Another Blast from the Past: Island of the Blue Dolphins

Every once in a while the Iron Guy likes to set conventional wisdom on its ear. (When I say "conventional wisdom," I mean "The way people say it's always done") The conventional wisdom says that boys won't read books with a girl as the main character. Well, I stick out my tongue and say, "Ppphhhhttttt!!" to that. Give a guy an exciting story about a boy or a girl and he'll read it. I've seen guys sitting around the library reading Nancy Drew graphic novels. So there! I've got a book that any guy would enjoy. I read it several years ago (which makes it a Blast from the Past) and it's Island of the Blue Dolphins by the terrific Scott O'Dell. This is a great survival story in the tradition of Hatchet. (see my review of that book here) In this story, a Native American girl named Karana and her little brother get left behind when her tribe has to leave their island, which is a desolate spot off the coast of California. They learn to fend for themselves but then her brother gets killed by a pack of wild dogs. Can she learn to survive on that lonely island? Can she make peace with that pack of dogs or be killed by them too? Is it possible to make it through the winter on her own? Add to this an unforgettable fight with a "devil fish" and you've got one fantastic book that will stay with you long after you finish.So go and check it out. You'll really like it.

This gets the Iron Guy Seal of Approval as One Terrific Book!

(sorry about the glare on the cover--must the glow of MANLINESS radiating from the Iron Guy!)

The Return of Michael!

Yes, indeed, guys, our good friend and reviewer par excellence Michael has returned with FOUR great new reviews of good stuff for guys. But first, let me share something really exciting:

You see the Iron Guy beaming with happiness because he has just received his copy of The Serpent's Shadow, the final book in Rick Riordan's Kane Chronicles trilogy. I'm Charlotte's # 1 Rick Riordan fan and any new book from him is the cause of much joyous celebration. (What?? Did you say that you're a BIGGER Rick Riordan fan than me??? HA!!! I don't believe you!! If I'm WRONG, then write in and PROVE it!)

But, as I said, we have four reviews from our friend Michael. Let's not waste any more time:

The Adventures of Tintin, volumes 1-7
by Herge
      Tintin is a reporter who is always finding intriguing stories to follow. Usually, he gets caught up right in the middle of his story, and he's always having to fight off enemies with guns and knives in addition to the ones trying to find creative ways of killing him. There aren't many dull moments in this series. When I first heard about it, I thought it was just a cute kiddie comic about a boy and his dog, but the dog, Snowy, really doesn't have much to do with the stories. If you like thrillers and hilarious lines, you won't better than this comic-book series right here! Read them all!

The Adventures of Tintin: the movie novel
by Alex C. Irvine
      If you're not sure about the Tintin movie, or if you really want to see it but it's not on DVD yet, then this novel is right for you. It has the exact same details and dialogue as the movie, and in some ways, this book is even better than the movie. The author has done well making the complicated scenes simple enough to understand without watching the movie. I think it's a great novel, and if you want to be the ultimate Tintin fan, then you can watch the movie and read the novel, like I did! It was a great book and a great movie.

Storm Runners: book 3
Eruption
by Roland Smith
      This is the final book in the Storm Runners trilogy. If you've read my reviews on the other two books, than you should be caught up. In this book, the Rossi Brothers' circus has gone missing in Mexico, so Chase, John, Tomas, Nicole, Cindy, and Mark head down to Lago de la Montana to go and find them. The only problem is that Lago de la Montana is right at the base of Mount Popocatapetl, which is showing signs of eruption, which could turn out to be the worst in its history. Plus, if the circus has had an accident, the animals could escape... and Chase would rather not have an incident like what happened in the last book happen again. Although all this suspense is built up, and it seems as though something great is going to happen, nothing actually happens. This book is more about the characters' relationships with one another and animal attacks more than storms. There is not one storm in this book, and in the end, Mount Popocatapetl doesn't even erupt. Plus, I don't approve of this being only three books. He could have had 50 books in this series! But he only chose three. I hate to say it, but this is the worst book in his trilogy. Look out for his next book coming in September: Cahills Vs. Vespers, book 4: Shatterproof.

