Archive for the ‘It’s A Tween Thing’ Category

See Through Students

May 27th, 2010

For those of you out there that have slightly older children… here is this weeks “It’s A Tween Thing”

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: When this worlds got you down…step into a new one.


Milrose Munce and The Den of Professional Help

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Product Description

No one except Milrose Munce knows that ghosts of former students live in his school. Not only is Milrose aware of these ghouls – he’s on a first-name basis with all of them. Of course, some are more likeable than others: the third floor is the home to nearly all of his good friends. Most of them – like Imploded Ig, Deeply Damaged Dave, and Toasted Theresa – were the victims of science experiments gone wrong though they do manage to maintain a sense of humour about their demise. Then there are the ghost athletes who lurk in the basement – a pretty disagreeable group, the majority of them having died after a particularly clumsy manoeuvre on the school’s sports field.

After Milrose is given yet another detention for offering his teacher an answer that was just a bit too clever, his life takes an unexpected turn. He is sent to a hidden den in the school’s basement to receive Professional Help. Here, he and the quick-witted Arabella, a fellow captive, are put under round-the-clock supervision of the maniacal Massimo Natica. Fortunately for Milrose and Arabella, once they join forces with their ghostly friends, Massimo Natica doesn’t stand a chance.

In the tradition of Edward Gorey and Roald Dahl, the dark comedy and imaginative brilliance of Milrose Munce and the Den of Professional Help will appeal to adults as much as it will to younger readers.


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Let The Journey Begin!

April 15th, 2010

Happy Thursday everyone! I’m going to deviate a little from the norm today, but only slightly.  For those of you that have been following me for a while now you know that I am an advocate for children’s literacy.  I think that children and teens can learn more than just HOW to read by picking up a book, but also how to LIVE.  Each Thursday I recommend a book for the slightly older kids in your life and this Thursday is no different, only this time, instead of just posting the synopsis for the book I’m suggesting you share with your kids… I’ve actually read it and am going to share my views on it.

“Kevis Hendrickson” sent me a copy of “The Legend of Witch Bane” a few weeks ago and I was excited to get it.  Not because I had ever heard of it but because I love adventure, and once I finally found the time to read it…boy it was so much more than just an adventure, it was an experience.

Kodobos, Anyr, and Laris are only children, but when a terrible curse causes their homeland of Kalden to lapse into a permanent slumber, these 3 very determined and very different siblings take it upon themselves to find out what happened. Discovering that the evil High Queen Rhiannon is behind their towns horrible fate they set out on a quest to topple her kingdom and bring peace to their lands, but what starts out to be a hike in the woods quickly turns into an epic battle for their lives.  Can these 3 tiny souls find the strength they need to free their people? How in the world will they ever defeat so many minions and what exactly IS the legend of Witch Bane?

“Kendrickson’s” ability to weave “known fairy tales” with a new and exciting plot line was genius, and his attention to the tiny details that make adventure books come to life was equally flawless.  Here is an author that dared to ask the question…can a child save the world?  Each of the main characters had their own individual personality and he used their weaknesses and strengths to feed the plot line.  Children’s fantasy is (admittedly) difficult to write, there must be an equal balance of impending doom and life lessons and “The Legend of Witch Bane” spouted both with perfect form.

There were ice breathing dragons, ogres who think they are giants, greedy treasure stealing dwarfs, children who never grow old,  a mysterious spirit, and so many battles it was actually hard to keep track of them.

This is a must buy for your Tiny Tots and Tween! Turn off the TV and give them the adventure of a lifetime…inside of their imaginative little minds.

Happy reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: When THIS worlds got you down…step into a NEW one.

For a Complete Book Description Click Image

(5/5)

Book Trailer

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Janitors Are Creepy

April 8th, 2010

Today’s “It’s A Tween Thing” is an Amazon’s “Best of the Month” for April, and the start to a new series called “Keepers of The School”  Hope your budding humans enjoy it!

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: When THIS worlds got you down, step into a NEW one.


