New Reading Challenge: The 2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge
1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.
2. There are four levels:
--The Mini YA Reading Challenge – Read 12 Young Adult novels.
--Just My Size YA Reading Challenge – Read 25 Young Adult novels.
--Stepping It Up YA Reading Challenge – Read 50 Young Adult novels.
--Super Size Me YA Reading Challenge – Read 75 Young Adult novels.
3. Audio, eBooks, re-reads all count.
4. No need to list your books in advance. You may select books as you go. Even if you list them now, you can change the list if needed.
5. Challenge runs from January 1st through December 31st, 2010.
List of all Books Read
Favorite Books Year by Year
Favorite Authors Year by Year
Calling All Cars!
Lego City Adventures
Level 1 Reader
Sonia Sander
Scholastic
ISBN 9780545155236
I love the artwork in these books. It really does feel as if you are in a Lego World. In this story there is a bank robbery, and the police with the help of a few citizens, must catch the criminals. The illustrations are bright and vibrant. This is a great book in a great series.
The Leveled readers are great books for young children. There are hundreds of titles in these formats, even across different publishers. What makes this particular series, The Lego City Adventures, so good is that little boys will be attracted to them because of the format and styles of both the stories and artwork. They are bright colorful stories with fun illustrations. I can see young boys trying to make with Lego the scenes to act out from the books. As a Level 1 reader geared for Kindergarten to Grade 1, this book is intended to help with sight word recognition, sounding out simple words and sentences.
Lego City Adventure Books:
Fire Truck To The Rescue
Help Is On the Way!
Calling All Cars
All Aboard!
Ready For Take Off
Build This City
City Adventures Sticker Book
Work This Farm
Fight This Fire!
Lego City Heroes!
Trucks Around The City
Escape From Lego City
3, 2, 1 Liftoff
All Hands On Deck
Fire In The Forest!
Catch That Crook!
Lego Star Wars Books:
Save The Galaxy!
Anakin: Space Pilot 3D
Darth Maul's Mission
Fancy Nancy: Tea Parties
Jane O'Connor (Author)
Robin Preiss Glasser (Illustrator)
Harper Collins
Browse Inside
ISBN 9780061801747
My daughter, who is almost 4, discovered tea parties last year because her Nana has them with her friends. Then she had to have a private tea party with Nana, and likes to pretend to serve tea ever day. This book captures the spirit and essence of those tea parties - a fancy event to be shared by friends. Fancy Nancy does an amazing job of showing us how to have a tea party and use all the proper and fancy terms for such parties. This book will delight, educate and entertain time and time again. This book is wonderfully written and as always in the Fancy Nancy Series incredibly illustrated. The book also includes four fancy Nancy recipe cards that can be pulled out so your child can start collecting her (or his) own recipes.
Fancy Nancy Picture Books:
Fancy Nancy (2005)
Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy (2007)
Fancy Nancy Loves! Loves!! Loves!!! (2007)
Fancy Nancy: Bonjour, Butterfly (2008)
Fancy Nancy: Let's Get Fancy Together! (2008)
Fancy Nancy's Fashion Parade! (2008)
Fancy Nancy's Favorite Fancy Words: From Accessories to Zany (2008)Fancy Nancy: Explorer Extraordinaire! (2009)
Fancy Nancy: Tea Parties (2009)
Fancy Nancy: Halloween...or Bust! (2009)
Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas (2009)
Fancy Nancy: Heart to Heart (2010)
Fancy Nancy's Elegant Easter (2010)
Fancy Nancy: Poet Extraordinaire! (2010)
Fancy Nancy and the Sensational Babysitter (2010)
Fancy Nancy and the Late, Late, LATE Night (2010)
Fancy Nancy Ohh la La! It's Beauty Day (2010)
Fancy Nancy and the Fabulous Fashion Boutique (2010)
Fancy Nancy I Can Read Books Level 1:
Fancy Nancy and the Boy from Paris (2008)
Fancy Nancy Sees Stars (2008)
Fancy Nancy at the Museum (2008)
Fancy Nancy: Poison Ivy Expert (2009)
Fancy Nancy: Pajama Day (2009)
Fancy Nancy: The Show Must Go On (2009)
Fancy Nancy: The Dazzling Book Report (2009)
Fancy Nancy: The 100th Day of School (2009)
Fancy Nancy: Every Day is Earth Day (2010)
Clubbing
Andi Watson (Author)
Josh Howard (Illustrator)
Minx a abandoned division of
DC Comics
ISBN 9781845765804
Charlotte Brook is in big trouble because she got caught trying to use fake ID to get into a club. Her parents have exiled her to her grandparents, a golf course in the countryside. She was sent to the country to keep her out of trouble, and to punish her. Soon this Goth girl shopaholic is trying to solve a murder.
