tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63250309852652707922012-02-09T16:21:40.410-06:00Mister Knoreply@blogger.comBlogger2351100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-56415589475813208312012-02-09T16:20:00.001-06:002012-02-09T16:21:40.417-06:00

What I love about this series is that while the main characters are total nerds in school, getting picked on mercilessly, they have secret identities with which they do things like... oh... save the world!  Imagine getting shoved in a locker one moment, and fighting evil villains with your super powers the next.  It's all very creative, with interesting characters, all sorts of cool spy tools

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-42206378723386511422012-02-09T16:07:00.002-06:002012-02-09T16:07:30.197-06:00

Lots and lots of gloves.  A city where everyone must wear gloves at all times!  A dad who never really talks, won't look his daughter in the eyes, and is obsessed with gloves! Weird mouthless dogs that terrorize entire villages.  A very small bad guy.  A very big good guy, who is also a bad guy.  A magical shack. A humongous orphanage.  An age-defying mystery.  Strange holes in the ground.  A

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-33721905261352835532012-01-28T22:34:00.000-06:002012-01-28T22:35:50.072-06:00

If you're reading a book, and the main character keeps telling you to go check out his website, do you think that's cool, or annoying?  It bugged me, but maybe you would like that kind of thing. This book is narrated by a boy called Cheesie Mack, a 5th-grader with an annoying sister, grumpy grandpa, funny friend, and your fair share of typical 5th grade problems.  It centers around the end of

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-58923238835236524162012-01-28T22:23:00.000-06:002012-01-28T22:23:26.110-06:00

No, this isn't my normal type of recommendation.  However, I picked this book up at Barnes and Noble last week, and neither my almost-3-year-old son nor I have been able to put it down. In this beautiful hardcover book, fifty classic nursery rhymes have been totally modernized and reinterpreted by big-shot comics artists.  The words are the same Mother Goose we learned from our grandparents,

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-52649209863590349032012-01-25T22:48:00.002-06:002012-01-25T22:48:35.845-06:00

Who do you call when Fairy Tale creatures begin to cause trouble in the real world?  The Grimms, of course.  Unfortunately, twelve-year old Sabrina and her little sister Daphne have no clue how this will affect them, they only know that after a year and a half of terrible foster homes after their parents' mysterious disappearance, an old lady who seems to be absolutely bonkers is trying to get

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-71046649699934279172012-01-16T22:28:00.000-06:002012-01-16T22:28:57.880-06:00

When Jake's mom takes a tumble and is out of action in the hospital for a while, he's got a surprise babysitter:  His long-lost grandfather!  When the routines he is used to are all shaken up, how will Jake manage this strange reunion with his mysterious relative?  Between his grandpa's grumpy attitude and killer dog, Jake has his work cut out for him to survive this adventure. This is a nice

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-39198738720108286332011-12-11T22:08:00.001-06:002011-12-26T14:33:05.385-06:00

Scrabble Time!  Yes, I bought this book because I'm a major Scrabble fan, and it did not disappoint.  The story focuses on four sixth-graders from different parts of the country who all end up at the Youth Scrabble Tournament in Yakamee, Florida.  Each player ended up there through a very unique set of circumstances, and it's fascinating to watch the different story lines as they twist and

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-54386200161673898142011-12-11T22:06:00.001-06:002011-12-26T14:13:37.270-06:00

It's not easy being a teenage boy.  For Milo, that's especially true because his mom passed away, and his dad is NOT the same guy he used to be.  To top it off, the girl of Milo's dreams doesn't know he exists (until he sneezes on her), but the weird girl who lives next door won't leave him alone.  This is Milo's story, told from his point of view, about how to find his place in the world, and

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-2590017900599069752011-11-20T20:44:00.001-06:002011-11-20T21:01:56.770-06:00

Daralynn's life is hard.  Her father and siblings have just died in a terrible accident, and her mother refuses to shed a single tear.  Her aunt has fallen in love with a strange man who has shown up with promises to bring their sleepy midwestern town into the future, and her uncle seems to have a secret of his own.  To top things off, Daralynn's grandmother seems to be losing her wits, and is

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-52767406540569588652011-11-14T06:49:00.001-06:002011-11-14T06:57:14.958-06:00

This is a creepy book.  Two teens accept an invitation to a distant uncle's mansion deep in the Vermont woods, and when they get there realize that they're being pulled into a game like they have never played before.  Their first clue that something odd is afoot is when the uncle takes their clothes away (and burns them) and gives them starched shirts and knickerbockers to wear, as if it were

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-29874786364081546592011-11-04T21:06:00.000-06:002011-11-04T21:06:45.987-06:00

If you love solving puzzles and mental challenges of all sorts, this is the mystery novel you're looking for.  There's hidden treasure, a cranky librarian, shadowy evildoers, tasty pizza, and a retired police officer who doesn't seem to realize he's retired.  It all begins when young Winston, the puzzle-loving genius, finds a used wooden box with a fake bottom containing clues to a grand

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-86139005885010103092011-10-27T22:48:00.000-05:002011-11-14T06:47:13.190-06:00

How do you change your reputation? Fifth grader Clay Hensley was doing everything in his power to show his school that he could be just as big a troublemaker as his big brother, and he was succeeding.  His file in the principal's office was as thick as a phone book!  When his brother was arrested and then released from jail six months later, things began to change, though.  Clay decided to

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-62150516579053673082011-10-27T22:45:00.000-05:002011-10-27T22:45:34.695-05:00

