Day 48-64: 10 books short of the goal

Well it is the last day of summer vacation and I had 16 more books to write about but I have run out of time! Here is the short, short version. I wanted to make sure they count. Over all it was a good summer experience reading! And I ended the summer just 10 books short. Next summer I will finish!


Day 48: Torn by Margaret Peterson Haddix. This is book four the Missing series.
Day 49: A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz. I really funny, gross, scary retelling of Grimm's tales.
Day 50: Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) by Lisa Yee. Cute, good for younger readers who like Andrew Clements.
Day 51: Darth Paper Strikes Back by Tom Angleberger. So funny!! Give to kids looking for funny books and those who love Star Wars
Day 52: Call Me Hope by Gretchen Olson. Sad book about verbal abuse by a parent. For fifth graders and up.
Day 53: Sidekicks by Dan Santat. Funny graphic novel about the pet sidekicks of a superhero.
Day 54: Big Nate On a Roll by Lincoln Peirce. This is the third book in the series. Funny, similar to Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
Day 55: Bad Kitty Meets the Baby by Nick Bruel. I love these books about a crazy, selfish cat. Very funny. First graders love to have them read to them and older kids love them as well.
Day 56: Knights of the Lunch Table, The Battle of the Bands by Frank Cammuso. This is the third book in the series. It is a funny, graphic novel based on the King Arthur legend.
Day 57: Shredderman: Secret Identity by Wendelin Van Draanen. Story about bullying and one boy who is determined to fight back,
Day 58: Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow by James Rollins. Great adventure series. Give it to kids who loved Percy Jackson.
Day 59: Olympians Hera by George O'Connor. Graphic novel about the god. Great kids into mythology and looking for information about the Greek gods.
Day 60: Other Goose by J. Otto Seibold. Cute, reworkings of Mother Goose rhymes. Some of funny, some are a stretch and the original is better.
Day 61: Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay. This is an adult book that is set during World War II in Paris. It is a good book but sad.
Day 62: Into the Unknown by Stewart Ross. This is a great non-fiction book about explorers. Good for fifth grade and up.
Day 63: In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson. Really wonderful nonfiction work about Berlin in the early 1930's as Hitler was coming to power.
Day 64: The Reinvention of Bessica Lefter by Kristen Tracy. Book about a girl moving onto middle school and trying to reinvent herself. Very similar to a lot of other books out there that cover this storyline but girls are always looking for books like this.

Day 47: The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman by Ben H. Winters

All the trouble started with Mr. Melville’s Special Project! Mr. Melville’s Special Projects were legendary.  For this assignment students had to solve a mystery in their own lives. Bethesda is determined to have the best project ever and she knows just what mystery to solve, Ms. Finkleman. She is the Music Fundamentals teacher and Bethesda knows there is more to Ms. Finkleman then meets the eye, for one there is the mysterious code on her desk and the tattoo! Ms. Finkleman might not be as boring as she seems, she might just be a rock star! What Bethesda uncovers set a series of events in motion that affects everyone at Mary Todd Lincoln Middle School. Bethesda soon learns that there is more than one side to every story and sometimes things and people are not what they seem.  This is a fun story with great characters and a bit of a surprise ending. I would recommend it for fifth graders and up. 

Day 46: Another Whole Nother Story by Dr. Cuthbert Soup

This is the sequel to A Whole Nother Story.  Another Whole Nother Story  picks up where the readers left the Cheeseman family and friends. Ethan Cheeseman, his three smart, polite and relatively odor-free children and their hairless psychic dog, Pinky along with the six members of Captain Jibby’s Traveling Circus Sideshow are headed back in time to make things right in history and lift the curse. They hope that this will allow them to solve the problems of the future and save Olivia Cheeseman, Ethan’s beloved wife and the loving mother of the Cheeseman children. The story is just as funny and enjoyable as the first book, I reviewed that one earlier in the summer. It is full of crazy villains, sea voyages, evil number 5, and a sock puppet. I really loved the first book and enjoyed the second just as much. The ending leaves it open for the story to continue in a third book and I am very excited to read that one as well. I would recommend this book for fourth and fifth graders. 

Day 44 and Day 45: The Sherlock Files #3: The Case That Time Forgot and The Sherlock Files #4: The Missing Heir by Tracy Barrett

Earlier in the summer I read the second book in this series so I decided to finish reading the rest of the Sherlock Files books that are out so far.

In The Case That Time Forgot. Xander and Xena’s classmate Karim asks the sibling detectives to help him solve a family mystery. Karim’s grandfather told him a story that had been passed down in his family about an Egyptian artifact that had been stolen from the British Museum by Karim’s great, great, great uncle. The artifact was the Thoth Clock, an ancient artifact recovered in one of the famous pyramids. But the clock wasn’t the most valuable item, hidden in the clock was the Thoth amulet. The amulet was made by Thoth, the god of time. The legend says that every fifty years the amulet can make all time stop. The fifty year mark is coming up and Karim needs help finding the artifact. Xena and Xander consult Sherlock Holmes’s unsolved case file and find the famous detective’s notes from the theft of the amulet. Soon they are on the hunt all around London to try and find the amulet but someone else is also on the hunt to find it. Does the Thoth amulet really stop time, will Xena and Xander find it in time and who else is looking for it?

In the fourth installment of the series, The Missing Heir Xena and Xander’s shy classmate Alice turns out to be royalty. On her thirteenth birthday she will be crowned the queen of Borogovia. Alice is not too happy about it, what she really wants to be is a famous singer on Brits Got Talent. Her guardian Aunt Penelope doesn’t think that is becoming of a royal. Xena and Xander find information about Alice’s great grandmother in Sherlock’s unsolved case file. Princess Sofia was kidnapped and as a child and mysteriously returned to her parents a week later. Sherlock Holmes suspected that there was more to the incident. When Alice goes missing a few days before her coronation, Xena and Xander also suspect that the two cases are linked. They set out to solve the mystery and save Alice.

Barrett continues the enjoyable mysteries of Xena and Xander Holmes in the latest installments. Kids who love mysteries will like this series. It has the right mix of mystery and adventure. What I also like about these books is that there are enough clues to solve the mystery on your own. I don’t like what I call Scooby-doo mysteries where the mystery is solved at the end with a piece of information that the reader was never given. Barrett provides enough clues to the readers to be able to solve the mystery along with the characters. I would recommend the series for third and fourth graders. 

Very Behind!

