Thanks to: TeachMentorTexts and Unleashing Readers for the inspiration! Thanks to Jen and Kellee for the meme! Enjoying books week by week… I decided to spread out what I’m reading recently over a few weeks… so this isn’t everything but I’ve enjoyed them all!
All the Answers by Kate Messner
LOVED this book. Happy to celebrate it this past Saturday.
Click on the link to find more out about Kate Messner’s newest treasure!
Pieces and Players by Blue Balliett – Mystery – 4th grade and up – Release date: March 31st, 2015 – I was so happy to experience this mystery after loving the other books by Blue Balliett. meeting up with many Blue Balliett characters was bliss, especially some I adored from other books beyond the mysteries with Calder, Petra and Tommy. More review to come close to release date! Goodreads Summary: “THE PIECES: Thirteen extremely valuable pieces of art have been stolen from one of the most secretive museums in the world. A Vermeer has vanished. A Manet is missing. And nobody has any idea where they and the other eleven artworks might be . . . or who might have stolen them.
THE PLAYERS: Calder, Petra, and Tommy are no strangers to heists and puzzles. Now they’ve been matched with two new sleuths — Zoomy, a very small boy with very thick glasses, and Early, a girl who treasures words . . . and has a word or two to say about the missing treasure.
The kids have been drawn in by the very mysterious Mrs. Sharpe, who may be playing her own kind of game with the clues. And it’s not just Mrs. Sharpe who’s acting suspiciously — there’s a ghost who mingles with the guards in the museum, a cat who acts like a spy, and bystanders in black jackets who keep popping up.
With pieces and players, you have all the ingredients for a fantastic mystery from the amazing Blue Balliett.”
Beyond the Moongate – True Stories of 1920s China by Elizabeth Quan – Non-Fiction= 2013- Beautiful short stories to share that connect with culture, traditions, holidays and follow a family as they live in a remote village for two years. Touching and lovely. Enjoyed the illustrations as well. The picture of China back in the 1920s is quite achieved and useful for cultural study. Goodreads Summary: “MOONGATES DOTTED THE LANDSCAPE OF OLD CHINA. Ancient Chinese architects had sculpted stone piled on sculpted stone to form round doorways, with the spiritual symbolism of the full moon. To step through one of these doorways was to step into a world of peace and happiness….
And so it was in the 1920s that the Lee King family – father, mother, and six children, aged ten months to seven years – traveled from their home in Canada, across the Pacific Ocean, to inland China. There, they had the opportunity to step beyond the moongate into a land not yet touched by modern warfare or political unrest.
The story of the moongate, tells of the two “golden” years the family spent with Grandmother in a remote village in the south, which hadn’t changed for centuries.
Step inside and live the long lazy days of a China forever gone. The moongate beckons….”
Smasher by Scott Bly- 2014 – Science Fiction – 3rd grade and up – This was a surprising, different type of time travel story. Really enjoyed the different characters, major twists and turns, and adventures. Interesting complexities in the book. It has been a while since I read a complex science fiction book that is appropriate for 3rd grade and up, nice surprise.
Quote from book: “Tackled by bullies and slammed into mud, Charles couldn’t know he would soon encounter far more dangerous enemies. In fact, he would travel through space and time to face a power so terrible it threatened to end civilization. But every tale has a beginning. This one begins with a frog.” Goodreads Summary: “In this riveting suspense thriller, two children race the clock to stop a futuristic murderer and his plan to enslave the world.
In thirty days, a cold-hearted corporate tycoon will unleash a deadly biological computer virus on the entire world. As the public eagerly awaits his invention that promises ultimate relaxation, harmony, and community, the evil big-business sorcerer plans to put an end to freedom.
Can he be stopped? The world’s only hope is if Charlie, a math genius with otherworldly skills, and Geneva, a robotic girl from the future, can team up to track down some very dark secrets. With a method that uses atomic particles, Geneva and Charlie use “Smasher” to break through the walls of time. They travel to find an unlikely solution. But will it work?”
The Way Home Looks Now by Wendy Wan-Long Shang – Historical Fiction – Really enjoyed this touching book. To be released April 28th, 2015- will share more thoughts close to the release date. Goodreads Summary: “From the award-winning author of THE GREAT WALL OF LUCY WU comes a beautifully written and poignant story of family and loss, healing and friendship, and the great American pastime, baseball.
Twelve-year-old Peter Lee and his family are baseball lovers, who bond over back lot games and talk of the Pittsburgh Pirates. But when tragedy strikes, the family flies apart and baseball no longer seems to matter. Is that true? Peter wonders if just maybe the game they love can pull them together and bring them back, safe at home.”
Want more book ideas and reviews? – Yes, I’m quite brief, but a prolific reader! Please visit me at Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1941055-the-styling-librarian Also, please follow this blog through email updates – (do so to the right of this blog post), my Facebook page, comment, or meet up with me on Twitter. I appreciate all of the support, makes my day! Honored by all the wonderful followers.
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© 2013 by Debbie Alvarez of The Styling Librarian. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @stylinlibrarian or at my Styling Librarian Page on Facebook.
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