Written in Bone by Sally M. Walker

Forensic anthropologist help to tell the story of those who lived and died in Jamestown and Colonial Maryland. They tell the story of an enslaved young girl, a teen boy and a colonial official and his family. They determined the gender of the bones they found, place in society, they could even determine cause of death. The information in the book is extremely interesting, and pictures are what really make this book for me. I had a really hard time reading this one. It read too much like a text book.

Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez

You would be hard pressed to find two more opposite characters then Tyler and Mari. Tyler is the son of a proud farmer who has been injured and finds it difficult to keep up with his farm work. Mari is the eldest daughter of a Mexican migrant worker who is desperate need to work. Mari's family lives and works on the farm that Tyler's family has own since the begining of time, frienship blossoms and the families become close. But everything comes to a head when the "coyotes" contact Mari's father about her Mama, and immigration gets involved...can these two remain friends? Will Tyler turn his back on Mari?

I really enjoyed this book. I'm a huge fan of non-traditional writing styles. I feel like you can get so much more out of a book and it's characters if the story is told from multiple perspectives. I loved the letters that mari writes. They really pulled at my emotional strings. Highly recommendable. Probably upper elementary school on up!

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

14 year old Isabel is a slave during the Revolutionary War literally fighting for her freedom. She and her sister thought they were going to be freed when their master dies, only to actually end up becoming the property of one the meanest couples in New York. Isabel does everything she can so that she and her sister can become free, including putting her own lifein danger.
The study of slavery has always been my favorite time period to study in history, so I was excited to get to read Chains, and let me tell you it did not disappoint. With the main character being a young girl I didn't really expect there to be as much excitement and danger as there was. I fell in love with Isabel's strength and determination and sense of family. This is another great book by Laurie Halse Anderson and will one I pull off the shelves to recommend to students, boys and girls alike.

Charles and Emma:The Dawins' Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman

Charles and Emma is the true story of a real love. We all know that Charles Darwin is the father evolution, a true scientist, but do people know he married his first cousin Emma Wedgewood? The thing about this love affair is that their beliefs were polar opposites. While Charles was discovering evolution, Emma was a devote Christian. These two theories seemingly could not co-exist. Emma's greatest fear was that Charles would go to hell and she would not be able to spend eternity with her one true love. I was truly surprised at how interesting Charles and Emma was, but then again I'm always surprised at how much I enjoy historical fiction. I liked how I totally forgot I was reading about Charles Darwin (yawn) and wasn't just reading a sweet love story. Who would've thought I'd be useing Charles Darwin and sweet love story in the same sentence? Really good read. For sure high on my recommendation list.

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley

Terra is a tall, thin, blonde beauty, that is until you see the port wine stain that covers her entire right cheek. And if that isn't enough she has the lamest boyfriend ever, he all but ignores her in public, but wants to be physical when the two of them alone. And still if that isn't bad enough her dad is a big jerk too. He never seems to find a polite or kind word to say to Terra or her mom, it's verbal attack after verbal attack. All Terra wants to do is go away to college where people will maybe know her for more than just her face, but her father puts a halt on that as well. Finally some good come to Terra when she meets Jacob. When Terra and Jacob and their moms take a trip to China, who would have thought it would be the trip that changes everything?

I loved the emotion North of Beautiful brought out in me. I found that I REALLY REALLY hated Erik, like everytime he opened his mouth I wanted to slap him. And then there was her father, I don't know if I was more irritated with him or the fact that her mother just "took it". I wanted to climb into the book and be Terra's friend and fix everything for her. I would for sure recommned this book, again to my 8th graders and high school kiddos.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Miranda is a "typical" twelve year old girl in late 70's New York, well sort of. The typical part of it is that there is a boy that Miranda kind of likes, her best friend suddenly stops talking to her for no apparent reason, and she lives with her single mom. Not so typical, her mom's aspiration is to be a game show contestant, there is a homeless guy that lives on the corner of her block and of course the creepy notes that keep getting left for her. The notes claim to want to save her live and tell her she must write down everything that happens to her, but not tell anyone. I can see why the book one a Newberry. It's really good, and I liked all the references to A Wrinkle in Time. I also appreciated the innocence of it, and by innocence I mean no "gazing deeply into her eyes", or "trying to get one over on the cops cause I'm a thug". I mean just good reading.

