Book of the Week.....

NEW SERIES

Kane Miller

The Phoenix Files Series:

arrival

contact

mutation

Age: 14 years and up

Size: 5 x 7 3/4

Pages: approx. 320

Series: The Phoenix Files

Paperback $6.99

The Phoenix Files Series: This electrifying, alternating-narrator serial catapults the reader into a creepy locked-down desert town, built by an all-powerful corporation and populated by people who can unwittingly mutate and travel through time. With a plot that twists and turns unexpectedly, The Phoenix Files is a compelling and suspenseful read.

arrival (book 1)

Luke Hunter soon realizes that the new town he’s now living in is no ordinary town. Then he and his new friends, Peter and Jordan, discover a plot to wipe out the rest of the human race – in only one hundred days. The clock is ticking.

contact (book 2)

Peter reluctantly finds himself trying to avoid the clutches of the Co-operative as he, Luke and Jordan struggle to learn just who’s behind the plot to wipe out most of humanity. Is his dad in on it?

mutation (book 3)

Jordan doesn’t dare tell Luke and Peter about the frightening visions she’s having. Now her family wants to leave, but the enemy has shown just what they can do, and Jordan’s worried.

It's Almost Time

~ Book Review 

It's Almost Time

by Debbie Bernstein LaCroix

ISBN: 978-1935279853

$14.99 (hardback)

About the book:

It's almost time…the gears are winding, getting ready to chime! Are you ready? Join the countdown to the most colossal cacophony of clock sounds ever! From chimes to ding dongs, from grandfather clocks to cuckoos, this collection of sounds will have young readers buzzing with excitement.

My thoughts:

It's Almost Time is an invitation for interaction. Your children can chime the sounds off with you as you read to them and I'm sure you'll hear them making their clock noises during playtime too. Debbie has taken the time to describe the sounds the different clocks make such as:

The tick, tick, tick of the clocks counting down the time, 

The Booooom, Boooooom of the tower clock,

The Buzzzzz, Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz of the alarm clock and the

tinkling sound of the babies clock gently singing about a little lamb.

This is a very cute books for kids 3+ and would make a great addition to homeschools, libraries, and preschools - and it would be fun to read for storytime too!

As parents there are a number of things you can do when you read "It's Almost Time". 

• Have your children find the different clocks in your house and talk about the noise it makes when it "chimes" and "buzzes" throughout the day. 
• Make a paper plate clock and have your child decide what kind of noise it makes and be sure to practice "telling time" by moving the hands of the clock around. For younger children paste the large hand at the 12 and move the small hand around to teach them "o'clock" (ie - 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock) and make different clocks that show what time your child gets up and goes to bed, what time they go to school and what time they come home.
• When you are driving around during the day encourage your children to find all the clocks that they can - talk about the sounds they make.

A few good websites on learning to tell time:

• Alarm Clock Coloring Page
• Shirley's Preschool Activities - Skills for Telling Time

I was given a copy of It's Almost Time by Kane Miller Publishing to review right here on CCB. I was not required to write a positive review and no money exchanged hands.

Fall Countdown w/ Kane Miller Books

Are you ready for Fall & Halloween? Kid's starting to think about their costumes, trick or treating, and the parties that come with it? I thought I'd share a few of my favorite Kane Miller titles that pertain to Fall & Halloween. There are some great ones! If you'd like to order them just click on the title and you'll go right to the website.  Enjoy!


The 13 Ghosts of Halloween
by Robin Muller
Publisher: Kane Miller Books
Age 6+, paperback, $7.99
ISBN: 978-1-935279-14-3


The 13 Ghosts of Halloween is one of my favorite Halloween books. The story is humorous and engaging, promotes math and counting skills, beginning reading, encourages audience participation (think story time in school or the library - or even just reading with mom and dad) and the illustrations are great too!


I've had many kids stop by my booth to check out this book & a lot of parents will snap it up and once I explain that you can "sing" the story to the 12 Days of Christmas I'll actually have people start singing it with their kids and borrow my chair so they can sit and read the book. It's awesome!

