Geo Librarian

HUBER HILL AND THE BROTHERHOOD OF CORONADO by B.K. Bostick Sweetwater Books, 2012 ISBN: 9781599559810 Grades 3-6 Reviewed from copy provided by publisher through NetGalley. The Dead Man's Treasure has been stolen! Now it's up to Huber and his gang to find it. But solving a mystery this big will mean traveling across the world and learning to trust some new friends, including a mysterious stranger. With humor, action, and a plot that keeps you guessing, this is one book you won't want to put down. About the Author B. K. Bostick resides among the magnificent Rocky Mountains. In addition to writing, he has spent his career in education. He earned his bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Utah and his master's in psychology from Utah State University. He has worked as a teacher, after school program coordinator, junior high school counselor, and most recently as a teacher mentor for a university. He loves spending time with his lovely w...

ONCE THERE WERE LIONS (e-book) by Roger Hurn Endeavour Press Ltd.; 1 edition (May 28, 2012) Reviewed from copy received free through Amazon. It is 1939 and a gang of children who call themselves “The Lions” play happily in the back streets of London. They are totally unaware that their little world is about to be shattered beyond repair. War is declared and they, like thousands of others, are torn from their families and sent off to live with strangers in the countryside. This is their story. Review : A short story full of heart as well as change. War leaves no one unchanged even children. Perhaps especially children. Billy, Thomas, Rosie, Simon, and Eddie are a group of friends that call themselves the Lions. They even have a secret hideout. But when London is hit by the Blitz, the children are sent away for their own protection. When they meet up again to share their stories it quickly becomes clear that things have changed. I found the story fascinating as well as...

VIKRAM AND THE ENCHANTED SEALS by Sanjiv Behera Richshaw Books, 2010 ISBN: 9780983104216 Grades 4 and up Copy sent by author for review. All opinions expressed are solely my own. Vikram, an apathetic kid from California, doesn’t want to be in India. But a death in the family leaves him no other choice. So he finds himself in a rural village, at his ancestral home where he meets his imposing grandfather. A special bond forms between them, and the old man gives Vikram an enchanted seal – a mystical relic from India's earliest civilization. It turns out that the seal is one of only a handful that combine to form the Dharma Cube, the most powerful weapon against evil the world has ever seen. Before Vikram can fully grasp the seal's profound significance, Grandpa is taken by Rakshasas – evil giants from the epic Ramayana – who are intent on destroying the Cube once and for all. Vikram enlists the help of younger brother Jai, and Manu, the family’s loyal servant,...

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...

Kubla Khan: The Emperor of Everything written by Kathleen Kroll, illustrated by Robert Byrd Viking, 2010 ISBN: 978-0-670-01114-8 Grades 3-6 Reviewed from purchased copy. Loading... Loading... Always cast in a supporting role in the many books about Marco Polo, the great Kubla Khan now takes center stage in a splendid picture-book biography. He is a wonderful subject-a man who liked to live large, building the imperial city of Beijing from scratch, siring a hundred children, throwing birthday bashes for 40,000 guests. He ruled over the greatest empire of the tim ...more BLURB : Always cast in a supporting role in the many books about Marco Polo, the great Kubla Khan now takes center stage in a splendid picture-book biography. He is a wonderful subjec...

Dumpling Days written and illustrated by Grace Lin Little, Brown and Company, 2012 ISBN:  978-0-316-12590-1 Grades 3-6 Reviewed from purchased copy. BLURB :  There was no day that dumplings couldn't make better . Pacy is back! The beloved heroine of The Year of the Dog and The Year of the Rat As the month passes by, Pacy eats chicken feet (by accident!), gets blessed by a fortune teller, searches for her true identity, and grows closer to those who matter most. has returned in a brand new story. This summer, Pacy's family is going to Taiwan for an entire month to visit family and prepare for their grandmother's 60th birthday celebration. Pacy's parents have signed her up for a Chinese painting class, and at first she's excited. This is a new way to explore her art talent! But everything about the trip is harder than she thought it would be--she looks like everyone else but can't speak the language, she has trouble following the art teacher...

