Book Review - Scat by Carl Hiaasen

Scat by Carl Hiaasen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Mrs. Starch is the most feared teacher at Truman School. When Mrs. Starch mysteriously disappears on a class field trip to a nature preserve, Nick and Marta become suspicious about a classmate’s involvement. The suspected student, Smoke, argued with the Mrs. Starch just days before the trip, leading everyone to believe that he was involved. What follows is a “whodunit” that reveals there’s more to this story than just a simple case of a missing person. Nick and Marta uncover a deeper story about a shady wannabe Texas oilman and his intentions for the swamp.
I am a big, big fan of Hiaasen's work, both adult and teen. His quirky characters are wonderful to read about and there is a clear line between the good and the bad. As with his adult novels, his "bad guys" are usually messing with the ecology of Florida, putting building and development above the endangered flora and fauna of the region. This time we encounter the elusive Florida panther, considered endangered since 1967. If this book does nothing else, this book will make you laugh as the insanity surmounts.



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Book Review - Spoon by Amy Krause Rosenthal

Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Spoon has been feeling a little down. Even though he has a great family with lots of interesting relatives (his great-grandmother ran away with a dish), he just feels a little left out. His friend Knife gets to cut things. His friend Fork gets to go everywhere. Neither of them ever gets stir crazy like Spoon. But maybe things for Spoon are not so bad. Spoon might just be surprised at what his friends think of his life.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a great read aloud. It carries a message inside of an interesting story so the kids don't know they are learning about accepting themselves just the way they are. Amy Krause Rosenthal's books each carry a little lesson placed carefully inside a fun book for the kids. I recommend this books as well as her books Little Pea, Little Oink & Little Owl.

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Read Your Own Books #2

Okay so I went over to 25 Hour Books, a blog I was directed to by Mel, and found some interesting help for my book addiction.

#1 - I need to figure out what I own. I have been known to buy the same book 2 or 3 times.
#2 - Having a good friend - in this case Mel - who will keep you on the straight and narrow.
#3 - Realizing the wonderful book I saw on the shelf at the library will be here for a while. Read what I have & let someone else have first crack at it.
#4 - Admitting I have an addiction in the first place. I know I would be happy in a room surrounded by books with nothing but a comfy chair and some chips (and a Dr. Pepper too!) I could survive that way for a long time as long as you keep the chips and Dr. Pepper coming. I even think going to jail would not be so bad if they allowed me to have all the books I could read! That is how addicted I am. I measure every bad situation with "I could do it if I had a book."

This month will be tough but I am going to make it and break this addiction!

Read Your Own Books

I have joined Mel's Read Your Own Books challenge. Here are my rules: 1) Do not buy, nor check-out, any new books for the month of August; 2) Finish reading the 11 books that I have started and gotten "a part" of the way through; 3) maybe even carry this into September; 4) Do not add any new holds to my hold list until it is shorter; & 5) review more books! So you can join Mel's Read too - just click on the button to the side here. Wish me luck!

Book Review - The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Okay I usually don't give books 5 stars but I really, really loved this book. It brings to mind years ago as I lay in my bed with a flashlight, under the covers, reading Lovecraft or James Herbert and scaring myself to death.

Presented as a series of journals written by Will Henry,a young boy of 12, the tale follows the twists and turns of a journey straight to Hell and back. You see Will Henry is apprenticed to the Monstrumologist - a man who studies monsters. We are not talking Frankenstein or the Wolfman. These are monsters found in nature and myths of old, and are far scarier. Will Henry's mother and father are deceased and he is left with only Dr.Pellinore Warthrop to care for him. In his time with the doctor Will Henry has seen many strange and chilling things but the most deadly and frightening is yet to come. When a grave robber brings an unusual find to the back door late one night, Will Henry is about to enter the most terrifying trial of his young life.

*Not for sensitive readers - there are several scenes of violence with blood & gore. This novel is classified as young adult but I would only recommend it to those teens 15 and up. Adults with a penchant for "Lovecraftian" novels will love this. I am anxiously awaiting the next one.

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Book Review - Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip M. Hoose

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


On December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama to a white person. This sparked the great Montgomery Bus Boycott – the day when the African-American community in Montgomery decided they would rather walk then be told where to sit on the bus or to give up their seat so a white person could sit down. But what about those who came before Rosa Parks? Was she the first to refuse to get up? On March 2, 1955 Claudette Colvin, a young African-American girl of 15 refused to vacate her seat to a white woman. But her story is far different from Rosa Parks. While she is not celebrated like Rosa Parks, Claudette was instrumental in changing our world – while only a teenager. The story of Claudette Colvin is brought to light in her own words in Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice.

While I liked this book, it seemed to take me forever to read. Although it was set up chronologically it does jump around to try and give the whole story of what was happening at the time. I would have appreciated hearing the whole story in Claudette's own voice throughout the book rather than in spurts. I think children 10+ will do okay with the ideas brought forth in the book but younger readers will have a hard time. It definitely inspires further research into the subject. For 5th graders up, it is a wonderful read, if not to learn about segregation but to be inspired to change their world themselves.

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More Random Thoughts

As summer reading here at KHCPL has taken off, I find myself wondering why it seems the Garfield books fly off the shelves but I can't get someone to read The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls for love or money. I love comics, graphic novels and manga but I also love getting into a good book where my imagination fills in the blanks and pictures. So how do you get the kids to fall in love with these books too? How do you get them to understand that their imagination is as good, if not better, than the comic book illustrations? I guess it is just summer reading blues gettin' me down.