The Hunger Games Trilogy

In the past I have either read or listened to the audio books from the Gregor the Overlander series by Suzanne Collins.  Overall the Gregor books were good, but the writing to me got repetitive, which considering the intended audience is not that big of an issue.  With the Hunger Games Trilogy I never notice the writing style as I was so engrossed in the book.

The story consumed me from start to finish, and I hated when life interrupted and I had to stop reading. I devoured the second and third books starting Catching Fire mid morning on a Saturday and wrapping up Mockingjay on Sunday evening.  These are stories that intend to go back to and reread to catch all the little details I may have missed zooming through them.

Initially when I first heard of these stories I had next to no interested in them.  The whole premise sounded terrible.  After the movie came out, which I have not seen, my interest was peaked, and then faded again.  For whatever reason I decided to give the series a shot, and I am sure glad I did.

Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson

Feathers is a glimpse into the life of Frannie an eleven and a half year old girl in 1971.  Feathers is a story of hope.

The story is short, but definitely not incomplete.  Jacquline Woodson paints beautiful pictures of the world and time in which Frannie lives.  At times the story gets a little tense, but the overwhelming message of hope perseveres.

I would definitely recommend the book.  It has depth and character that sometimes is lacking in children's literature.

For a more complete review click here.

Franny K. Stein Mad Scientist: Lunch Walks Among Us by Jim Benton

Things in which I am a big fan:
1. Books that kids enjoy
2. Books that get kids reading
3. Books that boys enjoy
4. Series books that spark an interest in reading

I am pretty sure that Franny K. Stein Mad Scientist is all of these things.  Lunch Walks Among Us is a quick read.  It also has lots of pictures, and is interactive (you are supposed to cut a few pages for sort of a flip book thingy). I would say it is a perfect book for reluctant readers.

Check out Jim Benton's website.

As a side note I also read 3 more of the Franny K. Stein books.  The stories are all pretty similar, in fact I am 99% sure the first paragraph of each was identical.  The books are pretty cute and great for reluctant readers.

The Sister Switch by Jane B. Mason & Sarah Hines Stephens A Candy Apple Book

This was the first Candy Apple Book I've read.  I am pretty sure my ten year old self would have LOVED this book. 

This book is anyone who ever wished they had a twin and could switch places, which is exactly what Andie and Cait do.  Andie is the soccer star, and Cait has two left feet.  So when it comes time for a fitness test Cait is afraid she won't pass and will have to take a fitness class after school which is when Jazz Ensemble meets, and she wants nothing more than to be in Jazz Ensemble.  So the plan unfolds that they'll switch places.  Of course if they were only to switch places once with no complications there really wouldn't be a story. 


It is a good story of sisterhood, friendship, and putting yourself in someone's shoes.  The book is marketed for girls, with being a pink Candy Apple book and all.  It's not remarkable literature by any means, but it is definitely a cute story.

If you are interested in reading an excerpt click here.

The Baby-Sitters Club: The Summer Before by Ann M. Martin

So I first saw this book at the book fair at my school, and I was pretty dog-gone excited.  Growing up I LOVED the Baby-Sitters Club (BSC), and I was eager to get my hands on the book.  For one reason or another I didn't get it at the book fair, but after a little searching I found it at a bookstore (the Books-a-Million that I normally go to didn't have any).

Anyway, the book was well.... Okay let me back track, I used to read these books in 3rd-6th grades so I was pretty young, which I have to remind myself that that is who the intended audience for the book is.  So with that in mind, it was an enjoyable book. 

The story was sweet, and reminiscent of the BSC Super Specials, where each chapter was titled with the narrator's name and the chapter was the characters perspective.  I liked this, a lot.  It was interesting to see what it was like BEFORE the BSC began.

Now from an adult perspective, no wait from a teacher's perspective: This book was okay.  Like many series books it is formulaic and lacks interesting use of language.  It is sort of junk food for the mind, because it doesn't really challenge the reader to process very much.  It is a straight forward story, no bells or whistles. 

Overall it was nice to revisit with characters that I became so familiar with as a child.  Reading the book was like catching up with long lost friends, where you have a shared history, but don't have much in common with anymore.  So Kristy, Mary-Anne, Claudia, and Stacey it was nice to see you again, glad you are doing well :)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

I decided I needed to read A Wrinkle in Time after reading When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead.  In When You Reach Me, the main character references a A Wrinkle in Time, over and over again, and since I had never read it, I figured that I would add it to my list.

A Wrinkle in Time was a very enjoyable read, with rich vocabulary, I can definitely see why it won a Newberry Award.

Hmmm, so a synopsis, this is kind of tricky.  So basically Meg's father is missing and has been for awhile (years).  He was working for the government on a secret mission, and hadn't really been heard from again.  Then these three strange ladies show up, and are going to help get Meg's father back.  Of course the ladies are not really what they seem.  The story is of Meg's adventure with her unique younger brother Charles Wallace, and a boy from school Calvin O'Keefe.  They tesser (with the help of the three ladies) through time and space to other planets to find Meg's father.  They learn of the the Black Thing, who has their own planet in shadow, and has others under its control.

If you want to read more, click here. (no point in reinventing the wheel when someone else has already done a very thorough summary).

Fablehaven #1 by Brandon Mull

So if it isn't obvious, let me just state, I really enjoy fantasies, especially those that include mythical creatures.  So when I was perusing the shelf at Books-a-Million Fablehaven sort of jumped out at me.  This book was pretty good, at times I wanted to throw it across the room because of some of the boneheaded decisions some of the characters made, but overall it left a positive impression.

The gist of the story is that a brother and a sister have to spend part of their summer at their grandparents' house.  These grandparents are somewhat removed from the children, and upon their arrival their grandmother is noticeably absent.  The children are given some pretty strict rules about where they are allowed and where they are not.  After being adventurous and figuring out some interesting things the children are let in on the secret at is Fablehaven.  Of course from there things get interesting, I'm not going to divulge too much, since I think the book is worth reading.  This book is the first in the series, and despite the cover endorsement by Christopher Paolini author of Eragon, I will probably read the rest of the series.

On another note, after sitting in 3 days of SFA training, and talking about reading strategies, I noticed that this book has EXCELLENT vocabulary that will need to be clarified :)

If you are interested in the book check on Brandon Mull's site here.