The Juvie Three by Gordon Korman

Douglas Healy is the kind of man we need more of. He's the kind of man who takes a chance on kids other people have given up on . In the book The Juvie Three, Gecko is a teen in juvie for grand theft auto, accessory to robbery and driving without a license, Arjay is behind bars for convicted of manslaughter and Terrence is typical gangbanger together the three of them are going through Mr. Healy's experimental "program". The three boys are as different as night and day, but due to an serious accident the boys have to bond together in order to stay in the program and inevitably stay out of juvie.
I was hooked in the very first paragraph of this book. The action hits right off the bat, and there is no looking back. The Juvie Three is fast paced and easy to read. The characters are easy to get to know and I found myself really understanding them. I would highly recommend The Juvie Three to a good majority of my boys. A definite two thumbs up!

Evernight by Claudia Gray

Evernight Academy is a peculiar place, but the longer Bianca is there the more peculiar it becomes. Everyone at Evernight seems entirely too perfect, including Bianca's new room mate, Patrice and her circle of friends. The only bright spot in Bianca's day is Lucas

he doesn't seem the Evernight type at all. The romantic tension between the two is not the only thing Bianca needs to be concerned with the secrets that both she and Lucas are keeping could cause some serious problems. I'm really not a Vampire-y type of girl, not really into the super natural, but I really enjoyed Evernight. I hooked me right from the beginning. The whole scene of how Bianca and Lucas meet made me giggle with school-girl-crush-excitment! I would recommend this to most of my middle school aged students, it has issues they deal with on a daily basis (in addition to the vampires and such), like being the "new kid", social cliques, and fitting in. Good book and a very easy read.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

Books about family relationships always seem to get to me, and this one was no different. Calpurnia Tate is the only girl in a family of seven children. With a mother who desperately wants Callie Vee to be a proper young lady, but Calpurnia has other interests...science. Callie's granddaddy is a "naturalist" who keeps mostly to himself, until Calpurnia goes to him with questions about Darwin's book The Origin of Species. From that moment on they were two peas in a pod, each teaching the other a little something everyday. The relationship between the two so reminds me of me and my gradfather. Everyone thought he was a cranky old man, but to me he hung the moon. This book left me feeling a little undecided. As I read The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate I enjoyed it, but it wasn't a book that once I put it down I was eager to pick it back up again. To me it was a little bit slow, but again, while I was reading it I did enjoy it. I could imagine suggesting this book to a very select few students, kids who maybe don't read the trendy things. If I were giving books stars, I'd give Callie Vee 3 out of 5.

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Eating disorders are a huge concern in this day and age, and Laurie Halse Anderson took us deep inside the mental workings of Lia, a teen girl suffering from Anorexia. Not only is Lia dealing the her eating disorder, but she is also dealing with the typical split family, and even worse the suicide of her former best friend, Cassie, who also suffered from an eating disorder. The mental games Lia plays with herself to keep from eating, to fool her family into beleiving she has eaten, to fool everyone that she is "just fine" in dealing with Cassie's death is so mind blowing, it's unreal. I loved and hated this book all at the same time. Anderson does a fabulous job of getting us right there inside of Lia brain, so much so that I would get a headache when I read because of the disjointed thoughts. And at the exact same time there was no way I could stop reading. The point where Lia truly sees her body in the mirror...the discriptions that Anderson uses...physically made me ill. With all that being said, I would absolutely recommend this book, to a more mature 8th grader or high school student.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I firmly believe the only good reason for not reading this book is that you have honestly been living under a huge rock! This is probably the best book I've read in a really, really long time! I mean really? who comes up with this stuff? The whole idea of The Hunger Games is just preposterous, and at the same time so completely intriguing!

