Just Like You - book trailer

Just like you by 

Robert Kroupa

illustrated by Hannah E. Harrison

given by publisher for review

reviewed by Mom and Lucas

Just like you is a tale about tolerance. Two friends who are different than everyone else. They are laughed at by an intolerant community.  When push comes to shove and danger is abound, it is the two friends Boris and Harry who come to everyone's rescue.  Boris is a lame spider who only has use of 7 of his legs and Harry is a deaf field mouse.  They live in  Piney Forest.  

The book is told in rhyme form, making it easier to read.

The spectacular pictures are created by Hannah E. Harrison.  

We received a pdf form of this book.  We liked it so much we ordered the actual book for Christmas, one copy for ourselves and several for family members.

Please visit the just like you foundation to learn more about tolerance and acceptance.

 There is a wonderful youtube trailer for the book.

What a wonderful book.  A wonderful story to teach our children.  Tolerance and Acceptance, what could be more beautiful?

The Librarian Book One: Little Boy Lost

by Eric Hobbs

received in ebook format from LibraryThings Members Giveaway

Wesley Bates thinks his life pretty much sucks. He's landed at the bottom of his school's popularity ladder, and bully Randy Stanford seems to be waiting around every corner.

The troubled teen thinks he's found a way to escape his real-world problems when he stumbles upon strange doorways in Astoria's local library that seem to lead into the extraordinary worlds from all his favorite books. Oz, Neverland, Wonderland -- they're all a reality with Wesley's new discovery. Wesley teams with best friend Taylor Williams to embark on a great adventure, both ready to leave the drama of middle school behind.

But the two kids quickly find themselves embroiled in a centuries-old battle for the library and the magic hiding within. Now, fighting alongside the eccentric old man who's vowed to protect the building's power, the pair must help ward off an attack by a shadowy group with a strange tie to Wesley's nemesis, forcing Wesley to face the fears he's been dodging... and one of the most terrifying bullies of all time!

The Librarian is a thrilling new series that provides kids an opportunity to experience the world’s most beloved fantasy novels in a brand new way – through the eyes of children just like them. Designed to spark a love of reading in every child, The Librarian serves as a perfect gateway into the classics: The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland and many, many more!

Additionally, Librarian author Eric Hobbs has teamed with The Sylvan Learning Center and BookAdventure.com to launch the “Librarian Book Club” in January 2012. Each copy of The Librarian contains an exclusive invitation to join. Open to students in grades K-8, the club will bring kids together from around the globe to compete in a monthly reading contest where they’ll have a chance to win exciting prizes: gift cards, autographed books, new toys, video games, DVDs, iPods…even a brand new Kindle Fire! The prizes will get better each month, and all kids have to do is answer questions about the books they’re currently reading! That’s it! It’s that easy!

Donna's review

What a wonderful, original, well written story! I was enthralled from the beginning. As a lover of reading, and a parent who reads to my child, this was an incredible book. I received it from LibraryThings Member giveaways but I will gladly pay for the next in the series. The author, Eric Hobbs, is masterful at telling a story. The main characters, Wes and Taylor, are easy to relate to and (smiling as I write this) just plain fun! I want to go to this Library!!! Reminded me somewhat of a movie I saw years ago, The Pagemaster, only this book is much better than any movie could be. I highly recommend this book. Eric Hobbs, you kept me entertained, and kept my attention from page one.

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Say Cheese, Medusa
by Kate McMullan
Published by Capstone
Publication date Aug 1,2011

reviewed by Lucas and Donna

synopsis
(from Goodreads)

What a myth-o-maniac (that's old Greek-speak for "liar")! Zeus's version of the myths is completely wrong. It's time to set the record straight. For the first time ever, Hades, King of the Underworld, reveals the true story behind the myths.

That story about Perseus whacking the head off of the horrible snaky-haired Gorgon, Medusa? Oh, please. He got turned into a hunk of stinky cheese — gorgon-zola, of course!

