Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass

Thumbs up for a book that makes me more interested in a science topic. I have actually been looking up information on eclipses. It's exciting that the United States will have a total solar eclipse on Monday, August 21, 2017. Cool! (I think if you read this book, that fact will seem cool to you as well.)

We all have a place in the universe. This book is about discovering that and about dealing with change. Thousands have gathered at Moon Shadow campground to see a total eclipse of the sun. It can be life changing. Although there are many characters you get involved with in this book, the chapters are divided between three teenagers-each chapter devoted to each voice- Ally, Bree and Jack.

Ally: Ally likes the simple things in life-labyrinths, stargazing, and comet hunting. Her home, the Moon Shadow campground, is a part of who she is. She refuses to imagine it any other way.

Bree: Popular, gorgeous (everybody says so), and a future homecoming queen for sure. Bree wears her beauty like a suit of armor. But what is she trying to hide?

Jack: Overweight and awkward, Jack is used to spending a lot of time alone. But when opportunity knocks, he finds himself in situations he never would have imagined.

(There, now you basically know how the inside of the jacket cover describes them.)

The author does a great job of separating each narrative well. Even though you might end one of Ally's chapters wanting to know what's going to happen next, but not reading about it until after Bree's chapter and Jack's chapter, you don't feel lost or confused. You do remember what's going on with each character and they intertwine well to keep the story flowing nicely. I found this book an enjoyable read!

Book Bloggers Christmas Swap

I was so excited to participate in the swap this year. I came home yesterday from a stressful snowy drive down from the canyon (really, white knuckles, white toes, the works) to find my present at the door. Yipee! 

I want to thank Michele from Indiana for my great gifts and the nice note. I received a very cute ornament, a fun sticky pad holder (how did you know I live my life through sticky pads?), some yummy and very cute looking flower suckers and some dip packets that I can't wait to try. Thanks so much Michele-only one "L" for making my day. I love the gifts!

Thanks for the Award!

Cari and Holly over at Book Scoops gave me this cool award. Thanks so much! I am very excited and feel so honored. Yipee!! (Check out their great blog.)

 

I now have the tough job of giving the award to some other cool book blogs. There are so many that I read on a regular basis that it will be hard to narrow it down. Here goes my choices for this "coolest" blog award.

Mommy's Favorite Children's Books- Sharing our family's favorite children's books, media, toys and games. She currently has a post on lunchtime reading with her boys.

Brimful Curiosities- Delightful tidbits for children and parents. This blog always posts a lot of giveaways. Her current post is a review and book giveaway of  The Tale of Despereaux.

Abby (the) Librarian- The blog of a new public librarian posting about good books, children's programing, and anything else library or kid-lit related. She currently has a review of the book Ten Cents a Dance.

On My Bookshelf...- A journal of the books I read or would like to read. Her current post is a review of Under the Night Sky.

The Reading Zone- Run by a 6th grade language arts teacher. Her blog focus is on reading, with a lot of writing and writing workshop thrown in. She currently has a review of the book Cracked Up to Be. 

Congrats to you all on the award. Please pass on the butterfly by following these rules.

1. Put the logo on your blog.

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.

3. Award up to ten other blogs.

4. Add links to those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message for your awardees on their blogs.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

This is really not a review of the book, just my feelings after reading it. There are some great reviews out there if you are interested. Jen Robinson has a wonderful review of Chains. 

I really enjoyed this book! It's the best historical fiction book I've read this year. I became very attached to the main character-a slave girl named Isabel. Parts of the book were very sad and hard to read about. I was satisfied with how it ended and am looking forward to reading more about Isabel and Cruzon in Forge. 

Laurie Halse Anderson also wrote Fever 1793 about six years ago. Another great historical fiction read.

Thank You, World by Alice B. McGinty

This colorful picture book is divided into eight sections as you open up each full page. Every square represents a different country. The story follows eight different children as they experience the same things in life. "Thank you, sun, for waking up  the morning and coloring the sky." You get to see eight different sunrises. "Thank you, window. You welcome in the moonlight that yawns from starry skies." Here you see all eight children looking out the window of their own unique homes. Beautifully illustrated as it highlights: United States, Mexico, Bolivia, France, Mali, Saudi Arabia, India and China. Great and informative read!

My Daddy and Me by Jerry Spinelli

This is Jerry Spinelli's first picture book. It stars a dad dog and his puppy son. The book starts out with the puppy waiting for his dad to get home from work. The book goes through all the fun the two of them have together. Isn't that usually the highlight of any child's day--when dad gets home. I remember my sister and I used to sing a song, "Daddy is home..." and dance in the driveway when he pulled up. Even my own kids have mentally pushed me aside when their dad gets home. I say, "Hey, I'm the one who birthed you." But they are apparently sick of being with me too much. Plus dad is more fun--like how he doesn't follow all the organized rules that the mom has for great reasons. Enjoyable book!