 Herbert's Wormhole, book 2
The Rise and Fall of El Solo Libre
by Peter Nelson and Rohitash Rao
      After 6 years, Alex, Sammi, and Herbert are finally back in this mediocre sequel! GOR-DON, the evil G'Dalien from the last book is back, and this time, he has a guaranteed plan to get rid of the three pretend Alien-slayers. Alex sets out on a mission to find his 110-year-old self, like Herbert, but Alex suddenly gets prideful and wants to be a solo Alien-slayer. Will Herbert and Sammi tell him the truth? The main happening in this book, however, is when GOR-DON, in disguise, tricks Alex into trash-talking the G'Daliens' sworn enemy, the Klapthorians! The Klapthorian general promises an attack on Earth! What will happen to the planet? Plus, Sammi thiks it's wrong to let all of Merwinsville keep thinking that the three of them are still real alien-slayers when they had really just used a life-size video game. She doesn't want to go back to the future, but Herbert made a rule that either all threre of them or none of them went through the wormhole. Could this be their last mission to future Merwinsville? It all unravels in this long-awaited sequel! Like I said at the beginning, this book is pretty average. It's mostly stupid humor and immature behavior, so it's a little boring. There was one really good thriller-type scene (no guns or anything), and that was my favorite part of the book. For those of you who read the original Herbert's Wormhole when it was released in 2006, I found that I'm really too old for the series now. It was great when I was 10 like the characters, but now the characters are still 10 and I'm 16. So, all-in-all, it's an average, nonsense book with a few exciting parts. It's probably worth the read.

Thanks, Michael! We really appreciate the way you tell us just how you see things. The Tintin graphic  novels have looked really interesting and now the movie novel does too. I'm sorry you found the last Storm Runners book disappointing. And the same for the Herbert's Wormhole book. But maybe there are a lot of 10-year-old guys out there who would like it! So you may have done us a favor. Have any of you out there read the Herbert's Wormhole books? Would you like to? Write in and tell us!!

And, if any of you have the mistaken idea that reading is not for guys, here's a picture of the Iron Guy striking his MANLIEST pose and showing that he is a walking advertisement for guy reading:

There!! How could you argue with a MANLY MAN like the Iron Guy???

More Blasts from the Past

Hey all you reader guys in the fabulous land of blog! This is Iron Guy Carl and I'm sorry that I haven't been around for a while. Life in the library gets very busy and sometimes I hardly have time to read, much less blog. But the Iron Guy always rises to the occasion and so I've decided to re-institute the Blasts from the Past, something I tried a couple of years ago. That was when we were all undergoing major changes. There was no time at all for reviewing new books, so I recommended books I'd read before but not reviewed. One was The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman. (see the post here) The other was The Hound of the Baskervilles and you can see that post here. Except this time I'll do something different--I'm going to refer you to books I have reviewed before. It's been a while since these posts were first published, sometimes even a few years, but these books were terrific then and they're terrific now.

And I'll go back four years for one of the most terrific books I've ever read. It's Hatchet by the great Gary Paulsen. One of the great survival stories of all time. Young Brian has to crash-land a plane in the Canadian wilderness with no survival gear, no extra food, and no idea where he is (this was in the days before GPS) and no way to contact anyone. How could any kid possibly manage? It's one thrilling tale and you will nwever forget it! (see the original review here)

HATCHET + GARY PAULSEN= a great read! Go and check it out!

Michael Writes Again!

Hey, guys, our good friend Michael, that reading and writing machine, has sent us three more reviews of books that sound really interesting. Let's hear him:

Explorer: The Mystery Boxes
by Jason Caffoe, Emily Carroll, Kazu Kibuishi, Stuart Livingston, Johane Matte, Dave Roman, Rad Sechrist, Raina Telgemeier, Saymone Phanekham, and Stephanie Ramirez
Some of the world's best graphic novelists have come together to make this amazing collaboration of seven stories that all have to do with mysterious boxes. You'll get everything you want: morals, live dolls, treasure, aliens-- it's all there! Don't miss out on these great stories from great writers! A fabulous piece of work!

Antarctica, book 1
Journey to the Pole
by Peter Lerangis
In the year 1909, a secret journey is being made to go to the South Pole. Widower Jack Winslow, his two sons, Colin and Andrew, and nephew of the trip's millionaire sponsor, Philip Westfall, are the leaders. There are unbelievable trials waiting for them, and they'll also face things that they never thought possible in their wildest dreams. Will the team make it to the South Pole? Will they even survive? What about the team on the ship? Will they be alright? Will there really be a mutiny? All these questions are answered in this incredible adventure to the bottom of the world! Very well-written. Unfortunately, the library does not have the sequel. Check this book out today!

