Summer Reading Challenge Weeks 11 and 12

71. Stray Dogs, Saints, and Saviors: Fighting for the Soul of America's Toughest High School by Alexander Russo - adult book - story behind Green Dot's attempt to revitalize an L.A. school - 8/10

72. Secret Daughter: A Mixed Race Daughter and the Mother Who Gave Her Away by June Cross - adult book - memoir by an Afro-American daughter of a white mother and black father, who was raised by friends of the family - 9/10

73. Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda - adult book - an international adoption story told from the perspective of the birth mother, adoptive mother, and daughter - 10/10

74. The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson - middle grades - the imagined story of one of the Friendship Dolls sent to the US by Japan in the 1920's - really four interconnected short stories - 9/10

75. Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library by Eth Clifford - young middle grade - two girls are accidentally locked into the library at night in a snow storm, best thing is the title - 6/10

76. The CAFE Book by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser - adult book - explanation of a reading workshop system, some good elements for 5th grade but seems better for primary - 8/10

77. Unraveling Freedom: The Battle for Democracy on the Home Front During World War One by Ann Bausum - middle grade/young adult - background information and story about World War One - excellent connections to 9/11, Iraq and Afghanistan today - 12/10

78. Photo by Brady: A Picture of the Civil War by Jennifer Armstrong - middle grade/young adult - background story of the Matthew Brady and Civil War photography, super pictures, hard text - 8/10

Didn't quite make my summer goal but came very close!

Summer Reading Challenge Weeks 9 & 10

62. March by Geraldine Brooks - adult - the story of the dad from Little Women during the Civil War - 8/10

63. Too Much Temptation by Lori Foster - adult - romantic fluff, but fun - 10/10

64. Best Books for Boys by Pam Allyn - adult - reading ideas and lists for boy readers, not much new - 8/10

65. Sent by Margaret Peterson Haddix - middle grade - second book in series about children who were stolen from their place in history, raised in modern America, and are being sent back in time to fix things - 10/10

66. A Pemberly Medley by Abigail Reynolds - adult - five P&P short novellas in one book, varying quality - 9/10

67. Abduction by Peg Kehret - middle grade - Kindergarten student disappears from school, gripping story but some security measures out of date - 9/10

68. The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World by E.L. Konigsburg - young adult - two boys discover a mystery and work to right a wrong, seems to recycle some plot ideas from her other novels - 8/10

69. Leading Change in Your School: How to Conquer Myths, Build Commitment and Get Results by Douglas B. Reeves - adult - interesting book with some good ideas, not a long read - 9/10

70. Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks - adult - gripping story, interesting plot layout - 9/10

Summer Reading Challenge week #8

53. Basketball Belles by Sue Macy - picture book - neat story telling of the first time two women's basketball teams played each other - 9/10

54. The Little Red Pen by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Brummel - picture book - an absolute must read for any teacher! - 10/10

55. It Doesn't Take a Genius by Randall McCutcheon and Tommie Lindsey - adult - book for my summer class, lots of anecdotes, just ok - 7/10

56. Bird in a Box by Andrea Davis Pinkney - middle grade - Great Depression meets boxing - 8/10

57. Darcy and FitzWilliam by Karen V. Wasylowski - adult - P&P continuation from Darcy and his cousin's point of views, ok - 8/10

58. The Secret Life of Mrs. Finkleman by Ben H. Winters - middle grade - excellent story combining mystery, music, and middle school - great for Andrew Clements or Blue Balliett fans - 10/10

59. I Am Scout: The Biography of Harper Lee by Charles J. Shields - adult - provides a lot of information that I did not know about the author of To Kill a Mockingbird - 9/10

60. The Wonder of Charlie Anne by Kimberly Newton Fusco - middle grade - Great Depression meets Civil Rights meets Little House on the Prairie - 9/10

61. 20 Things Adoptive Parents Need to Succeed by Sherrie Eldridge - adult - just ok, lots of things that don't apply to our adoption situation - 8/10

Started and abandoned:

• Friends edited by Ann M. Martin and David Levithan: a collection of middle grade/young adult short stories, just didn't get into it
• The Runaway Princess by Kate Coombs: middle grade, princess goes to fight the dragon, just not my type of story
  
• The Fabric of America by Andrew Linklater: adult, theory of how boundaries define the nation, too academic for summer
  

Summer Reading Challenge Week #7

43. The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall - middle grade - The third Penderwick adventure, just as good as the first two with a different main narrator - 10/10

44. Mr. Darcy's Little Sister by C. Allyn Pierson - adult - P&P sequel from Georgiana's point of view - 8/10

45. The Case of the Curious Crinoline by Nancy Springer - middle grade - another Enola Holmes mystery, brings in Florence Nightingale - 9/10

46. The Case of the Gypsy Good-bye by Nancy Springer - middle grade - final Enola Holmes mystery, resolves what happened to her mother and her relationship with her brothers - 10/10

47. The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Wan-Long Shang - middle grade - Chinese-American girl finds out that her Chinese great-aunt will be spending several months with them and sharing her room - 10/10

48. The Help by Kathryn Stockett - adult - 1960's southern interactions between white employers and African-American domestic help - 10/10

49. The President's Daughter by Ellen Emerson White - young adult - First female President's daughter's experiences on the campaign trail and moving to the White House - 10/10

50. White House Autumn by Ellen Emerson White - young adult - Continuing story of Meg Powers and her family's experience - 10/10

51. Long Live the Queen by Ellen Emerson White - young adult - Meg is kidnapped by terrorists and rescues herself - 12/10

52. Long May She Reign by Ellen Emerson White - young adult - Meg works to rebuild her life after the kidnapping - 10/10

Summer Reading Challenge Week #6

37. Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts - adult - love story told among Montana wildfire jumpers - 8/10

38. Maria Von Trapp: Beyond the Sound of Music by Candice F. Ransom- middle grade/young adult - the true story behind the main character in The Sound of Music - 9/10

39. DK Biography: Abigail Adams by Kem Knapp Sawyer - middle grade/young adult - love this series - great book! 10/10

40. The Case of the Left Handed Lady by Nancy Springer - middle grade - more Enola Holmes mysteries - 9/10

41. The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets by Nancy Springer - middle grade - even more Enola Holmes mysteries - 9/10

42. The Case of the Peculiar Fan by Nancy Springer - middle grade - Enola Holmes, yet again - 10/10


Started and abandoned:

• Falling In by Frances O'Roark Dowell - middle grade
• Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go by Dale E. Basye - middle grade
• Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer - adult

Summer Book Challenge week #5

28. How Far We Have Come by Linda Wells - adult - final book in a Pride & Prejudice trilogy - 10/10

29. The Limit by Kristen Landon - middle grade/young adult - scarily realistic futuristic novel. Parents who spend over their government limit have their children taken away to a workhouse to pay off the debt. 10/10

30. Elmo Loves You by Sarah Albee - board book - Joy loves Elmo, 'nuff said. 9/10

31. Late For School by Steve Martin - picture book - funny pictures and text to capture the saga of a late dash to school, on a Saturday! 8/10

32. The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer - middle grade - first book in a series about Sherlock Holmes' younger sister Enola Holmes. 8/10

33. The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall - middle grade - The next adventure of the Penderwick girls - this time at home with a newly dating father. 10/10

34. William and Kate: A Royal Love Story by Christopher Andersen - adult - Details behind the royal couple's early lives and romance. A lot of it is probably made up, but a fun read. 8/10

35. Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R.L. LaFevers - middle grade - Set in early 1900's Britain, tells the story of a girl who can sense and remove ancient Egyptian curses in the museum where her parents work. 8/10

36. The Redheaded Princess by Ann Rinaldi - middle grade - The story of Princess Elizabeth Tudor from her earliest memories to her ascension to the throne. 9/10