I know that I am behind. I have a stack of books that I have read, I just have to write about them. I wanted to post this Glogster that I made for the start of the school year. Glogs are a really cool digital posters that you can make with web links, videos and audio files. This is my first!


http://mccoleman.edu.glogster.com/great-new-books-/

Day 43: Missing On Superstition Mountain by Elise Broach

Simon, Henry and Jack and their parents have moved to Arizona. Their great- uncle passed away and left his house to the family. It is the middle of the summer and they don’t have much to do and don’t know anyone in the small town of Superstition. The boys’ new house is at the base of Superstition Mountain. When the family cat escapes from the house the boys follow the cat up into Superstition Mountain. While up in the mountain the boys have the strange feeling that they are being watched. Things start to get weirder when they find three skulls up on the mountain. By the time they find their way home the boys’ parents are worried and the police are at the house. The boys are warned never to go up in the mountain again but the adults won’t tell them the whole story about Superstition Mountain. The brothers are determined to find out what really is going on and find out who the skulls they found might belong to. They are soon joined by a neighborhood girl, Josie and the group is off solving the mystery. The book ends with a cliffhanger so the hope is Broach will continue the mystery is the next book. This is a good mystery book and is a good fit for kids that are looking for scary books but not too scary. I really like Broach as an author. She creates good characters and her mysteries are interesting and suspenseful and unique. I would recommend this book for good third grade readers and fourth graders. 

Day 40, 41, and 42 Very behind and ended up desperate for some books to read

I know that I am a bit behind in my reading but I have been catching up. Before I list the three books I read here you need a little back story. I was in Jamaica for a librarian conference. Before you start thinking how great that sounds let me tell you not so great! I was staying at the University of the West Indies, in the Caribbean style dorms. If anyone tells you the room is Caribbean style, say no! That means that there is no A/C, no fans and no screens on the doors or windows. August in Jamaica is 90 degrees and 100% humidity and tons of bugs. While I was there for a week I read all of the books I brought with me so I had to buy a book at the school bookstore and some more books at the Kingston airport. Both places had very slim pickings. So I ended up with three romance novels. I usually am a closet romance novel lover but these three were just okay.

The first was Fat Tuesday by Sandra Brown. This is a “thriller” romance. Burke Basile is a New Orleans cop who watched his partner die and the killer go free. He decides to take matters into his own hands and get justice. This includes kidnapping the wife of the mob boss/ killer. You can guess where this story is going, the wife is really a beautiful wonderful person who is trapped in an abusive marriage. Burke and the lady fall in love, plot together to bring the evil husband down and live happily ever after. It’s not a bad book, predicable and a little cheesy.

Next up is Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn. This is a story set in Victorian England. Honoria just wants to get married. She has been out in society for two years and no husband yet. It turns out her brother’s best friend has been keeping an eye on her and scaring away any unsuitable suitors. In the end they realize that they love each other and end up living happily ever after. Again an easy read and ends the way that you think it is going to. If you are stuck at the Kingston airport this is a good book to read.

Final one is a Nora Roberts book. If you say you have never read a Nora Roberts romance novel I would say you are probably lying. Everyone has read at least one at some point. I read Inner Harbor. This is the third in a trilogy. I didn’t know that when I picked up the book but it doesn’t really matter. The story is the same as all Nora Roberts books. The girl and the boy fall for each other in a matter of days, it’s like a season of the Bachelor. There is a big misunderstanding, or secret that comes out. The couple breaks up for about a minute but realizes they need each other and end up living happily ever after. You read a Nora Roberts book when you want a predictable, easy read. The huge issue I have with Nora is the way she dresses her characters in her books. It drives me crazy! It is like she is stuck in 1981. Every time I read one of her books I am completely thrown off when she gets to describing what her characters are wearing. I have to stop and mentally redress them in something that is not hideous. I wish she would work on that part of her books.

Mainly, I’m counting these books because I did read them and I need the books to try and make my goal! I will be getting back to the children’s books now! 

Day 39: Artsy Fartsy by Karla Oceanak, illustrated by Kendra Spanjer

Aldo does not love sports and he can't run fast. Aldo likes to draw and he is pretty good at it. It is because of some of his drawings that he gets the nickname Artsy Fartsy from the school bully. Aldo decides to hide his love for art in hopes of losing the nickname. When the summer vacation starts his grandmother gives him a sketchbook to draw in. Aldo is not too sure about it. His neighbor suggests he keep it as a journal. So Aldo does a little bit of both, art and writing. He keeps the sketchbook in his tree fort. Only Aldo's best friend Jack knows about the drawing and the fort, or so they thought. Someone keeps sneaking into the fort and drawing in Aldo's book. Aldo and Jack set out to find the mystery artist. Mixed in with the investigation, Aldo's mom signs him up for summer baseball, Aldo is not happy about that. There are family vacations and interesting trips to the local pool as well. Eventually the two crack the case of the mystery drawer, baseball turns out to be fun and summer comes to a happy end. Artsy Fartsy is a cute book. So many kids love Diary of a Wimpy Kid and this is similar to it but not nearly as funny. I think it would be a good fit for kids who are not quite ready for Wimpy Kid. I do think the title is unfortunate. Once you read the first couple pages you understand where the name comes from but I think some kids will think the book is more like Captain Underpants books and that is not true. Still, overall it is a good book. I would recommend this book for third and fourth graders.

Day 38: Panda Man to the Rescue by Sho Makura

Panda Man is the greatest martial artist in the world, the biggest eater in the world, has the stinkiest feet in the world, and is the world's greatest passer of gas. Cowvin,a cow, comes looking for the hero to help save his village from Leo Pepperpot. Leo is trying to stop the residents of Cowvin's village from producing milk. He hates milk, his mother would torture him as a child by making him drink milk and he hated it. His evil goal is to rid the world of milk forever. I have to say I have some sympathy for Leo's cause in this book. I also hate milk and my mother tortured me as a child and made me drink it but anyway! Panda Man agrees to save the village and waive his $1 million fee in exchange for butter cake. Crazy adventures ensue, in the end the hero saves the day, somewhat by accident and gets his butter cake. This is a funny graphic novel similar to the Captain Underpants books. There are references to passing gas, crazy characters, and silliness. The Panda Man series would be great books for third and fourth grader boys, especially reluctant readers. It is the type of book that offers the humor that elementary school boys love.

