Stars: ****1/2I read this book for the Celebrate the Author challenge and the Reading My Name challenge.

Celebrate the Author Note:
Dr. Seuss is one of my favourite children’s authors so I didn’t want to cheat and just re-read some of his books that I’ve read a million times. So I decided I’d read a few of this books I haven’t read yet as well as a book about his life.

This book is a Children’s Non-Fiction book about he early life of Dr. Seuss, before he was known as that. It explains who he was as a boy and how he came to be an author and artist. The story itself is written like a picture book and ends when he is 22 and his writing life is taking off. After that is an explanation of how he came up with the idea for some of his books as well as information on his life after 22 such as when he was married and how The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham were the result of bets by his publisher.

Stars: *****

This was read for the Book Awards Challenge, Read it Again Challenge and Newbery Project.

I first read this in grade school and loved it. When I saw I needed to read it for the Newbery Project I decided to reread it and I'm glad I did. I remembered it almost exactly and I enjoyed it very much again. I love his writing and would like to try some more of his books to see if they are as well written.

I decided that I wanted to log the number of pages read too since I read short books too and it will seem like I read more than I did. My review lists also don't include all the picture books I read.

The Daring Book for Girls by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz (thumbed through, not cover to cover)
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell (192)
Booked to Die by John Dunning (317)
The Biography of Bananas by Rachel Eagen(32)
Bananas! by Jacqueline Farmer (32)
Splitting Harriet by Tamara Leigh (388)
Death in Kingsport by Curtis Parkinson (315)
Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (272)
Through a Brief Darkness by Richard Peck (142)
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom (192)
For Parents Only by Shaunti Feldhahn and Lisa Rice (179)
A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck(148)
Strays Like Us by Richard Peck (155)
The Bookman's Wake by John Dunning (362)

Total: 14 Books
Fiction: 10

Stars: ***1/2

This book was read as part of the R.I.P. II challenge. It was an extra book.

I'm glad I got to this book. It was a good book, but I rated it 3 1/2 stars because it wasn't what I would want in a ghost-hunting manual. Most of it was about different kinds of ghosts and lots of case stories. Although I imagine you would need to know about types of ghosts to be a ghost-hunter I do think more information would be needed on actually looking for ghosts. There was a section on making and using some tools to find ghosts but there should have been much more. This book was more of a guide to types of ghosts.

Stars: *****

This is the first audio book I’ve ever heard/read. I listened to it on my ipod mini as I walked to and from playgroups and the library with my kids. I’ve always been wary of audio books for two reasons. 1. I didn’t think they were really reading, that they didn’t count. 2. I didn’t think I could follow it.

Stars: ****

I was interested in reading this book ever since I first read a review of it. I’ve seen so many reviews for it since that I can’t remember where I first saw it! I finally was able to fit time in to read it for the Bibliography challenge and Book Around the World challenge and I’m glad I did.

Stars: ****

I re-read this for the Christmas Theme Challenge only because I wasn't able to get to the library to get a new-to-me book. It was also for the Read It Again challenge.

I read this book every year in the week of Christmas (although it only takes me a day to read it.)

Stars: ****1/2

I watch the cartoon every year and thought it was about time I read the book. I counted this as a R.I.P. II Challenge book. I actually read it a few days before Halloween just forgot to review it till now. Oops.

I enjoyed the book although I enjoyed the cartoon more. There were a few parts that were a little wordy for me, (apparently Bradbury's style.)

It's a great Halloween book for those 12 and up to learn about the history and customs of Halloween. Where trick-or-treating and costumes come from. Very educational.

Stars ***

This book was read for the Reading the Author challenge and the Fall Into Reading 2007 Challenge.

Strays Like Us is the story of Molly who is temporarily living with her great-aunt until her mother gets out of the hospital. She’s moved all over; all her life. Molly meets Will who’s staying next door with his grandparents. The town seems to be fully of strays.

It was a cute book with an interesting storyline but there was one part in it that played to a stereotype that doesn’t need any fueling. If it weren’t for that this book would have gotten 4 stars.

