Joe Wood is a young boy with big dreams. At 14 he has started a newspaper in his town of Wiscasset, Maine but only has a little time until he must pay off a loan and keeps the paper. It's also the beginning of April 1861 and the whole country is on edge as the United States enters into the Civil War and people are talking of enlisting. During this time a spiritualist named Nell is in town. Joe is trying to cover the news, figure out if Nell is for real, help his friend Owen who is a young black boy, and help his parents with their store. It is a lot for a boy of 14.
I thought the book was enjoyable. There was a lot going on but it all fit together and was believable. Of course, the biggest draw was the local connection. I try to promote books by Maine authors and set in Maine whenever I can. While historical fiction can be a hard sell this had some good action and is short enough that I hope to get some takers.
This was a breath of fresh air. Violet is a biracial girl. Her mother is white, her father who died in an accident before she was born was black. Her sister Daisy had a different - white - father. Violet lives in a predominantly white town and is struggling with her identity. This coming of age story tells about how Violet decides to meet her "African" grandmother who is an artist and whom she has never met. Can Violet find out more about her heritage and heal the rift between the two families?
I really enjoyed this book. It might have been better if some of Violet's friends had been developed more or even Daisy but the focus was really on Violet, her mother, and her grandmother. I recommend this :)
Twin sisters Celia and Alice are mistreated by the wicked stepmother and stepsisters. When their stepmother decides to get rid of them by taking them into the forest and leaving them the girls take advantage of the situation and leave. The find their godmother Mozzarella who tells them they should separate for awhile and make their own way. Their only link will be silver rings that will change color if one of them is in danger. Disguised as lizards the girls set out on an adventure. Celia unfortunately is turned into a frog and Alice is forced to try and find her. Filled with all sorts of magical creatures, a "helpful" fox, love, and adventure this story was good fun. There were many allusions to other fairy tales but also had some fresh ideas. I liked this quite a bit.
Reviewing books is hard. I love to read and I definitely have strong opinions about whether I like a book or not, but if I don't like a book particularly well I feel bad about giving a bad review. The author spent a lot of time writing the book, the publisher thought it was good enough to publish, and there are people who probably like it. I feel like I need to be honest...
So with that intro you may think that I hated this book. No, I didn't...I just didn't love it. Winnie is a bright young girl who has invented a singing robot for a STEM fair. Her brother plays football but hasn't done all that well recently. There is a pet cat, a dog who is ashamed of his past, an evil alchemist who just happens to need someone or something to sing an aria for him, a metal hawk, and various rats and pigeons. Oh and don't forget Grandpa who may or may not be a superhero.
I guess I was expecting for of an A-Z mystery feel and this is not that type of book. It was a bit crazy. I think if there are kids who totally buy into this then the series will be successful but it just wasn't my cup of tea. I have noticed that it has gotten good reviews on Amazon and Goodreads so maybe I will be the lone dissenter...sorry :(
This
was a biography of Ida Tarbell. She was an investigative reporter who
wrote about Standard Oil and other big business in the early `1900s. I
found the beginning of the book better than the middle and ending. It
was a solid biography and the author did a lot of research...it just
didn't read in a very interesting way and I think my students (grades 1 -
5) would not be interested. Honestly it is not designed for them
anyway.
This was a cute diary type book about two sisters. Ava is outgoing and wants to be a writer. Her sister Pip is very shy. Ava feels embarrassed by her sister at times and feels that Pip gets more attention. To help her sister Ava writes a "fable" for a contest about a girl named Bea who stole her sister's fiends. The trouble was Bea was actually really nice and Ava regretted writing her story. Together Ava and Bea develop some advice for helping Pip come out of her shell and along the way Ava learns some things about herself.
I enjoyed the book and I think 4th graders especially will enjoy it.
I feel like something was missing. Maybe it was the format of the book as an eBook but the whole thing just seemed to randomly skip from one event to another with no rhyme or reason. I didn't really understand the title in conjunction with the content of the book. I'm sorry....if I ever get a copy of the actual print book maybe I can try it again and see if that was the issue.