Day 37: Ben Franklin: His Wit and Wisdom From A-Z by Alan Schroeder, illustrated by John O'Brien

There are quite a few biographies on Ben Franklin for elementary students and this is another one. What is unique about this book is the little tidbits about Ben the author adds. The book is set up as an alphabet book. For each letter of the alphabet information about Ben is listed. The usual facts about Franklin are in there, the library, Constitution, fire department, etc. Also included are fun facts about him. For example, under the letter D, "doll- The French loved Franklin so much Parisians could buy Ben Franklin dolls." Listed under letter V, " Vegetarian- When Ben was a teenager, he became a vegetarian but not for long. He liked eating fish too much." Peppered throughout are quotes from Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac. This is a fun addition to the collection of Franklin biographies.

Day 36: Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys by Bob Raczka and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

This is a fun, creative poetry book. Divided by seasons, Raczka provides boy themed haiku for each time of the year. Poetry can be a tough sell for boys but for some reason haiku is something a lot of boys get excited about writing. This book offers them haiku that they can relate too. Guyku would be great to use in poetry lessons for second graders through fifth graders. Here is a sample of a haiku from Guyku that seems fitting as the summer nears the end.
                                          Hey, who turned off all
                                                                            the crickets? I'm not ready
                                                                                  for summer to end.

Day 35: A Ball For Daisy by Chris Raschka

Daisy, the dog, loves her red ball. She plays with it, sleeps with it, and takes it where ever she goes, especially to the park. One day at the park, tragedy strikes. Another dog pops Daisy's red ball. She is devastated. She is inconsolable. The next day at the park there is a surprise for Daisy, a new blue ball. The dog that broke her toy brings her a new ball. All is right with the world again. A Ball For Daisy is a wordless picture book. Raschka does a great job of telling the story and showing Daisy’s emotions with his adorable illustrations. I think that younger children will relate to Daisy and the hurt of having a favorite toy destroyed and then the joy of a new toy. I would recommend this book for Preschool and Kindergarten. 

Day 34: Stop Snoring, Bernard! by Zachariah OHora

Bernard loves his life at the zoo, he loves mealtime, playtime and he love, love, loves nap time! But the other otters don't love nap time because Bernard snores, loudly! Bernard sets out to find somewhere else in the zoo to nap. Everywhere he goes, Bernard's snoring disrupts the other animals. Bernard feels he doesn't fit in anywhere and decides to leave the zoo. Just as he is walking towards the exit gate, the other otters rush to stop him. It turns out they miss Bernard and his snoring. This is a sweet book with really cure cartoon illustrations. I would recommend this for Preschool and Kindergarten.

Day 33: Blackout by John Rocco

The story starts with a family all in different parts of the house, watching TV, on the phone or computer and they are all too busy to play a board game. Then the lights go out, all of the lights! The family soon find themselves at a block party on the roof and then meeting more people on the street. Soon the lights are back on and everything is back to normal but the family decides they don't want normal so they turn the lights off and finally play the board game by candlelight. This is a great picture book. The illustrations are beautiful and really capture the feeling of a blackout. I recommend this book for Preschool through first grade.

Day 32: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

The Help is a good book. I really liked it. I am sure everyone has heard about this book, read it, had it as a pick for their book club. I won't go into the details. I read it so I'm counting it! I would recommend it if you have not read it already.

Day 31: And Only To Deceive by Tasha Alexander

My second adult book of the summer. This is a great summer beach read. Emily does not want to get married but it is Victorian England and she has little choice. Her mother wants her to make a good match and is pressuring her. Emily decides to marry Philip, a  wealthy Viscount, to make her mother happy but more importantly to get away from her mother. Within six months of getting married, Emily finds herself a widow. She is fine with that, she never really loved her husband and now she has money and freedom. Emily starts exploring her husband's house and finds out he loved Greek history and Greek artifacts. When Emily explores more she finds out that Philip may have been involved in the black market. She sets out to find out the truth about the husband she never really knew and what he was involved with. This is a good mystery and a fun backdrop of Victorian England, Paris and Greece. This is a light read and fun.

Day 30: The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens

Kate’s last memory of her parents is on Christmas Eve when she was just four years old. Her mother woke her up in the middle night, she made her promise that she would always look after her brother Michael and her sister Emma. Then the siblings were taken away by a strange man. The only thing the man left them was the last name P, just the letter P. For the next ten years Kate kept her promise. The siblings were moved from orphanage to orphanage, always holding onto the belief that their parents would come and get them one day. The P family has worn out their welcome at their current orphanage and is sent to the one and only place that will take them, a strange orphanage in Cambridge Falls, NY.  When they arrive, they find the island and town very mysterious and the orphanage even stranger. Soon Kate is having dreams of a strange emerald book. Following the path of the dreams, the siblings find the book and are transported back in time. There they find a world mixed with magic, an evil witch, horrible screechers, giants and dwarfs. The family ends up on an amazing adventure to save the town and learn that they are linked to the Books of the Beginning. The books are the most powerful books of all time and when brought together they have the power to control the world. This is the first book in a planed trilogy. It is a wonderful book, one of my favorite books of the summer. There is a lot of adventure, magic and suspense. Students that love Harry Potter and other fantasy books, I think will really like this book as well and anticipate the release of the next books in the trilogy. I would recommend this book for fourth grade and up. 

Day 29: Gilda Joyce: The Bones of the Holy by Jennifer Allison

In the fifth installment of the Gilda Joyce series, Gilda‘s mom falls in love, very quickly on a trip to St. Augustine, Florida. In a flash, Gilda finds herself on a trip to one of the most haunted cities in America for her mother’s wedding. Using her highly toned psychic abilities, her late father’s old typewriter and her go to book Master Psychic’s Handbook, Gilda is ready to make the most of the trip and talk her mother out of marrying Eugene Pook. As soon as Gilda meets Mr. Pook she knows that things are not right. He keeps calling her mother by his late fiancé’s name, there is an odd chill in the kitchen and Gilda sees a strange woman in the yard. Soon Gilda sets out to solve the psychic mystery and save her mom from making a huge mistake. I love Gilda! She is funny, sassy, loves vintage clothes and does everything over the top. This series is a great mystery series combining the right amount of suspense, ghosts and sass. I would recommend this series for fifth graders and middle school students. 

