Hot Reading Fun in the Summertime

How's summer going, reader dudes?? This is a great time of year. A chance to relax and have fun. Here you see the Iron Guy chilling at a favorite spot.

Of course, he must still work out to maintain his MANLY physique.

Summer is also a great time for really fun reads. Here are some that the Iron Guy has enjoyed in the past. I'm going to avoid the obvious picks, like Percy Jackson, Harry Potter or The 39 Clues and focus on some that aren't as well known but still tremendously fun reads. (Some of these may be hard to find because they've been out for a while but the Charlotte Mecklenburg library has copies)


N.E. R. D. S. by Michael Buckley--Secret agents, flying school buses, world-destroying villains, laughs and action--what more could you want? I must confess that I've read only the first one but other guys have read and recommended them.




How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell--Could you eat 15 worms? "Yeecchh!!" you say. Would you do it for $50.00? That's the idea behind this terrific book. It's been making guys laugh for almost 40 years and will make YOU laugh too.



 
The Island trilogy by Gordon Korman--a great survival story with thrills, thrills, thrills. Several troubled kids go on a boat for an extended rehab trip but end up stranded on a deserted island. This island isn't on any map--and for good reason! A really terrific read!




The Adventurrous Deed of Deadwood Jones by Helen Hemphill--Yeehaa! Adventure in the Old West! Two brothers skeedaddle to Texas after the Civil War when some racists threaten them. They join a cattle drive and look for their father. Great fun but serious and sad parts, so you get get a little substance with your fun. Don't let that scare you off, though--still very fun and very highly recommended.

The Bone Graphic novels by Jeff Smith--What can I say about this epic graphic novel fantasy series that hundreds of others haven't already said? Probably the best fantasy series ever put into graphic form. Go get it NOW!!



The Tiger's Apprentice trilogy by Laurence Yep--Based on Chinese mythology, this fantasy trilogy starts in San Francisco but takes you through far-flung magical lands and into dangers with wild creatures. A great read!




The Hank the Cowdog audiobooks--Going on a car trip this summer? Then take along these very funny audiobooks. John R. Erickson wrote and narrated these and guys really enjoy them. I've seen kids beg for these in carpools!






Sluggers/Barnstormers series by Phil Bildner and Loren Long--Finally, one of my all-time
favorite series. These books are perfect summer reads. An old-time baseball travels around the country in 1898 to raise for an uncle who's not only ill but in trouble with a very bad guy. And a lot of mysterious things happen around a magical baseball. Start one and you'll be hooked! (PS--the first few books came out under the Barnstormers name and the rest under Sluggers)

OK, guys, enjoy your summer! Keep reading and, if you want to find out what the Iron Guy and other people have said about these books, click on the tabs under this post. And if you want to add your $.02, send us a review! All the instructions are on the left-hand side of this page.

Michael Tells Us About a Couple of Winners!

Howdy ho, gang! The Iron Guy has been busy once again, swimming laps around the Atlantic Ocean and checking out books for all the good people of Charlotte. I've been so busy, in fact, that I didn't think I'd have time to tell you about any more terrific books. But there was no reason to fear--our good friend Michael, (King of Books and Time Travel) has stepped in and written about two really good-sounding reads. Let's hear what he has to say:

Titanic, book 2

Collision Course

by Gordan Korman

With the notorious gangster Kevin Gilhooley in the brig of the Titanic, Paddy Burns is finally safe... or is he? He and Alfie have found a mysterious notebook belonging to a murderer from long ago. Is he onboard the ship? Alfie has his prime suspect: a grumpy old man with two lame legs. All the clues point to him, but could he really be a ruthless killer? Sophie and Julianna get caught up in the mystery too, plus, there are rumors about the ship of approaching ice glaciers. Is it true? Is the old man a murderer? And, most importantly, just how safe is the unsinkable Titanic? Gordan Korman takes his writing to new heights with incredible true facts and shocking twists and turns. You won't want to miss out on this exciting read! Also, look out for book 3: S. O. S.

The Missing, book 4

Torn

by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Jonah and Katherine are trapped in time again. Only this time, they have no contact with JB, no helpful gadgets, and worst of all, no tracers! They've all disappeared! The two are trapped in 1611 aboard Henry Hudson's ship. But after the tracers disappear, things aren't as they seem. Hudson was supposed to be left in a rowvoat at sea, but instead, his ship came back for him! Plus, he's looking for the Northwest Passage, which doesn't exist, but suddenly, it appears out of nowhere! And one of the crew members on board isn't what he appears to be... or, more accurately, he isn't who he appears to be. How are Jonah and Katherine supposed to get time back on track? How can they survive on the ship? And how can they save JB and the rest of their friends who are still trapped in 1611? You can never guess what will happen next in Haddix's new masterpiece, plus, she goes even deeper in exploring new aspects of time. If you haven't read The Missing, you're surely missing out on one of today's greatest classics!

