Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Three Woderful Books - Eitan Hana

Foxy the Fox and the Vineyard


Foxy the fox lives with his wife and three fox children, sons Dolly and Polly and daughter Tolly. Foxy has lots of friends. He also has an enemy. Snicker the snake is the enemy of all of the animals. He is rich.  Everything he has he has taken by force.  He has a vineyard full of grapes that will soon be ripe.  At one time all the animals enjoyed the grapes. That was before Snicker took them and put fences and traps around them so no one could get to them except the crow who could fly in from above.  Foxy wants grapes more than anything.  He and his family sit down and make a plan to get the grapes.  Will he get the grapes or will he get caught.  Read this wonderful story to find out how friends help each other.  This story teaches kids not to be greedy, to remain loyal to friends, and to help each other.


Foxy's Birthday


It is Foxy's birthday.  His family and friends have prepared a surprise party for him.  Foxa his wife has prepared some omlettes from eggs given to her by her chicken friend.  Foxy's friend Coby Cat is coming for a visit and bringing the cake. Foxy hasn't seen Coby in a long time. When Foxy sits down to eat breakfast he sees his youngest is not at the table.  Mama sends him in to check on Tolly.  Tolly says she feels better and gets out of bed.  When they get to the table Foxy is surprised by a special breakfast. A knock on the door and he is surprised by his friend Coby.  Coby loves pranks.  Read to find out what happens when one of his pranks goes wrong.  This is a lesson about caring for each other in many different ways. It also shows how a simple act can be an act of heroism.



6 Activities For Children

This book has six activities you can do with your children.  These activities would be great for parties, or any large gathering. The book has instructions and a list of what you need for each activity. A couple of them are the Tug of War, Creating bottles with layers of colored salt, water races.  This book was a reminder to me of things that my family did whenever we would get together with other relatives on our farm or when we would go camping.  This was a reminder of a lot of great fun that I and my family had growing up.  This is a definite book for parents. This is enough to give you a start on activities to do together.  This seems to be something that is missing in families today.




Eitan Hana is the father of ten children, and has several grandchildren.  They grew up being told wonderful stories such as these.  These are definite must reads.


Title: The Infinity Program
Author: Richard H. Hardy
f Genre: Science Fiction
Paperback available at: Amazon





Book Description:

Jon Graeme and Harry Sale are unlikely friends. Harry is a world-class programmer, but his abrasive personality alienates co-workers. In contrast, Jon is a handsome and easy-going technical writer, the low man on the IT totem pole.

Sharing a love of nature, the men set out together, planning to go their separate ways--Jon on a hike and Harry, fly fishing. Three days later, Jon arrives at the rendezvous point, but his friend is nowhere in sight. When Jon finds Harry unconscious on the floor of a cave, Harry claims to have been lying there the entire time. But he is neither cold nor hungry. What Jon doesn't know is that Harry fell into an underground cavern, where he came into contact with an alien quantum computer.

Back at work, Harry jettisons his regular tasks and concentrates exclusively on inventing new operating language to access the alien system. In the process he crashes his office's Super Computer and is fired. Jon convinces the company to give Harry a second chance, arguing that the system he has invented will make them millions.

Jon has no idea what havoc Harry is about to unleash.


Excerpt:






About the Author:
Richard H. Hardy was born in Glasgow, Scotland, during a week of relentless bombing raids just before the close of World War II. The day he was born an incendiary bomb fell on the church across the street from where he lived, so he is fond of saying that he entered the world with a big adrenaline rush.

His family later moved to England and then on to America.

After college Richard bounced through a series of temporary jobs as he traveled around the country, wanting nothing more than to write fiction. A job driving a library van allowed him free time to write several short stories and work on a novel.

He and his wife moved to New Hampshire, where he took an entry level job at a software company. He was soon promoted to the technical writing department and ended up producing over 500,000 words of online documentation. After a few years he was promoted to the programming department and ended up as the Senior EDI Programmer, creating EDI maps and writing UNIX scripts and troubleshooting on AIX systems throughout the U.S. and Canada.

After he retired, he started writing fiction again. The Infinity Program is his first published novel.


