Bones
Terrifying Tales to haunt Your Dream
Edited by Lois Metzger
Scholastic
ISBN 9780545158916
This collection of seven short stories is all about the strange, the unusual and haunting. It is at times funny and at times frightening. From a story about a cell phone that seems possessed but wants to make its owner a better person, to a box of bones that speaks to a young boy about the same age as the skeleton within, this collection is the companion to Bites Scary Stories to Sink Your Teeth Into and both are excellent reads. The contributors are:
Todd Strasser
David Levithan
Elizabeth C. Bunce
Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Richard Peck
R.L. Stein
Margaret Mahy
This was a fun collection to read. Much like children telling ghost stories at camp or during a sleepover, these stories are intended to stir up the imagination and they do just that. Lois Metzger does an amazing job of compiling a collection that can be read again and again.
Stink and the Great Guinea Pig Express
Stink Moody Book 4Megan McDonald (Author)Peter H Reynolds (Illustrator)Candlewick
ISBN 9780763642341
eISBN 9780763651916
Stink Moody and his friends, Sophie and Webster, are trying to make a replica of the Great Wall of China using cereal boxes. But as they finish building it, it starts moving and as they investigate they discover it is making strange sounds also. The sound it is making is wee, wee, wee, wee. And the three children discover 3 Guinea pigs. And that is the beginning of a grand adventure of the 101 guinea pigs and the Great Guinea Pig Express. The chapters in this book are:
The Great Wall
One Hundred and None
Knock, Knock-Who's There?
Squeals on Wheels
The Guinea Pig Whisperer
And Then There Were Five
Virginia Beach or Bust!
This Little Piggy
All the Way Home
In this book, Megan McDonald and Peter H. Reynolds tell the story of a guinea pig rescue. They draw from a real rescue and road trip to find homes for animals rescued from labs where they were being mistreated. The story is hilarious and with 101 guinea pigs, Stink and his friends sure end up with their hands full. From the animals getting into a thermos of coffee and getting hyper, to being on the loose in Fur and Fangs pet shop, there is laughter at every turn and on almost every page. This is another great book in an awesome series. Go Stink Go.
Books by Megan McDonald and Peter H Reynolds:
Stink Moody Books:
1. Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid
2. Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker
3. Stink and the World's Worst Super-Stinky Sneakers
4. Stink and the Great Guinea Pig Express
5. Stink: Solar System Superhero'
6. Stink and The Ultimate Thumb-Wrestling Smackdown
7. Stink and the Midnight Zombie Walk
Stink-O-Pedia Volume 1: Super Stink-y Stuff from A to Z
Stink-O-Pedia Volume 2: More Stink-y Stuff from A to Z
Judy and Stink Books:
Judy Moody & Stink: The Holly Joliday
Judy Moody and Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt
Stink and Judy Moody a Visual Bibliography
Judy Moody books:
1. Judy Moody
2. Judy Moody Gets Famous!
3. Judy Moody Saves the World!
4. Judy Moody Predicts the Future
5. Judy Moody, M.D. The Doctor Is In
6. Judy Moody Declares Independence
7. Judy Moody Around the World in 8½ Days
8. Judy Moody Goes to College
9. Judy Moody: Girl Detective
10. Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer
10a. Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer (Movie Tie-In Edition)
11. Judy Moody and the Bad Luck Charm
Judy Moody Activity Books:
Judy Moody's Double Rare Way Not Boring Book of Fun Stuff to Do
Judy Moody's Way Wacky Uber Awesome Book of MORE Fun Stuff to Do
Judy Moody's Mini-Mysteries and Other Sneaky Stuff for Super-Sleuths
Books by Megan McDonald:
Sisters Club:
Sisters Club 1
Sisters Club 2 Rule of Three
Sisters Club 3 Cloudy With a Chance of Boys
Books by Peter H Reynolds:
The North Star
ish
The Dot
Rose's Garden
I'm Here
Judy Moody Saves The World
Judy Moody Book 3Megan McDonald (Author) Peter H. Reynolds (Illustrator)Candlewick
ISBN 9780763648596
eISBN 9780763652012
Judy Moody gets better and better. With each book I read, I am more impressed with the storytelling abilities of Megan McDonald and Peter H Reynolds. Their ability to capture family life, with all its quirks, is amazing. They also do an incredible job of capturing friendships and a child's enthusiasm for something that grabs their attention. And in this book, that is protecting the environment. It all starts in science class and the section on the environment. The chapters in this story are:
Crazy Strips Contest
Batty for Banana Peels
A Mr. Rubbish Mood
Pigtoes, Pumas, and Pimplebacks
Beetle Emergency
Pond Scum
Luna Two
Batty for Band-Aids
Project P.E.N.C.I.L.
