Kids Books - Literature

"Even in the future, the story begins with once upon a time." Precisely 126 years after the Fourth World War, letumosis, a deadly plague that has haunted Earth for a decade, has taken the life of Emperor Rikan of the Commonwealth. But Emperor Rikan's son, Prince Kai, has even more problems - Queen Levana of Luna is intent on marrying Prince Kai and taking over the Commonwealth - and planet Earth. Prince Kai has no intention of marrying the wicked Levana, and with the help of his android, he plans to reinstate Princess Selene (Levana's missing and presumed dead niece) to the throne. But what happens when his android breaks down mysteriously? Meet Linh Cinder, a sixteen-year old cyborg and a renowned mechanic - whose life is changed forever when Prince Kai asks her to fix a broken android. But when Cinder's stepsister, Peony, contracts letumosis, and it's blamed on Cinder, Cinder is "donated" to plague research by her stepmother, Adri. Correction: Cinder would die. But Dr. Erland, the scientist running the research on letumosis, finds out something very special about Cinder - something others would die for. One more thing - when Cinder learns of a huge plot to take over Earth from a guilt-ridden Lunar spy, she rushes to tell Kai at his coronation - and finds herself being given the death penalty by none other than Queen Levana herself. This book was incredible, really, spectacular - it was so, so amazing! This is probably the farthest thing from the original fairy-tale of Cinderella - it's much more dark, complicated, and twisted - but it still keeps its roots in the original fairy-tale version. I have never met such a vivid, wild cast of characters - from resilient and resourceful Cinder, to the deliciously wicked Queen Levana. Every page sucked me in, and I really couldn't stop reading - page after page after page, and I found it really.. really hard to read the last chapter or two because there was so much tension - it was wonderful! I rarely give five stars to a book, especially a fantasy book, but congratulations, "Cinder" - you've won me over.

This is a wonderful book. It is about four sisters: the March sisters. Meg; the eldest and the prettiest, Jo; the tomboyish, author, Beth; the sweet, shy one, and Amy; the youngest and most self conscious artist. They and their wise mother have to face the brave of the war going on, with the hanging feeling that their soldier father might not come home. While so, they meet a young man named Laurie, who soon is like a part of the family. Later in the book, Laurie falls in love with Jo. Jo, however, does not feel the same way.When Laurie confesses, Jo breaks his heart. I for one, disagree with this. I feel Laurie and Jo would have made a lovely couple. Later on, Beth gets brushed with death once, but manages to survive. I was really sad when Beth died from scarlet fever, and I wish she didn't. When the girls grow up, each one goes to pursue their dreams except for Meg, who marries John Brooke, Laurie's old tutor. They have twins, and have a happy family. As for Amy, she heads off to Europe with grumpy old Aunt March to paint. While in Europe, she stumbles upon Laurie, who also tried to escape from home for a while to try to mend his heartbreak. Honestly, I think Laurie was being a little creepy. But of course, Amy and Laurie fall in love and get married. And for the last but best character, Jo, she escaped to New York City to study, and writes a book. While there, she falls in love with a college professor, and they later get married. It was a very good story. I recommend it to anyone looking for a relatable historical fiction with excellent vocabulary.

The Ahsoka in this book is not the same Ashoka as the one in the Clone Wars that we all know and love. But surviving a war, leaving the only family you know, and then hearing they've all been brutally slaughtered can change a person. As we begin this action-filled story, we find former Jedi padawan Ashoka Tano carving out a miserable existence on the remote planet Thabeska, posing as Ashla, a mechanic who works hard and doesn't ask questions. But when the empire reaches its hand to the remote Thabeska, Ahsoka fearfully runs. She finds an almost-home on Radaa, a non-exciting farming moon that seems obscure enough. Until the Imperials decide to land on the planet and take over, taking Ashoka by surprise. She is torn between revealing herself and pretending to be Ashla. She and her new family must decide whether to rebel or to watch as everything and everyone they love is destroyed. After reading this book, I don't feel like it can stand on its own. I would love to see it become a series, like some of the other Star Wars series I've read. Star Wars: Ashoka didn't lack any of the grit and harsh reality of how cruel the empire truly is, and I liked it for that. This book was a really interesting read that I recommend to all Star Wars fans!

The main conflict is a little different for this story, the third book in The Baby-Sitters Club graphic novel series, because this time the problem is internal. The Baby-Sitters Club members have all turned on each other, because of a fight that none of them remembers anymore. Kristy is mad because Claudia accused her of being a job hog, and Mary Ann and Stacey called her bossy. Claudia is mad because Kristy, Stacey, and Mary Ann all called her a job hog too. Stacey is mad because everyone else is mad, but she truly wants everyone to make up and get over it. Mary Ann is especially mad because Stacey called her a shy baby and Kristy called her a crybaby. All because Kristy took a baby-sitting job without consulting the other members, because it was for Lucy, a newborn baby, I mean who can blame her, babies are cute! Mary Ann is also struggling with her overprotective father, because he won't let her wear cool clothes, wear her hair down instead of in braids, and stay out later so she can take more baby-sitting jobs. Mary Ann feel alone since Kristy, her former best friend isn't talking to her, so Mary Ann makes a new friend in Dawn, the new kid at school. Eventually the Baby-Sitters Club members come to their senses and make up, and they even get a new member for their club, but what happened in between is where the lesson really is. I would recommend this to kids who like easy reads or graphic novels.

