Middle Grade Review: The Steps

 

Ruby doesn't feel safe. Her mother and aunt died in a car accident a few years ago. Her father and his wife fought so viciously that they forbade their daughters to talk anymore. Sterling was Ruby's best friend. Ruby doesn't feel safe in her own house after her father married again. 

One night Sterling appears at Ruby's window begging for her help. Apparently, their grandmother's dog is barking up a storm, and he likes Ruby better than anyone. When Ruby goes in to subdued him, they find their grandmother tied up and her ring stolen.

Everyone in the family wants the family fortune. And they are willing to do almost anything to get their hands on it. Is someone out to get her?

My Thoughts: A younger YA novel/older upper middle grade. Ruby is 14 and I just wanted to wrap her up in a hug. She's not had an easy life and could use a friend. It's hard to know who to trust in this book. I loved Ruby's chess friends - they added humor and friendship to the story. I loved the police officer. The last bit of the book was lots of action and danger, which kept me turning the pages quickly. 

Why I read this book: The tagline

Cover Thoughts: Cute

Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: Highly recommended thriller/mystery for your middle grade or YA collection

Picture Book Review: I Hate Everything

One little ghost hates everything - but his friend convinces him otherwise.

I have this sentiment too sometimes. And this is a sweet story about friendship and helping to look at the world a little differently. It's a great way to start talking about mental health and kids. 

Weekend Outing: Cider Mill

A few weekends ago, we visited B.F. Clyde's Cider Mill in Mystic

I heard about it recently and we had a free weekend.

Yes, there were plenty of people, but it was also really cool to see.

Pictures:

The lovely sign

The Mill

Outside the Mill 

The outside of a store

The truckload of apples

Not the best picture, but the conveyer belt of apples going into the mill

The press

The press #2

Just about ready for the apples to come out.

The ceiling

Family pictures 

The goods: Donuts and Cider Yum!

We tried various baked goods, and I have to say the Apple Crisp Cookie was my favorite 

I'm really glad we went; it was a lot of fun. And it was great people watching. 

Review: She Gets the Girl

 

Molly had a terrible high school experience; she didn't have any friends. She's determined that college will be better. Maybe she'll also get the girl she's been pining over for years. But when she arrives on campus, she's stunned to learn she has a single.

All her dreams go out the window. How is she supposed to meet anyone?

Luckily for her, she meets Alex. Alex is smart, confident, and pretty. Alex knows how to make friends. She decides to help Molly - not just out of the goodness of her heart, but as a way to prove herself to her girlfriend. 

Molly doesn't have any problem talking with Alex; it's just everyone else that makes her anxious. Can they both help each other and get what they want?

My Thoughts: This was a fun read - perfect for older high school students. I love books set in college. I loved the banter between Molly and Alex. Both of them had issues that they needed to work through. I really loved the moments in the food truck. The five step plan was highly entertaining. I loved the ending. This book has sequel which is a holiday novella. 

Why I read this: I loved Make My Wish Come True, a holiday romance from these authors.

Cover Thoughts: Cute

Source: My Library

 Library Recommendation: A fun romance for your collection

Review: Hocus and Pocus and the Dragon Next Door

 

* Book 2 in the Hocus and Pocus series * 

Hocus and Pocus walk around the neighborhood with Jinx, handing out her potions. They discover a new friend - Bye-Bye. Bye-Bye is a dragon and has a little trouble with too much fire. Pocus is scared. Hocus is determined to save the day. 

My Thoughts: This is a cute story about trying to understand each other. The dogs and dragon do not speak the same language. But the dogs still want to help. Sometimes it's hard to be brave. I felt badly for Pocus. He had a hard time overcoming his fears; but I love that he learned what worked for him. The ending was funny! The illustrations are charming. I'm looking forward to book 3 next year. 

* Book sent for review

Picture Book Wednesday: Dinosaur Books

Just a few picture books and board books for:

The dinosaurs want to dance! 

This board book is really cute! The illustrations are brightly colored and interactive. This will be one kids want to read again and again. 

Crunchazaur was hungry! He ate everything in sight. Fluffy and Potato were called in to save the day with their cuteness. Luckily they had a plan.

This is a funny story that readers will enjoy often. 

The students are taking a field trip when a lunch box goes missing. The student chases after their lunch box. The travel pod accidentally leaves them behind. The student attempts to eat their lunch, but many dinosaurs want to share...

