Mama Cried by Talia Haven

Genre: Realistic Fantasy

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I have to say I wasn’t sure what to expect when I saw how short the story was.  Talia Haven definitely has a gift for packing a lot into so little.  The story starts with Jenny and her friends swinging on the playground.   Her guardian, Azula come to get her.  She and her puppies go along with Azula to a building. I thought it strange that Jenny would ask her if she was going where all of the other children went.  At first I thought maybe she was being adopted. When asked what her last memory was, she replied, “Mama cried.”  It is at this point I realized she is dead. She is told she will enter and have to make a decision.  She is also told her puppies with be grown up.  What she sees, and what she remembers is so heart wrenching.  At first I thought it unfair for her to have to make the type of decision she had to make.  As the story progressed and came toward its end I knew it was right that she be the one. The ending was very satisfying.  I was amazed that the author was able to pack so much emotion into her writing.  I definitely will recommend her writing to others and will look forward to reading more from her.

Student Saturday: Plague by Michael Grant

Sudent Reviewer: Elizabeth B.

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

I enjoyed this book a lot because of the description. I really liked it. It was extremely detailed. I connected with this to other books because this just was a start of a war. A cold endless war. This book was both saddening and a thriller.  I would recommend this to anyone who has, what I call an evil mind. Like if they enjoy thrillers that are very suspenseful and that they don’t care what happens good or bad.

Maya and Filippo Learn About Careers in Dunedin by Alinka Rutkowska

Genre: Children's Picture Books
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

As always I loved this book.  Children who read these books are taken on an educational adventure where they learn so much.  This time Maya and Filippo are visiting Dunedin, New Zealand.  As they play with other children in the youth program on the Fun Princess, a cruise ship they live on, their director asks what they want to be when they grow up. I found it funny that Filippo wants to work at a chocolate factory because he likes to eat chocolate.  Maya is unsure of what she wants to be.
They leave the ship to visit the town and learn about the chocolate factory and other careers in Dunedin. Filippo realizes, after visiting the chocolate factory that most of the poeple who work there find their job very boring. They do the same thing over and over.  Maya leaves still undecided about a future career. She learns that she still has time to explore her options.

The other thing I love about these books is that you get to learn interesting information.  There is actually a chocolate factory in Dunedin.  It was the first one in the southern hemisphere. They make Cadbury Chocolates there.  You also learn all about how chocolate is made.  The country's oldest University is in Dunedin. It is called Otago University.  People from 100 different countries go to university there.

This is a fun way to learn new things.  As a teacher I have always believed that learning should be fun.  This is a great way for kids to begin to explore new places and new information.  I love this author's books.