
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Red Sled by Pat Thomas

Wednesday, December 3, 2008
The Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome
Meet the Swallows and the Amazons, the D’s and the Coot Club. Whether they are camping or sailing, climbing mountains or escaping pirates, charting unknown waters or taking risks to protect wildlife, dealing with unexpected crises or learning new codes, they are sure to be resourceful, adventurous, and imaginative.
Swallows and Amazons begins the series with the four Walker children, sailors of the Swallow, meeting the Amazon pirates (Nancy and Peggy Blackett) and their fearsome Uncle Jim (AKA Captain Flint), fighting for the rights to camp on Wildcat Island, and recovering a stolen treasure.
In Swallowdale, an accident forces the Walker explorers to camp on shore—and what a perfect place they find for playing hide-and-seek with their piratical friends!
Peter Duck takes the Swallows, Amazons, and Captain Flint on a real seafaring voyage (or is it a tale of their own invention?), pursuing pirate treasure, and pursued by very real pirates bent on taking the treasure for themselves—at all costs!
In Winter Holiday, the D’s (Dick and Dorothea Callum) are introduced. The holiday is extended when Captain Nancy comes down with the mumps. But who will plan the adventures with their fearless leader in quarantine?
The D’s meet the Coot Club in the book of that name, and they learn to sail while helping their new friends defend the local waterfowl from horrible summer people called the Hullabaloos.
Pigeon Post finds all the young adventurers (except the Coot Club) camping out in the hills and searching for gold in abandoned mines.
Through a chain of accidental circumstances, the Walker children find themselves sailing across the North Sea alone in a borrowed yacht in We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea.
In Secret Water, the adventurers meet new friends and tidal adventures while they learn the science of mapping uncharted waters.
In The Big Six, the D’s return to their Coot Club friends, and help them to solve the mystery of who is trying to get them all in trouble with the law.
Another adventure which, like Peter Duck, takes the fictional aspects of the story to a higher level, is Missee Lee, in which the Swallows, Amazons, and Captain Flint take a trip around the world and get mixed up with some Chinese pirates.
In The Picts and the Martyrs, the D’s become "Picts," hiding out from the Blacketts’ formidable Great-Aunt, who is making "Martyrs" of them. Can the children accomplish all their summer plans without giving away their secret?
Finally, the Swallows, Amazons, and D’s are all reunited in Great Northern? in which they seek to identify and protect a rare pair of birds in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
Swallows and Amazons begins the series with the four Walker children, sailors of the Swallow, meeting the Amazon pirates (Nancy and Peggy Blackett) and their fearsome Uncle Jim (AKA Captain Flint), fighting for the rights to camp on Wildcat Island, and recovering a stolen treasure.
In Swallowdale, an accident forces the Walker explorers to camp on shore—and what a perfect place they find for playing hide-and-seek with their piratical friends!
Peter Duck takes the Swallows, Amazons, and Captain Flint on a real seafaring voyage (or is it a tale of their own invention?), pursuing pirate treasure, and pursued by very real pirates bent on taking the treasure for themselves—at all costs!
In Winter Holiday, the D’s (Dick and Dorothea Callum) are introduced. The holiday is extended when Captain Nancy comes down with the mumps. But who will plan the adventures with their fearless leader in quarantine?
The D’s meet the Coot Club in the book of that name, and they learn to sail while helping their new friends defend the local waterfowl from horrible summer people called the Hullabaloos.
Pigeon Post finds all the young adventurers (except the Coot Club) camping out in the hills and searching for gold in abandoned mines.
Through a chain of accidental circumstances, the Walker children find themselves sailing across the North Sea alone in a borrowed yacht in We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea.
In Secret Water, the adventurers meet new friends and tidal adventures while they learn the science of mapping uncharted waters.
In The Big Six, the D’s return to their Coot Club friends, and help them to solve the mystery of who is trying to get them all in trouble with the law.
Another adventure which, like Peter Duck, takes the fictional aspects of the story to a higher level, is Missee Lee, in which the Swallows, Amazons, and Captain Flint take a trip around the world and get mixed up with some Chinese pirates.
In The Picts and the Martyrs, the D’s become "Picts," hiding out from the Blacketts’ formidable Great-Aunt, who is making "Martyrs" of them. Can the children accomplish all their summer plans without giving away their secret?
Finally, the Swallows, Amazons, and D’s are all reunited in Great Northern? in which they seek to identify and protect a rare pair of birds in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Cape Light Novels by Thomas Kinkade and Katherine Spencer
If you enjoy feel-good stories in a small town setting, you are likely to enjoy this series, full of picturesque scenery and happy endings. There are ministers and medical students, mysteries and miracles, cranks and cooks, calamities and career changes… There are singles, married couples, and familes. There are people to love and to laugh with as they overcome obstacles, find romance, persevere through hard times, and find joy in helping others.
The books are sequential, as follows.
- Cape Light
- Home Song
- A Gathering Place
- A New Leaf
- A Christmas Promise
- The Christmas Angel
- A Christmas to Remember
- A Christmas Visitor
- A Christmas Star

