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A Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee
Link for the book @ Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Fair-Weather-Richard-Peck/dp/0803725167
Hardcover $12.08
Paperback $6.99
Link for the book @ publisher:
http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780803725164,00.html?Fair_Weather_Richard_Peck
Hardcover $16.99
Published by Dial Books--Penguin on September 10, 2001 (the day before 9/11)
Historical Fiction/For ages 9-12 (the main character is almost 14)
The year is 1893 and Rosie Beckett is almost 14, she lives in a rural area of Illinois. Her father is a farmer. They are "plain country people". Rosie's older sister is Lottie age 17 and her younger brother is Buster age 7. Rosie's aunt Euterpe sends them train tickets to travel to Chicago, to attend the World's Columbian Exposition Fair to honor the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America.
I loved this story! An event that I knew little about--The Chicago's World Fair came alive for me in the story of Rosie and her family.
The opening sentence set the tone for the story, " It was the last day of our old lives, and we didn't even know it." That sentence was a prediction of the amazing life altering changes that would occur in this family. The late 1800's was coming to a close and astonishing inventions were right on the cusp of development. It was an age of exciting discoveries and advancement.
History is brought a live in the story of the Beckett family.
The story is a learning tool for children yet it does not feel as such.
To me their grandfather is the most interesting and eccentric character in the book. He has lived through many life experiences in his life, he has met many fascinating historical figures, yet is at ease with new inventions and change. Change is hard for many people especially as they grow older, but the grandfather seemed to cherish these new fangled ideas with excitement.
Rosie the main character and voice soaks in her world with intelligence. She is a girl with humor, solid work ethic, obedience to parents, a love of learning, and a restlessness for adventure.
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By: Annette,
on 5/16/2011
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Gloria Whelan, Add a tag
A character to admire!  Kate Tapert age 18 has recently graduated from high school. She won a scholarship to art school, but needs a place to live. Her estranged dad the famous artist Dalton Quinn lives in the same city as the art school. After showing up at his house with her suitcase, she is greeted icily by him, yet she finds beneath his cold cruel exterior that he needs her. Kate's plans are about to change! I liked Kate Tapert's character. She has confidence, foresight, creativity, determination, charm, and she is intuitive. A father she basically does not know, and he pushes her away when she tries to draw close to him; yet she does not shrink back in what she sees needs to be done for him. In determined manner she sets to work for his behalf. I found elements of the story sad in what happens all to often in marriages that end. There are unresolved feelings of anger, sadness, and bitterness that trickles down or pours down to the children. Often the kids feel the brunt of whatever went wrong with the demise of the marriage. The kids deal with the aftershocks, blow-ups, and lectures on what is wrong with the other parent. In Kate's character we do not see resentment, nor unforgiveness, nor rebellion. Instead Kate appears to have her life together. She is level-headed, has dreams and goals, and is resolute in what she wants to accomplish. She is an admirable character and one that a young adult person that is going through some of the same life experiences as Kate, can look up to and emulate. I also feel the book gave the reader an education in how to deal with difficult people. That difficult people we encounter maybe taking out on us their anger, but most of the time the problem is within them, it has nothing to do with us, but something in them....and we cannot fix them! Blissful Reading! Annette 
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By: Annette,
on 5/11/2011
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Lydia Munn, Heather Munn, Add a tag
I could not put this book down, more than a page turner, I consider it to be an outstanding story and one I will not forget!  Review: Julien Losier age 15 has recently moved with his parents and younger sister from Paris to the town of Tanieux. Tanieux is a small town in southeastern France. Tanieux is the town where his father was born and his paternal grandfather still lives. Julien's only memories of this town was visiting his grandfather during Christmas time, "a winter town, a cold, stone village huddled on its hillside." Julien's father is a teacher and his mother originally from Italy has a beautiful operatic voice. The year is 1940 and Hitler's Wehrmacht is marching across Europe, and soon they will be in France. Julien's parents have taken in a boarder, a young Jewish boy named Benjamin. Also weaved in to the story is Nina and Gustav. They are young teenage siblings living in Austria. Their ill father makes Nina promise to leave the country after his death. Nina and Gustav's plight is out of desperation and obedience to their father. I read this book in 48 hours. I could not put the book down! There are 3 significant things that I loved about this book. 1. The story is based on real events that happened during World War II. The town of Le Chambon sur-Lignon saved 5,000 Jewish children from death. This to me was miraculous! A town of Protestant people, descended from the Huguenot's defended, protected and kept safe 5,000 children. They were
