Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai My rating: 4 of 5 stars A beautiful verse novel about a young girl’s move from war-torn Saigon to Alabama in 1975. I read this right after Dogtag Summer. They are nice companion books, both providing a glimpse into what it was like for children during the Vietnam War. Our biggest minority… Read more →
Do you like scary? Then this one’s for you. Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney My rating: 4 of 5 stars Tom, the youngest brother in a big family, is never going to inherit his father’s farm. However, as the seventh son of a seventh son, he is qualified to become the Spook’s apprentice. The Spook is a feared… Read more →
I love reading aloud in October. The only problem is that I don’t have enough time to share all my favorites with my students!
So, it was Father’s Day last Sunday. Per usual, I’m approximately 4 days behind the rest of the world’s calendar. That’s not to say I didn’t give my dad a hug on Sunday (we had him over for a cookout), but I didn’t exactly get his gift to him that day. I delivered it last night. What do you give… Read more →
According to my bookshelf on Goodreads, I read 143 books in 2009. It’s actually more than that because I didn’t start adding to Goodreads until partway through the year. The rest of my list is here. But anyway… I gave 18 of them 5 stars. They are: So you’d think these would be my favorites of 2009, right? Um, kind… Read more →
I know, school’s already out for most of you, so this post is a little too late. But most of these books are not actually Christmas stories. Instead, they have broader themes of what it means to give and receive. So they can make wonderful read alouds any time of year, right? (All titles guaranteed to bring contented sighs and/or… Read more →
I have a new gig. I’ve started reviewing for Booklist. Yes, I’ll be getting sneak peeks at new picture books! But what I’m really, REALLY excited about is that Booklist is going to be cleaning my bathrooms! Huh, you say? Well, stick with me here….a while back I banned myself from all other kinds of writing except middle grade fiction… Read more →
By PDGACO gaballaloans.co.uk