A Series Of (Un)Fortunate Reviews

In an earlier post I mentioned that we acquired some new easy reader books that I really liked and would probably be reviewing on the blog.   Stick and Stone is one these books.  I'm not sure how I found it; I may have seen it on Amazon.  But it's one of my favorite books from this year.  I don't care that it's an easy reader.  I love this book.  I think both adults and children will enjoy it, and it also contains a great lesson for children.   Stick and Stone is written by Beth Ferry and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. You guys.  I.  Love.  This.  Book.  I've read it three times now (and I'll probably read it again too), and I love it every time.  The story is told in spare, rhyming prose, and the illustrations are lovely, interesting, and creative.  It's both uplifting and a little sad--stick and stone are both alone!  They don't have friends!  Then some pine cone comes along and starts bullying ston...

Hello, readers!  This week we have a guest reviewer.  You might remember Miss Shayne from a post earlier this year during the Staff Picks 2014 series that ran during January and February.  Miss Shayne is reviewing a book that was a required text for one her classes last semester. Last semester, I took a class about English literature.  We read several short stories and poems, but only one book : Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf.   Mrs. Dalloway takes place after World War I in England.  It is the story of one day in a woman’s life told through different perspectives of several people.  The story converges at a party hosted by the main character, Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway.  The characters all receive some terrible news yet none seem to be affected by it except for Clarissa. My opinion of this book differed greatly from my professor’s.  While he thought this was one of the most incredible books he had ever read, I had the typical col...

Longbourn  is the fifth novel by Jo Baker; however, I think it's one of only two that are available in the U.S.  I started this book back in May and only recently finished it (finally, I know, right) because I got waylaid by classes.  There were about three weeks during the second class that I only had time for work work and school work because that professor crammed 95% of the work into the first three weeks of class. You guys, I loved this book, and you have to read it if you haven't already!  Depending on how long or how regularly you've been reading this blog, you may or may not know of my affinity for English period dramas and Jane Austen adaptations in particular (okay, it might be more accurately characterized as an obsession, but who cares?).   Longbourn is in the vein of Pride and Prejudice fiction--there are numerous sequels to and re-imaginings of the famous Jane Austen novel in the form of more novels and short stories.   Longbourn is neit...

The full title of this book is Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement by Carole Boston Weatherford with illustrations by Ekua Holmes.  I'm not sure how I came across this book.  It might have been reviewed recently in BookPage , or I may have come across it on Amazon while looking at other books.  I can't remember.  It's juvenile non-fiction, and I have another book from the easy reader section that I will probably be reviewing soon too.  I'm branching out a little bit in what I'm reviewing partially because I have classes starting again soon, and I'm not sure how much time I will have to read adult fiction or non-fiction.  And also because we got a few new easy reader children's books here at the library that I really (really) loved and wanted to tell people about them.   Voice of Freedom is one of those new books that I really liked.  It's told in verse and is accompanied by some stunning illustrations. The...

Episode 3: Independence The episode opens on the green in Lexington with the shot heard round the world.  Unfortunately, the redcoats pretty much roll right over the colonial militia men in what turns into a bloody massacre that is a short stop for the British as they march on toward Concord.  The rebels' munitions stores at Concord needs to do some fancy footwork to hide all the guns from the redcoats.  Paul Revere, Hancock, and Sam Adams (very) narrowly escape being taken captive (again).  Revere and his band hide out in the woods (again narrowly avoiding the redcoats) as they watch the regulars tear the farm turned munitions stores apart in a futile attempt to find the rebels' guns.  This time it is the rebels who run the British off rather than the other way around. General Gage is none too happy when his troops slink back to Boston with their tails between their legs and licking their wounds.  Meanwhile, the second Continental Congress meets in P...