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By: Annette,
on 5/11/2011
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: The Life Book Movement, Add a tag
The Life Book Movement has big plans for the 2011-12 school year. What is the Life Book Movement? Founded by The Gideons International, The Life Book Movement is an innovative strategy to reach high school students with the Word of God. The movement is a Christian mission centered on The Life Book, a unique presentation of Scripture designed to engage high school students with the truth of God’s Word, created by Carl Blunt, president and CEO of The Life Book Movement. The Life Book presents a brief overview of the Old Testament and the Book of John using an interactive format with honest student comments and real-life questions in the margins. Readers are drawn into the only story that can change their lives forever. The Life Book Movement works with churches throughout the country by providing free copies of The Life Book for students to give as gifts to their friends and classmates during school. Blunt’s organization brilliantly takes advantage of a student’s freedom to distribute religious literature by getting The Life Book into the hands of Christian high school students and having them pass the books out to classmates at school—a practice that is acceptable, as long as the books are not distributed by school staff or other adults. In less than two years since the Life Book Movement got it’s start, over half a million Life Books have been distributed and the movement is growing by leaps and bounds. Summer is almost here, but now is the time to think about mobilizing your students to reach their classmates this fall. Don't miss out! 1.2 Million students will be reached with God's Word in the coming school year and we want Christian students in your area to reach them. If you wait until the fall, you may be too late - books are being spoken for every day.
By: Annette,
on 4/26/2011
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Melody Carlson, Add a tag
Samantha McGregor has a rare "gift", she has vividly real dreams and visions. She must be careful who she tells because it seems most people assume the worst in her "gift". But, if she does not share her "gift" how else will she be able to help her friend Kayla?  Published by Multnomah August 15, 2006/256 pages Price for paperback from publisher $12.99 and ebook is available http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781590526927 I could not find the book available @ Christian Book site but I did find the eBook version for $8.99: http://www.christianbook.com/bad-connection-ebook-melody-carlson/9780307562364/pd/10968EB?item_code=WW&netp_id=854395&event=ESRCN&view=details Authors website: http://www.melodycarlson.com/ An excerpt from Bad Connection: http://www.melodycarlson.com/BadConnection-chap.pdf Bad Connection is Book #1 Book #2 Payback  Book #3 Beyond Reach  Book #4 Playing With Fire  Bad Connection begins with a heart racing adrenaline rush experience of a car crash. Almost 17 year old Samantha wonders how to put the pieces together of her experience as well as how to understand her mysterious "gift". The recent death of her dad, her mother's long hours at work, and her older brother Zach's penchant for trouble, has Samantha's home life lacking in peacefulness. At school she has a few close friends, but far from an active social life. She outwardly displays her Christian beliefs, most respect her. She is wise beyond her years, a thinker, an observer. She has the ability to perceive other peoples feelings and problems. Samantha's friend Kayla has disappeared. Samantha cannot shake the horrible feeling that something has happened to
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By: Annette,
on 4/8/2011
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Add a tag
Getting the Word out in public high schools The Life Book Movement nears the half-million mark in books distributed Founded by The Gideons International, The Life Book Movement is an innovative strategy to reach high school students with the Word of God. The movement is a Christian mission centered on The Life Book, a unique presentation of Scripture designed to engage high school students with the truth of God’s Word, created by Carl Blunt, president and CEO of The Life Book Movement. The Life Book presents a brief overview of the Old Testament and the Book of John using an interactive format with honest student comments and real-life questions in the margins. Readers are drawn into the only story that can change their lives forever. The Life Book Movement works with churches throughout the country by providing free copies of The Life Book for students to give as gifts to their friends and classmates during school. Blunt’s organization brilliantly takes advantage of a student’s freedom to distribute religious literature by getting The Life Book into the hands of Christian high school students and having them pass the books out to classmates at school—a practice that is acceptable, as long as the books are not distributed by school staff or other adults. Blunt says, “In mission-speak, it’s like we’re helping students get God’s Word into a closed country (public high schools) to reach an unreached people group because studies show that only 4% of today’s teenagers are Bible-believing Christians.” The goal is to ensure that every student in every high school in the United States has an opportunity to receive the gift of The Life Book. This approach presents a phenom