We The Children (The Keepers of The School)

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From Booklist

This first novel in the new Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School series centers on young Benjamin’s efforts to save his historic elementary school from amusement-park developers. The school was founded in the late eighteenth century by an eccentric sea captain, Duncan Oaks. In their attempt to save the school, Benjamin and his friend Jill uncover a long string of clues and discover that the school’s janitor is not as innocent as he appears. Jill and Benjamin have still not fit together all the missing pieces toward the end of the story, when Clements sends Benjamin on an exciting side trip to a sailing regatta, where he competes and saves a fellow racer. Several other youth novels feature kids facing off against greedy, nefarious developers. What sets this title apart is the skillful way that Clements conveys Benjamin’s growing appreciation of his seaside hometown’s landscape and history. Readers will look forward to finding out how the disparate clues come together in coming installments. Grades 4-6. –Todd Morning




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Dying To Be Popular

March 25th, 2010

Last Thursday I introduced the boys in your life to an exciting new series…so to even out the playing field here is one for the girls.  Be sure to pay close attention when you are finalizing your purchase, wouldn’t want you to accidentally buy book #2.

Happy reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: When THIS worlds got you down…step into a new one.

 

Ghostgirl

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Product Description

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

And if I should die before I awake,

I pray the popular attend my wake.

Charlotte Usher feels practically invisible at school, and then one day she really is invisible. Even worse: she’s dead. And all because she choked on a gummy bear. But being dead doesn’t stop Charlotte from wanting to be popular; it just makes her more creative about achieving her goal.

If you thought high school was a matter of life or death, wait till you see just how true that is. In this satirical, yet heartfelt novel, Hurley explores the invisibility we all feel at some times and the lengths we’ll go to be seen.


From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 7 Up—Charlotte User, an invisible loser, dies just before enacting a plan to catch the cutest guy in school and achieve popularity. She refuses to accept her fate (death by gummy bear) and returns as a ghost with a mission: to go to the Fall Ball with Damen and get a midnight kiss. Hurley combines afterlife antics, gothic gore, and high school hell to produce an original, hilarious satire. Charlotte ambles through death’s door and remains a pitiable, selfish, and somewhat annoying heroine. Readers root for her, but cringe at her blunders, too. She blows off her new dead-kid school and classmates, unable to give up her living, breathing crush. Hurley’s pitch-perfect dialogue and clever names (Petula, Rotting Rita, Principal Styx) keep readers laughing. Dark, meditative song lyrics and poetry start each chapter while campy, Gothic illustrations frame the pages. Tim Burton and Edgar Allan Poe devotees will die for this fantastic, phantasmal read.—Shelley Huntington, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

 

Praise for ghostgirl:

* Polished dark-and-deadpan humor, it’s a natural fit with Gen Y, too.”–Publishers Weekly (starred review)

* “[Tonya] beats out witty teen-speak like a punk-band drummer, keeping the narrative fast-paced and fun yet thought-provokingly heartwarming. Goofy, ghastly, intelligent, electrifying.”–Kirkus (starred review)

*”Tim Burton and Edgar Allan Poe devotees will die for this fantastic, phantasmal read.”–School Library Journal (starred review)

* “Readers with a taste for black humor and satire will feast on Hurley’s crisp, wise dialogue. Anticipate a well deserved cult following.” –VOYA (starred review)

“Written with deadpan wit…this is a ‘Wonderful Life’-like tale.” -New York Post

“A sincere (and humorous) exploration of how we all feel invisible at one time or another…perfect read.” -CosmoGirl

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Get Them Involved!

March 18th, 2010

Morning Everyone!

I know I have missed the last 2 weeks with “It’s A Tween Thing” but I was searching desperately for a new series to get your someone little ones involved. Starting a series with your child won’t only help in getting them involved in a story but in the long run in can be helpful with comprehension! Here is one that is geared more towards the boys in your life, (I will look for a good girly series next) just make sure you are paying very close attention to the volume before you run right out and purchase the first one you see.

To Help… here is book one.

Happy reading and remember: When THIS worlds got you down, step into a new one!


