Book Notes

This book has only been on the shelves for a few weeks, and already it is making the rounds. It is one of our favorites. Sad and beautiful and poetic.

Kit is 16 years old when her younger brother is diagnosed with and dies from Leukemia. The novel is written in free verse (remember Out of the Dust?) and captures all the family’s emotions. The sadness, anger, emptiness, and eventually, the hope of a new but different life.

Because the novel is in free verse you can read through it so quickly. Too quickly, actually. Read it through once, to see what happens. Then read it again. And linger over every word. They are so carefully chosen. The author proves again and again that just a few words are needed to provide so much emotional impact. You definitely need a box of tissues by your side when reading this. I loved it.        

I love his work. I have so thoroughly enjoyed everything that he has come out with. Knuffle Bunny, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. Now, he has come out with a new series for beginning readers. Today I Will Fly and My Friend is Sad.

Piggy and Elephant are best friends, and with just a few words, they tell a great story.   Funny, sweet–Piggy and Elephant have a great time. And this is just the beginning. Two more are coming out in the fall. And remember what I am always telling people: Just because it’s a beginning reader does not mean that it is only for beginning readers. Read it with everyone.

I just finished re-reading this book for our last 4th and 5th grade book club. The last title was “group choice” and the students all suggested titles and voted, and I, Freddy was the winner.

I have enjoyed this book each time I read it. Freddy is funny, clever and resourceful. Being a golden hampster of above average intelligence, he is adopted from the pet store by a sweet, caring little girl named Sophie. However, Sophie’s mom is not a hampster lover and Freddy soon finds himself living with Mr. John, a neighbor. He couldn’t have landed in a more perfect home. You see, Freddy loves to read, and wants to learn to write. Mr. John has a house full of books, a cat who is willing to pull them off the shelf for Freddy to read, and a typewriter. Freddy thinks the typewriter is the perfect means for him to communincate. If only he can figure out how to press down on the keys….

This is such a cute book, originally published in Germany and then translated. There are 5 Freddy books in all, so if you like this one, keep reading!

This book came highly recommended and I just finished it. Not bad. Not bad at all. I loved the beginning. When I started it, it was so captivating that little else got done. Dinners were burned, beds went unmade.

Charley, 16, has been in a coma for a year since her brother, Hal, found her lying on the rocks in the ocean. Her family is going back to their vacation house in Cornwall (lovely setting!) and that’s when the story begins. Hal can suddenly hear Charley’s voice inside his head. At first he thinks it’s only his imagination, but it isn’t. Charley can see what he sees and can talk just to him. The novel is made up of small chapters. Some from Hal Now, Hal Then, Charley Now, Charley Then. This is a brilliant set-up. The Charley now keeps saying things like, “Help me, I’m all alone, It’s dark in here and I can’t find the door.” This also allows the reader to get a glimpse into Charley’s last summer.

As things progress, and Charley becomes more insistent that Hal “remember”, Hal begins to suspect that Charley’s being in a coma is no accident.

With the setting, and pace, this is a perfect summer book. Think hot surfers and gorgeous coastline.

I finished this quick read almost a week ago and still haven’t found a moment to write about it.

I picked it up because I liked the cover, and it was recommended in the same clump of books as one of my favorites, The Whistling Season. The setting appealed to me as well: Nebraska farmland.

Sixteen year old Lila finds herself pregnant and comes to stay with her grandmother, Toby, on her farm for the summer. There are a lot of unspoken family secrets that come to the surface over the course of the summer. Some that heal, some that harm, all of them needing to be said.

It’s an easy read, and was an Alex award winner so it is appropriate for and appeals to teens. Perfect for summer time reading.

I haven’t posted anything in awhile because I have spent every free moment plowing through a re-read of the 5th Harry Potter. That is one long book. And like I mentioned before, not my favorite. I have a hard time with the death of Sirius. It seemed unreal. There was no build up to it. I thought, like Harry, that it was an accident at first. And that he wasn’t dead, just trapped in the world of the veil. Whatever that might be. Well, there’s one more book, so I guess we’ll find out.

As I write this there are 74 more days until the release of the final Harry Potter book. It will be huge everywhere. Our library included. I’m getting quite excited about the Summer Reading Program this year. All fantasy all the time. There will of course be a huge Harry Potter party. And then a Harry Potter trivia night. We’ll see how well everyone thinks they know the books. No questions will be asked on the last book. But read those first 6 carefully. You never know how detailed the questions could get!