Hello Again!

Wow! It's been a while and I apologize. I had to take some time to reorganize, but hopefully there will be some more posts beginning to pop up. New posts not only on the book store, but also Pottery at South River Colony across the street. Did you know that our illustrious leader, Ken Kennedy, owns both? Well he does and if you haven't visited the pottery shop, then go have a look. It's pretty cool.

My daughter, Alexa, is helping out Mr. Ken and created a YouTube channel, Potter At South River Colony, for the pottery shop. Take a look! It shows some really cool things that you'll find in the shop. As you scroll through the book posts, remember you can click on the titles to order them.

Thanks for visiting and come back soon!

The Maryland Black-Eye Susan 2015-16 Award Winners

Here are this year's BES award winners!

Picture Book
Dog vs Cat by Chris Gall

Grades 4-6
The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer Holm

Graphic Novel
El Deafo by CeCe Bell

Grades 6-9
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

High School
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Here Are Few Book Suggestions For The Week!

TWEENS

Booked
By Kwame Alexander

Like lightning/you strike/fast and free/legs zoom/down field/eyes fixed/on the checkered ball/on the goal/ten yards to go/can’t nobody stop you/
can’t nobody cop you…
In this follow-up to the Newbery-winning novel THE CROSSOVER,  soccer, family, love, and friendship, take center stage as twelve-year-old Nick learns the power of words as he wrestles with problems at home, stands up to a bully, and tries to impress the girl of his dreams. Helping him along are his best friend and sometimes teammate Coby, and The Mac, a rapping librarian who gives Nick inspiring books to read.  
This electric and heartfelt novel-in-verse by poet Kwame Alexander bends and breaks as it captures all the thrills and setbacks, action and emotion of a World Cup match!



Summerlost
By Ally Condie

It's the first real summer since the devastating accident that killed Cedar's father and younger brother, Ben. But now Cedar and what’s left of her family are returning to the town of Iron Creek for the summer. They’re just settling into their new house when a boy named Leo, dressed in costume, rides by on his bike. Intrigued, Cedar follows him to the renowned Summerlost theatre festival. Soon, she not only has a new friend in Leo and a job working concessions at the festival, she finds herself surrounded by mystery. The mystery of the tragic, too-short life of the Hollywood actress who haunts the halls of Summerlost. And the mystery of the strange gifts that keep appearing for Cedar. 

Infused with emotion and rich with understanding, Summerlost is the touching middle grade debut from Ally Condie, the international bestselling author of the Matched series, that highlights the strength of family and personal resilience in the face of tragedy.

The Girl In The Well Is Me
By Karen Rivers

Longing to be one of the popular girls in her new town, Kammie Summers has fallen into a well during a (fake) initiation into their club. Now Kammie’s trapped in the dark, counting the hours, waiting to be rescued. (The Girls have gone for help, haven’t they?)

As hours pass, Kammie’s real-life predicament mixes with memories of the best and worst moments of her life so far, including the awful reasons her family moved to this new town in the first place. And as she begins to feel hungry and thirsty and light-headed, Kammie starts to imagine she has company, including a French-speaking coyote and goats that just might be zombies.

Karen Rivers has created a unique narrator with an authentic, sympathetic, sharp, funny voice who will have readers laughing and crying and laugh-crying over the course of physically and emotionally suspenseful, utterly believable events.

Roller Girl
By Victoria Jamieson

For fans of Raina Telgemeier’s Smile, a heartwarming graphic novel about friendship and surviving junior high through the power of roller derby. 

Twelve-year-old Astrid has always done everything with her best friend Nicole. So when Astrid signs up for roller derby camp, she assumes Nicole will too. But Nicole signs up for dance camp with a new friend instead, and so begins the toughest summer of Astrid's life. There are bumps and bruises as Astrid learns who she is without Nicole...and what it takes to be a strong, tough roller girl.






Breakaway Beyond The Goal
By Alex Morgan

Get inspired to be your best in sports and in life with this uplifting memoir from star soccer player and Olympic gold medalist Alex Morgan that includes eight pages of full-color photos as well as book jacket that doubles as a poster!

As a talented and successful female athlete, Alex Morgan is a role model to thousands of girls who want to be their best, not just in soccer, but in other sports and in life. The story of her path to success, from playing in the 2011 Women's World Cup, to winning gold in the 2012 London Olympics, to ranking as one of the National Team's top scorers, will inspire everyone who reads it.

From her beginnings with the American Youth Soccer Organization to her key role in the 2015 Women's World Cup, Alex shares the details that made her who she is today: a fantastic role model and athlete who proudly rocks a pink headband.

PICTURE BOOKS

The Night Gardener
By Terry and Eric Fan

One day, William discovers that the tree outside his window has been sculpted into a wise owl. In the following days, more topiaries appear, and each one is more beautiful than the last. Soon, William’s gray little town is full of color and life. And though the mysterious night gardener disappears as suddenly as he appeared, William—and his town—are changed forever.










Listen To Our World
By Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Sampson

A celebration of the animals all around us!

Squawk! Hiss! Grr! Roar!