Yum.  Yum, yum, yummy.  You have no idea how many times I wanted to just set this book down and go make a pie.  That's the type of book it is: Inspiring.  Mouth-watering.  Yummy. The story is about Alice, a nice girl whose aunt was the town's award-winning pie maker, and possibly the nicest lady ever.  When her aunt dies, Alice has to deal with that loss, but also the craziness that takes over

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-62971734932594085952011-10-23T11:55:00.000-05:002011-10-23T11:55:02.707-05:00

This is a book that will leave you wondering what is real and what is imagined.  Young Alex loves to create things with cardboard boxes and other bits of junk he's collected, but his biggest challenge comes when his pesky little brother threatens to foil his latest invention.  When Alex is forced to reveal his plans for escape into outer space in his cardboard spacecraft, he must find a way to

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-44536644682179520702011-10-22T15:02:00.000-05:002011-10-22T15:02:19.848-05:00

Three girls with bright red blazers would not really strike me as the ideal undercover detectives, but I would be wrong.  Just like Nancy Drew, but more modern, less wealthy, and much more interesting, three twelve-year-old students at a New York City private Catholic school for girls are the hottest crime-fighting team in town.  When these young ladies meet a nutty old lady with clues to a

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-61750708049527014912011-10-19T17:01:00.000-05:002011-10-19T17:01:15.894-05:00

Yes, this book has an awesome title, and check out that illustration!  Yes, he's flying, and no, it's not because of super powers.  Can you tell this book is going to be a little silly? Surprisingly, it's not as silly as you would expect.  This is a serious story of friendship, scientific experiments, what it's like to be the new kid, and how to deal with nasty neighbors.  The plot is focused

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-10462024082379409222011-10-06T22:44:00.001-05:002011-10-06T22:44:54.760-05:00

t To be honest, I read this because 1) The guy is a local author, and 2) A friend told me I really should.  I'm not a baseball guy, and have been disappointed by many sports novels, so did not have high expectations for this book. Luckily for all you readers, I was pleasantly surprised by this engaging, well-written book.    Mr. Coy really knows how to keep the balance between lots of sports

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-62204961659500769042011-10-06T22:27:00.003-05:002011-10-06T22:29:28.323-05:00

This is one of those books that, while it feels a bit outdated, has really stood the test of time.  For 49 years Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin have captivated readers with their fabulous journey into the great and somewhat creepy depths of space to rescue a lost father, and the writing still sparkles.  Are there more engaging and easy to follow works of fantasy for young people these days?  

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-41932971845829426752011-09-08T21:27:00.001-05:002011-09-08T21:27:13.111-05:00

For lovers of historical fiction, this is a fantastic introduction to the story of Jamestown, the first English settlement what would become America.  It is a nuanced story of survival, following the course of Samuel, a young boy who joined the expedition to the New World as a servant to one of the trip's leaders, leaving behind his life of poverty in London.  As the story progresses, Samuel

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-8584848151840107012011-09-05T07:26:00.003-05:002011-09-05T07:26:42.422-05:00

There are many books out there about a girl and her horse, but none told quite like this.  When Lidie's mother died, her brother and father left their home in Brazil to try their luck in New York, raising and training horses for a rich family.  Meanwhile, Lidie stayed behind with her aunt and uncle and worked on the family farm, learning to ride and dreaming of the day she would be reunited

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-46246555380985672942011-09-05T07:14:00.003-05:002011-09-05T07:14:27.116-05:00

So, you're an 11-year-old girl whose family just moved into a dark creepy mansion, and you're getting a weird feeling from the paintings in the hall.  The paintings, along with all the other furniture, stayed behind when the old lady who last lived in the house died, mainly because your absent-minded mathematician parents couldn't be bothered with cleaning it out.  You, however, are quite normal,

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-16062080000748807732011-08-23T10:08:00.000-05:002011-08-23T10:08:48.327-05:00

Do you like nice stories about a new kid in a small town that turn out to be hair-raising inter-world fantasy adventures?  Yeah, me too.  This is one of those. Not at all what I expected, this book had a slow start as we met Henry, a boy who was sent to live with his uncle's family in Henry, Kansas, when his own parents died.  He spends his days exploring the local area and learning to play

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-69855022634465637442011-08-03T23:57:00.000-05:002011-08-03T23:57:56.724-05:00

Well, this was an unexpected book!  I expected another ho-hum story like the author's popular Al Capone Does My Shirts, but NO!  This ended up being a sibling story that became a fantasy adventure that became a shocking mystery.  At the end of the story, I just kept shaking my head, wondering how the author pulled that off.  This is a book that will keep you thinking long after you finish the

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-33902069824863127302011-07-26T22:29:00.000-05:002011-07-26T22:29:20.797-05:00

This is a pretty hefty book, and it took me a while to get to it.  The cover gives no indication as to what it's really about, and after reading it I can understand why.  It's no ordinary book. The reader is first introduced to 12-year-old Gratuity (Tip) Tucci when she is entering an essay contest for her school on the topic, "The True Meaning of Smekday."  Through her essay, we learn not only

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-91839632410233327432011-07-25T21:28:00.000-05:002011-07-25T21:28:15.261-05:00

This is a hilarious love story, and I could hardly put it down.  In fact, my only two complaints about this book are that it went too quickly, and was pretty predictable.  It ends like fairy tales usually do (so I won't explain), but along the way there were some very fun and interesting twists.  It is a book that has you jumping up and rooting for your favorite characters, and hissing at their

