Showing Tag: "adventure" (Show all posts)

"Meanwhile" by Jason Shiga

Posted by Lydia Schultz on Saturday, July 30, 2011,

Okay, I am SOOOO an English major. On my first couple of attempts to read this book, I (literally) whined and complained to anyone and everyone within ear shot. The book is too hard to follow, it is boring, it doesn’t make sense, etc. So I handed it to my more mathematically-inclined family members who looked at me like I was crazy and implied I was too lazy to figure out how it works.

So, with some grumpiness, I picked it up the next day. And, much to my dismay, they were right. ...

"Cosmic" by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Posted by Lydia Schultz on Friday, July 22, 2011,

In Cosmic, Frank Cottrell Boyce presents us with a charming and believable narrator – Liam, the twelve-year-old boy who looks like an adult man. Liam’s narrative begins in the middle, with him telling us how he got into the mess/adventure that he is in. His story is told with verve and energy, and just the right mix-in of self-deprecating humor.

For you see, as the novel opens, Liam is in space, on a rocket near the moon, with four other children. Unfortunately for Liam, he is t...

The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester by Barbara O'Connor

Posted by Lydia Schultz on Wednesday, July 20, 2011,

Owen Jester seems like a typical elementary school boy. In Barbara O'Connor's The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester, Owen feels stranded on the wrong side of town, away from his friends. His family has moved in with his grandfather both to help out his grandfather, who is recovering from a stroke, and to help themselves out, since Owen's father has lost his job. Viola, the nearby neighbor girl, is no substitute for Owen's friends--she suffers fr...

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About Me

Lydia Schultz

St. Paul, Minnesota

I am a school librarian and former college English teacher. I hope to review many of the books I read, both in the context of my research about children's books as well as in my pursuit of recreational reading. I want to share what I read--so what else is new?

Please feel free to contact me. I welcome hearing feedback and advice. If you would like to comment on a particular post, click on the title of the post and a comment box will appear after the post when the page reloads.

Thanks!