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By: Annette,
on 4/7/2011
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Groundwire, Add a tag
 Are you compassionate and caring? Are you a good listener? Do you want to share the message of hope with others? Groundwire needs you! The ministry builds its impact through broadcasting that strategically places television and radio spots on secular stations. Teens listening to popular radio broadcasts or viewing favorite shows on networks like MTV, VH1, Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim programming, and Comedy Central are interrupted by direct spots. These spots catch their attention, resonating with where they are today. Teens responding to the broadcast messages are invited to visit Groundwire’s website where they can chat with a live spiritual coach available day and night, as well as find a collection of resources such as podcasts by Groundwire’s founder and executive director, Sean Dunn, and daily devotionals. To meet the needs of hurting teenagers across the country, Groundwire is looking for additional online coaches. Are you interested? FAQ’s regarding volunteer spiritual coaches What is Groundwire? Groundwire is an international minist
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By: Annette,
on 3/24/2011
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Flora Ann Scearce, Add a tag
 Link for the book @ Publisher: http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-60799-081-9 Link for the book @ Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Singer-Empty-Day-Flora-Scearce/dp/1607990814/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1300715182&sr=8-1 Paperback $19.99 Published by Tate Publishing July 2009/364 pages Non-Fiction---the story is based on the life of the authors mother Book 2 in this series is entitled Cotton Mill Girl published June 2007 Link for my review of this book: http://missdaisyanne.blogspot.com/2010/09/cotton-mill-girl-by-flora-ann-scearce.html These 2 books---Singer of an Empty Day and Cotton Mill Girl are some of my favorite books. I love them! They are Southern stories, Appalachian Mountain stories, early 20th Century stories. The time period for both books are 1907 through World War I years. The author is currently writing a 3rd book that will be a continuation of Cotton Mill Girl. The only thing I disliked about the book is the price @$19.00, especially for a paperback that is difficult to hold open. Selena "Sippy" Wright and her younger sister Marietta or "Met" live with their parents Jim and Rachel up on Utah Mountain in North Carolina. When the book begins it is 1907 and a tragic fire burns their cabin. They move in with Sippy's great grandmother and other family members. The cabin is small and inadequate for all of them to live in. Sippy's daddy then built a new cabin only a holler from family. Sippy's mother soon delivers a stillborn baby boy after being sick during much of her pregnancy, I feel she had toxemia. Sippy's father is gone for long periods of time working at a Cotton Mill in another town. Soon the family makes a big decision to move and leave all that they'd known and loved up on Utah Mountain. Singer of an Empty Day is a story that I became completely involved in: it is a page turner, it is memorable, and it reminds me of my own grandparents and the stories they shared with me. I learned about the typical food that they ate and the schooling that they had. How they survived the cold winters, including the sparseness of available food. I learned that they wasted nothing, everything was used-- from old newspapers used to cover the walls of their homes, to eating unfamiliar parts of animals. The unavailability of close doctors made sickness and delivery of babies difficult. Even with having a midwife to deliver a baby, and using medicinal mountain medicine, sickness and death happened. I learned it was common for men to work a job far away and only come home to family occasionally, always just in time to create a new baby. I learned that it was the staunch determination of the women that kept the home, and the children fed and clothed and safe. The life of a child during the early 20th Century is detailed and powerful. They did not live in a world of television and school sports, or the latest techno. gadgets and toys. They too worked hard and often suffered because of sickness or malnutrition, or because their parents did not feel they needed to attend school any longer but instead go to work. Going to work as a child brought its own problems as well, in that the children often worked long hours and w
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By: Annette,
on 3/4/2011
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Add a tag
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/claude-mckay  After the WinterSome day, when trees have shed their leaves And against the morning’s white The shivering birds beneath the eaves Have sheltered for the night, We’ll turn our faces southward, love, Toward the summer isle Where bamboos spire the shafted grove And wide-mouthed orchids smile. And we will seek the quiet hill Where towers the cotton tree, And leaps the laughing crystal rill, And works the droning bee. And we will build a cottage there Beside an open glade, With black-ribbed blue-bells blowing near, And ferns that never fade. I love this poem! Blissful Reading! Annette 
