Geo Librarian

VOLCANOES: FIRE AND LIFE Science Comics by Jon Chad First Second, 2016 ISBN: 978-1-62672-360-3 Source: purchased Graphic Nonfiction Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Get ready to explore the depths of the ocean, the farthest reaches of space, and everything in between! Volcanic eruptions, vampire bats, feathered velociraptors, and more await you in SCIENCE COMICS. In a not-so-distant future our world is as cold as a frozen burrito. But can humanity save itself by harnessing a power that dwells inside the Earth? Explode into the world of geology in Volcanoes: Fire and Life! A lot of magic happens under the Earth's crust. Thanks to magma vents, shifting continental plates, and volcanic eruptions, we know that our planet is alive and in motion. Alongside Aurora, a young explorer, you'll learn that volcanoes are just one of the massively powerful forces at work on our planet. From catastrophic destruction to the cre...

BOWWOW POWWOW   by Brenda J. Child, Translation by Gordon Jourdain illustrations by Jonathan Thunder Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2018 ISBN: 978-1-68134-077-7 Source: purchased Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Windy Girl is blessed with a vivid imagination. From Uncle she gathers stories of long-ago traditions, about dances and sharing and gratitude. Windy can tell such stories herself–about her dog, Itchy Boy, and the way he dances to request a treat and how he wriggles with joy in response to, well, just about everything. When Uncle and Windy Girl and Itchy Boy attend a powwow, Windy watches the dancers and listens to the singers. She eats tasty food and joins family and friends around the campfire. Later, Windy falls asleep under the stars. Now Uncle's stories inspire other visions in her head: a bowwow powwow, where all the dancers are dogs. In these magical scenes, Windy sees veterans in a Grand Entry, and a...

A NIGHT DIVIDED by Jennifer A. Nielsen Scholastic Press, 2015 ISBN: 978-0-545-68242-8 Source: purchased Ages 9-12 Historical Fiction All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK From New York Times bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen comes a stunning thriller about a girl who must escape to freedom after the Berlin Wall divides her family between east and west. With the rise of the Berlin Wall, twelve-year-old Gerta finds her family divided overnight. She, her mother, and her brother Fritz live on the eastern side, controlled by the Soviets. Her father and middle brother, who had gone west in search of work, cannot return home. Gerta knows it is dangerous to watch the wall, to think forbidden thoughts of freedom, yet she can't help herself. She sees the East German soldiers with their guns trained on their own citizens; she, her family, her neighbors and friends are prisoners in their own city. But one day, while on her way to school, Gerta sp...

LOST IN THE AMAZON A Battle for Survival in the Heart of the Rainforest by Tod Olson Scholastic, 2018 ISBN: 978-0-545-92827-4 Source: purchased Ages 9-12 Middle grade nonfiction All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Peru, Christmas Eve, 1970. It was supposed to be a routine flight, carrying 86 passengers across the Andes Mountains and home for the holiday. But high above the Amazon rainforest, a roiling storm engulfs the plane. Lightning strikes. A deafening whoosh sweeps through the cabin. And suddenly, 17-year-old Juliane Koepcke is alone. The plane has vanished. She is strapped to her seat and plunging 3,500 feet to the forest floor. On Christmas Day, she wakes. She is injured, covered in mud, but strangely--miraculously--alive. And now, in a remote corner of the largest rainforest on Earth, the real battle for survival begins. REVIEW I really enjoyed the two previous Lost books by Tod Olson so I was excited to pick this one up....

MY ROTTEN STEPBROTHER RUINED CINDERELLA by Jerry Mahoney Stone Arch Books, 2018 ISBN: 978-1-4965-4470-4 Ages 8-12 Middle grade fantasy/speculative (fairy tale) Source: author for review All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK It wasn't enough to ruin Maddie's report on Cinderella - her stepbrother, Holden, has somehow broken the ACTUAL fairy tale. The ugly stepsister is marrying the prince, and there's no happy ever after! The only way to fix it is by entering the story. But if Holden and Maddie can't solve the problem, they'll be stuck in the fairy tale world forever.   REVIEW   Fairy Tale retellings have become popular in recent years and yet I never seem to get tired of them. Maybe it's because each author comes at the story in such a unique way that I never feel that the retellings overlap too much.  The thing I found most interesting about this retelling is the way one of the characters (...