Stars: *****

This book was read for the Book to Movie Challenge.

I always loved the movie and I'm glad I read the book. There were some differences like the shoes were silver and not red (ruby) and there were lots of new things like more creatures than the munchkins. It was very creative and interesting. There are more than 20 books in the series, 14 of which were written by Frank Baum and I'd love to read them all. Unfortunately my library has 1, 2, 4, 6 and 11. *rolling eyes*

Highly Recommended.

Stars: ****

Read for book group and for Children's Book Week

Good story, very literary, full of literary devices. It was a little too wordy for me. I prefer short and concise to long and detailed. It wasn’t too bad though and I just skipped a paragraph or two if it was too much for me.

Stars: ***1/2I read this book for the Four-Legged Friends and In Their Shoes challenges.

This book wasn’t exactly what I was imagining it to be. With a title of Dog Years and a genre of memoir, it was obvious it would be about someone’s life with dogs. However it’s more than that. It delves into the author’s life more than the average memoir and in fact, it’s labelled with a biography sticker at my library. The first 4 chapters I found quite dry and hard to follow. The antedotes about the dogs were interesting but he seemed to ramble on about his life and his view of life. From chapter 5 on however it got better. The stories got more interesting and I could tell there was a shift in style so that the story flowed easier.

Stars: ****

This book was read for the 2nds Challenge.

I chose this book because I had read Gone Forever and liked it so much, I wanted to try more Diane Fanning.

Stars: *****

This was read for the R.I.P. II Challenge and was partially read during the Read-a-thon.

This book is the first John Saul I've ever read. I picked it up because of the witch burning connotation. It was very good. I was daunted by the size at first but it wasn’t a problem. At the beginning I had a little trouble keeping people straight, so many characters but it wasn’t too much further in that I figured it out. I could indentify with Angel on the teasing aspect.

Warning: talk about abuse and even teasing can be disturbing.

I will be reading more John Saul, that's for sure.

Stars: ****1/2

This book was read for the Newbery Project and the Decades 08 Challenge.

NOTE: The picture isn't of the version I read but I can't find it right now. When I go home I'll write down the ISBN and next time come and find the right graphic.

I had never heard of Doctor Dolittle until the Eddie Murphy movie came out and although the movie was silly, the idea of being able to talk to animals was an interesting one. So when I found out it was a book first I knew I wanted to read it. One day I found it at a library sale and I took it home.

Stars: *****

I recieved this book for review from Random House.
Wow. Received for review and I’m so glad. This is similar to A Far Cry From Home but mostly the story of one girl instead of many. I have not read Girlbomb which is the author’s story of herself homeless.

Stars: *****

This book was read for the Reading the Author challenge.

I had major Deja Vu when reading this book. I think I may have read it before but I couldn't remember what happened before it happened so if I did, it was many years ago. This is the first Richard Peck I've ever read and I loved it.

Stars: ****

This book was read for the Reading the Author challenge.

This one was better although I still think I liked A Brief Darkness better. It’s hard to say, they are so different. This one is actually a Newbery Honor book, National Book Award finalist and an ALA Notable Book.

Stars: ***1/2 These books were read for the Decades 08 Challenge and as part of the A Novel Challenge Mini-Challenge 2008.

Alice in Wonderland was first published in 1865 and Through the Looking Glass was first published in 1871. However I read a 2006 edition by Parragon Publishing in the UK. It’s a part of the Children’s Classic Collection. (not the cover pictured)

This was the first time I’d ever read these books, which I thought were one book, but I did know the storyline from the movie. Although I liked the movie, I wasn’t as fond of the book. Since the majority of what happens in the story is nonsense, it can be hard to follow so the movie made it a little easier. I’m not real fond of either though. They are well written and very creative, but just a little too strange for me.

Stars: ****

This book was read for the Unread Authors Challenge and because I won it in a contest.

I actually read this a few months ago but didn't get a chance to review it.

I really enjoyed this book, the storyline was very well thoughtout and very interesting. My only problem with this book was it was a little long. I like books that cut to the chase and don't have a lot of insignifcant detail (like Ray Bradbury.) I think a few chapters could have been cut from this book and it would still have been fine.