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By: Annette,
on 3/4/2011
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Add a tag
 http://www.amazon.com/Fever-1793-Laurie-Halse-Anderson/dp/0689848919 Paperback $6.99 Not available on Kindle Link for the book @ Publisher---plus a video interview with the author. http://books.simonandschuster.com/Fever-1793/Laurie-Halse-Anderson/9780689848919 Hardcover $6.99 Website for the author: http://madwomanintheforest.com/ Published September 2000 by Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing/Aladdin Paperbacks 256 pages/For grades 5-9 Fiction/Historical Fiction/Colonial America This book won A Lifetime Achievement in Literature For Young Adults American Library Association Margaret A. Edwards Award This is my 4th book in the past year by Laurie Halse Anderson. The previous books read with reviews are: Catalyst, Speak, and Wintergirls. I loved this book and felt that it's an excellent book on the history of the late 1700's in Colonial America. It is of course a historical fiction book and based on the Yellow Fever outbreak that occurred during this time period. Mattie (Matilda) Cook and her mother and grandfather own a coffeehouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The year is 1793 and it is late summer. The heat and humidity is stifling and unbearable. Insects including mosquitoes are swarming. Mattie's days are spent helping her mother and Eliza the coffeehouse cook. Mattie at age 14 at times feels like a child and yet an emerging young woman at the same time. Her mother pushes responsibilities at her and yet does not trust her with others. There is talk of people down by the river sick. The sickness seems to overtake a person quickly, causing high fever. Soon though this sickness takes over the city of Philadelphia and changes lives forever. The character Mattie transforms during the story and I loved this. She is a character that "rises to the crisis that is before her". Her small family is all she has, they have been her security and comfort. The crisis of this disease changes her situation and she must make adult decisions. I felt that the author did a splendid job of showing Mattie in a realness; she is both a heroine and yet we see her humanity albeit a young girl. I felt the fear in the situation that the characters were living through. A disease that no cure can fix. A disease that is often deadly. I have recently become interested in Colonial America and this book added to my own education of this time period. Blissful Reading! Annette 
0 Comments on Book Review: Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson as of 3/4/2011 9:51:00 AM
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By: Annette,
on 2/25/2011
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Uwem Akpan, Add a tag
 Link for book @ Publisher: http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/books_9780316086370.htm Link for the book @ Christian Book: http://www.christianbook.com/say-youre-one-of-them/uwem-akpan/9780316086370/pd/086370?item_code=WW&netp_id=684028&event=ESRCN&view=details (on back order) Paperback $11.99 Link for the book @ Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Youre-Them-Oprahs-Book-Club/dp/0316086371/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1298650381&sr=1-1 Paperback is $8.01 Kindle is $9.99 This book was an Oprah's Pick Selection for 2009 Published by Hatchette Book Group, Little, Brown and Company June 2008/360 pages Non-fiction/Slavery/Abuse/African Stories of Children I really have debated on whether or not this book should be reviewed on this blog that is devoted to children/young adult books. In my opinion this book should not be read by a child younger than 15 or 16, and even then if the child is sensitive in nature not at all. This book is a compilation of 5 stories of children living in Africa. Their stories are all tragic, depressing, sad, disturbing----not a book to read before bedtime. One of the stories is of a young boy riding a bus along with others that are Christian (I use that word loosely), he is a Muslim. He tries to keep his identity hidden, lying and trying to pass himself as a Christian. The story ends graphically violent. Another story is of a boy that's family wants him to go to school, so his older sister prostitutes herself at age 12 in order to earn money for the family. I know that this book was given accolades by Oprah and others but I did not like this book, I disliked it very much. I'm aware of the horrible atrocities of what is going on in Africa, India, Pakistan, the middle east, Belarus, and a host of other countries. But, I do not want to read the details of children that are sexually abused. I know it happens, it happens in America as well, but I don't want to buy a book and read about it. If I'd known that this book had this information in it I would not have bought it. The book I feel was written with an intent of educating the world about what children in Africa are going through. They feel that the news we are given is downplayed, so that we are not given the horribleness of their existence. I also had difficulty in reading the book, it is filled with broken English and with the language of the people living in Africa (their language without translation). Blissful Reading! Annette 
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By: Annette,
on 2/10/2011
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Add a tag
Link for a great post on Top 10 Classic Books for ages 9-12. 
