Across a War-Tossed Sea

 

Wesley and Charles have been sent by their parents to America to escape the bombing in Britain.  They have been taken in by the Ratcliffe family.  Both boys struggle to adjust to life in America and forget the travesties they witnessed.  Charles struggles to get over his anger at the Germans especially when POWs are held nearby and are even hired to help on the Ratcliffe farm.  Wesley suffers from nightmares.  

There are a lot of good aspects to the book.  The action is consistent throughout and the book moves steadily so even though it was over 200 pages it didn't like it.  The book is part of a trilogy but I have never read the other two books and wouldn't have known if I hadn't read more information about the book.  The author included some good background information and notes at the end. 

I enjoyed the book...readit...

Zane and the Hurricane

 

Zane has gone to New Orleans to meet his great-grandmother.  He picked a bad time to visit New Orleans though.  As they evacuate the city, Zane's dog Bandy gets scared and jumps out of the van.  Zane chases him back to Trissy's house.  From then on he struggles to survive the hurricane itself, the flooding, the disastrous events at the Superdome, looting, and gun crazy guards.  Along the way he is rescued by a musician Tru and Malivina.  Together they struggle to make sense of the situation and survive the horrors of Hurricane Katrina.

I enjoyed the book quite a bit.  It was an honest look at events - not sugarcoated and it was a good length.  Even though Katrina happened several years ago now people are still suffering the aftereffects.  The book could lead to good discussions.

READIT

Half a Chance

 

Lucy and her parents have just moved to a cottage on a lake in New Hampshire.  The very next day her father leaves for a photography assignment.  Lucy decides to enter a photography contest and spends the summer with her new friend Nate taking pictures, watching over the loons, and making friends.  When it comes time to submit the photos Lucy struggles with using a picture of Nate's grandmother that portrays her confusion.  She also struggles with the fact that her father is judging the contest. 

I really enjoyed this book - it was not too long, moved along well, had local flavor, and the photography aspect was intriguing.

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The Dumbest Idea Ever

 

This is an autobiographical graphic novel by Jimmy Gownley the author of the Amelia Rules series.  The book starts with popular, good student, basketball star 13 year old Jimmy.  After 2 illnesses in a row cause him to miss the championship basketball game and miss some schoolwork he finds himself a rather normal kids when he starts high school.  But with the help of some friends and with determination Jimmy starts writing and publishing his own work.

Overall, I thought this was a cute graphic novel.  Students who like the Amelia Rules books or who are interested in writing graphic novels themselves will enjoy this glimpse into Jimmy's life.

Readit...

Ninja Librarians Blog Tour Take 2

 

For this week of our blog tour for Ninja Librarians we were asked to ...

Name 10 items that you would take from a book if you could (and the book you took them from!)  And let us know what you’d do with those items!

 

1.        Hermione’s Time Turner Necklace from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.    
       Obviously I would use the necklace to go back in time and read more books.
2.       The Cardboard in the graphic novel Cardboard.  Magic cardboard to create anything   
       I  wanted...hmmm, what to create?  A pet frog that would talk to me maybe...
3.       The Timekey in The Reluctant Assassin.  Time travel would be great...I'd love to travel
       to Biblical times, meet Laura Ingalls Wilder, and so much more.
4.       The Invisibility Cloak from the Harry Potter books.  I always liked how they used the 
       cloak to visit the library.
5.     Hermione’s Handbag from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows.  That would make    
       hiking the Appalachian Trail so much easier.
6.     Riptide from the Percy Jackson books.  It would be great to always depend on your   
       weapon. 
7.     Katniss’ bow and arrow from The Hunger Games.  No magical powers but she rocks
       and I would love to learn archery.
8.     A Magic Treehouse from the Magic Tree House series.  I love time travel so why not   
       have more than one object to get me where I want to go.  I also think treehouses are
       cool.
9.     Can I have Laura’s house from The Banks of Plum Creek?  I always thought the
       underground house was cool.
10.     The wardrobe from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe because who wouldn’t
        want to go to Narnia? 

  

 Those are mine...what are yours?