Geo Librarian

DELILAH DIRK AND THE KING'S SHILLING by Tony Cliff First Second, 2016 ISBN: 978-1-62672-155-5 Graphic Novel Ages 12 and up Source: purchased All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Delilah Dirk and the Blades of England lands Delilah and Selim right in the middle of yet more crazy adventures. When Delilah is framed as a spy by an English army officer, her passion for revenge threatens to sever her friendship with Selim. Is she willing to lose the companionship of her only good friend in order to reclaim her reputation? Selim finally gets to see the England he has only imagined, but how will he feel when the combined strains of social conventions and Delilah’s thirst for revenge overwhelm his experience? REVIEW Delilah Dirk causes mayhem wherever she goes.  In this second book in the series, Delilah returns a young boy to his mother, getting shot in the process, which causes no end of trouble for her as she faces accusations of treason.  ...

BUGGED: How Insects Changed History by Sarah Albee Bloomsbury, 2014 ISBN: 978-0-8027-3422-8 MG/YA Nonfiction Source: purchased All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK There are about ten quintillion insects in the world—and some of them have affected human history in tremendous ways! For as long as humans have been on earth, we've co-existed with insects . . . for better or for worse. Once you begin to look at world history through fly-specked glasses, you begin to see the mark of these minute life forms at every turn. Beneficial bugs have built empires. Bad bugs have toppled them.  Bugged  is not your everyday history book. From the author and illustrator team behind kid-favorite  Poop Happened! A History of the World from the Bottom Up , this combination of world history, social history, natural science, epidemiology, public health, conservation, and microbiology is told with fun and informative graphics and in an irreverent voice, ma...

ARE WE THERE YET? by Dan Santat Little, Brown and Co, 2016 ISBN: 978-0-316-19999-5 Source: purchased Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat takes readers on the road trip of a lifetime! "Are we there yet?" Every parent has heard this classic kid question on a long car ride--and after reading this astonishingly inventive new book (that even turns upside down for several pages!), you'll never look at being bored the same way again. Let's face it: everyone knows that car rides can be boring. And when things get boring, time slows down. In this book, a boy feels time slowing down so much that it starts going backward--into the time of pirates! Of princesses! Of dinosaurs! The boy was just trying to get to his grandmother's birthday party, but instead he's traveling through Ancient Egypt and rubbing shoulders with Ben Franklin. When time flies, who knows where--or when--he'll end up. ...

BLIZZARD OF GLASS The Halifax Explosion of 1917 by Sally M. Walker Henry Holt & Co, 2011 ISBN: 978-0-8050-8945-5 Source: purchased Ages 10-14 MG/YA Historical Nonfiction (Narrative) All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK On December 6, 1917 two ships collided in Halifax Harbour. One ship was loaded top to bottom with munitions and one held relief supplies, both intended for wartorn Europe. The resulting blast flattened two towns, Halifax and Dartmouth, and killed nearly 2,000 people. As if that wasn't devastating enough, a blizzard hit the next day, dumping more than a foot of snow on the area and paralyzing much-needed relief efforts. Fascinating, edge-of-your-seat storytelling based on original source material conveys this harrowing account of tragedy and recovery. This thoroughly-researched and documented book can be worked into multiple aspects of the common core curriculum. REVIEW After reading about the Halifax explosion in anoth...

RAYMIE NIGHTINGALE by Kate DiCamillo Candlewick Press, 2016 ISBN: 978-0-7636-8117-3 Source: purchased Middle Grade Historical fiction Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Raymie Clarke has come to realize that everything, absolutely everything, depends on her. And she has a plan. If Raymie can win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition, then her father, who left town two days ago with a dental hygienist, will see Raymie's picture in the paper and (maybe) come home. To win, not only does Raymie have to do good deeds and learn how to twirl a baton; she also has to contend with the wispy, frequently fainting Louisiana Elefante, who has a show-business background, and the fiery, stubborn Beverly Tapinski, who’s determined to sabotage the contest. But as the competition approaches, loneliness, loss, and unanswerable questions draw the three girls into an unlikely friendship — and challenge each of them to come to the rescue in u...

GO, LITTLE GREEN TRUCK! by Roni Schotter, pictures by Julia Kuo Farrar Straus Giroux, 2016 ISBN: 978-0-374-30070-8 Source: publisher for review Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Ready, set, go! Little Green is ready to rumble. He is a happy, busy little pickup truck who loves helping out on the farm. Until... He wakes up one morning to find a big new blue truck ready to take his place. But can Big Blue take on all the jobs? Even the small and gentle ones? With some love, care, and paint... Ready, set, go! Little Green is ready to rumble again, all the way to the farmers' market. REVIEW Just like Otis is Otis by Loren Long, Little Green faces a crisis when he is replaced by Big Blue, a bigger, stronger, tougher truck.  But like Otis, Little Green too discovers a new place for himself when Fern, the farmer's daughter finds him sitting alone in a field and decides he would make great transportation to the upcomi...

Welcome to Stop #3 on the National Geographic Kids Mastermind Blog Tour ! This summer, National Geographic Kids Books is inviting kids to "Unleash Their Inner Genius" with the release of Mastermind (May 2016, ages 8-12).  In this fun, interactive book, kids learn what type of thinker they are and are given the chance to exercise different parts of their brains with games, tests and puzzles.  Each stop on the National Geographic Kids Mastermind Blog Tou r will bring you one step closer to becoming a Certified Mastermind.  Be sure to stop by each stop on the tour and challenge yourself to unleash your inner genius with fun quizzes, optical illusions, and brain teasers, and learn tips and tricks for improving brainpower and explanations for the science behind navigating your mental map.  Are you ready to test your sense of touch? Check out below and be sure to tweet your results using #Mastermind! Stop by Mrs. Mommy Book Nerd’s Book R...