Posted by Ruth
Categories: All Ages, Historical Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Award Winner, Dogs, Good Read Aloud, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House, Pioneers
Add a comment »
Our rating: 
The Ingalls family has moved from Kansas to Minnesota. They live in a house of sod until Pa builds a beautiful wooden house. Unfortunately, the money put into the materials for the house is completely dependent upon their growing wheat crop. When a cloud of millions of huge grasshoppers land, the crops are eaten and destroyed in a matter of days.
The Little House books are a very enjoyable series, and they make good read-alouds. It’s amazing to see how people lived during that time period. On the Banks of Plum Creek always stood out from the others in my mind as a child, and I especially remembered the part when Laura goes wading in the deep mud in the creek, and comes out with leeches (or bloodsuckers) all over her legs. (Yuck!)
Posted by Becca
Categories: Fiction, Incredibook!, Picture Books, Review, Younger Readers
Tags:Animals, Arnold Lobel, Award Winner, Easy Read, Frog and Toad, Frogs, Funny, Good Read Aloud, Quick Read, Toads
1 Comment »
Our rating:
Five stories about Frog and Toad, in which Toad makes a list of things to do and can’t do anything that is not on his list, Frog has a garden and Toad wants one also, Toad makes cookies and he and Frog must stop eating them using will power, Frog and Toad decide to see how brave they are and Toad has a very disturbing dream.
These stories are absolutely hilarious! Toad is the sort who likes everything to go just the right way and doesn’t like to wait either. Frog is quiet and willing to try things again. I think my favorite story in this book is the one about the cookies. And of course there’s Toad’s ever-present phrase: “Blah.” I highly recommend this book for younger readers.
Posted by Ruth
Categories: Fiction, Incredibook!, Review, Younger Readers
Tags:Animals, Award Winner, Easy Read, Florence Atwater, Funny, Good Read Aloud, Penguins, Richard Atwater
2 Comments »
Our rating:
Although Mr. Popper paints houses, he can’t help but wish he had done some exploring before he married Mrs. Popper. He spends all his spare time reading about famous explorations, and especially about the Poles. One day, in response to a fan letter, Admiral Drake sends Mr. Popper a present: a penguin whom they name Captain Cook. Soon, though, Captain Cook seems lonely, so another penguin arrives: Greta. Soon they have a total of twelve penguins to look after, and Mr. Popper doesn’t have enough money to support them all. The solution to this problem? Popper’s Performing Penguins!
This is a very fun book. Learning how to accommodate twelve penguins in an ordinary household is very hilarious, and I can’t help but chuckle whenever I read about the penguins’ escapades in the theaters.
Posted by Sarah
Categories: Adventure, All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Award Winner, Cats, Dogs, Eleanor Estes, Funny
Add a comment »
Our rating:
Sylvie is “the oldest child,” Joey is “the oldest son,” Rufus is “the baby in the family,” but Jane is just Jane. So, Jane decides to become the middle Moffat.
This book is kind of hard to write a summary for. A lot of things happen in The Middle Moffat. This is the second book in the series about the Moffats. A pretty good book, in my opinion.
Posted by Ruth
Categories: Adventure, Historical Fiction, Incredibook!, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Award Winner, Elizabeth George Speare
Add a comment »
Our rating:
After Daniel’s father is murdered by the Romans, Daniel dedicates his life to one thing: revenge against the Romans. He joins a band of outlaws living in the mountains who are plotting to overthrow the Romans and does everything he possibly can to satisfy his hatred. Meanwhile, in nearby Capernaum, a rabbi is teaching a different lesson: love. Daniel is confused by the words of Jesus of Nazareth, while still wondering if this could be the promised Messiah. The Messiah he had been hoping and waiting for was one who could conquer the Romans and drive them away. Could Jesus really be the Messiah? And how can love conquer over hatred?
This is one of my favorites of Elizabeth George Speare’s. The characters are portrayed with great depth and emotion, making them seem very real, and I found the story to be so extremely interesting that I couldn’t put it down. I definitely recommend this one as a powerful book.
content rss