Day 28: A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine

Elodie leaves her small island community to go to the City of Two Castles to be an apprentice. Her parents want her to be a weaver or another sensible profession. Elodie wants to be a mansioner, an actress. When she arrives in the city she finds out that free apprenticeships are no longer permitted, she is robbed by a cat, and befriends a dragon. When Elodie realizes that her dreams of being an actress need to be put on hold, she agrees to be the dragon’s assistant. As the dragon’s assistance she will help the dragon reason and deduct as well as use her acting skills to solve mysteries. When the Ogre, the inhabitant of one of the castles, goes missing and is accused of poisoning the king, the inhabitant of the other castle, it is up to Elodie and the dragon to figure out what really happened and who is behind it. I usually like Levine’s books. Her books are creative and unique stories influenced by fairytales. Two Castles was just okay. There are a lot of characters, back stories, ogres, cats, actors, good people that are really evil. The story ends up being very muddled. Which is a shame because if some of the elements were edited it would have been a very fun, fairytale mystery. Levine has a good following and I have a group of girls who are always looking for fairytale and fantasy books, I know this book will be read. I just don’t think the readers will find it as satisfying as others they have read. I would recommend this book for fourth and fifth graders. 

Day 27: Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs

Teddy spent most of his live in Africa. His mom is a world famous scientist and studier of apes. His father is a famous wildlife photographer. When war breaks out in the Congo, Teddy’s parents decide to move back to the US where is will be safer. Teddy’s parents are convinced to work at FunJungle, the new animal park created by an eccentric billionaire. FunJungle seems like the greatest zoo ever. The animal habitats are huge and similar to the natural environments of the animals. Teddy is the only kid living at the park and has the run of the place. He realizes that something is wrong when Henry the Hippo, FunJungle’s mascot goes belly up! Teddy starts investigating and finds out that Henry was murdered. When no one believes him, he tries to call the police, they threaten to arrest him for prank calls, and his mom thinks he is overreacting. Teddy sets out to solve the mystery on his own. When I first saw the cover of this book it seemed like a funny story, and it is but it is also a good suspense mystery. FunJungle is a wonderful setting for the story, there are many twists and turns and a great who done it. I would recommend this book for fifth grade and up. 

Day 26: The School for the Insanely Gifted by Dan Elish

Daphna is a genius. She composed her first sonata at the age of two, at eight her first opera. Daphna lives in a crazy one room apartment in New York City. All she has to do is push a button and the whole room transforms from a music room to living room to kitchen and then to a bedroom. This amazing apartment was designed by Daphna’s best friend at the School for the Insanely Gifted, a school for the smartest children. Daphna’s mom died in a plane crash several months before and she has tried to keep her life as normal as possible. When Mr. Blatt, the head of the school and a billionaire computer genius, announces the “Insanity Cup” competition things start to get out of hand. Daphna realizes that her mother discovered something and that her death might not have been an accident and all of this is somehow linked to Mr. Blatt, his inventions and the school that she loves. This book is crazy and over the top, the kids fly a car/ airplane to Africa, they invent amazing items like Gum-Top, chewing gum that allows you to connect to the internet using your mind. It is a creative, funny story with nutty characters and a really fun read. I would recommend this book for good third grade readers, fourth and fifth graders. 

Day 25: The Death-Defying Pepper Roux by Geraldine McCaughrean

Pepper’s Aunt had a dream. St. Constance came to her and told her Pepper would die by the time he was fourteen.  Pepper has spent his whole childhood preparing to die. Now it is the morning of his fourteenth birthday and Pepper wakes up alive. Pepper decides to go for a walk so that he will not burden his parents when the terrible event occurs. When he gets to town he has a crazy idea, to get on his father’s boat and head out to sea. What follows is an over the top adventure as Pepper travels around France, changing names and occupations all in an attempt to cheat death. At different points, Pepper is convinced that the Angel of Death was confused and took someone else in his place so he tries to make things right. I was excited to read this book. It was on quite a few best book lists and has been talked up a lot. The book did not live up to the hype. There was way too much going on in this story. The beginning is promising, boy heads out on a sea adventure but the story gets bogged down with too much emphasis on this Angel of Death aspect and Pepper’s guilt at being alive. At some point, even the simplest of people would realize that they were not going to die and just live but it takes Pepper entirely too much time to get to this. I do not think many kids will stick with this book, I know I had a hard time and ended up flipping through to get to the end. If you do have any takers the book would be for fifth and sixth graders. 

Day 24: The Great Hamster Massacre by Katie Davies

Anna and her brother Tom really, really want a hamster. After pestering their mother she gives in and buys not one but two hamsters from the local pet shop. The siblings are very excited to have their new pets but excitement turns to horror when the animals are found dead in their cage. Anna, Tom and next door neighbor Suzanne set out to find out what cause the hamster massacre. This is a weird book. I picked it up because of the cover and I thought it might be funny, but it’s not really funny. I think the problem is it is not sure what kind of book it is. It starts out funny and has silly illustrations but then it takes a weird turn. Anna and Tom’s grandmother dies and that is kind of glossed over, you find out why their mother really doesn’t want hamsters and the story is a bit gruesome. Then the hamster massacre! All I can say is wow! It turns out that one of the hamsters is a girl and pregnant. She gives birth to eight baby hamsters. The next day, the mother hamster is found half dead with one leg missing, the boy hamster is missing and all eight babies are dead. The vet says that the mother killed her babies because the male hamster was jealous. Then the male hamster attacked the female hamster and chewed her leg off. Anna does not believe that this is what happened and she, Tom and Suzanne set out to find out the true story. Well, there isn’t a mystery at all, what the vet said happened, really happened. It is just a weird book! I can see students being so upset about the hamster massacre. I think hamsters are just rats with cuter outfits and I was disturbed by the gruesome death of the animals. The fact that there is not really much of a story added to my dislike of this book. I would not recommend this book. 

Day 23: Middleworld: The Jaguar Stones Book One by J&P Voelkel

Max Murphy lives a very boring life in Boston with his archeologist parents. Max spends a lot of time alone playing video games because his parents are more interested in the Ancient Mayan world they are in him. One day his parents announce that they are headed to Central America for a dig at recently discovered Mayan site. Max is resigned to spending the summer being babysat by the strange nanny Zia, when he is mysteriously summoned to San Xavier by his parents. When he arrives he finds his parents are missing. Soon, Max is mixed up with a Mayan girl, Lola on a crazy adventure through the rain forest. Lola and Max are pulled into an adventure involving Mayan gods, ancient curses, the mysterious and powerful Jaguar stones and the possible end of the world. I picked up this book because my students are always looking for books life Percy Jackson. This was an new concept involving Mayan history. I liked parts of the book but I did not love it. Not all of the characters are developed very well. The authors introduce so many characters that pop in and out of the book. I found myself flip back to remember who they were and how Max knew them. The story ends with a lot of loose ends and storylines hanging out there. I’m not sure I would remember them all for book two. I think this might be tough to find an audience for. Not many kids will stick with it to the end. It might find a home with a determined reader who is interested in archeology and ancient societies. I would recommend this for fifth grade and up. 

