One Chapter

The Monster in the Lake by Leo Timmers

5 stars Children’s Picture Book

Three ducks want to go to the lake but the mallard is worried about the monster. His friends say there is nothing to that story. When Mallard looks under the water at the lake he sees a huge monster fish. The monster fish smiles at him, and Mallard follows him under the water. Mallard finds at the bottom of the lake a huge party of monster fishes and Mallard has a good time down there. Mallards’ three friends are still swimming up above and don’t really notice that Mallard is gone until later. When they realize that Mallard is gone that are scared that he was taken by a monster until Mallard tells them that there’s no monster in the lake. Yet, as Mallard walks off on dry land, all the monsters from down below are making their way onland, happy smiling monsters.

Funny, cute story. The illustrations are amazing! It’s a simple story with few words but the story is good and has a good message. 5 stars

The Beat I Drum by Dusti Bowling

5 stars Middle School

“Positive: It’s great that none of us are perfect, because perfection is boring.”

He was trapped inside his own body, and he didn’t know the way out. It was just the way it was. He tries to control things, but it never worked. It was just the way it was.

“how about when you take a drink of something that goes down the wrong pipe, and you instantly start hacking and coughing and your eyes water and you can’t stop. Next time that happens, concentrate every bit of energy you have on NOT coughing. Just ignore that searing tickle in your lung. Can you image feeling that way all the time? I mean All. The. Time. Welcome to my life.” Welcome to the life of Connor who has Tourette’s Syndrome with Tics.

Connor lives with his mother in an apartment and when the landlord arrives at their door, Connor answers it. Mother and son know the apartment rules, yet the landlord knows firsthand that they are in violation of one of the rules. The landlord has also received a complaint from another resident. The threat of eviction looms over the family. How can they deny this violation when the landlord himself has witnessed it? They can’t. Welcome to the life of Connor who has Tourette’s Syndrome with Tics. Connor tic: barking like a dog.

Connor does have a handful of friends, but his attitude and emotions are hard on their relationship. When Connor finds himself under a peer’s radar, everyone around him is fair game, when the pressure gets too much. It takes time, patience, love, and understanding for Connor to finally put the pieces all together. The pieces that he had within himself, the whole time.

I felt for Connor on page one of this book. He wanted to be a normal child doing normal things yet here he was barking and letting his emotions get the best of him. His friends try to include him and yet, Connor can’t let go how much he is different from everyone else. Connor puts his own mark on his back while those that really like him, see Connor for Connor. I liked it when Connor started to unwrap the layers that had trapped him inside himself, and he allowed others in, and he allowed himself to be open. His family and friends finally get to see the real Connor then. Another fantastic book by Dusti Bowling !!

The Teacher of Nomad Land: A Story of World War II

5 stars Middle School

The apple never falls far from the tree. Another cover love title for me and I’m so glad I picked this book up. He was once a blackboard teacher with the nomads, and now, he is dead. An accident leaves Babak (age 13) and Sana (age 8) orphaned and the tribe without a teacher.

Its 1941 and we’re in Iran. Their father has just passed away, and the siblings are waiting for their aunt to pick them up. The children’s life is turned upside down when their aunt informs them of the new lifestyle that awaits them. I loved how Babak secretly kept an eye on his sister and how both of them tried to hide the reality of their lives from one another. They had dreams and even when other individuals were attempting to smash their dreams, they kept reaching for them.

Deciding to find the nomads, they set off, to make a life for themselves. They needed a safe haven, and they knew the nomads could provide that, but what could they offer in return? Their father had set the foundation and now, the siblings decided to follow in his footsteps. They would attempt to become the nomad’s teacher.

They hit a few snags along the way, including meeting Ben. The relationship with Ben provides the sibling strength and growth within themselves and strengthens the bond between them. I liked Ben as a character; he played his part well and was beneficial to the dynamics of the book.

A great book. The author’s notes at the end of the book are definitely worth reading as they’re informative, covering different topics addressed in the book: alliances, alphabet, territories, and language barriers.

“Never give up on your dreams, no matter how painful and difficult your journey is.” (Lisa).

The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny

4 stars Fiction

I admit this is my first Louise Penny novel I fell in love with the cover since I first laid eyes upon it. I love a great mystery, and I know she’s a very popular writer, but I was nervous jumping into a series without reading any of the previous books. In all honestly, I was a bit confused listening to this book on audio. I felt as if discussions were repeated and conversations were just too many. Regardless, I did enjoy reading The Grey Wolf. I enjoyed the realistic and true characters who were trying to piece together fragments of a mystery.

It begins with a phone call. Then comes the break-in. Too many things are happening and they’re happening fast. The discovery of the small slip of paper inside the jacket. It’s a small piece of paper which might not seem like much, but it is just the beginning. Water. Something we all need and unfortunately, take for granted. When this resource is threatened, Gamache is quick to act. The how, where, and why are the questions Gamache needs to answer quickly as individuals’ lives are at risk. Reaching across the globe the team begins to try to piece this puzzle all together.

I liked how Gamache worked to get this case under control. Reaching across the globe, many individuals were connected , grasping at anything they could find. Did they finally get the answers they were searching for? Time will tell as we wait for the next book. 4 stars

Begin Again by Oliver Jeffers

4.5 stars

We all need to read this book. Oliver Jeffers brings together a lot of issues in this book that in my own country today we are facing head-on. Jeffers speaks of a “world” yet in my own country, this book even applies to us. We are full of strangers right now, a country divided but we are still the same, people who “like to feel warm both on the skin and in the heart.”

