Fall Reading 2013 The Lost Planet

Imagine waking up with a serious wound to the back of your head - no memory of what happened, where you came from, or even your own name. That is how the story starts in Rachel Searles' new book. Chase awakens on the lawn of a house and is brought inside by Parker and his guardian, Mina. They realize that he has no memories of anything personal and decide he has amnesia. The two boys sneak off in a small spaceship to visit a neighboring moon and things go out of control quickly. Before long there are intergalactic criminals after them, bounty hunters and trackers on their trail, the Fleet military wants to question them...more adventure and danger than two boys should ever have to survive. With interplanetary plots, military secrets, androids, aliens, and advanced weaponry to deal with - will the boys ever find out who Chase is and what happened to him?

If you like nonstop sci-fi type action like Titan A.E. or Treasure Planet, then check out this story. For more information, check out the author's website.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley. I twill be published on January 28, 2014.

Fall Reading 2013 How to Catch a Bogle

If Charles Dickens had written a script for Ghostbusters, it would have resembled what Catherine Jinks has given readers. Victorian England in 1870 was a setting ruled by class distinctions and not a great place to be an orphan. Luckily for Birdie, Alfred Bunce has taken her as his apprentice and she helps him to trap and kill bogles. In the course of their work they meet Miss Edith Eames, a lady of quality who is interested in the scientific study of folklore. She offers to take Birdie in and give her an education, which Birdie thinks is an awful offer when she is doing honest work as a bogler's girl. They also run into Dr. Morton, a physician with an interest in the occult. There is a cast of supporting characters including housemaids, pickpockets, gravediggers, and even asylum workers that all fill the complex world of Bethnal Green and the surrounding London neighborhoods. The food, clothing, and figures of speech all transport the reader back in time so that you almost expect Oliver Twist to pop up and speak to Birdie.

Readers who enjoy historical fiction mixed with a bit of fantasy, or stories like The Spiderwick Chronicles that have creatures from folklore, will have a good time reading about Birdie and Alfred and their bogling business. The publishers have provided a video trailer for the book, which shows how Birdie lures the bogles in for Alfred to slay. You can also visit the book's website and find out more about the author, download the lyrics to one of Birdie's songs, and more. Or visit author's site to find out what else she has written. This is just the first in a planned trilogy, so stay tuned for more adventures with Birdie and her friends.

Fall Reading 2013 Secrets of the Terra-Cotta Soldier

Ying Compestine has written the story of what it must have felt like to discover the army of terra-cotta soldiers in Emperor Qin's tomb. (You may have seen the terra-cotta soldiers in the second Tomb Raider movie.) She and her son (co-author Vinson) became interested in the tomb after a trip to Xian where they visited the Terra-Cotta Museum and talked with one of the farmers who found the first terra-cotta soldiers. The setting of the story is similar to what Ying experienced growing up in China during Chairman Mao's regime; the description of living conditions, the disrespect for intellectuals, and the government policies in place at that time are all accurate historically. The character of Ming is easy for readers to sympathize with. His mother has died, he and his father live in a village controlled by a corrupt political officer, his father's job is in danger and there is little money for food. As we read, we want him to succeed almost as much as he wishes for it himself. What makes the story much more exciting is the terra-cotta soldier known as Shi. He is discovered by village farmers digging a well and they bring him in to sell him to Ming's father, who works for the museum in Xian. But when Ming arranges all the parts of the statue, something incredible happens - maybe incredible enough to change everything.

The book has mystery, danger, excitement, and characters of legend. Photographs of artifacts from Emperor Qin's tomb and from Chairman Mao's time are scattered through the story. Ying has also included several Chinese recipes at the end and there is a great Q & A section where she and Vinson tell what the writing process was like and why they chose to write a novel about this topic. Readers who enjoy historical fiction with a little fantasy mixed in will probably enjoy this very much.  

We have several of Ying's books in the library, including The Runaway Wok and D is for Dragon Dance. Visit her website to find out more about her. The publisher has provided a trailer for the book. I also found a 50-minute-long documentary on the terracotta warriors.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley. It will be published on January 7 ,2014.

Fall Reading 2013 Relic (The Books of Eva #1)

Worried about global warming? Wonder what the world would be like if the polar ice caps do melt and everything is flooded? Heather Terrell's book offers a glimpse into that possible future. It's a world where everything has been washed away in the "Healing" and a few founding families have made it to refuge in a place called New North. Alongside the descendants of the Founders, live the Boundary people - Inuits who have survived in that region from before the floods. Eva's twin Eamon has been training to undergo the Testing, a time when 18-year-olds leave the safety of the Aerie (their city in New North) and look for relics of the world from the days before the Healing. When Eamon dies in a climbing accident, she takes his place, even though a Maiden hasn't been a Testor in over 150 years. The relics she finds cause her to question everything that she has been taught, just as the Testing makes her look with suspicion at everything around her. What is the truth? Where does everyone fit in? Is there a massive conspiracy by those in power? And what can an 18 year old girl do about it?

