Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos

Reading Level 5.2

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Adventure, Fantasy

Pages: 344

This book was recommended and loaned to my by my 10 year old niece. It took me a while to finally begin reading it, but once I did, I was sucked into it. I barely cleaned or cooked for my family today. I read it in two days but could have done it in one if I didn't have other responsibilities.

This book is about a young girl who's parents run a museum so she is around ancient artifacts all the time. However, there is one very odd thing about her -- she can see curses. Being around a lot of ancient Egyptian artifacts means she runs across a lot of cursed items. This strange ability that allows her to sense evil and good in items throws her into an adventure she wasn't searching for of secret societies -- one searching for good and the other creating chaos. Both want her and her special gifts. What will she do? What does she decide?

This was a FANTASTIC book. As I said, once I started reading it, I couldn't stop. There were 2-3 minor curse words in it, though. Beyond that, it was a very clean book.

I rate it with 5 stars!!! *****

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Winnie's reviews: The Adventures of Loriel the Wood Fairy

Loriel is worried about Grandfairy Cyce . She hasn’t heard from her in a while. Loriel gets the news that Grandfairy Cyce has been kidnapped by a goblin! Will Loriel ever see her again?

I liked this book because I love fantasy! My favorite part was when Padra (the house mouse) thought the dragon was going to eat him. There was a problem though. Some characters' names were similar to one another and the author sometimes used the wrong names on the characters. It was a bit confusing. For this reason I rate only 3 ½ stars.

Author: The back of the book flap reads, "I have always been a reader and I loved reading to my children as well as my grandchildren. I hope that comes through in my writing. Opening children's eyes to the world of books is awesome. Seeing their eyes light up to an exciting passage is so special. Computers are wonderful but holding a book and relying on your own imagination is special and individual to each one of us."

Linda's Review: Loriel's Grandfairy Cyce has been kidnapped by smelly goblins. She must figure out a way to rescue Cyce without putting Cyce in more danger.
This is a fun little story with cute pictures. I think some of the words could be difficult for children and not easy to figure out in context. However, great opportunity to learn to work a dictionary. ;) The story moves quickly and keeps the reader engaged. Occasionally, I had to go back and reread sections because I didn't catch it well the first time. That may have been me though. Overall, I'd give this book three stars. ***
It was fun! It'll be a fun read aloud to my children this year too.

Disclaimer: This was a complimentary copy of the book given to me in exchange for an honest review.

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Winnie's Reviews: The Secret at Haney Field by R.M. Clark

Can you see the shadow players? April O’ day gets hired as a bat retriever and comes to like her job. She knows everything about baseball from researching and reading. Mr. Haney owns the stadium and sets up a meeting to see April. He brings April into the stadium and sits her down and makes her look into the field. He asks her what she sees. People shaped objects are running around the bases. They're shadow players. Why are they here? What do they want?

Opinion: I like this book because it’s mysterious. Ghosts are used in a lot of books. Shadow players are one of a kind. I love the plot and how it smoothly runs. It has all the right details. Thanks for letting me read this fantastic book! FIVE stars!

Author: To learn more about the author visit this website:

http://www.rmclarkauthor.com/

Disclaimer: This was a complimentary copy of the book given to me in exchange for an honest review.

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Squish: Super Amoeba

• Age Range: 8 - 12 years
• Grade Level: 3 - 7
• Series: Squish (Book 1)
• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (May 10, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375843892
• ISBN-13: 978-0375843891

Author: Jennifer  and Matt Holm

This is a story about one celled organisms living their life. Elementary school is hard for everyone but especially if you're an amoeba named Squish who has bullies to deal with and Principal Planaria. Not to mention getting along with friends and a dad who secretly listens to heavy metal. Do you think Squish can save his friends and the world from the evils in the hallway or school? Read the book to find out. :)

I have, what we could call, a reluctant reader. This, however, was the first chapter book I got him to read. Granted, it's written as a comic book but I really didn't care as long as it got this young reader to read words. He loved this book. He even picked up the sequel the next time he was at the library.

AR: Grade level 2.2

Lexile: GN230L

This would be a fun book to have in the classroom, especially for science when covering one celled organisms. Unfortunately, most 2nd graders don't learn about one celled organisms for a while but it would be a great way to introduce them to the topic. It really is mostly just for fun.

