Okay, now that I've read two books by Jessica Day George, I have to say I'm a huge fan. I wish I could get the sequel today, but I'll have to wait since it's a weekend.
The characters are full of personality. I was immediately drawn into Creel's world because of the way George describes the setting. There is action and humor throughout the book. This book should appeal widely to girls, and maybe even boys.
Genre: Fantasy
Topics: dragons, orphan, royalty, prince, bodyguard, embroidery, seamstress, mind control, misunderstandings, alchemy, stained glass windows, shoes, war, treason
Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 5 of 5
Amazon reviews
Friday, November 27, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Someone Named Eva by Joan M. Wolf
This story is based on true events during WWII. Milada is an eleven-year-old who is taken from her Czech family because of her blond hair and blue eyes. She spends almost two years in a training facility where she learns to be a perfect German girl. Part of the training was to indoctrinate the girls into believing the Nazi ideology of the "perfect race," Aryanism.
The story is very good, but I felt it read a little young. Once I got past/over that, I really enjoyed it. It is written in a manner that more sensitive or younger readers will most likely be able to handle without too much distress (doesn't get very graphic unlike many WWII books). One particularly good aspect is that the book features events many aren't familiar with from WWII. The story is both amazing and sad.
Genre: historical fiction (WWII)
Topics: Lebensborn, Lidice, Czechoslovakia, Ravensbruck, brainwashing, Nazis, adoption, Aryan, World War II, friendship, remembering who you are, remembering where you come from, Holocaust
Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 4 of 5 (highly recommend for Holocaust fiction)
Amazon reviews
The story is very good, but I felt it read a little young. Once I got past/over that, I really enjoyed it. It is written in a manner that more sensitive or younger readers will most likely be able to handle without too much distress (doesn't get very graphic unlike many WWII books). One particularly good aspect is that the book features events many aren't familiar with from WWII. The story is both amazing and sad.
Genre: historical fiction (WWII)
Topics: Lebensborn, Lidice, Czechoslovakia, Ravensbruck, brainwashing, Nazis, adoption, Aryan, World War II, friendship, remembering who you are, remembering where you come from, Holocaust
Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 4 of 5 (highly recommend for Holocaust fiction)
Amazon reviews
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
The Great Powers Outage, book 3 in The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy by William Boniface
I just finished the third book in The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy. It was great! I chuckled and outright laughed many times. It is very cleverly written. This time we find O.B. (Ordinary Boy) trying to track down the source for everyone's disappearing superpowers. AI (Amazing Indestructo) is once again involved in a money making scheme--AI's Pseudo-chips. Everyone wants Pseudo-chips, and they've stopped eating Dr. Telomere's X-tra Crispy Potato Chips.
There is a new bad guy, The Red Menace. The zoo animals suddenly have superpowers. Many strange things are happening in Superopolis.
Genre: humorous
Topics: thinking for self, being ordinary, mind control, manipulation, animals with superpowers, potato chips, school elections
Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 4.5 of 5 (simple, yet clever and funny)
Amazon Reviews
There is a new bad guy, The Red Menace. The zoo animals suddenly have superpowers. Many strange things are happening in Superopolis.
Genre: humorous
Topics: thinking for self, being ordinary, mind control, manipulation, animals with superpowers, potato chips, school elections
Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 4.5 of 5 (simple, yet clever and funny)
Amazon Reviews
Monday, November 23, 2009
Life as We Knew It by Susan Pfeffer
What would happen to life on Earth if the moon were pushed closer to the earth? This is Miranda's story about what happens to her life. It's very much a post-apocalyptic tale, and more than a little disturbing.
Positive:
- great scenarios of implications for the moon moving closer to Earth and the natural results (tides, earthquakes, tidal waves, volcanic action, volcanic ash in the atmosphere)
- interesting descriptions of what might happen to people and the environment (food, plants, flu, looting, no power, etc.)
Concerns/Be Aware of:
- language
- portrayal of Protestants via the character of Megan are all negative and spread throughout the entire book
- Miranda's relationship with Dan and her mom's response
- Samantha taking off with a 40-year-old man
- Megan's mom commits suicide by hanging
- Miranda mentions she "could kill myself" and other related comments
- portrayal of the President as an idiot in at least three instances at various places in the book
Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 3 of 5
Amazon reviews
Positive:
- great scenarios of implications for the moon moving closer to Earth and the natural results (tides, earthquakes, tidal waves, volcanic action, volcanic ash in the atmosphere)
- interesting descriptions of what might happen to people and the environment (food, plants, flu, looting, no power, etc.)
Concerns/Be Aware of:
- language
- portrayal of Protestants via the character of Megan are all negative and spread throughout the entire book
- Miranda's relationship with Dan and her mom's response
- Samantha taking off with a 40-year-old man
- Megan's mom commits suicide by hanging
- Miranda mentions she "could kill myself" and other related comments
- portrayal of the President as an idiot in at least three instances at various places in the book
Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 3 of 5
Amazon reviews
The Trap by John Smelcer
The trap gives you a glimpse of what life is like in cold, Alaska. The story alternates between the stories of Johnny, a young Indian, and his grandfather, Albert.
