Saturday, February 19, 2005

Tiger by Jeff Stone

Stone, Jeffrey S.
TIGER
New York : Random, 2005.
IL 5-8
ISBN 0375830715
Set in 17th century China, the first of the Five Ancestors series follows five young monks who are schooled in various forms of kung fu. The young monks live at the Cangzhen Temple with thier revered Grandmaster who has taught them the animal kung fu. But a former student has left the temple and vowed to kill the Grandmaster. When Ying returns, the Grandmaster successfully protects the brothers but the temple is destroyed and valuable scrolls are stolen. Young Fu, a twelve year old monk who has mastered tiger kung fu is separated from his brothers but will do anything to retrieve the scrolls and extract revenge on Ying.

Girls in pants

Brashares, Ann.
GIRLS IN PANTS : THE THIRD SUMMER OF THE SISTERHOOD
New York : Delacorte, 2005.
IL YA
ISBN 0385909195
This is the last summer before the Septembers are off to college. And they want to make it a great one. In the Fall, they will be heading off to Brown, NYU, RISD and Williams. They'll be close but not close enough to see each other a lot. So for the summer, Bridget is off to be a counselor at soccer camp. Tibby is working in a movie theatre. Of course, Lena will do anything rather than work in the restaurant. And Carmen has taken the unlikely job of taking care of Lena's Greek grandmother. But they make a plan to have one weekend at the beach at the end of the summer just for the girls. The summer brings change to each of the girls but what this means for each of the girls is very different.

Tumble Books

This past month I have been working with Tumble Readables to create quizzes for many of the Orca Soundings books. This has been a double treat for me. First, I read many of the Orca Soundings books. If you haven't read of these, I would recommend them. They are geared to reluctant high school readers. They each have a powerful story but told in a quick read. I will be posting booktalks for many of them on the site this month. Some are already on the site as I have already posted in the past. And, I would recommend you check out Tumble Books on the web. The URL for the Orca books (and more) is http://www.tumblereadables.com. These are full text ebooks that allow the reader to control the size of the type. Great for those kids who have trouble with small type. Check it out.

A Negro League Scrapbook

Weatherford, Carole Boston.
A NEGRO LEAGUE SCRAPBOOK
Honesdale, PA : Boyds Mills, 2005
IL 3-6
ISBN 1590780914
Can you imagine what it would be like if you were a fantastic baseball player but weren't allowed to play because of the color of your skin? You'd start your own baseball league, wouldn't you? That's just what the African American players did. In the early 1900s, some of the best players in the game were in the Negro League. Some of the names you may have heard of are Satchel Paige, Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Jackie Robinson. They all got their start in the Negro League. Come along and look through this scrapbook of this incredible league.

Molly McGinty has a really good day

Paulsen, Gary.
MOLLY MCGINTY HAS A REALLY GOOD DAY
Molly McGinty is a very organized young lady. Her notebook is the center of her world. She has everything she needs right inside of it. Her homework assignments of course. Her address book. Pertinent information about her friends - phone numbers, email addresses, birthdays, pets, siblings. She had her lunch tickets in a special compartment. Emergency money. To-do reminders. You name it, she probably had it in her notebook. But now something is terribly wrong. Her notebook is missing! How will she get through the day? And what a day it is going to be. It is Senior Citizens Day at school and Molly's eccentric grandmother is coming to spend the day. Wow, little does Molly know what an unusual day it will be.

Legend of Buddy Bush

Moses, Shelia P.
LEGEND OF BUDDY BUSH
New York : Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2004.
IL YA
ISBN 0689858396
In 1947 North Carolina, the rules are very different depending on the color of your skin. Twelve-year-old Pattie Mae understands this and longs to move north to Harlem with her brother and sister. She can't wait until she is old enough to leave. She loves her mother and her grandparents but the pull of the north is strong. Uncle Buddy has told her lots about life in Harlem. He spent many years there. So many that he sometimes forgets the rules in the south.

Sunday, February 06, 2005

Sad week here

I've been trying to do some reading this week but it's been really hard. I found out on Tuesday that my adorable 16 year old cock-a-poo was going to die. Her kidneys had shut down and her cancer had spread. The vet suggested I put her down but I just couldn't make that decision. So I brought her home to die with us nearby. She passed away peacefully on Thursday night so it wasn't a long drawn out death. I am absolutely heartbroken and I've been trying to lose myself in books. But it seems every book I pick up either has a dog who dies or a dog being mistreated or at least a dog in it. Funny how we don't notice those things unless it is really on your mind.

I have been doing some reading though and will be posting some booktalks soon. I just have to get the booktalks written up and posted. I have so many new books to read thanks to ALA in Boston and the publishers sending me their new titles. Everytime I get my "to read" list manageable, it gets added to. Not that I'm complaining!

It's Super Bowl Sunday and everyone around here is going nuts over the Patriots. I'm just counting the days until the Red Sox spring training starts up (11 days!). I just don't get football but I'm a Red Sox fan from way back. Oh well, GO PATS!

Thursday, February 03, 2005

February update is here

Wow, what a busy month. I went to ALA in Boston and I picked up lots of new ARCs. I have so much reading to do. What a chore :-) If only I didn't have to work, I'd have more time to read!!

I have uploaded the February update. Lots of books this month. Some of them are 2005 imprints!

I also posted the Pennsylvania children's choice nominees for 2005. Lots of great books there.

Back to the books -- later.