Zombie in Love

Zombie in Love by Kelly DiPucchio

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It's tough for the walking dead to find a love connection. The ladies aren't impressed when Mortimer offers a box of chocolates (and worms), a real (formerly live) heart or a stunning diamond ring (still, unfortunately, on a finger).

Will he ever find his one true love?

Clearly, this picture book is not intended for the preschool set. However, I think students in second or third grade and up would find it hilarious. It's worth consideration for the Joliet Reads third graders... if we dare.

Bwa ha ha ha!!!





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YOU WILL BE MY FRIEND!

The main character in YOU WILL BE MY FRIEND! by Peter Brown wakes up one day and decides she will make a new friend. No matter what. Whether any of the other animals want to be her friend or not.

This story is funny and (mostly) true to life. It would be a great choice for the Joliet Reads Preschool and Kindergarten age group. It could also be good for Preschool Storytime or possibly the I Can Read Club.

The Help

I finally read The Help by Kathryn Stockett. It was just as good as everyone said.

Now I need to go see the movie. I've heard that the film is very true to the book, but has a different ending. We'll see if it measures up....

The One and Only Stuey Lewis

I read The One and Only Stuey Lewis by Jane Schoenberg in about an hour last night.

I really liked Stuey Lewis. He was a realistic character - not yet a reader but still very creative and smart. His Halloween caper idea was brilliant. I wish I'd thought of it as a child!

As for Joliet Reads... I think the kids would really enjoy it. Would the district's teachers mind that his brother calls him "Stu-pid" when their mom is not around? The brother also called him "Jerk" one time, but gets in trouble for it.

I strongly recommend that all selection committee members read this book. I will be returning my copy within the next five minutes. :-D

Pie

I love the book Pie by Sarah Weeks!

I think it could be an excellent fourth and fifth grade choice for Joliet Reads. While the protagonist is a female, it is not a girly book. Her best friend is a boy and they have adventures as they try to solve a mystery. The catch: reading the book made me hungry for pie!!!

Here's the book description from Good Reads:

"Who would leave a world-famous pie recipe to a cat?

When Alice's Aunt Polly passes away, she takes with her the secret to her world-famous pie-crust recipe. Or does she? In her will, Polly leaves the recipe to her extraordinarily surly cat Lardo . . . and then leaves Lardo in the care of Alice.


Suddenly Alice is thrust into the center of a piestorm, with everyone in town trying to be the next pie-contest winner ... including Alice's mother and some of Alice's friends. The whole community is going pie-crazy . . . and it's up to Alice to discover the ingredients that really matter. Like family. And friendship. And enjoying what you do."

Secretariat

I know I know. The blog is supposed to be about books.

But I finally watched "Secretariat" this weekend. We liked it so much that we watched it twice - once on Saturday and again today.

Great story. Beautiful horses, especially the horse/actor who portrayed Secretariat. Excellent acting. Positive message. Actually appropriate for a family to watch together, including children. And now I have the gospel tune "O Happy Day" in my head, which is a good thing.

I recommend it highly.

Wonderstruck

I don't want to use the book's title as my adjective, so I'll say I was awed by Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick.

No one will ever describe it as a quick or easy read, but wow! All I can say is wow!

I hope it will win the Newbery award.