I would recommend this to readers who enjoy action, danger, and stories where the characters shake up the everyday existence in their worlds and try to find out what is really going on. You should read this if you like books with strong female characters and where the protagonist defies rules and expectations to do what is right. The publisher also compares it to The Hunger Games, since Eva is like Katniss in her ability to change her world. The author's website has more information about Heather Terrell and her other books.  Soho Press has an interview with the author about the book.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Fall Reading 2013 Ick! Yuck! Eew!

Lois Miner Huey is an archaeologist and researcher into the past. Her book shares with readers some of the lesser known facts about life in early America. As she points out, many of us may have visited historical landmarks and seen the well-kept lawns and re-enactors in their period costume - but none of us have had our senses assaulted with the way things would have smelled or looked back then. In those days people believed that bathing was bad for their health, so they smelled awful (or smelled of perfume and cologne over the odor). Between the privies, chamber pots, animal poop in the streets, and all the other things that modern sanitation prevents - it was an awful stench. Then combine that with the dirt, germs, diseases, even the lack of toothbrushes and you start to get an idea of what the atmosphere was like.

This is a book that will appeal to history buffs as well as to readers who enjoy the strange and gross. Forget being slimed on Nickelodeon, think of having someone in a barbershop pull your tooth with no painkillers or a doctor putting leeches on you to suck out your blood! Now that's gross. The glossary, author's note, and lists of books, websites, and historic sites provide additional information and places to find out more (if you haven't had your fill of bedbugs and puke weed). I would recommend this book to anyone who likes their history "down and dirty." To dig up more facts about the author, visit her website.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Fall Reading 2013 Doll Bones

Holly Black, cocreator of The Spiderwick Chronicles, has written a fascinating story about a group of friends who set out on a quest to lay a ghost to rest. Zach, Poppy and Alice have been friends for years. Their favorite game is a make-believe world of adventures that they people with their favorite action figures and dolls. The most powerful character in their game is the Great Queen, which is actually a china doll in Poppy's mother's curio cabinet. But Poppy insists that the doll holds the bones and ghost of a real girl and that the ghost wants them to return her to her grave for a proper burial. The trials the friends endure on their quest to fulfill the Great Queen's wishes are hard, frightening, and carry them far from home. As much as it is a story about friendship, childhood, and the power of shared dreams and secrets, this is also a story of how difficult growing up can be.

If you enjoy the other worlds glimpsed in stories like The Spiderwick Chronicles, or ghostly tales like All the Lovely Bad Ones, then you should give Doll Bones a try. For more information about Holly Black and her other books, visit her website.  There is also a trailer from the publisher. *A copy of this book is in the Fairview library.

Don't Push the Button! Blog Tour

 
Hello, everyone! Welcome to Bill Cotter's blog tour for his fabulous picture book, Don't Push the Button! I posted some thoughts on the book this summer, and then I heard about the blog tour and couldn't wait to help spread the word.

I asked Bill, "How did your students inspire you to create the book?"
 
Bill replied:
"My favorite part about teaching in a pre-k program was that at any free moment we were reading a picture book to them. Books were perfect when the teachers needed something for the kids to concentrate on during snack time, when they were waiting for others to finish washing hands after art, or if a parent or sitter was late picking them up. I found myself reading several books on a daily basis. 

It was extremely beneficial to be able to sit down with kids and observe first hand how they reacted to different kinds of stories, characters, colors, textures, you name it. I tried my best to absorb these experiences and boil things down to the main elements that young kids react to: bright colors, simple design, a catch phrase, a character talking directly at them, and a way to physically interact with the story. "Don't Push the Button!" came out of me trying to create the most fun book experience possible using these elements.

I feel like the best proof that this works is this video that a fan sent to my publisher. View video.

The interactive part of the book was very much inspired by the teaching philosophy of where I worked, the Church Street School for Music & Art in New York City. Being physically engaged with the activity is crucial for a student at this young age. Every song that the kids learn has accompanying hand gestures. The gestures help them learn the words and vice versa. In art class we are constantly making the student verbalize the different materials and textures they encounter. I feel like the experience is better solidified in the child’s mind if there are more than one of the senses are being engaged. "

A big "Thank you!" to Bill for including us in his blog tour.
Remember - Don't Push the Button!

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