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-80293481257436890112011-07-20T20:30:00.000-05:002011-07-20T20:30:29.166-05:00

Alex Rider would love to join STORM, but he's probably not smart enough.  Yes, he's a brave adolescent English boy who gets roped into the international spy scene, just like the kiddos in this book, but he's a little bland for this group.  STORM is three exceptionally intelligent fourteen year olds in London who, as you would expect, need to save the world.  There's Will, the inventor, Andrew,

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-45569419516150188152011-07-17T22:01:00.000-05:002011-07-17T22:01:01.305-05:00

There are many books out there about writing, including some decent ones for young people.  I especially like Ralph Fletcher's How to Write Your Life Story.  When I read this book, though, I knew it was the winner. Two funny, successful authors of young reader novels have teamed up to write this excellent guide for writers of any age, filling it with wisdom born of their own experiences.  The

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-48739996771156224822011-07-15T23:16:00.000-05:002011-07-15T23:16:59.430-05:00

Wow!  I know I'm not a preteen girl, but I still couldn't put this book down.  The writing was tightly wound and interesting, the characters very realistic and likable (or not, in some cases), and the plot just right for a summer read.  Are you a girl who will one day enter middle school, and who is afraid of how you'll fit in, or if you'll need to change your personality to be "cool"?  Read this

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-23142531323239378692011-07-15T23:04:00.000-05:002011-07-15T23:04:51.328-05:00

I had high hopes for this book because my 2-year-old loves this author's picture book so much (Punk Farm, Bath Tub Pirates, My Buddy Slug, Giddy Up Cowgirl), but it was a bit of a disappointment.  It was a little hard to follow, the plot was pretty weak, and it just didn't hold my attention.  I'm obviously not the target audience for this book, and it may be just right for an early reader who

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-51618848830859271612011-07-07T21:07:00.000-05:002011-07-07T21:07:06.104-05:00

This book is about an overweight middle school student who loves his Oreo cookies.  The title kind of suggests that, doesn't it?  The great thing about this book is that you find yourself making assumptions like that and then they get BLASTED OUT OF THE WATER!  Yes, this is a surprising book.  No, it is not about Oreos. When we meet 12-year-old Owen, he's in the middle of a mess of trouble.

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-79300380502657934502011-07-07T20:55:00.000-05:002011-07-07T20:55:22.399-05:00

Did you enjoy Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but find yourself hoping for  a more likable main character? This is your book. The Loser List is the story of Danny, a bright sixth grader who desperately wants to be cool at his new school.  Of course he doesn't want to give up his comic book obsession or his ultra-geek best friend, so what is a boy to do?  All sorts of wild stuff, in this case, including

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-70942929350967312062011-06-28T21:41:00.001-05:002011-06-28T21:46:17.145-05:00

Dude, this is awesome.  Mister K has reviewed 200 books, and you're here reading about it.  It's hard to believe I've been plugging away at this blog for five years.  It started as a project for an educational technology class while working on my Master's degree, and I enjoyed it so much I never stopped.  201 reviews later, and here we are.  It's been good for me to have this creative outlet, and

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-24123490414163005262011-06-28T21:27:00.000-05:002011-06-28T21:27:11.844-05:00

I abandoned this book.  Really, I lost interest and returned it to the library.  Then I checked it out again, finished it, and loved it.  The problem was, it really does start out slow, and the title is misleading, so I decided to put my time into better books.  A month or so later, I was reading some reviews of this book on Barnes and Noble's site, and everyone loved it. Some kid said it was the

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-90420071732040923432011-06-28T21:14:00.000-05:002011-06-28T21:14:49.255-05:00

I thought this book had a cool cover, so I read it. I thought it would be a book that would mainly interest girls, and it probably is.  I thought it would be a little boring, and it... WAS NOT!  Imagine that you're a 12-year-old girl in Texas in 1899, with all the limitations and expectations that come with that.  What are those?  Let's see: You must wear a bonnet and skirts, learn to keep house

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-28322947748470899712011-06-21T20:15:00.000-05:002011-06-21T20:15:59.241-05:00

CRUSHER!  What a name for a snake, and perfect for a gopher snake (a non-poisonous rattler look-alike) that kills its prey by strangulation.  The only thing is, this particular snake is a girl, and the doofus who captured her and is holding her prisoner in his bedroom doesn't know the first thing about taking care of creatures.  Crusher's life is suddenly in danger, along with those of her new

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-2827765786105211232011-06-19T22:26:00.000-05:002011-06-19T22:26:01.544-05:00

Here's a classic that many people aren't familiar with.  These short stories by Roald Dahl are staples of my classroom read-aloud, though they're not exactly short and sweet.  They are interesting, challenging, surprising and memorable. Take, for instance, the title story, "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar."  It is the tale of a rich man who reads the story of a doctor who met an Indian man

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-79912164614900426122011-06-19T22:14:00.000-05:002011-06-19T22:14:35.523-05:00

This is one of those books that you aren't sure you want to read, because the cover is kind of old-fashioned and dull. Then you start reading, and you almost abandon it because the setting and characters don't really click with you, and you're not really into it, but you decide to stick it out.  Then before you know it you've finished the book in tears, and you can't get it out of your mind.    

