Wonderful Words!

Words have captivated me for as long as I can remember!  There are some authors who are marvelously talented wordsmiths.  Kate DiCamillo, Cythia Rylant, Shel Silverstein and J.K. Rowling are the first of these to come to mind.  But there are a few new books out by authors that should join the word sculptor's ranks:

The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby

A consuming historical fiction read of magical violins, hidden treasure, and intricate automatons, Kirby's debut novel does not disappoint!  The reader is drawn into the lives of Guiseppe, a young immigrant from italy who has a gift for music, Fredrick, an apprentice clockmaker who is working through his tragic past, and Hannah, a hardworking young maid who takes care of her family after her father suffers a stroke.  Their lives begin to intertwine and fit together like the gears of a clock as they find out how they can help each other.

Kirby's word craft is amazing!  Instead of saying the the sky was gray with coming storms, for example, he writes "there were lines of Kohl across the sky's face..."  or instead of he cried, "his tears fell like glass beads in the dust..."  Wonderful and addictive story!

Scumble by Ingrid Law

This is a companion books to one of my dear  "this belongs on my bookshelf at home" favorites, Savvy.   What if when you turn thirteen you inherit a special power called a Savvy?  Your grandfather can move mountains, grandmother can trap sound in mason jars, siblings and cousins have various amazing abilities.   Savvy was story of Mibs Beaumont and her savvy,   Scumble is the story of Ledger Kale and his.  Only, sadly, Ledge's savvy is one of complete destruction... he literally makes things explode.  Will Ledge learn how to harness his savvy?  Will nosey Sarah Jane Cabot expose the truth about Ledge and his extended family.  Read this great book and find out!

This book's descriptive and creative word choices and snappy pace make Scumble a fun new choice for boys and girls alike.

Happy reading!

Melissa

New picture book picks

        Last friday I had the treat of reading to students in an awesome tree house (after I was "auctioned off" in our school's festival)  I had a group of 4 boys and 1 girl and we had a blast with each and every book chosen:

         Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt-- though not new, these books are an absolute must for any book collection (and perfect to read in a tree!)  Scaredy is a borderline- agoraphobic squirrel who does not want to leave his nut tree.  He has a very regimented schedule (which I have kids help me act out) but we all know what happens with best-laid plans...  so much fun!  This is a series that flies off our
library shelves.

        Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein-- There are books where characters voices pop out to me the first time I read it.  This is one of those books!  Chicken needs her Papa to read her a bedtime story.  The two discuss how the reading will go, with no interruptions, but as the title belies... Chicken just cannot contain herself.  Great laughs are in store with this one!

        Oh No! (or How My Science Project Destroyed the World) by Mac Barnett-- I've highlighted his great book on ninja librarians (Brixton Brothers) before, but this picture book is fantastic.  A science whiz of a little girl creates a ribbon-winning robot for her school science fair, until "Oh no!"  There's no way to get rid of this disaster, until the frog!  Read this book and find out how things end, or not...

       Born to Read by Judy Sierra-- author of another great "huzzah for reading!!" book Wild about Books  is about a boy named Sam and how his love of reading saves the day.  Love the clever picture/ text references to other great kids classics.
      
        After reading to a group of boys, and hearing how its tough to get books that hold their interest sometimes, it reminds me of a couple of great websites:
      
        www.readkiddoread.com : a great resource developed by author James Patterson, and one of my favorite people, Children's Book Champion, Judy Freeman.  This website has tons of great book picks for all ages!
    
        www.guysread.com and guys listen are two websites developed by kids' lit funny man, Jon Sciezcka (author of stinky cheese man).  The two sites are full of book recommendations, related titles, author websites and more!


Happy Reading!

Melissa