Saturday, March 16, 2024

Student Saturday: Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner


Genre: Middle Grade, Adventure 

Student Reviewer:  Clayron R.

There is no stopping a little boy who loves his grandfather. Stone Fox is about a 10 year old boy named Willy who is faced with adult challenges on a small potato farm in Wyoming. One day Little Willy woke up to be amazed that grandfather was still asleep. He and his dog named Searchlight went to Doc Smith's house to get some help. Once she had checked Grandfather out she said that he was as healthy as can be, and his grandfather just didn't t want to live anymore. Little Willy started to do everything he could to get Grandfather to feel better including doing the potato harvest, paying the bill at the general store and even getting all of the winter supplies, but Grandfather still wasn't better. To make matters worse,Mr. Clifford Snyder, a state of Wyoming tax collector, came to collect 10 years of back taxes. Little Willy had never heard of taxes and didn't believe the man because he knew Grandfather had always paid everything on time. There was a big problem if the taxes weren't paid. They would lose the farm. To solve the problem, Willy and Searchlight entered a race. The prize was the exact amount of money they needed to save the farm - $500. Searchlight and Willy were up against some of the best. Some things I really liked about this book was that Willy had to deal with real life problems. A connection I had with this book was little Willy and I share the same love for dogs. Did Willy win the race? Did he save his grandfather's farm? Read the book to find out! 

Saturday, March 9, 2024

Student Saturday: The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan

 


Genre:  Middle Grade, Fantasy, Traditional
Student Reviewer: Mykyta K.

Egyptian Mythology and religion is a one of the many mysteries of our time, and one of the most interesting as well. Many fantasize about it, and many others make a career out of it by unraveling those very mysteries.


I am one of those people who enjoy fantasizing about it and imagining how it was back then, which is exactly why I enjoyed the idea of Rick Riordan’s book, “The Serpent’s Shadow”. Rick Riordan is one of my favorite authors, and I particularly enjoyed his Greek Mythology works. “The Serpent’s Shadow” is one of his comics about Egyptian mythology that starred a family called the Kanes. The Kane Family is composed of a brother and a sister, a father whose job consists of judging the dead, and an uncle who works for the gods. However, the mother isn’t talked about much. This family was in charge of doing the work for the gods in the mortal world, using the Egyptian gods' powers. They led a group of magicians who also attempted to live alongside the gods while wielding magic, but had to protect dear things to the gods from their enemies who were against their ideas.

    

This world painted by Rick Riordan takes place in Egypt, along with some cities in modern day America. Personally, I enjoyed the idea of this, but in my opinion, the book overall didn't really appeal to me. I say this because I consider myself to enjoy more advanced books, and occasionally light reads, but “The Serpent's Shadow” was in a way, not very serious and quite “cringey”. I would however, recommend this book to younger audiences in elementary school, as it's a nice way for younger people and minds to begin learning about mythology and history.

Monday, March 4, 2024

Maddie’s Ghost by Carol Saller



Genre: Middle Grade, Mystery
Source: I won a copy from the author through LibraryThing. The opinions expressed here are my own.

When Lainie Stanton receives a call from a TV reporter inviting her to be interviewed as Ohio’s first millennium baby she is flattered. Her Uncs and father are not as thrilled. They see this as possible issue, especially if the reporter’s intentions are not true. Their worst fears come true.  During the  taping of the interview Lainie is faced with pictures of her great-grandmother’s hanging.  Seventy-five years before her great-grandmother was tried and convicted of murder.  Lainie blindsided by this reporter claims she has proof of her grandmother’s innocent. Now she has only a few weeks to make her lie a truth. 

I loved the complexity of this book. The flipping back and forth between historical documents and present time kept me reading. This is definitely a book I will read again in the future. It was just that good.  Definitely need a copy for my classroom shelves.