Big, small, black, brown—all kinds of animals make their home in our world. From the jungle to the mountains to your own backyard, listen and you just might hear the sounds they make!




Puddle
By Hyewon Yum

One rainy day, a little boy is upset because he can't go out and play. His mom comes up with a way to keep him entertained--by drawing a picture of herself and him going outside, playing in the rain, and splashing in a giant puddle. They have so much fun drawing themselves that they decide to venture out and make the most of the rainy weather.






This Moose Belongs To Me
By Oliver Jeffers

Wilfred owned a moose. He hadn't always owned a moose. The moose came to him a while ago and he knew, just KNEW, that it was meant to be his. He thought he would call him Marcel. 

Most of the time Marcel is very obedient, abiding by the many rules of How to Be a Good Pet. But imagine Wilfred's surprise when one dark day, while deep in the woods, someone else claims the moose as their own...








If I Had A Raptor
By George O'Connor

A spunky and imaginative little girl dreams of the best pet ever — a fuzzy baby raptor to snuggle. 

Our heroine can’t think of anything better than bringing home a baby raptor — all teensy and tiny, fluffy and funny. It would cuddle and play, stalk birds and dust bunnies, and curl up on laps. In short, it would be the perfect pet! Readers may notice striking similarities between the raptor’s behavior and that of a more common house pet. But whether their first love is dinosaurs or kittens, little people with big imaginations will definitely warm to this perfect picture book.

Mr. Lemoncello Is Back!

Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics

By Chris Grabenstein

Welcome, boys and girls, readers of all ages, to the first-ever Library Olympiad! Kyle and his teammates are back, and the world-famous game maker, Luigi Lemoncello, is at it again! 

This time Mr. Lemoncello has invited teams from all across America to compete in the first ever LIBRARY OLYMPICS. Will it be fun? Like the commercials say. . . HELLO? It’s a Lemoncello! But something suspicious is going on . . . books are missing from Mr. Lemoncello’s library. Is someone trying to CENSOR what the kids are reading?! In between figuring out mind-boggling challenges, the kids will have to band together to get to the bottom of this mystery.

Now it’s not just a game—can Mr. Lemoncello find the real defenders of books and champions of libraries?

NOTES:
This is a second book in a series by Chris Grabenstein. The first book was Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library and it was not only a great read, but really fun. Grabenstein has a good wit about him and the Dewey Decimal puzzles were very creative. Give this first book a first read to get to know the characters and Mr. Lemoncello.

And The Winners Are!!!

You know it's getting closer to the end of the year when the winners of the 2015-2016 MD Black-Eyed Susan are announced!! Without further delay... here are your winners!

Picture Books
Dog vs Cat by Chris Gall

Grades 4-6
The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer Holm

Graphic Novels Grades 4-6
El Deafo by CeCe Bell

Grades 6-9
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

High School
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Yes, the new list is out! Check the above pages to see who is nominated for next school year!

Summer Reading Lists

I love reading lists!!! I love to read the MD Black-Eyed Susan books because I KNOW that they are going to be great. AACPS comes out with summer reading lists every year... eventually. The books on those lists are good reads too. But sometimes, you're just looking for a list that is catered to YOU. This year I have been so busy reading books for a purpose that I haven't been able to read books that I want to read. With the summer coming up though, I have decided to write down those books that I have come across that look good and save them for my OWN summer reading list! How about you? What would be on your list? Maybe we'll put it on ours!

Greenglass House by Kate Milford

Greenglass House by Kate Milford
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**2015-2016 MD Black-Eyed Susan Nominee

Ben, Nora and Milo Pine, the Pine family, were looking forward to a quiet, low-key holiday at Greenglass House. Their usual clientele of smugglers dropped during the holidays which left the Inn virtually empty for the small family to enjoy the break together. But this stopped being the average holiday as soon as the bell began to ring signaling the Whilforber Whirlwind's ascent up the steep slope carrying their fist guest with many others to follow. Soon the family found their smuggler's Inn bustling with strangers and Mrs. Pine called in the Inn's chef, Mrs. Caraway, and her daughter Lizzie. They also brought Lizzie's younger sister, Meddy, who was all for occupying Milo's time. Milo and Meddy decided to play a role-playing game and together they realized that each guest has an agenda for being at the Inn. When items begin to go missing, the missing items aren't the only things that turn up. Down every hallway and behind every door, the secrets of Greenglass House beckon to Milo and Meddy and dare them to explore.

First, I have to say, I'm not a mystery girl. I couldn't really tell you why, but when I found out I had to read this book and that it was a mystery, I wasn't too thrilled. The cover I thought was gorgeous, but a mystery?...eh. I reluctantly started the book and right away was impressed with the writing. It was like someone telling a story with full, rich details. I wasn't too intrigued, but drifted along until THE part came when my stomach totally dropped. There was a moment that I did not see, but had been there all along that took Greenglass House from an okay book to one of my favorites! The storyline was brilliant and so neatly tied itself up at the end. I really can't recommend this book enough. If you're looking for an amazing read, then look no further...Greenglass House by Kate Milford.

View all my reviews