tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648236583334886227.post2964755338264896443..comments2023-06-10T02:00:06.078-07:00Comments on writermorphosis: The Gift that Gives in Two DirectionsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648236583334886227.post-83309027515757125562011-12-08T12:58:11.156-08:002011-12-08T12:58:11.156-08:00great list Janelle!great list Janelle!C.R. Evershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09034891037873664976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648236583334886227.post-26433980838557338912011-12-07T18:28:05.380-08:002011-12-07T18:28:05.380-08:00Jenny - thanks for those great book recommendation...Jenny - thanks for those great book recommendations!<br /><br />"Illegal is already on my personal reading list. Ann McAllum's writing is always great - plus she's a fabulous person. And I love Christina's combining of foodie stuff with teen life issues. <br /><br />Great suggestions!Janellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11864928264352251649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648236583334886227.post-43866177958799034342011-12-07T15:11:15.417-08:002011-12-07T15:11:15.417-08:00I'd like to recommend three books. The books a...I'd like to recommend three books. The books are great, and the authors are fabulous people!<br /><br />Eat Your Math Homework <br />by Ann McCallum<br />This collection of yummy recipes and fun math facts is sure to tempt taste buds and make you hungry for more. Explore patterns in nature while you chomp on Fibonacci Stack Sticks. Amaze your friends with delicious Variable Pizza Pi! Wash down your geometry assignment with some Milk and Tangram Cookies. Topics covered include probability, Fibonacci numbers, tessellations, variability, and more.<br /><br />The Sweetest Thing <br />by Christina Mandelski<br />In the world of Sheridan Wells, life is perfect when she’s decorating a cake. Unfortunately, everything else is a complete mess: her mom ran off years ago, her dad is more interested in his restaurant, and the idea of a boyfriend is laughable. But Sheridan is convinced finding her mom will solve all her problems—only her dad’s about to get a cooking show in New York, which means her dream of a perfect family will be dashed.<br /><br />Illegal <br />by Bettina Restrepo<br />When her father leaves their beloved Mexico in search of work, Nora stays behind. She fights to make sense of her loss while living in poverty—waiting for her father's return and a better day. When the letters and money stop coming, Nora decides that she and her mother must look for him in Texas. After a frightening experience crossing the border, the two are all alone in a strange place. Now, Nora must find the strength to survive while aching for small comforts: friends, a new school, and her precious quinceaÑera.<br /><br />Jenny MurrayJennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04134690300239109264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648236583334886227.post-53512046109590963852011-12-04T18:50:17.068-08:002011-12-04T18:50:17.068-08:00And Ms. Creek, it looks like you're also activ...And Ms. Creek, it looks like you're also actively working in the schools. So, huge thanks for your knowledgeable recommendation of Windblowne and Congrats to Stephen Messer!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648236583334886227.post-30397467880336075502011-12-04T18:47:13.280-08:002011-12-04T18:47:13.280-08:00Thanks Kathy (Crafterdays) - It's always great...Thanks Kathy (Crafterdays) - It's always great to get book recommendations from someone currently teaching middle school boys!<br /><br />I too am a huge fan of both Ian Sands and John Claude Bemis!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648236583334886227.post-66582080502598450542011-12-04T09:06:20.168-08:002011-12-04T09:06:20.168-08:00I just read a super MG novel by one of SCBWI-Carol...I just read a super MG novel by one of SCBWI-Carolina's very own Stephen Messer. Windblowne stars Oliver, a sympathetic character made hero when he accidentally discovers the secrets of his world. It's a fantastic adventure story that boys and girls (and adults) will love.LeslieChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06795620541401108272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648236583334886227.post-45462973643631493972011-12-04T06:50:17.183-08:002011-12-04T06:50:17.183-08:00I'd like to recommend Jean Claude Bemis' t...I'd like to recommend Jean Claude Bemis' trilogy, The Clockwork Dark. Book 1, The Nine Pound Hammer, is a fantasy about Ray, an