Thanks, Michael! You always find the best books. And you always make me want to read them! I read the first book in the Found series but haven't gotten around to the others. You really made me want to read this one. I'm also a big fan of Gordon Korman's Island trilogy. (If you want to find find out what we've written about Found or the Island trilogy or those two authors, click on the Labels section under this post) Well, back to checking out more books to our friends. Stand back, everybody--the Iron Guy can check out books only at supersonic speed, not light speed!

Sophia Sends Us Another One--About the Island Trilogy! And Jason Writes About the Blackboard Bear

Hey, everyone, this is Carl. We have a new review from Sophia, that nice and intelligent girl from Metrolina Regional Scholar's Acacemy. I thought she had tried a hostile takeover of our blog, but as you will see, I was mistaken. She didn't want a takeover; she only wanted the free books! Well, as we've said before, we don't mind when girls write in; in fact, we welcome them and give them the greatest honor we can bestow by making them Honorary Guys!! And to show how fair, impartial, and generous we are, I'll also give this review to Ellen the Excellent, who started the very-awesome Girls Read Girls Rule (the World) blog. You'll be the first one to have your review appear in two blogs!!!

Island: Book One: Shipwreck

This book is by Gordon Korman. Even though this isn't about the book, I need to explain something to you guys. OK, so I'm a girl, that doesn't mean I want to take over your website. I just think your website is totally awesome! I love reading. Now, Shipwreck is the first book in the Island series. It's about a bunch of of boys and girls who were on a boat, then the boat got in this storm,and the six kids got washed up on a desrted island.

I think you should read this book, it's awesome and I love it!! Gordon Korman is a very good writer and I think you shou;d read all his books. The ones I like his Island series, Dive series, and his Everest series.

Most likely they're at a library, but if you want, you could also buy the books. They're cool. In the Island series, there are two girls and four boys. In the next book, Survival, they have to survive on the island until the can Escape, book three. Gordon Korman writes awesome books!!

Thanks, Sophia, and thanks for the compliments about our blog. We think you're pretty awesome too. A lot of kids have been reading the Island series lately; look at the posts from 11-6 and 10-29 to see what Koko B. Ware from the Guys Read blog had to say about it. BTW, I'm sending out a word of sympathy to our good friend Koko B. Ware--he lost his grandmother earlier this month and we know that must be hard for him. Take a moment and send a comment of sympathy on his post about it.

(PS--Gordon Korman really is a good writer. If you'd like to see other things we and your fellow readers have said about his books, click on the label at the bottom of this post that says "Gordon Korman")

And here's one from our new friend Jason:

The title of this story is I'll Never Share You, Blackboard Bear. I think the story iscalled The Blackboard Bear because a bear came off a blackboard. I think this story is a fairy tale because a bear can't come off a blackboard. This story is aminly about a boy named Anthony that drew the bear off the blackboard. Anthony will never give away the bear for nothing. The bear has told him to share and Anthony did what he had said. Finally everyone came happy.

And thanks to you, Jason! Here's a picture of him with his free book. Now I have to say that Jason outsmarted us--he wrote a review of a picture book!! I did tell him yesterday that he coudl get his free book if he wrote a review, so he wrote one right here in the library! Of course, I didn't say what kind of book it had to be! But I did tell him afterwards, as I'm telling all you out there, that your reviews need to be about chapter books or graphic novels or nonfiction (of more than 32 pages!) or biographies (ditto!)--in other words, you all are old enough to handle longer books! So don't just run in here or Matthews, read some picture book in 5 minutes, and expect to get your free book!!! To tell the truth, Jason didn't really try to trick us--he really didn't know. And we gave him credit for making a good effort. Besides, I'll Never Share You, Blackboard Bear by Martha Alexander is a good story about loving something so much that you don't want to share it and what happens when others ask you to share. It's good for young kids and older readers too. In fact, once I recommended a picture book to a grownup. Not for his son or daughter, but for him!! He worked for a bank, was going to make a presentation to other bankers, and wanted a simple picture book about not giving up. So I showed him The Carrot Seed by Ruth Kraus, one of the simplest picture books I know but one of the best. And the man checked it out!

Even More From Koko B. Ware!

Hey, everyone, even the great and powerful CARLMAN gets a cold sometimes, I had a really bad one and had to stay home yesterday but I'm back in the galaxy again. We've just got a new review from our good friend Koko B. Ware from the Guys Read blog. He talked the second book in the Isalnd trilogy by Gordon Korman on October 29; today he writes about the first one.

