Winter Reading 2015 Rose and the Silver Ghost

The Rose series continues to delight me (and other readers, I'm sure). Rose and the others from Mr. Fountain's household have returned from their trip to Venice, bringing the magician Miss Fell with them. Hepzibah Fell has consented to live as a guest of Mr. Fountain and help him to train Rose, Freddie, and Bella in magic. The help is needed since Bella has driven off another governess and Mr Fountain is often at the palace advising the king about the looming war with the Talish Empire. Rose is not very happy when Miss Fell insists that Rose must become a full-time apprentice and young lady and give up her position as a housemaid. Mr. Fountain had agreed to let Rose continue her housekeeping duties along with her magical studies, but the older lady is determined that Rose will be treated as a proper young lady and have etiquette lessons along with Bella.

Rose suspects that Miss Fell may know about her parents. Everything about them is a mystery since Rose was found abandoned in a churchyard as an infant and had been raised in an orphanage until she was hired as Mr. Fountain's maid. Some remarks Miss Fell made when they met in Venice, and her willingness to relocate to London with Mr. Fountain and the children seem to prove Rose is right. In the midst of the rising possibility of an invasion by the Talish forces, Rose and the other apprentices (along with Mr. Fountain's cat, Gus), do their best to uncover the mysteries of Rose's past. 

I love so many of the elements in this series: the setting in a Dickens style London; Rose herself with her practical outlook on life amid all the magical people and happenings; Gus with his penchant for lobster; the steadfast stable boy Bill; it all comes together to create an enchanting story (pun intended). A great book for middle grade readers who enjoy fantasy with resourceful young protagonists.

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

Winter Reading 2015 A Rock Can Be

I'm glad to see Laura Purdie Salas continue with her series of "Can Be..." books. This time she explores the ways rocks are used or found in our world. The lovely illustrations show rocks as park fountains, stepping stones, winding paths, and other artistic or practical uses. The rhyming text carries the readers from page to page as volcanoes, harvest moons, and hopscotch boards all show rocks and stones in various ways. A section in the back contains more information about each rock that is shown in the book from the "dinosaur bone" to the "sheep stopper" wall on a farm. There is also a handy glossary and a suggested list of further reading.

This would be a great book to share with younger students learning about various things found in nature, or as an introductory read-aloud for older students beginning a study of rocks and minerals.

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

For more about the creators of the book, check out the websites of the author and illustrator.

Winter Reading 2015 Juneteenth for Mazie

I always enjoy Floyd Cooper's beautiful illustrations and this book is no exception. As Mazie's father explains the history of Juneteenth to her, the scenes from the past fill the pages. There is her Great Great Great Grandpa Mose working in a cotton field. Here is the crowd celebrating in the streets of Galveston as the news of emancipation is announced. Some scenes are much more recent. Her father mentions, "They marched for jobs...shouted for opportunity" and we see a crowd crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. When he says, "They excelled and accomplished" there is President Obama being sworn in. The mix of past moments leading up to the present day celebration traces over 200 years of the history of the African American people. By explaining to Mazie what she will be celebrating and why, her father also explains the tradition of Juneteenth to readers of the story.

This would make a good read-aloud to accompany a unit on Civil Rights. The way the story begins with Mazie being upset at being told, "No," and then shows how Grandpa Mose heard that word so much more during his life, makes it an easy introduction to the topic for even very young students.

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

Winter Reading 2015 An Ambush of Tigers: A Wild Gathering of Collective Nouns

For most kids, studying nouns and verbs is rather dull. And once the teacher starts talking about common nouns and proper nouns and collective nouns, you can almost see the students' eyes glazing over. But there is a remedy for that - comedy. Rosenthal's rhyming text and Jago's illustrations take the collective nouns for different animal groups and make them into an entertaining romp. Scenes like a "tower of giraffes" balancing on each other's shoulders to form an actual tower, a "raft of otters" floating past on a rustic log raft, or "armies of herring" with tridents and military caps will have young readers searching for details that reflect on the meaning of those collective nouns. Who could resist the "shiver of sharks" with their scarves and hats? What about a "drove of sheep" driving past in a double-decker bus? 

It truly is a wild gathering - and will have students and teachers alike laughing their way through each of the examples. Perhaps they will even want to illustrate their own versions in a joint project with the art teacher. What a gallery walk that would make! I highly recommend this for any language arts classes, especially at the elementary level. 