orphan who escapes foster care by jumping off of a train, teams up with circus performers with special talents, helps them protect a Swamp Siren from the evil Gog, and keep the Gog from rebuilding a monstrous machine that John Henry, the famous American folk hero destroyed. <br />I'd also like to recommend Ian Sand's book, How to milk a Dinocow. This is about two kids, Trip and his friend Jules. Jules spills milk onto Trip's uncle's dinosaur machine and creates a stegcowsaurus. This is a great quick read for middle grade or as low-reader/high-interest book. <br />I've read both books with my resource students (mainly boys) and they were big hits. This is saying a lot, since boys are often a hard sell when it comes to books.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16610248061191538332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648236583334886227.post-87380023276862702562011-12-04T06:08:18.244-08:002011-12-04T06:08:18.244-08:002.) Incarceron and the second book in the series S...2.) Incarceron and the second book in the series Sapphique, written by Catherine Fisher from England (who I don't know) but brought to the U.S. recently by Editor Liz Waniewski from Dial who I do (know), is a complex and brilliantly written dark (steampunkish) YA novel as well. It's one of my favorites!<br /><br />Summary: Incarceron is a prison so vast that it contains not only cells and corridors, but metal forests, dilapidated cities, and wilderness. It has been sealed for centuries, and only one man has ever escaped. Finn has always been a prisoner here. Although he has no memory of his childhood, he is sure he came from Outside. His link to the Outside, his chance to break free, is Claudia, the warden's daughter, herself determined to escape an arranged marriage. They are up against impossible odds, but one thing looms above all: Incarceron itself is alive . . .Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648236583334886227.post-13728891722808663712011-12-04T05:59:51.870-08:002011-12-04T05:59:51.870-08:00I'm also going to make a few recommendations o...I'm also going to make a few recommendations of my own.<br /> <br />Here are 2 for the YA crowd:<br /><br />1.) My friend Kathleen Duey has written a great Dark YA book called Skin Hunger (published in 2007, but it's a series with book 2 - Sacred Scars already out.) <br /><br />Synopsis: Magic is available only to the wealthy and is strictly controlled by wizards within a sequestered academy of magic. Hahp, the expendable second son of a rich merchant, is forced into the academy and finds himself paired with Gerrard, a peasant boy inexplicably admitted with nine sons of privilege and wealth. Only one of the ten students will graduate -- and the first academic requirement is survival.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648236583334886227.post-68422984332860845872011-12-04T05:46:37.569-08:002011-12-04T05:46:37.569-08:00Ha! Maureen!
That IS a shameless act of self-prom...Ha! Maureen!<br /><br />That IS a shameless act of self-promotion. But thanks for being the first to comment and get us started this Holiday Season!<br />For those considering Maureen's book, here is a brief synopsis I found online from an independent bookstore:<br /> <br />"Yuri's Brush with Magic by Maureen Wartski is an intelligent novel for preadolescents. <br /><br />Featuring Japanese folktales told in a contemporary setting, Wartski's adventure novel explores the complexity of family relationships and how generations-old misunderstandings can cause rifts that affect the children--and how to heal those rifts. Nine-year-old Tammy is worried--her mother lies in a coma and her father is overwhelmed. Out of nowhere her great-aunt, "Mean Yuri" Hamada, appears to whisk Tammy and her older brother, Ken, off to Emerald Isle. Ken plots to return home by impeding Yuri's resolve with acts of extreme brattiness. But Tammy is captivated by Yuri's storytelling, the way her brush brings old Japanese folktales to life on her canvas, her aunt's past. She's as concerned about a buried nest of loggerhead turtle that may not hatch. Wartski skillfully blends these subplots with themes of renewal and transformation"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648236583334886227.post-26375236906970132752011-12-03T14:30:25.363-08:002011-12-03T14:30:25.363-08:00In a move of shameless self promotion, I'd sug...In a move of shameless self promotion, I'd suggest * Yuri's Brush With Magic* for a mid-grade read that has had some very nice commendations from young readers!<br />Maureen Wartskimaureen wartskinoreply@blogger.com