Summer Book-a-Day Challenge week #4

22. Scumble by Ingrid Law - middle grade - companion novel to Savvy. The story tells about a 13 year old boy's challenge to learn to manage is new talent, his savvy. 8/10

23. Interlude in Death by J.D. Robb - adult - Eve Dallas novella, futuristic crime mystery - 9/10

24. Moo, Baa, La La La! by Sandra Boynton - board book - Love Boyton!! 10/10

25. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown - board book - classic - 9-10

26. Trials to Bear by Linda Wells - adult - Pride and Prejudice what if?, second book of a trilogy - Elizabeth and Darcy's first year of marriage

27. Are You Sleeping? by Debbie Trafton O'Neal - picture book - children's song with additional verse, wonderful illustrations - 10/10

Summer Book-a-Day Challenge week #3

14. Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs - middle grade - boy investigates the murder of a hippo, after no one believes him - 7/10

15. Junonia by Kevin Henkes - younger middle grade - girl's annual Florida vacation & birthday turn out differently than usual - 8/10

16. Liar, Liar by Gary Paulsen - young adult - boy gets caught in the web of his many lies - 9/10

17. The Tudors by G.J. Meyer - adult - concise summary of the reigns of the Tudor kings and queens; not the best choice for summer reading! - 8/10

18. Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm - middle grade - the story of the only girl growing up in a family with 7 brothers in 1900's Washington state - 9/10

19. The Trouble of May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm - middle grade - continues the story of May Amelia - 8/10

20. Perfect Fit by Linda Wells - adult - modern Pride & Prejudice story - author Elizabeth Bennet meets William Darcy at his cousin Anne's wedding - 10/10

21. Room by Emma Donoghue - adult - told from the point of view of 5 year old Jack, who has spent his whole life inside the Room with his mother - having no other contact with other people - haunting story - 10/10

Summer Book-a-Day Challenge week #2

Not quite one a day this week, but six more is pretty respectable!

8. Chance Encounters by Linda Wells - adult - Pride and Prejudice what if? novel - Elizabeth and Darcy meet by chance at a London theatre -10/10

9. The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall - middle grade - four sisters spend the summer at a cottage on an estate and have adventures with the neighbor boy -9/10

10. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future by Michael J. Fox - adult - expanded graduation speech, not as good as his biographies - 8/10

11. Hero by Mike Lupica - young adult - a boy discovers he has super hero powers and must learn how to deal with them and who to trust after the death of his father - 7/10

12. Aliens on Vacation by Clete Barrett Smith - middle grade/young adult - a boy spends the summer at his grandmother's B&B and discovers that all the guests are really from outer space! - 8/10

12. The Visconti House by Elsbeth Edgar - middle grade/young adult - Australian novel; a boy and a girl uncover the mystery behind the mysterious Visconti house - 10/10

Book a Day Challenge - Summer 2011

So, someone I greatly admire is sponsoring a book-a-day reading challenge for the summer. See her post here. My goal is 79 books for summer 2011, following her rules. Can I do it?

Let's see:
1. The Day of the Pelican by Katherine Patterson - young adult - story of one family's experience with Kosovo, ethnic cleansing, and immigration to America - 8/10

2. School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari - middle grade - four students come to School of Fear to overcome their various overwhelming fears -9/10

3. School of Fear: Class is Not Dismissed by Gitty Daneshvari - middle grade - students return to School of Fear to help save the school and continue to work on overcoming their fears - 8/10

4. Fate & Consequences by Linda Wells - adult - Pride and Prejudice what if? novel - Darcy saves Georgiana from Wickham, but scandal spreads - the one joy is a chance meeting with a young lady named Elizabeth Bennett - 10/10

5. Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes - middle grades - Hurricane Katrina through the eyes of a young girl and her friend working together to survive - 8/10

6. Ghost Dog Secrets by Peg Kehret - middle grade - young boy finds a dog being abused and is prompted to help by a ghost dog - 10/10

7. The Well by Mildred D. Taylor - middle grade - historical fiction, early 1900's Mississippi - story of a drought and black/white interactions - 10/10