Time In! SLAM! DUNK!

Man! You guys have been ACTIVE!! I'm gone one day and, when I come back, my email box is FULL of book reviews! You all are GREAT!!

Since I've received so many reviews, I'm not going to comment after each set, but hold any comments until the end. In fact, I'll list the reader guy's name, put his reviews after that, thank everybody at once, and give the standings.

But before I do that, let me direct your attention to a comment from Jana, a librarian, a mom of boys, and one of the faithful followers of our blog:

I am running a Favorite Authors March Madness at my library. I invite you and your readers to come over to my website and vote! The polls are on the sidebar. The address is:http://webmail.plcmc.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://russell-library.blogspot.com/

OK, guys, go over there and vote! I've already done it. Jana runs a good blog and recommends some good stuff. Take a look.

Now for the Slam Dunks. First up is magnificent Michael:

The Elijah Project, book 1

On the Run
by Bill Myers
People have started noticing 7-year-old Elijah's supernatural God-given powers... even the people who want them for their own purposes. When the villains make an advance, Elijah and his siblings: 13-year-old Piper and 15-year-old Zach, find that their parents have dissapeared, and now they must run away on their own. With the help of their friends Cory and William, the group must believe in God to help them defeat their enemy the Shadow Man, and the ultimate villain the Supreme Master, who in reality is Satan. Bill Myers makes another home run with this amazing book!

Jellaby, book 1
by Kean Soo
Meet Portia. She has no friends, her parents are divorced, and now she's got a monster for a friend! But that won't stop her and her friend, Jason, from finding Jellaby's home. Fast-paced, funny, and creative, this comic book is perfect for everyone!

Then we have the dynamic Dakota T:

The next book that I read was High Rulian By Brain Jaques. this book was about a young ottermaid who's skills in the sling exceed any others. When a Giant bird and a barnicle goose , both injured by a Tyrant who rules over Green Isle, come to Redwall to find refuge. They both tell them of where they come from and how the otter tribes are getting tormented by a raging cat who will stop at nothing to remain Tytrant of the Isle. It's up to the ottermaid to rescue the tribes enslaved. This book has more than it's fair share of action, adventure, and care for others. This was one of my favorite book in the entire Redwall series. The flaw in this series is that most of the books get off on a slow start.

I read a book entitled Holes by Luis Sachar and it's about a poor boy who is taken to Camp Green Lake where you get to dig a hole five feet wide and five feet deep. If you find anything you are to report it to the warden who turns out to be a girl. But why? This book is creative, yet realistic, and is one of my all time favorites. While telling the story of Stanely, It also tells a story about a teacher and an onion farmer. It was amazing how everything just fit together and made sense. Hope you read this and enjoy it!

Someone Named Eva is a suspensful book about a young blond hair, blue eyes girl during the holocost. Despite the title, her real name is Milaida. As you probably have gussed she is taken from her family and taken to a place where every other girl there has something in common to her, blond hair, blue eyes. There, she is renamed to Eva. While she's there she meets another girl who, in her opinion, has the prittiest blue eyes. After a year or two of being there a Nazi family adopts her. She quilkly becomes freinds with her new sister and learns from her that no one is alowed in the father's office. Everything is getting better but there's an aweful odor that haunts the house. What's behind Father's door? Where is the smell coming from? These are things that she wants answered, as well as where are her parent's. When the allies bomb the area of where their house is, they have to go down in the basement to hide. Will the war ever end, is what Milaida wonders. This book is mysterious and action packed, so I'd recomend this to anyone who can read.

The book I'm reviewing is Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. This book is about a boy, named Brain, who's parents recently got devorced and he is on his way to his father's house in Canada. Traveling in a small biplane, only the pilot, his luggage including a hatchet, and himself are on board. Flying over the wilderness, the pilot has a heart attack (and dies) and the radio stops working. Before he knows it, he's all alone over the vast Canadian wilderness. Soon the fuel runs out and the engine stops... This is a great book full of action and adventure. Brain has to use his wits to survive and find food to live. Soon brain see's changes in himself and you get to learn the real reason to why his parents split. I really enjoyed this book and would recomend it to anyone who enjoys a good book.

The book I am reviewing is a series entitled The Series of unfortunate Events. Is is about three newly orphans that go from gaurdian to gaurdian escaping from the ever lurking Count Olaf. The three names of the children are Violet, the eldest who loves to invent things, Kluase, the middle child who loves to read, and Sunny who loves to bite. After they're parents die in a mysterious fire, they were entitled to live with Count Olaf who is only after fortune. He attemps to marry Violet to inherit the Baudelaire fortune (their last name). When Sunny is locked up in a cage, Violet has no choice but to agree, it's all up to Klause to put a stop to this. This book is adventurous, and a great mystery series for people who are about in seventh grade, basically because of mild violence. This no doubt was one of my favorite books because of all the problem solving, and the teamwork.

