Posted on by Maureen

My Little Hen by Alice & Martin Provensen

91whroxbkmlMy oldest daughter and I have been reading the advanced copies of middle grade books that I receive from Netgalley. I wanted to be able to include my twins, who are a little too young for middle grade books. So, my twins and I have been reading books from the Best Book Club Ever. You might remember these books from the late 1970s and early 1980s. They have been picking one book each night, and I have been enjoying rediscovering some childhood favorites.

My Little Hen was written by Alice and Martin Provensen, and it was first published in 1973.

This is the story of a little girl named Emily, who loves her hen Etta. One day, Etta lays an egg, and that egg grows into a little chick named Neddy. Emily and Etta are very protective of Neddy, but they don’t have much to be worried about because Ralph the dog is very gentle with the chickens. Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Rupert and Polly by Jody Silver

My oldest daughter and I have been reading the advanced copies of middle grade books that I receive from Netgalley. I wanted to be able to include my twins, who are a little too young for middle grade books. So, my twins and I have been reading books from the Best Book Club Ever. You might remember these books from the late 1970s and early 1980s. They have been picking one book each night, and I have been enjoying rediscovering some childhood favorites.

Rupert and Polly was originally published in 1978, and it was written and illustrated by Jody Silver.

Rupert is an anthropomorphic goat, and Polly is his pet parrot. They get along well, and Polly loves when Rupert sings “Polly Wolly Doodle” to her. One night, Polly doesn’t feel comfortable sleeping in her cage, so she nestles on Rupert’s beard. Rupert is startled and yells at Polly, who flies out of the window. When Rupert wakes up and realizes that Polly is gone, he feels terrible- can he find Polly and apologize to her or is she gone forever? Read more

Posted on by Maureen

The Last Boy at St. Edith’s by Lee Gjertsen Malone

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I received a copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I first heard about The Last Boy at St. Edith’s last summer when I began to follow author Lee Gjertsen Malone on Twitter. I knew that this was a book that I wanted to read, and I was very excited when I received an opportunity to read an advanced copy via Netgalley.

Jeremy Miner is a seventh grade student at St. Edith’s Academy. The school was coeducational for a few years, but all the other boys have moved away or transferred to other schools. Jeremy hates being the only boy at an all-girls school, but his mother will not allow him to transfer. So, Jeremy does what any reasonable person would do in this situation: he formulates a plan to get himself kicked out of school. He and his friend Claudia come up with a series of pranks, and while Jeremy tries to set guidelines about no one being humiliated or no property being damaged, things don’t always go according to plan. As Jeremy gets closer to achieving his goal, he realizes that his actions are affecting those around him- is this really what he wants? Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Noah’s Ark retold by Lawrence T. Lorimer

61o7rn9heolMy oldest daughter and I have been reading the advanced copies of middle grade books that I receive from Netgalley. I wanted to be able to include my twins, who are a little too young for middle grade books. So, my twins and I have been reading books from the Best Book Club Ever. You might remember these books from the late 1970s and early 1980s. They have been picking one book each night, and I have been enjoying rediscovering some childhood favorites.

Noah’s Ark was retold by Lawrence T. Lorimer and illustrated by Charles E. Martin. It was originally published in 1978.

The plot of this story should be familiar to many, as it is part of religious lore for several faiths. Noah is a farmer living in the ancient world, and he is apparently the only good person in the world. God tells Noah to build an ark, and to bring aboard two of every species of animal. Noah complies, the world is flooded, and when the floodwaters subside, a rainbow appears. This is God’s promise to never flood the world again.       Read more

Posted on by Maureen

The Spiritglass Charade by Colleen Gleason

51uhtu02bablI love young adult books, and I love books set in the Victorian era. Coleen Gleason’s Stoker & Holmes series combines both of these elements, and adds a partnership between Bram Stoker’s sister and Sherlock Holmes’ niece. I have recently finished listening to The Spiritglass Charade, which is the second book in the series.

Mina Holmes and Evaline Stoker have already solved one mystery, but they are asked by Princess Alix for assistance with a rather delicate matter. A young aristocratic woman has been increasingly involved with spiritualism following the death of her mother and the disappearance of her brother. The princess fears that Miss Aston is being taken advantage of, because mediums are believed to be charlatans who take advantage of mourners. But of course, nothing is as is seems, and the two young women find the case to be far more complicated than it appears. Throw in evidence of vampires, and you’ve got an intriguing case that Mina and Evaline are determined to solve! Read more

Posted on by Maureen

A Night Like This by Julia Quinn

51eukz2qhmlI have always loved historical romance novels, but in recent years, I haven’t had as much time for them. Julia Quinn was always my favorite author, and I’ve been catching up on some of the books that I missed. I had listened to the Audible version of Just Like Heaven, which is the first book in Quinn’s Smythe-Smith quartet. After that, I started listening to When He Was Wicked, which is part of her Bridgerton series… but I had to find out what happened next in the Smythe-Smith series.   I had a paperback copy of A Night Like This, and I found myself unable to resist bumping it to the top of my reading queue.

