Review: Yoga for Healthy Knees: What You Need to Know for Pain Prevention and Rehabilitation

Yoga for Healthy Knees: What You Need to Know for Pain Prevention and Rehabilitation by Sandy Blaine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wouldn't recommend this book for anyone who hasn't already had their problems diagnosed by a professional. However, for me it was exactly what I wanted: a book that had pictures of poses that would be beneficial for healthy knees along with ideas of whole series that might help.

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Review: Took: A Ghost Story

Took: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I feel like I must be getting braver in my old age because I'm finding scary books easier to read than I used to. This one I read in an afternoon, and I enjoyed it! I don't know that I'll be looking at dolls the same way again, but it was creepy in all the right ways for those who like creepy stories.

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Review: The Bamboo Sword

The Bamboo Sword by Margi Preus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was, for me, a welcome return to form for Preus. I very much enjoyed Heart of a Samurai and her other historical fiction work. This is a companion to that named title, although it is not necessary to have read that book to enjoy this one. You learn about Yoshi, a boy who wants to be a samurai, and Jack, a ship's boy from America, as the countries meet for the first time to talk about ending Japan's isolation. I loved reading each boy's perspective, and I think it's an excellent title to remind ourselves that different people aren't really that different from us. I also really enjoyed the author's note and bibliography.

I received an advanced reader's copy for free from the publisher in return for a review.

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Review: The Terrible Two

The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Miles is starting over at a new school, meaning his reputation as a prankster will go away! He hopes maybe he can be known for that at his new school, but his hopes are dashed when he reaches his new school and there's a car blocking the path! There is also his new buddy, who happens to be the school's goody-two-shoes, and the intense principal who seems to have it out for him since day one.

This story made me chuckle a lot, and I think it will be popular with kids. I hope there are more in the series to see what antics the terrible two get up to next!

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Review: The Glass Gauntlet

The Glass Gauntlet by Carter Roy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ronan and his friends are now staying with the Blood Guard to ensure their safety. They are bored and trying to escape until Jack enrolls them in the mysterious Glass Gauntlet contest. He thinks it will just be test-taking, but nothing goes that smoothly in the Blood Guard world! Favorite characters from the last book reappear, as well as some great new characters. Can't wait to see the next one in the series.

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Review: The Blood Guard

The Blood Guard by Carter Roy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ronan Truelove (don't call him Evelyn) has just discovered that his mother is part of a secret society that, for some reason, is after him as well. He is instructed to take a particular train and there he meets Jack Dawkins, one of the Blood Guard. What is the Blood Guard and who is after Ronan and his mom? Read the book to find out!

Lots of action and humor, this will be quite popular!

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Review: Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: The Underground Abductor

Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: The Underground Abductor by Nathan Hale
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been a fan of this series since the Donner Dinner Party entry (to be fair, that was the first one I read) and this is another great one! I think that it's a great introduction to the Underground Railroad for kids, as well as informative for those that already know a bit. I think there's something for everyone in this one.

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Review: Rutabaga the Adventure Chef: Book 1

Rutabaga the Adventure Chef: Book 1 by Eric Colossal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This one is for all the burgeoning foodies out there! Rutabaga goes on adventures looking for exotic foods to include in his recipes, to eventually go into his restaurant. Boy, does he get into adventures! Dragons, cook-offs, and following around Norse-ish figures. I enjoyed this one a lot, and I'm hoping to read more of them.

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Review: Cody and the Fountain of Happiness

Cody and the Fountain of Happiness by Tricia Springstubb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cody is so excited for summer vacation. It's going to be great! Nothing to do but hang out with her older brother, who only pretends to be annoyed by her. Things are a little different this summer though. Mom is up for a promotion at work, which leaves her with a case of the whim-whams at times. Her brother is moping over a girl, which Cody doesn't entirely understand. And she has a new friend who she has convinced that she has hypnotized his cat. This story is adorable and great for those ready to move on from a story like Magic Tree House but aren't ready for something too hard yet.

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Review: Little Robot

Little Robot by Ben Hatke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is another great story from Ben Hatke. It's the story of a lonely girl engineer who meets a robot and become friends. The robot is being chased by the company that made him, however. Can they stay friends despite the odds?

There are few words in "Little Robot," so you are really relying on the pictures to tell you the story. I never felt confused or misguided, and would love to read more adventures between these two.

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Review: Echo

Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is beautiful. It's beautiful in appearance and beautiful writing. I loved this one so much. It's intimidating in size and historical fiction, which is generally appealing to me, but not necessarily the general public. However, they should all pick this one up! It's the story of four people: Otto, Friedrich, Michael, and Ivy. Their stories end up connected by a harmonica and a love of music, eventually ending with most of the characters meeting. There's also a fairy tale aspect with three sisters interacting with Otto. Each story is heartbreaking. Friedrich is in Germany while the Nazi party is rising in power. Michael is an orphan trying to stay with his brother and find a family. Ivy is trying to deal with her brother being away in WWII and also being segregated from the local school due to her race.

This was a book I had a hard time putting down, and also a book that made me want to pick up my instrument and play again (or get a ukelele, or get a harmonica.)

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Review: The Island of Dr. Libris

The Island of Dr. Libris by Chris Grabenstein
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this one quite a lot. Billy is spending the summer in a cottage on a lake with his mom. His dad is staying behind in New York. Little does he know that Dr. Libris has been plotting to get Billy to this house to test out his experiment--an island where things you read come to life!

I definitely enjoyed this read. It was quick, fun, and there's a cast of characters to enjoy. I did think it wrapped up a little quickly and sloppily, but to be fair, I was speed reading and tired at the time, so others may enjoy the ending more than I did.

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Review: We Are All Made of Molecules

We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this story so much. I was way more into Stewart's story than Ashley's. It took a while for me to catch up to Ashley. I wondered how her parents, while being so nice, could create such a self-centered, popularity-obsessed child. Stewart was so much easier for me to love. I felt like he was doing the right thing so often and Ashley was too obsessed with the way she looked and getting with Jared. However, she came around at the end. I really liked the dual story perspectives, because it did humanize both of them, even if I liked one of them better. I think kids will appreciate the perspectives of two different kids at the same school getting along, and I think the blended family aspect will speak to a lot as well.

It does contain scenes with underage drinking, and some talk about bras and sexual activity.

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Review: Listen, Slowly

Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Much like Lai's last book, I was captivated by this one. Mai (or Mia in school) is being forced to go to Vietnam with her father and Ba (her grandmother). Ba has been separated from her husband since THE WAR and has finally decided to go back to get closure. A detective has told her that he has had contact with someone connected to her missing grandfather. Mai is not excited about this trip at all. She's supposed to be on the beach with her friend, possibly interacting with the boy she likes (HIM). On the trip, though, she begins to learn more about where she is from, and what's important to her.

I thought Mai was pretty believable, with her devotion to family but also her desire to be on the beach and be a typical American teen. I also understood why she stopped speaking Vietnamese after going to school. Her growing acceptance and discovery of the land her parents came from and the culture she is connected to was believable as well. I think it had just the right amount of references to THE WAR. As an adult, I wished for a bit more about what had been happening in Vietnam, but I think for kids who might not have any background about the Vietnam War at all, it was the right amount. A beautiful story.

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