Imagine that every year from the ages of 12-18 you had the possiblity of being chosen to participate in a game for your life. This is the reality of life for all teens in the Panem. Each year the hunger games are played out on tv as viewers watch to see who will win, and who will never return home. What i really loved about the book was I felt like I was Katniss. I felt terrifed with every sound she heard, I was tense and nervous as she slept in the tree, I was panting and out of breathe as she ran from the fire, but I wanted to be her, I wanted to participate in the games. What an amazing adventure and a great story. I'm so glad it's not over yet.

Pirates by David L. Harrison

Pirates is a creatively written selection of poems that tells the tale of a pirate's life. From poems titles such as "Signing on a Crew", "Sail in Sight" and Blackbeard" Pirates really is an entertaining book. However, the part that really interested me was the "Here's how it was..." section at the end of the book. This is the part of the book where the author takes on the persona of a pirate and tells us all the things we think we know...but are wrong. It'd be like taking the history of pirates from Professor Blackbeard. It's really a cute touch and caught my attention right away, which means most kids will love it!

Almost Astronauts by Tanya Lee Stone

In an age when women were little more than nurses and teachers, 13 women fought to become pilots and austronauts. These women were often referred to as "astrodolls" and "astronettes". These women were given test after test and passed every single one of them, but still struggled to be accepted. Almost Astronauts is the story of these 13 women how they fought to live their dream. The way Tanya Stone weaves these women's stories together makes for an remarkable journey through a part of history we are growing farther and farther away from. This book would be great as a reference resource, but also as a good read for those science and history buffs.

Bad News for Outlaws by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves was truly bad news for outlaws. Bass escaped from slavery to the Indian territory where he worked hard and was accepted by the natives. When Judge Isaac Parker came to the territory looking for marshalls to help with control crime Bass was quickly selected and continued to serve as a Deptury U.S. Marshal for the next thirty five years. Mr. Reeves apprehended more than three thousand men and women and only killed fourteen outlaws. In a time when black men were considered property, Bass Reeves was a respected and honored man. I really enjoyed reading this biography, it could have been really long and drawn out, but Nelson hit on the important parts and told an inspiring story. I felt myself drawn into the story and wishing I had actually known Bass Reeves. If you ask me, that's what a great book is all about.

Surfer of the Century by Ellie Crowe

If you have never heard of Duke Kahanamoku you really should read Surfer of the Century. At first I thought, really? how interesting could a book about a surfer be? But this book is about a lot more than just a surfer. It's about determination, perseverance, heart-ache, pride and honor. Duke learned to swim when he was just 4 years old, he father basically used the "sink or swim' theory of teaching, but it worked for Duke. Since swimming seemed to come so easily for Duke, it only seemed natural that the next step would be surfing. Unfortunately, surfing was not an Olympic sport, but swimming was. Duke competed in four Olympic games and broke and set numerous world records. Duke Kahanamoku was a man to be honored and admired for more than just his swimming skills, he was a hero as well. Duke and two friends saved 12 fishmen's lives using their surfboards making it now mandatory for all beach lifeguards to have small surfboards with them on duty.

The story itself was really interesting and for whatever reason, as I read the story silently to myself, the voice that I heard was Hawaiian! It's nice to read a book about someone coming from nothing to acheive their dreams and goals and doing it with honor. It never would have occured to me that Mr. Kahanamoku would have had to endured racism and prejudice behaviors, but he did and he overcame them. I think this book is a book to share with all levels of school libraries-elementary, middle and high school!

The Uglified Ducky by Willy Claflin

The Uglified Ducky is a more or less the story of "The Ugly Duckling", but with a few slight twists. Instead of the "uglified ducky" isn't a duck at all it's a moose, and instead of turning into a beautiful swan, the moose finds what he really is and realizes that "everybody is a beautiful something or other".
The glossary of moose words and their English equivalents at the beginning of the book is a must read. It gave me a chuckle before I even began the story. I read the book out loud and really liked it, but I was glad to see that the version I had comes with a CD as well. I think if read by the right person this book would be such a hit with kids-young AND old.

