Spring Reading Thing

I have so many books sitting here waiting to be read that I thought I'd take part in the Spring Reading Thing Challenge. We are just supposed to list some books we'd like to get done with by June 21. Since I am a librarian - I am try to read some in my Jr. High and Teen Section - that means some of my titles will be in that genre. So here's my list:

Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata READ REVIEW
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by M.T. Anderson READ REVIEW
Shanghai Shadows by Lois Ruby
The Jade Dragon by Carolyn Marsden READ REVIEW
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Wild Swans by Jung Chang
Mothers of Famous Men by Archer Wallace
Forever Lily by Beth Nonte Russell READ REVIEW
The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood READ REVIEW
Of course, the list is always open-ended - I will have to add more if I get done with these!!!

Visit Callapidder Days and see who else is Doing the Spring Reading Thing!!!

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

I brought home a very large, and somewhat daunting, book to my (almost) 12 year old son the other night and said, "I need a book review - are you up for it??" He said, "Sure." And thus began his adventure with Brian Selznick's newest book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. My son came to me the next morning and said he knew exactly why it's a bestseller - he stayed up past midnight (yes, I was long asleep!!!) and only had 50 pages left to finish!! He does love to read, but he was a bit skeptical about this one when I handed it to him - I was thrilled to see that he enjoyed it. He loved the way the pictures helped to tell the story - "almost like a silent movie," he said. And my favorite quote: "I didn't know it was after midnight when I was reading, I just wanted to keep going!!!" SO, guess I have to say what millions are already saying, "It's a good one, pick up a copy and READ IT!!!"

Read what Selznick has to say about his book here.

Higher Power of Lucky

I finished The Higher Power of Lucky yesterday and wanted to turn right around and start it all over again!! I kid you not - it was THAT good! I fell head over heels for Lucky - an adorable little girl left without a momma or a dad. She is left with a guardian whom, she is sure, wants to leave her and head back to France. Lucky is spunky and adoring and sure to be one of my favorite new heroines!!! Grab a copy and read it soon!!
I wanted to add this extra blurb on upcoming excitement for the book as well:

SIMON & SCHUSTER CHILDREN’S PUBLISHING TO LAUNCH EXTENSIVE MULTI-PLATFORM NEWBERY CAMPAIGN FOR The Higher Power of Lucky

New York, NY, March 13, 2007 —Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing today announced a multi-platform marketing and publicity campaign for the 2007 Newbery medal winning THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY by Susan Patron and illustrated by Matt Phelan. The campaign kicks off with a brand new online video, featuring an interview of Susan Patron conducted by Cynthia Kadohata, author of the 2005 Newbery winning KIRA-KIRA, where Patron delivers a powerful message to kids about the importance of books.Rick Richter, the President of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing provides an introductory statement to the video, touching on the recent controversy surrounding the book and the groundswell of support the book has received – widely ranging from authors like Maurice Sendak and Neil Gaiman to a New York Times editorial. This video will be distributed through a number of online channels to librarians, educators and bookstores, as well as having a presence on more consumer oriented sites like youtube, google video and simonsays.com. The following is a link to watch the video, click here.

Hob Nobbing

Another thing I LOVE about my job - the chance to meet up with authors and chat!!! Yep, that was my night tonight - we had Kate Iola at our library to share her book and a question and answer session. She was wonderful!!! How can you not help but love a gal that was an avid book reader as a child - that's my kind of kid!! Here's a little about her - Her favorite author? John Sanford. Her degree? Molecular Pathology. Her home? An acreage in rural Iowa!! (See, I told you she was great!!)

Her book, Deadstock, is so relevant out here in the Heartland - what if only one cow contracted Foot and Mouth disease?? What would that do to the rest of the cattle, to our economy, to the nation as a whole??? It would be catastrophic - I didn't know much about this disease before I read the book, but it is frightening and would be a disaster to our state and nation. So you want to know what the results would be?? Hurry and read it before the sequel comes out next August!!

What an Honor!!

I read many book blogs daily - I love it AND it's great for my job - so it's two-fold. I post on my own book blog - again, I love it and it's partly for the job. I dream that one day I'll make it big in Bloggerland - people will tune into my posts daily for bits of wisdom (I know - BIG DREAM!!!) but I was so thrilled to see this at one of my favorite blogs - Big A Little a. Yup, Kelly's got a great children's lit blog and she's made it BIG!!! :) Thanks Kelly, for the shout out -

Big Bug Surprise

I LOVED her illustrations in Princess Penelope - can't wait to see this one!!! (Double click on the image to see it larger.)