Day 22: The Road to Oz: Twists, Turns, Bumps, and Triumphs in the Life of L. Frank Baum by Kathleen Krull

This is a picture book biography about the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz L. Frank Baum. Baum grew up in a wealthy family and was spoiled by his parents. As an adult, he followed many whims and brilliant ideas in an effort to make a living. Most of these pursuits ended in failure. Baum’s greatest love was spending time with his four sons. Every night he would make up stories to tell his children before bedtime. News of Baum’s talent as a storyteller spread to other children in the neighborhood and soon he was sharing his stories with them as well. He took notes and suggestions from his audience about what they liked and did not like about his stories. Baum created the world of Oz from these suggestions and ideas as well as from life experiences, such as a visit to The White City at the 1893 World’s Fair. This is a wonderful story to share with students when discussing the writing process. It took Baum years to write this story, he wrote and rewrote it. The inspiration for many of the memorable characters came from everyday life and he took the suggestions and criticisms of others. This is all great information to share with students as they start writing their own stories. 

Day 21: How To Be an Egyptian Princess by Jacqueline Morley

How To Be an Egyptian Princess is part of a series published by National Geographic. The book opens with an advertisement for a princess, information about where to apply for the job and a brief introduction about traveling back in time to Ancient Egypt to learn more about the job. Readers learn all about the life of an Egyptian princess. The book is full of information about family life, palace life, clothes and the life of Egyptian royalty. The book ends with a brief quiz to see if the reader is qualified for the job. I think the concept of the book is fun but the text is a bit dry and the illustrations are very bland. The You Wouldn’t Want to Be… series is much better. That series is more fun and presents history in a more interesting way. I would recommend You Wouldn’t Want to be Cleopatra as a much more appealing book about Ancient Egyptian royal life. 

Day 20: The Popularity Papers: The Long Dispatch Between Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham- Chang by Amy Ignatow

This is the second book about Lydia and Julie. In the first Popularity Papers book, Lydia and Julie are determined to find out what makes the popular crowd popular so when they start middle school they will know what to do. The friends keep a journal full of drawings and instructions of what they learned by watching the in crowd. They end up having some mishaps and fights along the way. In the end the best friends find that they can be themselves and follow what they are interested in and they will find friends and that the love and support they have for each other is special. In this book, Lydia’s mom announces that the family will be moving to London for the year. Lydia is devastated that all of their hard work from the previous year will be a wasted because she will not be starting middle school with Julie. The friends decide to keep their journal going online and Lydia will try and put the lessons to work in London, Julie’s job is to get the lay of the land in middle school so when Lydia comes home they will be popular. Again lots of mishaps, misunderstanding and laughs happen along the way. The Popularity Papers books don’t break new ground with the story or the message. In the end Lydia and Julie learn that being themselves is always the best and good friends are more important than being popular. This is a common theme in middle grade novels for girls. What I do like about these books is the journal format. The illustrations are funny and creative and add a lot to the story. Students who are not big readers love this book and I know they will be excited to read this installment. 

Day 19: Trouble at the Arcade: Hardy Boys Secret Files #1 by Franklin W. Dixon

This book is a new series in the Hardy Boys collection. The book is geared toward younger readers, transition chapter book readers. It follows the adventures of Joe and Frank, the Hardy brothers. In the series the brothers are in elementary school and solve mysteries that are very appropriate for that age group. In Trouble at the Arcade the brothers are participating in a video game tournament at the local arcade when the prize money goes missing. I was happy to see this series because there are not many transition chapter books for boys. The Hardy Boys series is great but the original series is for older readers and could be considered historical fiction now. A couple of years ago, Hardy Boys graphic novels came out and a lot of my boys were really excited to read those. The issue with those books is the brothers are in high school and some of the situations are a bit old for a younger reader. Also, the images of the girls in the graphic novels are a bit much, cleavage and too short skirts. I plan on purchasing more of the Hardy Boys Secret Files series and promoting it to my second and third grade mystery readers. 

Day 18: The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan

This is the second book in the Kane Chronicles series. The books follow brother and sister, Carter and Sadie. The siblings are descendants of the Egyptian gods and are the only ones who can save the world as the ancient force of Chaos is trying to escape from the Duat, the god world and destroy the human world. Riordan is the author of the Percy Jackson series which I loved. That series follows Greek and Roman gods. I was excited when I heard he was writing a book about Egyptian myths. When I read the first book in the Kane Chronicles I did not love it. I found it a bit confusing and it seems packed with way too many Egyptian gods, monsters and history. I am not at all familiar with the Egyptian myths and history and Riordan did not explain the myths or the historical connections very well. Many of my students who loved the Percy Jackson series were also confused and disappointed by the Kane series. I decided to give the series another try and read the second book. I did like this book better. Riordan explains the Egyptian myths in a better manner then in the previous book. Also the story seems to flow better and there is a clear quest that Carter and Sadie go on. The Throne of Fire is action packed and brings to life Egyptian myths and history. I hope more students will give the series another try. I would recommend this book for fourth grade and up. 

Day 17: Genius, A Photobiography of Albert Einstein by Marfe Ferguson Delano

This book is part of the National Geographic Society’s Photobiography series. The premise of the series is a biography filled with photos and images from the subject’s life. Throughout the book are pictures from Einstein’s life and images of letters and articles he wrote. Einstein was a fascinating man. I read somewhere that Einstein had a genius level IQ but it was his ability to see the world differently that made him a revolutionary scientist. As a child Einstein wonder what it would be like to run after a ray of light and ride the beam. This childhood wonder lead him to the theory of relativity. He was able to take what previous scientists had learned about our world and go further with it to change the whole field of science and how many saw the universe. The book wonderfully blends details about Einstein’s life with simplistic explanations of his scientific theories. I learned some interesting facts about Einstein that I will not forget. Einstein was a very good student and was never kicked out of school or failed math. He excelled at math and science but did not pay attention in classes that he did not find interesting, something I can relate to. Einstein was deeply committed to peace and was a pacifist. He never participated in the Manhattan Project. Final fun fact, in 1952 the Nation of Israel, after the death of its first president, asked Einstein to be president. He was deeply humbled and honored by the request but he declined. I would recommend this book for fifth grade and middle school students and I am excited to read more books in this series. 

