Ghoulish Middle Grade

(Disclaimer: I have not actually read these.  Some have been read by my kids, some have not.)

(Received for review... for the most part)

Stick Dog Craves Candy
by Tom Watson
Stick Dog is quite popular at my house, so I'm sure this new trick-or-treat offering will be a welcome one.


The School for Good and Evil (series)
by Soman Chainani
I'm not actually super familiar with these, but they look really interesting.  I think, though, that Boo is a little past them and MeiMei's not there yet.... and they just aren't Mister's thing.  So not the right fit in our house at the moment.


The Supernormal Sluething Service: The Lost Legacy
by Gwenda Bond and Glenn Thomas
So, you know a book must look good when a kid who doesn't like fantasy AND doesn't like mystery.... scoops this up immediately, reads it, and tells you how good it was.  Seriously folks, it was weird.  If it had been Boo, that would have been completely normal, but MISTER went after this one.  I've not read it, but I'm already impressed.


Monsters Unleashed
by John Kloepfer
This one looks like a good fit for those who are on the diary-style kick.  So pretty much any latter-elementary aged kid, right?  What would you do if your monsters came to life?  Freddie has to figure it out.... fast.


Spirit Hunters
by Ellen Oh
This one looks CREEPY and is totally not my thing.  I didn't think my kids would care, but Mister took it from me to read, so there's that.  Then again, he still hasn't actually read it.... so there's also that.  If you've got an older one who's into creepy, take a look.

The Big Bad Fox by Benjamin Renner

3 stars
JF graphic novel

Um.... this is one of the weirdest books I've read so far this year.

That might be saying something.

This goofy graphic novel features a fox who is subsisting on turnips.  Why? Because no one is afraid of him.

In fact, the chickens beat him up.

So no chicken dinner for him.

Until the wolf convinces him he should steal some eggs...

hatch them...

fatten the chicks up....

THEN he'll have his chicken dinner, right?

You probably know where this is going.

And you're right.... mostly.

Anyway, bizarre in that way that kids just giggle and giggle and giggle at.  Boo, Mister, and MeiMei all enjoyed it.

(And as long as no one starts calling each other "fart face" I'm good with this.)

The humor is perhaps lost a little on adults, but it's still fun.

Real Friends by Shannon Hale

5 stars
memoir, graphic biography

This was so good.

In fact, I made this required summer reading for both Boo and Mister.... and then MeiMei insisted on reading it too.

(I wouldn't have given it to MeiMei, not because there's anything inappropriate but just because it probably went over her head a bit, but hey, she really really wanted to read it.)

Mister was a little more resistant to reading it, but he's probably the one who would benefit the most from reading about interactions with friends, so I insisted, lol.

Anyway, it's graphic novel format (though it's a memoir, not a novel) so it's a really fast read.

My only complaint is probably the font size.... my eyes are not a fan. ;)

Overall, just go read it.

Summer Reading Saturdays!

It's a return to Summer Reading Saturdays!

This year, for Boo and Mister, I'm modeling things on the 30 book challenge that Mister did in school a year or two ago.

For each month I will give them a list of genres and how many of each they need to read, totaling 15 books per month.

(Does that sound like a lot?  Boo was on book 3 on day 2.  I promise they can do it.)

Actually technically it's 14 books plus one title that I'm requiring (for June it's Real Friends-- review next week).

I'm trying to get them out of their ruts, so Boo's list does not have fantasy on it (it does require one Robin McKinley, because McKinley's amazing and Boo's been weirdly resistant about her books).

They both need to read a classic (which for Boo means things like Little Women and for Mister means things like Newbery winners from before he was born), a couple of mysteries, at least one verse novel and one graphic novel, 2 or 3 historical fiction, etc.

We'll see how June goes and maybe we'll tweak July.

Their reward will be the ice cream sundae parties each month like we did last summer.

What about MeiMei, you ask?