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-41847595340725249652011-06-19T21:52:00.000-05:002011-06-19T21:52:02.966-05:00

Perhaps you've heard of Rick Riordan?  Yes, he's the hottest thing in children's literature in the last few years, and he's at it again, topping his Percy Jackson series with this Kane Chronicles collection.  I was a little late getting to this book, though a certain young lady in my class (after reading it at least three times herself), kept bugging me until I picked it up.  I'm glad I did!  

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-56035907978763919672011-04-19T11:45:00.000-05:002011-04-19T11:45:15.533-05:00

Here's a swashbuckling pirate tale, which I can never get enough of!  Fish is a farm boy who can't seem to get the hang of farm life, so his parents send him to the city to get a job.  Before long, the unlucky lad has lost his job, been taken prisoner on a pirate ship, and found himself in a perilous fight against a violent, skillfull, stinky pirate who wants him dead.  How Fish handles himself

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-82143893507158933032011-04-19T09:23:00.000-05:002011-04-19T09:23:06.259-05:00

A werewolf and a teen girl fall in love, where have we heard this story before?  I picked this up because I wanted to see what teens are reading these days, and this one had some great reviews.  It ended up being a more fun read than I expected, with interesting characters and a slightly twisty, catchy plot.  This is the story of Grace, a wolf-obsessed high school girl in northern Minnesota who

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-80066019209881516552011-04-11T18:21:00.001-05:002011-04-11T18:22:32.117-05:00

This is the beautiful, sad, hopeful, lyrical true story of the childhood of poet Pablo Neruda.  It's a story of courage, of a boy who never fit in, whose father was embarrassed of him, and who is never allowed to be what or who he wants to be.  He hangs in there, though, and eventually finds his own way, never losing hope, and never giving up on his dreams.  This biography focuses on Neruda's

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-11807765648060014672011-03-27T13:59:00.000-06:002011-03-27T13:59:03.608-06:00

If you're looking for an action-packed historical drama, all of it true, then you've got to check out this amazing book.  It's the story of President Lincoln's assassination back in 1865, what led up to it, and how the killer James Wilkes Booth escaped and was caught.  This book takes us into both the assassin's mind, and that of his pursuers, so that we are both fully aware of what's happening

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-84943843756677043682011-03-13T17:35:00.001-06:002011-03-13T17:35:20.619-06:00

We have a winner!  This book tops my list of favorites, at least for now.  I couldn't put it down, and even woke up two hours earlier than usual the other day just to finish it before work.  Of course I drove to work with tears in my eyes, but it was worth it. This is the story of Mr. Terupt, a new 5th grade teacher, and his class. That's all.  They're just ordinary kids, each different from

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-20517695778375362482011-03-13T17:27:00.000-06:002011-03-13T17:27:18.499-06:00

A lonely boy whose parents have split up, a girl who is more brave and less nerdy than the boy once thought, a corporation willing to do anything it takes to get their new amusement park built, and a long-dead sea captain who lives on in mysterious and important ways.  That's what you're really picking up when you pull this book off the shelf.  Benjamin never thought much about his historic

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-56813582220355115962011-03-09T20:39:00.000-06:002011-03-09T20:39:10.080-06:00

This author started as a sportswriter, and then shifted to kids' books with some major success in sports-themed novels, my favorite being Travel Team.  This book shifts genres a bit, and switches sports for super powers!  Zach Harriman is the main character, a 14-year-old kid whose dad just died in a suspicious plane crash.  When he goes to the crash site on the shore a day's drive from his home

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-90066360067315327502011-03-09T20:26:00.001-06:002011-03-09T20:40:21.277-06:00

What would you put in your danger box, a secret hiding place for the most important items in your life?  For young Zoomy Chamberlain, a 12-year-old legally blind nervous boy in a small town, it's the old notebook he hides in  his box that ends up changing his life forever.  Is it the fact that this act helps him find his first true friend, a spunky young firecracker of a girl named Lorrol, who

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-71057513597938278382011-03-02T13:38:00.000-06:002011-03-02T13:38:47.530-06:00

Homer and his brother were living with their nasty Uncle Squinton in Maine when the Civil War broke out in 1861.  Before Homer knew what was happening, his seventeen-year-old brother had been sold off to join the Union Army against his will.  This is the story of Homer's quest to find and save his brother, and the amazing adventures that happened to him along the way, from rural Maine to the

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-57383094218164023652011-03-02T13:25:00.003-06:002011-06-28T21:28:39.244-05:00

With a title like that, this book was bound to be weird, and it was.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, though.  This is the story of a wide assortment of sixth graders, centered around Tommy the narrator and his sometimes-friend Dwight, the class oddball. When Dwight started walking around with a homemade origami Yoda on his finger, it was just one more in a long line of kooky Dwight behaviors

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-89309939513268520502011-03-02T13:11:00.000-06:002011-03-02T13:11:41.952-06:00

A secret English estate, overgrown and without visitors for half a century, is suddenly the center of a slow-paced adventure involving one teen boy, a collection of mysterious animals, and a 60-year-old journal.  Young Stephen, an orphan, must uncover the secrets of his own past while at the same time learning the amazing position has been thrust into, keeper of a very old and important secret.

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-80048400001342951932011-02-19T10:18:00.000-06:002011-02-19T10:18:17.665-06:00

Imagine this: You live with your dad in a huge mansion in the mountains, with fences strung up all around with "Trespassers will be boiled" signs.  Up the road is a top-secret orphanage.  You're not allowed to go to school with other kids because your dad is the super-nervous type.  What do you do all day?  Sit around doing computer math programs that you don't even understand.  Life stinks.  