Day 16: Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers. The Third Epic Novel by George Beard and Harold Hutchins, the Creators of Captain Underpants, by Dav Pilkey

Oh, Dav Pilkey! How excited the kids will be that he is back with all new books! There are a lot of feelings about Captain Underpants, Super Diaper Baby and Ook and Gluk. Some feel that there is no place in children’s literature for underpants, poop and in this exciting installment a giant pee monster. I find these books creative and funny and if they will get a kid to read a book I am all for them. In this installment, Super Diaper Baby and his sidekick Super Diaper Dog are back to save the world again, this time from the evil Dr. Dilbert Dinkle and his evil cat sidekick Petey. Dr. Dinkle ends up turning himself into a puddle of water with his Liquidator 2000. Dr. Dinkle thinks this is great because now he can flow under doors to rob banks and he saves money because he doesn’t have to pay the water bill anymore. Petey needs some water to drink and he drinks up Dr. Dinkle which leads to the use of the litter box and…well you get the idea of how Dr. Dinkle become a big, evil puddle of pee. Super Diaper Baby and Diaper Dog are called in to save the world from the evil pee monster. It is a funny book full of bathroom humor and there is a short and hilarious parody of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas in the middle of the book. The fact is kids are going to love this book. If they loved Captain Underpants and graphic novels they will love this one too. 

Day 15: Nurse, Soldier, Spy: The Story of Sarah Edmonds, A Civil War Hero by Marissa Moss, illustrated by John Hendrix.

This is a fascinating story that I have never heard. Sara Edmonds was a Canadian who fled her home to escape an arranged marriage. To hide she dressed as a man and took the name Frank Thomas. When she arrived in the United States she enlisted in the Union Army and fought in battles, including the Battle of Bull Run and Fredericksburg, worked as a nurse and ran 11 spy missions for the Union Army during the Civil War. In 1863 she was so weak from a bout of malaria and not wanting to be examined by the Army doctors, she sneaked into a nearby town dressed as woman to visit a doctor. On her way back to the Army camp she saw posters listing Frank Thomas as a deserter who would be shot on site. From that day on Sarah never dressed as a man again. Several years later she wrote a book about her life in the Army. It became a best seller. She donated the proceeds from the book to help Civil War Veterans and dedicated her life to helping African American children who lost their parents in the war. Needing money for her cause she applied for a pension for her military service. With help from soldiers she served with, Sarah Edmonds Seelye, her married name became the first and only woman to be recognized as a veteran of the Civil War. This picture book biography is wonderfully done. It describes Sarah’s adventures on one of her spying missions. There is also a detailed author’s note with more information on this fascinating woman’s life. I would recommend this for second through fifth grade. This would make a good book talk book. I don’t think students will pick this up on their own, but once they start reading they will be pulled into this amazing story. 

Day 14: The Beast of Blackslope (The Sherlock Files Book 2) by Tracy Barrett

This is the second book in the series. The series follows brother and sister, Xander and Xena. Their family is transferred to London for one year. While there the siblings learn that Sherlock Holmes is their great-great-great- great grandfather. As his descendents, Xena and Xander are given Sherlock’s unsolved case files folder. In the first book, The 100 Year Old Secret, the two heroes solve the case of a missing painting. In this book, Xena and Xander are spending fall break in the small village of Blackslope. While there strange things start to happen, there are weird howling noises heard at night and strange footprints are found around the village. The residents believe that the Beast of Blackslope is back. This horrible creature terrorized the village more than a hundred years ago. Xena and Xander realize that the Beast of Blackslope was one of Sherlock Holmes’s unsolved cases. The siblings are determined to find the beast and solve the case. The book offers a suspenseful mystery with twist and turns. This mystery series is great from children who have read all the A-Z Mysteries and are looking for the next step. The books have enough suspense for that age group but are still innocent. I would recommend this series for second and third grade mystery lovers.

Day 13: Dork Diaries, Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl by Rachel Renee Russell

This is the second book in the Dork Diaries series. I had read the first one a couple of years ago and was not all that impressed by it but my fifth grade girls love this series and have been asking me to purchase it for the library. I thought I would give it another try. It is a pretty funny book, a little over the top but funny. Nikki is a middle school girl who writes her in journal and fills it with lots of drawings. Nikki feels she is a huge dork. There is the crush on a nice, cute boy; two fun, eccentric best friends and a blonde, mean bully named Mackenzie. Nikki really wants to go to the school Halloween dance and is hoping her crush asks her. What follows are lots of mix ups, misunderstandings and a few completely unrealistic events. All in all this is a fun book. Nikki stays true to herself. She does not want to join the popular group by being someone she is not. Nikki chooses friends that are good people and stands up for them. She has a family that drives her crazy but she loves. I think the messages in the book are good ones for fifth grade girls to read and they are presented in a funny, creative way. I think I didn’t love this series when I first read it because it was being marketed as the “girl” Diary of a Wimpy Kid book. I think this series is completely different then the Wimpy Kid books and stands on its own. I would recommend this book for fifth and sixth grade girls. 

Day 12: Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Practicing the Piano (but she does love being in recitals) by Peggy Gifford

This book is the third in the Moxy Maxwell series. Moxy is a fun loving, sweet girl. She is determined to accomplish all of the items on her many lists, including the 93 things she wants to do before she is 13 and the long list of possible careers she might have. Moxy likes to be the center of attention but does not always like to put in the work to do it right. In the first book, Moxy is excited about her swim dance performance, she is a daisy but she does not want to read Stuart Little. She was supposes to read the book before the end of the summer and it is the last day and she still has not read it. So there will be consequences, not being able to perform. Moxy is a champion procrastinator. In this installment, it is the day of Moxy’s piano recital she is very excited about her crown, sparkle shoes, and the cape that she convinced her grandmother to make but playing the piano is not going as well. Moxy is set to play “Heart and Soul” but she does not think it is long enough for her debut so she just keeps playing. This comes to her mother’s attention and now Moxy has to do it right or there will be consequences. Not only is Moxy loveable and hilarious, her family is a wonderful cast of characters, her twin brother Mark, who’s photographs fill the book, like sister Pansy, her best friend Sam, Granny George, and Aunt Susan Standish. If you love the Clementine books or the Ramona books then you will love Moxy as well. This book is good for second and third graders and one that will be loved by boys and girls.

