Books to Inspire, Thrill and Engage Children
I so thoroughly enjoyed The Cay by Theodore Taylor that when I discovered Timothy of the Cay, I pounced on it. "Kids, look!" I cried. "Remember The Cay? Here's a prequel-sequel." "What does that mean?" they asked. Good question, I thought. What is a prequel-sequel? It's a masterfully-written story, telling Timothy's story before he ended... Continue Reading →
Children ready for short chapter books will enjoy the I Survived... books by Lauren Tarshis (the author of Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree). These action-packed adventures tell the story of a child, usually a boy, who has survived a catastrophe - like the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, 2005 Hurricane Katrina, etc. The stories... Continue Reading →
Rendi has a problem - an attitude problem. In my childhood, a General Bad Attitude (GBA) was grounds for punishment. In Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin, Rendi has run away from home, so his parents aren't around to punish him. Instead, he's forced to work as a chore boy at an inn... Continue Reading →
As I browsed the library's website and shelves, I often picked up The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby, but put it right back down. I wasn't sure I wanted to commit to it - I wasn't in the mood for a fantasy novel (which it isn't!), I needed to find picture books to review... Continue Reading →
Every time I read a book by Patricia MacLachlan, I am in awe of her gift of telling simple, yet heartfelt stories. White Fur Flying is no exception. Zoe's family rescues dogs. Not just any dogs, her mother rescues Great Pyrenees, "140 pounds of white fur." (To be honest, I'm not a dog lover, and... Continue Reading →
Like every other 12-year-old, Jim Davis longs for thrills and adventures. And unwittingly, he finds it when he comes across a ring of pirates. These pirates aren't friendly, swash-buckling type. They are serious smugglers. At first, Jim finds them to be friendly and interesting. But his 'friend' Marah turns out to be more dangerous than... Continue Reading →
Action. Adventure. And a female protagonist!? Yes! Bird McGill has always wanted to fly an airplane. Her current obsession is a P-40 Warhawk, the plane the US is flying when it first enters World War II. Born to Fly by Michael Ferrari tells Bird's story of not fitting in with the other girls, of finding... Continue Reading →
Personally, I'm not a huge fan of holiday books - except a few select Thanksgiving & Christmas books. But at my local library I found a Valentine's Day book I really enjoyed. I have always enjoyed Nate the Great, the star of short mysteries for children learning to read. Nate the Great and the Mushy... Continue Reading →
Kids who love superheroes will love Question Boy Meets Little Miss Know-It-All by Peter Catalanotto. Question Boy wanders his neighborhood, asking questions of all the superheroes he meets, including Garbage Man, Wonder Waitress and Mailman. He scares all of them off with his questions, until he meets... Little Miss Know-It-All! He asks her questions, and... Continue Reading →
I've never enjoyed ice skating - too cold of a sport for me. But reading Twelve Kinds of Ice by Ellen Bryan Obed almost makes me want to skate. A cross between a picture book, a novella and a memoir, Twelve Kinds of Ice builds the anticipation for all the different kinds of ice for... Continue Reading →
Cultivating Readers 