A Night Like This begins during the events at the end of Just Like Heaven. Daniel Smythe-Smith, the Earl of Winstead, has returned to England after a few years abroad. It’s a long story, but the prologue covers the reason for his departure. But now he’s back, and the one of the first things he notices is that there is a strange woman participating in his family’s annual musicale. She isn’t one of his cousins, and he is intrigued by her identity. Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Snow White and Rose Red illustrated by Sheilah Beckett

My oldest daughter and I have been reading the advanced copies of middle grade books that I receive from Netgalley. I wanted to be able to include my twins, who are a little too young for middle grade books. So, my twins and I have been reading books from the Best Book Club Ever. You might remember these books from the late 1970s and early 1980s. They have been picking one book each night, and I have been enjoying rediscovering some childhood favorites.

Snow White and Rose Red was originally published in 1978. It is based on a Brothers Grimm tale. There is no author listed for this adaptation, and Sheilah Beckett is listed as the illustrator.

This fairy tale is not affiliated with the more famous Snow White tale involving the dwarves and the wicked queen. In this story, Snow White and her sister Rose Red live in a cottage with their widowed mother. One winter night, a bear comes to the door seeking shelter, and his wish is granted. The bear comes to their house every day in the winter, but disappears in the spring. Snow White and Rose Red often see a gnome in the forest, and they help him out of several sticky situations. Could there be a connection between their friend the bear and the grumpy gnome? Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Uncle Louie’s Fantastic Sea Voyage by Jan Loof

My oldest daughter and I have been reading the advanced copies of middle grade books that I receive from Netgalley. I wanted to be able to include my twins, who are a little too young for middle grade books. So, my twins and I have been reading books from the Best Book Club Ever. You might remember these books from the late 1970s and early 1980s. They have been picking one book each night, and I have been enjoying rediscovering some childhood favorites.

Uncle Louie’s Fantastic Sea Voyage was written by Jan Loof, and it was originally published in 1977.

Rusty is a young boy who enjoys tinkering with things. As the story begins, Rusty’s parents are going away, and are leaving him with his Uncle Louie. Rusty is pleased with this; his uncle has a scrap yard, and also enjoys tinkering. Uncle Louie has a grand plan to sail to Africa in a paddle streamer that he is building himself. Rusty meets Uncle Louie’s friend Millstone, who looks very mysterious. Rusty stows away on the boat, and sees Millstone casting some magical spells- but can the boat and the spells really take them all the way to Africa? Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Rebel, Bully, Geek, Pariah by Erin Jade Lange

81rkdoal4elWhen I saw Rebel, Bully, Geek, Pariah by Erin Jade Lange on Netgalley, I wanted to read it immediately. The Breakfast Club meets Breaking Bad? Sign me up! I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Sam has not had an easy life. Her mother has been in and out of jail, and Sam does her best to stay invisible. She doesn’t need the scrutiny of her peers. Due to circumstances beyond her control, she ends up at a party in the woods with Andi. At one point, Andi was one of the popular girls, but now she avoids her old friends. When the party is broken up by the police, Sam and Andi find themselves in the company of brothers York and Boston. York is an athlete and a bully, and his brother Boston wants to go to an Ivy League school. In their efforts to avoid the police, this unlikely quartet inadvertently steals a car full of drugs. Now they have to figure out what to do without incriminating themselves. Read more

Posted on by Maureen

The Golden Mountain by Willi Baum

My oldest daughter and I have been reading the advanced copies of middle grade books that I receive from Netgalley. I wanted to be able to include my twins, who are a little too young for middle grade books. So, my twins and I have been reading books from the Best Book Club Ever. You might remember these books from the late 1970s and early 1980s. They have been picking one book each night, and I have been enjoying rediscovering some childhood favorites.

The Golden Mountain was written by Willi Baum. It was first published in 1978, and it was translated from the German- Fred und Tom und der Goldene Berg.

Jack and Pete are a pair of brothers who live together on a farm. They are looking for an adventure, so they sell everything except for their dog and hop on a train heading west. They use their money to purchase gold digging supplies, but some mean cowboys chase them. This is certainly more adventure than they were expecting- will they ever find the Golden Mountain or is it just a myth? Read more