Crazy Buildings by Michael J. Rosen-OPTIONAL

Rosen, Michael J., Crazy Buildings. Pgs. 32. Lerner Publishing, 2014. $26.60. INFORMATION.

Did you know there’s an inn shaped liked dogs? Or seen the world’s largest treehouse? There’s even buildings shaped like conch shells and spirals? How did these architectural marvels come to be? Learn about these wild building wonders and the builders that mad them in this book.

A fun book to read, but it seems to be missing something. The buildings are fun to read about, but the text and the illustrations intermixed don’t quite fit together. Nevertheless, readers interested in architecture or crazy things in the world will enjoy reading this book. Included are a glossary, source notes, further reading, a glossary, and recommended websites. EL. OPTIONAL. Reviewer: Jessica Moody, Library Media Specialist, Olympus Jr. High

2013 in First Lines

A fun yearly meme I've done at least once or twice is the Year in First Lines created by Melwyk at The Indextrious Reader. It's very simply - you copy across the first line of each month's first blog post, and a link to that post, as an intriguing overview of the year... and it seems an appropriate way to celebrate Boxing Day.

January: "You'll be sick of these soon... but what is the new year for but to share book-reading statistics?"

February: "I'm starting a new job on Monday (maternity cover) at Oxford University Press."

March: "Happy March, everyone! I hope my March reading is substantially more than my February reading..."

April: '"Yet one fearful characteristic of the physical world tempers any optimism that a reader may feel in any ordered library: the constraints of space.'"

May: "Book reviews coming soon, promise - and those replies to your great comments which I promised last week."

June: "There are some authors, because of the influence of the online reading group I'm in, that I stockpile before I get around to reading them."

July: "Sometimes you just need to read an Agatha Christie, don't you?"

August: "I can't remember if I've already blogged about the beautiful new editions of some Barbara Comyns novels that Virago have brought out, but it bears repeating."

September: "A couple of times I have had the pleasure of staying with bloggers, who have kindly put me up (and put up with me) when I've needed a bed to crash in while in London."

October: "Well, sort of."

November: "Simon... is me!"

December: "Of all the books to speed-read, The Good Soldier (1915) by Ford Madox Ford was a poor choice."

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau-ESSENTIAL

Charbonneau, Joelle, The Testing. Pgs. 344. Houghton Mifflin, 2013. $17.99. Content: Language: PG (5 swears, no “f”s), Mature Content: PG-13, Violence: PG-23

Cia Vlae has one goal in life to be one of the few selected to attend university. When she is selected, her father tells his residual nightmares from the testing and givers her one warning: don’t trust anyone. Cia soon finds out that testing for the university is a matter of survival. Can she trust Tomas? Does she choose love? Readers will be clawing for the next installment. MS, HS. ESSENTIAL. Reviewer: Jessica M, Library Media Specialist, Olympus Jr. High.

Fairy Tale Comics by Chris Duffy-OPTIONAL

Duffy, Chris, Fairy Tale Comics. Ill. By Various Artists. Pgs. 123. First Second Books, 2013. $19.99. GRAPHIC NOVEL. Content: Language: G, Mature Content: G, Violence: G

Retold in comic style are everyone’s favorite fairy tales. The illustrations are colorful and entertaining. The stories resemble and follow the stories everyone’s familiar with. Readers who like fairy tales, comics, and traditional tales will enjoy reading this book. EL, MS. OPTIONAL. Reviewer: Jessica M, Library Media Specialist, Olympus Jr. High.