This wordless picture book is so much fun! The ending is funny and sweet. Sharing is caring and sometimes it can save your life! 

* 4th book in the Field Trip series

The little dinosaur in this book is super cute, but whatever you do, don't wake the BIG one!

These interactive books are super cute and fun. We use them often for storytimes are my library. The ending of this one is great! 

Top Ten Tuesday: TBR books

 This week's topic is 10 books on your TBR list, which is a lot to choose from as I have many many books checked out from the library. Here are a few I have waiting for me to read.

Have you read any of these? Which should I start with?

Middle Grade Review: Ancient Egypt

 

* Book 11 in the History Smashers series * 

Kate Messner talks about the history of Ancient Egypt: including the myths, lies, and half-truths. It's hard to uncover the truth when rulers try to wipe out mentions of previous rulers and the language is unknown and hard to decipher. 

My Thoughts: I've always been fascinated with the pyramids. I love the idea of breaking the code of hieroglyphs. I loved hearing about the lady rulers. I knew some of these myths, but not all. This is a fascinating read. I confess I wish there had been a map to go with the book, I confess I don't the cities of Egypt. 

Cover Thoughts: Eye-catching and clever

Source:  Book sent for review

Library Recommendation: A must have series for school and public library collections 

* I have read about half of these and I need to read the rest 

Picture Book Review: Grief

 

It's hard losing people and pets, but these books can help small readers learn about grief:

A young girl and her father miss her mother, so she imagines a trip they always talked about taking when it was still the three of them. In time, they can create new dreams together.

This story offers up hope alongside the sadness. They're remembering the old dreams and keeping Mami's memory alive while finding new dreams with each other. 

A young girl loves visiting her grandparents and seeing her aunt. Her aunt loves sewing; it's her love language. She gifts her niece a pair of pajama pants, but they are pink. The next week, the go to visit, but her aunt has fallen ill. She dies. Afterwards, the family is cleaning out her room, the girl finds the pink pajama pants she rejected. Now she loves them. 

This story shows the hospital, a funeral, and the family cleaning out her room. It's a lovely story, but those might be hard for some kids. The ending is sweet and heartwarming. 

Review: Day of the Dead books

 Just a few picture books for Day of the Dead:

This Little Golden Book is a great introduction to the Day of the Dead Celebration. It shares a little bit about this history of the day and what the day symbolizes. 

I love how it explains the history, the decor, and different traditions. This is a great introduction to the holiday. 

A young boy prepares for the celebration at the end of the day. There are many special moments that all tie together.

This isn't a bilingual book, but each page spread does have a sentence in Spanish

Julieta is sad; Dia de Muertos is approaching and she's not sure what the best gift for her Abuelita would be. Everything she tries doesn't work. Will she find something inside?

I loved this connection between the young girl and her grandmother. They had a special bond; I love how Julieta finds something in herself to honor her Abuelita.

Happy Halloween

Yesterday we had our Halloween Storytime and Parade at the library.

It's one of my favorite days of the year! 

I LOVE seeing all the costumes.

We don't get Trick or Treaters at our house, so it's fun to see kids at the library.

Here's the costume:

Can you guess the bookish character?

And for the actual day:

Do you dress up? What was your costume?

Graphic Novel Review: Pumpkin and Beetle

Pumpkin and Beetle, two vampire cats, are super excited for the next installment of their favorite comic. But they don't have any money. Luckily their ghost friend has a few ideas to earn some extra money.

My Thoughts: This was a funny book as all their ideas didn't go as they planned. But they never gave up. I love how everything turned out. The illustrations use a very fall palette. Plus, there's also a recipe at the end of the book. I hope this is the start of a new series. 

* I had a cat named Pumpkin when I was little. She wasn't orange at all, but she was very sweet.

Also, she wasn't a vampire cat. 

** Book sent for review

Review: Troubling Tonsils

 

Jasper Rabbit has bad news - he has to get his tonsils out. But he has a plan, he's going to put them in jar and save them for show and tell. When he goes in for the operation, his doctor discovers something strange....

My Thoughts: If you've read the Jasper Rabbit picture books, you'll want to read this one. It's a little creepy and a little silly, but also a lot of fun. Being so close to Halloween, it's the perfect time of year to read it. 

* Book sent for review