Ever After High by Shannon Hale

 RATED 4 STARS

What do you do if you want to take a different path in life than your parent?  For most kids that isn’t a big problem but for Raven Queen, the daughter of the Evil Queen, it is!  The kids at Ever After High are going to commit in writing to continuing the stories that were started by their families.  Some will be princesses, some will be princes and well, one will be an evil queen….or will she?

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I liked this book.  Apparently it is the first in a series and I missed the fact that there are dolls and toys that are available.  After all, I’m a book reviewer, not a toy collector!

I thought the author did an excellent job of doing plays on words from the old stories and I thought the main characters had real problems to deal with and that readers could understand.

Having said that, I heard that the Disney channel is making this series into a cartoon series on their channel so I hope that kids will still read the books and not just watch television!

If your princess is a reader, I think she will love these books. They are not great literature but they are  a fun and and easy read.

KidzKorner- Food, Glorious Food

I have been on a special diet plan so needless to say, food has been on my mind.  A lot. So I found some books with food that I thought you might like to share with your kids.

Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban

Oh, Francis is a typical kid and guess what her favorite thing is to eat?  Will she ever try something new?  This oldie but goodie is a fun read.

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

Sam I Am doesn't give up until his friend tries some.  Another classic!

If  You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Numeroff

This is a story that turns around on itself.  Find out what I mean in this cute book.

Alligator Pie by Dennis Lee

This is a poem turned into a board book from our friends in Canada.  Who can live without alligator pie??

For now I'm full to the brim so until next week, keep on reading!

When She Smiled by Ritoban Chakrabarti

RATED 4 STARS

This is the story of Roy, a young Indian man and his obsession with the girl of his dreams.  He has just returned from a military like school and has changed from round and chubby to slim and attractive.

The girl he loves finally pays him some attention and in the time they spend together he falls hopelessly in love and thinks she feels the same.  It doesn’t turn out that this is the case so he relentlessly pursues her and makes all the mistakes that a young man would.   One humiliation after another occurs until tragedy strikes Roy’s family and he takes a closer look at himself.

I liked Roy and his ineptness with girls.  The author really got into the mind of a teen and explained how his thought process brought him to do some of the silly and crazy things he did.  His family was portrayed well although they were mostly a supporting cast.  The main story was about Roy and his school friends.

The girl he loved was also a typical teen.  She led Roy on after she decided maybe he wasn’t the one but she enjoyed the attention he gave her so she didn’t turn him away.

I also learned a lot about Indian school life and read a lot of terms concerning food that I didn’t recognize.  Any reader could do a quick Google search to find out what all the foods were.

In all, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to teens, especially if they are interested in learning about other cultures.  I also think they would find that teens around the world are pretty much just like them.

Something Old, Something New

I was looking at Scholastic's top 100 books for children and some of them caught my eye.  Some were new to me and some were old favorites.  Thought I'd cull the list and find the ones I wanted to share with you.

First Words  A Bright Baby book

Another winner for your littlest one.  Introduce common words with the pictures.

Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein

The title grabbed me and the cover picture sold me.  All about a chicken who likes to tell its own story.

An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Aston

Over 60 kinds of eggs are shown in this nonfiction book with beautiful illustrations.

The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pikey

A relucutant boy reader?  Well, who could resist Captain Underpants?  .

There's a good reason each of these books is in the top 100.  So try them and until next week, keep on reading.

Monday, March 16

Maybe you are wondering, where is Read Around Sue?  Well, she forgot to read the book for today so she's not here and don't criticize her.  She is a very busy woman and has no time for extra curricular reading.

Seriously, I'll be back next week.  KidzKorner will be here on Thursday.

Baby, Baby

I have been neglecting the babies for too long in naming books that I would read to children so today is dedicated just to them.  As soon as possible, you should start to read to your baby! It builds vocabulary and it is a bonding experience.  Plus, as a bonus, it's fun!

What Shall We Do with the Boo-Hoo Baby? by Cressida Cowell

What do the animals do when the baby won't stop crying?  Find out in this little book.


