The first thing that drew my attention to this book was its cover. It is taken up largely by a full moon with a young girl standing under it, surrounded by illuminated white bird silhouettes and a small, colorful dragon. This was obviously a magical story. The second thing I noticed was the large, shiny Newbery Medal sticker. This book was a Newbery winner, so it must be something special. I picked up the book and, in reading the inside flap, learned that this book was about a witch, a magical baby, a swamp monster, a dragon, innocent townspeople, and a whole lot of magic. I was sold!
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Category: Fantasy
Book Review: The List by Patricia Forde
The List has been on my radar for a few weeks now. I heard about it over the summer and included it in my list of Children’s and Middle Grade Reads for Fall. While I am not usually a fan of dystopian literature, this book was intriguing. It takes place after a great war of bright bombs (presumably a nuclear war) and after the Melting, in which Earth is devoured by water. Earth has been destroyed and what little remains livable has been inhabited by survivors desperate for water, food, and shelter.
Letta lives in the survivor’s community of Ark, run by the intimidating John Noa. Noa forces everyone to speak a special new language called List. It is a language made up of only 500 approved words, words that are necessary for communication and survival. Any words that might put ideas into people’s heads, like artist or music or creativity, have been banished.
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Book Review: Lost in a Book by Jennifer Donnelly
The title alone drew my attention to this new read from Jennifer Donnelly. Getting lost in a good book is one of my favorite things in the world. There is nothing more relaxing than escaping inside the pages of a good book. That’s what Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) thinks as well when she discovers a magical book called Nevermore in the Beast’s library. At first, Nevermore seems like the perfect escape from the lonely castle where she is being held prisoner. But Belle soon learns the dangers of judging a book by its cover.
Book Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Night Circus has been on my TBR list for a long, long time. I will admit that it was the cover that first attracted me to this book. I have the paperback copy with the black cover, black and white circus tent, and figures silhouetted in silver. It caught my eye right away. I know, I know, I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but I did, and it worked in my favor this time! There was just something magical about the images and the title. I had high expectations of this book going in, and it didn’t disappoint.
Book Review: Nightmares! By Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller
This book has been on my radar for some time now, but alas, school books have dominated my reading list for the last couple of years. I thought October would be the perfect month to finally dive into this spooky story for young readers. What better night to stay up late finishing it than Halloween?!
Nightmares! didn’t disappoint! I know sometimes there is a lot of hype around a book because it has a celebrity author, but in this case, this book really is worth the read. I have personally enjoyed Jason Segel’s movies, and yes, I did initially hear about this book during an interview he did on a talk show, but that’s not why I like it. It really is a good story with a sound moral lesson for kids. Keep on Reading!
Book Review: The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler
Now that it is officially summer, I thought it was time to dive into a mermaid book, and I decided to finally read The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler. My impressions going into the book were: it sounds cute but it will probably be predictable.
I was wrong. It wasn’t predictable. This book is recommended for ages 8-12. Well, I’m 34 and found myself surprised as the story unfolded! Keep on Reading!
Kait's Bookshelf