Where to find Richard H. Hardy:

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Monday, March 31, 2014

Eleven Wonderful Picture Books


 Two books by Emily Thomson 

The illustrations in both books are beautiful.  The animals have that adorable, want to cuddle them look to them.

All the Baby Animals in the Wild
 
In this book  we learn about the animals that are in the wild . She has included the monkey, zebra, rhinoceros, a giraffe, hippo, tiger, hyena, elephant, antelope, and lion. The author has created a simple rhyming book that gives one or two characteristics of these wild animals.

 

All the Baby Animals in the Woods

In this second rhyming book we get a look at animals that live in the woods.  It also is written in a rhyming format. The animals in this book include a fawn, bear, flying squirrel, raccoon, owl, porcupine, fox, and lynx.  It also shows them cuddling with their mothers and talks about what they do as babies until they grow up. She has included a link to LiltHouseKids.com for a free coloring book.

 

Bob and Larry in the Case of the Missing Patience – Karen Poth
Bob and Larry are detectives. Larry carries around a stuffed badger to help him remain courageous They have to teach a new group called the Pod Squad to be great detectives.  Their first case they get a tip on the Masked Door Slammer.  There are too many of them to fit in the detective’s car so they take the Pod Squad van that breaks down.  This causes them to miss the Masked Door Slammer. The peas rolled down the hill and this causes Larry and Bob to use hateful words towards them.  They suddenly find themselves investigating another case.  They think they have caught the culprit only to discover things aren’t what they thought.  As they learn the truth they also learn how hurtful words can be if they aren’t used for good.  Great lessons in this book.

 

Casey and Bella Face Their First Bully – written by Jane Lovascio; story idea by Anna Stover

Bella and Casey meet their new neighbor a Doberman named Roscoe. When they say hello and welcome him he is hateful to them. They decide to try the next day. When their Frisbee accidently flies over the fence Roscoe refuses to give it back. Casey and Bella decide to walk to the park where they meet a wise owl named Opie. The owl tells them that Roscoe is a Bully. He explains what a bully is and how to deal with them.  This is a must read book.  See how Casey and Bella help stop bullying.  Then read the story behind the story that was originally written by 10 year old Anna Stover. The basic story line and ideas for stopping bullying are in both stories. This is a wonderful way to teach young kids what to do if they or someone they know are being bullied.

 



Cat Cabby – Christina Tran

Cassidy cat is a cab driver who falls asleep as he is driving. He picks up Ginger cat to take her to a birthday party.  Ginger has a plan to help Cassidy stay awake.  She is going to play music but forgets the music. She has to get to the bakery to get the cupcakes.  Cassidy starts the car and falls asleep but still gets her there safely.  Cassidy is very sorry.  Read this book to see how Cassidy’s friends help him with his problem and then read to learn the true story behind Cassidy Cat.

 

 

Hero Cat – Eileen Spinelli

Eileen Spinelli is one of my favorite children’s authors.  Hero cat is the story of a mother cat who entered a burning building five different times to save her kittens.  She brought them out one at a time.  This simple, short story is based on the news story of a cat who did just that.  For this reason she is considered a hero.

 

 

It Stinks to Be Pink – Kathryn L. Novak

On an island called Flora live creatures that are round, fluffy and brightly colored. They have black markings on their puffy bodies. The children go to school and then love to play in the beautiful flowers on their island.  All of the fuzzipuffs love to play outside except for Spotty.  Everyone thinks that Spotty doesn’t like them because he always seems sad or mad.  Spotty thinks no one likes him or wants to play with him because unlike the others he is pink. Spotty decides he is going to run away to the Dark Forest.  It is the only place they are forbidden to go.  Spotty finds a magical mirror?  Read this wonderful book about self – image to find out what happens to Spotty and the other fuzzipuffs.

 

Mia’s Tooth Fairy – Yosifia Porat

Mia is about to lose her first tooth. She is very excited that the tooth fairy will visit her. She talks with her friends about it.  She decides to write a letter to the tooth fairy to make sure she remembers to visit her after she loses her tooth.  When the letter is returned she makes a video and puts it on YouTube in hopes the tooth fairy will see it. Read to find out if Mia gets a visit form the tooth fairy.

