Book Blog

Our family is waiting impatiently for several books that are scheduled for release in October, 2009:

PETER AND THE SWORD OF MERCY (2009)
By Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry
October 13, 2009
Peter and the Starcatchers Book Review
Peter and the Secret of Rundoon REVIEW

 
Septimus Heap 5 Syren
by English author Angie Sage
scheduled to be published September 29, 2009
video: Septimus Heap Magyk Series 
Septimus Heap Magyk Series Review

 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid 4
by Jeff Kinney
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Will Get Kids READING!
October 12, 2009

official site: Diary of a Wimpy Kid ::: by Jeff Kinney

This book is one I am looking forward to in October:
Tempted, The House of Night, by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
my review: Great Vamire Books! House of Night Series

release date: October 27, 2009
 House of Night Series

Ender’s Game  is an award winning novel by Orson Scott Card. Have you ever read science fiction? If not, this is the perfect book for a change of pace, a great novel to read. It is a super good book. Yes, the main character is a six-year-old. No, it’s not for children, I’d say it’s for teens and adults only. It is a little too violent for kids (the book as a few deaths, blood and a little swearing). Ender’s Game was voted one of the best 100 novels for teens. I absolutely loved this book. Couldn’t put it down. I just finished it last night and it was excellent, not like anything I’ve EVER read. I could go on and on.

Ender’s Game was the winner of the Hugo Award for best novel in 1986 and the Nebula Award for best novel in 1985. The following year, the sequel Speaker for the Deadalso won both awards; Card is the only author to have won both awards in two consecutive years. In 2008, it received the Margaret Edwards award for its long term impact on science fiction. Many people believe that this is one of the best sci-fi novels of all time.

Ender’s Game is a science fiction novel that tells the  story  of Andrew  Wiggin (nicknamed  Ender by his sister, Valentine.)  The story  takes place on Earth (and in space) in the future.  Earth has been attacked twice by an alien species called Buggers, nearly destroying the human race. In order to find and train the eventual commander for the third invasion, the world’s most talented children, including the extraordinary Ender Wiggin, are taken into a training center known as the Battle School at a very young age. Ender is extremely intelligent, and at the age of six years old, he goes to Battle School to be trained.  Ender quickly  rises to the top in Battle School and begins  training in order to command Earth’s fleet.

Its sequels Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind, A War of Gifts, and Ender in Exile follow Ender to different worlds as he travels far into the future.

Many schools around the world have adopted Ender’s Game as required reading, some for its psychological aspects, others for its science fiction background. Ender’s Game will also be coming to Marvel Comics (read more. . .)

The author, Orson Scott Card, was born in Washington and grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah. A Mormon, he served a mission for the LDS Church in Brazil in the early 1970s. Besides his writing, he teaches occasional classes and workshops and directs plays. He recently began a longterm position as a professor of writing and literature at Southern Virginia University. Card currently lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristine Allen Card, and their youngest child, Zina Margaret. More about Orson Scott Card / Card’s official website: http://www.hatrack.com/    A movie may be in production! Yay! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0400403/

*****

Just a little quick trivia here, do you know of another writer from the Mormon church that has a best selling book series out right now? She is considered the next JK Rolling. Quite an honor! Try Stephanie Meyer! Author of the next book on my list to read, “Twilight”. There is a lot of hype about this author and this series. I’ll be writing more about her later.

Marvel Hotline: Ender’s Game: Battle School

Ender’s Game

Check out our review: Kingdom Keepers 2, by Ridley Pearson

Read another great book: Peter and the Starcatchers Book Review

While we’re at it, here is another excellent book for Middle Grade readers from Ridley Pearson:
Science Fair, by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson

Click here for our review of this series: Septimus Heap Magyk Series Review

The Magyk series video:

 

Here is a book trailer for the award winning book “The Underneath” by Kathi Appelt.  

Kathi Appelt, at the age of seven, stumbled and fell into an alligator pit in San Antonio, Texas, a place where there should be no alligators or alligator pits. Fortunately she was a lot bigger than the alligator, who was more scared of her than she was of it!

She is a member of the faculty at Vermont College’s Master of Fine Arts program and occasionally teaches creative writing at Texas A&M University. She has two grown children, and lives in Texas with her husband and four cats. Her debut novel, The Underneath, was a National Book Award finalist and a Newbery Honor book.  

There is nothing lonelier than a cat who has been loved, at least for a while, and then abandoned on the side of the road. A calico cat, about to have kittens, hears the lonely howl of a chained-up hound deep in the backwaters of the bayou. She dares to find him in the forest, and the hound dares to befriend this cat, this feline, this creature he is supposed to hate. They are an unlikely pair, about to become an unlikely family. Ranger urges the cat to hide underneath the porch, to raise her kittens there because Gar-Face, the man living inside the house, will surely use them as alligator bait should he find them. But they are safe in the Underneath…as long as they stay in the Underneath. Kittens, however, are notoriously curious creatures. And one kitten’s one moment of curiosity sets off a chain of events that is astonishing, remarkable, and enormous in its meaning.

