The Kneebone Boy by Ellen PotterMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Lovely, lovely, lovely writing. I loved the writing in this book. So many beautiful descriptions or funny turns of phrase.
Here's one example. But it's just one and not even necessarily my favorite. "Of course, carousels are completely for infants, but if you had discovered one unexpectedly and you didn't have to pay for a ticket, you would have ridden it too, you know you would." (p138)
Was not as big a fan of where the plot took us but that is just me. Highly recommended.
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The Trouble with Chickens by Doreen CroninMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This will be a fun one to introduce to the kids next year. The illustrations add just the right dash of fun to the already hilarious story. This is one of those ones that is enjoyable on two levels. The target audience for this one (first and second grade) will love that this is a CHAPTER book they can read. They will love the characters and the pictures. What they may not recognize, however, was the skill with which the voice of this story (JJ) was written. Total noir detective. Fun for the grownups reading the story, too!
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A Nest for Celeste: A Story About Art, Inspiration, and the Meaning of Home by Henry ColeMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Love the illustrations. Love the tie-in to history (Audubon ... only wish he'd made different choices about sketching live animals!) Love the animal characters (I think Lafayette might be my favorite). AND I think kids will actually like this one. That is not always true of "buzzed about" books.
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Julia Gillian And The Dream Of The Dog by Alison McGheeMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
An easy read in terms of reading level (it might be 327 pages, but the layout is double spaced so it goes very quickly) but not as much in terms of content.
Julia loves her dog Bigfoot. But Bigfoot is getting old. You can guess what happens. But that's good. It wouldn't hurt so badly if there hadn't been so much love to begin with.
Loved the whole "controlling for variables" bit. May have to try that for my own organizational mishaps. :/
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The Snow Day by Komako SakaiMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I do like her books. They are very quiet books ... but that's the charm. Share with one or two little ones as you cuddle. This one was about a snow day for a little kindergarten rabbit. They feel a little cooped up all day until it finally stops snowing just before bedtime. Love the ending. They can play outside in the snow again tomorrow when daddy gets home.
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Apple Pie ABC by Alison MurrayMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
It was cute ... and a change from many alphabet books in that the letters actually did string together sentence fragments that told a story about a little dog who really, really, really loved apple pie.
Super cute. Not necessarily a have to but a like to.
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The Day-Glo Brothers by Chris BartonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
FINALLY got around to this one. Loved the art direction and how the book started out in black and white but as the story progressed more color was added to the layouts. It's just one of those quirky stories that kids (oh, let's be fair ... all of us!) find fascinating.
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The Faceless Ones by Derek LandyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
OOOH! Super good ... if you're OK with this one being a little more intense than the others.
Lots of action and world almost ending. SERIOUS CLIFFHANGER. Can't wait for number four. Will have to think ... I know kids liked to check out one and two just for the skeleton on the cover. Do I get this one as well? SLJ says grades 5-8. Here's another one. Need to keep the collection relevant to the older students. But boy howdy IT NEVER FAILS that the third graders will try to check them out every single time.
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How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous by Georgia BraggMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Fascinating. Our GT teacher heard about this book on NPR and told me about it. I was on the hold list at the library for almost three months!
It might have been a five star but the author did use a sort of sarcastic tone that several times actually interfered with getting the information across.
That said ... in a morbid sort of way this is just super interesting. I think I might have to get it for our school collection. All these famous people. Some of them I'd had an idea ... but I learned something from each entry.
Grateful for modern medicine!
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Square Cat by Elizabeth SchoonmakerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I liked this one. It's OK to be different ... a square cat in a round world.
And I don't even like cats.
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Spellbinder by Helen StringerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
OOOH. I liked this one. A great story with just the right spooky touches.
And superb writing.
First lines ... "It was Wednesday. The day of the week when it feels like Friday will never arrive. And it was cold. Not cold enough for snow, but that autumn cold--bright and bitter, the wind sharp with the promise of winter. It was no day to be outside. It was a day to be inside, curled up on the couch with a steaming mug of hot chocolate."
(Ironic to be reading that on a day where it's already 90 degrees plus outside.)
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except if by Jim AverbeckMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Yay! Two picture book successes today (the last couple of days have been hit and miss :X).
Great for sequencing or predicting as a model text. Or Just For Fun.
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