Some Cool Scary Books

Hi guys,

Sorry I have not posted lately but as Carl said I had some further Sith training to catch up with at Sith School. I made a new friend while at Sith School and his name is Darth Maul. He doesn't talk much but at least he doesn't snarl at me like he does at all the other Sith at school. I hate to bring this up, but I am awfully disappointed that a "Jedi" has posted a review of some of his favorite books and no Sith. Come on future Sith of the Galaxy lets show those darn Jedi we read as much if not more than them. Sorry I just had to get that off my chest. Well let me tell you about some really great scary books I have read lately.




1) More Horowitz Horror: More Stories You'll Wish You'd Never Read by Anthony Horowitz - Wow, this was a great read with some really cool horror stories. Not all the stories had happy endings and some of the stories really had some great twist and turns that you will not see coming. My favorite story in the book was "The Elevator." Police Detectives Charles Falcon and Jack Beagle are investigating the case of a young boy who gets on an elevator but never gets off. Another good one is "The Hitchhiker." It's a rainy night and Jacob and his parents are returning from a nice day at the beach. They pick up a hitchhiker whose car has broken down and is walking in the rain. Surely nothing good can come of this? Are you brave enough to find out the outcome of these stories? If so read this book and let me know what you think.


2) Goosebumps: Terror Trips based on the novels by R.L. Stine - Goosebumps stories are now being adapted into Graphic Novel Format. The PLCMC has the first two volumes, "Creepy Creatures" and "Terror Trips" in it's collection. I had a really good time reading both of them and thought they were awesome. "Terror Trips" tells three stories - One Day at Horrorland, A Shocker on Shock Street and Deep Trouble. I really had a blast reading all three of them. The first story involves a family getting lost while on vacation and ending up at a strange fun park named Horrorland. They decide to give it a try and the place really lives up to it's name. The second story involves two friends who love a horror movie series called Shock Street. Well lucky for them a Shock Street Studio Tour is about to open and because one of the duo just happens to be the daughter of the designer of the tour they get to test it out first. This may not be the best thing to ever happen to them (in fact it may be very far from a "good" thing). The third story involves sea monsters, sharks, and merpeople - enough said!!!!!

Well until we meet again in the badlands, peace all,

Darth Bill

Got Mysteries?

Hey Guys, it's Carl again. The Great Geek Darth Bill will post something soon (he's busy with his Sith Lord training), so I'll put up 2 recommendations today. As many of you probably know, the theme for the library's Summer Reading Program is Get A Clue. It's a lot of fun and I hope you guys are participating--you get prizes for reading! Here are a couple of mysteries:


1. The Missing Chums by Franklin W. Dixon This is one of the Hardy Boys mysteries. Strange things are happening in Bayport, Joe and Frank Hardy's home town. A bank is robbed by thieves wearing gorilla and magician masks. An unknown black boat tries to ram Joe and Frank. Fights break out in Shantytown. And what's going on at Hermit Island? Read this and find out why boys have been enjoying the Hardy Boys series for 60 years! (This series has the original illustrations and covers--very retro and very fun!)

2. Windcatcher by Avi
This is more of a suspense/mystery book but it's very exciting. Eleven-year-old Tony is going to spend the summer with his aunt who lives by the sea. Tony has bought a small sailboat and is looking forward to exploring the bay when he learns about a ship that sank in that bay 200 years ago. The treasaure aboard was never found. Could the statue of the ship's captain hold a clue to the treasure's location? And who is this suspicious couple who seem to stop at nothing to keep Tony from finding it? I remember reading this and wondering if Tony would survive being stranded when his boat disappears!

OK, everyone, let us know if you've read these books. Did you like them? Have you read any other good mysteries?

We're On A Roll!

Hey guys, Carl again. We've received another comment. This one's from Thomas C.:

Thoams C. said...
There have been a lot of books that I really like. One series is Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan. Others are Artemis Fowl, Gregor the Overlander, Charlie Bone, Harry Potter (of course..I think the 4th book is the best, ever), Inkspell, Deltora Quest, Redwall, and Eragon.

I really love to read. It lets me get away from the real world.

Good work, Thomas. Come to the library at Imaginon and claim your free book.
I agree with his choice of the Percy Jackson series--they're the most exciting books I've read in a long time. I just got a copy of the third one, The Titan's Curse, and I spend every free moment reading it. Did you guys ever find a book or a series of books that are so good that you hate to get interrupted while reading? This is it!

Here is a photo of Jace and Obi-wan Andrew, our first two commenters, with their free books. They came in just today. Hmm--looks like I used the flash and you can't see the book titles. Well, I know one is an A to Z Mystery. (those are pretty good)
So, let's hear it, guys! Any more favorite books? What do you think about what Thomas said?

All Right! Our First Two Comments!

Hey Guys! This is Carl again. We have our first two comments! The first one is from Obi-wan Andrew and the second is from Jace. Good work, guys! Come to the library in Imaginon and claim your free books.
I'm sorry that it's taken so long to get these comments up, but I've been trying to figure out how to put them out for everyone to see. It took me a while and I finally had to go to our technowizards for help, but now I know what to do. Here we go:

Obi-wan-Andrew said...
My Weird School: Miss Daisy is CrazyThe point of the story is there is a math teacher that doesn't know anything about math. She stays at home and eats homemade chocolate balls. The kids have to teach her math so she can keep her job. It's a funny story, and it comes in a series about other strange people who work at the school.
June 15, 2007 2:45 PM

Jace said...
Horse and His Boy by CS Lewis. There was a boy who was talking to a horse, and all of a sudden the horse started talking back. Both were from Narnia, and they decided they wanted to go to Narnia. On their way there they met a girl with another talking horse. After a few narrow escapes, they got to Narnia. The book was exciting and had a happy ending.
June 15, 2007 2:53 PM

So how about it, guys? Has anyone read the My Weird School books? Or The Horse and His Boy? What did you think? Do you have any other favorites? Let us know!