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-38797172401225300512011-02-07T18:27:00.000-06:002011-02-07T18:27:16.947-06:00

Mibs Beaumont is just your average girl heading toward her 13th birthday, except for the fact that she's about to discover what hidden special power she has. Will she be able to shoot electricity out of her fingers like her brother Rocket, or make the weather go crazy like her brother Fish?  What will her "savvy" be, and will it help her to rescue her father as his body lays broken from a

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-48690342775215894452011-02-07T18:19:00.001-06:002011-02-07T18:20:15.240-06:00

Hot summer days, and a simmering sibling rivalry.  For brother and sister Evan and Jessie, this means a lemonade war! The first to earn $100 at their lemonade stand will have to give their winnings to the other. Evan wants an iPod, but Jessie wants to make a donation to the Humane Society.  Surprisingly, though, that's not what either of them really wants at all.  As the war heats up and both

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-19652317049495871862011-01-15T17:02:00.000-06:002011-01-15T17:02:18.825-06:00

"I am the new kid.  I am tuf. This morning I beat up a kid."  That's what Dexter writes on his first day at a new school, when the teacher asks him to write a story.  It's all true, but it's hardly the full story. This short but interesting realistic fiction book tells fourth grade Dexter's story, from his move away from his parents to live with his grandma to his first fight, and his first new

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-6795212095849262802010-12-30T21:03:00.001-06:002010-12-30T21:04:35.800-06:00

Steve wanted to be a detective more than ANYTHING.  At least he did until this seventh grader was accused of treason against the United States, and became the subject of a major manhunt by both ultra-secret highly-trained killer librarians and the bad guys, who were not nearly as scary as the good guys.  As Steve ran for his life, learned more about quilting than any teen boy would ever want to

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-72783004808046503642010-12-18T15:35:00.001-06:002010-12-18T15:37:13.146-06:00

A rat who can talk, a girl whose parents seem to have forgotten she exists, a beautiful but nasty nanny with a curious cane and an unhealthy interest in health food, and a very tiny soccer player.  These elements combine with interesting illustrations and a quick and mysterious plot to create an enjoyable adventure.  If you love rats, or brave girls, or perhaps supernatural powers, you may want

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-9302923416528061292010-12-17T16:00:00.000-06:002010-12-17T16:00:02.059-06:00

Piper McCloud is extraordinary. No, really. She can fly.  This is just some random girl on a little farm, growing up with her quiet parents, and she can fly.  Before you know it, she's causing all kinds of trouble and is spirited away to a secret school for children with special gifts like hers, and everything is wonderful for her.  Well, not so wonderful, perhaps.  Wonderful is not when people

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-26660016850457921592010-12-17T15:48:00.001-06:002010-12-17T15:50:25.613-06:00

Foreign terrorists with cheese in their pants?  A death-defying race through town in a stolen Oscar Meyer Weinermobile?  A dancing animatronic gorilla with classified technology hidden under its hat?  Darth Vader and a wookie breaking into a house in the dead of night?  Killer electronic robot owl defending a store in the mall?  A levitating frog?  Parents who make all of their food out of tofu?

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-72960584604252302772010-12-15T19:03:00.000-06:002010-12-15T19:03:55.918-06:00

If horses could write, this would be the story of one brave foal who was on the front lines of World War One in Europe.  Joey was a beautiful horse, loyal to his young master Albert, and confused when he was taken away to be a war horse for the British cavalry (soldiers who fight or travel on horseback).  As the war raged on, Joey had countless adventures, surviving battle after battle, and

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-71986490286402468032010-12-15T18:55:00.000-06:002010-12-15T18:55:27.471-06:00

It's not easy being different, sometimes.  Nobody knows this better than sixth-grader Jason, who has been diagnosed with a number of fancy letters and terms, including the one that counts:  Autism.  Although this kid has some built-in problems with person-to-person communication and controlling his actions at times, it doesn't keep him from being awesome.  Jason is smart, funny, and an amazing

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-22162300997131771732010-11-13T21:29:00.001-06:002010-12-15T19:07:39.761-06:00

No, Mister K has not become a teen girl, even though that's the ideal audience for this book.  When I saw a fourth-grade girl reading this at lunch last week, I just had to see what it was all about, with a title like that.  It turned out to be a very enjoyable book, the first in what seems like a well-written, action-packed series of spy novels for 12-year-old girls. Cammie is a sophomore at

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-52633705955650408372010-11-13T21:18:00.000-06:002010-11-13T21:18:45.406-06:00

What is a loser?  A kid who never seems to get things right. A kid who is different.  A kid who is no good at sports.  A kid who actually LIKES school, if you can believe it.  A kid who thinks his dad, a mailman, is the coolest guy ever.  A kid named Donald Zinkoff. This is the story of Zinkoff, told from his birth until he is in middle school, which is a lot of time to cover in a short book.

