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Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Aidan O'Lynn's childhood ended the night he saw a demon kill his mother and mark his sister, Ava, with Darkness. Since then, every three years the demons have returned to try to claim her... In desperation, Aidan seeks out the help of Sid, the enigmatic leader of a group of teens who run LA Paranormal, an Internet reality show that fights demons and ghosts. (Summary from Amazon) Category Fiction Why I chose this book Kindle First My personal opinion (the review) I cannot recommend it, because of the language. But if it didn't have the language, the story line is fantastic! The story line spans back to ancient days, 9 years back, and current day. Aidan can see otherworldy beings, speak and read ancient languages, and fight against demons. Cool stuff. But goodness gracious, why do you need F-words, when you have such an awesome story?? Warnings Language: abundant and strong! Many F-words, distributed throughout Violence: trappi...

Summary:  Summer evenings at Grandma’s house always end just the way Sadie likes – with Grandma tucking her in with the name quilt. As Sadie chooses from among the patchwork of hand-stitched names of generations of relatives, Grandma tells story after story – stories of hog-riding and hornets and Grandma’s own wedding. Then one summer day, a fierce storm comes on too quickly to get the washing off the line, and the quilt is blown away. That night, Sadie worries that more than just the quilt has disappeared, until Grandma shows her that all her favorite names and stories are more a part of Sadie than she knows.   Attention Span/reading level: Ages 5-10. 5+ sentences on each page and the concept didn't hold my 3 year old's attention.  Good uses for book in teaching: Family History, remembering stories Favorite part:        Mine: The concept of the name quilt in general. When they make a new quilt with Sadie's name on it, adding her to the f...

Concept: 150+ no bake cookies and bars that can be made without turning on the oven (most require the stove or microwave). Recipes are broken down into following categories: Drop cookies, shaped cookies, cereal bars, cookie bars, and icebox bars.  Author : Camilla Saulsbury is a freelance food writer, recipe developer and cooking instructor. Her culinary focus is translating food and flavor trends into fresh, innovative, and delicious recipes for the home kitchen. Camilla has been involved in the world of food for almost 20 years, including catering specialty desserts in the San Francisco Bay Area, writing cookbooks and freelance food articles, and developing recipes for national food companies. Further, she has won several of the country's top cooking competitions, including the $100,000 National Chicken Cook-Off, the $50,000 Build a Better Burger Contest, the Food Network's $25,000 Ultimate Recipe Showdown (Cookies Episode), and Top Chef Desserts $5000 Viewer Cha...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) A mysterious threat to all inhuman beings had emerged. As inhumans are methodically abducted for testing, only one group of shifters poses a threat. Led by an equally mysterious shifter named Blaze, the werepack must recover their abducted members and stop the threat looming over them. (from Amazon) Category Sci-Fi Why I chose this book I know the author My personal opinion (the review) This is NOT a werewolf book, and it's not a "Twilight werewolf" story either. They're shape-shifters, but not like any others I've read. The spelling and grammar mistakes were distracting. T, if you're reading this, I recommend the use of an editor (I'm not one, but I'm willing to help). This book will become great. The plot line is good- a bit choppy, but gripping. The superhuman abilities are intriguing. The character interaction is excellent. Hold off on reading this for now, but watch for an updated version- it'll b...

Summary:   Miss Merriweather, the head librarian, is very particular about rules in the library. No running allowed. And you must be quiet. But when a lion comes to the library one day, no one is sure what to do. There aren't any rules about lions in the library. And, as it turns out, this lion seems very well suited to library visiting. His big feet are quiet on the library floor. He makes a comfy backrest for the children at story hour. And he never roars in the library, at least not anymore. But when something terrible happens, the lion quickly comes to the rescue in the only way he knows how.  Attention Span/reading level: 3-100, the pages are quite long, but my child had no problem staying engaged Good uses for book in teaching: Sometimes, and only sometimes, is it okay to break the rules. New/different doesn't always equal bad Favorite part:   Mine: Having been a librarian seeing all the jobs that the Lion does and how good he is with the childre...

Summary:  Charlie's letters have been busy helping Charlie learn all year, but when he goes off to visit his grandparents the lowercase letters fly to Alphabet City. There, the uppercase letters don't think that lowercase letters can be very helpful. That all changes when the lowercase letters fix up a firetruck they save the uppercase letters and put out a fire in Alphabet City. Attention Span/reading level: 3-5, best for children learning their alphabet.  Good uses for book in teaching: the alphabet (especially lowercase letters), learning to work together despite differences, small people/things can be useful, doing something helpful even after someone has told you you'll never be good enough Favorite part:     Child: the letters driving the firetruck    Mine: The brightly colored computer generated pictures  Least favorite part: None W arnings/negative feedback: None.  Review: I thought this was a cute book. As n...