The Chronicles of Prydain

Book 1 “The Book of Three”

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Amazon.com Review

The tale of Taran, assistant pig keeper, has been entertaining young readers for generations. Set in the mythical land of Prydain (which bears a more than passing resemblance to Wales), Lloyd Alexander’s book draws together the elements of the hero’s journey from unformed boy to courageous young man. Taran grumbles with frustration at home in the hamlet Caer Dallben; he yearns to go into battle like his hero, Prince Gwydion. Before the story is over, he has met his hero and fought the evil leader who threatens the peace of Prydain: the Horned King.


What brings the tale of Taran to life is Alexander’s skillful use of humor, and the way he personalizes the mythology he has so clearly studied. Taran isn’t a stick figure; in fact, the author makes a point of mocking him just at the moments when he’s acting the most highhanded and heroic. When he and the young girl Eilonwy flee the castle of the wicked queen Achren, Taran emotes, “‘Spiral Castle has brought me only grief; I have no wish to see it again.’ ‘What has it brought the rest of us?’ Eilonway asked. ‘You make it sound as though we were just sitting around having a splendid time while you moan and take on.’” By the end, Alexander has spun a rousing hero’s tale and created a compelling coming-of-age story. Readers will sigh with relief when they realize The Book of Three is only the first of the chronicles of Prydain. –Claire Dederer –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“A very funny adventure tale set in an imaginary kingdom… The writing is sophisticated.”--Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
— Review

“A very funny adventure tale set in an imaginary kingdom… The writing is sophisticated.”--Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

–This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Mentos And Coke!

February 25th, 2010

Well…it’s official, I suck.  I didn’t post anything yesterday for no other reason then pure unadulterated laziness! I apologize and pray that you can look past my moment of unmotivatedness (hum.. is that a word?) and bank on me getting back to my overactive, compulsive self.

Keeping that in mind… today is Thursday and that means its time for “It’s a Tween Thing”

I always loved Science as a child, lets face it, mixing things together and seeing what happens is just plain fascinating! So…for a new twist on a old subject here is Science with FOOD!

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: When THIS worlds got you down…Pick up a new one!

p.s. I’ll post the review for “World War Z” tomorrow. :-)


Science Experiments You Can Eat!

For a Complete Description Click Image

Product Description

Incredible Edible
Experiments

Ever wonder

  • what makes popcorn pop?
  • why cakes rise?
  • how jelly gels?

    Your kitchen will be transformed into a laboratory worthy of a mad scientist as you make startling discoveries about how cabbage can detect acid, how bacteria makes yogurt, and how decomposed sugar turns to caramel. Then after a long day at the lab you can relax and eat your results: soup, biscuits, pretzels, cupcakes, or cookies.

    Vicki Cobb’s seminal book has been revised and updated to encompass advances in modern technology but still provides what all kids want: a legitimate excuse to play with their food!

    • About the Author

    Vicki Cobb is a pro at explaining the cohesive and adhesive properties of water. but she can never seem to remember that plants like water too! She finally had to decorate her home with artificial plants to keep from killing the live ones.

    Ever since Science Experiments You Can Eat, Vicki Cobb has been delighting children, parents, and teachers with the fun of making science discoveries. Now, with the new Science Play series, she sets her sights on the youngest children. who are natural scientists and are always experimenting. Vicki Cobb and her husband divide their time between their homes in White Plains, New York. and Manchester, Vermont.

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    History 101

    February 18th, 2010

    Happy Thursday! Sorry about the late night post last night but life got in the way…better late than never I suppose.  Anyways, here is a younger reader novel that has been getting an enormous amount of buzz.  I’m sorry to say that I haven’t had the time to check it out myself, but if you have…please… let me know what you think.

    Happy Reading my fellow Tweeny-Boppers and remember: When THIS worlds got you down, pick up a new one!

