Gods & Goddesses

Today is a dark and stormy day! I am reminded that the Greek gods and goddesses are a source of infinite wisdom. With that in mind I would like to recommend the book Greece, Rome, Monsters by John Harris. In this great book, twenty mythical monsters are featured along with a supporting cast of gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines. The book begins with a warning telling you that you are about to embark into the land of creepy creatures. There is the Basilisk, if you see him run for your life! Keep away from the Cyclops, he’s a very big and very mean guy. You’ll not want to look at Medusa because there’s that poor option of turning to stone. The book does offer a few nice creatures such as, Pegasus the beautiful white horse with wings, and the fiery Phoenix who is reborn out of the ashes over and over again. Calef Brown’s artwork is fun and playful with shades of sour-apple green, turquoise blue and terracotta orange.

Of course, this brings on a surge of memories of The Lightening Thief featuring the notorious and wonderous Percy Jackson. Our hero, as A.D.D. as he is , is always finding a ways to get nasty creatures to chase after him. Percy soon finds out that his life as he knew it is not really the truth. He has been cloistered away from the world of gods and goddesses in which he really should be involved with since he is related to one of the most famous gods of all. As Percy learning how to deal with his new half godliness, he decides to go on a quest to find out who has stolen Zues' lightening rod. The book is excellent and full of great surprises. You'll want to read this one just to catch up on your Greek Mythology!

Pumpkin Queen Girl

I know that October has passed and we have long moved on from Halloween, however I recently I had the extreme pleasure of reading this sweet book. I think it is a definite keeper and could be quite special for any pumpkin lover. I love the fall and I wish I could have pumpkins all year round.To honor her Mother who passed away when she was six, eleven year old Mildred is determined to win the Circleville, Ohio, Pumpkin Show in Me and the Pumpkin Queen by Marlane Kennedy. Unfortunately, something awful always happens to her pumpkins and they turn to mush. Mildred´s obsession with pumpkins alarms her Aunt Arlene so she tries to get Mildred interested in clothes instead of pumpkins. Will Mildred´s dream of growing a prize-winning pumpkin ever come true? This book is a sweet coming-of-age story that also introduces readers to pumpkin growing competitions. As Mildred finds out, it requires much more than luck to produce a thousand pound champion! If you are interested in this topic, take a look at the website featured in the book www.pumpkinshow.com.

Hope this makes you hungry!

My other hope is to start evaluating magical characters in children's literature. This evaluation is going to be called "Magical dudes and chicks in children's literature" and will focus on any character that has magical abilities. This will also include telekinetic and spiritual powers as well. We shall see how this goes! Here is a review I just wrote for work and I hope it makes you hungry and want to read this book as well!

In "The Perfect Hamburger and other Delicious Stories" by Alexander McCall Smith, you get three hilariously cooked up tales all in one book. First, in The Perfect Hamburger, Joe's favorite hamburger joint is going to go out of business unless he can figure out the ingredients for the perfect hamburger. Will he get it right before it's too late? Second, in "The Spaghetti Tangle", John and Nicky would love to eat spaghetti all day long, but instead they get vegetarian dishes. To get a decent meal they enter a recipe contest. When they win a visit to Mr. Pipelli’s spaghetti factory they are thrilled! You'll never guess what happens when they come face to face with the spaghetti spinner! And third, in "The Doughnut Ring", Jim tries to help Mr. Pride by coming up with a fundraiser to sell doughnuts. He decides to send out tons of emails asking for donations. This seems to work, but it soon gets out of control and Jim finds himself practically covered in doughnuts! Will he be able to sell all of his yummy treats, or will he be stuck with the sticky goods forever?

This is the place!

This is the place, this is where it all happens! I am so excited to be writing on my blog again. It has been a long time and I have so much to tell. I have gone on a journey that has exceeded all possibilities. Tomorrow I start a new job that has been a dream of mine for quite a while. I am going to be working in a middle school library. I will be surrounded by young adult books which is so fantastic.

I am hoping for lots of luck on my new adventure, but I'm pretty sure I won't need it!

YA Literature Rules

I am a great fan of Young Adult Literature. I would like to cover YA books that I have read and review if I like them or not, and what I think teens would like or not like about the book. I would also like to highlight YA authors and their current as well as up and coming works. Young adult books fascinate and intrigue me. I am here to tell you that I read at least one young adult book every few weeks and I just can’t get enough! Maybe that’s because I work in a library and I have supreme access to all kinds of wonderful young adult books. I find library books to be like gems you pull out of a lost pirate’s treasure chest and then later you return them to the chest so that someone else can get a chance to experience the joy that you have had.
Some of the books I have read recently are:
Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
Life in the Fat Lane by Cheri Bennett
The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessing
Artemis Fowl the Opal Deception by Eion Colfer
The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
Inexcusable by Chris Lynch
Poison by Chris Wooding
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling