Hello!

I just finished reading The Big Game of Everything, a fantastic novel by Chris Lynch. It is about a boy named Union Jack, pronounced "Onion Jock," and his family. Over summer vacation, he takes a journey through the truth of the following rule: You have to love your family. It is a rule, and the main character claims that if you don't follow the rule, you must be some kind of animal. Of course, he goes on to say that his brother is that kind of animal, but still, he seems to snincerely believe it.

That thought gets him through the summer, when he goes to help out his grandfather at his golf course. He lives with bankruptcy, family craziness, and more. And he gets though it, loving his family affectionately the whole time.

A wonderful read, especially for young readers - it is classified as YOUNG ADULT, but I thinnk that a 6 year old would get a bigger kick out of it.

4.2/5
Very good read...

Ages 5 and up - that is maintaining that the 5 year old will understand the vocab - a parent might want to read it to a young child

Hello,

I just finished reading Life As We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer.
Miranda is the protagonist in this wonderful book that is made to look like a diary.
The book describes what it would theoretically be like if the moon was thrown off orbit. This story told about tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes and more.
Pfeffer did a great job involving the reader in this story. On Valentine's Day, I was asked to bake a cake, and I almost said "Miranda told us that we need to ration our food and fuel, and making cake is a waste of both"
Of course, I didn't, and in the end, the cake was delicious, but still, it goes to show you how immersed in the book I was.

4.8/5
Amazing

Ages 8 and up, although there are some semi-scary parts

Book Critic 101 calling bibliophiles, (if you don't know what this means, LOOK IT UP)

I just finished reading Little Brother, a fantastic novel by Cory Doctorow.

In this thrilling, yet potentially politically accurate novel, the protagonist, Marcus, is sent to jail by the US Department of Homeland Security. Tortured using waterboarding, spied on by the DHS who are using the alibi of the PATRIOT Act, and with his favorite teacher being fired because she disagreed with the government, Marcus wants to get back at the government somehow.

His inspiration comes in the form of Xnet, a network of people that want to fight the government.
Marcus, the founder, under the disguise of M1K3Y, pronounced Mikey, uses this site to create a multi-player game site, complete with facebook like profiles, and public blogs.

Doctorov clearly did his research as preperation for this bone-chilling book.

4.8/5
EXCELLENT

Ages 11 and up
Language and events may not be suitable for younger children, and some words will be difficult to understand.

G'day mate!

I just got back from a trip to Australia - figuratively.
In my "trip" to the land down under, I learned about a girl named Taylor and her problems.
Well, to tell you the truth, I've been sitting and reading Jellicoe Road, a book by Maria Marchetta. This excellently written book, also the winner of the Printz Award for Teen Literature, was a gripping story about Taylor, the protagonist, and her past.
Taylor is in charge of her house at the boarding school that she goes to. After being elected leader, she goes on to become the leader of the school, and is forced to take charge of the territory wars, a game that their school plays against some other schools. But when people start to go missing, her caretaker disappears, the territory wars become more hostile than ever, and life keeps on getting in her way, can Taylor succeed. This is the question answered in Marchetta's new novel.

3.5/5
Very well written

Ages 14 and up for colorful language and other elements

I have recently been studying Nightjohn, by Gary Paulson. While looking around at the book, and some critiques, I found this wonderful essay. After reading it, I immediately asked for permission to use it on this blog, which I got instantly. I enjoyed it very much, and I hope that you do too:

In the case that I could bring a character back from Nightjohn, by Gary Paulson, I would bring back Nightjohn. I would think that if he came to the present day and age, he would be impressed with the relatively high literacy rate that African Americans have today. Obviously, the importance that he gave to teaching literacy among his priorities would make it possible to infer that this was probably one of his dreams come true.

Another striking difference would be the absence of slavery. The fact that everyone is free and equal would probably be a big deal for someone like him, especially since he was once a slave, and under today's laws, it would be illegal for anyone to own him in any way. I would hope that he would be pleased about the drastic change from slavery to one of his own race being the president of this country. I think that he, more than most people, would appreciate this difference.

On the other hand, I would think that he might miss teaching the English language. Of course, he could probably apply for an ELA teacher job, but with all of the restrictions and license related issues, he would probably have a tough time making it into a school system. However, I am pretty sure that he would enjoy present day life more that being a slave, or being on the run. In conclusion, I think that Nightjohn would be happy about how his life's goal has been accomplished.

-R. R.

Bonjour!

Today, the ALA Book awards were released.

As is usually true, the American Library Association's Youth Media Awards committees had more than a few surprises for readers eagerly awaiting the winners of the 2009 awards.


Receiving the 2009 Newberry Award is Neal Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, a dark story of a boy named Nobody, who is safe from a mysterious assassin only within the confines of a graveyard. I don't wan't to give away any more, as this is an excellent book that has a few fun surprises.

Newbery Honor Awards go to Kathi Appelt for The Underneath, Ingrid Law for Savvy, Jacqueline Woodson's After Tupac and D Foster, and Margarita Engle's The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom.

The 2009 Caldecott Award winner, Susan Marie Swanson, illustrated her book, The House in the Night, extremely well.




Receiving Caldecott Honor Awards were Marla Frazee for A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever, Uri Shulevitz for How I Learned Geography, and illustrator Melissa Sweet for A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams.

The Carnegie Award has been presented to Weston Woods' film based on Christine King Farris' book March On!: The Day My Brother Martin Changed The World, as a little surprise.

Mo Willems has again took the Theodore Seuss Geisel Award for easy reader books with his latest installment in his popular series, Are You Ready to Play Outside? (An Elephant and Piggie Book).

Cool Tidbits...

Kadir Nelson has won the Coretta Scott King Author Award for We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball. The King Illustrator Award goes to Floyd Cooper for his work in The Blacker the Berry.

The Printz Award for Young Adult Literature has been given to Melina Marchetta's Jellicoe Road.

The Pura Belpre Award for Hispanic literature goes to author Margarita Engle for The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom and illustrator Yuyi Morales for Just In Case: A Trickster Tale and Spanish Alphabet Book.

Once again, to many children's delight, the ALA book awards are out. Happy reading!

Guten Morgan, (good morning in german)
After giving out the "book of the month" award, it is time to start anew. Next month's award most likely will be given on Monday, February 23.
Anyway. After reading The Boy In The Striped Pajamas, I couldn't help but want to know more about the holocaust, and to know how historically accurate the book was. In order to find out, I went to the young adults non-fiction book (as I usually read mostly children's books) Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler's Shadow, by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. In this absolutely horrifying book, Bartoletti describes some of the brainwashing that Hitler used on many teenagers of Germany, in order to gain their support and self sacrifice. To think that teenagers died happily for Germany, thinking that what Hitler was doing is right, and that Germans are the best people, and all others are inferior is quite scary.

I do not rate non-fiction due to the fact thet there is no storyline to rate.
Ages 13 and up
I just wanted to mention that I usually do not recommend that children undar a certain age SHOULD NOT read something, as I believe that if people do not know what mistakes were made in the past may make them again (this is why I am such an anti-censorship advocate), I don't think that this book is approriate for kids younger than at least 11, due to the horrors within.

On the 24 of every month, I pick the best book I reviewed since the month before. This month, the award goes to...
(Drum roll please)


The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
This book, along with getting the highest rating I have given since Harry Potter, kept me sitting in my seat, turning page after page (which I would have done anyway - probably the bookworm instinct in me), and had one of the best stories I have seen in a while. I can't help but warmly anticipate the sequel, and more books by this wonderful author. Even though the beginning was rather slow, I stuck with the recommendations that I have received, and it paid off. I also found out some more good news. According to Publishers Weekly, Book Two, titled Catching Fire is due out September 8th so you won't have to wait too long. The final book in the trilogy is tentatively scheduled for 2010.
Congratulations!!

The next award is on February 23, 2009
See you for the awards then.
My next review will be out tommorrow!

Hi again!
Now it is time for a new series, a new age group, and a new genre. This wonderful book by John Hulme and Michael Wexler is an interesting story of the forces that control us. While some groups, like the religious right, may find this controversial and a insult to their beliefs, people who put this thought aside can heartily enjoy this wonderful work of literature. The Glitch in Sleep, part of the "Seems" series has been a big hit. A glitch appears in the "sleep department" of the seems and causes mayhem. The main character, Becker Drane is sent to solve the problem.
Hulme and Wexler do an excellent job with this piece of literature, and readers will be anxiously waiting for more.
4.0/5
Good
Ages 7 - 12

Aloha,
Good Morning.
As you can probably see, today am looking at The Homework Machine, by Dan Gutman. Mr. Gutman, a popular children's literature writer, has written countless books that children around the world have heartily enjoyed. In this particular book, Gutman uses his skill with the pen to create a wonderful story of a child who creates a homework machine. The three other kids at the table, who include a teachers pet, a class clown, and a slacker, find out about the machine and start to use it. However people start to find out that they are cheating.
In this excellent novel, Gutman does a great job understanding the average schoolchildren.

3.4/5
"Could have been better"
Ages 6-12

Hello,
I have recently read The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. This simply amazing book describes a possible future world, where the Hunger Games are sort of like today's Olympics, with one exception. Instead of playing sports, the tributes kill each other. Every year, some people are chosen to play from each district. In the book, the main character's sister is picked to go to the games. The main character volunteers, in order to keep her sister from dying. In a breathtaking adventure, Katniss, the protagonist, is forced to forge alliances, attempt to survive, and balance her personal issues, while trying to win the games.
Collins does a great job writing and leaves us hungry for more.

4.8/5
"Top of the line"
Ages 10 and up

Hello,
Now I am going to review the second book in the series, after The Maze of Bones, called One False Note. In this sequel, Amy and Dan Cahill, the protagonists, are led to Vienna by a clue. A musical piece by Mozart called KV 617 is discovered. Amy and Dan are accompanied by their au pair, Nellie Gomez. Running around the world, social services in Boston, where the Cahills live, are looking for them, and trying to put them into custody.
Korman writes yet another novel full of danger that is sure to keep readers turning pages.

3.7/5
"keep it up"
Ages 7-13

Hi again,
Today, I am reviewing the excellent novel, The Maze of Bones, by Rick Riordan. This is part of the 39 Clues series, which is going to be written by many well practiced children's authors, such as Gordon Korman and Peter Lerangis. While I disapprove of the fact that this is a money making scheme, I can't help but admit that this is an example of good children's literature. In the first installment of this series, Riordan weaves a tale of the legendary "Cahill" family, who supposedly have 5 branches, and include almost all famous people in this world. When Grace, the protaganist's grandmother dies, she leaves them a challenge to find the 39 clues of the Cahill family secret. The series leads them to all kinds of places, but their power-hungry relatives keep on getting in thier way.
Riordan does a great job keeping his writing alive after the "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series

3.8/5
Good
Ages 7-13

Hi!
I have decided to post more often that Sundays because of increased interest.
Today, I am reviewing a book called The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne. It was about the holocaust, and Nazi Germany. While it carried the usual stereotypes, and put the Germans in a bad light, it was in a twisted way. Bruno, the main character, is a Nazi child. He is unaware that anything is happening, and doesn't even know why they have to move when his father was sent to be in charge of a concentration camp. He, being completely innocent, goes to explore the surrounding area, When he finds out about the people across the fence, he befriends one.
Boyle does an excellent job capturing Nazi Germany, and clearly depicts what an innocent is like.

Recommendation: an excellent book for young adults, and should be required reading in schools.

4.3/5
Very good
Ages 11 and up due to references to was and Hitler

Howdy,
Today, I am reviewing Schooled, by Gordon Korman. I have recently been reading many of Mr. Korman's books, as I feel that he has a great writing style. Schooled is about A child who came from a community that taught people non-violence, and was based on traditional hippie idealism. Cap, the main character, is elected 8th grade president, and gets caught up in the school's politics, but slogs it out till the end. Cap even manages to gain some popularity during his 4 weeks at Claverage middle school, dubbed "C Average Middle School". On his last day, he is attacked by some popular students, and is sent away by ambulance. When he returns to the community, everyone at his old school thinks that he is dead.
Korman once again shows his skill with the pen and shows his insight in a public school education in this wonderful story.

4.0/5
Very good
Ages 7 and up

Hi!
Today, I will be writing about The Juvie Three, by Gordon Korman, one of my favorite children's authors. It was a gripping story about three juvenile delinquents who are given a second chance. The are brought to a halfway house, where they live in an apartment, go to counseling and school, and do community service instead of going to jail. The person in charge of the halfway house, Douglas Healy, is great to them. One day, they are having a little scuffle, and Healy comes to break them up, and falls out the window. The boys rush him to the hospital, but the doctor says that he may never wake up. The boys, knowing that they would go back to prison if they are caught, they go on as if their group leader is still there. They act like model students until Healy comes back.
Korman shows his brilliance once again weaving a moving, yet action oriented story with a great plot.
Recommendation: 4.2/5
Excellent
Ages 10 and up

Hi, I am book critic 101. I will usually be updating his blog once a week - on Sunday but sometimes ore often. This blog will cover the finer aspects of children's literature, from fantasy and fiction to non-fiction and textbooks. I will also be writing about the anti-censorship movement, as I am one of their biggest fans. Thank you for reading this blog.