     

    The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

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    From School Library Journal

    Starred Review. Grade 5–8—A charming and inventive story of a child struggling to find her identity at the turn of the 20th century. As the only girl in an uppercrust Texas family of seven children, Calpurnia, 11, is expected to enter young womanhood with all its trappings of tight corsets, cookery, and handiwork. Unlike other girls her age, Callie is most content when observing and collecting scientific specimens with her grandfather. Bemoaning her lack of formal knowledge, he surreptitiously gives her a copy of The Origin of Species and Callie begins her exploration of the scientific method and evolution, eventually happening upon the possible discovery of a new plant species. Callie’s mother, believing that a diet of Darwin, Dickens, and her grandfather’s influence will make Callie dissatisfied with life, sets her on a path of cooking lessons, handiwork improvement, and an eventual debut into society. Callie’s confusion and despair over her changing life will resonate with girls who feel different or are outsiders in their own society. Callie is a charming, inquisitive protagonist; a joyous, bright, and thoughtful creation. The conclusion encompasses bewilderment, excitement, and humor as the dawn of a new century approaches. Several scenes, including a younger brother’s despair over his turkeys intended for the Thanksgiving table and Callie’s heartache over receiving The Science of Housewifery as a Christmas gift, mix gentle humor and pathos to great effect. The book ends with uncertainty over Callie’s future, but there’s no uncertainty over the achievement of Kelly’s debut novel.—Jennifer Schultz, Fauquier County Public Library, Warrenton, VA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

    From Booklist

    *Starred Review* Growing up with six brothers in rural Texas in 1899, 12-year-old Callie realizes that her aversion to needlework and cooking disappoints her mother. Still, she prefers to spend her time exploring the river, observing animals, and keeping notes on what she sees. Callie’s growing interest in nature creates a bond with her previously distant grandfather, an amateur naturalist of some distinction. After they discover an unknown species of vetch, he attempts to have it officially recognized. This process creates a dramatic focus for the novel, though really the main story here is Callie’s gradual self-discovery as revealed in her vivid first-person narrative. By the end, she is equally aware of her growing desire to become a scientist and of societal expectations that make her dream seem nearly impossible. Interwoven with the scientific theme are threads of daily life in a large family—the bonds with siblings, the conversations overheard, the unspoken understandings and misunderstandings—all told with wry humor and a sharp eye for details that bring the characters and the setting to life. The eye-catching jacket art, which silhouettes Callie and images from nature against a yellow background, is true to the period and the story. Many readers will hope for a sequel to this engaging, satisfying first novel. Grades 4-7. –Carolyn Phelan

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    Spooky and Kooky

    February 11th, 2010

    Happy Thursday! Here’s a new one from the author of Stardust and Coraline;  “Neil Gaiman” Hope your little humans enjoy it.

    Happy reading and remember, when THIS worlds got you down…pick up a new one.


    The Graveyard Book

    For complete book description click image

     

    Amazon.com Review

    In The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman has created a charming allegory of childhood. Although the book opens with a scary scene–a family is stabbed to death by “a man named Jack” –the story quickly moves into more child-friendly storytelling. The sole survivor of the attack–an 18-month-old baby–escapes his crib and his house, and toddles to a nearby graveyard. Quickly recognizing that the baby is orphaned, the graveyard’s ghostly residents adopt him, name him Nobody (“Bod”), and allow him to live in their tomb. Taking inspiration from Kipling’s The Jungle Book, Gaiman describes how the toddler navigates among the headstones, asking a lot of questions and picking up the tricks of the living and the dead. In serial-like episodes, the story follows Bod’s progress as he grows from baby to teen, learning life’s lessons amid a cadre of the long-dead, ghouls, witches, intermittent human interlopers. A pallid, nocturnal guardian named Silas ensures that Bod receives food, books, and anything else he might need from the human world. Whenever the boy strays from his usual play among the headstones, he finds new dangers, learns his limitations and strengths, and acquires the skills he needs to survive within the confines of the graveyard and in wider world beyond. (ages 10 and up) -–Heidi Broadhead

    From School Library Journal

    Grade 5–8—Somewhere in contemporary Britain, “the man Jack” uses his razor-sharp knife to murder a family, but the youngest, a toddler, slips away. The boy ends up in a graveyard, where the ghostly inhabitants adopt him to keep him safe. Nobody Owens, so named because he “looks like nobody but himself,” grows up among a multigenerational cast of characters from different historical periods that includes matronly Mistress Owens; ancient Roman Caius Pompeius; an opinionated young witch; a melodramatic hack poet; and Bod’s beloved mentor and guardian, Silas, who is neither living nor dead and has secrets of his own. As he grows up, Bod has a series of adventures, both in and out of the graveyard, and the threat of the man Jack who continues to hunt for him is ever present. Bod’s love for his graveyard family and vice versa provide the emotional center, amid suspense, spot-on humor, and delightful scene-setting. The child Bod’s behavior is occasionally too precocious to be believed, and a series of puns on the name Jack render the villain a bit less frightening than he should be, though only momentarily. Aside from these small flaws, however, Gaiman has created a rich, surprising, and sometimes disturbing tale of dreams, ghouls, murderers, trickery, and family.—Megan Honig, New York Public Library
    Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


