The Bard's Books

My second assignment for Children's Lit is to examine the evaluation criteria for informational books. I don't often read this genre of books so it was nice to have a reason to explore some really great ones.  I especially enjoyed Balloons Over Broadway, since I'm a huge puppeteer and Jim Henson fan. To learn more about it,  click here.

For assignment #1, I read and evaluated several children's books, focusing on visual elements and evaluation criteria. I really enjoy a class where the assignment is to read, especially if it includes a picture book by Jon Klassen. Click here to check it out!

Watch out! The Book Banshee is back! I just started my Master's program at SHSU in Library Science with the end goal being a career change from music teacher to school librarian in the somewhat near future. For my degree, I have to maintain a blog about books. This cued a faint memory of blogging about books for a brief period years ago. Lo and behold, the blog still exists. Today, I am restarting this blog with the intention of continuing it for far long than the first time. If you still get notifications from posting, your mailbox is about to get busier and more fun!

My school librarian handed me a copy of The Sight: The Power of Three Warriors Book 1 yesterday and asked me to read and review it for her. I had 3 hours between work and an ensemble rehearsal, so I sat down and dug in. First off, even though the cover is atrocious, the book is actually pretty decent. It isn't my favorite young adult chapter book, but it really wasn't bad. The story follows the Thunder Clan (Snarf?) and in particular three kittens - Lionpaw, Jaypay & Hollypaw as they enter apprenticeships and suffer through the trials of kitty adolescence. The pack has a tribal feel to it, with positions of importance for warriors, and even a Medicine Cat. In fact, they also meet with other cat Clans at a gathering under a truce to socialize and discuss relavent issues to their tribes. The plot seems to center more around one particular kitten - Jaypaw - than any other. The treatment of the 3 main characters is very reminiscent of the first book from the Ranger's Appren...

Ok, I'll admit it. I am slightly afraid of the dark, even at 30. First off, I don't hear well, and I don't see well without my glasses, so in the dark I feel I'm at a significant disadvantage if a bad guy (or a sneaky chair) were to creep up and get in my way. Also, because I'm a woman, I've been taught to be extra aware of my surroundings and stay out of dark alleyways and the like. So, dark places have never been my favorite, unless it happens to be my bathroom with a steamy bath and some smelly candles... The little bear in a book I read today has a similar problem (without the scary alleys or vision/hearing impairments). "Afraid of the Dark! by Karen Sapp is a fuzzy, shiny pop up book. A new moon is rising over the chilly skies where little bear lives - and all the bears are going to spend the night playing and celebrating...all except Little Polar Bear. You see, Little Polar Bear is scared of the dark - and the idea of leaving the cave for the dar...

Alrighty, so I mentioned I was going to try to update the book blog every day for a year. And then I went 6 days without updating! Bad Book Banshee! So here it is, 6 days late. The update I'm sure you've all been hankerin' for. I spent part of this beautiful Sunday afternoon upstairs in my reading nook (I would have read outside, but the mosquitos are the size of a Scottish Terrier!). I ended up reading an old book of mine called "The Great Green Apple War" by Barbara Klimowicz with drawings by Lee J. Ames. Now, I don't remember ever NOT having this book, so I'm betting it belonged to one of my older sisters before it fell into my hands. Ah yes, I checked the front cover and it used to belong to my older sister Jeanette. It was publised in 1973 and it doesn't look like its ever been reprinted. You can still get it used at Amazon (and probably ebay). Now to get on to the review. First off, the book starts with a map. I have never met a book that began w...

I have been horrible about posting to my book blog, and as a result, I'm going to start a project. Beginning today (October 12th) I am going to post one book blog every day! That's right, 365 days of bibliophile goodness! I'm lucky that I work at an elementary school and that my librarian loves me - plenty of access to short but beautiful books. You should know by now that I enjoy books with a sense of humor, and today I picked up a cute little twist on a well known classic called "The Wolf Who Cried Boy". Written by Bob Hartman with illustrations by Tim Raglin, its a cute little retelling of (of course) The Boy who Cried Wolf. First off, I was drawn by the cover art, which looks like a cross stitched sampler. However, I'm not 100% sure why its a cross stitched sampler, since that theme doesn't even appear in the details of the illustrations within, but oh well. The story follows a young boy wolf who HATES what his mom makes for dinner every night. Lamburg...