Little Women is a classic but sweet novel written by the American author Louisa May Alcott, that is talking about the life of four sisters - Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March. The story was quite long to me and it took me awhile to finish it, but otherwise, I loved Little Women so much! If you are looking for a classic literature book to bury your nose into, this book would fit your taste!

The Boy at the top of the Mountain by John Boyne is a historical fiction book. Pierrot is a young boy who grew up in Paris and is sent to Bavaria which is a free state of Germany. Topics addressed in this book are Holocaust, family, racism, orphanage. The theme of this book is that one bad choice can affect your life greatly. A quote that stands out to me is one of the nazis saying “there is nothing to fear” showing that they had complete trust that Hitler and the higher up Nazis were in the right. I liked this book because it was super interesting to see how the author would portray a young boy and his life living at Hitler’s house. I would definitely recommend this book and would give it 4 out of 5 stars.

6 Reasons Why You Should Read THE TERRIBLE TWO 1) Ever pulled a great prank? The characters in this book may just have you beat. For example, in the first few pages someone pulls the ULTIMATE prank on the school principal. This book will make you want to become a member of the super secret pranking society known as the International Order of Disorder. 2) The book has really short chapters that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Be careful you don't stay up TOO late devouring chapter after chapter under the covers with your flashlight. (I'm a teacher. I had to say it.) 3) You'll meet two hilarious characters who will have you laughing out loud constantly. Miles and Niles will become so real to you that by the end you'll swear they're good friends of yours in real life. 4) Do you know what it feels like to be the new kid in town? Pretty tough, right? Well, you'll be able to understand exactly how Miles feels. He's forced to leave all his friends behind and move with his mom to a boring little cow town called Yawnee Valley. 5) Speaking of cows, you'll learn all sorts of funny, weird facts about these lovable bovine creatures. For example, "Cows have 360-degree panoramic vision. Want to sneak up on a cow? You can't. They see you." Crazy! 6) In this book, the drawings, hand written letters, photos, and cartoons are just as cool as the writing itself. If you're a fan of the Wimpy Kid Series or James Patterson's Middle School books, then you'll love The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett and Jory John. Bonus: This book is brand new. Grab a copy ASAP to be one of the first kids to read it in 2015!

Karen M. McManus’ novel, One Of Us Is Lying follows the lives of five of Bayview High School’s students- Bronwyn: smart, factual, studious, and headed for Yale, Cooper: athletic, charming, confident, and the star player on Bayview’s baseball team, Addy: pampered, popular, sophisticated and one of the most envied girls at Bayview High, Nate: the highschool hoodlum, notorious drug dealer, and Juvenile Delinquent, and finally, Simon: the self-proclaimed omniscient narrator and the infamous creator of Bayview High’s gossip app About That. When they all end up in detention after school, only four of the five leave the room alive. Simon is dead- and Bronwyn, Cooper, Addy, & Nate are now prime suspects in Simon’s murder- and just before Simon was going to release a juicy About That update on every person in that room. With a rousing plotline full of twists and turns, One Of Us Is Lying is eloquently written, and an over-all brilliant book! I enjoyed the authentic characters and intrigue and would recommend it for middle school readers and up! Definitely one of the best Mystery/Suspense YA novels I’ve read in a while!

Egg and Spoon is a Russian story about a peasant girl called Elena Rudina who lives in a countryside village, and a girl called Ekaterina, or Cat, who lives among a wealthy family and is heading to the Tsar. Elena's father passed away several years ago, her mother is very ill, and one of Elena's brothers are in the Tsar's army, Elena wishes to have some food, as they are too poor. Meanwhile, Cat is on a train heading towards St Petersburg. Afterwards, an accident happened, and both of the girls changed places, Elena on the train, and Cat in the village. Elena finds a firebird egg and Cat finds Baba Yaga(a witch in Russian legends) and her chicken legged house. At the end, Prince Anton(a prince that escaped from the Tsar's palace), Cat, Elena and Baba Yaga travel to the North Pole and meet an ice dragon who cannot sleep because of everyone's endless wants and wishes, and who is melting the ice with his fiery breath. Cat and Elena become good friends! This book is very magical and adventurous, full of Russian folk stories. I absolutely recommend it for everyone!

Fly guy gets to do on many different rides in this story. I think this book is very silly. It made me laugh. There are a lot of surprising events that take place. It is definitely an interesting book.