Day 11: Sisterhood everlasting by Ann Brashares

This is my first adult book for the summer. Well kind of an adult book. Ann Brashares is the author of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books. There are four books in the YA series. The books follow four best friends as they navigate the end of high school and the first few years of college. The girls are very different, from different families and with distinct personalities but find love and acceptance with each other as best friends. The final YA book ended with the girls’ storylines seemingly wrapped up and moving into adulthood. This book, sisterhood everlasting picks up with the four characters in the year of their thirtieth birthday. I had read one of the YA books years ago, so I was intrigued by the concept of revisiting the characters in adulthood. There are many times when I reread a favorite series book and wonder what they would be like as adults and where they would be, would all the friends from the Babysitters Club still be friends, and what would their lives be like? For the most part sisterhood everlasting fulfills that for these characters. My only complaint and this is a bit of a spoiler, is why do authors seem to think that friendship between adult women can only be fully appreciated when one of them dies? I can think of half a dozen books I have read that follow this formula. I get this adds some drama and plot to the story but just once can all of them live. I don’t want to read another book where best friends from childhood drift apart and are brought back together only to have one friend die, leaving behind the grieving husband and beautiful children that the friend is committed to helping and raising. If you are familiar with the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants I would check this book out but if any of my complaint sounds like a book you have already read, I would skip this one. A note- this book is not for kids. If you have middle school students or even early high school students who read the series I would not recommend this book. 

Day 10: The Silver Bowl by Diane Stanley

This book is another magic tale. Molly is unwanted at home. Her father decides that he has had enough of her and sends her to the castle at Westria to work. He tells her when he drops her off, she better do a good job because she is not welcome at home. Molly has a secret, she hears voice and sees visions. Before she is sent from home, her mother tells her that this is not a curse but a gift. She has to protect this gift and not let others know of it. For many years Molly hides her gift and seems to have a happy life in the castle kitchen. When Molly is promoted to silver polisher, things start to change. While polishing the silver bowl, a beautiful bowl with intricate details, the bowl starts to talk to Molly. The visions in the bowl are a warning about the curse the plagues the royal family. Molly needs to find a way to stop the curse and the person behind them from destroying the royal family. This is an interesting and suspenseful story and another one with a strong female lead. I would recommend this story for strong fourth grade readers and fifth graders who like fantasy and adventure tales. 

Day 9: Horton Halfpott or The Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor or The Loosening of M’Lady Luggertuck’s Corset by Tom Angleberger

I was excited to read this book. The author wrote The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, a hilarious story. Horton is a funny story but it takes a bit longer to get into. Horton is the pot scrubber in the worst manor in the land. The noblemen who live there are awful people. Horton is resigned to his awful life because it is the only job he can find and he supports his parents and siblings. Things start to change at Smugwick Manor when M’Lady does not want her corset strings tied so tight. This sets off a chain of events that no one expected. All of sudden everyone in the manor is in a better mood, the cook doesn’t hit as hard with the wooden spoon, everyone gets to eat cake, and the Lady of the house agrees to host a ball. But a horrible thing happens, the Luggertuck Lump, the most valuable possession of the manor, has been stolen. Could Horton be responsible? Horton sets out to prove that he is innocent and it is a very funny trip. The story is unique tale. It will not be one that students pick off the shelves on their own. This would be a good story to read a chapter from the book to highlight the hilarious story. Then I think you will have a lot of interest in this book. I would recommend this for third and fourth graders. 

Day 8: The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler

This story continues the trend of taking shorter folk and fairy tales and turning them into longer, more involved stories. The Thirteenth Princess is based on the Grimm Brothers’ tale “The Twelve Dancing Princess.” Zita grows up in the kitchen of the palace as a servant. The palace is a sad place. The King has banished all magic believing it is the reason he has twelve daughters and no sons. Zita learns that there are in fact 13 princesses and she is the youngest daughter of the King. After her birth, the Queen died, the King was so heartbroken that he banished his last child to the kitchen to be raised there. Zita finds out that her sisters know about her and she begins sneaking up to their room to spend time with them. That is when she notices something is wrong. Her sisters are becoming sick and no one knows why. Every night their shoes are almost completely worn but they seem to never leave their bedroom. Zita realizes that she is the only one that can help them. With the assistance of an old witch, who stayed hidden in the kingdom, and Breckin, a stable boy, Zita sets out to find who is controlling her sisters and to save their lives. The story is a wonderful twist on the original tale, with suspense and adventure. I would recommend this to fourth and fifth grade readers who enjoy fairy tales and fantasy tales. 

Day 7:A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass

I am a fan Wendy Mass’s books. She has a way of creating a completely unique story with familiar threads. The stories involve friendship, family and finding out who you are and being comfortable with that. A Mango-Shaped Space is another wonderful story by the author. Mia Winchell seems to be a typical junior high school student. She has friends, family and school issues that all seem ordinary for a girl her age. Mia’s life is not as typical as it seems. Sounds, numbers and letters have color for her. When she hears a noise, shapes and colors appear, letters have unique colors for each one. Like Mia’s best friend Jenna, her name is a bright, shimmering shade of green with some yellow highlights. Math is Mia’s problem. The colors of the numbers and the math formulas never match up, same with Spanish, the color of the English words and the color of the Spanish words do not match. Up until the third grade, Mia thought everyone saw the world like she did but when she tried to explain it to her teacher and students she was called a freak. Mia has kept her secret until now. When it all comes out, Mia’s life takes a turn that she did not expect. This is a really sweet story about realizing that just because you see the world in a different way that does not mean you don’t belong. I would recommend this story for fourth and fifth grade girls. 

Day 6: The Royal Treatment: A Princess for Hire Book by Lindsey Leavitt

After my great love for the previous story, this book was a bit of a letdown. I picked The Royal Treatment up not realizing that it is the second in the series. That didn’t matter much, there is a summary of the first story in the beginning chapter and you get up to date pretty quick. The basic story is that Desi has MP, magic potential, and she is recruited by the super-secret Façade Agency for the ultimate job, wait for it….to be a substitute princess! (Ugh) Desi is pulled from her boring life in Idaho, because Idaho is as boring as it gets, to substitute for a princess who just needs a break from her stressful, paparazzi-filled, ball going life. The agency used magic to create Royal Rouge, the magic makeup that Desi puts on to look like and talk like the princess. In the first adventure, Desi becomes a shy princess that loves a cute prince and she takes it upon herself to make a move, i.e. kiss him. This almost gets her booted from the agency because you are not supposed to do anything in the princess’s life that she would not do. Desi keeps her job and moves up to the next level. In her downtime she needs to study yachting skills, ballroom dancing and fashion magazines. The next assignment leads to high jinks and craziness and a revelation about the cute boy in Idaho. Also, Desi begins to suspect that Façade may not be up to only good, if you considered helping princesses go on vacation a humanitarian cause. I can see fifth and sixth grade girls liking this series but there are so many other series out there that have some adventure, a little romance, and strong female main characters. The Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter comes to mind as a much better choice. 