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-36443888790948417972010-10-24T17:54:00.000-05:002010-10-24T17:54:07.678-05:00

This is a short, interesting book about a very smart 12-year-old in a very weird middle school.  The middle school is overrun by animals, the boys are crazy about Death Ball (a mix between soccer, football, rugby, and mudfighting), and the teacher's bathroom is becoming a radioactive danger zone.  There is a girl who is becoming a mad scientist with her explosive and stinky inventions, a nutty

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-7818462747797958912010-10-24T17:41:00.000-05:002010-10-24T17:41:25.848-05:00

You're ten years old, you're awesome, and your name is Alex.  What happens when your parents build you a fancy jungle gym in the backyard, kick you off your video game system for the rest of the summer, and arrange a playdate with your nerdy inventor neighbor kid, Herbert?  Your summer gets a lot more interesting, is what! Imagine zooming through a wormhole, a gap in the space/time continuum

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-13869984746133754292010-10-16T16:14:00.000-05:002010-10-16T16:14:04.687-05:00

I want you to read this book, but first I want you to read this one:  A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle.  It's a book that several of the characters carry around with them, so it would be helpful if you were familiar with it.  Also, it's a wonderful story. When You Reach Me surprised me.  It was not at all what I expected before, or even after I had started reading it.  If you pick up this

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-54286406934781356862010-10-16T15:59:00.001-05:002010-10-16T16:15:07.433-05:00

Thousands of years ago, a lone boy and his wolf pup set off to stop the evil monster that has been magically released from the dark side of the world, and to save their forest and tribes from complete destruction.  And then they went to Disney Land!  Just kidding about that last part, but I did put off reading this book for a long time because the cover looked very Disney-ish (but it turns out

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-68566597778755038482010-10-16T15:49:00.001-05:002010-10-16T16:15:26.074-05:00

I had been wondering about this series, The Bartimaeus Trilogy, and whether it would be worth a read.  I finally snagged a copy from the library started reading the first chapter, and totally lost interest.  Luckily I picked it up again the next day and finished that chapter, and I was hooked.  It takes a little while to understand how this book is written:  From the point of view of an ancient

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-56653450074840960972010-08-31T11:28:00.000-05:002010-08-31T11:28:45.464-05:00

Anand's father has disappeared, his little sister hasn't spoken a word in months, his mother is overworked and miserable, and he is stuck working for a nasty, cruel tea seller in his town of Kolkata, India.  When an old man appears one day and mysteriously asks Anand to leave his family behind to help transport a magical conch shell back to a distant valley to save it from an evil man with

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-42392341650829670512010-08-30T23:06:00.000-05:002010-08-30T23:06:23.419-05:00

I'm a newspaper guy.  I run my school's newspaper, I wrote for my college newspaper, I read them, and I loved The Landry News by Andrew Clements, until now my favorite newspaper book.  Move over Cara Landry, because Adam Canfield is kicking butt and writing articles! This is basically the story of a kid who went from being the star reporter for his school's newspaper to being co-editor, and

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-64174662030137942662010-08-28T21:29:00.000-05:002010-08-28T21:29:15.264-05:00

I love this series!  It reminded me of both Eragon and Lord of the Rings, but simpler and shorter.  You've got Will, a teen who is very honest and smart, and wants to be a warrior, but is just too small and scrawny.  Luckily, he has just been chosen as an apprentice to the mysterious Rangers, who are masters of surveillance and stealth, protecting the kingdom by seeking out and fighting enemies

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-49616552186930822542010-08-28T21:14:00.000-05:002010-08-28T21:14:37.605-05:00

Steel Trapp is the anti-Alex Rider, but that's not a bad thing.  Where Alex is a cool, handsome, athletic boy, Steel is a scrawny science nerd with big glasses. In this first book of the series, Steel finds himself on the train from Chicago to Washington, D.C. for the National Science Challenge, where he will present his invention.  Along the way he discovers a mysterious briefcase, gets in the

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-1789169195620706722010-08-28T21:06:00.000-05:002010-08-28T21:06:43.523-05:00

Here's another magical story by Kate DiCamillo.  Her writing is always calm, yet powerful.  Sometimes she gets a little fancy in her wording (especially in The Tale of Despereaux), but that's a small price to pay for the wonderful feeling you have as you finish one of her books. This is the tale of many people and one elephant, whose lives all slowly come together one winter in an unnamed town.

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-7798106280925821472010-08-26T23:16:00.000-05:002010-08-26T23:16:47.003-05:00

This is an interesting graphic novel alternative to the Wimpy Kid series.  Nate is your average over-confident 6th grader, and this comic brings us into his world.  When Nate opens a fortune cookie to discover that he is destined to "surpass all others," he sets off to make that happen, which disastrous and hilarious results.  Nate is not a wimpy kid like Greg Heffley, he is a loudmouth

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-25825593532965318442010-08-11T22:33:00.000-05:002010-08-11T22:33:41.083-05:00

A meteorite rips through your roof and burns a hole through your bed.  Luckily you were on the roof at the time, and didn't have your head disintegrated by this rocky visitor from Mars.  What do you do next?  Why not have some wild mountain bike adventures with your cousin, explore some huge caves in the wilderness, wrestle with your evil neighbor's killer dog, visit the cute girl at the local

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-62131520515214534522010-07-30T20:30:00.000-05:002010-07-30T20:30:13.620-05:00

Alvin is one nervous kid.  In fact, in his second grade class, he hasn't spoken a word all year!  Get him on his favorite topic, which is all the terrible things that could happen to him at every moment of his life, and he won't stop talking.  Alvin is a great character, stuck between a nosy little sister and a too-cool older brother, and his adventures had me laughing all through the book.  In

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-49192179994399011642010-07-29T13:04:00.003-05:002010-07-29T13:06:14.299-05:00