Pinkalicious by Victoria Kann & Elizabeth Kann

The somewhat bratty little girl in the story eats so many pink cupcakes that she turns pink--and she loves it! "I'm Pinkerbelle!" The doctor informs her that she has a case of Pinkititis. To return to normal color she must stop eating anything pink and instead eat green food. But that is just asking too much, until she turns red, which makes her finally choose to eat the gross green foods. At the end of the book we find out that her brother could not resist the pink cupcakes. Cute read!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

I know this book has been a best seller and lots of people enjoy it, but for some reason I just barely got around to reading it. I wasn't too excited to start because I'm not that found of comic/cartoon books. However, this is not really one. It's a fast moving story about a boy's school year life. He takes you through Halloween, Christmas, gym class, girls, friends, etc.  The cartoon pictures add so much to it. They are just as funny as the story.

I am wondering if there is something wrong with me. I found this book hilarious. There were several moments when I was laughing (screeching) out loud and a few times when I had tears from laughing so hard. (I hope there's another adult out there who feels the same way so that I don't feel like a complete idiot!)

Greg, the main character, tells about being in reading groups at school. "They don't come right out and tell you if you're in the Gifted group or the Easy group, but you can figure it out right away by looking at the covers of the books they hand out." The cartoon has a picture of two books: Einstein as a Child and Bink Says Boo.

I think this book is great for any person with a good sense of humor. Of course boys would love it, but girls too and even adults. I am enjoying the second book now and can't wait for the third one to come out in January. Thank you Jeff Kinney for making me laugh so much!

Here's a favorite part from the second book. 

Greg and his best friend, Rowley, watched a movie about kids that taught themselves a secret language that grown-ups couldn't understand. Greg and Rowley thought it would be cool to do the same. They decided to make up their own secret language. They tried it out at the dinner table with the two boys and Rowley's dad. 

Greg's cartoon bubble says, "Your-Pa Dad-Pa Smells-Pa Like-Pa A Woman-Pa!" Then the text says, "But Rowley's dad must have cracked our code, because I ended up getting sent home before dessert. And I haven't been invited to spend the night at Rowley's ever since."

Kids Sharing All Over the World

Kids' Space is a site where kids all over the world can share their own stories. They can upload their story as well as read other ones from kids all around the world. There is a feature called Beanstalk where they can pick a picture from the gallery and then write a story that goes with that picture. 

I enjoyed surfing around this site. I saw works of writing from kids in Hong Kong, Australia, Israel and even New Jersey. That was exciting! This would be a great resource for teachers. There are many activities you could do with the other writings, as well as have your own students publish their writing. What a great multicultural way of sharing!

The Dumpster Diver by Janet S. Wong

As he delves into the trash each weekend, Steve encourages his young neighbors (aka the Diving Team) to see the potential in what other people throw away. With a little bit of imagination, trash can be transformed into treasure-and as the Diving Team soon discovers, it might even help a friend in need.

The words in the story are typed on different things, such as school paper, paper bags, doilies, duct tape, etc. The words are scattered along the pages in a fun and quirky way. The illustrations are colorful and help with the story. Nice descriptive writing.

"Diving rule number one is: Keep your mouth shut. (This is especially important when the roaches start flying!)"

"And an old table plus two banged-up skateboards plus a ripped crib mattress plus a hand-held shower plus thirty-two screws and a roll of duct tape can become anything we want it to be."

There is an old lady in the book they call The Grouch. She thinks, "Steve is crazy, too lazy to work hard to make enough money to buy new stuff at the store like good people should." She's a funny character.



I loved this book! It reminds me of my son. He loved going into the big dumpsters to find treasures. One afternoon we couldn't find him or our daughter. Their bikes were gone, but they weren't anywhere around. We started to get worried and drove around the neighborhood looking for them. We spotted their bikes by the school's dumpster and recycling bin. They were nowhere to be found. We got out, called their names and two little heads poked out from the recycling bin. They had a bunch of junk that they tried to talked us into letting them bring home. They also smelled pretty bad. Later we found out that they had eaten lunch in there before. Yuck!

There is some kind of attraction for kids to trash. I can remember being so excited to go to the dump with my dad when I was younger. One time I found a Barbie with no arms. That didn't matter at all to me. It was just so cool and my dad let me bring it home.