Geo Librarian

Jingle Bells: How the Holiday Classic Came to Be written by John Harris, illustrated by Adam Gustavson Peachtree, 2011 ISBN: 978-1-56145-590-4 Interest Level: Grades K-5 Reviewed from purchased copy. BLURB: It is November 1857 in Savannah, Georgia, and the heat is stifling. Choir director James Lord Pierpont is busy writing a song for the children of the church to perform to usher in the holiday season. He is also worried. Many townspeople are angry because the congregation does not believe in slavery, and someone has thrown a brick through one of the church windows. As Mr. Pierpont sweeps up the glass from the broken window, he recalls his own Boston childhood, the sound of sleigh bells, and the fun of riding in a sleigh through the snow. Suddenly he gets an idea. A few days later - with the happy sounds of children singing and jingling bells and bags of "snow" - Mr. Pierpont introduces the delighted churchgoers to the charms of a northern Christmas! I...

The Luck of the Buttons written by Anne Ylvisaker Candlewick Press, 2011 ISBN: 978-0-7636-5066-7 Interest Level: Grades 3-6 Reviewed from purchased copy. BLURB: In Iowa circa 1929, spunky twelve-year-old Tugs vows to turn her family’s luck around, with the help of a Brownie camera and a small-town mystery.  Tugs Esther Button was born to a luckless family. Buttons don’t presume to be singers or dancers. They aren’t athletes or artists, good listeners, or model citizens. The one time a Button ever made the late Goodhue Gazette - before Harvey Moore came along with his talk of launching a new paper - was when Great Grandaddy Ike accidentally set Town Hall ablaze. Tomboy Tugs looks at her hapless family and sees her own reflection looking back until she befriends popular Aggie Millhouse, wins a new camera in the Independence Day raffle, and stumbles into a mystery only she can solve. Suddenly this is a summer of change - and by its end, being a Button may just turn...

The Happy Elf written by Harry Connick, Jr., illustrated by Dan Andreasen Harper, 2011 ISBN: 978-0-06-128879-1 Interest Level: Grades K-2 Reviewed from purchased copy. BLURB :  Eubie is the happiest elf at the North Pole. More than anything else, he longs to be a part of Santa’s sleigh team. Instead, he’s stuck checking the naughty-or-nice lists. Until one Christmas Eve he sees something strange: In the whole town of Bluesville, not a single person has been nice. So with a pinch of elfish magic and a magical whoosh , Eubie’s off to Bluesville. But can he turn a whole town of naughty children nice in just one day?  The things I liked about this book were: the illustrations are adorable.  The characters are round and cheerful and appealing.  The bright colors contrast nicely with the 'sad' parts.  The illustrations do a nice job of providing the mood behind the story. the theme of happiness and helping others be happy can be the best gift of all. ...

The Fabulous Flying Machines of Alberto Santos-Dumont written by Victoria Griffith, illustrations by Eva Montanari Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2011 ISBN: 978-1-4197-0011-8 Interest Level: 1st Grade and up Reviewed from copy received from author for review. Opinions are solely my own, no compensation rec'd. BLURB : While the Wright Brothers were gliding over Kitty Hawk, the charming Brazilian Alberto Santos-Dumont was making his own mark on the history of flight.  Alberto loved floating over Paris in his personal flying machine called a dirigible. He would tie it to a post, climb down, and spend the day shopping or meeting friends for coffee. But he wanted to make his invention even better. By 1906, Alberto had transformed his balloon into a box with wings! But now there was competition. Another inventor challenged Alberto to see who would be the first in flight. Alberto’s hard work paid off, and his airplane successfully soared into the air, making him the fir...

The Trouble with May Amelia written by Jennifer L. Holm Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2011 ISBN: 978-1-4169-1373-3 Interest Level: Grades 3-6 Reviewed from purchased copy. BLURB :   May Amelia lives in pioneer Washingon State in 1900, and she just can't act the part of a proper young lady. Working a farm on the rainy Nasel River isn't easy - especially when you have seven brothers and a Pappa who proclaims that Girls Are Useless. May Amelia thinks she may have finally earned her father's respect when he asks her to translate for a gentleman who's interested in buying their land and making them rich. But when the deal turns out to be a scam, Pappa places all the blame on May. It's going to take a lot of sisu - that's Finnish for guts - to make things right. There are quite a few things that I really enjoyed about this book.  I enjoyed May Amelia's voice, she comes shining through loud and clear.  Within the first chapter I had a pretty go...

I've found some more fun challenges to participate in for 2012.  The first is the YA/MG Fantasy Challenge hosted by The Book Cellar .  To participate I will be doing the following: - Read 10 YA or MG fantasy that are released in 2012 - Post a review on a personal blog or Goodreads - The challenge runs from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012 I already have a bunch of books that I am looking forward to reading next year.  I'm excited to be a part of this. The Marvelous Middle Grade Read-a-Thon will take place Jan 2-Jan 8, 2012. This one is being hosted by Deb Marshall at Just Deb .  I hope to get a bunch of my middle grade books read during this week.  I will not be able to read all week though since I go back to work (school) that week, but I will do what I can.  For every book I read I will donate a book to my school library.

Cloudy with a Chance of Boys (The Sisters Club Series) written by Megan McDonald, illustrated by Pamela A. Consolazio Candlewick Press, 2011 ISBN: 978-0-7636-4615-8 Interest Level: Grades 3-6 Reviewed from purchased copy. BLURB :   As the middle sister in a family with three girls, Stevie Reel doesn’t know much about boys, and that’s always been just fine with her. But lately, things have been changing: kids at school are starting to pair up, and Owen, the new boy in her Earth Science class, seems to have his sights set on Stevie. The trouble is, Stevie doesn’t want a boyfriend- she’s not even sure she’s ready to have a boy friend. And her sisters, who know exactly where they stand on the issue of boys, are no help: drama queen Alex is busy trying to orchestrate a perfect, Romeo-and-Juliet-style first kiss from her heartthrob, Scott Towel (er, Howell), while Joey can’t understand why anyone would like a boy better than a frog anyway. If only figuring out boys wer...

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...

Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade written and illustrated by Melissa Sweet Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2011 ISBN: 978-0-547-19945-0 Interest Level: All Levels Reviewed from purchased copy. BLURB :  Everyone's a New Yorker on Thanksgiving Day, when young and old rise early to see what giant new balloons will fill the skies for Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Who first invented these "upside-down puppets?"  Tony Sarg—puppeteer, illustrator and legendary prankster who once declared, "I never worked a day in my life."  In brilliant collage illustrations, award-winning artist Melissa Sweet tells the story of this puppeteer, capturing his genius, his dedication, his zest for play, and his long-lasting gift to America—the inspired helium balloons that would become the trademark of Macy's Parade. I don't know that I can say anything about this book that hasn't already been said.  Exce...

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...