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

For more information about the author, visit her website. The illustrator also has a website - and at the moment, one of the illustrations from the book is on his homepage.

Winter Reading 2015 Ms. Rapscott's Girls

Mary Poppins, Nanny McPhee, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle - there is a proud tradition of stories about adults who teach children lessons in unusual ways. Ms. Rapscott has now joined this group with her odd boarding school for girls of busy parents. She does things in such strange ways, like sending packing boxes* in which the students are shipped to school, feeding the girls birthday cake and ice cream every morning, or deliberately trying to have bad luck. And her students are all bewildered by life away from home. The girls' parents are professional exercisers, singing chefs, bloggers, raising two sets of octuplets, or prominent cosmetic surgeons. They are all much too busy to pay attention to their daughters. Receiving a notice that their girls have been accepted to a school with "a unique curriculum designed solely for" them must seem wonderfully convenient. The girls arrive with some very bad habits, but Ms. Rapscott takes it all in stride, even when one of the girls is lost from her box during shipment. And the lessons she teaches range from poaching an egg to how to cross the street without getting squashed. During the course there are disagreements and rivalries among the girls, terrible weather, thank-you notes, and exploring Less Traveled Road. 

The characters are amusing, the action is adventurous, and I wouldn't mind signing up for a semester at Rapscott's School myself. Who wouldn't want to live for a while in a big lighthouse with two corgis who can keep checklists, tie rain bonnets, and make tea? (And they look rather dashing in their fisherman's sweaters.) I hope there is another book to follow the girls into the next semester.

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

* One of the boxes for parent to ship their daughters to the school.

  The author's office, with her dog's bed in the corner.

  Her studio


Boxes the books shipped in.

  Ms. Rapscott with her sidekick from the original draft, a parrot named Hillary.

Winter Reading 2015 Breaking Sky

"Top Gun" meets "Iron Eagle" is what the story struck me as when I began reading it. There are definitely elements that are similar to those movies - the need for speed; young, hotshot pilots; and...other things that would give too many plots details away. Chase Harcourt is a teenage pilot at the STAR, a U.S. flight academy that trains young pilots to train an experimental aircraft, the Streaker. Her past has left her uneasy with relationships and emotions, and her RIO is her only real friend. The tension caused by her flirtations with various other cadets is nothing compared to the political situation that has made the Streakers necessary. America is locked in a cold war that has the entire country cut off from the rest of the world and any country that aids the U.S. is punished by China and its allies. Killer drones are used to swat planes from the sky and networks are hijacked and reprogrammed with catastrophic results. 

The story operates on two levels - the near future world scenario and the drama within the academy. A chilling look at an America without friends, locked within its own borders, victim to epidemics and water rationing, can may cause readers some sleepless nights. And then there are Chase and the other cadets - competitive, headstrong, and often at odds even though they are wingmen. The secrets that each of them protect and the vulnerabilities of young people living under such pressure make their human weaknesses and heroic moments more obvious.

If you enjoy suspense, military-flavored thrills, and a dash of romance, then strap in and hit the throttle on Breaking Sky. Check out the video trailer.

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

Winter Reading 2015 Gronk: A Monster's Story

If you know someone who is afraid of monsters, they need to read Gronk. Gronk is a monster who just isn't very monstrous. She leaves the rest of the monsters who tease her and even rip her stuffed Kitteh in half. Luckily, she meets a lady named Dale who takes her in. Gronk settles in to Dale's household along with Dales' pets, Kitty and Harli. Each little situation shows how modern human life appears to an outsider - and how appealing pop culture can be.

There are so many funny moments and opportunities to wallow in geeky delight during this collection of stories. Some of my favorite scenes were: Gronk acting out scenes from the videos she has been watching with Dale; Gronk dressed as Batman (and Harli as Robin) perched on the roof of the house; Gronk in an R2-D2 costume and Harli in Harry Potter glasses and scarf, ready to go trick-or-treating; or Gronk asking Dale if she has just escaped from Azkaban when she comes into the kitchen half-awake one morning. Evidently Gronk has a mind that is quick to appreciate and memorize movie quotes.

Fanboys and girls will love seeing this adorable little monster diving right into popular entertainment and enjoying it as much as any devoted geek.

Suitable for any age and amusing for everyone.

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