Summary:  Florence, a small and willful girl, and Arnold, her faithful, plush monkey doll, have reached the bottom of the cookie tin and want more cookies! So they decide to come up with a plan to persuade Florence's mom to give them the treats. With the help of Florence's costumes, some drawings, and a LOT of imagination, the two friends invent lots of wacky ways to get more cookies. But Florence's mom has a plan of her own! (Amazon) Attention Span/reading level: 3-6, short enough and moved fast enough that my 3 year old stayed engaged, but I think the concept Florence of using different methods to try to get what she wanted was over my daughter's head. Good uses for book in teaching: Nothing (maybe something from the new recipe at the end) Favorite part:       Mine:The recipe at the end Least favorite part/ W arnings/negative feedback: Florence tries all these different ways to convince her Mom that she needs a cookie. While I was impressed w...

Summary:  WHAT IF a boy found a beach ball and kicked it into the ocean? WHAT IF two seals found it and began to play? WHAT IF a third seal appeared on the beach looking for a friend?   In this spare and deceptively simple book, Laura Vaccaro Seeger shows us the same story with three different outcomes, each highlighting the possibility in possibilities.Youngest children will enjoy this visit to the beach and the chance to guess what happens when different choices are made. (Amazon) Attention Span/reading level: 3-6, the only words in the whole book are "What if...?" and "but then..." The rest of the story is told by the pictures.  Good uses for book in teaching: Multiple choices/multiple outcomes, including friends Favorite part:       Mine: The ending Least favorite part: None W arnings/negative feedback: None.  Review: Spells out the choice a seal has when he is presented with two friends to play with. Does he choose to...

Summary:  Can you stretch to the ceiling? Can you stretch to the floor? You can stretch with a whisper, you can stretch with a roar! Doreen Cronin and Scott Menchin give new meaning to the yoga pose downward facing dog as publishing’s most energetic pooch explores the many, many ways a kid can get limber. More than simple toe touching, this pup stretches to ride a breeze, grab a snack from a tree, catch a wave. His bubble gum even gets in on the stretching action. POP! And he reminds us not to forget that we also need to stretch our imaginations (recognize that statue, anyone?). This interactive, energetic rhyming text will also help parents stretch out reading time with their youngsters. (Amazon) Attention Span/reading level: 3-6 years old Good uses for book in teaching: yoga/exercise  Favorite part:      Child: Stretching to the floor and ceiling, when the bubble pops      Mine: Stretching in outer space and the helping each other...

Summary: Two mice make a teeter totter. Soon a frog comes along and wants to join. Can the mice balance all the friends who want to play with them? Attention Span/reading level: 3-6 years old, usually 5 or less words on a page Good uses for book in teaching: Balance, science Favorite part:      Child: When the frog joins in     Mine: That the mice keep playing at the end  Least favorite part: None:   W arnings/negative feedback: None.  Review: This is a really simple but fun way to introduce the idea of balancing and weight to kids. It's fun to show them how it must be equal on each side to balance. Showing that size can affect weight is shown on the page where all the animals are on one side with the big bird on the other. This could be a fun activity to replicate with toys if doing a science lesson at home. 

Brief synopsis The character mix gets complex. There's a traitor, who we all hope redeems himself. There's an enemy that's openly being helpful. There's a government that is both for and against the group. There's a Guard member that might be more than she appears. And the Mogadorians (bad guys) are just around the corner from Earth. Category YA Fiction, Sci-Fi Why I chose this book Next in the series My personal opinion Great book, great series! The "good guys" are fighting well together, spreading themselves in many different directions. The story is completely fantasy, because of the superpowers and aliens. But the characters are not unbeatable, which pulls it in the direction of being credible. Love the surprise at the end! Warnings Language: mild, maybe one heavy Violence: frequent, and some mildly graphic "Adult" situations: kissing, one reference to a couple staying together overnight Death: frequent, and of major chara...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Mark Watney is stranded on Mars. The rest of the crew left without him, thinking he was dead. Communications have been knocked out, he's injured, and there are more ways to die than he can think of. Buckle up- this is going to be good. Category Sci-Fi Why I chose this book Movie coming out, book highly rated My personal opinion (the review) Daggummit, Andy! What does bad language add to a story? Nothing! You could have told JUST as gripping a story without the foul language. This one's going to bug me for a while, because it seems like a great book. But the language- ugh. Cannot recommend this book. Warnings Language: 4 f-bombs in the first chapter (stopped there) Violence: doubt it "Adult" situations: doubt it (he's alone on Mars) Death: hope not Movie rating equivalent R, for language alone Protagonist description Mark is an astronaut trapped on Mars Point of view of story First, from Mark's per...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) We've g ot numbers 4-10 together, and they're forming as a team. The Mogs and the government are completely entwined. The group needs to figure out how to take on the biggest alien army ever, embedded with the strongest government in the world. They're going to need all the help they can get! Category Sci-Fi, YA Why I chose this book Next in series My personal opinion (the review) Treachery and subplots abound, yay! Keeps things interesting. I'm very disappointed in the addition of a couple f-bombs! Totally unnecessary. I'm also a bit worried about John and Sarah getting a little too close, physically, but they keep things innocent so far. The attitudes and character traits of the main characters are coming together, overcoming vast differences. Still a great book, but fell short of excellent. Warnings Language: 2 f-bombs. Boo! Violence: fairly frequent, not very graphic "Adult" situations: getting kinda sk...

