Fiction
The revealers is a great way to shed light on the issue of bullying. It helps the reader to see that everyone has their own story to share. By sharing stories we see that students in Parkland (aka Darkland) Middle school are looking differently at one another and seeing each other with open eyes. Bullying is a problem that should never be ignored or swept under a rug.
This was a read-aloud pick for my kids ages 9, 8 and 6. It was about 100 pages with some sketches scattered throughout, making it long enough to be filled with a good story, but not so long I tired of reading it! It is an old book- usually means it makes it a favorite for us. Written in 1957, it looks and feels old. It tells a cute story of an orphan girl in France who is so happy with her life as an orphan that she does not want to be adopted. I have a background in french so it made it kind of fun to read, but I would think if one did not have experience with the french language it might be difficult to read as all of the names and places were french. There were also some french phrases through the book. For me it made it fun to read, for others it could be annoying. My kids enjoyed the sweet story and I did, too.
This was a fun little read aloud for our family (boy age 9, girls ages 8 and 6). I decided on this book based on some good 5 star reviews on Amazon. It was a shorter book (128 pages) so that appealed to me. I was worried that my nine year old son might not like a book about a princess, but he did because it was not a girly type of book. The author tells the story of a princess who was born and given the gift of "ordinary". It seemed that she may never get married because she was not extraordinary in any way. In a cute little series of adventures and twists she does find a special someone who turns out to be exceptionally special in the end. Fun story for the whole family.
This jump in history takes us to the failed attempt of abolishionist to establish an underground railroad for runaway slaves. Our time travelers must determine what must be done to correct the timeline so that the break in time can be fixed. Riq is separated from the others and is learning first hand what it means to be purchased as a slave and to run away. Jump into history and see it unravel in front of your eyes with the third book in the Infinity Ring series.
I am not disappointed by the concluding book in the 39 Clues Cahills Vs. Vespers series. The use of teamwork to accomplish the goals they need to meet always gets the job done. The selfish nature of the Vespers oozes from every detail written about them.
The Infinty Ring series brings us into the depths of battle. Thus helping a young reader develop a better understanding of war, working together and doing what's right for the whole instead of the individual. I love the new approach to history brought to us by this series.
A Mutiny in Time Book One of the Infinity Ring
I found this to be a fun an entertaining way to approach history. Things aren't they way they should be and our band of time travelers are on a mission to correct history and set it on its natural course.
We read this book aloud as a family a few weeks ago. We chose it because we had listened to Endymion Spring, another book by Matthew Skelton, a few years ago on audio. I prefer Endymion Spring because it is more complex and because of it’s historical roots and being set in the library in Oxford. Cirrus Flux is a good book, though. It is the story of the orphan, Cirrus Flux, an orphan in 19th century London, whose father left him a mysterious artifact that a bunch of adults all seem to want. Oh, yeah, and he gets to ride in a hot air balloon that is powered by a bird whose wings set on fire. There’s cool stuff like that in the book. Overall, a good book. A-
The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet
This book, written in 1954, was a fun read for our family. I read it outloud to my kids ages 6, 8 and 9 and we all truly enjoyed it. When I finished a chapter they wanted me to keep going and a few times we stayed up past our bedtime to read a little more. Previous to reading this book I had read an amazon review that said this book was science fiction so I thought I wouldn't like it, but if this is what science fiction is I do like it! It tells the story of two boys who build a space shuttle and take it to an unknown planet to help the 'beings' that live there. The story kept us captive and I truly enjoyed the way the words flowed. It made for a great read aloud. This book is number one in the series of 5. I liked Eleanor Cameron's style and might try some more of her books for my kids.
This was a compelling conclusion to the series. We all have secrets, even within our own families. Maddie is unraveling the secrets of her family and becoming a stronger person as a result. This great started with four girls on the run. I love how they are still standing together in the end to fight for what they know is right.