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By: Annette,
on 2/10/2011
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: iShine Bible NLT, Add a tag
 To learn more about the iShine Bible: http://www.ishineministries.com/ishine-books/ Published by Tyndale, link for the book: http://www.tyndale.com/iShine-Bible-NLT/9781414348155 $19.99 Link for the book @ Christian Book: http://www.christianbook.com/nlt-ishine-bible-for-girls/9781414348155/pd/348155?item_code=WW&netp_id=839263&event=ESRCN&view=details $16.99 Published by Tyndale February 2011/ Soft Leather Like, Pink/Rockin Ruby Color/1024 pages This Bible is also available in blue for Tween boys Thank you to Tyndale for my free copy for reading/reviewing. I felt that the first thing that stands out about this new Bible for tween girls is that it is personal, approachable. There are sections in this Bible that speak directly to the person reading the Bible. The sections are on self-image, and being valued and loved by God. I did not feel that the Bible is presented in a dorky kind of way, but would be pleasing to a tween. (Is the word dorky showing my own age?) There are several photo's of tweens in the Bible, both boys and girls. There are smart phone codes to find out more information about the Bible. The translation is New Living Translation---this translation is easy to read and understand. In the front of the Bible is further study type stuff---What is the Bible, Finding Your Identity in Jesus, Growing In Faith, and The Bible Talks About (a variety of subjects). The Bible is small. I have a small hand and it is the length of it----about 6 1/2 inches long and about 4 1/2 inches wide. Not a red letter edition. There are some references located at the bottom of each Scripture page. The print is tiny, too tiny for my eyes, but maybe okay for tweens. Overall I felt this would be a great Bible for tween girls and I can't wait to give it as a gift! Blissful Reading! Annette 
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By: Annette,
on 2/10/2011
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Black History Month, Add a tag
By: Annette,
on 2/10/2011
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Rod Brown, Ntozake Shange, Add a tag
 Link @ Publisher: http://www.harpercollins.com/books/We-Troubled-the-Waters-Ntozake-Shange?isbn=9780061337352&HCHP=TB_We+Troubled+the+Waters I first have to express the power that this book has on the reader. The bold and almost touchable pictures exude emotion---passion. On each page is a poem sharing the history of civil rights, the feelings of African Americans, the leaders that gave their all for freedom, the everyday life of African Americans. There are a couple of photographs that could be too disturbing for a young child. My 7 year old granddaughter would be upset by them, but then explanation will be necessary to any child being read this book. Blissful Reading! Annette 
0 Comments on Book Review: We Troubled The Waters by Ntozake and Paintings by Rod Brown as of 1/1/1900
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By: Annette,
on 2/10/2011
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Charlotte Voake, Add a tag
 Link for the book @ Publisher: http://www.candlewick.com/cat.asp?browse=Title&mode=book&isbn=0763648655&pix=n I loved this book! A little girl that has an adult cat named Ginger and a kitten notices a visitor peering at them through the window. This visiting cat that has been peering at them through the window eventually makes himself at home in their home one day. The little girl attaches a note to the collar of this cat for the owner. That is when the fun begins! I liked the large and bold print of the lettering and the large watercolor images on each page. The artist gave expressiveness to the little girls face, as well as her bewildered cats and the confident visiting cat. I loved the story and it made me laugh aloud! A very true tale, reminds me of my own cat Noelle! Blissful Reading! Annette 
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By: Annette,
on 2/10/2011
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Jen Corace, Randall de Seve, Add a tag
 Link for the book @ publisher: http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/books/Mathilda-Orange-Balloon/?isbn13=9780061726859&tctid=100 Young Matilda is a gray sheep. Her small world appears to be gray or green. One day she spots an orange balloon and then wishes to become one herself! The story of Mathilda is about imagination and the possibilities of dreams. Orange is my least favorite color, yet it is a color that you cannot miss. For Mathilda orange is so radically different than her blah or bah world! The orange color catches her eyes and her imagination. I felt this was a good story to open up the eyes for a young child to their own environment, to make them more attentive to what is going on around them. A fluffy sheep seems to be such a docile and dim animal, yet gentle for a child. The illustrations are simple and focused on the sheep, little color is used except in the bold orange. Blissful Reading! Annette 
