The soft and misty nature of the illustrations add to the poetical nature of the telling of the tale of the origins of a house: the door that was once a colossal oak, the stones that were once underground, the bricks that were once mud, etc. A useful story to introduce young children to how humans make use of our natural resources.
Category Archives: Reviewer’s Library Type
How to Dress a Dragon
The illustrations are cute and cartoon-like, and will draw kids in — I mean, with a dragon and giant orange polka-dotted underwear on the cover, it’s gotta be good, right? The story itself is likely only to appeal to a particular audience of very young children who may find the struggles to dress the dragon reminiscent of scenarios they may have experienced when they were small. Others drawn by the illustrations may find the story a bit disappointing.
You Are Not a Cat!
With very simple text, and much repetition, this is a book intended for very young students, celebrating the power of imagination. It consists of an argument between a duck and a cat, as the cat tries to convince the duck to act like a duck, even though the duck keeps insisting he’s a cat. The argument wraps up when duck decides to be a parrot, explaining that the day before he was a squirrel and last week he was a rooster, and tomorrow he intends to be a cow. The cat gives up.
The Last Bogler
Recommended as a satisfying conclusion to a trilogy. If you’re going to purchase this for your library, you’ll want to get the first two books, How to Catch a Bogle, and A Plague of Bogles, too. Each book does provide enough context individually so that if a student picks them up out of order they will still make sense. Set in the streets of England in the days before there were social services available to look after children on their own, these books tell the tales of street kids who make their way in the world as assistants to a Bogle Hunter, working to clear the sewers and basements of London of the child-snatching bogles terrorizing the town. It’s dangerous work, and the books are descriptive enough to offer a few goosebumps, but not overly done in the gruesome department.
Stay in the Game
Megan Atwood’s short novella, Stay in the Game, is riveting from page one. The
overriding theme is that ”Is it okay to do harm for a good motive?” and “Does not knowing the
consequences of an action, make one not responsible?” James is desperate to get medical help
for his dying grandfather. He is contacted by the Benefactor to accomplish 10 tasks with the
possibility of winning 10 million dollars. He is given no information as to the purpose of the
tasks. As he completes each task, he becomes in more aware of the damage he is doing to
innocent people. The story ends with a cliffhanger, setting up for the next book in the series.
The writing is high interest, action packed, fast moving with concise writing and easily
understood vocabulary. An enjoyable read for the reluctant reader or an ELL student. The
cover design seems to imply the book could be about a sport, which is very misleading. Stay in
the Game is a fast, good read that is very appropriate for the YA audience.
Monster Science: Could Monsters Survive (And Thrive!) in the Real World
This book discusses whether different monsters (Frankenstein, vampires, yetis, sea monsters, etc.) could exist. “If you’re thinking this book will tell you monsters are definitely, no-doubt-about-it real, you’re out of luck. Instead, it will give you information to help you decide for yourself what is fact and what is fiction…”
The text gives the history to how these monsters came to be well known and then includes information on why a person might act like a zombie for example. The illustrations would appeal to a younger set of students, but the text is written for an older student base. It is broken up with text features such as headings, text boxes, and monster facts. The end of each section includes a short quiz and there is a lengthy index in the back of the book.
While this topic appeals to many of my students and I think the book will be a popular check out, I think it is a book that students will read bits and pieces.
The Darkest Magic (Spirits and Thieves # 2)
The Darkest Magic is the second book in what will be a trilogy titled Spirits and Thieves. This series is a spin-off of Morgan Rhodes very popular six book Falling Kingdom series. The Spirits and Thieves series will appeal to those who enjoyed the Falling Kingdom series, as it provides insights into the backstory of that series. The Darkest Magic does not stand alone. The reader must read A Book of Spirits and Thieves for The Darkest Magic to make sense. Once the reader reaches for The Darkest Magic, she enters a world of high fantasy.
The first book is of modern day sisters, Crystal and Becca, from Toronto, Canada, who find a book of magic that sends Becca’s spirit to Ancient Mytica. This is a powerful book and there are enemies who would kill them for it. In the second book, the sisters are reunited in modern-day Toronto, but they have to deal with the dangers from the Ancient world, and the danger of the evil Hawkspear Society (a cult-like group), that will do anything to find the sisters and obtain the book.
This is a very exciting contemporary saga that will engage YA readers of fantasy and adventure.
How To Disappear
How to Disappear is a thrilling mystery told in the dual narration of the hunter (Jack) and the hunted (Nicholette). Nicholette, a popular HS cheerleader who has never been in trouble, witnesses the murder of a young woman in the woods near her house. Jack, a straight-A student athlete about to graduate from HS, is from a family of criminals. In fact, his father was a hit man and his older brother is in jail for armed assault. But once the murder occurs, Nicholette goes on the run to get away from the murderer, and Jack’s brother forces him to do what he can’t do himself: track down Nicholette and kill her. If he doesn’t, Jack’s mother’s life is in danger, as is his own.
The rest of the book is a cat and mouse game between Nicholette and Jack. There is mystery, adventure, and forbidden love.
The Edge of the Light (Whidbey Island Saga # 4)
The Edge of the Light is the fourth and final (according to the jacket) book in the Whidbey Island Sage. If it is true that this is the last book in the series, then I encourage you NOT to read it, as it will leave you frustrated and feeling incomplete. The major plot threads are not resolved. The reader doesn’t have any inkling of what will happen to the main character, even though the author built intrigue with the storyline of an investigative journalist having tracked her down. The reader is left hanging, as if there were to be a fifth book. IF there is a fifth book, then I would encourage the reader to start with book one and continue through to the conclusion. It’s just that book four does not conclude the story.
This series will appeal to those who are familiar with western Washington state and the Puget Sound area. Set on Whidbey Island, the story centers on a group of teenaged friends facing a number of issues: A grandmother with nice real estate that is being exploited by her daughter while the grandson, Seth, tries to protect her; Seth’s girlfriend, Prynne, who he wants to stay with but is worried about her drug use; Derrick, a refugee from the war in Uganda who is trying to locate his sister, Rejoice; Jenn, who is experiencing romantic feelings towards her teammate Cynthia, but worrying how her Christian conservative mother will respond; and then there is a Becca. Becca can read people’s thoughts and tries to make sense of what they think and say. She tries to solve their problems without letting them know how much she actually knows.
The plot is full of the issues and challenges these teen friends experience: elder abuse, Alzheimer’s disease, drug use, lesbian relationships, and, of course, the paranormal abilities of Becca and her quest to keep this secret.
If a satisfactory conclusion wasn’t absent, this would be a fun read for YA mystery fans.
Gemini
Gemini, by Sonya Mukherjee, takes on the difficult struggle of conjoined twin seventeen year-old sisters Hailey and Clara. Joined from the waist down, at their spine, the girls cannot be surgically separated. Now seniors in high school, they each have their own dreams and aspirations, and these don’t match each others, nor their mother’s. Told from dual points of view, the reader feels the struggle of each girl, and witnesses their self discovery and self acceptance.
There are few fictional books on this subject. One by Sarah Corssant is, I feel, more realistic (case in point: many conjoined twins don’t even live to the age of 17). Nonetheless, this is an intriguing and heart wrenching story.