My kids loved the book Goblins! by Royce Buckingham. His other book Demonkeeper was also excellent.

From the author of Demonkeeper, Royce Buckingham, comes a thrilling adventure featuring the dumbest creatures under the earth! Featuring high adventure and slapstick humor, Goblins! is a subterranean romp that will keep readers laughing as they race through the pages!

Demon Keeper, By Royce Buckingham: GREAT Book!

Goblins! by Royce Buckingham -Review

Nobody Owens is an unusual boy. He was raised in a graveyard by ghosts and has learned the secrets they keep, like the ability to fade and dream walk. And he’ll need all of those skills to face what is waiting for him on the outside. This book trailer, narrated by Neil Gaiman with illustrations from the book by Dave McKean, will give you a taste of Gaiman’s new novel, The Graveyard Book, available in stores now.

Children’s Book Begins With Graphic Murder of Family, Wins Newbery

I’ve really enjoyed reading the Maximum Ride series and also Daniel X by James Patterson, but …. I haven’t read them with my kids yet. I don’t think they are old enough yet. These books are more for teenagers. I think that teens will love them. Check out the official website: Maximum Ride | The Official James Patterson Web Site 

(Read my earlier review of Maximum Ride 3 Saving the World Review)

The series follows six human/avian fugitives. Bred in a science lab called “The School”, the Flock endured scientific experiments that rendered them 98% human and 2% avian. The Angel Experiment picks up the story as the Flock reengages with their struggle against scientists and evil hybrids after having been freed from the SchoolThe Flock is a group of children genetically altered with bird DNA. It consists of Max, Fang, Gazzy, Nudge, Iggy, Angel, and, from the end of The Angel Experiment on, Angel’s dog Total. My favorite character in the series is Total: Total is the talking dog in the flock. Found in the Institute Of the Higher Living by Angel in book 1. Angel was able to convince Fang to let her keep Total by using “Bambi eyes”. He always wants to eat, just like the rest of the flock. In book 4, he suddenly develops wings, which is why his species is questioned. He can also jump 30 feet in the air, unlike normal dogs. Total shares characteristics of a Scottish terrier although in the first book he is described as looking like Toto therefore would be a Cairn terrier.

In January 2007, it was announced that a film would be created based on the Maximum Ride series. Not much has been said about when this movie will happen. On the IMDB.com page it says the movie will be out in 2010.

There are five books in the series:

MAXIMUM RIDE: THE ANGEL EXPERIMENT    WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE.
Do not put this book down. I’m dead serious – your life could depend on it. I’m risking everything by telling you – but you need to know.  STRAP YOURSELF IN for the thrill ride you’ll want to take again and again! From Death Valley, California, to the bowels of the New York City subway system, you’re about to take off on a heart-stopping adventure that will blow you away…  YOUR FAITHFUL COMPANIONS: Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel. Six kids who are pretty normal in most ways – except that they’re 98 percent human, 2 percent bird. They grew up in a lab, living like rats in cages, but now they’re free. Aside, of course, from the fact that they’re prime prey for Erasers – wicked wolflike creatures with a taste for flying humans.  THE MISSIONS: Rescue Angel from malicious mutants. Infiltrate a secret facility to track down the flock’s missing parents. Scavenge for sustenance. Get revenge on an evil traitor. And save the world. If there’s time.

MAXIMUM RIDE: SCHOOL’S OUT — FOREVER  If you’ve already devoured James Patterson’s #1 bestselling blockbuster MAXIMUM RIDE: THE ANGEL EXPERIMENT, stop right here– just turn the page, and hold on tight!  As for the rest of you-well, where have you been? Meet Max, Fang, Iggy, Gasman, Nudge, and Angel, six absolutely unforgettable kids. With some major problems. THEY’RE BEING HUNTED BY KILLERS. BUT WHO?  It’s even worse than that. Max is sure that a microchip has been inserted under her skin-leading freakish forces of evil to ambush them at any moment…AND WORSE!  She and the others are supposed to save the world. BUT FROM WHAT? WHEN? AND HOW?  Max will stop at nothing to find answers. One thing she does know: it’s got something to do with an astonishing ability they have that no others can claim. THEY CAN FLY.  Max’s heart-stopping quest to protect her “family” and investigate the mind-blowing mystery of her ultimate destiny continues in the scariest, strangest, and funniest James Patterson thriller yet.  THE ANGEL EXPERIMENT WAS JUST A TEST DRIVE. NOW, BRACE YOURSELF FOR THE MAXIMUM RIDE!