 

Rainboy Full of Joy – Eli

This book was different.  Troy is a young boy who looks out the window and see something strange.  He is not sure whether he should tell his parents.  Rainboy speaks to him and tells him to come out and play.  He asks him what he would like to do then tells him to grab hold of his tail.  They are transported to the area Troy wished for.  After a while they meet two new friends, Ned and Ted.  Each of them get to make a wish and then it is time to go back home.  Read all about their adventures in this cute book. Then ask yourself, if Rainboy visited you, where would you wish to go?

All Sheep Love to Sing - Paula McBride
In this cute book all the sheep were practicing for the 'Great Anwen Sheep Singing Contest'. That is all of the sheep except for the smallest one, Emlyn.  He was too shy to try to sing.  On the day of the great singing contest. Emlyn stands at the top of a mountain to hear better. Suddenly he spots danger.  Read this book to find out what he does to save the other sheep.  This was a cute book with wonderful pictures



Ten Busy Brownies - Talia Haven
This simple story is a counting book. It starts out with one little brownie guarding the dreams of children as they sleep. Then there are two brownies are cleaning up clothes and toys.  It continues adding a number and what the brownies are doing all the way up to ten.  In case you don't remember what  a brownie is, they are similar to goblins but usually live in houses and help out.  The story is delightful, the pictures are very colorful and give you something to sit with your child and have them find different things in the pictures. This is a great book to teach children to count to ten.

Saturday, March 29, 2014

How to Promote Your Children's Book - Katie Davis


I was excited to participate in the promotion of this book. I received a copy from the author to read and review.  What you get here is my honest review.

Promoting my first book was extremely hard and that is probably why it has not done as well as I’d like it to.  I can take the advice in this book and apply it to not only my first book but to the one I have almost finished. Shy by nature, promoting myself and my work has always been an issue.  I am a National Board Certified Teacher.  I missed getting the certification the first time around by nine points.  When my mentor, someone who had been an evaluator in the process looked over my results her words were no surprise.  I missed it because I did not promote myself.  I grew up believing if you did that you were vain and self-centered.  In writing you have to promote yourself whether you are self-published or traditionally published.

Katie’s book takes some of the sting out of what seems like such a daunting process.  I was pleased to see that some of the things I had already done with my first book were things she had recommended in her book. I was also shocked at how much more I could have done. As a teacher, I loved the section on “Teacher’s Guides”. The proper way to use “Social” media is hit on which makes it very relevant to every author and really focuses on the social part of it. When I promoted my first book I was afraid of offending everyone by talking about my book on Facebook.  I had come across people who made it clear they hated and unfriended people who they felt used them just for that purpose. There is a right and a wrong way to use social media.

Another thing that was especially helpful to me was all of the links she included in the book.  This is a book that you need to read with a pen and pad at your side as there will be so much you will want to go back to or check on. Keeping a notepad handy helps.   This book doesn’t come across a stiff how-to manual.  Instead it is more like sitting down with a group of writing friends and discussing ways to promote your book, what worked and what didn’t work.

So how much do I believe in this book?  I have a group of middle school students who participated in NaNoWriMo.  I am going to tell them and their parents that this is the book they need if they are serious about getting their book published.  I am also going to work with them on some of the ideas in the book.  That is how much I believe in this book.
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Student Saturday: Duckling Ugly - Neal Shusterman

Student Reviewer: Grant

The book Duckling Ugly was a really good book because it had good detail, and taught a good lesson. The lesson learned was to think before you do. The book would really paint a picture in your mind about the setting. It was very descriptive. I might warn you there is a little sadness in the beginning and also at the end,

The time frame of the book is pretty modern, I think that the year is 2011. The story takes place in a small town named Flockcrest. There are mountains on the northwest side of the town. Somewhere in the town there is a cemetery where Clara visits almost every day. There are a lot of characters in this book. the main character is Clara. Clara is an ugly girl who can literally crack a mirror just by looking at it. She also sleeps standing up in the northwest corner of her room at night. Grenado is a kid who once sat in the mercy seat (the chair across the table from Clara). Tud Tuddie is an ugly boy like Clara. He got made fun of a lot and went missing a few years back. Clara's mom and dad always supported Clara and always loved her. Her brother was always a smart aleck towards Clara. Her mom and dad were not happy about that. One more character in the story is Marshal. She bullies Clara every day.