The Hinky Pink by megan McDonald

The Hinky Pink reminded me of a cross between several fairy tales:"The Princess and the Pea" a little "Thumbelina", maybe a little "Cinderella" and a little bit of "Rumpelstiltskin". Annabel, not Annabella, is a seamstress with a dream of sewing a dress for a princess. When she gets the chance to do so, she is distracted by a hinky pink, and the only way to fix this distraction is to make a bed for the hinky pink, but who would have thought hinky pinks could be so picky about their sleeping accomadations!
What I really enjoyed about this story was all the little sayings, "Holy ratatouille!" and "She had poodle curls as plain as pennoni" and of course, "Holy pin cushions!" I think young children will really like this story because of the silly little sayings, also because it is so predictable. They will be able to see the trend in the story, which makes the story fun! I had never heard this story before, but I would love to see this tale told over and over and become one that we all know by heart!

Can I Play Too? by Mo Willems

Can I Play too? made me laugh out loud. Maybe I'm just a big 'ol kid, but I loved this book! Gerald, and Piggie are best friends. They decide to play catch when a new friend comes along and wants to play with them. There's only one problem, their new friend is a snake, and you can't play catch without any arms. The three friends end up experimenting so that all three can enjoy a game of catch. The dialogue that takes place between the three is witty and entertaining, and possibly even a bit sarcastic at some points, but still very cute. I immediately thought, "I have to get the Elephant and Piggie books for my 3 year old neice!" Great job yet again, Mr. Willems!

The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

Who could deny that this book the Caldecott Award?? I mean really?? Just look at the cover (which by the way is even more amazing in person!). Pinkney really nails the expressions and the emotions in his illustrations. This wordless version of one of Aesop's most famous fables is by far the most beautiful story I've seen. He tells the typical story of the mouse disturbing a lions rest only to be released by the lion. And because the lion was so kind to the mouse the mouse frees the lion from the poachers trap. The fable is still the same, but feels more grown up because of the illustrations. This book is one to be looked at over and over and over again. I could just imagine the things a teacher could do with this book in a classroom. I would not have a problem recommending this book to anyone from age 1-101 a simply phenomonal book!

Django: world's greatest jazz guitartist by Bonnie Christensen

Django was born to be a musician, but noone could believe just how great he would become. Then one day he got the offer of a lifetime to play in a big time jazz band, only one thing stops him...a horrible accident! Doctors say he will never play again. Django must struggle through enormous physical and emotional pain, can he do it? Will he become the great jazz guitarist he was meant to be?

I had a really hard time getting into this book. Although the illustrations were lively and colorful, the way the story was told didn't appeal to me. I found myself having to concentrate really hard to understand what was really being said, and re-reading a lot of pages. The story of Django is an amazing tale, what he went through, where he came from...wow! I'd definetly recommend this to older students, probably not elementary school.

The Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood

The Quiet Book is just that! It's a sweet book about all different types of quiest. Like, snuggle up with your teddy bear quiet, or trying to be invisible quiet, or first snow quiet, or even jelly side down quiet. This to me is the perfect bedtime/naptime story book. It's very calmy and soothing. Even the pictures are calming, the colors are muted and the drawing itself is very smooth and gentle. Going back and looking at the illustrations again, I noticed things I didn't the first time, like the cute things that were happening in the background, but nothing that would get a child "wound up" before bedtime.

The Quiet Book, highly recommended for calming, soothing and resting!

City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems

City Dog, is the new kid in town basically and meets and becomes fast friends with the most unlikely creature, Country Frog. The two play each others games and enjoy the spring, summer and fall, but in the winter things change. The illustrations really do a lot for this book. You can see the expression on City Dog's face and it either makes you smile or almost makes you cry. City Dog, Country Frog is an easy to read book that also teaches a bit of a lesson. It doesn't matter where you come friend or what you look like, we can all be friends. I think most elementary libraries would benefit from having his book on their shelf. I have to say that Mo Willems has done it again...another really great book!

