Archive for book reviews
March 3, 2008 at 10:54 am · Filed under home education, curriculum, book reviews, books
My kids have a tendency to start at step ten. They don’t want to do basic stuff; they want to start with the coolest of advanced projects. From the time Brad was about 10 he had visions of building a robot. But it had to be a fully functional robot that did something. I was not much help in this category, and he was frustrated with my suggestions to learn about wiring as a first step.
When I tracked down a book called Build Your Own Underwater Robot and Other Wet Projects, he was thrilled. It features step by step instructions that were easy to follow, with each project resulting in an actual working remotely operated vehicle. It’s no R2D2, but it was a pretty successful project, as I detailed here.
The book features a brief history of undersea exploration and a look at the capabilities of modern underwater vehicles, along with instructions for creating four different projects: a diving bell, an underwater habitat, and underwater glider, and an ROV. The instructions are very clear; a teen would be able to craft a vehicle on his/her own, but a younger child would benefit from some adult assistance. It’s kind of an obscure title, but one worth looking for if your child is interested in this sort of thing. The publisher is in Canada, but offers buying options for US customers.
Check out all of the books posted for Nonfiction Monday over at Anastasia Suen’s blog.
November 29, 2007 at 11:34 am · Filed under My Musings, book reviews
This is the BEST Christmas book EVER. And it’s back! Candlewick Press has republished it and it’s now available (though I’m not sure what a midi edition is?). Jules over at 7 Imp posted about holiday books today and BAM! there was the cover right in the middle of the post. Incidentally, Jules concurs with my brilliant assessment that this book rocks. And of course, we’re both right. 
November 2, 2007 at 8:07 am · Filed under publishing, book reviews, books
There’s an interesting article up at Publishing Trends that discusses the traditional method of dispersing ARCs, or Advance Reader Copies of newly published books. No more are these books going out only to professional reviewers. Now, real people are getting ARCs via a number of different programs (one from LibraryThing). I’m a big believer in word of mouth, and tried to get my first book publisher to send out ARCs to a select list of readers (to no avail, I might add).
I daresay that the internet plays a big role here. With so many people blogging, there’s a much grander audience for those real readers when they really like a book. Not only do they tell the ladies at the salon, but they’ll blog about the book and probably link to the book, creating a real live “book meme” as blog readers follow the link trail to learn more if the book looks interesting, and then blog about it themselves. What do you think? Would publishers be including real readers in their marketing plans without the internet? Should publishers (or those marketing for publishers) pay for blog posts about a book?
October 31, 2007 at 10:01 am · Filed under book reviews
I’m not big on coloring books, and have even kind of turned up my nose at some of those anti-coloring books that claim to be more creative. But I have to admit that Squiggles is pretty cool. I don’t think it’s a replacement for doing creative artwork, but for those times when my youngest used to moan, “I don’t know what to draw!” this would have been perfect. The drawings are very chunky, and the lines are big and bold so coloring within the lines is really not the focus. Each page has a prompt of sorts, for instance a picture of a big bowl with the statement, “This can be eaten with a spoon.” Presumably, little artists will fill in the bowl with a food item of their choice. Of course (you knew this was coming), I like that there isn’t one correct “answer”, but instead kids can get creative with their coloring.
My young niece will be getting this for her birthday!
October 14, 2007 at 5:00 pm · Filed under curriculum, book reviews, books
I can’t recall if I’ve mentioned here how much I love the book, Material World, though I know I’ve mentioned it in comments on other blogs. It is an amazing pictorial, showing various families from around the world with their material possessions along with text describing the families and how they live. My kids have loved this book.
Now, from the same photojournalist, Peter Menzel, comes Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. Again, through the images in this book, readers are introduced to families from all over the world and we learn just what each family eats in a week. UNbelievable.
Hungry Planet is a new release; I just got my copy last week and already I can tell that together with Material World, these two books have been one of the best “educational” investments we’ve made. Inspiring some pretty interesting conversations (not to mention the map searches) these books are serious “social studies” material. The kids are completely intrigued every time they pick them up.