Batty for Bottles
The Winking Disease
Judy, as usual, gets herself into trouble. She wants to save the world. And she starts at home. Unfortunately she upsets her mother, father, and little brother Stink in her first attempt. Second, she tries to do something at school, but she ends up angering her whole class. But that leads to the idea for Mr. Todd's class 3T to collect bottles to plant trees in the rainforest. The class works together and they achieve some amazing results. To find out what, pick up the book and give it a read.
This is another wonderful book in a great series. And while most of the books have lessons about learning who you are and becoming better at being, this one focuses outward and has a lesson we can all learn from. Great story in an amazing series.
Books by Megan McDonald and Peter H Reynolds:
Judy Moody books:
1. Judy Moody
2. Judy Moody Gets Famous!
3. Judy Moody Saves the World!
4. Judy Moody Predicts the Future
5. Judy Moody, M.D. The Doctor Is In
6. Judy Moody Declares Independence
7. Judy Moody Around the World in 8½ Days
8. Judy Moody Goes to College
9. Judy Moody: Girl Detective
10. Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer
10a. Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer (Movie Tie-In Edition)
11. Judy Moody and the Bad Luck Charm
Judy Moody Activity Books:
Judy Moody's Double Rare Way Not Boring Book of Fun Stuff to Do
Judy Moody's Way Wacky Uber Awesome Book of MORE Fun Stuff to Do
Judy Moody's Mini-Mysteries and Other Sneaky Stuff for Super-Sleuths
Stink Moody Books:
1. Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid
2. Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker
3. Stink and the World's Worst Super-Stinky Sneakers
4. Stink and the Great Guinea Pig Express
5. Stink: Solar System Superhero'
6. Stink and The Ultimate Thumb-Wrestling Smackdown
7. Stink and the Midnight Zombie Walk
Stink-O-Pedia Volume 1: Super Stink-y Stuff from A to Z
Stink-O-Pedia Volume 2: More Stink-y Stuff from A to Z
Judy and Stink Books:
Judy Moody & Stink: The Holly Joliday
Judy Moody and Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt
Stink and Judy Moody a Visual Bibliography
Books by Megan McDonald:
Sisters Club:
Sisters Club 1
Sisters Club 2 Rule of Three
Sisters Club 3 Cloudy With a Chance of Boys
Books by Peter H Reynolds:
The North Star
ish
The Dot
Rose's Garden
I'm Here
Right Behind
A Parody of Last Days Goofiness
Mr Sock and Nathan D. Wilson
(Not Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins)
Canon Press
ISBN 9781885767875
This book was written to be a parody of the Left Behind series. It had a great deal of potential and the concept was amazing, but the execution was a little flawed. I am not sure if it was Wilson's youth or inexperience as a writer that lead to the let-down. Or maybe it was having read many of his more recent books and finding his fiction, especially in the 100 Cupboards series, almost 'Tolkienesque', that I 
had such high expectations. Instead, I read something like a Christian version of a fraternity joke. The style was a little rambling, the story inconsistent and it constantly made reference to the fact that it was an end-times book - characters referring to what evangelicals would and would not accept in the writing and also characters talking about their character and its focus or intent. Overall it was a let-down. I read it because I set the goal of reading all of Wilson's books and I will read the sequel to this but I know he could have done so much more with it if he had written it today!