MeiMei's goal is just to finish what she starts.  She's the child that starts a book, reads a chapter, puts it down, starts another book, etc, etc.

Even when she's really enjoying a book she does this.  It makes me batty.  I cannot read that way.

What are YOU doing for summer reading?

{School} Reading Saturday

My bigger kids just finished their latest school fundraiser-- a Read-A-Thon!

I was actually kind of excited for this one, because reading is totally doable, no one was selling lame over-priced junk, and all the money actually goes to the school instead of some little fraction.

We did warn people, though-- think carefully before you give them a "per minute" pledge.

The example/suggestion was 10 cents per minute.

No big deal, right?

Until you start doing the math....

That's a dollar every 10 minutes.

If anyone had gone that route, here's what they would have owed my kids:

MeiMei-- $72

Mister-- $132

Boo-- $198

That's right, my kids read 720, 1320, and 1980 minutes respectively.

In like 2 or 3 weeks.

Because hey, they're my children. ;)

Christmas Gift Guide (Even More) Middle Grade Edition

You didn't think I'd actually covered everything last week, did you?

Once again, these are books I haven't read (so many books, so little time) but like the look of.  We have received some for review, some my kids are getting for Christmas, etc.

Pax by Sarah Pennypacker
Maybe I'm just a sucker for that fox on the cover, but I really want to read this one.  It sounds a little "The Fox and the Hound".  This is actually in my "to read aloud to MeiMei" pile.

Like Magic by Elaine Vickers
To be totally honest, this story of friendship might not end up being Boo's cup of tea, but I like the looks of it and I'm going to push her to read it.  The main characters are 10, so this is probably a good choice for girls around that age.

Foxheart by Claire Legrand
A fantasy adventure for fans of Neil Gaiman and Diana Wynne Jones? Um, yes please!  I mean, that's a no-brainer, right?

Wing and Claw #1: Forest of Wonders by Linda Sue Park
Boo enjoyed this one.  She thinks other kids would like it. :)

Laugh Out Loud [blank] Jokes for Kids by Rob Elliott
What elementary student doesn't love a good joke book?  The [blank] there is because there are SO MANY of these.  Animal jokes, Spooky jokes, Christmas jokes, Holiday jokes, etc etc etc.  Seriously, just search the author on Amazon or something.  These are a great choice for any kid, but definitely a good idea for reluctant readers.

Lock and Key: The Initiation by Ridley Pearson
Sherlock and Moriarty reimagined.  Who could resist such a thing??

Also: Stick Dog.  I know, they look goofy, but I tell you they are well-loved around here.

Christmas Gift Guide Middle Grade Edition

(Also known as JF because that's what my local library calls it, lol)

Disclaimer-- I have not actually read any of these yet but I like the looks of them, have received some of them for review, and my kids are getting some of them for Christmas (shh, don't tell).

Kid President's Guide to Being Awesome by Robby Novak
My kids LOVE Kid President.  They love this book.  Good bet for elementary kids, especially the older ones.

Fancy Nancy: Nancy Clancy Seeks a Fortune by Jane O'Connor
This is the 7th in the series, so really you might want to start at the beginning (Nancy Clancy Super Sleuth) but these are a great choice for younger readers transitioning to chapter books.  They aren't terribly long, they're illustrated, and they're a familiar character.  Good for 1st-3rd grade-ish, especially kids who love the Fancy Nancy picture books.

My Weird School Fast Facts: Geography and Sports by Dan Gutman
(That would be 2 different books)  I don't know about you, but I've found that boys especially LOVE books of facts and trivia.  These books are a great choice for fans of the My Weird School series or kids who want to know things like why major league umpires are required to wear black underwear.  (I have no idea on that one.  Maybe I need to read it.)

Ms. Bixby's Last Day by John David Anderson
This looks SO GOOD.  Recommended for later elementary probably.  This one looks a bit more serious, but I think Boo's going to enjoy it.  And you can bet I'll be stealing it from her pile to read it myself.