Oops!

This is Carl. I have to apologize to anyone who has tried to post comments this last week. I hit the wrong button and disabled the comments. SORRY! I've fixed it, so if you want to post something, especially about the books we recommended, go for it!

BY THE WAY---we've got an incentive! We'll give a free book to the first 10 boys who post to this blog. Of course you'll have to come to Imaginon to get it. And you'll have to identify yourself by telling us who you are and (a short version of) what you wrote. No fair coming in and saying, "I'm Dick Grayson and I wrote on your blog and I want a book." Nope nope nope. Tell us the stuff and we'll give you the book.

Hey Guys--This is our Introduction

My name is Carl and I work at the Spangler Children's Library at ImaginOn, a part of the Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County, or PLCMC. I think reading is extremely cool. Do you? If so, I'd like to post some books I think you'd enjoy and then get your comments on them. I'd also like to hear about your favorite books--what they are and why you like them. This way we could all pass around our favorites and maybe some boys could find books they haven't read yet.
To start, I'll recommend two survival stories:

1. Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry This is one of the most exciting books I'veever read. It's the ultimate adventure story. Mafatu, the son of island chief, has been afraid of the ocean ever since his mother drowned. The other kids make so much fun of him that he takes a canoe one night to try and survive on the sea and prove everyone wrong. Can he make it? Is he tougher than the blazing sun, hammerhead sharks, or cannibals? You've got to read it to find out!

2. Black Whiteness: Admiral Byrd Alone in the Antarctic by Robert BurleighI chose this book to prove that nonfiction is not dull and HISTORY is NOT BORING!! This story is absolutely true. And what a story! The year is 1934. Admiral Richard Byrd, the great American explorer, wants to do scientific research at the bottom of the world--and see if one person can survive there. He faces temperatures of -60 degrees, getting lost in the Antarctic wilderness, carbon monoxide poisoning, and a deadly illness. You won't believe what he goes through or the strength of his endurance. And it really happened!
If you'd like to see some other great books, go toPLCMC's Bookhive. If you want to see other books I've liked, go to Carl's Reviews, also from the Bookhive.



Hi guys my name is Batman!!! Just kidding my name is Bill and I, like Carl, work at the Spangler Children's Library at ImaginOn, a part of PLCMC System. Reading is, along with many other things (fencing, motorcycles, music, etc.), one of my passions in life. If you dig reading, you may enjoy this blog. Carl and I are going to be recommending some books that we have found cool and if you want you can check them out also. If you like them or even hate them, post to this blog and let us know about it. Please feel free to make any comments you want. Like Carl said, we would also love to hear about your favorite books--what they are and why you like them. This way we can help each other find out about cool books that are out there and share the wealth. Ok, to start, I'll recommend three books I have read and really liked:


The Adventures of Commander Zack Proton and the Red Giant by Brian Anderson - How would you like to be a Space Ranger and help save the universe from intergalactic dangers? The only problem is you would have to serve under Commander Zack Proton who is not the sharpest tack in all of the known universe. The story begins with Commander Zack having to use the bathroom. There are two doors at the back of his ship, the "Risky Rascal." One leads to the bathroom the other into outer space. Guess which one our fearless Commander opens and where he ends up? This book is laugh-your-head- off funny and the artwork is awesome. If you have not checked out this book yet, do yourself a favor and get it soon. There is also a sequel to this book if you like it "The Adventures of Commander Zack Proton and the Warlords of Nibblecheese."


Bone Volume 1: Out From Boneville by Jeff Smith - This is the first volume in a really great Graphic Novel Series by Jeff Smith. This first volume introduces us to the Bone Cousins Phoney Bone, Smiley Bone, and Fone Bone. Phoney Bone has been kicked out of town of Boneville for basically being a scam artist. Fone Bone and Smiley Bone accompany him to watch after him. In their adventures finding their way in the world outside Boneville , they encounter Locust, Stupid Rat Creatures (that would love to have them as a meal), a Dragon, Ted (a very small bug with a much bigger brother) and friendly forest creatures among other things. They finally reach a small village called Barrelhaven where they meet a fiery young woman named Rose, her stubborn Grandmother and the quick tempered Bar Keep Lucius. Although Barrelhaven appears to be quite peaceful and a welcome place to stay, looks can be very deceiving. Read this first volume in the series and I promise you will be hooked on reading the rest.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: A Novel in Cartoons by Jeff Kinney - Talk about a funny, laugh out loud book, this one is it. If you are or have been a kid in elementary or middle school you will totally get this book. The book is basically a journal kept by this guy named Greg where he tells day to day happenings in his life with drawing included. At times I found myself laughing so hard it hurt, as he talked about his day to day experiences with his family, school, friends, bullies, and much more. To see a great example of what I’m talking about checkout this site http://www.funbrain.com/journal/Journal.html.
Well that's a start. If you want to look at some other books I really liked check out my entries in Bookhive. You may also want to look at other peoples suggestions in Bookhive. It's a really great source to find good books to read. I look forward to hearing from you guys and talking to you soon, Bill