Book Fiesta! by Pat Mora

Book Fiesta! is a beautifully illustrated book about all the places you can read. You can read in an airplane, at the library, or a submarine, in a hot air balloon, or even on an elephant. The point is that children can read anywhere and that's all part of the Book Fiesta! and celebrating Children's day or Dia de los ninos.
Pat Mora first heard of Dia de los ninos in 1996 and thought it was a great idea to celebrate children, but why not add to that and celebrate children AND books. So on or around April 30th he and others encourage people to celebrate children, but also celebrate children reading. What a great idea Mr. Mora!

All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon

What an amazing book! Yes, it was a Caldecott honor medalist, so the picture are fantastic, but the story is also fantastic. I think I uttered an almost audible "Awww!" at every turn of every page. The pictures made me wish I was a part of the family I was watching, and at the same time know I am apart of family very similar to the one in the book. This book really touched me and I will making sure everyone of my neices and nephews owns this book!

All the World is a beautiful story of told in rhyme and repetition. A story of going to the beach, going to the farmer's market, going to the town square, going to dinner, no matter where you go we are all the world. We are all a part of one another. "Hope and peace and love and trust all the world is all of us!" BEAUTIFUL!

Benny and Penny in the Big No-No! by Geoggrey Hayes

Benny and Penny are interestd in meeting the new neighbor who moved in next door, but after a few misconceptions and plenty of no-nos Benny and Penny are surprised at what they find.
Benny and Penny in the Big No-No! is a graphic novel for beginners, as well as a book of lessons. Benny and Penny teach the right and wrongs of making friends and meeting new people. A very sweet and honest book about misconceptions about new people, and the true relationships between brothers and sisters. I would recommend this book to any young reader looking for a format that is a little different.

14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy

If you have never been touched by a book before than I dare you to read 14 Cows for America and not be moved. When I started reading this book I had no idea what it was about. Based on the title I thought it was going to be about ranching or something, but I was completely blown away by Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah's story, which was told by Carmen Agra Deedy. Naiyomah lived in the United States during the horrible events of September 11. He was so moved by the devestation that he returned to his home in Kenya and tells his fellow villagers the story of our tragedy. Wilson's entire village is so moved they proceed to come together and offer the United States their most precious possessions. This story is one of human kindness that we all long for proof of. I know this story would have moved me, but I'm not sure if I would have been quite as moved if the illustrations would have been something different. The fluidity of each picture, made my heart full...full of gratitude. 14 Cows for America is a must read and all grade levels!

Audiobook-Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Although Graceling isn't my preferred genre, I truly believe I enjoyed this novel because the audiobook was so good. The fact that is was a full cast narration made it easy to follow, and really put me in the moment. I think that this was probably the best choice for this novel, since Graceling has so many vital characters it's important for the reader to get a true feel for who they are, and the one of the best ways is to hear the character.

The quality of voice in this audiobook was really great. I got a real feel for the time period and could picture the story in my head like a movie. The narrator was clear and engaging, as were all the characters. I think there was really only one time that I replayed a particular part to try to understand what was being said, but the character speaking was supposed to be mumbling, so it was actually very accurate. One thing I found really fascinating was that the description of a character matched the voice of the person reading that character's part. It was spot on.

The music at the beginning of each chapter and through out the novel really helped to place me "in the moment" of the story. The story takes place in castles and inns, so the music that was used was harps and violins. It was all very medival sounding. I have to say that none of it was over done either. There were no sound effects which I think worked out perfectly, had they used them I think it would have been over processed. I think it would have been too much.

I listened to the audio version of Gracelings on a Play-a-way which is how most of my students would listen to an audio version of a book. I like listening to the book on Play-a-way because I have control of the speed of the story and when I had to stop the story as soon as I turned it back on the story picked up exactly where I stopped. The sound was clear, clean and crisp without a lot of white noise. The package for this Play-a-way is extremely sturdy, so much so that I took it with me on my daily walks and had no problems at all. The cover of the audio version is exactly the same as the book both of which are very appealing. As I said before, this is not my preferred genre, but the conver definitely interested me.

