Over the weekend I participated in the 48 Hour Book Contest hosted by MotherReader. If you haven’t heard of it, the basic idea is to read as much as you can or want to over a consecutive 48 hour period. Time you blog about your process or the books you’ve read also counts toward your time. This year socializing – time you spent reading other participating blogs, commenting, or twittering – was also allowed to add into your time. My friends and I decided to participate together at NerdGirlBlogging, the blog we share, so head over there if you want to see our posts.
I ended up with a grand total of 15 hours, 30 minutes and 1162 pages. It was a great experience, and I got to read & hear about a lot of great books. These are the books I read.
This is the third book in the Uglies series, published in 2006. It has quite a bit of action in it, especially toward the end. I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I had Uglies. Probably because then the series and concept of the books were still new to me. I see Specials as the final act of the Uglies-Pretties-Specials trilogy. However, there is a fourth book called Extras, but Tally is not the main character. I wasn’t planning on reading it, but I’ve been told by others that they really enjoyed it, so maybe I’ll pick it up after a little break from the series. I would definitely recommend Uglies to any YA reader, and you can read my review of that book here.
Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick
This is a really great story from 2004 about Steven, a geeky 8th grader trying to deal with school, a girl who doesn’t know he exists, and an annoying five-year-old brother, Jeffrey, all while finding time to get better on the drums. Steven’s year quickly goes downhill when he learns that Jeffrey has lukemia. Written in first person, Drums really gives us a feel for what Steven and his family are going through. It has a lot of really sweet, sad, funny, angry, and quirky moments, and I cannot recommend it enough.
This was my first Maureen Johnson book, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It turned out to be a fairly quick read with supernatural elements. Jane attends an all-girl prep school with her best friend Allison, who has somewhat of an inferiority complex. Allison changes drastically when new girl Lanalee arrives at school, suddenly owning expensive things, dying and cutting her hair, and stealing Jane’s ex-boyfriend. Jane soon discovers Allison has sold her soul to Lanalee, a devil-in-training who also wants Jane’s soul. I enjoyed the character of Jane; she’s intelligent, witty, and fiercely loyal and protective of her best friend. Devilish is a pretty light read, though it does have some slightly graphic descriptions at times, so I would recommend it to older readers who like out-of-the-norm supernatural books.
Savvy by Ingrid Law
This 2008 book has won numerous honors, including 2009 Newbery Honor and ALA Notable Book for Children 2009. Main character Mibs is about to turn 13. A big deal for anyone, yet in her family, turning 13 means you get your savvy — a special talent. Mibs’ oldest brother creates electricity and another brother can cause hurricanes. Two days before her birthday, Mibs’ father is in a bad car accident. Mibs KNOWS her savvy is to wake him up, so she, her older brother Fish, her younger brother Samson, and the preacher’s kids Will & Bobbi embark on an adventure. Along her journey, Mibs learns a lot about herself, her family, and growing up. This was a fantastic story with great characters and an exciting adventure. Highly recommended! I’m looking forward to more from Ingrid Law.
The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary by Candace Fleming
I have only read the first two chapters of this massive book so far, but I’m enjoying it. It’s a nice book to pick up every now and then to supplement reading typical chapter books. I love the scrapbook feel, with the pictures and various chunks of text. It’s such a great way to learn about two important figures in history and what living in their time was like. I’m looking forward to finishing the book and learning more, but I can already see why it’s so popular and has earned so many praise. A great book for a variety of ages!
I’m still working my way through this chapter book too, but so far it’s very enjoyable. Published in 2008, Masterpiece is the story of Marvin, a beetle who lives in a NYC apartment with a human family, including 10-year-old James. Of course, the humans don’t know they are there, until one day when Marvin goes into James’ room to leave a birthday present and ends up creating a beautiful ink picture. When James awakes and sees the picture, he’s amazed and even more surprised when Marvin reveals himself as the artist. I love that the book is from the perspective of a tiny beetle. I can’t to find out how Masterpiece ends.
Posted by ngtjill 
Posted by ngtjill 
Posted by ngtjill 
Have you ever seen that episode of The Cosby Show where Theo is convinced that his math teacher, Mrs. Westlake, is out to get him? The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt is a little like that, only better! It’s a Newbery Honor book from 2008. I loved it, and I highly recommend it!
In this book by Markus Zusak, Death serves as a narrator telling the story of a young girl adopted by a couple in Germany during WWII. The book starts out slowly because you have to adjust to the writing style. Zusak uses fragmented sentences, short episodic chapters, and lots of metaphors. It’s an interesting style, but it was difficult to get into and by the end it felt too “artsy” for me. However, I did enjoy the characters and the setting of Nazi Germany. Death as the narrator also adds an interesting aspect to the book. The story is really long, though, and I kept finding myself just wanting to finish, not because I really wanted to know what happened but more because I wanted to be done and move on to something else. It’s not a bad book; I think there are a lot of good themes, and I can see why it was nominated for a Michael L. Printz award. It would be a good book to include in a high-school literature class or in a WWII unit.
With its simple, straightforward words by Doreen Rappaport and large, fascinating pictures by Bryan Collier, Martin’s Big Words serves as a great introduction to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement. The biography begins with Dr. King’s childhood but quickly progresses to his efforts for change. Young readers will learn about major events of the Civil Rights Movement, from Rosa Park’s refusal which led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott to Dr. King’s assassination in Memphis in 1968, which is dealt with very delicately.
This multi-honored book by Laura Vaccaro Seeger teaches children about how things develop — first a seed then a flower, a caterpillar then a butterfly, painting then a picture. With its simple pictures and colors, First the Egg is perfect for young children. The book also features a clever cut-out design that will have both kids and adults turning the pages back and forth.
Since its publication in 2003, 
When I was younger, my sisters and cousins and I made a house out of a refrigerator box. I’m sure you or your kids enjoyed playing with boxes too, much like the rabbit in Not a Box by Antoinette Portis. The box that the rabbit plays with is not a box; it is a rocket ship, a race car, a mountain. With the simple line illustrations, children will be able to distinguish between what the adult sees – the rabbit and box drawn in black – and what the rabbit imagines – the created world drawn in red. The design of the book also cleverly reinforces the concept of cardboard.