The plot of the story begins at school when Grenado sits in the mercy seat and Clara ignores him the whole lunch, The next week Grendado comes back to sit in the  mercy seat. He was the first student to sit in the mercy seat more than once. That day Clara sneaks out to go to the cemetery. She was relaxing when she saw Marshal doing graffiti in the cemetery. Clara hid but when Marshal saw Clara he started to beat her up. An old lady came over and stabbed Marshal in the toe and Marshal ran away. That night Clara gets a letter hand delivered to her house that said "find the answers". A kid named Marshal Aster asked Clara to the homecoming dance and Clara said yes. At the dance Clara forces a kiss on her date and he throws up in the punch bowl. After that Clara is so humiliated she drives North West towards the mountains and wanders on a path and passes out near the mountains.

Just like Clara's school, our school and most schools have a hand full of bullies. Also, I think most people have made decisions that were not so smart and hopefully they have learned fro that. I think a lot of people can relate to this.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good descriptive book and a little bit of drama with emotions. It can be a little confusing so you want to focus while reading the book to get the most out of it. Overall an 8 out of 10 stars for this book.

Friday, March 28, 2014

First Light - Michelle Frost

 
Genre: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 400
Source: I received a review copy in exchange for my honest review.

From Goodreads:
On the harsh militant world of Sindorus, where even colours are considered sinful, three people living very separate lives are about to have those lives change forever. As deceptions are torn away, and ancient secrets brought to light, they each must struggle to find the missing pieces to the puzzle...answers that will unlock their true destiny

My Review:
This is an awesome book.  We are introduced to the three main characters in the first three chapters.
We meet Idrith, a young man who lives in a monastery.  This was not by his choice.  Idrith, as a young boy goes to live with his uncle due to a scandal and death in his family. Life with his uncle is not easy.  He knows his uncle can't stand him.  He and his cousin Aztar become very close. They share secrets they would not dare tell anyone else. Idrith follows his father into the monastery. His father is well liked.  For Idrith it seems more like a prison until he meets Harmion and finds a secret room.

Daen's family owns land that once grew Rae trees. Rae trees are vital to Sindorous. As the trees have died they have started to raise milk giving animals.  Daen's mother died giving birth to her.  Unlike most women, Daen was raised  with many of the freedoms that boys had.  She was free to read more than others, climbed trees, and ask as man y questions as she wanted. This was great until she was promised in marriage so that her family land would always be hers. The nobleman's son she was to marry had great aspirations.  He definitely would not allow her the freedoms she had grown up with because that could cause a scandal. When her betrothed keeps putting off the wedding her future father-in-law sends her a slave girl as a gift. This girl is a big help to her ailing father. She also introduces her to Harmion who helps her with her art.

Aztar has one goal, to become a Controller before the age of 30.  Most people don't make it before age 40. He has attended the military academy and is moving up at a very fast rate for such a young age. Imagine his surprise when he is called in by the Zah-Riel and made a Controller at age 29 and given a secret mission. The one hitch is he must work with a southerner named Anachar. There are prejudices that abound between the people of the north and south. Aztar is beginning to overcome those prejudices as he works with Aachar.  A letter from his cousin Idrith, delivered by a friend of Anachars proves both worrisome and beneficial at the same time. The friend turns out to be Harmion.

It didn't take me long after I started the book to start making connections to other books. One of the things that is evident from the very beginning is that people are not to have anything to do with colors. They are not allowed to have colorful clothing or pictures, etc.  Everything is drab.  As a teacher I immediately thought of two books "Truesight" by David Stahler. This is about a society that is blind in so many ways following a leadership that only pretends to be blind to keep the people in line. The other book is called "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. In this society everyone does what they are told. No one sees color except Jonas who is being trained by The Giver.  He becomes angry when he learns the truth.  It is the same with the people in this book.  When they learn the truth they are called to action.

The lessons and themes in this book are many. The danger is everywhere.  Will the individuals  find common ground and find the connections that will bind them together, or will the darkness within the Zan-Riel cover them all?

This is a must read book.  I look forward to reading the sequel and anything else this author writes. I was so engrossed I finished the book in one day. Definitely a book I recommend to all fantasy lovers.

