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Sunday, March 28, 2010

Book Views (3)

Again, I am copying Kate over at The Neverending Shelf (Viva La Revolution!) in these Book Views. Basically, I give you a picture, the summary and a review (in less than 75 words).

Dork Diaries
by Rachel R. Russell

Summary (via Goodreads): New school. New mean girl. New crush.

New diary so Nikki can spill about all of it...

Review: A fun book much like the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series - only more girly. Deals with fitting in and finding friends at a new school. Hilarious and full of great drawings.

Final Verdict: Loved it. Definitely for 4th graders and up.


All Shook Up
by Shelley Pearsall

Summary (via Goodreads): When 13-year-old Josh finds out he has to stay with his dad in Chicago for a few months, he’s not too thrilled. But when he arrives at the airport, he’s simply devastated. His father—who used to be a scatterbrained, but pretty normal, shoe salesman—has become a sideburn-wearing, hip-twisting, utterly embarrassing Elvis impersonator. Josh is determined to keep his dad’s identity a secret, but on his very first day at his new school, a note appears on his locker. It’s signed Elvisly Yours, and instead of a name, a sneering purple smiley face. The secret is out, and when his dad is invited to perform at a special 50s concert at his school, Josh is forced to take drastic action. From award-winning author Shelley Pearsall comes a hilarious novel about a father and son discovering something about being who you are—and who you’re not.

Review: Deals with some great issues that kids face - divorce, making new friends, and learning more about your parents. A touching and realistic novel.

Final verdict: Enjoyable read! Definitely for 5th grade and up.


Summary (via Goodreads): The premiere American fantasy adventure gets the Merry Marvel treatment! Eisner Award-winning writer/artist Eric Shanower (Age of Bronze) teams up with fan-favorite artist Skottie Young (New X-Men) to bring L. Frank Baum's beloved classic to life! When Kansas farm girl Dorothy flies away to the magical Land of Oz, she fatally flattens a Wicked Witch, liberates a living Scarecrow and is hailed by the Munchkin people as a great sorceress...but all she really wants to know is: how does she get home?

Review: A fantastic graphic novel full of amazing graphics and I just love the full colors. A bit lengthy for me, but definitely a wonderful graphic novel. Love the way the artist drew Dorothy.

Final verdict: Visually outstanding, but a little long. Suggested for 5th grade and up.


Dreamland Chronicles Book One
by Scott Christian Sava

Summary (via Goodreads): Alexander Carter has found a key that takes him back to the land of his childhood dreams. Now, every night he enters Dreamland, a magical world filled with Dragons, Fairies, and Giants. Re-united with his childhood friends Paddington, Kiwi, and Nastajia, Alexander embarks on a quest to save Dreamland from war with the nightmare realm.

Review: I was skeptical about the graphics at first - generally a little more computer generated than I like. The story line proved to make up for the iffy graphics and I'll definitely be on the lookout for the next book in the series as I totally fell in love with the story.

Final Verdict: Recommended for 8th grade and up.

4 comments:

  1. I have the Oz comic hardcover book. I also have all the individual comic books! I'm now collecting the second part of these comic books. I hope they come out with a hardcover for it as well!

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  2. Hi Kristen...
    Thanks so much for reviewing Dreamland. I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
    Just wanted to let you know Book 4 is coming out this summer from IDW. And I'm already 1/4 of the way through Book 5.
    Would love to know what you think of them.
    :)

    Also...the WHOLE story to date is online. And updating daily here...
    www.thedreamlandchronicles.com

    Book 2 starts here.
    http://www.thedreamlandchronicles.com/2006/11/09/todays-dreamland-chronicles-267/

    Hope that helps. And thank you again for taking the time to review my book.

    Scott

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  3. If you liked the Dork Diaries (which I haven't read yet, but would love to get for my library) you should try Jim Benton's Dear Dumb Diary series. There's about 6 books out now, and they are hilarious. The first one came out before Diary of a wimpy Kid, and the Dork Diaries, but the body of the book contains drawings (diagrams of the character's issues, etc) and diary entries by a young girl. I bought one on impulse and read it one night. The whole time I was reading it I was laughing out loud. I took it to the afterschool program that I work in, and not only did the girls read it, but there were quite a few boys who loved it also. Now I have a few copies in the library, and they're always checked out. Very popular.

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  4. Nice! I love these quick little posts...they give a nice break from the lengthier ones yet still share something about the book! The Dork Diaries one...definitely viewed it as a girls version of the Diaries of a Wimpy Kid. The cover told me that much, glad to hear the first impression was correct! As for the others...something to think about...make need to add one or two to my seek out list. Thanks for sharing!

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