0 Comments on Book Review: Mathilda and the Orange Balloon by Randall de Seve and illustrated by Jen Corace as of 1/1/1900
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By: Annette,
on 2/3/2011
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin, Add a tag
 I'd heard about the first book written for the adult reading audience, Three Cups of Tea and often thought "I need to read that book". Instead, I purchased the Young Adult Readers Edition to read and review on A Garden of Books. I read the entire book yesterday evening, I was just entranced with the story of Greg Mortenson and his loving devotion to building schools for the children of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The story begins with Greg making a trip to Pakistan to climb one of the mountains there named K2. After Greg's sisters death, he had wanted to do something in honor of her by placing her necklace on top of this mountain, but he got lost. I guess that could have been the end of that story, instead he wandered into a village and was taken care of by a family that introduced him to a need that would become his life endeavor and mission---building schools for kids. I thought this was a great book! In so many ways! It is a book that can be used in the classroom to introduce students to a Muslim nation, the middle east, poverty and illiteracy, war. It is a book that introduces kids to what can become their future as well--humanitarian work. As an adult I wonder, "what can I do?" This book is an encouragement to think not just about what is going on in our own city or state or country, but what other peoples needs are and that we can really do something to help. When I learn about another people group it gets my mind out of the box so to speak. The world is much bigger than my own back yard! I loved Greg's honesty in telling his story, he shares the mistakes he made, the gambles he made, and patient hope in fulfilling the goals. Greg was willing to sacrifice much in his life in order to fulfill his promise to build schools, he is a man of integrity and certainly true grit. Included in the book is a foreword by Dr. Jane Goodall, an interview with Greg's daughter Amira, a time-line, glossary, list of characters, discussion questions, information about Pennies for Peace, other books available, there are also many photographs throughout the book (several in color). http://www.threecupsoftea.com/ http://www.threecupsoftea.com/about-the-book/three-cups-of-tea-youth-editions/ http://www.amazon.com/Three-Cups-Tea-Young-Readers/dp/0142414123/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222723107&sr=1-1 Paperback $8.99 Kindle $7.99 http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Three-Cups-of-Tea/Greg-Mortenson/e/9780142414125/pwb=1& Paperback $8.81 Nook $7.99 http://www.penniesforpeace.org/ http://www.ikat.org/ http://gregmortenson.blogspot.com/ http://www.davidoliverrelin.com/ Blissful Reading! Annette 
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By: Annette,
on 1/26/2011
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Vicki H. Moss, Add a tag
 http://www.livingwaterfiction.com/store.htm Paperback $13.95 Link @ Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Kids-Magazines-Working/dp/1450583806/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1295981646&sr=8-1 Paperback $15.00 Authors site: http://www.livingwaterfiction.com/ Published by Create Space May 15, 2010/114 pages This book was provided to me for free from the author for reading/reviewing. At 114 pages this book is more like a magazine than a lengthy how to book on writing tips for magazines. It is a great beginning for anyone interested in writing for children's magazines. The author includes samples from her own published works in kids magazines. She gives advice: in what publishers want, in researching for your writing topic, organization, submitting photographs, choosing a title, rejection. The author writes more on rejection than any other topic covered. She writes that writers must grow thick skin in order to deal with rejection. "Never forget perseverance is the key, work on the craft." My favorite chapter was The Bones of Writing. In this chapter she talks on a issue I do not hear as much about in writing circles---because everyone wants to be the next great writer, she writes about the pay. Most writers are not going to be a best selling novelist. Vicki gives an exact amount of what to expect in writing a kids magazine article. At the end of the book is a lengthy list of children's magazines to write for including their website information. Blissful Reading! Annette 
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By: Annette,
on 12/20/2010
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Add a tag
Total number of books read on this blog, 52.