Monday, October 20, 2008
Becca's Story by James D. Forman

Living in Michigan, far from the issues tearing the country apart, none of them wants the war. Responsible Alex feels duty-bound to serve his country when called, yet he hates the thought of killing anything, even an animal. Free-spirited Charlie doesn’t care about fighting the South—he wants to go West, not to join the army. Becca believes it would be dishonorable for them not to fight, but she loves them both dearly and can scarcely bear to choose one over the other. And none of them has any idea what a long and bloody war is before them.
Both boys will join the army, endure the daily hardships and the terrors of battle, and become experienced soldiers with a growing enthusiasm for the cause that brings them back to enlist a second time. But only one of them will come home.
This is neither a romantic adventure novel nor a cynical protest against war, but a moving story about common soldiers, unsung heroes, true friendship, and the uncertainties of life.
Friday, October 17, 2008
You Can Do It by Tony Dungy

Tony Dungy grew up in a home encouraged by his parents to have faith ...and dream big! Tony knew early on that football was going to be his dream. His sisters, Sherri and Lauren, always knew that becoming a nurse and a doctor were their dreams for the future . But his younger brother, Linden, couldn't seem to find a dream of this own...until a very special day when he stops being a class clown and becomes a kid on a mission. And Tony is always there to encourage him...well, in a big brother sort of way.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Freddy and the Perilous Adventure by Walter Brooks

As usual, there is no stopping Freddy, who uses his wits and the aid of his friends (animal and human) from the Bean farm, Boomschmidt’s circus, and the surrounding countryside, to see that all ends as it should.
A great read-aloud and laugh-aloud book about courage, honesty, and friendship.
Labels:
Fiction,
Juvenile,
Juvenile Fiction
Monday, October 6, 2008
Alistair Cooke’s America

Labels:
Adult,
Adult Non-Fiction,
Non-Fiction
Monday, September 29, 2008
Flush by Carl Hiaasen

When a clever brother and sister, with the aid of an angry waitress, step forward to do their part, everything really gets moving. But it will take a couple of bullies to really do the job in this surprise ending, which just goes to show that “what goes around comes around.”
Sunday, September 28, 2008
The Witches of Dredmoore Hollow by Riford McKenzie

Elijah isn't known for his bravery. As his father says, his imagination tends to get the better of him. But Elijah's imagination isn't to blame when his two strange aunts arrive at Dredmoore Hollow and whisk him away to stay with them, right after his parents suddenly leave town.
Elijah discovers that secrets and magic are part of the Dredmoore family legacy and there's no hiding from your roots--no matter how deep and dark and tangled they may be.
Elijah discovers that secrets and magic are part of the Dredmoore family legacy and there's no hiding from your roots--no matter how deep and dark and tangled they may be.
"Things That Are" by Andrew Clements

A novel full of adventure, romance, and mystery, a story about learning to trust the things we know but cannot see.
Alicia's total blindness is a harsh fact. But she still sees what's going on. She sees how her parents want her to be independent, but can't quite let go. She sees Bobby edging closer, sees their relationship approaching new territory. And she sees William, at first just another invisible form, a voice. Except William is invisible to everyone, not just Alicia.
Oodles of Animals by Lois Ehlert
Ms. Wiz Spells Trouble by Terence Blacker