OUR REVIEW

I laughed and laughed throughout this book!  Greek myths told as they really happened from the viewpoint of Hades himself.  He corrects the misconceptions we all believe to be true because we heard the stories from his myth o maniac brother Zeus (the big fat liar).
Having a 10 year old son who is enthralled by Greek Mythology, we requested this book from NetGalley.  My son laughed all through the story.  "Hades is really a good guy after all, he tries to save Medusa."
We will be purchasing all the books in this series (this is number three).  Excellent story Ms. McMullan.  You made education fun.  I remember studying the old mythology books in school thinking "there must be some way to make these dry old stories fun".  You have found the way, you have the golden touch.   Love the stories!

Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse

by Rick Riordan

book report by Lucas

I decided to use Mr. Riordan's book for my latest book report.  I loved this book.  I love the entire series.  Rather than write a review, I've decided to just write out the report the way my English teacher wanted it done.  We did this project as a 'book cube'. Each side of the cube had a different piece of information.

Top

Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse

by Rick Riordan

Illustrator John Rocco

report by Lucas

Side 1

Main Setting

San Francisco/ Mt. Tam

Bottom

Main Character

Percy Jackson

In this book, Percy Jackson is a kind and brave demigod. A demigod is the son or daughter of a human and a god.  He has jet black hair, like his father Poseidon, and has deep green eyes.  Since his father is the god of the Seas, he can control water.  His fatal flaw is that he'll risk anything for his friends.

Side2

Conflict

The conflict of the story is that Annabeth (friend of Percy's and daughter of Athena) is captured by the furry beastly Manticore, and the Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis is also captured.  Percy must rescue them both from a possibly dire ending. (If you know what I mean)

Side3

Resolution

Percy, his friends Grover, Zoe and Thalia (daughter of Zeus) climb to the peak the green Mt. Tamalpais and fight Atlas.  Yes, Atlas- remember him from your mythology classes in school?  He's the titan that has to hold the Earth on his shoulders.  I'll bet all us people are quite heavy, even for a titan.  Atlas is the main general of the titan army.  He is also Zoe's dad.  Percy and his friends free Annabeth and Artemis from the  celestial bronze chains (they must be made of celestial bronze to be able to hold a god/demigod captive).  Atlas had tricked Artemis into holding up the world.  Percy tricks Atlas into taking the world from Artemis.  Titans may be big, but they are not too smart.  Atlas kills his daughter Zoe in battle.  Artemis realizes the sacrifice Zoe made by fighting her father and she creates a constellation in the sky in honor of Zoe

Side 4

My Recommendation

I think this is an amazing book.  It is quite suspenseful and interesting.  I learned a lot about ancient Greek Mythology.  I would definitely recommend this book to a friend.  I think you should read the books in the order they were written to understand the whole story.

This book wins a 5+ Ice Cream Cone rating!

Kali and the Geekettes

by Ellie Greene

available now

received from LibraryThing Early Reviewers for review

reviewed by Donna

synopsis from Amazon.com

Kali's not your typical fifteen-year-old girl. She cares more about astrophysics than the latest fashions, and her friends Roxanne and Phillippa are just as geeky. After Kali's breakup with the cute, funny, artistic Mark Wallace, she and her friends decide none of their hearts will ever be broken again. The Plan? Become larger than life instead of trying to blend in. When Kali gets the chance to date Aiden, one of the most popular guys in school, she thinks she doesn't need any stupid Plan to get her life together. Dating Aiden will solve all her problems. The only catch is that to make it work, she'll have to turn her back on the other two geekettes.

Being a geek myself, I was enchanted by the title of this book. I was not disappointed. This is a spectacular story about friendship and peer pressure. Ellie Greene has captured the high school hierarchy to a T. I loved the wonderful characters she created with this book. We all know or have known the A listers like Aiden and Shari. I was so very happy to see the geekettes come into their own. I LOVED the ending of this book. I don't want to spoil it for other readers, but I love it when the good Karma hits the right people. The book started out a little slowly, but once I got into the story, I couldn't stop until I finished! 5 stars for Ms. Greene and her awesome story.