I would give this audiobook TWO big thumbs up! I will for sure be recommending this one in the future!

Professional Read

Bodart, Joni. (2009). Radical reads 2. Scarecrow pr.

Radical Reads 2 is basically a list of books that have been challenged in recent years. For each book listed in Radical Reads 2, there is a book talk, a list of characters (and a little about each one), subject areas that are covered in the book, major themes and ideas, book report ideas, booktalk ideas, risks, strengths, awards given for the book and at least three reviews for each book. Now, great as all of this sounds there's more...I know, hard to believe, but really there's more. At the very beginning of the book Bodart has listed some very easy to understand, actually written more for students, tips on how to write a good book report, and also how to give an effective book talk. At the very end of the book, there are multiple indices. Bodart has indexed the books by author, genre, subject, and curriculum area.

One of the appendices is titled, Censorship: What It Is, Why It Is, and How to Deal with It. This section of Radical Reads 2 is really interesting. It defines censorship and intellectual freedom based on the ALA definition, but more than just define censorship, it really goes into great detail and even goes so far as to say that censors believe they have this higher moral standard that everyone should agree with and abide by, but in reality most people agree that parents should be the only ones who have the right to tell their child what they can or can not read. This section also has pretty good rules of thumb of how to deal with a "challenge".

In another one of the appendices, How to Write a Rationale, not only are we taught how to write a rationale, but we get a solid definition, we get the reason why we should write a rationale as well as guidelines for writing it. Part of those guidelines are things such as making sure you have a bibliographic citation, a brief summary of the work, the relationship of the book to the program and the impact of the book, just to name a few. Bodart even gives us a sample Teacher's Rationale Form, and an English Department Rationale Form.

I absolutely love this book. It's one of the few "professional books" I'd actually recommend to my friends. The fact that it lists so many titles of books is amazing, but then to also give you the amount of ideas to use with EACH book is outstanding. I mean really. The booktalks, the book report ideas, the main ideas and themes, not to mention the character lists all of these things practically build a lesson plan with little to no work at all. For those of us who will be new librarians soon, the How to Write a Rationale section at the end of the book is just what we need. I like how to the point it is. The other thing I really like about the two appendices at the end of the book are they seem real. The information that is given doesn't seem to apply only to those "ideal" schools or situations. It seems like it's information for everyday people in everyday situations. I just can't seem to say enough about Radical Reads 2. I checked this one out from the library, but will be sure to purchase my own copy.

The Sweetheart of Prosper County by Jill Alexander

I really think I'm that good 'ol country girl at heart, so I was pretty excited to read The Sweetheart of Prosper County by Jill Alexander. It sounded like it was right up my alley.
Austin Gray has always dreamed of riding in the "no Jesus Christmas parade" on the hood of a truck as the FFA Sweetheart, but there were some things she had to do first...like join FFA, raise an animal, show that animal in the stockshow, learn to hunt, and most importantly get voted FFA Sweetheart.
I really did like this book. It was an easy read, and is something I would feel comfortable recommending to my students. I found myself wondering more about other characters though-I wish there would have been more about the town bully, and the friends that Austin makes in FFA. I would have liked to have learned more about the town crazy also. Maybe the author is only giving us these small pieces of information as a tease to a second novel. I'm really kind of hoping so because I could see this being a nice series that isn't about Vampires! :)

After by Amy Efaw

Ya know, I've seen the stories on the news...the ones about "dumpster babies", and I immediately start drawing conclusions about the teen mothers. Those conclusions are rarely sympathetic. Amy Efaw changed that. After took me to a place I thought I would never go. It took me to a place of compassion.

As Devon Davenport, top athlete and student, sits in juvenile detention (the last place anyone thought she'd be), she has to comes to terms with a lot of things. Mostly she has to come to terms with what happened to "It". The journey that Efaw took me on was so heart wrenching and so real. I could replace the name of Devon Davenport with any number of MY students. If you think you have an opinion on the issue of "dumpster babies"I challenge you to read this book and not at least think twice about it!