Time Snatchers
by Richard Ungar
Caleb is a time snatcher. He was abandoned by his parents at a young age, and a mysterious man adopted him and a few other kids his age. They know the man only by Uncle. Uncle is the only man who knows the secret of time travel. He's allowed rich people to request things from history (the first photograph, the first Frisbee, etc.), and then he sends his kids back to get it. But if they fail, there are dire consequences. Caleb doesn't want to live under Uncle's rule, but there's nowhere on earth or in time that Uncle cannot find him. Caleb doesn't want to be a time snatcher; he wants a normal life like everyone else. But more than anything, he wants a family. It doesn't help that Frank, another time snatcher, is trying to poach Caleb's snatches. Frank is becoming more and more of a bully, and Caleb's snatch partner, Abbie (who he's starting to see in a different light) actually seems to be falling for Frank! Is there anything Caleb can do to escape Frank and Uncle, or is he stuck as a time snatcher forever? These questions and more are revealed in this great sci-fi book. It's not as thrilling as I'd expected. No one who Caleb is snatching from gives him a hard time. It's kind of like Star Trek meets soap operas. It's great for time travel lovers (like myself), but it's not a thriller. Too bad. There are also some flaws with the laws of the time-space continuum, but only someone who reads non-fiction about time travel (like me) would notice that. I think that for his first novel, it was pretty well done. I like the first-person narration. And some people might say that the ending was really dumb, but I liked it. One more thing: the book didn't really have a plot. Caleb wasn't really trying to accomplish anything. However, I think that the good outweighs the bad in this case and that this book is worth the read.

Michael Lanier
Pianist, guitarist, banjoist, autoharpist, jaw harpist, Ukeist

Thanks, Michael! Graphic novels, adventure, and sci-fi--they're all here! We're glad you let us know about them. Keep those reviews coming. And let us hear from YOU, all you crazy reading cats out there. What have YOU read lately???

Why Did the Iron Guy Cross the Road?

To get to the library and check out these great joke books! Yes, these books will keep you in stitches--just like Frankenstein after visiting the Mad Doctor!! A--HAHAHA!!! Frankenstein--stitches--get it??? As Foghorn Leghorn would say,


And that joke plus a whole bunch more are in these terrific books:

Laughapalooza Joke Book by Kitty Richards; based on the Phineas and Ferb TV series created byDan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh

You Must Be Joking Two! Even Cooler Jokes Plus 11 1/2 Tips for Laughing Yourself into Your Own Stand-Up comedy Routine--written and illustrated by Paul Brewer



The Biggest Joke Book Ever (No Kidding!) by Michael Pellowski


There are lots and lots and lots of jokes in these books. For example:

"Why don't mummies go on vacation?"
"They are afraid to relax and unwind." (from Laughapalooza)

"How did the convict use his computer to break out of prison?"
"He hit the escape key." (from You Must be Joking Two)

"What did the boa say to the python?"
"I have a crush on you." (from The Biggest Joke Book Ever)

Don't those jokes just make you slap your knee??!!?? AND you don't have to worry about telling them because they are (as the back of The Biggest Joke Book Ever says) "clean, never mean (or obscene), good for the bean, the funniest jokes you've ever seen!" Plus, You Must Be Joking Two has a whole section on how to tell jokes and The Biggest Joke Book Ever has a good sidebar about that on page 99. I guarantee that after reading these books, you'll be the funniest guy in your neighborhood--your school--even your entire state!



Yes, if you read these books, you won't ever have to worry about almost making a joke like our good friend Foghorn. So check these out and Make 'Em Laugh! (and sorry for the Movie Trailers ad at the end)

Michael Sends Us Even More Reviews of Cool Books for Guys!

