Chistmas is Coming!

For the last week we've been singing Speed Turtle from Sandra Boynton's new book Blue Moo. We bought the book for Dennis' birthday and have been singing it ever since. Other favorites for the last week have been Captain Raptor and the Space Pirates a campy picture book with all of my favorite cliches. Gwen inhaled the Princess Academy by Shannon Hale and hovered over me until I finished reading it as well. Shannon Hale has a new book as well, The Book of 1000 Days, that also looks like a lot of fun.

We'll be caroling at the store on Saturday, come down and join us!
-Laura

Book Reviews from North Junior High

These book reviews came in from the students at North Junior High. Take a look at the books that they're reading. - -Laura

Jurassic Park
By Michael Crichton

Scientists discover a new power… the power of genetics. When Dr. Grant is asked to tour the new incomplete Jurassic Park. But when a computer whiz shuts down the system Dr. Grant’s knowledge of dinosaurs will be very handy. Facing terrifying monsters Dr. Grant, Timmy and Lex must find their way around the dinosaurs and back to the safe refuge of the visitor center. Join this group of three and discover the horrifying power of Jurassic Park. A book meant for readers on the edge of their seat.

Cut
By Patricia McCormick
Callie is a girl trapped in the corners of her own mind, blaming herself for her brother Sam’s, life-threatening asthma and for her family’s financial struggle. Depressed and confused, she turns to self-harm.
At Sea Pines Mental Hospital, she fights her own mind in silence as she struggles for some understanding of her self-loathing and the urge to cut herself. Cut is a great read for teen fiction lovers of all kinds.

Shelby
Boise, ID


The Unprotected Witness
If you like books about mysteries and with humor and some violence then I would recommend reading The Unprotected Witness by James Stevenson. Peter has to go through a horrible tragedy when his father dies. His father happens to be hiding money and leaves Peter a note for him to figure out where the money is. His friends Mooshy and Rootie help him out. Read this fiction book and see if you can find the money!
-Brianne

Sahara Special
By: Esme` Raji Codell

Do you like to read books about labeling? If you do, this is the book for you. When Sahara’s teacher stumbles upon Sahara’s sprawled out letters to her long last dad never sent on the classroom floor, things for Sahara change drastically. What can she do now to make things the way they were again? What will happen to her and her mother’s relationship together? Will she lose a close friend and gain an unexpected one? And can her new, very different, teacher at school help her find her way out of the mist and into the sun?
All of these questions can be answered in this quick read, Sahara Special. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes to read books with feelings, a little bit of humor, and relationships of friends. This book should be read by everyone!

Rating: Four Stars
Out of: Five Stars

By: Kelsey

Rash
by Pete Hautman

Many people know what it is like to get in trouble, live with a family chock full of pranksters, and to lose your temper. In the book Rash, when Bo Marsten is accused of harming his arch enemy Karlohs Mink, things go downhill right then.
He has to try to clear is name of all the bad he has done, although it isn’t so easy seeing as how half of his family has been in prison at one point of their life. As Bo faces his sentence, he has to adjust to the new features in life, while making friends along the way and becoming part of a team.
This book is very easy to get sucked into. You might notice that you relate to Bo in some ways. In you like action, adventure, and a bit of humor in the middle, you have to read this book.

The Eclectic Reader

Hi there,

I've been enjoying working at the bookshop a lot this last week. It's been fun matching up books for children for Christmas presents. One of my season's favorite's is Skippy Jon Jones and the Big Bones. It's a tremendous amount of fun to read aloud, just as much fun as Dr. Seuss. Just yesterday, I put Hattie Big Sky in a parent's hand for a girl who loves reading. Hattie is an orphan who is deeded her uncle's claim in Montana. The story of how she deals with the racial profiling of the Germans in the early part of the 20th century and how she does the work on her claim is fascinating and satisfying. This is a great book to read with your children because so many of the themes are recurring today.

My favorite book for this week has been Truck: A Love Story by Michael Perry. There's a least 2 giggles and a laugh out loud in every chapter. It's a memoir about a man fixing up his International Harvestor pick-up truck and falling in love with a real girl. One of my favorite stories is his description of seed catalogs in January: "Seed catalogs are responsible for more unfulfilled fantasies than Enron and Playboy combined." This will be the book for our newest book club at the store: The Eclectic Reader. More details to come.