Today's Royal Read = Realistic Fiction

The Aurora County All-Stars by Deborah Wiles

House Jackson, age 12, is a regular kid who respects his dad, takes care of his little sister, and loves to play baseball. House Jackson is also a kid who has a secret that not even his best friend, Cleebo, knows about...yet. When everyone learns House's secret, that he has been spending time reading books to a reclusive elderly man that the kids in town have nicknamed "Mean-Man- Boyd," he comes to understand that standing up for someone takes courage and strength, traits he didn't know he had until he was put to the test.

Another great book by Deborah Wiles! The lazy days of a small town summer where baseball and 4th of July pageants take center field transport the reader to a nostalgic place in time when neighbors looked out for one another and life was enjoyed outdoors. Wiles creates characters with whom the reader can relate and masterfully includes the return of a favorite character from an earlier book as Ruby Lavender (from With Love, Ruby Lavender) staunchly claims her spot on the boys-only baseball team. Additionally, through the incorporation of Walt Whitman's poetry, Wiles brings a deeper level of appreciation to this story.

The topics within this story such as: baseball, community, girls v. boys, celebrating historical roots, friendship, and poetry make this a book that appeals to a variety of readers.

KEYWORDS: baseball, poetry, friendship, family, community, history

Online Connections:

Author website:
http://www.deborahwiles.com/index2.html

Take Me Out to the Ballgame:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGws1yR0tg8

MLB Kids' Games:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/kids/games.jsp

The Walt Whitman Homepage:
http://waltwhitman.org/

Today's Royal Reads = Picture Books

For those of us who live in Texas, today's Royal Read #1 is a daily thing during the summer! After all, summer in Texas usually feels like a....

Heatwave by Eileen Spinelli

The blazing summer temperatures reach unbelievable highs in the town of Lumberville, and in a time without air conditioning, the townsfolk must be resourceful and creative to keep cool. Some of the solutions to staying cool throughout the week include: soaking in the bathtub, eating cold foods, splashing in the water hose, getting short hair cuts, and sleeping outside. Anything goes while trying to stay cool until the heatwave breaks!

The author and illustrator team of Eileen Spinelli and Betsy Lewin combine their talents to create an entertaining and realistic look at how one town handles a heatwave. This is a book that is sure to be appreciated by all who have experienced the blazing heat of a long, hot summer!

KEYWORDS: summer, heat, community

Today's Royal Read # 2:

In this collection of illustrations, fourteen children's book artists share their answer to the age-old question, "Why did the chicken cross the road?" Each illustration reveals the individual personality traits of the illustrator as he or she depicts the answer to this classic joke. The end of the book contains blurbs about each artist.

A great book that has many "laugh-out-loud" moments that can be enjoyed by a variety of ages.

KEYWORDS: jokes, chicken, illustrators

Some fun chicken-related links to check out:

Chicken Tic-Tac-Toe
http://www.gamezero.com/gamezero/games/1998/chicken/index.html

The Chicken Dance
http://www.whydidthechickencrosstheroad.com/sounds/chicken-dances/chickendance.mid

My Reading List

In assessing my June to August reading goals, I am pleased that I was able to read many of the novels I had listed on my "I-Need-to-Read" list, including:

• Punished by David Lubar


• Sleeping Freshman Never Lie by David Lubar


• Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little by Peggy Gifford


• Black Duck by Janet Taylor Lisle


• Twilight by Stephenie Meyer


• New Moon by Stephenie Meyer


• Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer


• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling


• Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (I listened to it on audio)


• The Phantom Isles by Stephen Alter


• Cinderella (as if you didn't already know the story) by Barbara Ensor

and from the world of adult literature, I read...

• A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

So, I accomplished quite a bit of reading over the short summer months, and yet, there are still so many more books to read (as is listed on the side bar!).

Ah well, I will just keep adding to the treasury of the Kingdom with one Royal Read at a time!

"She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain."
~ Louisa May Alcott ~

Royal Reads = Fantasy

Q: What are "Royal Reads?"
A: Books that I have read and recommend to you! Enjoy!

Today's 1st Royal Read:

The Phantom Isles by Stephen Alter

When Courtney, Ming, and Orion break into the library late one night to sneak a closer peek at a book that is supposed to conjure the dead when certain passages are read, they find themselves in the middle of a ghostly adventure that began long ago. At first glance it appears that their recitations from The Compleat Necromancer are ineffective. However, when Alma Parker, local librarian opens the doors of the library the next day, she knows right away that things are not right.