Get Out of That Pit!

Yep, Beth Moore is one of my all-time favorites. If you ask me why - I have to say it's because she is so REAL. You read her books just like she is sitting in your living room chatting with you - and you realize that you are not alone in your struggles. She seems like a friend to me and I've never even met her. So - at a very low point - I saw this book, Get Out of That Pit, sitting on a bookshelf in our Christian Book Store and thought - that's me. I started reading, crying, and reading some more and now I am almost finished - it is amazing - wonderfully powerful reading. I challenge you to read it - you may not even realize you are in a pit - they are different for everyone - but we can all get out and enjoy what God has for us!!

AND, if you want to read what others think - then join us for the Bloggity Book Club at Little Bits of Life.

Veil of Roses

Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald is a novel about a woman from Iran that is sent to America on a short stay visa and given instructions to find a husband so she can stay in America and have a better life than women are allowed to have in Iran. I found it a fascinating book - I did not know all of the cultural standards for women in the Middle East and it was eye-opening for me. I thought it was well-written and quite a wonderful story of first love. Tami is a naive gal in a new country and her "finds" in this new country are quite inspiring and funny. As usual, I need to put a disclaimer out there because there was some very vulgar language and "racy"descriptions in a few parts as Tami meets up with Eva - a woman well-versed in American sexual culture - and tries to teach her a thing or two!! All-in-all, I thought it was a great read that really made me think about the freedoms we have here in America that other countries will do ANYTHING to have as well.

Water for Elephants

This will be a harder post for me - I have heard so many good things about this book, Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen. So, as soon as it came up ready for me - I started right in - well, I got MAYBE 20 pages and ran into quite a descriptive scene - WAY TOO MUCH info. for me. I thought, "No, people really like this - I'm going to keep going." Another 50 pages and yep, ANOTHER OVERLY descriptive scene - needless to say, I skipped to the end to get the main storyline figured out and ran into a few more "scenes" along the way so - no, I didn't finish it. I liked the storyline - set in the early part of the Great Depression - college veterinary student making his way through school - his parents are killed - he runs out of money for college - he decides to look for another path - happens upon a circus train - joins up with the circus as their "vet" - meets the girl of his dreams (who is already married), etc. I don't read much about circus life and that intrigued me AND the fact that many people have told me it was a good read, but with circus life comes raunchy sex scenes, I guess. I don't need those so I give up the book. (Yep, my conservative side is coming out!!)

The Myth of You and Me

Having just finished The Myth of You and Me by Leah Stewart, I almost want to pick it up and read it again. I know I missed so many good things the first time around - it was just one of those books - the characters were deep, the storyline was wonderful, and the whole "take" on friendship was one you just want to think over again and again. Now, as often is the case, I don't condone everything that happened in the book, it is definately NOT a christian novel, but it was a great story leaving you with a lot to think about!!!

Never Too Little To Love

Here's a "goodie" for Valentine's Day (or any day for that matter) - Never Too Little To Love by Jeanne Willis. This is just a wonderful children's book about a little mouse that loves something too tall to reach. We find out later in the book that it is a giraffe and the giraffe will have to bend down to make this work!! Absolutely adorable illustrations by Jan Fearnley - the pages are cleverly done with the mouse climbing on things to try to reach the giraffe. It's a good one - you won't be disappointed!!!

The Birth House

Just finished The Birth House by Ami McKay - it was one of those I could not put down. I love the concept - a midwife going around to all the local women and helping them give birth - she knew the tricks and the secrets and she was successful. However, advancements happen and an "experienced" doctor moves into town and threatens to end the midwife's trade. The story is enthralling - all of the details are wonderful and add to the authenticity of the novel. The main character, Dora Rare, learns her trade of midwifery from Miss Babineau and she strives to keep that trade alive even though the new doctor wants it ended. We follow Dora's very tough life - from a loser-of-a-husband to a scandal that forces her to leave her hometown - she leads a hard life, but comes out stronger. I'd love to see it end differently - maybe more resolved, but it is still a pleasing-ending and a book I thoroughly enjoyed!!

The Children Of Men

Surprise Today - We have a guest reviewer - my husband, Joe, read this one and I asked him to give a review. So here it is: The Children of Men by P.D. James.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The story was set about twenty or so years in the future and focused on a major dilemma for the human race. For some
unknown reason the entire human race became infertile and no one on earth was capable of producing children. The author effectively communicates the
distress that would be caused if one knew their species was about to become extinct. The author spends a considerable amount of time discussing the diminishing influence of Christianity and seems to attribute the infertility
problem with the lack of a moral center. I enjoyed the story and would
love to see a sequel written.

