The Revenge of the Shadow King by Derek Benz and J. S. Lewis

This is the first book in a series called the Grey Griffins series. The Grey Griffins is a group of four eleven-year-olds who are very close friends. The leader, and main character, is Max Sumner who comes from a family that owns towns. Max's parents just got divorced and he doesn't feel like he has anyone to take care of him.

Max, Harley, Natalia and Ernie play a card game called Round Table. It gets really freaky when Max finds a magical book in the attic. It get even more crazy when the creatures in the Round Table game start appearing in Avalon, Minnesota. The Grey Griffins discover a secret world and those that fight against the creatures.

Totally surprising how good this book, and the series, is once you give it a chance.

No Summer Class?!

I may have an opportunity to take the class I planned for next June, I might be able to take next semester!! If this happens, I can graduate in May!! HOPE HOPE!

Swamp Angel by Anne Isaacs

This is one of my favorite tall tale stories. It is not well known.

Angelica, the Swamp Angel, is like Paul Bunyan. She is abnormally tall for a human being. She takes part in a town competition to remove the town's nemesis, Thunderin Tarnation, a black bear that is abnormally large. However, no one thinks she can do it because she is a female.

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

This series is great for kids who love mysteries but need something easier to read. This series also helps readers get used to chapter books. I ended up buying every single book in this series. There was even a fan club thing that I bought the books through. I would get a newsletter and five new books once a month. Yes, I was a reading nerd as a child. Not that this blog is proving that anything has changed. =)

The Boxcar children are four orphans that are siblings. They end up living in a boxcar to be able to live together. They are too scared to live with their grandfather because they don't know him. The children end up solving a new mystery every single book. This book is thicker than most of the others because it has to set up the background of the children and how they function as a unit and individuals.

All I know is that if you've never read these books, do it!!! You will NOT regret it! If you do, I don't know if we can be friends. ;-)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

This book really made me nervous. I didn't know how a journal with comics drawn in would be something that could keep me interested. This is the first of a four-book series, the most recent hit the bookshelves October 12.

How wrong I was! This book was so clever and funny. The main character is Greg Heffley is in middle school and number 57 (approx) on the popularity list. His best friend is closer to number 200. This is not helpful to his efforts to move up. Also, Greg has crazy dynamics at home that make life interesting.

I didn't think this book would be as clever as it was. I can see how students relate to the character and the story lines. Greg shares stories that everyone can relate to and in a way that everyone thinks  about them, bluntly. I read through this first book in less than an hour. So easy to read, to relate to, and funny. At least try the first book!

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

This is one of the books that is considered to be controversial. Some parents even want it banned from their children's classrooms. All because it says the word 'ass' in one of the first few chapters. Honestly, I didn't notice it. I would agree that the word should not be there. However, the rest of the book is fantastic.

James is being raised by two aunts who are horrible to him. He has to do chores that most boys his age should never have to do. He is given a gift of some magic. However, he trips and the magic goes into the roots of the peach tree. When one of the peaches grows almost as big as the tree, his aunts start to make money to show the giant peach. James ends up running away with the peach when it starts to roll down the hill. He discovers that there are talking animals living inside the peach. The book is about the journey they make on the peach around the world.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendack

Read it. Period. End of Story.

#46 is done!!

I killed a bug all on my own!!!

I was getting into the shower today when I noticed a HUGE spider trying to crawl up the side by the faucet. I had to call Jerome in to make sure I had a witness. He probably thought I was going to freak out and make him kill it. I did it all on my own!!!! hehe

I'm really proud of myself. I normally make him kill bugs if he is home. I can be the tough girl and kill bugs when I have to but I typically fall into the scared girl. If he is home, I want Jerome to 'save' me from the bug. I know, pathetic, but I like it when he takes care of me.

May Bird and the Ever After by Jodi Lynn Anderson

This book is one of a three part series. I only bought the first book to see if the series was good enough to finish. It's not fair when a story is cut short by the end of a book. :) Now, I have to go buy the books to finish the story. And after reading this book, it is going to be worth it.


May Ellen Bird is not a typical girl. She has a hard time making friends and therefore does not get along well with others. She is an individual in the way she acts, thinks and dresses. Her best friend is her hairless cat, Somber Kitty. She lives in a town that is abandoned besides her and her mom living in a mansion. Her bedroom is covered in pictures she drew at a younger age. They are of crazy, fictional creations of her imagination.


May is threatened with boarding school in New York City. She explores the ruins of the town and finds a letter that she has never seen before. It turns out, the letter is addressed to her. After seeing the lady hidden in the tree (drawn on the envelope), May starts seeing ghosts in her house. She runs away and discovers a lake in the forest by her house. Funny thing is, the town is in a serious drought that has existed for awhile. When May finds the lake, there is a strangeness about it. Once she falls in, May discovers that she is in the after life. The book starts her journey avoiding the Bogeyman and making her back home.

Moving

So we have told both set of parents our plans for the next few years. So, now I can tell everyone.


We are going to move to Houston in July 2010. This is next summer. We will both be done with school at OSU. SO SAD!!!! However, we are happy to move into the next phase of our lives. During that year we will both get jobs and work in the Houston area. My hubby's salary will be saved to pay for his physical therapy school. For the 3 years after, he will attend PT school while we live off my salary. 


To sum up, starting July 2010, we will live in Texas for the next 4 years. We will be in the Houston area for the first. The next 3 will be where ever my hubby goes to PT school. 


Ahh!!!! It's getting real now that we're telling people!

3 days in

I love having a list to check things off. Unfortunately for me, a lot of my goals require doing something more than once before it is complete. I like that I'm making myself 'master' something before stopping it. I'm hoping that by making myself repeat some goals that they will be one step closer to habits. 


I'm trying to pick what goal to do that doesn't have to be repeated. Maybe it's not the best reason to do something on my list, but I REALLY want to cross something off. haha. I think I'll feel this list is doable if I can cross something off early.

DAY 1

YAY!!!!!!! 


I GET TO START!!!!