CHILDREN’S – Page 11 – Looking For a Good Book

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

August 20, 2016

KID ARTISTS – David Stabler

I definitely have a soft spot in my heart for books targeted to children that promote and encourage the arts. Kid Artists, by David Stabler, is an anthology of sixteen famous artist biographies written for middle grade (and younger) readers. While it is unlikely that students will know all these artists (some won’t know any… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, non-fiction, Reviews

August 15, 2016

MADELINE FINN AND THE LIBRARY DOG – Lisa Papp

When I review or consider a children’s book, there are three things I look at: 1) How is the art? 2) How is the story? 3) What is the likelihood of re-reading the book? Madeline Finn and the Library Dog is a success on every level. Madeline Finn is a young girl who doesn’t like… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, Uncategorized

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

July 15, 2016

THE COMPLETE ALICE IN WONDERLAND – graphic novel

If you don’t already know the basic story of Alice ‘s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, then I’m surprised you’re here reading a book review because it is one of the most basic. earliest, must-read books for readers of the English language. I’m not going to summarize the… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, GRAPHIC NOVEL, Uncategorized

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

June 9, 2016

WHAT ELEPHANTS KNOW – Eric Dinerstein

I read/review approximately 200 books a year but very few of them are as simply beautiful as What Elephants Know, by Eric Dinerstein. Nandu is a child, abandoned in the jungle of the Borderlands of Nepal and watched over by a pack of wild dogs. He is found and raised by Subba-sahib, the head of… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, MEMOIR, Uncategorized, YA

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

May 25, 2016

BEHIND THE CANVAS – Alexander Vance

Claudia Miravista loves it when her class takes a trip to the art museum because Claudia loves art. But when she sees a boy go in and out of view in some paintings, she is ridiculed by her peers when she tries to tell them about it. But the boy, Pim, is real, and Claudia… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, Uncategorized, YA

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

April 29, 2016

TOTO’S TALE AND TRUE CHRONICLE OF OZ – Sylvia Patience

Too many people think that the Wizard of Oz story is essentially the remarkable film version. It’s a great movie (one of the few that I do still watch repeatedly), but of course there’s much more to the book upon which the move was based. This delightful little book, Toto’s Tale and True Chronicle of… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Entertainment, Reviews, SF/Fantasy

April 15, 2016

RUBY WIZARDRY – Eric Weinstein

Though I have a better than rudimentary knowledge of some basic computer languages (HTML, PHP, JAVASCRIPT) I will admit that I’d never even heard of Ruby before, so I was definitely curious to check this one out. I reviewed a companion book, Javascript For Kids here. As the subtitle says, and as the drawing on… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

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