CHILDREN’S – Page 10 – Looking For a Good Book

February 14, 2017

THE CANDYMAKER’S AND THE GREAT CHOCOLATE CHASE – Wendy Mass

This is a sequel to a book (The Candymakers) that I have not read. For the most part it seems that we get everything we need to know about the first adventure told to us in this book, making this a stand-alone. On the other hand, there’s enough of the referring to the previous adventure… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, YA

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Reviews, Young Adult

February 10, 2017

DREAM BIG – Kat Kronenberg

There are a couple of different ways I look at and rate children’s picture books. Is it pretty to look at? Is the story simple and yet captivating for the child? Is there an important message for the child? What is the re-readability (will children want to have it read over and over and perhaps… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Picture books, Reviews

January 30, 2017

JERRY’S MAGIC – W. W. Rowe

Nope. This middle grade reader falls apart on just about every level. Jerry Shore is ten years old and is now the man of the house after his father is killed in the Big War. As such, he finds the need to start bringing home money, but instead of going out to get a job, he finds… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, Uncategorized

1 Star, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Reviews

January 27, 2017

MARS AND HOUSTON – James Crowley

There’s a really beautiful idea behind this story, but the story fails. Joey is an autistic young man who dreams and play-acts at being an astronaut. Joey’s mother has a difficult time dealing with Joey’s autism and tends to discourage anything he does, being quite over-protective. One day a new boy moves in to the… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, Uncategorized, YA

1 Star, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Reviews, Young Adult

January 2, 2017

THE STRANGE GIFT OF GWENDOLYN GOLDEN – Philippa Dowding

There are only a small handful of authors whose work I look for when I step into a bookstore and for whom I will purchase their newest work as soon as it is released. Philippa Dowding has just joined that small list. In The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden, the recent-teen titular character starts the… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized, YA

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Young Adult

December 8, 2016

ESCAPE INTO THE NIGHT – Lois W. Johnson

While I did request, and receive an Advance Readers Copy of this reissued book from River North press, I must confess that I did read this book … the whole series, actually … when it was first published in 1995. I really enjoyed the series (though I liked author Lois Johnson’s Northwoods series a little… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, HISTORICAL FICTION, YA

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Historical Fiction, Reviews, Young Adult

November 12, 2016

ARMSTRONG – Torben Kuhlmann

Following up on his spectacular picture book, Lindbergh (see review here), author/artist Torben Kuhlmann tells a tale of a little mouse named Armstrong who defies the humans who are after him and travels to the moon and back, years before mankind makes it there. This is the sort of picture book that works on every… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S

5 Stars, Art, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Reviews

October 15, 2016

LOCK AND KEY: THE INITIATION – Ridley Pearson

Ridley Pearson, the popular author of the Peter Pan story Peter and the Starcatchers, reboots the Sherlock Holmes series with Lock and Key: The Initiation. James Moriarty (and his sister Moria) is sent to the boarding school Baskerville Academy. He doesn’t want to go, but his father strongly reminds him that attendance at Baskerville is… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, MYSTERY, YA

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Reviews, Young Adult

October 10, 2016

NEIL GAIMAN’S TROLL BRIDGE – graphic novel

Neil Gaiman writes about children coming of age in a dark and mysterious world better than anyone ever has before. Troll Bridge is a deceptively simple, but tremendously powerful modern fairy tale in which our narrator encounters a troll while a young boy enjoying the outdoors. Though the troll hopes to eat the boy, the… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, GRAPHIC NOVEL, SF/FANTASY

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Graphic Novels, Reviews, SF/Fantasy, Young Adult

October 3, 2016

WANT TO KNOW: GOING TO THE THEATER – Florence Ducatteau & Chantal Peten

This children’s picture book is, as the title suggests, a story about the theatre – what it’s like to go and watch a play, and what it takes to put on a play. All in thirty-two pages or less. So of course it is a very much abbreviated story. As a theatre professional, I am… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, ENTERTAINMENT, NON-FICTION

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Entertainment, non-fiction, Reviews

August 24, 2016

STORM’S COMING! – Margi Preus and David Geister

Storm’s Coming! is a really simple, beautiful children’s picture book that, while it will have special appeal to Minnesotans and this familiar with the Split Rock Lighthouse, will be enjoyed by anyone who appreciates quality art (by David Geister) in a children’s picture book and/or informative lessons in nature and history. Author Margi Preus has… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, Uncategorized

5 Stars, Art, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Historical Fiction, History, Picture books, Reviews

August 22, 2016

MICKEY PRICE: JOURNEY TO OBLIVION – John P. Stanley

Mickey Price is a pre-teen orphan in 1977. He’s smart and inventive. Trace Daniels is a twelve-year-old girl go-cart champion. Jonah Jones, also twelve, is a brilliant scientist. The three of them are invited to NASA in the summer (where they meet for the first time). At first, Mickey expects the time to be a… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized, YA

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Reviews, SF/Fantasy, Young Adult