Stars: **1/2

I read this book the last few days of October (I thought I'd already reviewed it) for an online group however I was counting it towards an extra R.I.P. II Challenge book as well.

Lots of people read this book for the RIP challenge but I seem to be the only one who didn't like it. I didn't like it for the same reason others liked it. It's too wordy for me. I don't like long, detailed descriptions. I like short and concise. For me, the plot got lost in the descriptions. Half the time I had no idea what was going on.

Stars: ***1/2

This book was read for the Casual Reading Challenge and the Back to History Challenge.

This story takes place in 1887. Julia, who used to live in a city apartment with her grandmother and had her dressed made by private dressmakers and servants to make her food is sent to live with her country cousins on a farm. She hates everything about the farm and her cousins and is so wrapped up in her misery that when she breaks her leg, she feels totally trapped. There is nothing to do except get to know her cousins better. Maybe they aren’t as bad as she thought.

Stars: ***1/2This book was read for the A to Z Challenge.

This is a cute story of a boy who really wants a dog but instead of getting a dog for his birthday, he gets a picture of a dog. After getting over the initial disappointment and anger he finds a way to have a dog he can see only with his eyes shut. (Imaginary) I can’t really say more without spoiling the story but the book has good lessons in it. As explained in the afterword by the author, the book is specifically written so that you have to wait in suspense to find out what will happen next. This makes up for the lack of large adventures and opposing forces in most kid’s books.
It’s a sweet story but it wasn’t really my style or it would have received a higher rating.

Stars: ****

This book was read for the Four-Legged Friends challenge and the Fall Into Reading challenge. This book was read in November.

This is a tween novel, ages 9 and up about a boy who is thrown overboard of a ship to save his life and is washed up on an island full of dogs. The dogs were left behind by the former islanders. The dogs have split into two groups, with the more wild dogs called Fangoes by the sheep dogs. However it's been a while since people were on the island and most of the dogs don't remember humans. The boy, Jack, is the first human they've seen and he doesn't fit what they have heard about humans.

Stars: ****

I recieved this book from MotherTalk.

I asked to review this book because I’ve been intrigued by life in Muslim countries. I’ve read other books on Muslim culture so I asked to review this one.

Stars: ****

I received this book to review from Tundra Books.

Summary: When 14 year old Neil’s uncle Chester dies, Neil is lonely. At his uncle’s cremation, he hears thumping in the coffin just as it’s put into the flames. Could Uncle Chester be alive? So Neil starts an investigation. A disembodied voice in an old stable tells him that Chester’s passing is not the only mysterious death in town, Neil along with his friend Graham work to get to the bottom of what’s happening.

Stars: *****

I chose this book because I picked it up at a library sale but I’m 95% sure I’ve actually read this once before. This is also the first 5 Star book of 2008. (Even thought it's not the first 5-star review posted.) I also read this for the Casual Reading Challenge.

It’s the story of Lauren and her friend Andrea who both feel too fat and want to lose weight. Only Andrea takes it too far. It’s the story of Anorexia and a teen girl’s pressure to be thin. It’s told very well and I think it would be the perfect book to read along with your teen and discuss. I think if more parents discussed this book with their teens, we might make teens more aware of anorexia and the warning signs.
I HIGHLY recommend this book to all teen girls ages 12 and up.

Stars: *****
This review is part of a Blog Tour by Multnomah Books. I also read it for the Pub in 08 Challenge.

Summary: When a man turns up dead in a teddy bear costume, Ginger and the other ladies of the Bargain Hunters Network learn a lesson about trusting in God rather than in wealth as they try to solve the crime and clear one of their own

First of all, I gotta say, that when I got the offer to review this book, I had a good laugh. After all, how often is it do hear a book title like this one? There was no way I could say no to this one, I just HAD to know what it was all about. I’m sure glad I did say yes because I relished every moment I was reading this book.

It’s not too often you have such humour mixed in with a murder mystery. I could definitely see the two being mixed in such a way that detracts from the book but Sharon Dunn put them together spectacuarly.