New Blog Site!
Posted by: Yapha on: March 17, 2010
Looking for more great books to read? This blog has moved! Visit
http://bookapalooza.bwscampus.net
for more reviews!
Private Joel and the Sewell Mountain Seder
Posted by: Yapha on: April 1, 2009
Private Joel and the Sewell Mountain Seder
by Bryna J. Fireside
grades 2-5
This fabulous short chapter book takes place during the Civil War. Private J.A. Joel is serving in the 23rd Regiment from Ohio along with 20 other Jewish soldiers. They are stationed in the west Virginia mountains in April 1862, and send a letter to the regiment commander, asking for permission to have a Passover Seder. When the permission is granted, three of the former slaves serving with their regiment ask to join them as well. Together the 24 men manage to piece together a seder they will never forget. Based on a true story. (My favorite part is where the use an actual brick, since they have neither apples nor walnuts to make charoset!) Highly recommended!
Graceling
Posted by: Yapha on: March 16, 2009
Graceling
by Kristin Cashore
grades 6 & up
In the land of the seven kingdoms, certain people are born with “graces.” It is evident by their eyes, which are two different colors. The graces vary greatly from person to person. They can be as useful as a cooking grace or as absurd as a grace which allows one to jump from tree to tree. People with graces (or “gracelings”) are generally feard by those without. And none more so than Lady Katsa, whose grace is killing. Katsa despises what she has become, a weapon for her uncle King Randa. Out of rebellion she has formed The Council, whose goal it is to right the wrongs of the kings of the seven kingdoms. The book opens with the rescue of Grandfather Tealiff, the father of the Liender King. But who kidnapped him? And why? And why is there a Liender fighting graceling in the courtyard as they make their escape? The search for answers leads Katsa deeper and deeper into a mystery surrounding King Leck, who is known for his kindness to small children and animals. Can Katsa solve the mystery in time? An excellent story! Highly recommended!
Savvy
Posted by: Yapha on: March 9, 2009
- In: Adventure | Award Winners | Fantasy
- Leave a Comment
Savvy
by Ingrid Law
grades 4-6
Mississippi Beaumont, otherwise known as Mibs, has been looking forward to her thirteenth birthday for awhile. You see, in her family, when one turns thirteen, one finds out what his or her “savvy” is. A savvy is a special power. Each person on her mother’s side of the family has one. Her mother’s savvy is doing everything perfectly. Her oldest brother, Rocket, has a savvy for electricity. Her middle brother, Fish, has a savvy for wind and storms. Since they are both learning to “scumble,” or control, their savvies they are homeschooled. On the day before her thirteenth birthday, Mibs is thrilled to say good-bye to regular school and begin her home-schooling the next day, after a family party with a perfect cake made by her mother. Except the news comes that her father was in a terrible car accident, and is unconscious in the hospital. Her mother and Rocket head down to the hospital. Preacher Meek’s well-meaning wife decides to through Mibs a birthday party. But Beaumont thirteenth birthday parties are never what they seem, and this one ends with Mibs, Fish, their younger brother Samson, and the Preacher’s two children Bobbi and Will Jr stowing away on a pink school bus heading towards the hospital. I’ll let you read it from there. It’s a great story that will keep your attention until the end! A 2009 Newbery honor book.
A Curse as Dark as Gold
Posted by: Yapha on: March 6, 2009
- In: Award Winners | Fantasy | Mystery
- Leave a Comment
A Curse as Dark as Gold
by Elizabeth C. Bunch
grades 6-9
Charlotte Miller knows that she must keep the Mill going after her father’s death. She is a Miller, after all, and the town of Shearing depends on her and the mill for its livelyhood. She has no brother to take over the mill, in fact the mill has never been handed down directly, since no Miller has ever had a son live to adulthood to inherit it. This is part of the curse. But is there a curse on the mill and its Millers? Or is it merely bad luck? And how can Charlotte keep it running when a larger mill will do everything in its power to buy it out and shut it down? And what of their father’s mysterious mortgage? This re-interpretation of Rumplestitskin, set at the start of the Industrial Revolution in England, is more than just a fairy tale. A bold retelling, it will keep you in its grips until the very end. Winner of the 2009 William C. Morris YA Debut Award, honoring honors a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature.
Regarding the Trees: A Splintered Saga Rooted in Secrets
Posted by: Yapha on: December 10, 2008
Regarding the Trees: A Splintered Saga Rooted in Secrets
by Kate Klise
grades 3 to 7
Another very punny book taking place at Geyser Creek Middle School. Principal Walter Russ is concerned because Leif Blite is coming to evaluate him. Russ decides that he needs to trim all of the trees on campus, and get rid of the weeping willow altogether. The sixth grade class gets involved to save the trees, doing research into their own family trees as well as the history of the trees on campus. The incomparable Florance Waters is involved again as well. The story is told through letters, notes, and newspaper articles. Only recommended if you like a lot of puns!
Drita, My Homegirl
Posted by: Yapha on: December 5, 2008
Drita, My Home Girl
by Jenny Lombard
grades 4-6
This story of how friendship is the same in any language is told from alternate points of view. Half of the chapters are from Drita, who has just moved from Kosovo to New York City; and the other half are by Maxie, who is still trying to recover from her mother’s death three years before. When Drita joins their class, the teacher assigns Maxie to do a report on both Kosovo and Drita. The more Maxie learns about Drita, the more she appreciates all the challenges that Drita has overcome. In the process, Drita learns what it is like to make friends, true friends, from different ethnic groups, something that was impossible in Kosovo.
The Sacrifice
Posted by: Yapha on: November 24, 2008
The Sacrifice
by Kathleen Benner Duble
grades 4-7
10-year-old Abigail Faulkner lives in Andover, MA in the late 17th century — right at the time of the witch hysteria in nearby Salem. She does not believe that anyone in her community could be a witch, until the girls from Salem are brought to Andover to “find” the witches. They begin accusing members of the community. It is not until Abigail’s own Aunt Elizabeth is accused and taken to prison that Abigail realizes the girls must be lying. Shortly thereafter, Abigail and her older sister are accused as well. How will they survive in the damp, rat-infested prison? How can they possibly prove their innocence against these horrible accusations?
Clementine
Posted by: Yapha on: November 19, 2008
Clementine
by Sara Pennypacker
grades 2-5
Clementine means well. Really she does. But somehow everything she tries to do does not quite work out as planned. Like when she tries to help out Margaret by trimming her hair. Really short. And then coloring Margaret’s scalp with permanent markers so it looks better. And she just can’t understand why everyone keeps telling her to pay attention. She IS paying attention — just to everything else around her. Clementine is fun, feisty, and friendly; a modern-day Ramona. Highly recommended!
H.I.V.E.: The Higher Institute of Villainous Education
Posted by: Yapha on: November 18, 2008
H.I.V.E.: The Higher Institute of Villainous Education
by Mark Walden
grades 4-7
Do you ever find yourself rooting for the villains in a book or movie? Are you impressed by their diabolical plans? Do you ever wish that evil might defeat good, at least once in a while? Then this book, the first in a new series, is for you! It is the story of Otto Malpense and several other thirteen-year-olds who are taken to a secret location on an island in the middle of the ocean and enrolled in a boarding school for villains. Here they are taught not to be common criminals, but clever and ruthless evil-doers. If you enjoy books about superheroes and spy thrillers, this one is for you, even if it is about the other side of the coin.