Here's a school story that will have you cheering.  A class full of oddball kids (sounds kind of like The Fabled Fourth Grade, doesn't it?) has to deal with an evil, nasty teacher, worse than Ms. Viola Swamp.  Her name is Miss Breakbone, and she is the nastiest of nasties.  She has an electric chair in her classroom, and gives herself a gold star whenever she makes a student cry.  When she

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-5970073195989137122010-07-28T22:54:00.000-05:002010-07-28T22:54:01.737-05:00

Aesop Elementary is a small school, with only one section of each grade, and this year's fourth grade class is one of the worst ever.  They're so bad, that the only person who is willing to teach them is weird Mr. Jupiter, who definitely isn't your average, normal teacher.  The 19 students in the class are each quite different, and will remind you of Mrs. Jewls's class in Sideway Stories from

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-19201014896323081422010-07-26T21:38:00.001-05:002010-07-26T21:39:26.804-05:00

Your mother has just died, and you're a 13-year-old girl on the run from the king's men through the forest, with only your bow and arrow for protection.  One night, while minding your own business at your campfire, roasting some rabbit, a huge wolf creature appears across from you, and snatches your quickly-shot arrow in its gigantic jaws!  What's next?  Will you find your outlaw father, Robin

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-83896807427654334612010-07-15T13:54:00.001-05:002010-07-15T13:57:18.064-05:00

Who is that old dude hanging out in the back of Michael's crumbling garage, and why does he only eat bugs and Chinese take-out?  As Michael and his new friend, the next-door-neighbor girl Mina, will find out, there's something quite special about that old dude, and it's up to them to help him survive.  Set in England, this is Michael's story, from his sick baby sister to his impressive soccer

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-33617218646676479892010-07-12T21:35:00.001-05:002010-07-12T21:35:44.247-05:00

Two nice American children, Philippa and John, were just minding their business and having their wisdom teeth removed, when all of a sudden their strange English uncle visited them in a dream and tells them to come visit him right away.  It's odd enough that they had the same dream, but when they ask their parents to go, things start to get really weird.  Talk about weird, it turns out that Uncle

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-68811025454686834962010-07-05T22:42:00.000-05:002010-07-05T22:42:53.890-05:00

This is the story of a 12-year-old girl trying to find her place in the world, when all around her is getting crazy. There's her house, which is a trailer sitting on the corner of a busy city intersection right underneath a train bridge.  There's her flute, which seems to be stolen.  Her best friend, a middle-age woman who runs a gas station and has cancer. But then there's her mom, who has some

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-32000823716091992032010-06-29T23:03:00.000-05:002010-06-29T23:03:04.595-05:00

Do you love spelling bees?  How about mysteries?  School stories?  Friendship stories?  Stories about a new kid in school who tries to fit in, but is a little different?  How about stories in which the kids are not only smarter than the adults, but in which the adults are the ones causing all the problems in the first place? Come on, don't you like anything? Well, this book has a lot to like.

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-29057319022510429752010-06-29T22:51:00.000-05:002010-06-29T22:51:25.227-05:00

I didn't know what to expect from this book.  Was the author just a Lemony Snicket wannabe?  What's with this whole secret title thing?  Of course I had to read it and find out. Once I picked it up, I didn't really want to set it down, but my hungry toddler made sure I did, at least long enough to shovel some food into his mouth. So what is this book all about?  These two kids who have nothing in

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-5858214668014507352010-06-29T22:36:00.000-05:002010-06-29T22:36:10.279-05:00

What would you do if you found a stray dog, then discovered that its owners had left the country, all the way to Stanislavia, a small (fictional) European country?  That's what a young American boy, Tim, had to decide when he found Grk, a well-behaved dog, following him home one day.  Let's hope you wouldn't choose to do what Tim did:  Steal his dad's credit card, sneak out of the house with the

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-11028926133843865282010-06-18T22:56:00.000-05:002010-06-18T22:56:08.246-05:00

I did not expect to like this book.  I mean, I'm MISTER K, and this is all about princesses, right?  I should have known better!  A friend of mine (Queen of the Q's), says this is her middle-school daughter's favorite book, and I can see why.  Although there are some parts of the book that will definitely appeal more to girls than boys, it's a book that anyone can enjoy. Miri, the main character,

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-14768556879690390452010-06-14T16:46:00.000-05:002010-06-14T16:46:16.102-05:00

Let's say your mom passed away years ago, and your dad suddenly wants to marry your new art teacher.  You don't like that idea because she's really weird, but you like it even less when you begin to expect that she's actually a witch!  As you may have guessed, this is not a sports book, despite the excellent basketball cover picture.  There is some basketball, but there's also burglary, a lonely

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-65940496859812808252010-06-14T16:39:00.001-05:002010-06-14T16:46:44.917-05:00

If you love to read about the history of old Florida cities, and you also like interesting mysteries with lots of twists and turns, this is the PERFECT book for you! For the rest of us, it's a really good book. When teenage Jason heads down to Florida to help his dad clean out his grandmother's house, it begins to seem like this will be a boring story about family problems.  Nope!  The

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-23267488360797875432010-06-14T16:13:00.000-05:002010-06-14T16:13:48.861-05:00

Deep below our feet lie miles and miles of tunnels, just waiting to be explored.  And within those tunnels live a civilization of people just waiting to be discovered.  Be careful though, because they will do ANYTHING to avoid being found.  At least this is what the authors suggest as our young hero Will and his friend Chester set off to find Will's dad, who has mysteriously disappeared. The

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-67441688376961131402010-06-05T17:11:00.000-05:002010-06-05T17:11:28.819-05:00