Ms. Wiz Spells Trouble is the first book in a best selling series that was originally published in the United Kingdom.
Describing herself as a paranormal operative, the delightful Ms. Wiz uses her magic to rescue the students at St Barnabas School from one disaster after another - with outrageous results.
Describing herself as a paranormal operative, the delightful Ms. Wiz uses her magic to rescue the students at St Barnabas School from one disaster after another - with outrageous results.
Monday, September 22, 2008
The Jewel of Gresham Green by Lawana Blackwell

Technically, I was a little disappointed in the way the stories portray Victorian England (at least, I think it is supposed to be Victorian). The author obviously did a lot of research, but 21st Century American viewpoints have a way of slipping in anyway (typical of this kind of novel). But, forgetting the technicalities, I found I enjoyed them all immensely as a fun and entertaining read. The people are almost all likeable, though not impossibly perfect—and the author loves to invent characters with amusing quirks. The plots and sub-plots are interesting, but not overly agonizing. Although not all of the characters are sweet and innocent types, the content is "family friendly." And the “bad guys” almost all either ultimately reform, or get their come-uppance. So what if they’re not entirely realistic? That’s the fun of fiction!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
The Black Glove by Grant Morrison

Labels:
Adult,
Adult Non-Fiction,
Graphic Novels,
Non-Fiction
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Sail by James Patterson

Friday, July 25, 2008
Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz
What goes u
p must come down, and when we last saw Alex Rider, he was as up as can be—in outer space. When he crash lands off the coast of Australia, the Australian Secret Service recruits him to infiltrate one of the ruthless gangs operating across South East Asia. Known as snakeheads, the gangs smuggle drugs, weapons, and worst of all, people. Alex accepts the assignment, in part for the chance to work with his godfather and learn more about his parents. What he uncovers, however, is a secret that will make this his darkest and most dangerous mission yet . . . and that his old nemesis, Scorpia, is anything but out of his life.
From the slums of Bangkok to the Australian Outback to the middle of the Timor Sea, Snakehead is Alex Rider's most action-packed adventure yet

From the slums of Bangkok to the Australian Outback to the middle of the Timor Sea, Snakehead is Alex Rider's most action-packed adventure yet
On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman

For ages 3 to 6.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon

He answers to no one and no one questions him. Yeah, right.
Enter a woman on a forbidden quest out to answer an ancient mystery who won't take no for an answer. Not even from Acheron himself.
In spite of his impugning her reputation and foiling her attempts at every step of the way, she will not be denied.But when ancient guardians and old enemies threaten them, the only hope they have is to stand together or be destroyed individually. The only problem is Acheron isn't sure he can trust anyone with his past, but as the Fates have foretold, in your past lies your future. The time for truth is at hand...
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

Friday, May 16, 2008
Elephant Quilt by Susan Lowell

Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Diamond Willow by Helen Frost

Using diamond-shaped poems inspired by forms found in polished diamond willow sticks, Helen Frost tells the moving story of Willow and her family. Hidden messages within each diamond carry the reader further, into feelings Willow doesn’t reveal even to herself.
Labels:
Fiction,
Juvenile,
Juvenile Fiction
Monday, April 28, 2008
“Bandit” by Karen Rostoker-Gruber
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Maximum Ride School's Out - Forever
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Little Tiny Teeth by Aaron Elkins

Aaron Elkins' Gideon Oliver forensic mysteries employ an old device - the closed room mystery - with fresh settings and interesting characters. Oliver is known as "The Bone Detective," a man who can discern a world of information from old bones. He travels extensively, and usually manages to stumble upon a murder in some exotic location.
In "Tiny Little Teeth" the location is a boat in the Amazon jungle. With a limited number of suspects and no way to add or subtract from them, Oliver is faced with a perplexing series of events, including disappearances, reappearances, and pirhana-chewed bodies. If you enjoy classic mysteries combined with unique locales, you will enjoy this and the other of the Gideon Oliver series.
Raymond Ranier
Labels:
Adult,
Adult Fiction,
Classic Mystery,
Fiction
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen

Labels:
Fiction,
Juvenile,
Juvenile Fiction
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