Ghost Hands by T.A. Barron My rating: 4 of 5 stars Quick, lovely read. I went to the library to look up some stories based in Argentina and found a children’s book based in Patagonia. “Ghost Hands” is written by T.A. Barron, and the beautiful, color illustrations were drawn by William Low. The tale is … Continue reading »
Heart of a Champion: The Dominique Dawes Story by Desmond Tutu, Kim Washburn My rating: 4 of 5 stars “Heart of a Champion” is a solid, inspiring biography of Dominique Dawes’s accomplishments as an athlete as well as a motivational speaker and active member of her community in her current pursuits. Much of this book … Continue reading »
Dorothy of Oz Prequel by Denton J. Tipton My rating: 4 of 5 stars Initial reaction: Very cute, enjoyable story that’s meant to be the prequel of the animated movie coming out for “Dorothy of Oz”. I did have some qualms in the telling of this story as well as some of the characterizations, but … Continue reading »
Inside the Olympics by Nick Hunter My rating: 4 of 5 stars Wonderful overview of the history of the Olympic Games. Hunter provides a chronological flow of the Olympic events as well as major players, games and controversies that have occurred throughout the event’s history. The color photos, the organization of the information, the definitions … Continue reading »
Peter Pan in Scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean My rating: 2 of 5 stars “Peter Pan in Scarlet” didn’t appeal to me as much as I hoped, despite a nice narration done by Tim Curry in the audiobook version. The story takes quite some time building to a point of interest, unlike the original J.M. Barrie … Continue reading »
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau My rating: 3 of 5 stars “The City of Ember” is a dystopic work centering around Lina and her friend Doon, who reside in an underground city called Ember. The city was meant as a refuge for the human race, designated by The Builders, with limited supplies and … Continue reading »
The Giver by Lois Lowry My rating: 4 of 5 stars “The Giver” was probably one of the first dystopian novels that I had ever read, probably before I ever knew it was considered a dystopian work. It was introduced to me by my fifth grade English teacher, but I didn’t get a chance to … Continue reading »
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud My rating: 4 of 5 stars “The Amulet of Samarkand” was a fun, fantastical read, though I’ll admit it took me a little while to get into the heart of the story. It starts off a bit sluggish in the beginning, but by the time I reached midway … Continue reading »
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Volume 1: Change is Constant by Dan Duncan My rating: 4 of 5 stars I suppose one of the reasons why I picked up this volume of the reboot Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series is for the nostalgia factor. I can still hum the tune and sing the lyrics to the … Continue reading »
Salt Water Taffy by Matthew Loux My rating: 4 of 5 stars Volume 5 of “Salt Water Taffy” served as my introduction to the series, and while I’ll admit it took some time to adjust to the story “in medias res” – this was actually a fun, cute comic for anyone ages 7 and up. … Continue reading »
Jennifer Lawrence: Star of the Hunger Games by Katherine E. Krohn My rating: 4 of 5 stars “Jennifer Lawrence: Star of the Hunger Games” is a wonderful, brief showcase of the title star’s life and accomplishments so far. Oriented towards primary and secondary students as a reference, this biography is a fairly quick read (just … Continue reading »
The Last Airbender: The Promise Part 1 by Bryan Konietzko My rating: 5 of 5 stars A wonderful bridge/follow up to the Avatar: the Last Airbender series, “The Promise” involves the heroes taking on a difficult task: bringing peaceful relations to the surrounding nations. But this proves a more difficult situation since Zuko isn’t completely … Continue reading »
