Geo Librarian

Welcome to my Charity Hopping  Around the World Giveaway  The giveaway hop is being hosted by I Am A Reader, Not a Writer , Reading Away the Days & Reading A Little Bit of Everything .  The other blogs hosting giveaways are listed below. Purpose:  To promote a charity that I support. Item being given: $20 Amazon Gift Card open internationally. Charity being highlighted: Latter-day Saint Charities Latter-day Saint Charities helps people become self-reliant and improve their quality of life through initiatives such as clean water, health, and food production. Latter-day Saint Charities also relieves suffering by providing life sustaining support during emergencies. Currently they are receiving donations for: Humanitarian Aid Fund Clean Water Humanitarian Food Production Neonatal Resuscitation Training Mobility (wheelchairs, artificial legs, etc) Vision Treatment Training   <a href="http://see

Here's a list of some of my favorite stand alone middle grade chapter books.  This list is not exhaustive by any means.  I still have many books in my to be read piles, some of which will undoubtedly become favorites.  But this list gives a glimpse into my reading preferences. Once again these are in no particular order. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White I've loved this story from the time I first read it.  It personifies friendship for me. I wanted friends like Charlotte and Wilber.   The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby I really liked the way Kirby merged the stories of Giuseppe, Hannah, and Frederick.  All three main characters were sympathetic and yet very different with very different problems. Giuseppe, who is trying to find a way back to his beloved family, and the magical violin that offers hope but also danger.  Hannah desperately trying to earn money to care for her family receives help from an unexpected source. Frederick bound and determined to be indepen

The winners of my Spring Cleaning Giveaway are... Noël Kincaid   Elven Marie Johnson     Shelby Lauren   Congratulations to our winners and thanks to all who participated.

I've been thinking for awhile about how I wanted to celebrate my one year blogiversary.  It actually passed in February but with everything going on at work and personally I didn't have time to really celebrate.  I am still pretty busy, but I've come up with an idea for what I want to do to celebrate.  For the next two weeks I will be posting about my favorite books of all time. Then I will host a giveaway where I offer my readers the chance to win a copy of one of my favorites (your choice). Please keep in mind that these lists are not definitive.  There are many more books that I love and enjoy reading.  The books on these lists though are ones that I enjoy rereading when I have the time and that I love sharing or talking about. So, let's get started.  These books are in no particular order. Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow   by Susan Bartoletti Scholastic, 2005  (ISBN: 0-439-35379-3 ) Bartoletti does a superb job of introducing the reader to s

Last week, I reviewed Scary School by Derek the Ghost.  A book I ended up liking more than I expected. See here for my full review.  Today, I am lucky to be able to share with you a great guest post by none other than Derek himself.  To win an ebook copy of the book just fill out the form below. The Importance of Middle-Grade Fiction Or Why Reading my Book Series Scary School is Guaranteed to Turn your Kid into a Well-adjusted, Ivy League-bound, World-beater Dynamo By Derek the Ghost             Let’s start off with this question. Why is reading important for children? Wait. I have better question. Why is absorbing a story in the form of text considered a superior means of story-absorption as opposed to pictures and sound through a television or movie screen?             Back in the olden days before TV and movies, reading was the numero uno form of self-entertainment. However, like TV of today, using books to take in fictional stories was considered a highly friv

The Winner of my Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway is... VALERIA !! I have email the winner. She has 48 hours to get back with me or I will choose another winner.  Thanks to all for participating. Be sure to check back often.  I have giveaways every month and I will have another one next week to celebrate my one year blogiversary.

BENJAMIN PRATT AND THE KEEPERS OF THE SCHOOL Book 1: We the Children (978-1-4169-3886-6) Book 2: Fear Itself (978-1-4169-3887-3) Book 3: The Whites of Their Eyes (978-1-4169-3888-0) Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2010-2012 Grades 3-6 Reviewed from personal copies.   Book 1: Benjamin Pratt’s school is about to become the site of a new amusement park. It sounds like a dream come true! But lately, Ben has been wonder if he’s going to like an amusement park in the middle of his town—with all the buses and traffic and eight dollar slices of pizza. It’s going to change everything. And, Ben is not so big on all the new changes in his life, like how his dad has moved out and started living in the marina on what used to be the "family” sailboat. Maybe it would be nice if the school just stayed as it is. He likes the school. Loves it, actually. It’s over 200 years old and sits right on the harbor. The playground has ocean breezes and the classrooms have million dollar

SAME, SAME, BUT DIFFERENT written and illustrated by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw Henry Holt and Company, 2011 ISBN: 978-0-8050-8946-2 32 p. Grades PreK-2 Reviewed from personal copy. BLURB : Elliot lives in America, and Kailash lives in India. They are pen pals. By exchanging letters and pictures, they learn that they both love to climb trees, have pets, and go to school. Their worlds might look different, but they are actually similar. Same, same. But different! Through an inviting point-of-view and colorful, vivid illustrations, this story shows how two boys living oceans apart can be the best of friends. I enjoyed reading and sharing this book. Not only is the language simple and straightforward, but the illustrations compliment the writing perfectly. The illustrations are bright and colorful and highlight the similarities and differences between the two boys.  I've really come to love collage as an art form and this book demonstrates the characteristics that make co

Welcome to my Spring Cleaning Giveaway.  This giveaway is being sponsored by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer .  Make sure to visit here to see the list of great giveaways. I've spent several hours looking through my numerous stacks of book trying to decide which books really aren't my thing or that I'm simply not likely to ever get around to reading.  I'm hoping that these books can find new homes.  I have a bunch that I'd like to giveaway, but I can only afford to ship three.  So here's how this is going to work. Rules: You must be 13 or older to enter. Unfortunately, shipping costs force me to limit this giveaway to the U.S. Fill out the Rafflecopter form below. There will be THREE winners.  First winner gets first choice of the six books listed below, second winner gets second choice, and third winner gets third choice. I will notify the winner within 48 hours of the end of the giveaway.  The winner then has 48 hours to respond before I chose an

Welcome to my Lucky Leprechaun giveaway. This giveaway is being hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer , Books Complete Me , and Author Cindy Thomas . See here for a list of the other giveaways. I thought long and hard about how to do this giveaway.  I wanted to do something different but still relatively simple. So, for this giveaway I am offering,  a Middle Grade or YA book or books from  The Book Depository up to $20,  the book needs to have green on the cover (we are celebrating St. Patrick's Day after all). Rules: You must be 13 to enter. You must live somewhere The Book Depository ships to.  Check here . One entry per person. Enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Don't feel like you absolutely have to pick a cover with green if you can't find one you like.  But look below for some ideas. Feel free to add comments with further ideas and I'll add them. Thanks. Winner will be contacted within 48 hours of the end of the giveaway.  The winne