Posts tagged as:

children’s books

Audiobook Appreciation

January 11, 2010 Books and Reading

I’m done with this most recent clump of deadlines! I don’t think I’ve worked at quite a pace like this for a long while – it’s been three to four weeks of fourteen hour days. I am very, very thankful for my audiobooks – I think they kept me sane in the midst of all [...]

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The Boy Sherlock Holmes: Eye of the Crow, by Shane Peacock

December 11, 2009 Books and Reading

Despite appearances, I’ve actually had some time to read lately. Maybe “had some time to read” isn’t totally accurate – it’s been more like “squeezed some time to read” but regardless, it’s the end result that counts, right?
And I’ve been lucky, because everything I’ve picked up to read recently has turned out to be a [...]

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Comfort Reads (42nd Bookworms Carnival)

December 9, 2009 Blogging and Blog Events

Comfort reads: perfect reading for a cold winter’s night!

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Review: Flotsam, by David Wiesner

October 27, 2009 Books and Reading

I wish that I had known more about Flotsam, by David Wiesner, before I read it for the first time two weeks ago to Dylan, my six-year-old, at bedtime.
I might have done things a little differently.
For one thing, I would have had my husband standing by, camera in hand, ready to take pictures of Dylan’s [...]

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Some Saturday Ramblings

October 17, 2009 Books and Reading

It feels like a “lost” week around here in a way. Monday was a holiday here (not that it matters much to me work-wise since I work when I have a deadline and take time off when I don’t, but there’s the not-minor matter of not having to get up with the kids in the [...]

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Allergies, Lots of Reading, and Finishing a DNF

September 28, 2009 Books and Reading

After looking forward to The Word on the Street all week, we all ended up missing the entire event. On Saturday, with the colder weather and the rain, allergies began hitting us – not the tiny-sniffle type of allergies, but full blown sinus-pressure, drippy nose (you wanted to hear that one, didn’t you?), cough [...]

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Harry Potter in Audio: Books 1 and 2

September 21, 2009 Books and Reading

For the Harry Potter Reading Challenge, I decided to re-read the Harry Potter series in audiobook format.
I’d just like to pat myself on the back now, and say, “Good decision, Belle”.
I’ve always had a sort of strange envy for people who decided to start reading the Harry Potter books after book seven was [...]

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Kaleb Nation, Author of Bran Hambric, Talks About His Writing Process

September 19, 2009 Blogging and Blog Events

"What if your mother was a criminal? What if her crime was magic? What if magic ran in the family?" This is the intriguing premise of Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse, a middle grade fantasy novel written by Kaleb Nation.
Kaleb initially got the idea for Bran Hambric when he was fourteen years old; he [...]

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Harry Potter Reading Challenge

July 23, 2009 Books and Reading

I couldn’t resist! And yes, I know I’ve been very derelict in keeping my other reading challenge posts updated. But come on! It’s a Harry Potter reading challenge!
I just couldn’t say no. So I’m signing on for this one.
I’ve read all the Harry Potter books (I can remember waiting by the mailbox, eagerly [...]

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Another Book-Buying Binge! (Or, Why I Shouldn’t Go To Costco Anymore)

July 15, 2009 Books and Reading

Yesterday I accidentally indulged in another book-buying binge. Yes, in case you’re wondering, it was totally by accident. I had no intentions of splurging on anything when I entered Costco.
Unfortunately, since it’s summer, the book section at Costco is a dangerous place for a book lover to be. I think the marketing assumption is that [...]

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Flash Review: Little Skink’s Tail, by Janet Halfmann

June 13, 2009 Books and Reading

Little Skink’s Tail, by Janet Halfmann
While Little Skink hunts yummy ants for breakfast, she is suddenly attacked by a crow! But she has a trick to escape she snaps off her tail, and it keeps on wiggling! Little Skink is happy to be alive, but she misses her bright blue tail. Little Skink’s Tail follows [...]

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This Week’s Library Loot

May 6, 2009 Books and Reading

I didn’t get a chance to visit the library last week but fortunately (I think) they keep holds for four days and I managed to squeak in at the last minute and pick up another batch of books.
Then the phone rang with another automated message …
So here’s this week’s library loot:
Mystery: The Language of Bees, [...]

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Mailbox Monday – May 4

May 4, 2009 Books and Reading

It’s Mailbox Monday, when book bloggers talk about the book titles that came to their house that week. Here’s what arrived in the Ms. Bookish household:
Mystery: Long Time No See, by Susan Isaacs. Via Bookmooch. Judith Singer (last seen in Isaacs’ Compromising Positions) is back, this time to investigate the death of Courtney Logan, former [...]

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More Library Decadence

April 22, 2009 Books and Reading

After my recent Library Loot post, I really didn’t think I could have that many more hold requests at the library coming in. I haven’t had a chance to read ANY of the books from that batch, with the exception of an audiobook, a BBC Radio Production of Agatha Christie’s The Caribbean Mystery (it helped [...]

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An Embarrassment of Library Riches

April 17, 2009 Books and Reading

It must be some sort of Murphy’s Law applicable to bibliophiles, I think. Work-wise it’s been quiet around here, which is why I’ve been able to keep up with all my reading even through all the renovations around here, instead of being stuck at my desk pounding on deadline after deadline. I always have a [...]

