Spencer Eastwood

Such a great short story - so simple and deep. Carver writes in basic, simple sentences. They are short and to the point. I loved reading this story and getting a glimpse into that time period. They had just gotten a color TV, so it takes place in the 1960's. Very “Mad Men-style” story. Great for fans of that television series.

The Thief Lord follows the story of two brothers who run away to Italy and are taken in by a group of orphaned children who are led by Scipio, who steals valuables and sells them to an old shopkeeper. The book is adventurous and mysterious and will surely capture the attention of children and adolescents. Just by the title I think children will become interested. A book about thieves? Or about a thief LORD? How cool is that! We don't hear a lot about that these days because stealing is morally wrong. That is a challenge about this book. Is it okay to allow children to read a book about stealing? However, it does teach children about poverty, about kindness, love, and forgiveness. The book has a nice message and is engaging throughout the whole read.

I consider The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe to be an “essential children's classic”. This is a book that is directed at children, but has a message that everyone can take from it. When curious Lucy Pevensie stumbles upon an old wardrobe, she is transported to the magical land of Narnia, where she meets fantastical creatures and learns of the terrible White Witch, who has cursed the land into an indefinite winter. With the help of her brothers and sisters, she is able to find Aslan, the great Lion who has come back to rightfully take his place as Lord of Narnia. The book is directed at children, but I think that they may have trouble with it in some parts. The language is very old-fashioned and they may not be able to follow along very well. Along with that, the book is very slow in some place. They may feel like skipping some parts because of that. But the adventure is real and the messages are important as well: don't let pride get the best of you, selfishness is never an admirable trait, and love always wins against hatred and evil.

Where The Sidewalk Ends is an abstract poetry book by Shel Silverstein. It deals with darker themes than one would expect for something considered “children's poetry”, including such themes as death, running away from home, giants eating other people, and many more. It is a great children's book because it is easy to read and flows very well, especially when reading out loud. It is important to keep children engaged in reading and this poetry book does this very well by implementing pictures into the poems. Some poems even required the use of certain pictures to make sense! It is very well written and is a poetry book that children will love.

In the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, we meet Percy Jackson, the half-son of a Greek God. He is sent to Camp Half-Blood, where he learns more about his past, about his father, and learns that the fate of Olympus is in his hands - someone has stolen one of Zeus' lightning bolts and Percy must find it! The book is a great adventure and is part one of a series - great for children who are just getting into the joys of reading and are looking for something that will continue to go on and on. It will hold their attention and make them excited for more. Those who are fans of the Harry Potter series, of Fablehaven, of A Series of Unfortunate Events will enjoy Percy Jackson and the Olympians, especially the Lightning Thief.

Two children are sent to their grandparents house in Connecticut, where they learn that drinking the milk from a magical cow will allow their “eyes to be opened” and they can suddenly see all the magical creatures surrounding their house. They learn that their grandfather is the curator of a place called Fablehaven, an area of protection for these mythical creatures.
The book is very well written and engaging. It kept my attention during the whole book (I even ended up reading the entire series afterward). However, it is essentially the same plot as another series, the Spiderwick Chronicles. That's not a bad thing, but it is very interesting to see Brandon Mull's approach to these fantastical ideas. Children would enjoy this book because they would relate to the two main characters and could easily imagine themselves in the amazing situations the characters find themselves in. Plus, there's dragons.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is one of my favorite books. It is an older picture book and you can tell nowadays because of the illustrations and colors. They are not as vivid and vibrant as some of the beautiful picture books we have in our time. But this book is still a children's book classic. It is full of humor and fantasy and adventure. What kid never dreamed of waking up one morning and seeing it rain meatballs or cheeseburgers? The premise of this book is really “out there”, but it allows a child's imagination to grow and get some exercise. It is a great book and one that I am sure children will be reading for decades to come.

The Lorax has always been one of my favorite children's literature books. It is funny and entertaining and Dr. Seuss always has the best illustrations. However this particular book has always stuck out to me as my favorite. It describes the story of the once selfish Onceler, who stumbled upon the Lorax and began chopping down all his trees. He made a clothing factory and used up all the resources around it to get rich, not caring one bit about the Lorax or the other animals nearby. Soon, the Lorax has to get up and leave, because he can no longer live there. The message of this book is one that is simple enough for children to understand, but important enough for them to want to change something in their lives. I remember, after reading this book and learning the message about taking care of the environment and not being selfish about the way we treat our planet and the people who live on it, I went on a craze to try to economize as much water as I could. I would use as thin a stream of water as I could when washing my hands, I would turn the faucet off when brushing my teeth, and I would even shut the main water switch in my house off if I thought that my dad was taking too long in the shower. This book helped shape me and the ideals that I have today, and I'm sure any child who reads it would still be influenced.

Dr. Seuss' classic picture book is probably the first book I read out loud, on my own. It was really the book that helped me start to speak well. I remember my mom would read this one to me and I would try to speak the words over her until she just gave up and let me read it myself. I was really little, but I can still remember pointing at the words on the pages and trying to sound them out. Then I would go about the house saying “cat”, “hat”, “thing 1” and other words. The Cat In The Hat is a great children's book: it has funny pictures, an engaging story, easy words, rhyming, and it flows very well. Children will love it. Even adults will love it! I still enjoy picking it up and reading it to my younger cousins. It is such a fun book and so funny to children, who maybe hope that a cat in a hat will appear in their house to help them with their chores every time their parents leave them home alone!

It took me over a month to read but only because I enjoyed it so much and didn't want it to end. and I think it may already be in the running for my top read of the year. The prose was beautiful, intriguing and propellant. I never wanted to stop reading. The story and the magic and mystery was so engrossing and insanely creepy. I felt lots of emotions throughout the book. Anger and sadness and goosebumps and shock and even some cringing (in a good way) from the description of some body torture and gore. Ahhhh it was just such a unique book and I'm sad it's over and don't know if I'll ever read something like it again.

I thought this was a great book, especially for kids 11-14. It helps broaden their vision on disabilities and their effects. So many people with autism or other disabilities (such as speech impediments, as addressed in this book) are stereotyped negatively. But really, they are not so different from us. Rules helps to give these types of characters a voice, showing how Catherine deals with the challenge of having an autistic brother and also how she handles her new friend Jason, who was born with a speech impediment and uses a wheelchair. Rules won the Newbery Honor Medal and with good reason. It is a book that helps bring its readers closer to the universe of disabilities, something that hadn't gotten a lot of attention before. It is important for children to read this book with an open mind and gain understanding into the importance of treating others with respect and love. Rules will help this and I think it should be required reading in, say, seventh grade.

The final book in the Harry Potter series contains Harry's final showdown with the evil Lord Voldemort. Children who grew up following this series, like myself, were waiting for this book since day one and it doesn't disappoint. Harry Potter and his friends go on a quest to find the Deathly Hallows, three artifacts that give the owner power over death. Along the way they are stopped by Voldemort's followers and by the looming thought that Voldemort is getting closer and closer to his victory. Children, teenagers, and adults will enjoy this book. It answers all the questions, ties up all the loose ends, and the action doesn't stop for one minute until it is all over. Even when you think Harry and friends are going to be able to sit down and have a nap at Xenophilius Lovegood's cottage, think again, because before they are able to catch their breath, the Death Eaters are on their tail again. This is just one example of the non-stop adventure that will be found by readers of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.