MAXIMUM RIDE #3: SAVING THE WORLD AND OTHER EXTREME SPORTS  There’s one last chance to save the world in MAXIMUM RIDE: SAVING THE WORLD AND OTHER EXTREME SPORTS, the closing chapter of James Patterson’s thrilling trilogy. The time has arrived for Max and her winged ‘Flock’ to face their ultimate enemy and discover their original purpose: to defeat the takeover of ‘Re-evolution’, a sinister experiment to re-engineer a select population into a scientifically superior master race…and to terminate the rest. Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel have always worked together to defeat the forces working against them-but can they save the world when they are torn apart, living in hiding and captivity, halfway across the globe from one another?

MAXIMUM RIDE #4: THE FINAL WARNING  In this breathtaking new story from the astonishing imagination of James Patterson, a girl has to save herself from an army assembled just to capture her–and maybe save the planet while she’s at it. Maximum Ride is a perfectly normal teenager who just happens to be able to fly, the result of an out-of-control government experiment. Max and the other members of the Flock–six kids who share her remarkable ability–have been asked to aid a group of environmental scientists studying the causes of global warming. Their ability to fly could help the scientists conquer this epic problem. The expedition seems like a perfect combination of adventure, activism–and escaping government forces who watch the Flock like a hawk. But even in Antarctica, trapped in the harshest weather on our planet, Maximum Ride is an irresistible target in constant danger. For whoever controls her powers could also control the world…. Maximum Ride is James Patterson’s greatest character, a heroine who manages to be human and fearless at once. THE FINAL WARNING is an unrelenting new adventure from the writer Time magazine has called “The Man Who Can’t Miss.”

MAXIMUM RIDE #5: MAX  When Earth faced destruction, The Flock helped save it. But now, nowhere is safe. Millions of fish are dying off Hawaii’s coast and someone–or something–is destroying hundreds of ships. The Flock has no choice but to go deep into the murky seas to uncover the truth. And to make matters worse, a deadly assassin is watching their every move. Can The Flock defend themselves from an approaching army and save the world from calamity? The battle for survival rages on.

 

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series by Jeff Kinney, will get your reluctant readers reading. If you have a boy or girl who doesn’t like to read, or struggles with reading, this book will do wonders! The many humorous and explanatory pictures will help them if they are having trouble reading, and the funny stories will keep them interested. There are currently three books in the series: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw. All three are so funny and very fun to read. We read them with our kids aloud and got hours of enjoyment. One of my favorite parts of the book was when The main character Greg remembers his father reading The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein at bedtime every night. Greg is horrified by the photo of Shel Silverstein on the back of the book and it terrifies him so he does not get out of bed. They have a comical drawing of Shel Silverstein which really does resemble the picture of him that is actually on the book. I showed my kids that actual photo and the rolled on the floor laughing. Visit the official site: Diary of a Wimpy Kid ::: by Jeff Kinney Some interesting trivia is the at the author Jeff Kinney originally wrote the first book in the series for adults.

Diary of a Wimpy kid 4 comes out in October 2009. Watch some videos about the series here and watch the interview with Jeff Kinney.

Evidence of a good kids book: go to Youtube and type ”Diary of a Wimpy Kid” you will find that in the search results serveral kids have made their own thumbs up. This one is from a third grader:

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan is the fifth and last book in the Olympian series with Percy Jackson. We read this book (and entire series) aloud and all of us loved the books. We are actually re-reading the series again right now.  At the end of the book their is a comment by the author, Rick Riordan that led us to believe that there will be more books about the gods. We think that the next series will be about Nicko who is the son of Hades. The Lightning Thief, the first book of the series, will be out as a movie in February, 2010 (watch the trailer below). You can vote for your favorite book in the series below.

Percy Jackson’s fifth and final adventure begins with a blast and gets increasingly more explosive. It reads less like a novel than a 400-page battle scene set in Manhattan, pitting Percy, Annabeth, Grover Co. against a pantheon of monsters intent on reaching the portal to Mount Olympus (located on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building). In other words: fans will not be disappointed. All the action takes place in the days before Percy’s 16th birthday, on which a prophecy has foretold a single choice shall end his days. Readers who have watched their dyslexic hero grow into his considerable powers since age 12 will not be surprised by his brave leadership. Or as Percy, facing the Minotaur’s army, puts it in typically wry fashion: It was now roughly one hundred and ninety-nine to one. I did the natural thing. I charged them. Details about Luke’s childhood explain his traitorous allegiance to Kronos; Annabeth and Rachel Dare vie for Percy’s attention; and the final clash would keep a Hollywood special effects team busy for years. As the capstone to this beloved series, this story satisfies. And a surprise character takes on the mantle of Oracle, instantly issuing a new prophecy that suggests, happily, there’s more fun with the demigods to come. Ages 10up.

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Percy Jackson & The Olympians Review