Random Musings of a Bibliophile

As always links take you to Betsy Bird's posts at Fuse8. 40.  Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli I don't get it. I just don't get it. Some books I find I don't like that lots of people do I can at least see why they like them. Not this one. Even reading Betsy's post and the others she quoted (all of whom I have heaps of respect for) I'm still left looking at this book with ??????????? 39. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick I love how this book plays with format and is next to  impossible to pin a label on. It is a true homage to art in all forms. 38. Frindle by Andrew Clements I think it is criminal this book wasn't given an award. The characters. The concept. The themes. The heart. And all brilliantly told in 105 pages (with illustrations from Brian Selznick) that a 2nd grader can read but that will have any age reader engrossed. I have reread it so many times and it never gets old. 37.  The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt Such a g...

The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine is a good strong MG historical fiction novel. A spot should be saved on shelves for it in libraries and upper elementary classrooms. If you have a young voracious reader in your life who enjoys historical fiction with a strong minded female protagonist then put this book in their hands. Synopsis (from Goodreads): Two girls separated by race form an unbreakable bond during the tumultuous integration of Little Rock schools in 1958 . Twelve-year-old Marlee doesn't have many friends until she meets Liz, the new girl at school. Liz is bold and brave, and always knows the right thing to say, especially to Sally, the resident mean girl. Liz even helps Marlee overcome her greatest fear - speaking, which Marlee never does outside her family. But then Liz is gone, replaced by the rumor that she was a Negro girl passing as white. But Marlee decides that doesn't matter. Liz is her best friend. And to stay friends, Marlee and Liz are w...

Featuring Bit, Age 8 (Can you believe it?????) Upon finishing our last read aloud , 100 Cupboards , Bit was anxious to begin its sequel, Dandelion Fire. The Story Dandelion Fire picks up where 100 Cupboards left off. The Willis family is recovering from their adventures with the cupboards and Henry is trying to make sense of all he learned about himself and what is coming in his future. Then an inexplicable encounter with a dandelion changes Henry for good and his connection with the cupboards isn't over. Nimiane, witch queen of Endor, wants his blood. There is a strange deranged wizard intent on making him his son. There are some grumpy Faeren intent on silencing Henry for good. And then there is his family who he has to find before it is too late. Bit's Thoughts I liked the book so much I don't know what to say. I like how Henrietta changed how she acted and started thinking about others more. I thought the plot was interesting because it switched back and fort...

The next 10 books in the list are out today and this puts us in the Top 50. I have a feeling my thoughts on the books to come will be extreme one or way another. Though there are a couple today I could take or leave. As always I have linked to Betsy's posts at Fuse 8. 50. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry This is an excellent book in so  many ways. It is a book that introduces children to the concept of the Holocaust without throwing the full horror of it at them. The main themes of the story are friendship and family, both of which children identify with. Also, and this is key from a teacher's view, it is short enough to include as part of a history unit. 49. My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett Cute and fun. This is an excellent book for kids who are crossing over from early readers to chapter books. It has to be given to a child at exactly the right time. 48. The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket I have a fondness for The Series of Unfortunate Events because...

Notes from an Accidental Band Geek by Erin Dionne is a book I wanted to read because, I'm not going to lie, I was a band geek. Even after I quit band and wasn't in it anymore I was still a band geek. That's where all my friends were. It's like the mafia. Once you're in, death is the only way out. Synopsis (from Goodreads): Elsie Wyatt is a born French horn player, just like her father and her grandfather before her. In order to qualify for the prestigious summer music camp of her dreams, she must expand her musical horizons and join - gasp! - the marching band . There are no French horns in marching band (what the heck is a mellophone??), but there are some cute boys. And marching band is very different from orchestra: they march, they chant, they . . . cluck ? Elsie is not so sure she'll survive, but the new friends she's making and the actual fun she's having will force her to question her dad's expectations and her own musical prior...

I am a day behind! Here are the next ten. Not as many of my favorites today, but still some excellent titles. As always all links lead to Fuse 8. 60.  Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtuis This is a wonderful book, historical fiction that is about the characters and not the time period. 59. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo I am not a huge fan of this one despite loving DiCamillo's books in general. It is beautiful writing, marvelous illustrations. The story? Not real sure what DiCamillo was trying for there. 58. Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome Just not my thing at all. All that nature. 57. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken THIS is my thing. Orphans! Evil Guardians! Old house! England! I love it, delightfully creepy and just scary enough it is a delight for the imagination. 56. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett Not my favorite Burnett. Or even my favorite classic. Still the perfect book for little girls ...

Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King is a bizarre book. It is in fact one of those books I normally don't finish. Or if I do I'm annoyed that I did. Not this time. Nope. Despite the highly bizarre and inexplicable weirdness that sometimes doesn't make any sense I ate it up as if it were made of dark chocolate with flecks of hot peppers inside. I can't say I was completely satisfied at the end but the experience was delightfully strange. Synopsis (from Goodreads): Lucky Linderman didn’t ask for his life. He didn’t ask his grandfather not to come home from the Vietnam War. He didn’t ask for a father who never got over it. He didn’t ask for a mother who keeps pretending their dysfunctional family is fine. And he didn’t ask to be the target of Nader McMillan’s relentless bullying, which has finally gone too far. But Lucky has a secret—one that helps him wade through the daily mundane torture of his life. In his dreams, Lucky escapes to the war-ridden jungles of ...