Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Book Fair Shopping

My book fair is all set up.  I stayed late to do it on Friday after school so it will be all set for Monday.   In between classes and during conferences I've done some serious browsing and there are so many books that I want; some for school and some for myself.  Here's a partial list:


1. The Summer of Moonlight Secrets by Danette Haworth. 

Welcome to The Merriwether, Florida's once-grand-hotel built on Hope Springs, where nothing is quite as it seems.  Hidden staircases give way to shadowy servants' quarters, and old-fashioned speakeasies make for the perfect hide and seek spot.  Allie Jo Jackson knows every nook and cranny of The Meriwether-she's lived there her whole life-and nothing surprises her, until the first time she spots the beautiful Tara emerging from the water of the springs.  Tara's shimmery skin, long flowing, and fondness for moonlight swims hint-and once Allie Jo and her friend Chase discover Tara's secret, nothing will ever be the same.

2. The Healing Spell by Kimberly Griffiths Little.

Eleven-year-old Livie is keeping a secret, and it's crushing her.  She knows she is responsible for her mother's coma, but she can't tell anyone.  And it's up to her to find a way to wake her mamma before anyone uncovers the truth of what really happened. 

3. Radiance by Alyson Noel. 

Riley has crossed the bridge into the afterlife-a place called Here, where time is always Now.  She has picked up life where she left off when she was alive, living with her parents and dog in a nice neighborhood.  When she is summoned before The Council, she learns that the afterlife isn't just an eternity of leisure.  She's been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a possibly cute, seemingly nerdy boy who's definetely hiding something.  They return to earth together for Riley's first assignment, a Radiant Boy who's been haunting a castle in England for centuries.  Many soul catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed.  But all of that was before he met Riley...(I enjoyed reading Everafter and this seems different yet similar)

4. Saving Zasha by Randi Barrow.  (and for my historical fiction craving)

World War II has just ended when 13-year-old Mikhail finds a dying man and his German shepherd, Zasha, in the woods.  It's dangerous-some say traitorous-to own a German dog after Germany attacked Russia, so Mikhail must keep Zasha a secret to keep her alive. 

5. 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson.

Lying in bed at night, twelve-year-old Henry York can't ignore the thumping and scratching he hears on the other side of the wall.  He scrapes off the plaster and discovers doors-ninety-nine cupboards of all different sizes and shapes.  Through one he hears the sound of falling rain.  Through another he sees a glowing room-with a man strolling back and forth!  Henry and his cousin Henrietta soon understand that these are not just cupboards.  they are, in fact, portals to other worlds.    I noticed on the author's website their are already books 2, Dandelion Fire, and 3, Chestnut King, ready in this series, which means no waiting around for more.

All synopsis notes are from the back blurb on the book. 

That is just from the fiction section. 
A whole 'nother post is waiting for the fabulous picture books from the book fair!!

and a Rant for the day:

The word of the day is BOOK-whenyou bring your child to the BOOK fair-buy them a book, then if they still want the pencil with the Pokeman eraser, go for it.  But the BOOK is the most important item.  After all it is a BOOK Fair, not a crazy writing utensil fair.  There I've said my piece.

4 comments:

bermudaonion said...

I agree - it used to drive me crazy that they sold posters, pencils, etc at book fairs. All we ever bought was books and bookmarks.

Anonymous said...

I helped out at the local elementary school's Book Fair a few months ago, and I encountered the same thing. I couldn't believe the number of kids that left with junk instead of a book. Justin Bieber posters were a hot commodity, as was anything else Justin Bieber labelled. Uggh!

My other rant about the book fair were the number of times kids were turned away from books they were interested in either by their parents or by the librarian for not being their reading level. I'd rather have a kid leave the book fair with a book he is intersted enough in to struggle through the harder words, than have them leave with nothing because there wasn't anything on "their reading level" interested them.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, it should be "...that interested them."

Tif Sweeney said...

Oh my goodness!! Totally agree with your little rant! Whenever I go to my son's book fairs, I see this happening! With all the amazing books right in front of you, how can you as a parent let the focus be on the trinkets?!?