The School for Good and Evil: The Ever Never Handbook by Soman Chainani
I don't know a ton about this one, but I do know that things like this are crazy popular with the 4th-6th grade girl crowd right now.

Moo by Sharon Creech
Forget the kids, I want this one for me!  Two kids move to Maine and their parents "volunteer" them to work for an eccentric neighbor.  I am very much looking forward to this one.  (I'll definitely give y'all a full review once I've read it.)

Hamstersaurus Rex by Tom O'Donnell
This looks hilarious and right up Mister's alley.  Really, it's a hamster gone Godzilla-- what's not to love?

Also-- the Big Nate series.  I know I've talked about them before, but I'm talking about them again.  New this year: Big Nate Flips Out, Big Nate Doodlepalooza, and Big Nate Puzzlemania.  Mister would read little else if I let him.  An excellent choice especially for reluctant readers.

Beehives Part the Final

Last but not least, we have the Young Adult Fiction category

(Young Adult is trickier to navigate content-wise, so you may want to double-check or further investigate these to see if they're appropriate for your reader.)

A Night Divided by Jennifer Nielsen (Both Boo and Mister have read and enjoyed this historical novel.  I haven't gotten to it yet sadly, but I'm really looking forward to it.)

The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz (This seems to be another historical set in 1911 Baltimore.)

I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest (Boo LOVED this one.)

Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine (Alternate history?)

Jackaby by William Ritter (Oh how we love Jackaby!  Boo and I have recommended this to many people.)

Kissing in America by Margo Rabb (This is noted as being for more mature readers.)

The Leveller by Julie Durango (Virtual reality gone haywire-- Boo really enjoyed this one.)

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson  (Graphic novel, Boo and Mister both enjoyed this one.)

The Six by Mark Alpert (This one looks dystopian.)

Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee (Oregon trail historical.  This looks really interesting.)

Beehives Part 3

Now we come to the chapter books-- the Children's Fiction category.

Appleblossom the Possum by Holly Sloan (We read this aloud together on a family vacation this summer and while it was a little weird, I liked it.  Boo and MeiMei liked it too... Mister was a little indifferent.)

Beast Keeper by Lucy Coats (We haven't read this one, but Mister wants to)

The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands (Boo really liked this one.)

Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon (Boo LOVED this one.)

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt (Oh my gosh, this book.  Loved it.  Mister describes it as awesome.  Boo does too.  Heartbreaking and heartwarming and ultimately beautifully hopeful.)

The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart (This one is noted as being for more mature readers.  Boo says it was good and it's told from two alternating viewpoints.  She also says it was sad.)

My Brother is a Superhero by David Solomons (Mister says "That. Was. Awesome. and absolutely recommends it.)

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson (Graphic novel.  Boo says it was really good and I've heard good things from others too.)

The War that Saved my Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (Noted as being for more mature readers.  Boo says it was good.)

Zane and the Hurricane by Rodman Philbrick (Noted as being for more mature readers. Boo says that while this wasn't really her thing she still enjoyed it.)

Book Round-Up: World Record Edition part 2

Teddy Mars (series)
By Molly B Burnham

Book 1: Almost a World Record Breaker
received for review (though truth be told, we already had it checked out from the library when it came in the mail, lol)

I give this one 4 stars, Mister gave it more.  It is admittedly hilarious (the first couple of pages had me laughing aloud) but the parents (or more accurately their parenting style) made me bonkers.  It's not cute when a kid destroys someone else's stuff.  Just no.  (If the little brother had been 2 and not turning 5 that might have been one thing, but no.)

Ultimately I liked where it went and it was fun.  Mister loved it.  Boo enjoyed it too.  Good bet for the elementary school crowd.

Book 2: Almost a Winner
received for review

Again, Mister loved it, though he didn't think the description was very accurate and that annoyed him.  Again he said it was very funny.

He is now anxiously awaiting.....

Book 3: Almost an Outlaw

which isn't even in GoodReads yet.... so I'm thinking he'll be waiting a while.