THE JOLLY REGINA The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters #1 by Kara LaReau, illustrated by Jen Hill Amulet Books, 2017 ISBN: 978-1-4197-2136-6 Ages 9-12 Middle grade adventure Source: purchased All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK This new series features the blandest sisters who ever embarked on a rollicking, swashbuckling, and entirely unintentional adventure In the spirit of A Series of Unfortunate Events and the Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series, The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters will captivate middle-grade readers looking for humor, hijinks, and a swashbuckling good time. Meet Jaundice and Kale Bland, two sisters who avoid excitement at any cost. Together, they patiently await the return of their parents, who left on an errand years ago and have never returned. One day, the Bland sisters are kidnapped by an all-female band of pirates. They’re unwillingly swept into a high-seas romp that might just l...

THE BASEBALL FANBOOK Everything You Need to Become a Hardball Know-It-All A Sports Illustrated Kids book by Gary Gramling, Editors of Sports Illustrated for Kids Sports Illustrated, 2018 ISBN: 978-1-68330-069-4 Source: Nicole Banholzer PR LLC Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK The next book in the Fanbook series from Sports Illustrated Kids, The Baseball Fanbook has all the nerdy-cool insider knowledge that fans ready for next-level, in-depth stats need to know to impress their friends, family, coaches, and any season ticket holders they may meet. Tailor-made for baseball fanatics ages 8 and up who know the basics of the sport they love, may play it, and are looking to become super fans, this new fanbook is filled with fun trivia, unique lingo, and illustrated behind-the-skills how-to's. Chapters include Team Tidbits (salient baseball facts about every MLB team), Think Like a Manager (essential strategies to understand), He Remi...

THE AXE OF SUNDERING Adventurers Wanted #5 by M.L. Forman Shadow Mountain, 2017 ISBN: 978-1-60907-934-5 Source: publisher for review Ages 9-12 Middle grade speculative/fantasy All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Whalen Vankin is the world's greatest wizard, and he has only ever personally trained two other wizards. One is Alexander Taylor, a young man who has earned a reputation as a brave adventurer, a warrior, and man of honor. The other is Jabez, Vankin's nephew and a man whose choices have led him down a different, darker path. Dark magic has covered Westland, and evil is stirring. Whalen and Alex must journey together into the heart of danger, confronting a sea serpent, battling their way through a goblin army, and facing down more than one dragon. Alex must find the legendary Axe of Sundering the one weapon that offers a chance to defeat Jabez and protect the land from the dark wizard's plans. But finding it will be an ad...

DRAGONS BEWARE! Chronicles of Claudette #2 by Rafael Rosado and Jorge Aguirre with John Novak as colorist and Mark Siegel as editor First Second, 2015 ISBN: 978-1-59643-878-1 Source: purchased Ages 9-12 Middle grade fantasy/speculative All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Scrappy Claudette sets out once again with her pal Marie and her little brother Gaston to right wrongs and fight evil. And this time, it's personal. Claudette is out to get the dragon who ate her father's legs...and his legendary sword. But as usual, nothing is as simple as it seems, and Claudette is going to need Marie and Gaston's help more than ever. REVIEW After thoroughly enjoying Giants Beware! it was a pleasure to move on to book two.  Once again Claudette and her friends set out to save their town, but this time they are following her father into a dragon's den.  Claudette's fieriness makes for an entertaining read, but what I love most about ...

THE TRAITOR'S GAME by Jennifer A. Nielsen Scholastic Press, 2018 ISBN: 978-1-338-04537-6 Source: purchased Middle grade fantasy/adventure Ages 10-14 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Nothing is as it seems in the kingdom of Antora. Kestra Dallisor has spent three years in exile in the Lava Fields, but that won't stop her from being drawn back into her father's palace politics. He's the right hand man of the cruel king, Lord Endrick, which makes Kestra a valuable bargaining chip. A group of rebels knows this all too well - and they snatch Kestra from her carriage as she reluctantly travels home.The kidnappers want her to retrieve the lost Olden Blade, the only object that can destroy the immortal king, but Kestra is not the obedient captive they expected. Simon, one of her kidnappers, will have his hands full as Kestra tries to foil their plot, by force, cunning, or any means necessary. As motives shift and secrets emerge, both ...