Then we have jumpin' Justin B (who is indeed brother to Brian B):

Yes I am Brother to Brian B. No I have not read The Brixton Brothers The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity, but I would like to read it.I'm writing a review on the Hardy Boys #12 Trouble in Paradise. It started when Frank and Joe were at home and they got a mysterious letter that said there will be a box arriving in ten seconds. It also said go to St. John Island because the Ambassador's son Esteban was missing. The box contained a wad of cash and credit cards, so they went to St. John Island. Frank fell for a girl named Jenna which was a decoy. Esteban really was not kidnapped; he was the leader of the smugglers.

I am writing a review on The Hardy Boys #4 Missing Chums. Joe was working on his motorcycle in their garage. They left for Shantytown a place around Bayport in their boat the Sleuth. Before they got there they almost got rammed by a boat named the Black Cat. They saw a bank being robbed and followed them to the dock. Then the police arrived and had mistaken them for the bank robbers. The robbers had on hats, pea jackets and masks. Then Chet and Biff went missing. They figured that they were kidnapped and taken to hermit island so they went there with some of their friends, but they were fooled by a false hermit. They went there again and found a cave which contained their friends.I would recommend this book to Hardy boy fans. It's a great book.

After Justin comes bouncin' Brian B:

I'm writing a review on the Hardy Boys graphics #15 Live Free Die Hardy. A.T.A.C. (American Teens Against Crime) decides to throw a surprise party for Fenton Hardy. The Noir sisters decide to crash the party. Can the Hardy boys stop them?This is a good book but I would read #7 The Opposite Numbers for a introduction to the Noir sisters.

I'm reviewing the all new Hardy Boys #12 Trouble In Paradise. The Hardy Boys go to the Caribbean to hunt down the kidnapper of a man named Esteban. A Spanish galleon gets found and the boys go diving at the spot of the wreck to look for clues. It turns out that Esteban didn't get kidnapped he just continually went diving at the wreck and decided that instead of diving he would just use his very rich fathers money. But rebellion from his helpers put him in a jam. I love the all new Hardy Boys because you can be Frank or Joe every other chapter. It's good for all you fans of the Hardy Boys.

I'm reviewing The Dare Boys On The Brandywine by Stephen Angus Cox. This 100 year old book has an inscription giving it to "Harris in 1910 by the S.S." It has 192 pages and 23 chapters. It is about Tom and Dick Dare and their neighbor-friend Ben Foster. The lively youths join General Washington and help fight in the Revolutionary War. Dick becomes the best spy for General Washington. It is a good book and if you like Revolutionary War books this is the series for you.

I'm reviewing Skateboard Renegade by Matt Christopher. It is about a kid named Zach Halper who is in a crew which loves to skateboard. When he gets a letter saying that he has been accepted into Amherst Academy his life will change. It is a good book perfect for skateboarders.

Finally we have awesome AXEL SIMONE:

I READ THE PERCY JACKSON SERIES.IT IS BY RICK RIORDAN.I LOVED IT. IN BOOK 1 ZEUS'S LIGHTNING BOLT IS STOLEN. IN BOOK 2 GROVER IS KIDNAPPED. IN BOOK 3 THEY FIND 2 DEMIGODS.IN BOOK 4 THEY NAVIGATE THE LABYRINTH.IN BOOK 5 THE GODS HAVE A WAR AGAINST THE TITANS. IT IS THE BEST BOOK SERIES EVER.I RECOMMEND IT TO EVERYONE. BYE.

Thanks, everybody! Wow, this is terrific! Yes, I agree about the Percy Jackson series. I'm one of the biggest fans in the library and tell everyone about them. Did you see the movie, AXEL? Did you like it? Hatchet is one of the best survival/adventure stories ever and a true guy favorite. I did a review of The Missing Chums way back when. In fact, Mac Barnett, the Brixton Brothers author is such a Hardy Boys fan that he titled one the chapters in his book The Missing Chum. And I love Revolutionary War stories. One of my favorites is King's Mountain--take a look at my review here. Click on any of the labels under this post to find out more about any of these topics.

Here's the part you're all waiting for, the current standings:

Michael--8 points

Dakota T--8 points

ALEX--9 points

Chandler--2 points

Justin B--3 points

Brian B--7 points

Shannon--3 points

Once again, AXEL has taken the lead but, once again, we have a tie. Michael and Dakota T are in second place with 8 points each, while Brian B breathes down their necks with 7 points! The tension mounts, men! And who knows what the rest of the weekend will bring!

IT'S MARCH MADNESS, BAAAYYYBEEE!!!

Carl

Fantastic--Yet MORE Reviews!

