Blog Hop

Blog Hop is brought to us by Crazy-for-Books.

What's your favorite beverage while reading or blogging, if any? Is it tea, coffee, water, a glass of wine, or something else?

My favorite beverage (at all times) is a Diet Dr Pepper with Vanilla from Sonic. For those who know me, I stop each morning and get one just so I can make it through the day. I know this habit is costing me about 5.50 a week so it will soon end when the house purchasing begins. I know the habit won't be completely gone but I will definitely cut back.

Do you have a favorite drink for when you are reading or blogging?

Read-a-Thon

While I did not sign up for the read-a-thon I have been doing some reading of children's books today. So far I have made it through 6 picture books. Here is a little about each.

Dexter Bexley and the Big Blue Beastie on the Road by Joel Stewart

Dexter Bexley and the Big Blue Beastie are kicked out of the town and travel through the forest. They run into Sir Percy Pecket who asks for their help in waking up the princess. Once she's awake they banned together to travel singing, dancing, and telling tales with the help of the Frightful Dragon. Once they get back Sir Percy Pecket finally gets them to sleep by singing a lullaby.

This very cute story will have children and adults using their imagination to travel right along with this strange troupe of characters.




 
A Picture Book of Cesar Chavez by David A. Adler

This picture book biography gives the details of Cesar Chavez's life and how he went about to bring change for farm workers across America.

 







Amazing Faces by Lee Bennett Hopkins

This poetry anthology gives a variety of poems about the emotions that are seen on faces of people of all ages, races, and nationalities.

Daddy Loves His Little Girl by John Carter Cash

This sweet story told in rhyme tells a little girl how much her daddy loves her and all that he will do for her. This would make a great bedtime story for dads to read to their daughters.

Good-bye, Sheepie by Robert Burleigh

Owen and Sheepie have been best pals for a long time. Owen has played fetch with him, taken him for walks, and just enjoyed having him as a dog. Owen has noticed that Sheepie doesn't move as fast as he use to and finds him under a tree one day not moving at all. With the help of his dad they bury Sheepie near the river and discuss how Sheepie lives on in our memories.

This was a tear filled book for me because I have been in this situation. For those who love pets this could be a difficult read.

Too Many Fairies: A Celtic Tale by Margaret Read MacDonald

A little old woman is tired of all the housework that must be done and makes a complaint. Suddenly a fairy arrives and takes over. This continues until there are four fairies making noise and continuously cleaning her house. Fed up, she heads to town to talk to the wise old woman and finds out how to get rid of her helpers for good. She learns in the end that it is better to do the work yourself than to complain.

The colorful pictures will draw the reader in and make them notice all the little details of the pictures.




All of the books were books for my book review group. I will be taking Too Many Fairies with me to the group to share with them since it is just so cute.  

Jessica Darling Series

This series of books is about Jessica Darling. She starts in high school at the age of 16 and the final book ends as she turns 26. The series touches on all of the major milestones that teens and young adults face from prom, first sexual experiences, choosing a college, and even a career. Megan McCafferty depicts life as it truly is for anyone who is going through this age of their life or has gone through it previously. I have to say I devoured the first, second, and third books of the series but didn't get into the fourth and fifth right away. I wish I had because the fifth book was probably the one that I read the fastest. In this book, Jessica encounters her high school boyfriend again for the first time in over 3 years and must face some truths that even she doesn't realize. I couldn't put the book down and finished it in just a few hours. I think that anyone around the ages of Jessica in the books will enjoy her story (especially if you ever had trouble fitting in during high school).

Mockingjay

While I was a person who didn't jump right on the band wagon when told to read this series of books, I did finally read (well, listen to the audio book) the first two of the series. I then had to join the masses who salivated waiting to find out what happened to Katniss, Peeta, and the other characters from the story. I was very excited when the book came out but very sad because it was the first week of school and I was supper busy. I started the book but wasn't able to read much (maybe a chapter a day) until last weekend. That was when I stayed in bed until I had basically finished the book. I have to say there were things I loved and hated about the story. I do agree with many others that this series is not written as a love story but much more than that. I will try not to spoil the book for those who have not read it but beware at the end I will have a spoiler section so don't read past if you don't want to know.


Mockingjay is the final book of the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. It continues the story from where Katniss has been rescued out of the second Hunger Games by the rebels. She has many tough decisions to make in order to decide how her future as well as the future of all of those in Panem and District 13 will unfold.

Honestly, if I tell more it will give away too much of the story. If you are into this series I believe you will enjoy the last book even if parts will be expected and predictable.

I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for 13 years and up.

Don't continue reading if you don't want to have part of the book spoiled.


**********************Spoiler Alert*******************Spoiler Alert*******************



Several times I had to go back and reread sections of the book because I was sure I had miss read the information. But each time I was right it was written that way. For example near the end Katniss is going to assassinate President Snow but kills someone else instead. I had to read that 3 times before I was sure I had read it correctly. It didn't make sense and yet again it did.

Welcome

I decided to start a new blog about the various books I am reading. I love reading which is a good thing since it is a part of my job as an elementary school librarian. I plan to share some of the books that I am reading which can range from books for the littlest all the way to adult books. I am part of a library review group so many of the books may come from these books. Other books may be from the public library, our school library, or books I have purchased. I hope you will enjoy the reviews and give me your opinions and suggestions as well.

Thanks,
Megan