Everything is going wrong for Molly.  She lost her notebook, in which she keeps every single detail of her very organized life.  Her wild and embarrassing grandmother is coming to school for Senior Citizens Day.  She ripped her skirt, got a black eye, and had her hair set on fire.  Could this day get any worse?  Yes.  This is a hilarious story of a girl, her friends, and her grandmother (and the

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-37544411742505799612010-04-06T10:43:00.000-05:002010-04-06T10:43:23.119-05:00

Actually, Max IS a bully, which is kind of the point.  In The Watsons Go To Birmingham - 1963, Christopher Paul Curtis asks the reader, "Why is it bullies are always so funny?"  He could have been thinking of Max, who is a laugh a minute, even as he picks mercilessly on the nerdier kids in his fifth-grade class.  The thing is, Max doesn't see himself that way, even when he makes life miserable

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-42396849410616029422010-04-06T10:31:00.000-05:002010-04-06T10:31:43.685-05:00

Young Thomas lives in a rickety house on top of a giant rock, and doesn't think his life can get weirder than it already is.  Boy, is he wrong.  The trouble starts when his teacher starts trying to marry his mom, and doesn't get any better when he falls asleep on a floating piece of styrofoam in the river, and winds up lying next to a corpse in a hidden underground cave.  With mysterious

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-34054159951768813592010-04-05T15:55:00.000-05:002010-04-05T15:55:01.557-05:00

This is a short book full of big ideas, and was not what I expected.  That's a good thing in this case. First of all, the narrator is an unnamed 12-year-old boy whose wacky grandmother just gave him his grandfather's old riding lawnmower.  Within a day, the boy went from having no idea what to do with his summer to being a successful independent businessman, mowing his neighbors' lawns.  The

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-81071919079142903592010-03-16T15:26:00.001-06:002010-03-16T15:27:39.032-06:00

Wordle is a cool new site I found that takes the most frequently used words from any text or website, and creates a bit of word art.  The image above is from this site, misterkreads.com.Click here to visit the Wordle site

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-51216632201391298152010-03-02T09:21:00.000-06:002010-03-02T09:21:01.970-06:00

I just realized that I've never written a review of one of my all-time favorite children's books, The Golden Compass!  This is the first in a darkly named trilogy called His Dark Materials, the meaning of which won't be entirely clear until you've finished the third book.  This is a series which has attracted controversy for the anti-religion overtones some read into it, and for its author's

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-66992546057314251192010-03-02T08:36:00.000-06:002010-03-02T08:36:18.646-06:00

This is a delightful short story about a young rabbit named Kenny, his family, and his best friend in the whole wide world, who just happens to be a lonely dragon.  Grahame, the dragon, has just woken up after a long, long slumber in a volcano, and has found a delightful cave on Kenny's family farm.  The villagers, frightened of the strange beast, have persuaded the king to send his best dragon

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-6543037704482916432010-03-02T08:19:00.000-06:002010-03-02T08:19:13.498-06:00

Time travel?  A high-tech rock that turns invisible and allows you to talk to people centuries in the future?  Ghosts wearing sneakers and old school sweatshirts?   A younger sisters falling in love with your best friend? This is not what Jonah had expected when he entered the cave in the first book of the series, Found, but in this better-than-the-original sequel, it's exactly what he gets. 

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-24482155276888973012010-02-20T21:39:00.001-06:002010-02-20T21:40:52.877-06:00

I came across this book by accident, browsing the shelves at my local library.  When I found it, I had already read all of the Harry Potter books at least twice, and I was definitely fan.  This book, however, rekindled my fascination with and love for the Potter series, turned me on to a new branch of music (Rock out to Wizard Rock!), and gave me a new appreciation for the community-building

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-52321567244211648152010-02-08T07:23:00.000-06:002010-02-08T07:23:45.787-06:00

Picture a small boy with no name, no friends or family, and only the ability to steal things without getting caught.  He is a gypsy child, running and running, with nowhere to go and all alone.  Within pages, you realize that this boy is caught in the middle of Warsaw, Poland, as it is being invaded by the Nazis during World War 2 in 1940.  As the Nazis round up all the Jews in Warsaw and

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-66283123496649159002010-02-05T07:36:00.003-06:002010-02-08T07:26:11.709-06:00

You're about to get kicked out of your school, but is it your fault your math teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill you? Percy's not sure why he's got such bad luck, or what is really going on. When the minotaur appears and chases him all the way to an unusual summer camp where he seems to be protected, things get even weirder, but at least he gets some answers.Twelve-year old Percy

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-4386759274734465562010-02-05T07:22:00.000-06:002010-02-05T07:22:11.104-06:00

What if you were in the attic, looking for something random, when you came across an old newspaper article that made you question EVERYTHING about your life?  And worse, what if you weren't able to read it yourself, because you're pretty bad at reading?  When this very thing happened to fifth-grader Sam, he set off on a quest to uncover his true identity and solve the mystery of his childhood. 

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6325030985265270792.post-15552727788024194082010-01-03T11:27:00.000-06:002010-01-03T11:27:53.809-06:00

Have you ever been in one of those situations where you agree to do something you know you shouldn't, but you don't want to let your friends down?  That's where 7th grader Trina is when this story begins, and this tale, set in an urban middle school near Boston, follows the choices Trina makes and the consequences of those decisions. All 7th graders are a little weird, but Carlos seems to have

Mister Knoreply@blogger.com1