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My Most Recent Reviews:
Doug TenNapel. Ghostopolis. Graphix, 2010.
This riff on The Wizard of Oz supercharges everything:
The wizard isn't some benign old man behind a curtain, he is a
mighty sorcerer who is not about to give up control of his
kingdom.
There is no Glenda the good witch but a twelve foot black man
with a Jesus complex.
No flying monkeys, just demonic man-sized bugs.
And Toto is a skeleton horse.
No Garth, you aren't in Kansas anymore, this is the afterlife!
Middle and High School. Graphic Fiction.
Gail Jarrow. Lincoln's Flying Spies: Thaddeus Lowe and the
Civil War Balloon Corps. (Calkins Creek, 2010)
How did man first fly? Who made up the first US Air Force?
Don't think planes or the Wright Brothers, think balloons and
Thaddeus Lowe. Four decades before Kitty Hawk, and five
decades before World War One, a few brave men went
thousands of feet above enemy lines, hanging from a silk
balloon, to spy out the Confederate forces. Artillary shells burst
around them, generals dismissed them, storms sent them
careening, but the Balloon Corps played their part in American
history, even if that history has gone untold for too long. Now
read their heroic true story.
Elementary and Middle School. Nonfiction.
Dotti Enderle. Crosswire. Calkins Creek, 2010.
A teenage boy experiences the danger and struggle of the
taming of the Texas plains when his family's ranch is
threatened by violent gangs who cut fences, kill livestock, and
threaten ranchers in a war to keep the plains open. In a time
and place where the law doesn't really exist, it is a man, his
gun, and the courage to use it that stands between life and
death, but is Jesse really ready to stand up and be that man?
Middle and High School. Historical Fiction.
John Claude Bemis. The Nine Pound Hammer. [The Clockwork
Dark] Random House, 2009.
A troop of young adepts hide their extraordinary skills behind
their performances as traveling circus performers. They are
pitted against the greatest of foes, with an army of hired
mercenaries and an array of devilish machines. The young
heroes are hopelessly out-gunned until one of their number, a
giant of a boy, takes up the legendary John Henry's weapon,
the Nine Pound Hammer. Folklore clashes with science fiction
in this first title in an exciting new fantasy series.
Middle and High School
Ursula Vernon. Curse of the Were-Weiner. [Dragonbreath] (Dial
Books, 2010)
Danny Dragonbreath, the breathing fire-delayed elementary
school dragon, faces down a freakish frank in a cafeteria
smackdown for the ages in this hybrid graphic/text series for
the younger crowd.
Other Books in the Series:
Dragonbreath. (Dial Books, 2009)
Attack of the Ninja Frogs. (Dial Books, 2010)
Elementary
Fred Bowen. Throwing Heat. (Peachtree, 2010)
Jack Lerner is a flame thrower. Still in middle school, he is
starting to compare his pitching speed with major leaguers,
but in a new league the hitters don't seem impressed. Are his
baseball dreams only that? How hard does he have to throw?
This is the story of a thrower faced with the daunting task of
becoming a pitcher.
Other Fred Bowen sports books:
Touchdown Trouble. (Football)
Hardcourt Comeback. (Basketball)
Dugout Rivals. (Baseball)
Soccer Team Upset. (Soccer)
Middle School
More Books For Boys
Doug TenNapel. Ghostopolis. Graphix, 2010.
This riff on The Wizard of Oz supercharges everything:
The wizard isn't some benign old man behind a curtain, he is a
mighty sorcerer who is not about to give up control of his
kingdom.
There is no Glenda the good witch but a twelve foot black man
with a Jesus complex.
No flying monkeys, just demonic man-sized bugs.
And Toto is a skeleton horse.
No Garth, you aren't in Kansas anymore, this is the afterlife!
Middle and High School. Graphic Fiction.
Gail Jarrow. Lincoln's Flying Spies: Thaddeus Lowe and the
Civil War Balloon Corps. (Calkins Creek, 2010)
How did man first fly? Who made up the first US Air Force?
Don't think planes or the Wright Brothers, think balloons and
Thaddeus Lowe. Four decades before Kitty Hawk, and five
decades before World War One, a few brave men went
thousands of feet above enemy lines, hanging from a silk
balloon, to spy out the Confederate forces. Artillary shells burst
around them, generals dismissed them, storms sent them
careening, but the Balloon Corps played their part in American
history, even if that history has gone untold for too long. Now
read their heroic true story.