Cities of the Dead: Finding Lost Civilizations 24/7 Science Behind the Scenes Mystery Files (series) written by Denise Rinaldo Scholastic, 2008 ISBN: 978-0-531-18739-5 Interest Level: Grades 3-6 Reviewed from copy borrowed from my school library. BLURB :  There's a legend about a great empire that was swallowed up by the sea. Another tale tells of a beautiful city that was buried under ash and falling rock. Did these civilizations ever really exist? And if so, can traces of them be found? That's where archeologists come in. From the harshest deserts to the deepest oceans, they search the world for lost civilizations. Cities of the Dead provides a basic introduction to the field of archeology and some of the most famous sites that have been searched for and studied.  While not providing a lot of detail, Rinaldo discusses the interest in, search for, and study of the following sites: the City of Troy, the City of Pompeii, and the City of Vilcabamba.  Later i...

America: The Last Best Hope, Volume 3 From the Collapse of Communism to the Rise of Radical Islam written by William J. Bennett Thomas Nelson, 2009 ISBN: 978-1-5955-5428-4 Interest: High school/Adult Reviewed from copy received through the Book Sneeze program. BLURB : Twenty years ago, John McCain was serving his second year in the Senate, and Colin Powell had just been promoted to chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. There was no Fox News Channel, no American Idol . Saddam Hussein and the Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeni ruled Iraq and Iran, respectively. George W. Bush was the fairly unnoticeable son of the then-president. If you asked someone to "email me," you would have received a blank stare, and "Amazon" was a forest in South America. Finally, 20 years ago a young man named Barack Obama was elected the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. The two decades from 1988 to 2008 have proved to be some of the most pivotal in America's his...

For today's Nonfiction Monday , I am highlighting several books that give a glimpse of what life is like for children around the world. I used these books to show the students that while there are major differences in the way people live around the world, there are similarities also. If the World Were a Village (Second Edition) written by David J. Smith, illustrated by Shelagh Armstrong Kids Can Press, 2011 ISBN: 978-1-55453-595-8 All Ages Reviewed from personal copy. BLURB: There are currently more than six billion people on the planet! This enormous number can be difficult to grasp, especially for a child. But what if we imagine the whole world as a village of just 100 people? In a time when parents and educators are looking to help children gain a better understanding of the world's peoples and their ways of life, If the World Were a Village offers a unique and objective resource. By exploring the lives of the 100 villagers, children will discover that lif...

Today I'm highlighting two great picture books about people and places outside of the United States.  This is my favorite kind of book because it gives me a glimpse of worlds beyond my own.  They also show that despite the many differences between people from other countries, there is much that we have in common as well. The Boy Who Wanted to Cook written by Gloria Whelan, illustrated by Steve Adams Sleeping Bear Press, 2011 ISBN: 978-1-58536-534-0 Grades K-5 Reviewed from purchased copy.   BLURB: La Bonne Vache (The Good Cow) is a little restaurant in the south of France. It takes its name from and is famous for its boeuf a la mode, a delicious beef stew. Ten-year-old Pierre longs to follow in the culinary footsteps of his father. Pierre spends as much time as possible in the restaurant's kitchen, hoping for a chance to demonstrate his cooking skills. But his parents shoo him away and he is not allowed to cook. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  Firs...

This week I am introducing my students to the theme I have chosen for the year, One World, Many Stories.  I am excited about this because I will be able to combine two of my passions, geography and reading.  A lot of the nonfiction books and fiction books that I will highlighting in the coming year will have a strong geography element.  That does not mean of course that I will stop reading other kinds of books, my interests vary too widely for me to do that.  It just means there will be a lot of books with settings other than the United States.  Today I am highlighting four books about students and schools in countries around the world. Rain School written and illustrated by James Rumford Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2010 ISBN: 978-0-547-24307-8  Grades K-3 Reviewed from purchased copy. BLURB: It is the first day of school in Chad, Africa. Children are filling the road. "Will they give us a notebook?" Thomas asks. "Will they give us a p...