RATING: **** Four Stars

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Collin's Corner: The Fastest Pet on Earth by J.E. Bright

This is about two enemies... a cheetah and a kangaroo. The kangaroo and Wonder Woman are friends. The Cheetah and Cheetah Girl are friends. The Kangaroo and Wonder Woman are good and the Cheetah and Cheetah Girl are bad. It is a little funny. They are fighting over a golden turtle. The golden turtle gives anyone powers. If you think the golden turtle is a toy, you are wrong; it is a real animal. If you want to know the rest of this story, then read the book.

It was really fun reading. In some parts it was funny and in other parts it was a little intense. If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would give it 10. I recommend everyone read this book.

I have already asked my mom to get me the whole series.


Reading Levels:
AR: 3.4
Lexile: 560L


About Collin: It's been a while since he reviewed a book on here so I thought I'd remind you. He is 8 years old and just completed 2nd grade. He is also my son. ;) And, apparently, he's a huge fan of DC Super-Pets book series now. haha! This is also the first time his book review was done completely by him. I added the reading levels and this but he did the rest. In the past, I just added his opinion to the end. This one is all him. :)

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Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo

• Age Range: 6 - 9 years
• Grade Level: 1 - 4
• Series: Bink and Gollie
• Paperback: 88 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick; Reprint edition (April 10, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780763659547
• ISBN-13: 978-0763659547

This is about two friends who are a bit quirky and seem to be complete opposites yet they are always the most marvelous of companions. They get into fights, they go on adventures and they test their friendship. It's mixed with plenty of humor and fun to keep students engaged.

The young reader who read this book really enjoyed it. He opened it up just to see what it was about. Soon, he was enthralled in the story and thirty minutes later he was finished. He laughed at himself because he hadn't meant to even read it. He just wanted to flip through the pages. This is a really cute book. 

AR: grade level 2.5

Lexile: AD310L

This would be a great addition to any classroom. It's a fun read and something many of the students would enjoy and laugh about. It teaches important skills of friendship along with improving learning. There are a few words in it that are tricky and would be a wonderful opportunity for students' vocabulary to grow as they learn words like implore, compromise, outrageous, baffle, and several other larger words. The character Gollie likes to use larger words and quite often baffles Bink with her vernacular. A fun little book and great story for a classroom.

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Winnie's Reviews: Tuck Everlasting

Summary: Have you ever met an unusual family who never ages because they own a youth fountain? I read a book called Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. Winnie Foster loves adventure. She craves to see what’s in the woods, but she’s not brave enough to jump over the gate that blocks her adventurous spirit. One day she makes that little voice go away and decides to explore the woods. But who does she meet in these mysterious woods?

Opinion: This is an amazing book! I could read all day long if I could. My favorite character is Winnie because of what bravery she has. I rate this book 5 stars.

Author: If you want to learn about this author vist this site:

http://www.ipl.org/div/askauthor/babbitt.html

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Hairy, Scary, Ordinary by Brian P Cleary

My sister introduced me to this author. You can see a list of his books on Amazon here. I'll focus on only one book but I think all of his books are probably amazing! :) I haven't read them all... only 2 of them but such a fun concept.

This is a very colorful book. The graphics are bright and fun to pull a student in and entertain them. Even the font is exciting. It begins by defining an adjective but then it goes on giving examples. It goes on with funny pictures and the text describes the pictures with lots of adjectives and rhyming words. Such a fun read and great way to show students what an adjective is.

I recommend these books and can think of so many uses for them. The author not only writes these for grammar but for math, science, and other language arts words like antonyms and such. Really cool. Below is a cute video some students created about the book. hehe! It's their own little adaptation.

I guess, overall, I'm saying I totally recommend these books. I think classrooms should use them, parents should get the ones needed, and home education families should have them. Luckily, our library has a lot of them and so does my sister so I have places to borrow it from. hehe! YAY!!! :)

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Kids' Korner: Suddenly Supernatural Books 1 & 2

Published February 10th 2009

Genre: Children's Chapter book, Fiction, Paranormal

Synopsis: School Spirit - Kat's mother is a medium and talks to spirits. Kat has never wanted to invite friends over because, undoubtedly, something weird would happen at her home. She finally finds a friend, Jac, who doesn't seem to mind. Unfortunately, Kat notices she is seeing spirits as well; specifically, she is seeing one in her school that she and Jac must help cross over.
Scaredy Kat - Kat realizes that when lots of spirits begin seeking her out for help, it can be pretty scary. She has to learn how to control her power despite and angry spirit living in the abandoned house next door. To make things worse, there is a spirit like none she had ever seen in the second floor of the abandoned house that she must figure out how to help without the angry spirit harming her or Jac. Somehow, the story of a missing boy is connected as well so Kat and Jac must figure out how to solve this mystery and save the boy.

