I have been a Karen Cushman fan ever since reading The Midwife's Apprentice , Catherine, Called Birdy, and Alchemy and Meggy Swann. Since all her books feature spunky characters in medieval England and are expertly written, I was excited to hear of the release of her new book, Will Sparrow's Road. From the opening of this middle… Continue reading Will Sparrow's Road
Tag: book on CD
Holiday Giveaway #3- Hattie Big Sky on CD
Congratulations to Rosi Holinbeck, the newest follower of my blog and the winner of an autographed copy of Hattie Big Sky. For those of you who didn't win the book, here is your chance to win the book on CD. As promised, Kirby shares her own personal connection to Hattie's story: My beloved maternal grandmother… Continue reading Holiday Giveaway #3- Hattie Big Sky on CD
This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein
This book is not for the faint of heart. And it’s not for the reader who doesn’t have a stomach for scary, gory scenes and unpredictable mad scientists. But, if you are intrigued by fast-paced adventures that seem impossibly dangerous—then This Dark Endeavor is a book for you. I chose this book because I had… Continue reading This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein
Two Books by Gennifer Choldenko
Al Capone Shines My Shoes (Dial, 2009) In this sequel to Al Capone Does My Shirts, Choldenko takes the protagonist, Moose Flannagan, into closer contact with Alcatraz’s most infamous prisoner, Al Capone. Although this is a work of fiction, the book is based on research about the prison and interviews with adults who lived on… Continue reading Two Books by Gennifer Choldenko
Ways That I am Like Karen Hesse (a very short list):
1 We both wake up early and look forward to writing. 2.We both eat our lunch standing up.3.We both are excited about finding and using primary sources when we’re researching.4.We both like historical fiction.These are my conclusions after listening to an interview with her that accompanies her book, Witness. Although several of Hesse’s award–winning books… Continue reading Ways That I am Like Karen Hesse (a very short list):
Details Make a Difference
One of the instructional themes in Teaching the Story is that the details which an author includes make a difference in depicting a character, setting, or time period. I am repeatedly reminded of this fact in my own reading and writing.Currently I am listening to Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. This story of a young… Continue reading Details Make a Difference
A Day of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue
Julian Lester's thought-provoking book, A Day of Tears, builds a fictional story out of of a real event: the day when the most slaves in American history--over400--were sold at one auction. The place is Savannah, Georgia, the time is 1859 and the slaveowner is Pierce Butler who is "forced" to sell his slaves to pay… Continue reading A Day of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue
The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place
What do two semi-retired Hungarian watchmakers, an unemployed billboard painter, a bald-headed art curator who wears a diamond stud in one ear, a high power attorney from a large New York communications firm, and a precocious 12-year-old girl all have in common?Their passion to preserve three gigantic towers that are threatened to be torn down… Continue reading The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place
The Gatekeepers
Normally I wouldn't recommend ending a story with the words, "To be continued." But when the story weaver is Anthony Horowiz then I throw my hands up in the air. I can only hope that my library has the 4th book of the series on CD, or I'm in trouble. I am generally not a… Continue reading The Gatekeepers
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
"If you do start to read this book, you will go on a journey with a nine-year-old boy called Bruno. (Though this book isn't a book for nine-year-olds.) And sooner or later you will arrive with Bruno at a fence. Fences like this exist all over the world. We hope you never have to encounter… Continue reading The Boy in the Striped Pajamas