Day 5: A Whole Nother Story by Dr. Cuthbert Soup

I loved this book! It is funny and quirky and just the right amount of weird. The story follows Mr. Cheeseman and his three, attractive polite and relatively odor-free children, a sock puppet named Steve, and their psychic hairless dog. Mr. Cheeseman and his late wife created the most amazing and powerful invention the world has ever seen. Mrs. Cheeseman died because the family refused to give it to the top secret government agents, international superspies, one of whom happens to be a chimp, or corporate villains. Now the family is on the run from town to town, changing their names trying to stay one step ahead of those evil characters. Along the way they meet a crazy circus troupe, a cowboy singing poet, a ghost and a bunch of unusual helpful people. Mr. Cheeseman hopes that he will be able to get his powerful device working so he can find a way to save his wife. This is a funny book, one of my favorites so far this summer. I plan to check out the next book in the series, Another Whole Nother Story. A Whole Nother Story would make a great read aloud for third and fourth grade. I would recommend this to kids who love The Secret Series by Pseudonymous Bosch.

Blog catch up!

I haven’t been keeping up with my blogging but I have been doing all of my reading! So here is Day 5-Day 11! 

Day Four: You Wouldn’t Want to Be Joan of Arc: A Mission You Might Want to Miss by Fiona Macdonald

Continuing on my nonfiction kick for day four I read You Wouldn’t Want to Be Joan of Arc. This is part of the You Wouldn’t Want to be…series. This is a great series that makes history so accessible for kids and provides the facts and information in a fun format. The books talk about all the gross, horrible things that people had to live through during certain periods of history, historical events or famous historical figures. The book I read is about Joan of Arc and why being her might not have been so much fun. There is the obvious, being burned at the stake that would be a bit of a downer, but it gives lots of facts and information about why growing up in the 1400’s during the Hundred Years War was a pretty awful time to live. One of the handy hints listed in the book “Don’t be brave! If enemies attack, don’t try to fight back. Just run away and hide. With luck, you might survive.” The whole series is wonderful, my students love it and it exposes them to history and facts. Plus the cartoon, fun format draws kids to the books and the gross out facts make them think they are not reading history, but they learn something! 

Day 3: Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose

One of my goals this summer, other than reading a book every day, is to read more nonfiction. There are so many great nonfiction titles out there but I tend to gravitate towards fiction books. For my day three book I read Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose. This is an amazing story and a shocking little known one! Claudette Colvin was a fifteen year old high school junior when she stood up for her basic human rights. All of her life growing up in Montgomery, Alabama, Claudette lived as a second class citizen and she heard adults talk about change and challenging a system that denied them their rights but all she heard was talk. On a March 2, 1955 Claudette made her stand. She was on the bus on her way home. All of the seats were taken and a white woman walked onto the bus. The driver told Claudette to give up her seat, Claudette said no. She refused when the driver stopped the bus and screamed at her, she refused when the two police officers boarded the bus and as the police dragged her off the bus she kept repeating, “It’s my constitutional right.” Claudette spent time in the city prison she was tried and convicted of violating the segregation laws and “assaulting” police officer. Claudette went onto be the key witness in Browder vs. Gayle, the federal case that ruled segregation of the buses was unconstitutional. Claudette’s stand took place nine months before Rosa Park’s but her story is little known. This is an amazing story for young people to hear. That someone so young could spark a movement and inspire adults to act is a tale of the power that young people can have in this world. Some of the topics and language in the book are for older students.  I would recommend this book for fifth grade and up. 

Day 2: The Grand Plan to Fix Everything by Uma Krishnaswami

Day two, I read The Grand Plan to Fix Everything. I picked this book because the main character, Dini is Indian. I’m always looking for chapter books that feature children of different ethnicities to have in the library. I was happy to come across this book and hoped that it was also a good book! And it is a good book. Dini lives in Tacoma Park, Maryland down the street from her best friend Maddie. The two friends spend their free time watching Bollywood movies with their favorite star Dolly Singh. When Dini’s mother announces that the family will be moving to Swapnagiri, India for two years, Dini is devastated. She is moving thousands of miles away from her home and best friend and Swapnagiri is nowhere near Mumbai, where Dolly lives. Dini soon finds out that Swapnagiri, which means Dream Mountain, holds more surprises then she thought. This is a sweet book, with friendship, family, chocolate, monkeys and a happy ending. It is a good choice for third and fourth grade girls that like friendship books. 

Day One, Book One

The first book I read is The Emerald Casket by Richard Newsome. This book is the second book in the Archer Legacy series. The first book is The Billionaire’s Curse.  A short recap of the first book, Gerald Wilkins, age 11, becomes the world’s richest kid when his great-aunt Geraldine passes away and leaves him the entire Archer fortune, $40 billion. Upon his arrival in London, Gerald finds out that his great-aunt was murdered and her death is linked to the theft of a famous diamond. Gerald, joined by two new friends Sam and Ruby, soon learns that the diamond is tied to three caskets that are hidden and hold the mystery to the greatest power in the world. Gerald’s family has been protecting this mystery for a thousand years. The second book picks up with Gerald, Ruby and Sam finding documents, picture and drawings about the Archer family and the legacy. The trio heads to India to try and find the next clue in the mystery and the trail to the second casket, the emerald casket. The book is full of action and adventure. The evil Mason Green is on their tail trying to get to the caskets first. You also find out that somehow Gerald is the key to the caskets, there is a bit of a supernatural element. The book is fast paced and the story moves along with lots of escape scenes and near death experiences. I would recommend this series to kids who are into the 39 Clues series books. Students are always looking for adventure books and this series fits the bill. 

The Challenge

I have accepted Donalyn Miller, The Book Whisperer, challenge to read a book a day this summer! The Book Whisperer is an amazing book about how having students read can actually help them become better readers! Shocking! Also that the best thing you can do is let students read the books they want to read and, another shocking result, they will actually like reading! I figure since I want my students to spend their summer reading, I should spend my summer reading. 

I'm a little late starting but Saturday will be my first day. Being a children's librarian, I will focus on kids' chapter books, graphic novels and yes, picture books, and maybe an adult book will fit in! Saturday, June 25 will be my first day and I will read till the first official day of school and the end of summer, Tuesday September 6. I will update this blog with the details of the books that I have read. I think keeping this blog will make sure that I stick to this commitment. 

So here goes, one summer, 74 books! I think I am up to the challenge!