Greetings to all you reader guys out there! I'm sorry I haven't posted lately but life at the library has been especially busy. That's good because it means lots of people are using us, but it also means the Iron Guy doesn't get to write about terrific books as much as he'd like. Fortunately, there are faithful friends like Michael who keep us up to date on the latest and greatest reads. Let's hear what he has liked lately:

The 39 Clues: Cahills Vs. Vespers, book 3
In the Dead of the Night
by Peter Lerangis
Amy, Dan, Jake, and Atticus continue their quest to stop Vesper One. He's sent them to get another item, but this time he hasn't given them any clues as to what it is! Or has he? Could their be a hint hiding in his message? Also, Dan continues to struggle with what to say to his dad's recent text. How do you respond to someone who's been alive for nine years and never told you? Also, Erasmus reveals that Arthur Trent was a Vesper... which means he's still a Vesper. But there's one other possibility too... is it really Arthur Trent sending those texts, or another Vesper? Meanwhile, the Wyomings are out to kill Atticus because he's something called a Guardian. Will they get their way? Jonah and Hamilton are also looking for clues to stop Vesper One in other places, but they're not making much progress. The seven hostages are growing close to crazy, but they make an idea to escape. Will they succeed? Lastly, Ian Kabra, finally examining that burnt paper from book 1, finds something worth looking in to, but that means he must visit a person that no reader or Cahill ever wanted to see again. For excitement and suspense, this book delivers! Much better than book 2! Look for book 4: Shatterproof, by Roland Smith, coming in September, and watch for the movie saga beginning in 2014!

Mal and Chad, book 2
Food Fight!
by Stephen McCraine
The two friends are back in this all-new adventure! Chad keeps having nightmares that a giant lion is biting off his tail. This concerns Mal, so he invents a machine that can enter Chad's dreams so they can take down this monster. But is it possible for dream objects to come to the real world too? Meanwhile, Mal wants Megan's attention (apparently nothing became of their relationship from book 1), so he decides to make a club. But did he make the wrong decision by making Zachary club leader. Also, laughter abounds as Mal creates and invisibility spray, and his mother mistakes it for hair spray! This thrilling, incredibly well-drawn, and laugh-out-loud comic book will have readers off all ages entertained until the very last page. Also, be sure to read the daily web-comic at malandchad.com!

Michael Lanier
Pianist, guitarist, banjoist, autoharpist, jaw harpist, Ukeist
Thanks, Michael! I just checked out In the Dead of Night and it looks good already! Like all the 39 Clues books, this grabbed me right away. And I never heard of Mal and Chad, so I'm definitely going to check them out. How about YOU? Have YOU read either of these two? Did you like them? Hit that "Comment" button and send us YOUR own review!

Michael Sends Us More Reviews of Books for Guys!

Once again, our good friend Michael has sent a couple of reviews of the latest and greatest books that guys would like. Let's not waste any time but hear what he says:

Bone: Quest for the Spark, book 2
by Tom Sniegoski
In the second of three sequels to Bone, all of your favorite new characters are back. Tom is on the right trail to finding another piece of the Spark, but Randolf questions Tom's leadership, making the quest a little harder. Meanwhile, Abbey and Barclay Bone, along with Roderick the raccoon, have a run-in with the Constable and the evil Rat Creatures, and the chase is on! The policemen and rats are constantly on their trail. Lorimar thinks that the people she thought lost, her people, are alive and are calling to her. So she must leave the mission to find them. But will she ever make it back? Plus, there's a surprise plot twist like you won't believe! Introducing new characters: Bobby, Joey, and Al, three bumbling bears, this new novel, although a step down from the original graphic novels, is still worth reading. Bone is the only fantasy I like. Even if you don't like fantasy, Bone is a great series that everyone should read! I'd say 7 stars out of 10 for this book.

My Weirder School, book 4
Mr. Burke is Berserk!
by Dan GutmanThey're back! A.J., Ryan, Michael, Neil, Alexia, Andrea, and Emily! When the mayor makes budget cuts, he fires the groundskeeper, Mr. Burke. But Mr. Burke doesn't leave. Instead he digs up gold on the playground! He claims that his grandfather had told him about it, but the monkey bars were in the way. Now that the mayor has removed them, he's able to dig up millions in gold and gilver, a rare combination of gold and silver! Pretty soon everyone in town is coming to the school, and the teachers stop teaching, all to dig up gold and gilver! But there's a surprise ending that I never saw coming! It's the weirdest book in any of the three series, and if you liked the others, you won't want to miss this!

Michael Lanier

Pianist, guitarist, banjoist, autoharpist, jaw harpist, Ukeist

Thank, Michael! That's one thing I like about you--you give it to us straight, letting us know what you like and don't like. These sound good. Have any of you other guys read any of the new Bone novels or the My Weirder School books? Send us your reviews and let us know! After all, we want books that are--

Guy Tested--GUY APPROVED!