Our country is a divided one, a nation that has been built on a firm foundation is now cracking and it’s heartbreaking. Jeffers talks in his author notes why he wrote the book, and I suggest you read this also.

Where are we headed? What will happen? Great question as like Jeffers talks about, we’re all running, racing to the end. Pulling and competing with one another, choosing based on the concept that it’s “more important to be right over wrong than to be better over worse.” “WE ARE BLIND”

I totally agree with Jeffers, we have to keep an eye on the past and the present to be successful. We can’t forget what we have seen or experienced. WE must work together as a part of the crew for we are “no longer passengers on this ship, “ we are all part of the story. Great story but not for younger readers more for adults or mature readers. Read it slowly and think about it as your read. 4.5 stars

There Was An Old Scientist Who Swallowed a Dinosaur by Lucille Colandro

2 stars Children’s Picture Book

take on I Know An Old Lady, this book adds pages of information between the traditional rhyming storyline which my grandchildren did not like. In the traditional rhyming storyline, a person swallows various items, correlating to the previous swallowed item and then, at the end, they spit everything out. In this book, between each of the pages of the scientist swallowing items, there is a two-page spread of two children questioning each other about dinosaurs.

This questioning is told in a rhyming format, and it is informative, but it does throw off the pace /rhythm that a reader gets into when reading one of the “I Know an Old Lady” books.

The illustrations are fun and colorful also. There’s a glossary of terms at the back of the book which is informative.

There is also a game of Search and Find which is outlined in the back of the book, where you can go back through the pages in the book and find about 20 items that are listed and illustrated in the pages at the back of the book.

I think the reason why I didn’t care for this book was the interruption in the flow of the rhythm of the book and the ending. The scientist had been swallowing all this “stuff “ throughout the book and the last couple items that she swallows, there are no tie ins into the previous items that are already inside her. What happened to that sequencing? It suddenly stopped. What finally happens to this scientist who swallowed all this “stuff” inside her at the end? Who knows.

My feelings: don’t mess with a good series. If you want to be creative, make another book and make it different but don’t tie it in with a series, if it doesn’t follow the same format.

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Rainbow by Lucille Colandro

3 stars Children’s Picture Book

A take on I Know An Old Lady, this book follows the same rhyming storyline. A person swallows various items, correlating to the previous swallowed item and then, at the end, they spit everything out.

We thought while reading this version of the story, that some of the items that she swallowed items were strange. She swallowed glitter to brighten the cloud (which shows clouds sparked with glitter) and in the next few pages, she swallowed a cone to catch the glitter.

Why would she want to catch the glitter that is now brightening the cloud? She’s then swallowing a pole to lift the cone.

I understood at the end what the purpose was but perhaps she could have swallowed something different to create the final scene.

We weren’t fans of this version. 3 stars

Three-Inch Teeth by CJ Box

3.5 Stars Mystery

Ha! Three-inch teeth….that was just part of the problem. I have to give it to him, he was smart, almost too smart. He had a gift, and he used it to his advantage. Clever guy, oh yes he was. This was one of those books where things were falling together and I didn’t realize it until the gloves were off and bodies were falling.

He got out of prison, and he wants revenge. He’s not doing it alone which added some excitement to this book. The bodies start piling up, but something is just not adding up, the authorities are baffled. Who can connect the dots and figure this one out?

I liked Dallas’ idea as it was creative and innovative. Realistic? I’m not so sure but perhaps someday we’ll get there. As they were unraveling the mystery, I felt that it was done quickly, and swiftly. Listening to this book, I did feel that there were a lot of individuals to keep track of, and it was hard sometimes to keep everyone separate. 3.5 stars

Nine Open Arms by Benny Lindelauf

3 stars YA

To be completely honest, I got lost a few times reading this book. There were stories that led me down paths that I got completely absorbed in, only to realize that they were just a part of the bigger picture. I got used to the strange names that were used within the book and the glossary at the beginning of the book clarified things when I first started reading. If you’re willing to take a chance, you just like this adaptation and enjoy the stories that grandmother shared.

Dad was a dreamer. A job-hopper. Dad was always looking for the next best deal, because you never knew when you might land on “ the one.” “The one” that would be his family’s next ticket, his dad’s dream come true. Unfortunately, every switch in employment meant another move, another city, and another home. The rest of the family was tired of moving, but father, he never got tired of searching or dreaming.

It is 1937, the land that was before them was drier than dirt. Almost two months without rain and well, dad saw inspiration in all the bleakness around them. As they walked down Sjlammbams Saharon, they were pulling their large handcar. They hoped their new home would appear soon. Hidden, they spotted the house, the large house. Its condition sufficient but there was something about the old house that seemed off. Located away from town, it’s located next to the local cemetery, just down the road from the border of Germany. If there was one good thing about this house, it was that each of them would have their own room.

Grandma has brought her Crocodile bag of goodies with her and what a great place to unpack them, inside a house which has lots to offer. Grandma is a true storyteller and she had me along for the ride as she reflected on the lives of the individuals inside her bag.

From the stories that Grandma pulled from her Crocodile bag to the happenings of the family, the family seemed to be always busy. I was confused at times while reading, the narration pulling me off into a direction I wasn’t sure where. It was a different book for me, 3 stars

The Imposter by Kelly Collier

5 stars Children’s Picture Book

Oh, how funny! He only wanted a family. His own family, someone who would want and love him. Perhaps he might just get his chance. Seeing a Lost Poster for Max, a black and white dog, he wonders if perhaps he might take the place of Max. Would the owners of Max even know he is not Max? It is worth a shot.