 
 

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Student Saturday: The Looking Glass Wars - Frank Beddor

Student Reviewer: Kai

The Looking Glass Wars is a three-part series that was inspired by the original books by Lewis Carroll; Alice in Wonderland, and Through the Looking Glass. The story focuses on young Alyss Heart the soon-to-be queen of Wonderland, but Wonderland has an enemy, Genevieve Heart's (The queen) sister Redd. Redd wants to take back the kingdom after being exiled for thirteen years, and if need be by force. Redd and her most trusted minion the cat (a feline-human hybrid assassin) have gathered an army of warriors trained in imagination (A magic-like power used to manipulate the normal world that is fueled by your imagination to take the throne of power. This is a very good Three-part series with lots of action, tragedy, and some love. I would recommend anyone to read these books as they are a good twist on a classic book.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

It's Time to Begin Reading for SRT 2014


Welcome to Spring Reading Thing 2014!

It is my sincerest hope that you have a great time with this challenge.  I hope you get to read lots of books and that you find a lot of new books for our TBR list.

Briefly here is what you need to do to be a part of Spring Reading Thing 2014:
  • Make a list of books you want to read or finish reading this spring.  Feel free to modify the list as you go along if it isn't working for you.
  • Write a blog post containing your list and submit it to this post using the Mr. Linky below.
  • Check out other participants' lists and add to your own to-read-someday pile!
  • You may begin reading on the 20th!  The challenge goes from March 20th to June 20th.
  • Write a post about your challenge experience in June, telling us all about your experience and whether you reached our goals.  REMEMBER: this is a low-pressure, stressfree challenge that should be fun. As long as you do some reading this spring (and enjoy it!) that's good enough for me.

There is a Mr. Linky at the end of this post.  Please use it to link to your blog post containing your Spring Reading Thing list. Remember to link to your specific post, not just your general blog homepate. People will be stopping by for days or weeks!) and when you link to your specific post, it will make it easier for everyone to find your reading list. Also, if you don't mind, please link back here from your post so that your readers can come check out all the other participants.


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I will be giving away two prizes as part of Spring Reading Thing 2014:

  1. Two  $20 gift certificate to Amazon.com
To be eligible for these prizes, you must:

  • Post your initial Spring Reading 204 post (and enter it on the linky list on my blog) by midnight on March 24th
  • AND post a wrap-up post on your blog at the end of the challenge (and enter it on the linky list I'll have up then) by midnight on June 24th
That's it. I'll randomly draw the winners shortly after the end of the challenge.

Note:  There is NO limit to when people can sign up to participate in Spring Reading Thing 2014. You're welcome to join in any time between now and June! The "deadlines" mentioned in the above prize section are only for prize eligibility.


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Link Up Below!



Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Spring Reading Thing List


Well this is going to be an interesting challenge.  I have several books I need to read and review over the next few months.  I’ve gotten behind in reading with everything going on at school and at home.  So I am using this challenge and Spring Break to give me a hand up in meeting my goals.  I can guarantee you that this list will change over time.  Partly because I am not adding all of the books I need to read.
 This may look like a lot but in actuality I read and post reviews several times a week.

Picture Books
It Stinks to be Pink – Kathryn L. Novak
Queen-a-Bella Finds a Best Friend – Lisl Fair & Nina De Polonia
Not Another Boring ABC Book – Sharon Cohen
All Sheep Love to Sing – Paula McBride
Chickens In Birthday Suits – Nancy Mauerman
Truthy Ruthy – Sari Barel
Goodnight Farm Animals – Sharlene Alexander
Hero Cat – Eileen Spinelli
Mia’s Tooth Fairy – Yosifia Porat
Case and Bella Face Their First Bully – Anna Stover
Bob and Larry in the Case of the Missing Patience – Karen Poth


Middle Grade/Young Adult
Time Square: The Shift – S.W. Lothian
The Take Back of Lincoln Junior High – Roseanne Cheng
I Don’t Wanna Be an Orange Anymore – Hank Kellner
This Star Won’t go Out – Esther Earl
The Rise of Mallory – Roy Huff
 
