Current ARC - Rule

Yes, I am behind and have about 3 other books yet to read, but I wanted to catch up a bit and this is the ARC I'm currently reading and I'm almost done! I have to admit...it is really good! Even though I've been horrendously slow in reading it, I think the storyline is fantastic. I'm not much for made up lands and worlds, but Ellen Goodlett has done a great job and making her lands believable. I can't wait to see how it ends!

Rule
By Ellen Goodlett

Apologies

I have not been keeping up very well...with pretty much everything. A lot has been going on in my house lately and it's been hard. My ARCs have suffered as well. I just wanted to let everyone know that I am trying! Stay with me!

100 Best Reads

I LOVE book lists!! Here's a good one that was recommended to me from a lady I met at this year's book fair.

https://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/books/#/

Book Fair Time!

I love the book fair and I hate the book fair. I love the book fair because the kids get so excited and it's a change up of the day-to-day route. By the end though, I can't wait to get to business as usual. BUT I usually get some really cool books.

Free Verse

Free Verse
By Sarah Dooley

This is another book that I saw while browsing the local library. I like to browse the shelves and bring home interesting books to share with you. I read the inside cover and related to the story because I used poetry as teen myself as...well...kind of a stress/emotional release. Writing has always freed my mind as well as reading. I found this in the Young Adult section so I would recommend this to teens.

Goodreads Summary:
"When her brother dies in a fire, Sasha Harless has no one left, and nowhere to turn. After her father died in the mines and her mother ran off, he was her last caretaker. They’d always dreamed of leaving Caboose, West Virginia together someday, but instead she’s in foster care, feeling more stuck and broken than ever.

But then Sasha discovers family she didn’t know she had, and she finally has something to hold onto, especially sweet little Mikey, who’s just as broken as she is. Sasha even makes her first friend at school, and is slowly learning to cope with her brother’s death through writing poetry, finding a new way to express herself when spoken words just won’t do. But when tragedy strikes the mine her cousin works in, Sasha fears the worst and takes Mikey and runs, with no plans to return. In this sensitive and poignant portrayal, Sarah Dooley shows us that life, like poetry, doesn’t always take the form you intend."

The Ninja Librarians Series

The Ninja Librarians Series
The Accidental Keyhand
By Jen Swann Downey

I was browsing through my local library and saw this and thought it was cute. I haven't read it, but maybe you could and tell me how you like it! Perfect for middle grades!

Goodreads summary:
"Just a little story about your average sword-swinging, karate-chopping, crime-fighting ninja librarians

Dorrie Barnes had no idea an overdue library book would change her life. When Dorrie and her brother Marcus chase her pet mongoose into the janitor's closet of their local library, they accidentally fall through a passage into Petrarch's Library -the headquarters of a secret society of ninja librarians who have an important mission: protect those whose words have gotten them into trouble. Anywhere in the world and at any time in history.

Dorrie would love nothing more than to join the society. But when a traitor surfaces, she and her friends are the prime suspects. Can they clear their names before the only passage back to the twenty-first century closes forever?"

Don't forget book #2 - Sword in the Stacks!

Not Thrilled

Just not thrilled with the website. I'm not sure if everyone has had an opportunity to look at it, but I'm still not happy about the layout or basically anything about it. I feel like it needs a total wipe and I guess summer is a good time to do it. I'll have to do some sketches and try to find out where I'm going with this.

In the meantime, check it out if you'd like!
www.thelibrarylarvae.com

The Someday Birds

The Someday Birds by Sally J. Pla
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Charlie was a bit unusual. Grams would call him Lysol Louie as he would wash his hands 12 times in a row. They’re not clean until they are washed 12 times you know. That would be the least of Charlie’s worries as his Dad is moved to a hospital on the east coast for a new doctor and brighter hope. Grams goes along with Dad and leaves in her place Ludmila, who showed up in their Dad’s hospital room out of nowhere and watches over him. One night Charlie’s sister, Davis, and her boyfriend decided that they are going to drive to Virginia to Grams and Charlie’s Dad. They never make it and this is where the adventure begins with Ludmila, Charlie, Davis, Joel, Jake, a 3-legged dog and a journal crowded together in a camper named Bessie heading cross-country on a journey they’ll never forget.

