photo by Arwen Abendstern www.flickr.com
Pippi Longstocking is perhaps one of the most-loved orphans of all time (well, maybe she’s an orphan since she’s still waiting for her father to come back from being a cannibal king), along with Annie and the Baudelaire children. The style of this book reminds me very much of [...]

You might have noticed this new widget I have on my sidebar, courtesy of JacketFlap and the Children’s Book Council. It is announcing several nominees for the Children’s Choice Book Awards. In case you didn’t know, the Children’s Choice Book Award nominees have been announced in each category: Kindergarten to second grade, third to [...]

photo by asplosh www.flickr.com
Do you L. O. V. E. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh? I do! And it was published the year I was born, so that makes it almost 40 years old. (That makes me almost 40 years old, too. Egads!) Anyway, I remember teaching this book as part of my [...]

Florida Swamp photo by Peter Long www.flickr.com
*Middle-grade to tween (there’s some language in here–FYI ) contemporary fiction novel
*Middle-grade students Nick and Marta as main characters
*Rating: A good eco-mystery for kids with a quirky cast of characters, similar to Hoot and Flush by Carl Hiaasen.
Short, short summary: Scat has a main plot [...]

I am so excited to have a great historical fiction author and her books on my blog today and tomorrow. I am even more excited about the book giveaway contest. Clara Gillow Clark has donated a copy of all three Hattie books to give away as prizes to lucky winners who comment on today’s [...]

photo by scalespeeder www.flickr.com
Come on, admit it, how many of you that read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis went to the back of your closet (of if you were lucky–a wardrobe) and tried to go to the land of Narnia? I’ll raise my hand! I did [...]

Hard Pan?
by Quinn Ryan Mattingly www.flickr.com
*Middle-grade novel, contemporary, realistic
*Almost 11-year-old girl as main character
*Rating: Lucky Breaks is a great sequel to Newberry-winning The Higher Power of Lucky, and Susan Patron has not disappointed us. “Scrotum” appears twice.
Short, short summary: Lucky and the lovable Hard Pan residents are back in this sequel, [...]

I am so happy to announce the winner of The Secret of the Sacred Scarab! It is. . . Lisa W. (Comment number 4) Thank you, Lisa, for leaving a comment, and thank you to everyone else, too. It always means a lot to the author (and me!) to have your support!
If you did [...]

I love Timeless Thursdays and not just because it is almost Friday. I love revisiting these books that I read when I was younger and that children or teens are still reading today. And how about this series that I thought about while perusing the shelves of the local library? Timeless Thursday is talking Little [...]

What could be better than two boys and an adventure in Egypt? It’s hard to think of anything! So, join me today with Fiona Ingram while she visits my blog on her WOW! Women On Writing blog tour to talk about her middle-grade novel, The Secret of the Sacred Scarab.
**BOOK GIVEAWAY CONTEST: Please [...]