Books by N.D. Wilson
100 Cupboards:
The Door Before - 100 Cupboards Book 0.5
100 Cupboards - 100 Cupboards Book 1
Dandelion Fire - 100 Cupboards Book 2
The Chestnut King - 100 Cupboards Books 3
Ashton Burials:
The Dragon's Tooth
The Drowned Vault
Leepike Ridge
Parody:
Right Behind
Supergeddon
Picture Books:
The Dragon and the Garden - The Old Stories
In The Time of Noah - The Old Stories
Non-Fiction:
Notes From The Tilt-A-Whirl
Death By Living
Author Profile Interview with N.D. Wilson
Judy Moody Around the World in 8 ½ Days
Judy Moody Book 7Megan McDonald (Author) Peter H. Reynolds (Illustrator)Candlewick
ISBN 9780763648633
eISBN 9780763652067
Jody Moody is awesome! I love her character, and her interactions with her friends and her family. The books in this series will make you laugh and look at the world a little differently. This book is a little different from most in the series, as it really focuses more closely on just Judy. There is a little less interaction with her family and her friends than in the other 6 books I have read in this series. The chapters are as follows:
Rhyme Time
Heebie-Jeebies
Club Snub
Nellie Bly Says Goodbye
Bella Tarantella
Fratellino Bratellino
Addresses and Messes
Pickle Chicle
No-Talky Rocky vs. Judy Snooty
Elf Schmelf
Red-White-and-Green Machine
Eatsa Pizza
In this adventure, there is a new girl at school, Amy Namey. And she seems to be a lot like Judy Moody. At first Judy is jealous of Frank and Rocky's interactions with Amy, but soon the tables have turned and Judy upsets them by spending so much time with Amy. Judy upsets them so much, they stop talking to her and even refuse to help on a school group project. Judy works hard to make things up to them and help the two classes make it around the world in 8 and 1/2 days.
I really enjoyed what Megan McDonald and Peter H Reynolds did in this book. It was different from the others in the series and as such we saw more development in Judy. It was another great read in an absolutely wonderful series.
Books by Megan McDonald and Peter H Reynolds:
Judy Moody books:
1. Judy Moody
2. Judy Moody Gets Famous!
3. Judy Moody Saves the World!
4. Judy Moody Predicts the Future
5. Judy Moody, M.D. The Doctor Is In
6. Judy Moody Declares Independence
7. Judy Moody Around the World in 8½ Days
8. Judy Moody Goes to College
9. Judy Moody: Girl Detective
10. Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer
10a. Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer (Movie Tie-In Edition)
11. Judy Moody and the Bad Luck Charm
Judy Moody Activity Books:
Judy Moody's Double Rare Way Not Boring Book of Fun Stuff to Do
Judy Moody's Way Wacky Uber Awesome Book of MORE Fun Stuff to Do
Judy Moody's Mini-Mysteries and Other Sneaky Stuff for Super-Sleuths
Stink Moody Books:
1. Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid
2. Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker
3. Stink and the World's Worst Super-Stinky Sneakers
4. Stink and the Great Guinea Pig Express
5. Stink: Solar System Superhero'
6. Stink and The Ultimate Thumb-Wrestling Smackdown
7. Stink and the Midnight Zombie Walk
Stink-O-Pedia Volume 1: Super Stink-y Stuff from A to Z
Stink-O-Pedia Volume 2: More Stink-y Stuff from A to Z
Judy and Stink Books:
Judy Moody & Stink: The Holly Joliday
Judy Moody and Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt
Stink and Judy Moody a Visual Bibliography
Books by Megan McDonald:
Sisters Club:
Sisters Club 1
Sisters Club 2 Rule of Three
Sisters Club 3 Cloudy With a Chance of Boys
Books by Peter H Reynolds:
The North Star
ish
The Dot
Rose's Garden
I'm Here
Bones