Wow! Very impressive! When I, the CARLMAN, got back from the long New Year's weekend, I found another messenger droid from Yoda Claws (he's gone back to the ice planet Hoth after the holidays) and found that three of you reader guys have sent six reviews over the weekend. Well done! Our first is from that prolific reviewer Michael:

Bloodhounds, Inc., book 1
The Ghost of KRZY
by Bill Myers
When brother and sister detective team Sean and Misty Hunter see strange lights coming from their father's radio station late at night, they are determined to find out what it is. A few nights later, they stake out at the radio station, and suddenly, all the electronics turn on by themselves! They see something strange moving inside of them, going from one electronic to the next. Sean and Misty know what their dad has told them about not coming back to Earth once you die, but could this really be... a ghost?! Great action; at one point, Sean and Misty are driving an out-of-control motorcycle, and the side-coach pops off with Misty in it! Great story, funny. And an excellent life lesson, as Sean and Misty find the truth about the mysterious character, which isn't a ghost, and they realize how foolish they were thinking that it really was a ghost. Sean, Misty, and this strange character star in many other books in the Bloodhounds, Inc. series!

Thanks, Michael! You've told us about some great-sounding series and I'd love to read some of them. The next reviews are from Augustin, who wrote in at the beginning:

Title: Fantastic Mr Fox Author: Roald Dahl

What its about: Three farmers, named Boggis,Bunce, and Bean. Boggis was enourmously fat. He was a chicken famer and every day ate three boiled chickens smothered with dumplings for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Bunce, a duck and goose farmer. He was very short and squat. His food was goose livers and doughnuts. This diet gave him a bad stomache ache and a terrible temper. Bean was skinny as a string bean and a turkey and apple farmer. He never ate any food but drank gallons and gallons of strong apple cider which he made. Mr Fox was a fox with a wife and four children. He always got his food from Boggis, Bunce and Bean's farms. Seeing as how they didn't take too kindly to having all their good food taken right out from under their noses they stayed waiting for him one night and when he came out they all tried to shoot at him. Only Mr Fox was quite quick and only got his tail shot off. The three very miserly farmers kept after him until all the animals around were starving. Even the weasel could not slip past them seeing as how the beastly farmers were spending night and day around the hole where all the animals went to get food. Then Mr Fox had a brain wave. What if he got some of his friends to help him dig a tunnel under the personal store rooms of the three farmers. His idea worked! soon he had brought back plenty of food for all the animals in the settlement. They had a grand banquet and they all toasted Mr Fox because he was the one who had masterminded the whole idea of tunneling. Boggis, Bunce, and Bean stayed there always saying "he is probably going to come out any minute." Instead they were getting all their produce taken out from under their noses while they were watching a hole.

Title: The Giraffe the Pelly and MeAuthor: Roald Dahl

What it's about: It's about a little boy who lived not far away from an old sweets store. He had always dreamed of making it into a grand candy store. One day he noticed that it was for sale. a couple of weeks later he saw that someone had bought it. All the sudden he noticed a bath tub a piano and a lot of other rubble fly out of the windows. When the little boy asked if anybody was home there was no answer. The next day he saw painted on the window The ladderless window cleaning company. Then a giraffes head popped out of the window. After that a peilican opened another window. Then a monkey jumped out. While all this was happening a chauffeur got out of a huge car. He said the Duke wanted them to wash his windows. After arriving and washing some of his windows they saw a robber. After catching him they were rewarded by being able to stay forever in the Dukes Palace. The little boy got to get his candy store.

Name of book: The Magic FingerAuthor: Roald Dahl

What it's about: This book is about a girl who posessed a special power that she called the magic finger. Her neighbrs were very big fans of hunting and the girl could not stand that they hunted so much. One day she put the magic finger on the whole family! The next morning when her neighbors woke up they found that they had shrunk to the size of a robin and instead of their arms they had grown wings!! You can imagine their surprise when they found this out! The father then started to build a nest and try to find food for his family.. At one point the family noticed that there were four ducks that they had tried to shoot at the day before, had grown to people size and were moving into their house! That night the family went to sleep in their new home, a nest of sticks. In the morning the mother and father awoke to see that the ducks were pointing the familys' guns up at them. The father begged the ducks not to shoot especially at his children. The ducks reminded him that he and his sons had shot their children two days before. Then the father promised that he and his children would never go hunting again. The ducks then told him to fly down with his family. As he did everything went black and the next thing he knew he was standing next to his family in his front yard with everything back to normal. He then went and got his guns and broke them into tiny bits. He never shot another thing in his enitire life. Neither did his sons.