‘The Someday Birds’ by Sally J. Pla is just a good book. If you’re looking for a book that will just make you feel good by the end, then this is your book. The mystery behind Ludmila and her background explain her relationship with Charlie’s father. At first the kids were paranoid that she would rob them and kill them, but in the end she needed them just as much as they needed her. The characters were all very likable and true to their ages and Charlie’s transformation was heartfelt to watch as he learned that he could open up to people and new experiences. By the end, the letter from Dr. Tiberius Shaw was the perfect touch. This would be a great family read aloud as it’s perfect for everyone! I totally recommend ‘The Someday Birds’ by Sally J. Pla.

View all my reviews

Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard

Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard by Jonathan Auxier
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sophie Quire is a little bookmender in Bustleburgh and as a bookmender in her father’s book store, she has a deep love for books. It’s only natural that Sophie gets upset every year on Pyre Day when books are burned to celebrate the No Nonsense Movement contrived by Inquisitor Prigg. One fateful day, a very powerful book found Sophie by means of two adventurers - Jack Nimble and his trusty companion Sir Tode. It was’t by accident. Fate brought the book to Sophie just as fate brought the book to her mother many years ago and her mother died defending that very same book. The threesome set out to find the book’s companions to complete the set and to unravel the mystery behind Sophie’s mother’s death. Facing that same fate, Sophie sets out to destroy the very thing that killed her mother so long ago.

I really can’t say enough good things about ‘Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard’. The inside cover sounded interesting and the other book I read by Jonathan Auxier, ‘The Night Gardener’, was amazing. Mr. Auxier has an amazing way of twisting a tale around so that you’re never quite sure where you’re going to end up which makes reading his books an adventure in and of themselves. By the end, I was as exhausted as Sophie, but it left me with a small smile and an ear listening closely for ‘the hushed song of a story waiting to be read.’ I highly recommend ‘Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard’ by Jonathan Auxier. It’s a perfect summertime read!

View all my reviews

2017-2018 Maryland Black-Eyed Susans

The Maryland Black-Eyed Susans are our Maryland state books. They are read and voted on by students only. The books are only a few years old and can not have been awarded a medal. The categories are picture books, Chapter books grades 4-6, 6-9 and high school and graphic novels grades 4-6 and 6-9. The books are always very good. I generally read the middle school books because I was in a middle school book club, but has since disbanded so I may try to read a few from each category. 

I thought it would be really fun to create a poll here and see if our votes match up with the winner that is chosen in April. I'll give a brief description of the book and you can vote in the sidebar. I HIGHLY recommend that you take the time to read them. You can probably do it in one sitting. 

It's going to be a long post so here we go!!

They All Saw A Cat

By Brendan Wenzel

They all saw a cat follows a cat throughout it's day and looks at everything that sees the cat and how the cat is seen. 

Best Frints in the Whole Universe

By Antoinette Portis

Even best friends can get angry with other, but best friends always make up no matter what universe you live in.

I Dissent

By Debbie Levy

All about a little girl who thought outside the box and stereotype of what girls were supposed to grow up to be.

Whoosh!

By Chris Barton

An inventor from the beginning and looking to find one solution paved the way to life-altering, much loved invention to last a lifetime.

Seven and a Half Tons of Steel

By Janet Nolan

The United States would never be the same again after planes few into the Twin Towers in New York City. After the site was cleared, seven and a half tons of steel was forged to make the bow of the USS New York.

Maybe Something Beautiful

By F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell

Mira loved to make colorful pictures and hand them out until she met an artist who transformed her neighborhood, with the help of her neighbors, into something beautiful.

Wet Cement

By Bob Raczka

A compilation of poems that combine words and pictures to make poems.

Ada's Violin

By Susan Hood

Out of the landfill that was their neighborhood, the vigilant children made their own instruments to lift them up to where music made everyone equal.

