I saw this title and just had to get it. Not because I want my sister to disappear, but because there were some days, when we were young, when it may have been on my mind a little bit. This is a cute book about two sisters, whose Dad goes to Afghanistan to help the country rebuild by designing schools. While he is gone, Sprig tries hard to control her tears, while Dakota tries hard to control...

A book review of With Courage and Cloth: Winning the Fight for a Woman’s Right to Vote. A compelling story of the history of the suffrage movement in the United States.

A book review of Grace for President by Kelly Dippuchio and illustrated by LeUyen Pham. Grace Campbell learns about US presidents and is surprised to learn that a woman has never been president and then runs for class president. This book teaches about the electoral college and campaign process.

So, as many of you know, my family has been in transition. You would think a month out from moving day I would be settled, organized and back to normal. Um, well, not exactly. Our move is of the temporary sort, which according to some report my Dad read about, adds us to the list of growing homeless people. Yeah. Living with your family members in a home that is not your own, is technically...

A book review of Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. Lia, a teen girl suffers from anorexia and her life is at stake as she struggles to deal with the death of her best friend from complications of bulimia

A Book Scoops book review of New York BGregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins. A modern-day Alice in Wonderland, Gregor arrives in the Underland on the cusp of a war. Gregor and Boots, his little sister, are asked to fulfill their roles foretold by ancient prophecy.

Ides of March Madness because kids need books. A fund raiser with the Red Wagon, a non profit group who seeks to give books to children who would otherwise not have the opportunity to get books.

Exactly one month ago the Cybils awards were announced for 2008. My sister and I were thrilled to learn that Rapunzel's Revenge won the prize for the graphic novel/elementary - middle grade category, but I had also read every graphic novel in the category as part of the Children's Literature Book Club. I liked several of them and thought I would do a quick review of each one, except for Our...

Specials by Scott Westerfeld- Tally Youngblood has been turned into a Cutter by her best friend Shay. Tally and the Cutter’s use their weapon-grade bodies to tame and shape the world around them. Special Circumstances is unaware that Tally is once again rewiring her brain to think outside the brain lesions, which leads her to a dilemma: does Tally Youngblood love David or Zane?

A book review of a Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch, Illustrated by Michael Martchenko. Forced to wear a paper bag after a dragon destroys her home and kidnaps her fiance. She goes on rescue mission to save Prince Ronald from the dragon.

I first fell in love with the story of Robert Smalls while watching a PBS documentary called Slavery and the Making of America. I loved his story and was thrilled to learn that Janet Halfmann had turned his story into a picture book. I enjoy collecting picture books that teach history so this was one of the top one's I wanted read especially since I taught U.S. History. From the inside cover...

Double Scoop - Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen. We picked this one in honor of Black History Month and we really liked the book, but it is not an easy read as it shows the brutal nature of slavery. We also had a good discussion about race and some of the modern issues of racism. Holly's pick of the month - The Snowy Day by Jack Ezra Keats. The illustrations in this book reminded me so much of the...

I love 'I can Read' books. They are just the right level to really share a reading experience with beginning readers. There are plenty of beginning words like the, this that, him, I, go, they, etc. that boost new reader's confidence. I also love Critterville and all the classic illustrations that invite interaction with little ones peeking over your shoulder. "Oh, I see hippo! Dat a monkey!"...

I'd like to just say I loved this book, 'nuf said. But that wouldn't really make this review very good. So, I loved this book more than Twilight. Please don't hate me. I thought it was easier for me to imagine an alien species implanting itself into my brain than it was for me to imagine a vampire living within a three hour drive from my home (which would translate into how long of a vampire...

A book review of Nic Bishop Spiders by Nic Bishop. Colorful photos show a variety of spiders and describes their life cyles.

This is the book that I got from the author at the Utah Book Bloggers Bash hosted and organized by Natasha Maw. Now I was to0 embarrassed to admit it there, but you all know that writing on a blog gives one a sense of anonymity, even when what you are writing is public. Here goes the confession -  I had never heard of James Dashner let alone the 13 Reality in my life. I mean really how do you...

As part of the Children's Literature Book Club, I am reading several of the Cybils finalists for the month of February and will try and post reviews of as many of the books that I can. When I first started to read this book I was a little skeptical at first because I just wasn't getting into the story. However, by the end of the book, I feel in love with Wanda Gag and her passion for drawing. In...

The sequel to Uglies, also a NYT bestseller. I had a harder time getting into this book because of the way Pretties talk. I had no idea that a surgery could change the way that people talk so easily. I felt like I was in some cliquey Disney Channel movie or something. Then, I started to get the feel of it and started enjoying myself.   In the Pretties, Tally has received her greatest wish to be...