Online Novel - The Gecko and Sticky

I just found this online and I love it - I think I'm going to have my boys read along, in fact. The Gecko and Sticky in.....the Villian's Lair is an online novel where the author, Wendelin Van Draanen, publishes one chapter each week - complete with discussion questions and classroom activities. VanDraanen is the author of a wonderful series for 3rd-6th Grades/Jr. High called Shredderman. This series is always checked out at our library so although I haven't read it - I am assuming it is well-liked! Looks fun to me and very boy-friendly - and sometimes "boy" novels are hard to come by!

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

I have been told to read this book for some time now and finally got around to it. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon is the story of an autistic child told through his eyes. There are few books I've read that tell the story of an autistic person through his/her words. This one does - it is very interesting - just reading from his viewpoint open new understanding for me and what he can do mathematically almost frightens me!! It was a hard book to read though - it is absolutely amazing how hard his life is with autism and then how it's made even harder by parents that are having affairs, getting divorced, can't get along, etc. I hated the ending - it just left me with no resolution and I really wanted him to have a resolved future with his dad and mom, but all-in-all it was an enlightening read. Went very quickly too - a great, short read.

The Inheritance of Loss

About all I can on this one is, "I finished it." I was reading it for an online book club I like to take part in, but wow - it was one of those books that I had to literally push through to finish. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai is set mostly in India and deals with a conflict there between India and Nepal - but that is almost all I can tell you about the conflict and I read the whole book - I never quite understood what was going on. The characters could have been so much more appealing with stronger characterization - I never felt connected to any of them - the only reason I kept reading was to see how it all ended up. Guess I could have skipped to the ending for that! Beautiful writing - but really lacking in appeal to me - shoot, I was hoping for a good one.

We've All Got Bellybuttons

I rarely do a review on a children's book, but Chloe and I enjoyed this one SO much today, I just couldn't resist. We've All Got Bellybuttons by David Martin is WONDERFUL!!! The story goes through different body parts and different animals and shows how each can use that body part - then it asks the child if they can use the body part the same way - we were stretching our necks, closing our eyes, and even finding our bellybuttons - it was a great story and the illustrations help to "make" this book!

Summer of the War

Summer of the War by Gloria Whelan is another wonderful Junior High/Teen book that I just finished. I usually do enjoy Whelan's work so I wasn't surprised that this one scored high on my list. This book is set in Michigan during the summer of 1942. It is the story of Belle and how each summer she and her siblings go to the Upper Peninsula to spend some time on "their island". It is usually a summer filled with family time and lots of fun outdoors but this summer is different - their wealthy, Parisian cousin, Carrie plans to come and stay. It turns their summer upside down and Belle has to learn what it means to live with someone you have a hard time getting along with. Consequently - since it is set during 1942 we have two "wars" going on during this summer! The end takes quite a turn but really clinches the story - I enjoyed this one.

Tomorrow, The River

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Dianne E. Gray as an author!! I just finished Tomorrow, the River and once again she has mastered the fine art of fiction. I love her writing - this one is very interesting to me as it is set mostly in Iowa - along the eastern side - but that is where I am from so I could relate to a lot of that area. The story takes Megan Barnett from all she knows on her farm to the Mississippi River with her sister and her husband. The adventures they encounter on the river are interesting and mysterious. All in all - she leaves us with a wonderfully-told story of a girl growing up, finding out what she wants to do with her life, and meeting a man she may spend the rest of her life with. And if you enjoy this one - RUN out and read Holding up the Earth and Together Apart as well!

A Drowned Maiden's Hair

Whew - I FINALLY found a good read - wouldn't you know - just go to the Junior High section!!! A Drowned Maiden's Hair by Laura Amy Schlitz is my latest GREAT find. I had read somewhere that it was a good one and wherever it was, they were right!! This is a great tale of an orphan that is adopted by three sisters. It all seems like a fine arrangement until Maud - the orphan - is told she must stay in the upstairs and not be seen. That strikes an odd chord and begins Maud on her search to find out what the sisters are up to. Maud ultimately becomes "part" of their secrets and must decide just how much she is willing to endure for the sake of being loved. It is a tale with many twists and turns - even the ending will keep you going!! I highly recommend this one!