These were both very cute stories. My 5 and 7 year old absolutely loved them! They love haunted, spooky stories so the ghosts in this one added an extra level for them and they LOVED it! :)

Author: To learn more about Elizabeth Cody Kimmel, visit her website here http://www.codykimmel.com/

Rating: **** Four Stars

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Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

Genre: Children's Chapter Books, fiction, Fantasy, Juvenile

Synopsis: Minli, a young girl of Fruitless Mountain, dreams of a better life. Her father's stories fill her mind and she decides she must go in search of the Man in the Moon to ask him how to change her family's fortune. It's a quest that leads to many friends and magical beings but also to self discovery and heroic acts and Minli finds out a way to find the fortune she seeks.

My family loved this story. It was fun and each day we read it there was a new story. It was filled with many legends told within the main story line which was great fun for the kids and my husband but I found it confusing. haha! I give it THREE Stars! *** It was fun and I liked it but all the stories within the story were too confusing for me.



Author: To learn more about Grace Lin then visit her blog here http://www.gracelinblog.com/.

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Kidz Corner: Holes by Louis Sachar

Paperback, 233 pages

Published September 2nd 2000 by Scholastic (first published August 20th 1998)

ISBN

0439244196 (ISBN13: 9780439244190)

edition language

English

original title

Holes

Genre: Children's chapter book, fiction, mystery

Synopsis: My children loved this story, especially my 7 year old. Of course, when we were finished, we had to watch the movie. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the movie followed he book. It's about a young man whose name is Stanley Yelnats. It's a family name so the first name is the last name spelled backwards. Stanley's family was, unfortunately, cursed by a pig farmer hundreds of years ago. Stanley endures a series of unfortunate events that lead him to a juvenile delinquent facility. There is something more going on than just to rehabilitate troubled teens. There is a secret. Enjoy reading as Stanley accidentally uncovers the secret, revealing information about his past as well.

My kids loved loved loved this book and the movie!! Such a fun read and adventure for children. I recommend this book for anyone... young or old. My kids give it FIVE STARS *****

Author: To learn more about Louis Sachar, visit his website at http://www.louissachar.com/.

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Kids Korner: Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians

Genre: Auto-Biography, Children's Chapter Books, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Adventure

Synopsis: Warning: Librarians do NOT want you to read this book. By reading this book you will be open to a world the Librarians do not want you to discover. This is the actual, factual narrative of a young hero named Alcatraz Smedry who receives a bag of sand for his 13th birthday. (Insert "I've got a jar of dirt" jokes here.) However, this is no ordinary sand but a very rare type that is valued above all else. Alcatraz, like any Smedry would, lets it get stolen by the Evil Librarians. Adventure ensues, thrusting young Alcatraz into the world of the free kingdoms, becoming a hero, and trying to find out for himself just who he is. (This is the secret that the Librarians are trying to keep from us the Hushlanders. Our world, The Hushlands, is filled with lies and is controlled by the librarians. Just FYI. Keep it to yourself, trust me you don't want Librarians to know that you know.)

Review: This book had my kids, my husband and me laughing out loud constantly. Of course, none of us should be surprised that Sanderson once again did an amazing job in writing a book. My entire family loved this book and we were sad to return it to the library. So sad, actually, that as soon as we got home we ordered the entire set from Amazon. Go get this book now; really, go get it. If you don't you should be flogged with a large fish by a Canadian Moose.

Author: To the right is a picture of Alcatraz Smedry. (from book flap) "Brandon Sanderson is the pen name of Alcatraz Smedry. His Hushlander editor forced him to use a pseudonym, since these memoirs are being published as fiction.
"Alcatraz actually knows a person named Brandon Sanderson. That man, however, is a fantasy writer- and is therefore prone to useless bouts of delusion in literary form. Alcatraz has it on good authority that Brandon is actually illiterate and dictates his thick, overly long fantasy tomes to his potted plant. Count Duku.
"It is widely assumed that Brandon went mad several years ago, but few people can tell because his writing is so strange anyway. He spends his time going to science fiction movies, eating popcorn and goat cheese (separately), and trying to warn people about the dangers of the Great Kitten Conspiracy.
"He has had his library card revoked on seventeen different occasions."

Rating: FIVE STARS ***** (This was, of course, unanimous because this is one of the best written and entertaining books any of us have read in a long time.)