NERDS by Michael Buckley

National Espionage,  Rescue, and Defense Society
3 stars
read for Guys Read
Copy received for review... I think... forever ago.

1) I love Michael Buckley's Sisters Grimm series
2) This looked hilarious
3) Nerds save the world? What more could you want??

4).... meh.

Sigh, I wanted to like this SO MUCH MORE than I did.  Not really sure why it fell flat, but it did.

But, I'm not the target audience, so what do I know? lol

Mister really enjoyed it and had a blast at the Guys Read program for the book.  (I think they made robots if I remember right....)

Probably a really good fit for mid to late elementary or middle school boys, especially ones that are a little nerdy. :)

May the FOURTH Be with You

Chronicle Books sent us a cool activity kit for our May the 4th party this year!!  How awesome is that?

It had this great poster:

And this fun new book-- each page is like a little comic.  It was a HUGE hit.

It also had stickers, activities to copy, pins... ridiculously cool.

SO-- it needed to be an awesome party.  We put it together and celebrated with Alyson's crew (of Eat, Read, and Be Mommy).

We needed light sabers.... (these were a "hit" [pun so very intended] but they make an insane squeaky sound when they hit each other, so there was actually less fighting than anticipated, lol).

And blasters.... (which were actually pretty much a flop-- didn't work well AT ALL).

(Playing with the blasters)

Here are 6 of the 7 padawans.... LuLu kept wandering off.

(Epic light saber battling)

The activity that was the biggest hit, though, was rescuing the poor soldiers frozen in carbonite.  Each of the padawans had a tray with "carbonite" (baking soda mixed with just enough water to pack it) and a bowl of vinegar....

along with some cool Star Wars ice "cubes"....

and they were off and "saving" the poor plastic army men.  

My kids play with vinegar and baking soda on a regular basis (gotta love cheap entertainment) but this was LuLu's first time.  She'd pour a bit of vinegar and look up at me exclaiming "WOW!"  It was pretty cute.

And of course you can't have a party without food-- here's our tie fighter and ewok snack.

The kids read the book in between activities and overall we all had a blast!! (Ironically, excepting the part with the blasters... wouldn't do that bit again probably....)

HUGE thanks to Chronicle Books!!  

Wordless Wednesday

 

Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: One Dead Spy by Nathan Hale

4 stars
JF graphic historical novel

Nathan Hale (the author/illustrator-- he illustrated Rapunzel's Revenge) has a great idea going with these Hazardous Tales from Nathan Hale (the Revolutionary War hero).

My kids LOVE LOVE LOVE these books.  Words cannot express how much.  So they were overjoyed when the first book (this one) was the pick for BOTH Great Reads for Girls AND Guys Read at the library in January.

And really, how can you not be excited about a book where Nathan Hale (the Revolutionary one) gets eaten by a history book just before he's to be hanged and starts telling stories from American history to delay his execution.

Interestingly, Boo seemed to be the only girl (at Great Reads) who was really enthusiastic about it.  I acknowledge that there's probably more appeal for boys, but I thought more girls would be into it too.  Maybe it was just our group.

Anyway, since it was the January pick for both programs, I also read One Dead Spy.  I really enjoyed it, and I loved all the information he put in at the end.  I made a list of other books to read from the bibliography.  Super fun, but I don't know that I feel compelled to read the others myself.

My kids have already devoured the other books in the series (so far, they're hoping for many more to come).

(Donner Dinner Party is one of them.  Nope, I'm not making that title up.  As an adult who's very familiar with the Donner Party [I grew up near Donner Pass], the macabre humor of this title is awful and awesome all at the same time.  I haven't read it, but no one asked what cannibalism was after reading it, so I think it's fairly tame.)

Overall, I think these books are a fabulous way to get kids, especially boys, interested in history, and I think the format will appeal to even fairly reluctant readers.  Definitely recommended.

