Monthly Archives: February 2018

February 18, 2018 · 8:31 am

The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling

A magical piece of chocolate gives chocolate-lover John Midas the gift of everything his lips touch turning to chocolate. At first this is wonderfully delightful, but soon he begins to wonder if it’s a gift or a curse.

Based on the story of King Midas and his golden touch, The Chocolate Touch is a cute story. As the “gift” happens more and more, it gently teaches about greed and the importance of a varied diet. My boys did not like it very much, which is the reason for the three-star rating. The 9-year-old said it was boring and the 11-year-old did not like just how heavily it was based on the King Midas story. I still think it makes a good family read-aloud, though!

3 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2018: 14
Pages Read in 2018: 2383
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February 18, 2018 · 8:19 am

The Trumpet of the Swan by EB White

Louis the Swan is born without a voice. A trumpeter swan with no voice can’t get a mate or survive and so Louis decides to learn to read and write, his father decides to get him a trumpet, and then Louis decides to go to work to earn money.

I really liked The Trumpet of the Swan. It’s a sweet story and often funny. The only problem was I kept mentally screaming at the book, “He is a swan, people!” because characters would acknowledge he was a bird, but not find anything he did to be strange. I had to repeatedly remind myself to suspend my disbelief and that kept pulling me out of the book and decreased my enjoyment of it. I do recommend it to middle grade age kids. It makes a great family read-aloud.

4 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2018: 13
Pages Read in 2018: 2243
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February 13, 2018 · 4:51 pm

The Shadow Dragon by Andrea Pearson

Geode City has fallen victim to a robbing, murdering, evil creature. There seems to be a pattern to the murders… people who have recently lost a loved. Jessie, the police chief’s daughter, is afraid her best friend Nick will be next. Their only hope for stopping the evil creature is the shadow dragon.

My sons really enjoyed The Shadow Dragon and so did I. It was pretty creepy (even for me!) and I really didn’t know how it was going to end. It’s a very quick read and makes a perfect read-aloud. I highly recommend it for elementary aged kids!

5 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2018: 12
Pages Read in 2018: 1959
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February 13, 2018 · 4:19 pm

The Mystery of the Missing Mustangs by Penny Warner

A weeklong trip to learn how to take care of horses becomes much more exciting when the Scouts from Troop 13 learn about some wild horses that have just disappeared. They suspect the traveling rodeo as the culprit, but can they prove it before it’s too late and the rodeo has moved on?

The Mystery of the Missing Mustangs is the second Troop 13 book. It’s extremely predictable, but still a cute story. It makes an excellent read-aloud!

4 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2018: 11
Pages Read in 2018: 1918
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February 6, 2018 · 3:18 pm

Into Africa by Martin Dugard

In the mid-1800s, David Livingstone set off across Africa looking for the source of the Nile and didn’t come out for years. Henry Morton Stanley, funded by James Gordon Bennett, Jr., of the New York Herald, followed, and with the words, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” succeeded in finding the famous explorer. Into Africa tells the stories of both Stanley and Livingstone, focusing on Stanley’s quest. I found it to be very well written and covered everything in detail. I recommend it to adults interested in Africa, exploration, or the story of David Livingstone.

5 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2018: 10
Pages Read in 2018: 1804
Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks (more book reviews!)

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Filed under Non-Fiction, Reason: Pre-Reading for Cameron

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