TouchDown Tony Crowne and the Mystery of the Missing Cheerleader – Petery Guy George
The Case of Secrets – Alfred M. Struther
Sacket’s Harbor Powder Monkey – Hope Irwin Marston
Eye on the Iditarod Aisleys Quest – Hope Irwin Marston
Across the Tumen – Moon Young-Sook
Jayden and the Mysterious Mountain
The Sphere – Kevin Turner



Adult
Dancing in Rhythm with the Universe – Barbara Miller
The Savage Murder of Skylar Neese
They Way of Grace – Cathy Bryant
Pilgrimage of Promise – Cathy Bryant
First Light – Alec Frost

Spring Reading Thing 2014 Instructions


Welcome to Spring Reading Thing 2014!  Coming to you in 3 Days!

This year has been a difficult one for me.  I was not sure I was going to be able to host this challenge.   As always this is a fun way to catch up on some of the books you have not had a chance to read or finish. You may not have much time to read.  If you can only read 2 books that is fine.  Keep this simple and fun. 


Most of what you will read has been borrowed from Katrina’s site.  I wanted to make sure the  basic rules are the same for those who have participated in years past.

Here are the basics  you will need to do if you wish to participate in this reading challenge.

1.     Make a list of books you want to read this Spring.  Since this is a stress free challenge you may feel free to modify your list as needed if it is not working for you.  I often do this because I get requests for a book review with a due date.
2.     Write a blog post containing your list and submit March 20th to the Mr. Linky that will be at the bottom of that post.
·      Then begin reading!  The Challenge runs from March 20th through June 20th.
·      Check out other participants’ lists and add to your own to-read-someday pile

You might want to check out  last year’s Spring Reading Thing Challenge to see what others did and to find answers to any questions you may have.

Posting Guidelines
1.     Write your post before you sign up on the linky list that will go live on March 20th.  Please have your post written and published on your blog before you add your name to the linky list.  If I click on your name/link and do not see your post and reading list, or if it takes me to a post that says you will be participating, but will post your list later, I will delete your entry from the list.  It is unfair to those participants who have already prepared their lists and blog posts.  If I delete your entry please come back and submit your name again once your post/list is up.
 
 
2.     Use a permalink when you sign up.  Make sure your linky list is linked to your Spring Reading Thing post, not just the front page of your blog.  Mr. Linky will go live on March 20th.  There will be a space marked “Your Name” where you will type your name (or your blog’s name) and a space under it for “Your URL,” or website address.  This is where you will put your permalink to your Spring Reading Thing post.
 
    Instead of something like :  http://myspecialblog.com  you would want something like this: 
    http://myspecialblog.com/2013/03/spring-reading -thing.html
 
These addresses are made up, but you get the idea. Blogging Basics 101 has an article on how to find the “permalink” to a particular post HERE.
 
 
3.     Keep your post family-friendly.  Please make sure any book titles or book coverts you include would be safe for younger people to see.  In years past Katrina has had kids participate in the reading challenge and my students participate.  I want to make sure the links presented on the official Spring Reading Thing list are safe for them.  Links to posts with explicit titles or covers may be deleted. 
 
 
4.  Get ready to read!  I have included time each week in my classroom for reading to give me and my students time to work on our reading goals.  I also use this time to check out what other participants are reading.  It is a wonderful way to add books to our ever growing reading list.
 
Mr. Linky
My plan at this time is to put up the official Spring Reading Thing 2014 launch post at 6:00 a.m. (EST) on Thursday March 20th.   I teach all day and may not be able to check  if something goes wrong with the linky list until that evening.    If you have any questions please email me at skstiles612 [at] yahoo [dot] com.  I will do my best to answer your questions.

I will be giving away two prizes as part of the 2014 Spring Reading Challenge: Two $20 Amazon Gift Cards
 
To be eligible you must:

·      Post your initial Spring Reading Thing 2013 post  ( and enter it on the linky list on my blog) by midnight on March 24th
·      AND post a wrap-up post on your blog at the end of the challenge (and enter it on the linky list I’ll have up then) by midnight on June 24th

That is it.  I’ll randomly draw the winners shortly after the end of the challenge.

You may get the button below. 


SRT-14 SM photo SRT-14sm.jpg