Birthday Breakfast: A Food Post

I promise, there will be actual bookish posts soon.  Really there will.

But I had THIS for breakfast today....


and it's just kind of too good not to share.

The original recipe for these Double Chocolate Brownie Batter Pancakes is from Chocolate Covered Katie.  It's a tiny batch of not-too-sweet chocolaty goodness.

Adding strawberries, whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and sprinkles makes them AMAZING.  (Though I should point out that we only add the syrup and sprinkles for birthdays at our house.)

For those who hate doing math, like me, here's the recipe x16 (which feeds out family of 6 [Pixie doesn't count yet] with leftovers), with math courtesy of my husband, the human calculator.

(I should point out that the original has healthier ingredient options, such as using applesauce in place of the oil.)

4 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 cup cocoa
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups oil
3 cups milk
1/3 cup vanilla

Mix and cook!  If you're feeling fancy, make Mickey Mouse pancakes. :)

And a happy birthday to this crazy boy-

Happy birthday, Mister!

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

5 stars
JF

This was a HUGE hit in my house.  Across the board.

Mister enjoyed it, Boo LOVED it, I found it hilarious.

When Dad leaves for milk and takes forever to come home, he needs a good story to explain the lengthy absence.  The result is part Hitchhiker's Guide and part... craziness, lol.  But fortunately, the milk. :)

Boo is THRILLED that it's the first book up when Great Reads for Girls resumes at our library in September.  (And since it features a dad, dads are invited.  Which works nicely with the whole "new baby" thing in our house.)

I think we probably need to own this one.  It's definitely that good.

HIGHLY recommended for ages 4-ish on up through great-great-grandparents.  If you're starting to think about Christmas book-giving, this one could work for almost anyone on your list. :)

Meet Pixie!

Weighing in at a tiny 6 lbs 14 oz, Pixie ended up being a much more apropos nickname than I realized it would be, lol.

We're doing well and I'm already finding my post-baby reading groove. :)

Just for giggles, here's a quick look at the older monkeys as babies:

I have cookie-cutter children, what can I say.  :)

In other news, school starts in a few days, hooray!  I need to post some more Summer Reading updates for sure... Or a wrap-up at any rate.

Big Nate: Mr. Popularity by Lincoln Pierce

*This is a Mister review

[Copy received for review]

70 stars

This book is all in comic strips.  There are a few storylines.  There are activities at the end.

It's awesome and really funny.

Highly recommended.

{Mommy note: I think he's already read this one like 3 times.  Seriously.  The kid LOVES comics and graphic novels.  This is basically a collection of strips from the Sunday Funnies.}

Just a Second by Steve Jenkins

A Different Way to Look at Time
4 stars

Interesting.

And... kind of creepy, lol.

Some pages tell about things that happen in a second, or a minute, or an hour...

Some tell about things that happen very quickly... and some are things that happen over a long time.

There is an element of "preachy" to some of them-- population growth, destruction of habitats, etc-- and a few creepy ones-- this many people die, this many people are killed by sharks, this many people die of this, etc-- but overall this is one that kids will find fascinating.

Possibly especially boys.  Mister was certainly entertained.

Beehive Nominees: Poetry: Part 1

BookSpeak: Poems About Books
by Laura Purdie Salas
5 stars

I love poems about books.  I mean, how could I not, right?
The Cliffhanger poem is especially fabulous.

Boo says: 5 stars
Mister says: too long

Shiver Me Timbers! Pirate Poems and Paintings
by Douglas Florian
4 stars

This is a cute collection of pirate-y poems, which is guaranteed success at my house.  Some are very clever, some felt a bit redundant.

Boo says: 10 stars
Mister says: 10,000 stars!

Twosomes: Love Poems from the Animal Kingdom
by Marilyn Singer
3.5 stars

Super short, cute enough, but just not a lot to it.  Each page is a two-line "poem" about a different animal.  Some of them are pretty funny.

Boo says: 3 stars
Mister says: didn't want to read it