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, illustrated by Inga Moore Candlewick Press, 2008. Grades: All ages Reviewed from personal copy. Sometimes when I go back and reread a book, I find that I don't like it as much the second or third time around.  I've reread books that I liked when I was a kid, but I don't like them as an adult.  But there are some books that are better the second, third, or fourth time around.  And that is for me what creates a classic. I confess I don't like a lot of the books that are traditionally called classics, many of which are too dark and depressing for my taste.  I like books that contain a strong element of hope. I heard about this beautifully illustrated version of The Secret Garden and I wanted it.  When it came, I started to reread the book, not having read it since childhood.  I loved it.  I loved the characters, Mary, and Dickon, and Colin and Martha, even crotchety Ben Weatherstaff.  I enjoyed r...

For this upcoming school year, I am using this year's summer reading theme, "One World, Many Stories." As part of that I am paying particular attention to books that take place around the world.  Today I am sharing some books that highlight the continent of Antarctica, a place few of us will ever see in person. After reading these books, I am more than willing to let others visit the place, while I stay at home wrapped up in a cozy blanket and read about it. Shackleton's Stowaway by Victoria McKernan Laurel Leaf Books, 2005 Grades 5 and up Reviewed from purchased copy. Blurb:  On October 26, 1914, Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance set sail from Buenos Aires in pursuit of the last unclaimed prize in exploration: the crossing of the Antarctic continent. The crew stood on deck to watch the city fade away. All but one. Eighteen-year-old Perce Blackborow hid below in a locker. But the thrill of stowing away with the legendary explorer would soon turn to fear. Wi...

With so many children's books vilifying teachers, I enjoy coming across a book with a great teacher in it.  Throw in some magic and some children and I'm hooked. The Magical Ms. Plum by Bonny Becker, illustrated by Amy Portnoy Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. Grades 1-3 Reviewed from personal copy. BLURB: Everybody wants to be in Ms. Plum’s class. It’s not just that she teaches the usual things in unusual ways. There’s something more, something about Ms. Plum herself—and her mysterious supply closet. Whenever she asks her students to get her an eraser or a pencil or some paper clips, they come back with something . . . unusual. Who’d have thought a pinky-sized alligator, a big-mouth parrot, or a tiny wolf could teach kids a thing or two about life? Each year, Ms. Plum is certain she’s had her best class ever. And it looks like this year . . . she’s right! ( http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6164018-the-magical-ms-plum ) Working in a school, I have a chance to see the pow...

STEM Friday highlights great S cience, T echnology, E ngineering, and M ath books are available in children's literature.  Today I'm highlighting a great book by Sally Walker, one of my favorite nonfiction writers. Frozen Secrets, Antarctica Revealed by Sally M. Walker Carolrhoda Books, 2010. Grades 7-12 Reviewed from personal copy. BLURB: Antarctica is a land of frozen secrets, with scarcely a handful that have been completely divulged. Join Sally M. Walker as she explores both historical and modern-day scientific expeditions to the continent and examines what secrets might still be locked in the continent's icy cloak secrets that might help scientists understand what the future holds for Earth and its changing climate. ( http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8561673-frozen-secrets)  This book has many great features including the following: Great organization: the book is easy to follow with a logical beginning with the race to the South Pole and the first di...

The Year of the Dog & The Year of the Rat by Grace Lin Little, Brown & Company, 2006 & 2008 Grades 2-4 Reviewed from purchased copies. Book blurbs: It's the Chinese Year of the Dog!  When Pacy's Mom tells here that this is a good year for friends, family and "finding herself," Pacy begins searching right away.  As the year goes on, she struggles to find her talent, deals with disappointment, makes a new best friend, and discovers just why the year of the dog is a lucky one for her after all. Pacy has another big year in story for her.  The Year of the Dog was a very lucky year: She met her best friend, Melody, and discovered her true talents.  However, the Year of the Rat brings big changes: Pacy must deal with the possibility of Melody moving away, find the courage to forge on with her dream of becoming a writer and illustrator, and learn to face some of her own flaws in the process.  Along the way, Pacy encounters prejudice, struggles with ...