Title: Mr. Blue Jeans the story of Levi Strauss Author: Maryann N. Weidt

What its about: The story of a Jewish boy who went to the States to try and earn a living for his mother , sisters and himself. He started out as a peddlar and when he was in the mountains a miner asked him if he could make him a pair of pants that would hold up to the wear and tear of mining work. That night Levi theJewish boy made the miner a pair of pants out of some denim instead of canvas as usual. By accident when he had loaded up he had gotten the wrong material. After he made the pair of pants and the miner liked them the miner told all his friends to get that type of pants. Years later Levi was one of the most respected men around. Even today we use Levis Jeans.

Thanks, Augustin! I read Fantastic Mr. Fox several years ago and liked it. Have you seen the movie? Did you like it? We'd love to hear what you thought of it. I'm also glad you liked the nofiction book. I've always said that nonfiction is not boring and am glad when other reader guys think so too.

Finally, we have a review of a Lemony Snicket book from our new friend PayPay:

Title:A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 4:The Miserable Mill. Author:Lemony Snicket.

When the unlucky Baudelaires are forced to move out out of their previous foster home in book 3 they are sent to a dark and eerie town called Paltryville where they will live at the Lucky Smells Lumbermill.But they didn't know they would be working there! They are faced against a terrible foreman a nasty guardian and a suspicious eye doctor.This is a wonderfully tragic tale and I suggest it for kids over the age of 8.

Thanks, PayPay! Don't forget to come to the Imaginon, Matthews, or Mint Hill libraries and get a free book. I read this one too and enjoyed it, although, I hate to say, I'm not a huge fan of the S of U E books. Maybe it's just me, but I got tired of them after a couple. Master Jedi Zack likes them a lot. How about you, Darth Bill?

Well, this has been a lot of fun, guys! PLEASE keep writing in!! We and your brother reader guys always want to hear about good reads. And we'll have more events through the year. Stay tuned!

A Crazy Little Post From Captain Bootstrap Bill

Well now, it seems we have a character here a name of Sir Samuel the Brave. Ya knows what I think should be done with characters reviewing books! Do ya really want ter know!!!!!!

John "The Duke" Wayne

They should be complimented on a job well done, ole bean!! Wot, wot very good indeed. Haven't seen such an insightful review of the first Redwall book since the Great War (some time ago indeed). Bravo, Sir, Bravo indeed! Not trying to be a cheeky monkey, but did you know that a Graphic Novel version of this book has just recently come out, wot, wot? The title is Redwall: The Graphic Novel by Brian Jacques; illustrated by Bret Blevins; and adapted by Stuart Moore. I wouldn't dare say it's better than the work it is based on(Redwall by Brian Jacques published in 1986), but it is a jolly good read!

Redwall: The Graphic Novel (------------------------------------) Redwall the Novel (1986)

Similar, but different!!!! Kinda like dogs and cats. No that's not a good example. Hum, how about NASCAR cars and Indy cars. Yea, that works!

Also I really liked the books The WeirdDude(MHR) recommended--Chasing Vermeer, Artemis Fowl (I really love this whole series) and Science Verse (Jon Scieszka rules!!!!). If this gentleman, and I use that term loosely, is not yet a Sith, I see a bright future for him in this field of work!

Well, everyone who contributed did and outstanding job and I say keep it up. Hip, Hip Hurray!!!!!!!!

And now for something completely different!










Well, let's talk about some good books that I have read recently and maybe you would like to read also:

The Latke who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story by Lemony Snicket - If the title to this book does not make you laugh, I don't know what will. Mr. Snickett has written here a wonderfully funny book about what happens when Hanukkah and Christmas collide. I will quote from the beginning of the book: "This story ends in someone's mouth, but it begins in a tiny village more or less covered in snow." Interesting sounding, isn't it? Well, in this village a Latke (a potato pancake) is made or, more to the point, is born. Because of the high temperature in the pan in which it is made/born, it starts screaming and runs out the house. As the Latke makes its way through the peaceful village and runs into Christmas objects who do not understand who or what he is or represents (Latke
is a part of Hanukkah), he gets so frustrated that he continues to scream. You really have to read this book because it literally will have you in tears with laughter. On top of all this, there is a twist ending that will also blow you away with laughter. Do yourself a favor and read this wonderful book. I know you will enjoy it.

Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures (Volume 9) by the Filbach Brothers - This is the 9th volume in this terrific graphic novel adventure series set in the Star Wars' Universe during the Clone Wars. This volume includes 4 stories that range from comical ("Appetite for Adventure" staring Dexter Jettser) to the truly poignant ("Salvaged" staring a Clone War Trooper). Also included in the mix are stories featuring Jedi Mace Windu (my favorite Jedi) and Quilan Vos (Jedi on the cover of the book). So if you feel like visiting a galaxy and time far, far away, give this graphic novel and the rest a try. Good Stuff!!!!!!



Well, guys, take it easy and continue to send in those great posts. If you haven't posted yet, come on!!!! It's fun and we would love to find out what books you are reading and enjoying (plus, first time posters get a free book!).

Peace,

Darth Bill