http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/books/review/notable-childrens-books-of-2012.html?ref=review Happy Reading!

My 6,128 Favorite Books – Interesting article http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444868204578064483923017090.html I especially liked the part about going back to a book that he read many years ago, only to find a metro card, or a message from a friend who has passed away.  You can’t get that with an e-reader, nook or kindle. Happy Reading!

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart I took this book with me on vacation last week.  I wanted to read it to see if it would be something my daughter would like.  I finished it in a day and a half.  I loved it.  I loved the characters, I loved their relationships, especially the forming and bonding of new friendships. The four main characters, Reynie, Sticky, Kate and Constance are selected by Mr. Benedict to go on a mission.  They are selected because they each have a special gift/talent.  Mr. Benedict has selected them to be spies at a school called  the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened (L.I.V.E.).…

I had read some Lois Lowry books before, but I was not aware of just how many she has written – and so many different types.  What an amazing writer and such a creative mind. My daughter and I read Anastasia Krupnik out loud a couple of years ago (for obvious reasons).  My daughter enjoyed it, but didn’t really want to read the rest in the series.  We were at the library one day about a month ago, and she decided to get it to read on her own.  This year, she has lots of reading time in her classroom (love that).  She brought it to school to begin it…

The Moon Over High Street by Natalie Babbit I saw this book recommended somewhere, so when I saw it in the new book section at the library, I immediately picked it up.  It was a very quick, enjoyable read. Joe Casimir is a thirteen year old boy who lives with his grandmother.  They are planning a trip to Midville to visit his Aunt Myra, whom he does not know.  His grandmother falls, so he has to go alone, until she can make it down herself.  While he is in this  strange town, with all new people in his life, it is as though he has come home.  Mr. Boulderwall, a…

The Willoughbys Nefariously Written & Ignominiously Illustrated by Lois Lowry Let me begin by saying sarcasm runs rampant through this house.   I loved this book, my daughter loved it, and my son loved it.  The characters were fun, the story was far-fetched, and it all came full circle.  It was a pleasure to read.  I read it in about a day – probably could have done it in one sitting, but having to be a parent really gets in the way (sarcasm).  Every night my daughter and I read a chapter, she wanted to read more.  When we finished, she took it to read on her own – she…

Holes by Louis Sachar I read this book when it first came out.  The librarian at the school where I taught  recommended it to me.  I loved it.  Of course, I didn’t have children yet, and to be honest, some of the children I worked with I expected to be in Juvenile Detention with 5 years!  I tried to convince my nephew to read it a few years ago, but he was more into the Sci-Fi books. I just finished rereading it.  I still loved it.  I couldn’t remember the way it had all come together.  So it was fun reading it again, knowing that something was going to happen,…

The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg. My friend, Brian, got me this book.  We were both in graduate school in NYC (he at Columbia, Teachers College, me at Bank Street)  He went to a book signing with E.L Konigsburg – I had just finished reading From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.  There is a reason E. L. Konigsburg was voted one of the 10 best authors (http://flavorwire.com/271020/the-10-best-authors-of-childrens-literature).  It was a present that I never expected.  Brian and I were best friends, he always made me laugh and made my time in NYC a lot of fun.  And, I have this beautiful book, signed by the…

We read several of the Little House series last year.  My daughter loved them.  She was studying colonial times in school, so this helped.  I must admit, they were a difficult read aloud.  There is not much dialogue, and lots of description.  I’m sure my daughter could read it on her own, but we chose to read it aloud together.  This year, my daughter has chosen Laura Ingalls Wilder to do a biography.  She is doing the research at school and needs to prepare a report to be given at the “Living Biography” party she will have in her classroom.  She has to dress like Laura Ingalls Wilder.  This past…

“For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die.” ― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life