclaimed book and it's about time. I mean, how can you not like an upbeat tail about cats and books and libraries.

Pam
Somewhere in the X-burbs



Looking Forward ~ Looking Back
This Week In Books

Sunday Salon

Didn't post last week because of the Holidays. But our reading hasn't slowed down much. Here's some of the books that have come into our home in the last couple of weeks.

In came:

Banana-Berry Smoothies and Other Breakfast Treats
My daughter brought this one home from school. I believe I detect a subtle message.


Farwalker's Quest
Just finished this one and loved it. In fact, it ended up on my best of 2009 list.


Cool Cat
(so-so)




The Wolves in the Walls

(surprisingly so-so)




Medusa
(so-so)




The Dangerous Alphabet
(so-so)




Into Thin Air
(Obviously not kid fair. Very good)



K2
(Also not kid fair. Very good)



The Invention of Hugo Cabret
(good)



Zoe's Tale
(good YA)



Going Bovine
(Unusual YA. I quite liked it, but it won't be for everyone.)



Frindle
(My 9 yo is reading this for class. We're both liking it.)


Hope this gives you some ideas. Good Hunting and Good Reading one and all.

Pam
Somewhere in the X-burbs


Looking Forward ~ Looking Back

Sunday Salon

This week has had a great many books in and out of our home.

Out went Boneshaker. Okay, it didn't so much as go 'out' as got put back on Mount TBR. The tiny sepia font and the change of weather just got me out of the mood for steam-punk.

Also out was The Graveyard Book in both aural and written forms. I enjoyed it but didn't read it to my children. It's more of an MG (middle-school) read and not their cuppa tea right now.

In came:



Brave Charlotte and the Wolves




Coraline






The Forest of Hands and Teeth [sound recording]



The Goblin and the Empty Chair





Hannibal : Rome's Worst Nightmare



Interworld






Tales from Outer Suburbia


Uglies






The Vampire book




Some of these books, like the one by Mem Fox, we've already read. Others are planned for later in the week. The one's we adored I've put a
next to. (This could be either the children or myself. They are boy and girl; 7 and 9 at this time.) I will update this list, so check back.

Good Hunting and Good Reading one and all.

Pam
Somewhere in the X-burbs



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