What others are saying:
"A group of children are determined to prove that they are brave, even in the face of ever increasing numbers of scary creatures. A humorous take on the original 12 Days of Christmas -- a ghoulish delight for young children." - Kiss the Book 

The Story of Growl
by Judy Horacek
Publisher: Kane Miller Books
Age 3-8, paperback, $15.95
ISBN: 978-1-933605-80-7

About the book: Growl is a little purple monster who lives alone in a big castle at the end of Eucalyptus Drive. She likes to hop, and skip, and jump, and sing. But best of all, she likes to growl! One afternoon, Growl sneaks across her garden and growls over the neighbor's fence! A special rule is then made and Growl is banned from doing what she loves best. What will she do? How will Growl get her growl back?

The Story of Growl is funny, promotes observational skills, the illustrations are eye catching and the story itself is great for starting discussions and creative writing excercises (homeschooling & the classroom). Note: This book received the Teacher's Choice for the Family award and the Notable Australian Children's Book award

What others are saying:
"... encourages friendship and thinking about what you might need from a friend, and also offers good limits that a child, or person, should have." - Cheryl Rainfield


"...(A) valuable springboard for discussions of friendship, whether in the classroom, at home or in a storytime setting." - Kirkus Review


For Teens & Adults:
(I haven't this one yet - but it's definitely on my TBR list - so watch for the review!)



Dying to Tell Me
by Sherryl Clark
Age 11+ hardback, $15.99
ISBN: 978-1-61067-063-0


Read an excerpt

About the book: After moving to a rural Australian town, Sasha’s unwelcome premonitions lead her to solve a string of art thefts while tackling her own issues.

Ever since her mum left, Sasha’s “life has turned into a huge, weird disaster area.” The sad, anxious Sasha knows her dad’s trying hard to hold the family together. When he accepts a police job in Manna Creek to “make a new life,” Sasha decides she’ll give “moving to the back of nowhere” a chance, just to make him happy. Unimpressed with the drab town, the bedraggled house behind (cont reading)

A stronger-than-she-realizes heroine uses her disconcerting telepathic gifts to help others and heal herself in this satisfying adventure. (Paranormal adventure. 11-14) (reviewed by Kirkus)



The Museum of Mary Child
by Cassandra Golds
Age 9+, hardback, $15.99
ISBN: 978-1-935279-13-6

The Museum of Mary Child is a "gothic" novel full of dark thoughts, angst and mystery. Heloise finds a mysterious doll and is forced to run away,ending up in an orphanage. But one day, she must return to the house where the devastating secret of her past awaits.

My thoughts: I read this book when it first came out. The doll and the book cover actually caught my attention and the back description made me want to read it. The tone of the book is very dark, the girl is full of 15 year old angst, lost in a home life that is stagnant and I personally think depressing. Heloise is being raised by her godmother who forbids any toys in the house and when Heloise finds a doll buried beneath the floorboards of the museum next door she keeps it against her godmother's wishes. The doll is tied up in the family past and Heloise (to me) seemed like she was tired of being pushed away and not having her questions answered.  You'll have to read the book for yourself. I'd be interested in your thoughts and whether you liked the book.

I can tell you that the teen that purchased my copy seemed intrigued with the cover, the doll (even though she said dolls "creeped" her out) and the mystery within the story. I've had a few other teens ask about the book too. This genre seems to appeal to a certain group of readers - those that like creepy, vampire dark type of books - if you like that type of story you'll love this book!

This book has earned the Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year and the CBCA 2010 notable Books List - Young Readers.

What others are saying:
“…a strangely haunting gothic fantasy. It’s a dramatically told story-within-a-story about Heloise, a girl whose origins are hidden from her and whose challenge is to find the truth about her godmother, her mother and herself… Cassandra Golds’ liquid prose transcends reality and transports the reader to another place and lyrical way of thinking. Told with a distinctly literary voice, echoing the fairytales of Oscar Wilde and Hans Christian Andersen, its dark undercurrents suggest that a wide audience will find this engrossing and challenging.” – 2010 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards Judges Comments