Elementary and Middle School. Nonfiction.
Dotti Enderle. Crosswire. Calkins Creek, 2010.
A teenage boy experiences the danger and struggle of the
taming of the Texas plains when his family's ranch is
threatened by violent gangs who cut fences, kill livestock, and
threaten ranchers in a war to keep the plains open. In a time
and place where the law doesn't really exist, it is a man, his
gun, and the courage to use it that stands between life and
death, but is Jesse really ready to stand up and be that man?
Middle and High School. Historical Fiction.
John Claude Bemis. The Nine Pound Hammer. [The Clockwork
Dark] Random House, 2009.
A troop of young adepts hide their extraordinary skills behind
their performances as traveling circus performers. They are
pitted against the greatest of foes, with an army of hired
mercenaries and an array of devilish machines. The young
heroes are hopelessly out-gunned until one of their number, a
giant of a boy, takes up the legendary John Henry's weapon,
the Nine Pound Hammer. Folklore clashes with science fiction
in this first title in an exciting new fantasy series.
Middle and High School
Ursula Vernon. Curse of the Were-Weiner. [Dragonbreath] (Dial
Books, 2010)
Danny Dragonbreath, the breathing fire-delayed elementary
school dragon, faces down a freakish frank in a cafeteria
smackdown for the ages in this hybrid graphic/text series for
the younger crowd.
Other Books in the Series:
Dragonbreath. (Dial Books, 2009)
Attack of the Ninja Frogs. (Dial Books, 2010)
Elementary
Fred Bowen. Throwing Heat. (Peachtree, 2010)
Jack Lerner is a flame thrower. Still in middle school, he is
starting to compare his pitching speed with major leaguers,
but in a new league the hitters don't seem impressed. Are his
baseball dreams only that? How hard does he have to throw?
This is the story of a thrower faced with the daunting task of
becoming a pitcher.
Other Fred Bowen sports books:
Touchdown Trouble. (Football)
Hardcourt Comeback. (Basketball)
Dugout Rivals. (Baseball)
Soccer Team Upset. (Soccer)
Middle School
More Books For Boys
Upcoming Speaking Events:
Thursday, September 30, 7pm
Merrimack Public Library
Merrimack, NH
Connecting Boys With Books
-----------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, October 7, 4:00-6:00pm
Richard Sugden Library
Spencer, MA
Reaching Reluctant Readers
-----------------------------------------------------------
Friday, October 22
North Dakota Education Association Instructional Conference
Bismarck, ND
Connecting Boys With Books
-----------------------------------------------------------
Friday, October 29 & Saturday, October 30
"Bridging the Gap: Linking Learners and Libraries"
Illinois School Library Media Association
St. Charles, IL
Why Boys' Lit Gets a Bad Rap
Connecting Boys With Books
-----------------------------------------------------------
See all upcoming appearances...
Thursday, September 30, 7pm
Merrimack Public Library
Merrimack, NH
Connecting Boys With Books
-----------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, October 7, 4:00-6:00pm
Richard Sugden Library
Spencer, MA
Reaching Reluctant Readers
-----------------------------------------------------------
Friday, October 22
North Dakota Education Association Instructional Conference
Bismarck, ND
Connecting Boys With Books
-----------------------------------------------------------
Friday, October 29 & Saturday, October 30
"Bridging the Gap: Linking Learners and Libraries"
Illinois School Library Media Association
St. Charles, IL
Why Boys' Lit Gets a Bad Rap
Connecting Boys With Books
-----------------------------------------------------------
See all upcoming appearances...
__________________________________________
Mike's Friends and Associated Pages:
Tony Marino: Tony the Teacher Poet
The ROMEO's: The Retired Old Men Eating Out
The Escapade Johnson Fan Page
Tales Told Tall Chess
__________________________________________
Mike's Friends and Associated Pages:
Tony Marino: Tony the Teacher Poet
The ROMEO's: The Retired Old Men Eating Out
The Escapade Johnson Fan Page
Tales Told Tall Chess
__________________________________________