First 100 Words by Roger Priddy 

The title says it all.

No No Yes Yes by Lidia Petricelli

Learning right from wrong is fun with this book.

Counting Kisses by Karen Katz

A great way to learn to count!
Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt

This is the deluxe edition with even more sensory experiences.

So cuddle up with your baby and until next week, keep on reading!

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

RATED 5 STARS

Isla has had a quiet but mad crush on Josh for three long years so she can’t believe that he might possibly return her affection.  It is only the stuff that dreams are made of.  She runs into him as she is recuperating from wisdom teeth surgery and has a wonderful evening together which, after she wakes up the next morning, is sure was all a dream.  It couldn’t possibly be as wonderful as she remembered.

When they return to school in Paris, Isla begins her school year with her regular routine with her best friend, Kurt.  She is sure she won’t have any more interaction with Josh.

That is not to be though.  Josh finally asks her to join him at a comic book store and she agrees and during that evening, Josh reveals that he thought Kurt was Isla’s boyfriend so he backed off.

Once the couple has cleared up that notion, they have a genuine romance.  Josh is an outstanding artist and has a wild spirit so he skips a lot of classes and travels.  Isla is top of the class and works hard to maintain her good grades.  They are very different but also the same in their passion for one another.

They start a beautiful relationship which gets sabotaged by a mutual mistake and suddenly Josh goes back to the States and Isla is alone and unsure of herself.  When she does go home and they reunite, something happens that changes the course of their relationship.

Their journey back to each other is difficult and I won’t tell you if it is successful or not. You have to read the book to find out.

I loved this book.  I liked Isla and understood her self doubting nature.  She fell for the school’s bad boy and couldn’t figure out if he could care for her too. 

When they finally got together I loved her relationship with Josh.  It was carefree and happy and represented young love to me.  It didn’t hurt that it was set in Paris.

I loved Josh.  He was a brooding artist, just my type!  I think Isla helped him to open up and he did some of his best artwork when he was with her.

Kurt was an interesting best friend and someone Isla had known her whole life.  She was accepting of his shortcomings and finally recognized that he had to grow too.

Her kid sister was a pain in the butt who was really looking for recognition and friendship from her sister. 

This is another book I don’t want to be too specific about so it doesn’t spoil the story.  Just read it.  You’ll be glad you did.

Animals All Around

I love a good animal book and so do kids!  Check out these books that caught my attention.

Ready Rabbit Gets Ready by Brenna Maloney

Ready Rabbit needs to get up for school but there are just so many interesting distractions and things to do while he lolls in bed.  Imagination is the crux of the matter in this story.

Click Clack Peep by Doreen Cronin

A new baby duck causes a ton of trouble on Farmer Brown's farm because he just won't go to sleep.  How do you get a baby duck to hit the hay?  Find out in this story.

The Secret Life of Squirrels by Nancy Rose

Ever wonder what a squirrel does all day?  Me, neither.  But Mr. Peanuts is an atypical squirrel who plays the piano and reads books.  Check him out in this story.

Digger Dog by William Bee

Digger Dog loves to dig up bones.  He is really good at it too.  What happens when he finds the biggest bone ever?  How will he get it?  With the biggest digger ever, of course!

Passing Notes by D. G. Driver

 RATED 4.5 STARS

In the story, Mark Dowd is trying to impress the girl he can hardly believe returns his feelings.  No matter what he does though, it seems that nothing works. The magic they had over winter break seems to be gone just like that. Suddenly, handwriting that appears in a special book starts to give him advice and it works! Bethany is his.  How the handwriting is connected to his grandmother is a surprise to all.  Does the boy really get the girl?  Read the story and find out.

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I really liked this story.  I liked how Mark just couldn't seem to convey his feelings properly to the girl he so desperately wanted.  I liked the element of a little magic helping him along.  I liked how the whole thing tied to his family. 

The only thing I didn't like was that it was too short!!!!!!  I would have loved this to be a full length book with more detail.