Albert has been running his own trapline for decades in the Alaskan wilderness. During one very cold winter snap, Albert heads out alone to check his trapline. When he doesn't come home when his wife expects him to, she asks Johnny to go out and look for him. Johnny's uncle doesn't seem as concerned, so Johnny puts off going to look for his grandfather.
You never know what consequences a single decision will have. Both Johnny and Albert make some decisions that have unintended consequences.
Genre: realistic fiction
Topics: trapline, trapping, Alaska, family relationships, independence, extreme cold, survival, decisions, wilderness, Alaskan Indian (Native American) life
Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 4 of 5
Amazon reviews
Albert has been running his own trapline for decades in the Alaskan wilderness. During one very cold winter snap, Albert heads out alone to check his trapline. When he doesn't come home when his wife expects him to, she asks Johnny to go out and look for him. Johnny's uncle doesn't seem as concerned, so Johnny puts off going to look for his grandfather.
You never know what consequences a single decision will have. Both Johnny and Albert make some decisions that have unintended consequences.
Genre: realistic fiction
Topics: trapline, trapping, Alaska, family relationships, independence, extreme cold, survival, decisions, wilderness, Alaskan Indian (Native American) life
Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 4 of 5
Amazon reviews
Under a War-Torn Sky by L. M. Elliott
What a great WWII book! It's full of adventure, suspense and danger. Henry is a 19-year-old pilot from the United States that gets shot down by the Germans over enemy territory in Europe. Members of the French Resistance help him get to safety on a number of occasions. Henry encounters people from many walks of life and degrees of willingness to help him escape Nazi imprisonment.
The book title comes from this sentence: "He'd [Henry] never really thought much about the people they were trying to liberate, or what their struggles must be on the ground under a war-torn sky." (p. 51) The book depicts some of those struggles to help the reader better understand what life was like for some individuals under enemy control during WWII.
Audience: especially good for 8th grade boys when they need to read WWII historical fiction
Genre: historical fiction (WWII)
Topics: French Resistance, WWII, fighter (bomber) pilot, prisoner of war, wounded soldier, survival, hunger, spies, traitors, farm life, children of war
Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 5 of 5
Cautions: war scenes, strong language at times (fits the context
Amazon Reviews
The book title comes from this sentence: "He'd [Henry] never really thought much about the people they were trying to liberate, or what their struggles must be on the ground under a war-torn sky." (p. 51) The book depicts some of those struggles to help the reader better understand what life was like for some individuals under enemy control during WWII.
Audience: especially good for 8th grade boys when they need to read WWII historical fiction
Genre: historical fiction (WWII)
Topics: French Resistance, WWII, fighter (bomber) pilot, prisoner of war, wounded soldier, survival, hunger, spies, traitors, farm life, children of war
Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 5 of 5
Cautions: war scenes, strong language at times (fits the context
Amazon Reviews
Friday, November 6, 2009
The Race to Save the Lord God Bird by Phillip Hoose
I decided to check this book out because I kept seeing it appear on recommended book lists. It's also on a list for college-bound students. I'm glad I read it. It was thought provoking.
The Lord God bird is a nick-name for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. The book documents the Ivory-billed Woodpecker from the early 1800s through current day. Back in the early 1800s, Ivory-billed Woodpeckers were prevalent in the southeastern United States. By 1937, they were only found in one small area in Louisiana.
As you read through the book, you learn what events led to the demise of the Lord God bird (Ivory-billed Woodpecker). It's both amazing and shocking. I found it interesting to read about the cultural practices and major events (like the Chicago fire) that impacted the plight of this bird.
I would highly recommend reading this book. It'd be a great tie-in to our 7th grade curriculum (life science and western hemisphere geography). It has many great conversation starters and implications for current day.
Audience: middle school (adults would enjoy, too)
Genre: non-fiction
Topics: extinction, environmental practices, environmental impact, cultural impact on the environment, standing alone, evolution
Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 4 of 5
Amazon reviews
The Lord God bird is a nick-name for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. The book documents the Ivory-billed Woodpecker from the early 1800s through current day. Back in the early 1800s, Ivory-billed Woodpeckers were prevalent in the southeastern United States. By 1937, they were only found in one small area in Louisiana.
As you read through the book, you learn what events led to the demise of the Lord God bird (Ivory-billed Woodpecker). It's both amazing and shocking. I found it interesting to read about the cultural practices and major events (like the Chicago fire) that impacted the plight of this bird.
I would highly recommend reading this book. It'd be a great tie-in to our 7th grade curriculum (life science and western hemisphere geography). It has many great conversation starters and implications for current day.
Audience: middle school (adults would enjoy, too)
Genre: non-fiction
Topics: extinction, environmental practices, environmental impact, cultural impact on the environment, standing alone, evolution
Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 4 of 5
Amazon reviews
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