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Collin's Corner: Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonals

Paperback, 144 pages

Published June 3rd 1994 by HarperCollins (first published 1947)

Genre: Children Chapter Book

Synopsis: Mrs.Piggle-Wiggle is a funny little woman who has very long hair, loves children and lives in a house she had built upside down. She wanted it built upside down because when she was a little girl she wondered what it would be like to live in an upside down house. She had the baths and kitchen put in the correct way but everything else is upside down. The chandelier in the dining room is imagined to be a fire by all the children. The children of the neighborhood love to go to her house and play because she has a child-like personality and a big imagination that the children thrive and respond to. She is also the woman everyone calls on for parenting questions. She has a creative cure for all the problems the children have. Here is a list of some of her cures: The Won't-Pick-Up-Toys Cure, The Answer-Backer Cure, The Selfishness Cure, The Radish Cure, The Never-Want-To-Go-To-Bedders Cure, The Slow-Eater-Tiny-Bite-Taker Cure, and The Fighter-Quarrelers Cure. This book was first published in 1947 and it is fairly obvious in the way people lived in the story, to me. My kids didn't notice anything nor ask any questions. :)

My Thoughts: This was a fun read. After each chapter Collin and I took some time to discuss the choices the children were making and if he ever does, then the consequences Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle came up with for the children and what consequences would work in our home. It was really very fun. Collin squealed, "May we please read Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle today?" Really, how can a mom possibly say no to that? My 4 year old daughter even joined in our readings. They were fun to listen to for her as well. My son said that he gives this book five stars because it was so fun and I must say, I agree with him, too. :)

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Kids Korner: A Dog's Life: Autobiography of a Stray by Ann M. Martin

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (January 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439717000
• ISBN-13: 978-0439717007

Genre: Children, Realistic Fiction

Synopsis: This story is written from the view point of the dog, years later looking back on her life. The reader starts following her as a puppy and it's all given from the view point of the dog and she loses family members, tackles starvation, packs of vicious dogs, cars, and the ultimate enemy --- human beings.

Our thoughts: My children decided this was a riveting journey as they followed the life of this poor dog. Parts of it made the kids very sad and other parts made them to be very happy. They loved this book and moaned any time we had to stop and do other things in our life. Her name changes several times throughout her life depending on who she lives with. She started off as Squirrel though. It's the name her mother gave her. It is an emotional journey for children though... be warned.

Author:  (info from Goodreads) Ann Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Ann became a teacher and then an editor of children's books. She's now a full-time writer.

Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.

Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.

Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.

After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children. 


For more info on Ann Martin visit her websites http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmmartin and http://www.scholastic.com/annmartin/


Rating: According to my 6 and 4 year old -- ***** Five Stars

To purchase book click here (hover for details):


 A Dog's Life: Autobiography of a Stray

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Kids' Korner: Stage Fright by Meg Cabot

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc.; Reprint edition (August 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545040469
• ISBN-13: 978-0545040464

Genre: Children's Chapter Book - Fiction

Synopsis: (from Goodreads) Mrs. Hunter's fourth grade class is putting on a play. But Allie's theatrical hopes are crushed when she's not cast as the princess. Instead, she's cast as the evil queen. But as opening night approaches, Allie learns it's not the size of the part, it's the size of the heart that really matters.

My Thoughts: Allie Finkle is a typical girl and my kids thought she was awesome!! :) Cheyenne is a classmate of Allie's and is a complete brat. As the reader continues reading it's easy to see why. She has no rules and no consequences in her family life. I was able to stop a few times and discuss this with my kids. They ended up thanking me for providing rules and consequences. I thought that was really funny coming from my four and six year old. Cheyenne was a perfect example of the entitlement issues seen in today's children and I strive not to allow that to happen to my children. I am straying.... I just thought this book provided a great learning experience that I did not expect. Each time I had to stop reading my kids were angry at me for several minutes because they wanted to continue reading. They never wanted to stop. hehe! This one was a big hit for my kids!! :) I loved the subtle messages and lessons it had throughout and the fun storyline.