October 1, 2007 at 6:24 am · Filed under publishing, book reviews, books
The lovely folks organizing the 2007 Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards - otherwise known as the Cybils - are now accepting nominations! I won’t be participating this year, but I feel it is my duty to keep you all informed about the opportunity to give a shout out to your favorite books of 2007. Anyone can nominate a book (try that with Oscar!), though you are limited to one nomination in each category. To nominate a book, you’ll need to go here.
August 28, 2007 at 1:17 pm · Filed under book reviews, books
I love the Dalai Lama! I’m currently reading The Art of Happiness and it is just so…positive.
…there may be differences in cultural background or way of life, there may be differences in our faith, or we may be of a different color, but we are human beings, consisting of the human body and the human mind….I find it much easier to communicate with others on that level. If we emphasize specific characteristics, like I am Tibetan or I am Buddhist, then there are differences. But those things are secondary. If we can leave the differences aside, I think we can easily communicate, exchange ideas, and share experiences.
Thanks to Larramie for the suggestion to read Lottery, it will be our next book club pick. Turns out the author - Patricia Wood - is from Oahu, so even kind of local.
The last book club pick, Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See is worth a mention here. Set in rural China in the 1800s, the story traces a special friendship between two women during a time when women were little valued. With a brutally honest look at the custom of footbinding, as well as a secret writing method called nu shu which was used exclusively by women, this book gives readers an intimate glimpse into another culture and another time.
And finally, who said writing books for kids is easy? Linda Sue Park gives her blog readers an honest look at one round of editorial feedback.
August 10, 2007 at 3:52 pm · Filed under fun stuff, book reviews
Authors love book reviews. Unless, of course, they’re like this:
The Catcher in the Rye (1951)
J.D. Salinger
“So many other good books…don’t waste your time on this one. J.D. Salinger went into hiding because he was embarrassed.”
Many more like it, here. Good for a giggle.
July 28, 2007 at 4:41 pm · Filed under publishing, fun stuff, book reviews, books
I finished the seventh book in the series yesterday. Wow. I was sad at the end, not because of the deaths (well, maybe a little) but because it was over. The whole series. No more looking forward to the next one, no more waiting to find out what happens, no more fighting between kids and adults to read. To READ! People are fighting over the chance to read because of J.K. Rowling. Many people have critiqued her for not being an excellent writer, and yet she crafted a story and an entire world that inspired people to pick up a book (or seven). I have to wonder who will fill those shoes.
Like Tim, I do wish that Hogwarts had played a larger role in the story. I found a couple of chapters to be slow and almost dispensable; tThe first one-third of the book was a little slow for me. The latter portion was exciting though, and I was surprised more than once.
A few fun Harry Potter things to note, and then I’m moving on:
The current issue of Muse magazine has an excellent article on the whole Harry Potter phenomenon worth checking out. Some factoids:
400,800 trees were needed to make the paper for the initial print run of HP. According to Eco Chick (warning - spoiler), Scholastic saved 200,000 trees with the US printing by using eco-friendly paper.
J.K. Rowling earned $75,000,000 in 2005.
The Deathly Hallows audiobook will run 21 hours long.
Mugglenet, a HP fan site created by a (then) 12-year-old homeschooled boy by the name of Emerson Spartz averages 1.5 million hits per day. A site with this kind of traffic can generate as much as $4500 per DAY.
Play Harry Potter Hangman or try your hand at a HP crossword.
Harry Central at Kidsreads.com features the aforementioned spellbook, a Harrypedia, and free bookmarks.
Finally, in response to the Harry Potter spoilers and the gargantuan efforts made by the publishers to avoid them, Seth Godin writes:
My solution? A hybrid. Publish the first edition of the book without the last three chapters….Every purchaser then gets access (hey, everyone gets access) to the last three chapters on launch day.
July 16, 2007 at 7:09 am · Filed under publishing, book reviews, books
Today is Tell an Author You Care Day. Emily Beeson from Whimsy had an author experience that led her to create this one-day event. Emily says that you can:
“1. Write a letter or email to a favorite author. I think JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer receive plenty of fan letters. Think of an author you love that may need a little boost.
2. Write a positive review on Amazon and, if you want to, link to it in your blog.
3. Buy a book by a favorite author and give it to someone who will enjoy it.
4. Profile an author in your blog. I’m not talking just another review. Tell us a little about the author and mention at least one of his/her books that you love.”
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