Hansel and Gretel

Very cool retelling of Hansel and Gretel by Neil Gaiman.  The illustrations are pretty cool and there is an interesting history of the tale at the end.  I would love to hear Neil Gaiman read it out loud ;0

Every Last Drop

 

Having traveled to Guatemala where clean water can be hard to come by this book really hit home for me.  The book gives a brief history of sanitation and water usage and highlights the problems across the world from chemical pollution, unsanitary conditions, or just plain waste.  The book also mentions some creative solutions to the problem.  I was motivated by the book.  Very well done.

Secret of the Mountain Dog

 

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would.  

A mysterious dog shows up at Jax's house and that is when the adventure begins.  Soon after Jaz finds out that a monk and a young boy have moved into an abandoned building that she learns was built to be a monastery.  In addition there is a mysterious statue that could be dangerous and is also quite valuable.  Then there is a prophecy.  What part does Jax play in all this?  And the dog?

Sprinkled with Tibetan history and Buddhist teachings this was a fun mystery and adventure.  I enjoyed it.

Dragon Girl: The Secret Valley

 

I have been a fan of The Dragonriders of Pern series for years so when I saw this I knew I would like it.  Alanna discovers a baby dragon and then a nest of dragon eggs.  She makes friends with the baby and then the newly hatched dragons.  Her brother, Hamel, is not so sure about them - especially because of the stories about dragons terrorizing people.  Then a dragon killing knight somes into the picture.  Can Alanna save the dragons?  When all seems lost Alanna and Hamel meet up with another character named Margolyn who studies dragons.  

This book was pretty cool.  It had a bit of interesting steampunk aspects as well as a medieval flair.  Loved it!

A Hitch at the Fairmont

 

Jack's mother has just died and now he is in the care of his Aunt Edith and they live at the Fairmont Hotel.  But when Aunt Edith is kidnapped Jack must find help or wind up in an orphanage.  Fortunately, Alfred Hitchcock himself is staying next door at the hotel.  Together they work to solve the mystery of Aunt Edith's kidnapping which leads them to strange clues, interesting characters, and a long lost fortune.

I really liked the book - there was good action and a good mystery.  The length was a bit long but I felt it moved along well.  The cover is a bit bleak and I think this book would require some hand selling to get students to read it.  The other issue is Hitchcock himself - interesting no doubt - but for the intended readers???  Maybe after reading the books the students would be interested in finding out more about Hitchcock but I don't see it as a draw.

The Box People

 

I totally get the concept of the book - get out of your boxes - where you live, work, drive, etc and get outside.  I think the concept is great but the execution fell flat for me.  However, I did read it as an eBook from Netgalley and I think that was part, if not all of the issue.  This book more properly needs to be read in print.  Still for what I usually review for this won't work.

Secrets Underground

 

This was a really interesting book about underground caves, bunkers, ships, and cities.  For students who like history - and bizarre or little known facts about history - this would be a fun read.  I learned quite a bit from this book.