    Book Trailer

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    Hiccup To Another World

    February 4th, 2010

    With so many new and enthralling young reader novels springing up I feel that sometimes we forget about the classics…so in today’s additional of “It’s a Tween Thing” I thought I would bring you one of MY favorites…an oldie but goodie. I loved this book as a child and hope that your slightly smaller humans will be as fascinated by the journey as I was.

    Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: When THIS world’s got you down…pick up a new one.


    A Wrinkle In Time

    A Wrinkle In TimeClick Image for Complete Details


    Product Description (From Amazon)

    It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.

    “Wild nights are my glory,” the unearthly stranger told them. “I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me sit down for a moment, and then I’ll be on my way. Speaking of ways, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract.”

    A tesseract (in case the reader doesn’t know) is a wrinkle in time. To tell more would rob the reader of the enjoyment of Miss L’Engle’s unusual book. A Wrinkle in Time, winner of the Newbery Medal in 1963, is the story of the adventures in space and time of Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O’Keefe (athlete, student, and one of the most popular boys in high school). They are in search of Meg’s father, a scientist who disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government on the tesseract problem.

    Synopsis (From B&N)

    Father is missing! His top secret job as a physicist for the government has taken him away–but where?–and how? Meg and her younger brother, Charles Wallace, set out with their friend Calvin on an exciting adventure through time and space to search for him. With the help of the mysterious Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which, the youngsters learn to expect the unexpected as they move in the fifth dimension known as the “tesseract”.

    With this award-winning story, Madeline L’Engle has captivated millions of readers throughout the world. Her universal themes of courage, perseverance, and love are interwoven with imagination and suspense. A Wrinkle in Time, published in 1962, won the distinguished Newbery Medal for children’s literature in 1963.

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    Look Out Spiderman!

    January 28th, 2010

    Hello my fellow Kindle-ites! Hope everyone is having a fantastic week.  Tomorrow I will post the review for “The Lovely Bones” but to quench your literary appetites until then… here is this weeks addition to “It’s A Tween Thing.”  Happy reading and remember: When THIS worlds got you down…pick up a new one!


    Click Image For Complete Details



    Amazon.com Review

    Amazon Best Books of the Month, January 2010 They don’t call it middle school for nothing. Reggie McKnight (aka “Pukey”) is trying hard to stay under the radar after a really embarrassing start to the school year. But, he’s somehow been drawn into the middle of a big school election, a volunteer project at the local homeless shelter, and the role of “Big Buddy” for a kid in the neighborhood. How will he ever find time to finish his comic book, Night Man? Reggie might see himself as a wimpy kid, but he’s anything but as steps up to new challenges and confronts big questions about doing the right thing in a tough world. Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich’s debut novel is a smart and satisfying read for teens and ‘tweens. –Lauren Nemroff


    Product Description

    Ever since a deeply unfortunate incident earlier this year, Reggie’s been known as “Pukey” McKnight at his high-intensity Brooklyn middle school. He wants to turn his image around, but he has other things on his mind as well: his father, who’s out of a job; his best friends, Ruthie and Joe C.; his former best friend Donovan, who’s now become a jerk; and of course, the beautiful Mialonie. The elections for school president are coming up, but with his notorious nickname and “nothing” social status, Reggie wouldn’t stand a chance, if he even had the courage to run.

    Then Reggie gets involved with a local homeless shelter, the Olive Branch. Haunted by two of the clients there–George, a once-proud man now living on the streets, and Charlie, a six-year-old kid who becomes his official “Little Buddy”–he begins to think about making a difference, both in the world and at school. Pukey for President? It can happen . . . if he starts believing.

     

     

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