The MINX line of comics was supposed to feature strong female characters, to be a premier series of comics for girls and young women. They achieved that as the 5 I have read so far have all been excellent books that I would be proud if my daughter would read when she was older. This is a story of a strong female character, yes she gets in trouble. But basically she is a good girl. These are excellent books. Well written and illustrated. What is best about this series is that almost all the books present a different culture, or ethnicity, yet together they present strong examples of good character, and strong females trying to find their way in the world. As well, they are entertaining enough that almost anyone can read them and learn from the stories.
MINX Graphic Novels:
The P.L.A.I.N. Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg (May 2 2007)
Re-Gifters by Mike Carey, Marc Hempel, and Sonny Liew (Jun 6 2007)
Clubbing by Andi Watson and Josh Howard (July 11 2007)
Good as Lily by Derek Kirk Kim and Jesse Hamm (Aug 1 2007)
Confessions of a Blabbermouth by Mike Carey, Louise Carey, and Aaron Alexovich(Sep 12 2007)
Kimmie66 by Aaron Alexovich (Nov 7 2007)
Burnout by Rebecca Donner (Jun 24 2008)
Water Baby by Ross Campbell(July 8 2008)
The New York Four by Ryan Kelly (July 22 2008)
Janes in Love by Cecil Castellucci (Sep 23 2008)
Emiko Superstar by Mariko Tamaki (Oct 14 2008)
Token by Alisa Sheckley (Nov 4 2008)
All Nighter by David Hahn (Unreleased)
Janes Go Summer by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg (Unreleased)
My Daddy And Me
Amy E. Sklansky (Author)
Ard Hoyt (Illustrator)
Scholastic
ISBN 9780545218337
This board book is a lot of fun, with a series of illustrations and short story lines about what children enjoy doing with their daddies. There are 4 or 5 different sets of father and child, with the two doing different things around the seasons, like a picnic, a day at the beach, camping, raking leaves, splashing in the rain, skating in the winter park and just being together. The illustrations are a classic pen and ink style, reminiscent of Norman Rockwell's work. It is a wonderful little book. Whatever the weather we go together.
The Seventh Level
Jody Feldman
Green Willow Books an imprint of
Harper Collins
Browse Inside
ISBN 9780061951053
Travis Raines always seems to be getting in trouble. But as his principal keeps saying: 'Things are not always as they appear'. Travis wants to join the Legend, a secret group at his middle school that plans events and surprises for the students. He has started getting blue envelopes giving him directions, tests and trials that will get him into this group. But he is receiving two different types of envelopes - bright shiny ones and plain ones. One set seems to keep getting him in trouble. He is not supposed to tell 
anybody about the envelopes. As his life gets more and more complicated trying to follow the instructions in the letters, he must learn who to trust, even if it is someone he least expected.
Well-written, this book has a fast pace, and as the excitement builds, you cannot put the book down. Travis is a great lead character. He will either remind you of yourself or someone you know. The details focus on life in and around middle school.