Mother Bruce

By Ryan T. Higgins

Looking for a gourmet meal, Bruce wound up being a Daddy!

Miss Mary Reporting

By Sue Macy

A daughter of a father of all girls who loved to watch sports and whose father taught them about what they were watching. It was only natural that Mary would follow her dreams and her passions through writing and sports.

Land Shark

By Beth Ferry

What to get a little boy who is a strident shark lover? A puppy. The two may not be that all that different.

Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion

By Alex T. Smith

How hungry is that lion? Hungry enough to have his hair done and wear dresses? Little Red sure does test a hungry lion's stomach!

Ida, Always

By Caron Levis and Charles Santoso

Even when friends go away forever, you can still take comfort in the warmth of their memories.

The Bear and the Piano

by David Litchfield

After making it big in the city, the bear comes back to his humble roots and his friends in the forest.

The Hole Story

The Hole Story of the Doughnut

By Pat Miller

Illustrated By Vincent X. Kirsch

Who doesn't love doughnuts!! I love them!! Ever thought about how they were born? Well, back on 22 June 1847 Captain Hanson Crockett Gregory was helping the cook of the Ivanhoe prepare breakfast. He wasn't a captain back then, but a boy of 16! The usual breakfast for the sailors were "sinkers" which were called that because they sank to the bottom of their stomachs. To make them a little less weighty, Hanson punched a hole in the center of the pastry giving it it's well-loved shape. Of course, that's not the whole story and there are a few tall-tales that came out of it, but why would I tell you?!?! You'll have to read the book AND while you're at it...grab some donuts. It makes the story better!

Seven Rules You Absolutely Must Not Break If You Want to Survive the Cafeteria

Seven Rules You Absolutely Must Not Break If You Want to Survive the Cafeteria
By John Grandits
Illustrations By Michael Allen Austin

If you are familiar with this book's predecessor (Ten Rules You Absolutely Must Not Break if You Want to Survive the School Bus), then you are ready to take on the cafeteria. Although Seven Rules... is pretty good, I do think it falls short of the first book. I wasn't quite sure about the insect comparisons and I would have liked to see the story go a little further. For example, trash cans and recycle cans or the 'peanut table'. I think this would be a good book for new students who are a little leery of the whole cafeteria scene. It's a cute book though and, as always, I good read.

I definitely recommend this book especially during the first week of school if you are a teacher.

Sadly, Goodbye

No, it's not goodbye from me. Sadly, my friend's bookstore is closing. He had the BEST selection of books - all children's and young adult. Unfortunately, not many kids read these days which is a shame. I know...a lot do read too, but many that I know in my area do not. Anyway, the store had to close down. I made a YouTube channel for my friend's shop so I just moved all of my book trailers I made for him over to the Library Larvae channel. If you haven't stopped by my YouTube channel, then now would probably be a good time! Thanks!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYfEEyThJYtQGFF0-8f3f9A/featured

Step Into The Adult

Although the Library Larvae usually delves into children and teen books, occasionally I get interested in adult books. Other than Kathy Reichs, the only other adult books I read are nonfiction.

I was talking with some folks at work the other day and we were talking about the city of Hershey and everything that was there and what an amazing city it was and what an amazing man Hershey was so...as any librarian would do...I got a book! I haven't read it yet and I'm not sure when I'll have time, but here it is. Maybe you'd like to take a look and see what kind of man Milton Hershey was.

HersheyMichael D'Antonio

January 2018 Newsletter

Here is the link to this month's newsletter - The Chrysalis

Amazon Associate Program

Just wanted to let everyone know that I have been in the process of adding links to the different Library Larvae media to link back to my new Amazon Associates account. When you click on the title, the link will take you to Amazon and there you can read a summary about the book and purchase it if you would like. I do make a very small percentage on each sale. Also, if you didn't know, Discover credit card points can be used with Amazon. I like to save up my points and treat myself to new books from time to time. Thanks!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!! Looking forward to a new year of books and reading!1