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.