Wednesday, October 25, 2017



The First Rule of Punk is a debut novel from Celia Perez. I have been hearing about this book for the last 6 weeks or so on Twitter. Everyone was raving about it, so I thought I would give it a try. Malu is a 12 year old girl who has to move across country for her mom's job. Her mom is a college professor and her dad is a record store owner.  Malu is very interested in punk rock music and  making zines ( homemade books or magazines). Once Malu goes to her new school she has to deal with people's opinions of her as she wears lots of makeup, outlandish clothes, and duct taped Chuck  Taylors. What I love about Malu is that she stays true to herself,  tries not to listen to what everyone thinks about her,  and follows her heart. The book, also, portrays the zines she makes which make her so original. I can see many 4th and 5th graders enjoying this book!




A new picture book I purchased for the library back in August is Seven and a Half Tons of Steel. At first glance, it looks like a book about ships. But, as you start reading, you find that this book has a lot to do with the events of September 11th. The navy ship, USS New York, is not like any other navy ships. After the events on September 11th, the New York governor gave the navy one of the steel beams that was in the Twin Towers. The navy took that beam to a foundry in Louisiana where they repurposed it into the bow for the USS New York. This beautiful picture book recounts a terrible time in our history and something beautiful that came from that tragic day.

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

The War That Saved My Life  was one of my favorite reads last year. I was excited when I read there was going to be a sequel, and The War I Finally One did not disappoint. The novel picks up a little bit later where the first book left off. Ada has had surgery to fix her clubfoot and her life moves forward.  As World War II rages on, life grows more difficult during war time as she struggles to find out who she really is as her life goes through some changes and she is still dealing with the memories of her harsh mother. This and the first book ( a duology )  are destined to become a classic. I will never forget Ada and the courage she needed to move through life as there were several stumbling blocks along the way.

Monday, October 2, 2017





Wishtree is the amazing new story by The One and Only Ivan's Katherine Applegate. I have been hearing about this book since the spring, and I bought it the day it was published! I loved this book almost as much as her others. In this story, Red is the red oak tree that sits between 2 houses. He is 216 rings (years) old and has seen so much in his life. He has become the wish tree where people place their wishes on his branches. A family has moved in next door to him, and he has noticed that no one will talk to this family , and the young girl who lives there wishes for a friend. Then, one day , and ugly word is carved on his trunk , and the owner of the house feels the tree is no longer needed. What will happen to Red?


Lemony Snicket is more known for his Unfortunate Events series. He has written a clever picture book called Goldfish Ghost. In this clever new book, Snicket writes about what happens when our pet goldfish crosses that rainbow bridge. All of the sudden the goldfish is floating upside down and decides to leave his bowl to find a friend because he is lonely. He encounters several potential friends but no one can see him. He cannot go back to his fish bowl because he has been replaced by a new goldfish. Then finally, he hears a voice.... Lisa Brown does an amazing job with the illustrations, and I think Christie readers will love this book!