Author:
Meg Cabot is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of books for both adults and tweens/teens. Born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana, Meg also lived in Grenoble, France and Carmel, California (the setting for her bestselling Mediator series) before moving to New York City after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Indiana University.
After working for ten years as an assistant residence hall director at New York University (an experience from which she occasionally draws inspiration for her Heather Wells mystery series—two new books in the series will be out in 2012 and 2013), Meg wrote the Princess Diaries series, which was made into two hit movies by Disney, sold over 16 million copies, and has been translated into 38 languages.
Meg also wrote the 1-800-Where-R-You? series (which has been reprinted under the title Vanished and was made into the Lifetime series called Missing), as well as numerous other award-winning, best-selling stand-alone books and series, including All-American Girl and Avalon High (on which an original Disney Channel movie was based), and several books told entirely in emails and text messages (Boy Next Door/Boy Meets Girl/Every Boy’s Got One).
Meg’s newest series include the tween hit Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls, the YA trilogy Airhead, and Abandon, the first book in a new paranormal series for young adult readers (the sequel, Underworld, will be in US stores in spring 2012). Insatiable, Meg’s first paranormal romance for adult readers, was followed by a sequel, Overbite, in July 2011.
Meg Cabot (her last name rhymes with habit, as in “her books can be habit forming”) currently lives in Key West with her husband and two cats.

This info came from Meg Cabot's website.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

For Purchase:  Stage Fright (Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls, Book 4)

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Kids Korner: Funny Things I Heard At The Bus Stop: The Complete Collection by Angela Giroux

• File Size: 265 KB
• Print Length: 118 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Red Alien Media (February 29, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007FT5086

Genre: Children's Fiction/Chapter Book

Synopsis: (from Goodreads) As my friends and I walk to the bus stop, we do lots of things to make the walk more fun. We have snowball fights in the winter. We throw acorns at the squirrels. We sing songs. We race to the stop sign. And we tell stories. Lots of stories.

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Collin Corner: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

Genre: Children's chapter book/Fantasy

Review: Four children find themselves in another world where animals speak and magic is everywhere. An evil witch has taken over this strange world called Narnia and makes is always winter but never Christmas. The only hope the Narnians have is a prophecy involving four human children and Aslan, the King of Beasts. The children must overcome many trials along the way to hopefully save all of Narnia and become the high kinds and queens of a country they found in a wardrobe.

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Auspicious Saturday: Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Auspicious Saturday is a day for me to post something to give children an auspicious chance. We know that reading is success so we need to give them the opportunity to be successful so Saturdays are my days to post books that my children have loved.

Genre: Fiction/Classic/Children's Chapter Book  (This was the Junior Classics for Young Readers version.)

Review: This is the story of an enormous whale named Moby Dick and a whaling ship. Moby Dick first comes into contact with the captain of this whaling ship, Ahab, and in that encounter Ahab loses his leg. Ahab is then filled with so much anger that he'll stop at nothing to get Moby Dick.

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The BFG by Roald Dahl

Genre: Fiction - Children's chapter book

Review: Sophie peers out of her window one night and spots a giant at her neighbor's window. He sees her, grabs her and runs off with her into the night. Lucky for her, this giant calls himself The BFG (The Big, Friendly Giant). Together, they come up with a plan to stop the other nine giants from eating the children of the world. Will it work?

My kids adored this book!! I am quickly learning that Roald Dahl's books are just amazing. Every single one of them have been fabulous and have my kids hooked from the beginning. This was adorable. I loved how the giant spoke with all his made up words. It was just TONS of fun!! I definitely recommend this book.

Author: Roald Dahl was born in 1916 and died in 1990. He's British and it's very obvious in his writing (I love it!). He became popular in the 1940s from both his children and adult books. He is most commonly known for James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In his career he wrote over 60 short stories.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

I also found the movie on youtube but I haven't watched it yet. I'm going to watch it with my kids. It may be fabulous or it may not. I am not reviewing that... just passing on the info that I found it. :) 

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Matilda by Roald Dahl

Genre: Children/fiction/paranormal

Author: I wrote about Roald Dahl when I reviewed Witches. See comments here.

Synopsis: Matilda was born to a family who, well, was not the ideal family. They seemed to think that everything about Matilda was odd. They thought that since she was a female she shouldn't worry so much about books but focus more on looks. However, Matilda loved to learn and to read. She was placed in school with her teacher Miss Honey and Principal Trunchbull. Miss Trunchbull thought that all children were pustules that should be squished and when Miss Honey came to Miss Trunchbull saying that Matilda was bored in her class and should be moved to a higher one, the Trunchbull was sure that Matilda was a rotten child who Miss Honey just wanted to get out of her class. She soon decides that adults need to be punished as well so through some inner abilities she was unaware that she had, she pulls some practical jokes on her parents and other leaders leading to a complete turnover in her life.

Review: My children LOVED reading about Matilda. They were even more excited when we found the DVD on sale at the store so they could watch it when we were finished. I was surprised to see how accurate the movie was compared to the book. It was fun with magic and mischief that kept my kids entertained and wanting more.

Rating: By request of my children, this book gets ***** Five Stars

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