Hey FellasI have just now like 5 minutes ago finished the first book of the " Island " series. I STRONGLY recommend it. So heres how it goes, the six children( Charla, Lyssa, Ian, J.J, Will and Luke) are all sent on this boat/program called Charting a New Course, or shorter, CNC. So those six children have been sent to this program for different reasons. Such as Luke's case where he is framed for possesing a weapon in his locker when his "friend" Reese actually hid it in there. However another character, Ian, was shipped off for WATCHING TOO MUCH TV. So next time your parents say " get off your butt and get active ", oh have I heard that wayyy too many times, listen too 'em! Anyways, they all have differentiating reasons, but they all get sent off to one place... CNC. And so, There is the captain James Cascadden and the Mate Mr.Radford A.K.A Rat-Face by the "inmates". To make a long story short, they all get caught up in a huge, I mean 12-20 ft swells!, storm and genius Son-Of-An-Actor J.J lane, with his patented brattish atitude goin' on, decides that it would be a good idea to put up the sails in 80 mph gusts.Therefore the boat tips as the sail is snapped open from the brutal winds and good ol Capt. Cascadden is thrown over-board. Then a series of unfortunate events occur. Please excuse the use of another title but it just seemed appropriate. As Ratface wants to turn around the engine dies, the sleeping qurters are flooded and the baot beggins to tilt, gasp.'!, ultimatly leaving the stranded captain to die. And as I said before in the first comment I believe, Rat-Face left with all the food on the 24 ft dhingy leaving the kids to die. As I always say " When the going gets Ugly, the ugly get going." Hahahaha. Please excuse my little pun.Whew! So when little Mrs. perfect, Lyssa, repairs the motor, the fumes in the engine room ignite from the engine sputtering to life and the boat ends up sinking in to the Pacific Ocean. Two of the kids are lost, Lyssa and J.J but the others amnage to reach and uncharted island way out in the Pacific.
Koko B. Ware

Thanks, Koko! You are going to LOVE that third book! You thought things looked bad for those kids in the first two books---just you wait!!! Go find it, guys!!!
Carl
PS--did you know that Gordon Korman has written the second book in The 39 Clues series. Won't that be great???
PPS--Bruner Boys, where are you?

Wow! All You Guys Are Quick!

I can't believe this! We've got two reviews already form our good friend Koko B. Ware from the totally rockin' Guys Read blog. The first is about is about Skulduggery Pleasant, a book that Bill reviewed last week. Here we go:

O man that was a GREAT book. The whole concept of a dead guy whos soul stayed around and a girl getting caught up in this "prophecy" of her uncles. My favorite part of this book was when the troll got slaughtered by um um um... well I forgot her name. And how the main girl cahnged her name to Valkry Kain, because she always was "raising cain".

Island By: Gordon Korman

I have just recently finished this book called Island. Its all about how these kids get sent to a "character building" expierience on a boat called "Pheonix". However, low and behold, the ship wrecks, (kind of expected in a book with the cover of kids struggling for life), catches on fire and the ship mate called "Rat-Face" takes the lifeboat and food rations with him. Therefore leaving the 6 kids ( Luke, Ian, J.J., Charla, Will, and Lyssa ) to die. Yet fate has different plans for the, if you may, "lucky" children. The six kids cling on to a raft composed of the roof of the captains steering deck and struggle for life until they reach an island. The, now four kids, two are lost on the voyage" try to find a way off the isalnd by signal fires and the like. One day they see a sea plane pass overhead. When they go to check out the docking place of the aircraft they quickly realize these are not life savers but takers! When Will one of the survivers awakens from the deep grasps of unconsiousness, he goes deep into the jungle in fear, for he thinks the other three are trying to hurt him because he has no recolection of the shipwreck and he believes that he is missing his trip on the sunken boat. He doesn't realize he is in grave danger so he better gain memory or he will possibly wind up as one of the illegal traders, one shot point blank... in the center of the head. Well I could go on and on about this book, but why dont you go check out this book at your library, because the series will provide hours of intense, edge of your seat action and suspense.

P.S. WHERE'S MY FREE BOOK!!! :) :) :)

Thanks, Koko B. Ware! The Island trilogy is just too intense for words! Have you read the other two books? They're even better. Take a look at my review here. All you guys out there, go check out the Guys Read blog. As I said, they rock!!

Where's your free book? Well, I've emailed your fearless leader to ask how I could get one to you. So sit tight and it'll get there. You don't mind if I pick, do you? I can't just go out into the library and pull something off the shelves, but we do have of good guy stuff here in our "prize boxes" and I'll do my best to pick one you'd like.

The great and powerful CARLMAN

PS to cyber kid--I checked that Archers, Alchemists, etc. book. Looks good!