Monday, July 18, 2022

Andrew Jackson by Terri Kanefield

 


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


Teri Kanefield does an excellent job of giving us a well rounded view of Andrew Jackson. As a teacher I know that a lot of what is taught in our history classes is a glorified view of men and their actions. We don’t always get the whole picture. We see him in one case going against the supreme court because he thought that his opinion and his decisions as the president were worth more than the judgement of the supreme court. He managed to create an environment in Georgia whereby their actions eventually drove the Cherokee people out of Georgia. He is presented as a passionate family man. He definitely had trust issues when it came to government. However, the author provided a lot of information to entice you to do further research. This is a book that should be in every school library.


Saturday, July 16, 2022

Child of Etherclaw by Matty Roberts

 



Source: I won a copy from LibraryThing. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction.


From the very first page of this book the reader is taken on a Science Fiction ride where the action is non-stop. The author has created a very realistic world where society lives on the fringes. Only those in New Cascadia  who work for the major company, controlled by a "religion" live a good life. Fenlee and her brother Elliott live on the bottom tier of New Cascadia. Fenlee is pretty much raising her brother as their father is away for work. I mean away as in somewhere in space.  The lives of Fenlee and hear two best friends are put in danger the day Eliott is kidnapped. 

Fenlee learns just how corrupt the government is, and it is so much worse than she ever imagined. I was hooked from page one. The world building is so realistic I was drawn in and felt the fear, anger and range of emotions that Fenleed and the other characters felt. The book ended in a way that was nice and tidy. However, I am hoping that there will be a sequel as there were a couple of things that were not tied up a neatly as I would have like. This is definitely a book I want to put in the hands of my students.

Sunday, July 10, 2022

Summertime With Snowman Paul by


 

Genre: Children's Picture Book

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

I have an affinity for snowman stories. This is absolutely delightful. The idea of a snowman wanting to hang around in the summer is wonderful. Paul loves Fall, Winter and Spring. However, as much as he wants to hangout in summer he just can't seem to fit in. Even an ape at the zoo laughs at him. His best friend Dan finds a way to help his snowman friend.

The rhyming in this book is wonderful. I loved the fact the author used words like "chagrin". It is always a plus when authors don't dumb down books. I want to provide books for my grandchildren that will challenge them.  This is an author I will definitely read again.