Review: Eighth Grade Is Making Me Sick: Ginny Davis's Year In Stuff

Eighth Grade Is Making Me Sick: Ginny Davis's Year In Stuff by Jennifer L. Holm

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Fluff - moderately interesting, but not compelling fluff. Girls who don't like to read much may enjoy this, but don't go looking for profound or something that you will remember a long time.



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Read Aloud with Document Camera

The other day, I was in a classroom where the teacher had left instructions to read aloud from any book I chose for 30 minutes (I am a substitute teacher). I usually carry with me a couple of books that I think might interest the age level that I am teaching for the day. I have found that Knucklehead by Jon Scieszka is generally a hit with 4th through 6th graders, so I read the first few chapters of that.

The teacher had a document camera right next to the place from which I was reading the book, so, rather than show the pictures around, where the students would see them for a very short time and not very well, I put the pictures under the document camera. That was nicer than I expected. Since this was a 6th grade class, and 6th graders hate to sit on the floor for read aloud, they were all at desks or tables and from wherever they were, they could just look up and see the pictures.

In the past, I have not been very fond of document cameras. They have been awkward replacements for white boards, but this was a better interaction with them for me. Next time I read a book with significant illustrations, I will look for a document camera.

Review: Don't Let the Republican Drive the Bus!: A Parody for Voters

Don't Let the Republican Drive the Bus!: A Parody for Voters by Erich Origen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I have never been a fan of the book this is based off of - I don't hate it, but it didn't appeal to me as much as it did many other readers of the book. This book is a direct take-off on that book and thus, some of the humor, though funny, didn't hit my "hilarious" meter. I am a "flaming liberal", so the political slant of the book was fine with me - and rings true. I doubt if it will convince many people, but it does bring some much needed comic relief.



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Review: The False Prince

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I read this book in one day and really enjoyed it. It isn't a book with great deeper significance or long lasting messages, but it is a thoroughly enjoyable read.

I went looking for it at my local B & N store, with only the remembrance of what the cover looked like. I couldn't find it in the kids' section, but eventually located it in the teens' section. I think it reads a bit young compared to most of what I seem to find in YA these days, but I really LIKED that. A lot of YA has gotten too violent, too sexualized, and too dark for me. Give me a book like this any day. There is violence in the book, but the book isn't centrally focused on the violence. For me, there is a difference.

I will look for the sequels.



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Not Just a Witch by Eva Ibbotson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I wanted something a bit lighter, since my life right now has been "challenging", and this fit the bill for this, but the story didn't quite make it for me.

The characters are the main attraction, but somehow, I just didn't find out enough about them to make a real connection. For example, you don't really get to know Heckie and her friend Dora, before they have a big fight and stop talking to each other. You don't care enough about the friendship to feel its loss until much later in the book.

And some of the characters, especially the other witches and the children, seem uni-dimensional. One wizard wants to make cheese walk. This could be a great joke, but it isn't developed enough to help me understand him - to feel his quirks and sympathize with him. It is just a one-line joke, until it comes in handy later in the story. You do find out a lot about some of the villains, but what you find out is mostly there to convince you that Heckie's plan for them (turning them into animals) is justified.

I don't think children would mind these flaws, but for me, it keeps the book from being a classic. Enjoyable, but superficial.

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Review: The Complete Funky Winkerbean 1972-1974

The Complete Funky Winkerbean 1972-1974 by Tom Batiuk

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think the author of this book and I are of a similar era, so this retrospective was, for me, a walk through my past as well. The difference in the humor of that era to the current one is minor, but it seems to me that it is a bit gentler. There is a long-running gag about Les getting turned down for dates. The difference is that he largely puts himself down and the girls that he asks don't put him down cruelly, they just say no. One even says yes, but he is so focused on accepting a negative answer that he doesn't even notice.

That said, I think his writing didn't venture too far from the stereotypes of the day. The football hero is stupid; the feminist is abrasive; the cheerleaders are "hot". Funky and Les are better developed than the other characters, but most of the minor characters are rather one-dimensional.

There are a couple of minor characters that are intriguing; Crazy Harry is a favorite of mine. He is an underachiever and satisfied with confronting the norms through passivity. The school counselor, Mr. Fairgood, a couple of the teachers, and the principal, all give the strip a chance to poke at the cluelessness of some of the adults.

I enjoyed the book. I have a relatively large collection of cartoons and comics (though not the standard comic books) and I am happy to add this to my collection.



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Review: The Last To Know

The Last To Know by Melissa Hill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Unabashedly chick lit, but page turning. A good summer read.



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