Lug Blast From the North by David Zeltser

Genre: Middle Grade, Action, Adventure
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This second book was just as good as the first book, and a very quick read. I sat down and put it away in and hour.  Lug is awakened one morning by Crazy Crag who wants him to look at something. He pretends to be asleep. Crag wakes his whole family when he fails to wake Lug. Crag wants them to come see something. No one moves until Crag has left and they hear a loud booming noise. Lug and his friends Stony, Echo, and Wooly all climb the mountain to find Crag. What they see is a giant glacier moving really quickly their way.  On their way to find out what they can do to stop it, they find a boy under ice. They thaw him out. He tells them his name is Blast and he lives on the glacier. He tells them the glacier will soon crush their caves and he is offering them a place to stay with him.  A message is sent back to their village as they check out the glacier.

For some reason, Lug just doesn't trust Blast. He soon learns he as a good reason not to. Blast is up to no good and it is up to Lug to figure out a way to stop him and the glacier.  This book is sure to keep students on the edge of their seat flipping pages. I do hope there are more to come in this series.

Free to Be Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Story of Women and Law by Teri Kanefield

Genre: Adult, Biography

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

Ruth Bader Ginsberg was born into a Jewish family where she learned many of the same things the males learned. She was very smart, yet kept that part somewhat hidden. She won scholarships to send her to college. She was known to her family as Kiki, a nickname her older sister had given her. Her older sister was only six or seven when she died. Kiki lost her mother the day before her high school graduations.

This book is not just about Ruth Ginsberg’s journey. The history of women before her who helped pave the way is also told. It’s amazing how little I know, and how much I learned about women’s rights in the 1600 – early 1900s. I am glad I was born when I was. Ruth not only faced the issue of her gender and what it came to was: Ruth not only faced the issue of her gender when it came to getting a job at a law firm, but was banned because she was a mother and a Jew. Reading this book shows that she didn’t let much stand in her way of what she wanted. You don’t have to be her fan to learn so much about her and to enjoy the book. I learned so much about this woman and what she did for equality for everyone.  It was definitely well research, which is a trademark of this author. You can pick up any of her books and know that she has spent hours making sure everything is accurate. This is another reason to read this book. Yes, I would say that I would recommend this book to my readers. It is quite clearly one of the best written books I have read this year.

Six Wonderful Picture Books in Time for School

Adventures with Andy & Susie: A Stormy Weekend by Donna Hall
Genre: Children's Picture Book
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.



This is a wonderful book about a boy and his cat. When the boy returns home from school the cat expects them to go on an adventure. The story line is simple but complete and the pictures are absolutely beautiful. This is a book parents will enjoy reading to their children.
 I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.


Take the Dog Out by Lynne Dempsey

Children's Picture Book
Source: I purchased a copy
A dog wants to go outside so he takes his leash to the mother who is busy baking. He creates a mess in the kitchen and mom yells for someone to take the dog out. He goes fro one person to the next spoiling what they are doing. Will this little pup get his wish to go outside? These are great books for your preschool age child.






Numbers! Take the Dog Out by Lynne Dempsey
Children's Picture Book
Source: I purchased a copy
This is a wonderful book for young children. It not only teaches them to count from zero to ten, but it also teaches them the basics of addition and subtraction. I loved the simple pictures and simple phrases. There is a word bank at the end so you can practice with your children. Simple is usually best for the youngest child. I'll recommend this to my daughter for her youngest.




Colors! Take the Dog Out by Lynne Dempsey
Children's Picture Book
Source: I purchased a copy
This is another wonderful book for preschool age children. In this book the author has introduced colors to the reader through a group of kids who go out to pick flowers. Follow along as they discover all of the colors to be found in flowers and a few colors that aren't flowers, but insects.  The pictures in this book are so cute and charming.

Dancing with Tex by Lynn Sanders, Sergio Drumond
Genre: Children's Picture Book
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This is a wonderful and true story of a man who was willing to do. Whatever it took to help the whooping crane population. In 1972, in Texas a young whooping crane was born. The whooping crane was on the verge of extinction. Unfortunately the caring zookeeper made a big mistake. By taking the young bird home to care for it, the bird imprinted on the man. That means he thought he was people not a bird. Tex was sent to a wildlife area with other cranes. They hoped Tex would lay an egg. But remember Tex thought she was people. A young man named George decided to help. His parents let him use their farm to help raise all kinds of rare cranes. Tex was shipped there. Would George be able to help Tex lay an egg?
This is a wonderful story of a man who dedicated his life to saving cranes all over the world. Very inspirational. The illustrations are wonderful. A book to be shared with young and old alike.

Horses and Ponies by Francois Bissonnette
Genre: Children's Picture Book
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This is a book full of beautiful pictures and wonderful facts. This is a great book especially for the horse lover. The reader will have the opportunity to learn all about horses and ponies from what they eat, how and if horses sleep as well as the differences between horses and ponies