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Book Review: Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman

February 6, 2009 Books and Reading

Something mysterious is happening in Skeleton Creek. Something scary. Something sinister.
Ryan came close to it … and nearly died. Now he’s trapped in his house. He can’t trust anyone – not even himself.
He is forbidden from seeing his best friend, Sarah. So while Ryan is isolated and alone, she plunges back into the mystery, putting [...]

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Friday Finds – Lots of Fantasies

February 6, 2009 Books and Reading

It’s time for Friday Finds again! Here are the books I’ve discovered this week, that I’d love to add to my TBR pile:
Fantasy/Young adult: Family Bones, by Kimberly Raiser (discovered at Marta’s Meanderings)
Young adult: Jellicoe Road, by Melina Marchetta (discovered at The Children’s Literature Book Club)
Children’s book: Indigo’s Star, by Hilary McKay (discovered at Book [...]

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Review: The Case of the Missing Marquess, by Nancy Springer

January 28, 2009 Books and Reading

From the Back of book:
When Enola Holmes, sister to the detective Sherlock Holmes, discovers her mother has disappeared, she quickly sets off to find her. Disguising herself as a widow, Enola embarks on a journey to London, but nothing can prepare her for what awaits. For when she arrives, she finds herself involved in the [...]

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Mailbox Monday – A Big List

January 26, 2009 Books and Reading

It’s Mailbox Monday again – this is where I get the chance to list all the books that came into the house this past week.
This past week, I more or less made up for the the sparse new arrivals a few Mondays ago
I made the mistake of ambling over to Chapters.ca to buy a few [...]

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Mailbox Mondays

January 19, 2009 Books and Reading

It’s Mailbox Monday again, and here’s what arrived at the Ms. Bookish household this past week!
Young adult/Mystery: Skeleton Creek, by Patrick Carman. This one is an ARC courtesy of the author. I’m very excited about this book because of the interactive video component – my daughter isn’t a big reader, but she’s a filmmaker [...]

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Review: Savvy, by Ingrid Law

December 14, 2008 Books and Reading
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Friday Finds: Children’s Books

December 5, 2008 Books and Reading

This week I’ve pared down my “Friday Finds” list to the children’s books I’ve added to my “I Want To Read That!” list:
The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets, by Nancy Springer: found via Semicolon. Here’s the Amazon synopsis:
Everyone knows Dr. Watson is Sherlock Holmes’ right-hand man—so when he goes missing, it’s a shock. Even Sherlock [...]

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Mailbox Monday: Another Eclectic Mix

December 1, 2008 Books and Reading

It’s Mailbox Monday again, and here’s what arrived in Ms. Bookish’s household this past week:
Mystery/Thriller: The Book of Lies, by Brad Meltzer.
Chick Lit/Mystery: Big Boned, by Meg Cabot
General fiction/Holidays: The Christmas Train, by David Baldacci
Young adult/Fantasy: The Dragonfly Pool, by Eva Ibbotson
Thriller/Suspense: The Fire, by Katherine Neville
Romance: Sundays at Tiffany’s, by James Patterson and Gabrielle [...]

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Mailbox Monday: An eclectic mix

November 24, 2008 Books and Reading

It was a busy week this past week for incoming books, with, it seems like, a little bit of everything. I’ve already mentioned some of the books that arrived this past week, in last week’s Friday Finds post, so I won’t mention them again here (including some romance/chick lit – I just noticed there’s none [...]

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Review: Doppelganger, by Pete Hautman and Mary Logue

November 22, 2008 Books and Reading

From the jacket flap:
Scrolling through a missing-children website, Roni Delicata gets the shock of her life. Staring back at her from the screen is a face that looks just like her fellow crime-solver Brian Bain, who was adopted as a baby. At first Brian scoffs at the resemblance, but then he realizes his parents have [...]

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Friday Finds: A Fantastical Week

November 21, 2008 Books and Reading

My list this week includes several fantasy books – making it a fantastical week! Almost all the items in the list have come from blog hopping – lots of fabulous book blogs out there, reading some really wonderful books that are very definitely new-to-me.
From Stella Matutina’s great list of Fantasy Picks for the Holidays Part [...]

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Review: The Calder Game, by Blue Balliett

November 20, 2008 Books and Reading

Synopsis:
Two Calders are missing. One is a sculpture. One is a boy.
When Calder Pillay travels with his father in a remote village in England, he finds a mix of mazes and mystery … including an unexpected Alexander Calder sculpture in the town square. Calder is strangely drawn to the sculpture, while other people have less-than-friendly [...]

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Review: The Riddles of Epsilon, by Christine Morton-Shaw

November 19, 2008 Books and Reading

Ms. Bookish’s Quick Take: This is a children’s fantasy set in modern times that had some great spooky moments. The plot is enticing, there is a good old-fashioned battle between the forces of good and evil, and a couple of twists in the ending came as nice surprises. This book is definitely Recommended. See [...]

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Mailbox Monday (on a Tuesday!)

November 18, 2008 Books and Reading

A little late with my Mailbox Monday post! But I just had to write this up, since I had such a nice round-up of reads come to the house this past week:
First up, in children’s fiction: The Penderwicks and The Penderwicks on Gardam Street, both by Jeanne Birdsall. I have been wanting to read The [...]

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Review: Olivia Helps With Christmas, by Ian Falconer

November 17, 2008 Books and Reading

Ms. Bookish’s Quick Take: Oh, what a wonderful, joyous ride is Olivia Helps With Christmas! This is a wonderful book about all the ways little ones get ready on The Big Day, with of course a dollop of special Olivia spice to it. Children don’t have to have met Olivia in any of her previous [...]

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