Brief synopsis We've got Four, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, and Ten now, and they're converging. They are also starting to learn how to use the items in their Chests. Mogs and the government are essentially one organization. Setrakus Ra is a big deal, and causing a big mess. Will the good guys win in the end? Category YA, Sci-Fi Why I chose this book Next in series My personal opinion Having the narrator change every chapter is disorienting for a few minutes, and I don't really like that. But I understand why the author does it- sometimes the characters are physically separate and there's no way to have just one character do all of the narration. But that's really my only gripe. Everything else is great. It's a fun read, kept my interest well, and I'm looking forward to starting the next in the series today. I can't imagine the movie doing any of these justice, though. Warnings Language: minor and infrequent Violence: frequent fighting, not...

Summary: Isabella is NOT Isabella. At least not when she is at the library. As she picks out books she becomes Dorothy, Captain Nemo, Black Beauty, Peter Pan, and Goldilocks.  Attention Span/reading level: My three year old loved it, though she didn't understand all the references. We read it three times in a row at her request and 10 minutes later she read it again with her Dad.  Good uses for book in teaching: Imagination, classic literature, about the library Favorite part:       Child: She loved pointing out the different characters each time they changed.      Mine: The references to many classical works of literature. That her parents are involved and read with her. Least favorite part: None: W arnings/negative feedback: None.  Review: This book was super cute, especially since I'm a book lover. I loved that Isabella imagined herself as all these different characters as she picked out books. I want my daug...

Summary: Molly is growing up in 1945 America in the middle of the war. She must make many sacrifices including having her father gone while he serves as a medic in Europe.  Attention Span/reading level: Small chapter books, 8+ (I listen with a three year old in the car.)  Good uses for book in teaching: Sacrifices made during war time. What it might be like having a father gone to war.  Favorite part: Honestly the only part I really liked was how it taught about the sacrifices family had to make during the war. Rations, having to eat food from your garden that you don't like, family members being gone, not having money for extra things.   I guess I also liked the scene where Molly's mother comes in and makes the parsnips that Molly doesn't want to eat better and tells about how she (the mother) had tried to hide not eating sardines by giving them to the dog when she was younger. It was a good mother-daughter moment.  Least favorite part: Moll...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) The series continues. The Loriens increase in strength and number, and more of their powers develop. Number Six is unstoppable! And numbers Seven, Nine, and Ten join the group, with number Four. The bad guys get worse- those that don't get wiped out! Category Sci-Fi, Fantasy Why I chose this book Next in series My personal opinion (the review) With the last book, the superhuman/alien aspect seemed almost believable. John and Henri were fallible and almost fragile. With this book, Six is completely unbeatable, so it's losing credibility. Rather, I'm able to separate my imagination from it, not dive in so deeply. Still a great book, but it could have used a bit of realism or a bit of failure, maybe. Warnings Violence: plentiful, and some pretty descriptive Language: rare and pretty mild Death: yes, and of several major characters "Adult" situations: teen love and some kissing, but nothing uncomfortable Movie rating...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): June and Day arrive in Vegas just as the unthinkable happens: the Elector Primo dies, and his son Anden takes his place. With the Republic edging closer to chaos, the two join a group of Patriot rebels eager to help Day rescue his brother and offer passage to the Colonies. They have only one request—June and Day must assassinate the new Elector. It’s their chance to change the nation, to give voice to a people silenced for too long.  But as June realizes this Elector is nothing like his father, she’s haunted by the choice ahead. What if Anden is a new beginning? What if revolution must be more than loss and vengeance, anger and blood—what if the Patriots are wrong? (Amazon) Category: YA dystopian  Why I chose this book: Second in a series My personal opinion (the review): As far as middle books in a trilogy go this book was better than most I've read. There was more action and things actually happened rather than just passing time t...