The three friends soon realize that the passages they read aloud did indeed work and they can clearly see several ghostly spirits trapped within the pages of many library books once owned by Professor Hezekiah T. Osgood. With Alma's help (along with some ghostly intervention), the three friends work to release the ghosts who were trapped by the experiments of Professor Osgood many years ago. However, the race to free the spirits hits a frenzied pace as members of the community began to suspect that something is not right in the library.

This book is perfect for readers who enjoy mystery and suspense with a ghostly connection. As this story is told in alternating viewpoints and contains footnotes explaining elements of the story, it is most suitable for intermediate readers and older.

KEYWORDS: ghosts, library, friends, mystery


Today's 2nd Royal Read:

Punished by David Lubar

"Just when you thought it was safe to go to the library..."

When Logan and Benedict head to the library to get a head start on the reports they have been assigned, Logan finds himself in trouble when his horseplay causes him to run into a gentleman using the reference section of the library. The gentleman decides Logan must be punished for his rude behavior and Logan soon finds himself sneezing through a thick cloud of dust. When the dust settles, Logan finds himself unable to speak using anything except puns, a different kind of "punishment" then he has ever experienced!

After a day of speaking strictly in puns and unable to bear his punishment, Logan tracks down the gentleman and learns that what he must do to lift his punishment. Determined to succeed, Logan sets off to work. With his best friend Benedict irritated at him, and his family tired of his "punny" talk, Logan is on his own. However, the task is difficult and Logan soon finds himself running out of time.

A fun read filled with lots of "punny" situations, this book can be enjoyed by readers who enjoy and understand word play and literary elements.

KEYWORDS: library, puns, school

Royal Reads = Historical Fiction

Black Duck by Janet Taylor Lisle

Set in the days of Prohibition, Janet Taylor Lisle's fictional account of a rum-running boat known as The Black Duck pulls the reader into a time and place not only filled with shady characters and mafia lords, but with "law-abiding citizens" who will walk a tad bit on the wrong side of the law in order imbibe on occasion.

The story is told in flashbacks as David Peterson, a high school boy seeks the truth behind a rumor that a notorious rumrunner lived in town. In his persistence to know the story behind this rumor, David finds himself on the doorstop of an elderly gentleman who just might know the truth, but the problem is that Ruben Hart isn't talking. As David does his research and consistently comes around to visit, the story about Ruben's involvement in those days of rumrunning begins to unfold one piece at a time and along with David, the reader is drawn into a tale filled with history, mystery, murder and suspense, as well as an ending that is unexpected.

A great read, especially for those who love historical fiction and suspense! Created from historical fact, the author does a tremendous job of weaving fact with fiction to create a compelling and intriguing story aimed at intermediate to upper-grade readers.

Visit the following link for an interview with the author about this book:

http://janettaylorlisle.com/author/BTinterview.html

KEYWORDS: Prohibition, friends, family

What happened to time?

Forgive me for letting so much time go since my last postings to the treasury of the kingdom! With wrapping up a busy summer semester teaching online classes, and starting up a new year at a new school, who knew time would fly by so fast! But now the Queen has returned with a Royal Read to share!

Today's Royal Read:

Sleeping Freshman Never Lie by David Lubar

Freshman year... the excitement, the anticipation, the gut-wrenching nervousness that comes with finding classes and mingling with Seniors... welcome to high school!

Scott Hudson knows first-hand how hard it can be to start high school. As he tries to make his way through his freshman year, Scott finds that life has suddenly become complicated: hanging out with his best friends isn't as easy as it used to be, girls he has known his entire life have become gorgeous and unattainable, he overcommits to practically every known school activity, homework is harder, and oh yeah, his mom is pregnant. Scott's only refuge from the insanity that has become his life is the survival guide he is writing for his soon-to-be-born sibling.

Lubar does an amazing job of capturing the voice, the emotion, the personality of a teenage boy and presenting the reader with a realistic look into the angst that comes with entry into high school. The world presented by the main character is one that is familiar to a variety of readers and Lubar captures the essence of how life is in constant motion, changing from one day to the next.

I loved this book and found myself sympathizing with Scott and reflecting on my own life in high school as he makes his way through the ups and downs of his freshman year. A definite read for anyone who has "been there, done that" or is currently "doing this same thing!"

Enjoy listening to an excerpt from this book at the following site:

http://www.davidlubar.com/sfnl.mp3

KEYWORDS: High school, friends, family, siblings