By: Annette,
on 12/17/2010
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Add a tag
 http://zero-to-eight.blogspot.com/2010/12/young-readers-2011.html Becky is the author of this reading challenge. There is freedom in this challenge---reading as many books as you like. I am not going to commit with a certain number of books I'll read. I will read as many as I can! Blissful Blogging! Annette 
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By: Annette,
on 11/19/2010
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Ted Kooser, Add a tag
Link for the book @ Amazon:  Published by Candlewick Press February 23, 2010/48 pages/For ages 4-8 The author Ted Kooser is a previous U.S. Poet Laureate 2004-2006, Pulitzer Prize winner of 2 poems he wrote--Delights and Shadows. Bag in the Wind is the first children's book he has written. Illustrations are by Barry Root, watercolor and gouache, he has illustrated 2 other children's books. A woman driving a bulldozer pushing garbage in a landfill sees an empty plastic yellow bag. The bag is a nameless, voiceless adventurer in this book on recycling. The wind blows the bag, it travels across the landscape, visits people along the way, and teaches the reader the importance of re-using/recycling/thinking before throwing away an object that can be re-used. The book has wonderful illustrations of a rural area in the autumn/winter. There is great detail in the watercolor pictures of the land, trees, streams, snow, birds. People are less significant in the larger picture of recycling, our recycling affects our world at large--we are the tool used in order to recycle, but it affects in a positive way the world we live in. The story is probably too much for a 4 or 5 year old, in my opinion more understandable to a 6-8 year old. It is not that recycling cannot be taught to a 4 or 5 year old, it is because of the lengthiness of the story that a 4 or 5 year old would not sit still and their minds and bodies would wander. Blissful Reading! Annette 
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By: Annette,
on 11/19/2010
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Laurie Halse Anderson, Add a tag
I have 1 more book to read by this author, Fever 1793, and then I've decided to move on to another author.  I have to admit that this was not my favorite from the author Laurie Halse Anderson. I read this book quickly, in 1 evening. Could it be that I'm becoming bored with teen angst and drama? Kate Malone is in the final months of her senior year in high school. She is a chemistry and science and math whiz, a member of the National Honor Society, a cross country runner. She is a facts and figures kind of gal, she has a analytic and logic type mind. Her dream is to attend MIT. She has a boyfriend named Mitch, he's a great kisser. Her mother died 9 years ago, her dad is a pastor, she has 1 younger brother Tobey. On one hand Kate is in a whirl of busyness at home: laundry, house cleaning, caring for her sick asthmatic brother, cooking, reminding her dad and brother of their own duties. Kate has taken on the role of mom in addition to her school work and high school activities. She has a problem sleeping, relaxing. When the neighbor's house burns and this family moves in with Kate and her dad and brother, she is at first insensitive and selfish. I wondered where this part of the story would fit in, but it was important, it gave Kate another dimension to her character that I liked. What I liked most about Kate's character was that she took seriously and did the best she could in filling in with caring for the home and her brother and dad, since her mother had died. I thought her dad was pre-occupied or inept in not knowing what Kate was going through in keeping up her school work, and also juggling her home responsibilities. I'm sure he was engaged and focused on his own duties at church, which Kate I felt resented. Kate needed counseling, she was at times chilly and sardonic, not wanting to feel anything, not wanting to confront these unresolved areas of her life that were like a blinking light going, "yield, yield, prepare to stop or suffer the consequences of stuffing your emotions." Kate's friends are introduced in to the story as well as a boyfriend. Although they are apart of the story, it is Kate that is the speaker and the focus is on her. Blissful Reading! Annette 
0 Comments on Book Review: Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson as of 1/1/1900
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By: Annette,
on 11/12/2010
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Anorexia, Eating Disorders, Add a tag
Links for more information:  A list of books given by Amazon on Anorexia: http://www.amazon.com/Recommended-Books-About-Anorexia/lm/3M8K5Z4GDKZ47 
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By: Annette,
on 11/12/2010
Blog: A Garden of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Laurie Halse Anderson, Add a tag
Link for the book @ Amazon:  If I were to use only a list of verbs to review this book they would be: Tragic Waste Sad Sorrowful Haunting Profound Caustic Acerbic Acidulous Grisly Austere Manic Madness Hysteria Ravenous Empty This book is not for the faint of heart, or the overly sensitive, nor should it be read on a day you are feeling depressed. This is one of the hardest books I've ever read, not because it is poorly written, nor because it is not a profoundly affecting read; but because it has a strong bite to it. It bites and shreds your tender soul until you cry in pain---for the main character Lia. Lia age 18 is a senior in high school living in Amoskeag, New Hampshire. She is living with her dad and step-mother Jennifer and their daughter Emma age 8. Lia's mother is a physician living in the same town. In the opening pages Lia's best friend Cassie has been found dead. Lia and Ca
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Great blog! Keep the good work going! May I just add Chronicles Of Narnia to your list (I read some of them this year) and my Tale Of The Rock Pieces (it was published a few months ago)... Do you use sites like zazzle.com, cafepress. com, fiverr? They could be a good way to promote your blog/posts and to help "remove" stupidity in the streets like headlines on t-shirts, fridge-magnets, cups, etc: My Boyfriend kisses Better Than Yours, FBI - female body inspector, etc. Not everything we see and think of should be about sex, right? It would be much better if there were more nice pictures of mythical creatures, good thoughts, poems from fantasy genre, etc? I'm allanbard there, I use some of my illustrations, thoughts, poems from my books (like: One can fight money only with money, Even in the hotest fire there's a bit of water, etc). Best wishes! Let the wonderful noise of the sea always sounds in your ears! (a greeting of the water dragons'hunters - my Tale Of The Rock Pieces)