Many Worlds, One Li-Bro-rian

  Sell, C. (2018) The Cardboard Kingdom . New York, NY: Alfred A Knopf. The wicked sorceress and her minions are attacking once again!   Luckily we have the superb knight, and his team of good to combat her evil forces!   When that epic battle finishes, we can all relax at the Dragon’s Head Inn.   What?   Is it time to go home already?    In this amazing graphic novel by Chad Sell and friends, we see the stories of a bunch of neighborhood kids and their summer adventures.   Each kid has their own story, and their own challenges to face.   Even with those real life challenges, they can find solace and kinship just outside in the Cardboard Kingdom.  Everyone can find someone to relate to in these stories, and have a good laugh as well.   The art is great enough to move the story on its own, regardless of dialogue.   I recommend this to any kid, and anybody else who enjoys a heartwarming tale.

Bluebonnet Time!  And this week I'm bringing you two!  Cline-Ransome, L.(2018) Game Changers . New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Game Changers is the story of Serena and Venus Williams.  It tells of their humble beginnings, and the amazing hard work and passion they put into their sport from a young age.  It talks about the heads they turned, the records they broke, and the sisterly love they had for each other. This was a great book.  I've always admired the Williams sister's skills, but this book made me appreciate them even more.  I must admit I teared up a bit towards the end.  So beautiful!  Also, this book gets a big thumbs up from my 8 year old. Rubin, A. (2018) El Chupacabras . New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers Hector loves his goats.  He brushes them, he milks them, he even sings to them.  His daughter Carla, likes her bicycle more.  But when a goat goes missing, Carla is first on the scene.  S...

It' time for another Bluebonnet book!  This time it's Angela Cervantes' Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring ! Cervantes, A. (2018) Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring . New York, NY: Scholastic Inc. This book starts out with your typical tween, complaining about something amazing like getting an all expenses paid trip to another country for a month.  Then it takes a turn for the mysterious.  Paloma, our American tween, meets a set of twins.  They're pretty nice, but maybe hiding something.  Either way, they convince Paloma to join them in hunting for a missing piece of Frida Kahlo's artwork, a peacock ring.  Along the way, Paloma will learn about her deceased father's Mexican culture, appreciate art, and live through adventures straight out of her favorite mystery novels. I really liked this book.  Not only did it get me interested in Frida Kahlo's artwork enough that I did my own research into it, but it drew me into the my...

  Harris, N. (2017) The Magic Misfits . New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company Another Bluebonnet book down!  I just finished up The Magic Misfits , by Neil Patrick Harris and it is pretty much what you might expect from a mind like Harris's!  Here's what its about. Carter once had a family and a home, but now he lives on the street with his distant uncle.  Carter has always had fast hands, and his uncle has helped that gift mature.  However, his uncle like to use "magic" tricks to steal from people.  Carter won't budge on his morals though, and runs away on a train.  When he gets off the train at an unknown town, there is a circus fair going on.  The fair seems pretty crooked, which matches his views on what magic seems good for.  His views may turn around however, when he meets a strange man at the fair.  Mr. Vernon only seems to do magic for enjoyment, not for gain.  When Carter finds his way to Mr. Vernon's magic shop and ...

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike!  I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride it where I like!  Sorry, got a bit of Queen stuck in my head. I recently finished reading my next Bluebonnet list book, The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle by Christina Uss and boy did it take me for a ride! Uss, C.(2018) The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle . New York, NY: Margaret Ferguson Books As a small child, Bicycle is a abandoned at a monastery of the Mostly Silent Monks.  She is found by the former nun, Sister Wanda, who runs the place.  The monastery takes her in and raises her.  They call her Bicycle because of the shirt she is wearing with a bike on it.  Growing up in a mostly silent monastery, Bicycle doesn't make many friends.  She'd rather ride her bike anyway.  When Sister Wanda decides to send Bicycle away to the Friendship Factory, a camp that forces you to make friends, Bicycle knows she has to do something drastic....

This week I've a got another one making me feel the feels!  Captain Superlative! Janie doesn't feel like she's anything special.  It's her mission in life not to stand out, or get involved.  When a strange girl in a swimsuit and a blue wig starts tearing down the hall at school and doing nice things for people however, she starts finding that maybe getting involved is just what she, and the rest of the school, needed. This book was pretty interesting.  It's both sweet and sad.  The moral was good and it's one I hope most kids can pick up on and follow.  It has a good focus on how doing a lot of little good things, can really add up to a big change.   Overall, a pretty good book. Puller, J (2018) Captain Superlative! . New York, NY: Disney Hyperion

Harris, R & Emberley, M. (2014) It’s So Amazing! Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press If ever the question is asked, “Where do babies come from?”, this may be the book to reach for.   Topics in this book range from how babies are made, to types of relationships, to sexual abuse. The text is accompanied by diagrams, and pictures.   Two little characters, a bird and a bee, make the journey with you in learning about just that. What I really like about this book is that it tells the facts.   While written at a level that a 7 year old+ can understand, the facts aren’t’ sugar coated.   There are no agendas in this book, religious, political or otherwise.   It often talks about the different ways of doing things, but doesn’t say any are better than others.   It gently tells facts that need to be told, but can be difficult to say.