I'm Back!

Hi Everyone!

Over the past three months, I've been busy reading and reviewing books for the state's Bluestem Award for students in grades 3-5. Those of us on the reading committee, from all over the state, had to read 50 books from September through January! On January 29th, all of us met to discuss the books that we read and decide which 20 would make the final cut. We had some very interesting conversations during our meeting, but we finally selected the books for the list. You can see the list of books for 2012 here: www.islma.org/pdf/BluestemMasterList2012.pdf. Now I'm back on this blog again. I hope you will send me your book reviews to post as well (see Emily's reviews below for examples)!

The Magician by Michael Scott

This great review is from 8th grader Emily M. "This is the sequel to The Alchemyst. Like the first book, Nick Fleming or Nicholas Flamel as he tells the twins his and Perry's real names, is certain that these are indeed the twins of legend. So he travels to the shadow realm of an ancient Elder to have them awakened. Sophie is the first to be awakened and Josh is jealous because the elder died before she could awaken him. But he is also afraid that Sophie won't wake up. Meanwhile, Dee has trapped the Sorceress on an island and has left a sphinx to feed off her aura. Check out this book because I promise it will be a fun read." Thank you, Emily!

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

This review comes from 8th grader Emily M. "When I first started reading the book I thought it was pretty good. After a couple more chapters, I was thinking WOW this is a great book. The Alchemyst is about twins Sophie and Josh Newman that are believed to be the twins of legend. So Nick and Perry Fleming tried to investigate more about them. Meanwhile a Magician named Doctor John Dee is trying to bring back the dark elders. In order to do this he needs two things: a) the Codex, and b) the twins of the prophecy. To find out the whole story check out this magic filled book in your library." The Alchemyst is on the Rebecca Caudill list. Thanks, Emily!

Sophie Simon Solves Them All by Lisa Graff

Eight-year-old Sophie is a genius! She's reading college level text books and she especially loves math. When her parents won't buy her a new graphing calculator because it isn't what "normal" kids her age play with, Sophie must find a way to get $100 to buy it on her own. She soon figures out that friends can be helpful, but can they help enough? This is the book that Lisa Graff read from when she visited Harrison last year!

touchblue by Cynthia Lord

This book by author Cynthia Lord (author of Rules) is a novel about good luck, bad luck and fate.Tess and her family live on a small island off the coast of Maine. When the state threatens to close down their only school due to low enrollment, Tess is devastated because their family will then have to move off of the island. The islanders hatch a plan to save their school by becoming foster families to children who need families. However, things don't go as planned when Aaron arrives and is less than happy about being there. Will their plan to save the school work? Can Tess help Aaron accept his fate, or will Aaron run away?

Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer by John Grisham

This is John Grisham's first murder mystery for kids! Thirteen-year-old Theo dreams of becoming an exciting lawyer or a prestigious judge someday. He loves to hang out at the courthouse and he's already learned quite a lot about law, which he occasionally uses to help his friends and teachers with their small problems. When a murder trial begins (which is rare in his small town), Theo is especially interested. However, Theo soon becomes more involved than he wanted when he learns that there really was a witness to the murder! Unfortunately, telling this information could mean trouble for the witness, but not telling could mean that a guilty man walks free. This is an exciting, suspenseful book and more are sure to follow!

The Great Wide Sea by M.H. Herlong

After fifteen-year-old Ben's mom dies, his grieving dad packs up the family, sells the house, and buys a boat to live aboard for a year, which Ben is not happy about! This adventure story really becomes gripping when one day, Ben wakes up to find his dad missing from the boat! Ben and his two younger brothers must survive a raging storm at sea and eventually become stranded on an island where they must learn to live on their own. Fans of Gary Paulson's survival/adventure stories will enjoy this new book! The Great Wide Sea is on the 2011 Rebecca Caudill list.