Many Worlds, One Li-Bro-rian

It's been awhile since I posted last, but I finally found a book a rather liked! Bradley, A. (2013) Speaking From Among the Bones. New York, NY: Delacorte Press Flavia de Luce is at it again. When the patron of their local church, St. Tancred, is set to be exhumed from his tomb below the church, it's no one's surprise that Flavia is going to be there.  It is a surprise though that before they even get to fully open the tomb, the body of the missing organist is found within!  So using her knowledge of chemistry, and deductive reasoning, Flavia is set to solve another mystery.    This is the 5th book in the series, so that gives some credit of how much I enjoy these novels.  Not only do the murder mysteries continue to draw me in, but the intrigue generated from the characters of this small town as well.  In this particular book there are a couple of bombshells revealed.  As a science teacher, I love the bits of chemistry and other sciences th...

Parker, N. (2018) Seafire. New York, NY: Penguin Random House LLC On the Bullet Seas, the only thing you can trust is your family.  For Captain Caledonia Styx, that refers to her crew, her sisters.  She had another family once, but that was taken away by Aric Athair bullets.  Her family was murdered, her ship burned, and she was left for dead.  She didn't die though.  Instead she grew stronger, rebuilt her ship, and raised an all girl crew to sail it. Now her new family is being threatened, but this time she's going to give it right back. I absolutely loved this book!  I laughed, I cried, I got angry, I felt tense, and I lusted for adventure.  This book took me for a ride that I'm not ready to get off from.  I can tell you I'll be checking out the sequel, Steeltide, as soon as I can.  The characters are engaging and the setting is so interesting.  It' s sort of a post apocalyptic world, in which those errors of the previous civiliza...

Taking a short break from the Bluebonnets, I decided to read a more adult level book from one of my favorite authors, Michael Crichton. Crichton, M. (2017) Dragon Teeth . New York, NY: Harper Collins If William Johnson seems to be nothing more than a rich, spoiled, Yale college student, that's because he is.  However, a bet with a fellow will have him traveling to still wild west of the late 1800s, and it will change him forever.  He signs up on an expedition to find dinosaur bones, but what he finds is  a whole lot of trouble. Michael Crichton has an amazing way of blending fact with fiction, reality with fantasy, that really gets your mind wondering "could this be real?".  Dragon Teeth is no exception.  Crichton does so much research into his novels, they always have a factual feel to them.  That feel makes the adventure within that much more thrilling.  If you like the wild west, paleontology, or just a good adventure, this could be the book...

  Wittenstein, B. (2018) The Boo-Boos That Changed The World : A true story about an accidental invention (really!). Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge This book is about the invention of the most important medical advancement in history: The Band-Aid!   Earle Dickson was a cotton buyer for Johnson and Johnson.   His wife was an accident-prone homemaker.   When Earle continuously came home to an injured wife, he knew he had to do something.   That something led to the invention of the Band-Aid! A really fun book, with a really true history lesson.   The story is written in a humorous way that makes you want to keep reading (even with the multiple fake endings).   This is a great book for anyone who likes to learn fun facts, read silly stories, or likes Band-Aids!

  Creech, S. (2018) Saving Winslow . New York, NY: Harper Collins  Louie doesn’t have a great track record with pets.   Each animal he has tried to care for has either run away, disappeared, or died.   But when his dad shows up with a tiny baby donkey, Louie knows things are going to be different.   While everyone else tells him the donkey won’t make it, Louie refuses to listen.   He’s determined to do everything in his power to save Winslow, and beat the status quo. This was a nice short story.   It touches on loss, family, and friendship.   Louie’s determination to be there for the donkey, is often reflected in his loss of companionship from his brother, who went off to the military.   A nice feel good story.   Barnes, D. (2017) Crown . Evanston, IL: Agate Publishing This book is all about a boy’s trip to the barber shop and how it makes him feel.   It’s very poetic in how it describes the processes,   t...

  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.

Another Bluebonnet! Just ten more to go! Hernandez, J. (2017) The Dragon Slayer: Folktales From Latin America . New York, NY: Toon Graphics The Dragon Slayer is the retelling of three folktales from Latin America.  Specifically, the stories are: The Dragon Slayer, Martina Martinez and Perez the Mouse, and Tup And The Ants.  Each of these traditional stories is told in a comic format.  The art is well done, finding a balance between cartoony and realistic; which is just right for these sort of stories.  It's interesting to see the morals in the story and get a sense of the time when these stories were created.  Even though they are old stories, they are still relatable.  My 8 year old daughter very much enjoyed this book and so did I.

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....

Hello!  Now that I have a break between my classes, I can post about books again!  The next series of books I'm going to post about are on the Texas Bluebonnet list.  I decided I'm going to read all of this year's list and do my part and vote on my favorites.  So without further ado, here is my first review of one of the bluebonnet books! Rhodes, J. (2018) Ghost Boys . New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company  Jerome is a good boy.  He usually listens to his parents, tries not to stand out in school, and does his part to help at home.  Then one day, after a new friend gives him a toy gun, he is shot by a policeman.  As a ghost, he wanders around, wondering why he's still around.  At home, he has to deal with his families grief, and he doesn't have the ability to comfort anyone.  In fact, the only one who can see him is the daughter of the policeman who shot him.  Jerome has to learn to deal with his own death, and how he can he...

What is YA Literature?   Number one thing about YA literature is that it, as you might expect, has highly independent, young adult characters.   The book will be from an adolescent point-of-view on some major change in their life.   As adolescents live in the now, the major problem will be a contemporary issue.   After some decision or action the main character takes, they will have to suffer the consequences. The draws on how adolescents develop, so the changes in the character will be gradual and incomplete.   This is partially because the story only takes place of a limited amount of time. This lesson helped me to further define what YA literature is.   While going over the information I kept thinking of examples of books that fit well, or didn’t fit well and wondering where the lines of this definition could be blurred.   For example, fantasy books like the Percy Jackson series tend have problems that are monster related.   While the...