Advance of a New Comeback Kids

I've just finished an advance copy of a new installment of Mike Lupica's Comeback Kids Series called Long Shot. The book is slated for a November 2008 release, which is appropriate since it follows two 11 year old boys through a middle school presidential election.

Pedro Morales is a basketball point guard with skills, and the desire to work hard. Ned Hancock is his team mate and the superstar player of every sport in their hometown. It is just assumed that Ned will be the captain of every sports team and also elected class president. Pedro's father immigrated from Mexico with his family as a boy and has worked hard to put himself through cooking school and is about to open his own restaurant. His positive attitude and "can do" attitude about everything is Pedro's inspiration to run for class president. Ned reacts like a jerk toward Pedro on the court and in the classroom, forcing Pedro to draw on his father's strength to be the better person.

I've read two other of the Comeback Kids Series and I like this one the best. Lupica always does the sports descriptions with great detail and accuracy. In this one he does the life lessons just as effectively. The positive portrayal of the Hispanic family will also make this a great addition to the library.

I'm off to start The Magic Thief.

Book Two and a Morning of Fun

Just an update on my progress. I just finished my second book of the challenge, although it may be borderline as for the reading level. It's an adaptation of a play by Tom Isbell called Teddy Roosevelt and the Treasure of Ursa Major. Ronald Kidd did the adaptation. Obviously it's a quick read about the Roosevelt kids being sent on a scavenger hunt through the White House by their father, BULLY! It's got some good humor and interesting facts about the White House. It reminded me a lot of the National Treasure movies which I love being the history buff that I am. All in all a fun book put out by The Kennedy Center.

As you have read on numerous other blogs several of us met for breakfast and then a trip to the fabulous Cover to Cover Bookstore. It was a morning of good food, a big bowl of granola with vanilla yogurt and fresh strawberries, great book conversations with other bloggers and a new children's author, and best of all FREE STUFF! The free stuff has led me to amend my original list as I picked up some advance copies of a couple of new books in series that I like. I'm adding these three to my list, advance copies of the new Comeback Kids series by Mike Lupica called Long Shot and an advance copy of another football book from Tim Green called Football Hero which I think may already be released.

I'm also adding The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas since we heard her speak this morning.

48 Hour Challenge Update - 1:30 PM (Karen)

Wow! What a great kick-off to the 48 Hour Challenge -- had breakfast with 7 other Columbus bloggers -- Stella, Abby, Karen S., Katie, Franki, Mary Lee, Bill, and then me. Great breakfast and had fun meeting Stella (My World - Mi Mundo).

Then, we headed to Cover to Cover and the real fun began! Sally Oddi, the owner of CTC, graciously allowed us to look through gallies of both new, and soon to be released books. We were like kids in a candy store; we couldn't look at things fast enough. As we were combing through the piles, the visiting author, Sarah Prineas, came back to see what was going on. We eventually moved back into the main part of the bookstore and got to hear Sarah speak about her new fantasy book, The Magic Thief (part of at least a trilogy, and possibly more). Then, we browsed some more on our own. Many pictures were taken, and I promise I'll post them later this afternoon.

Now, I'm home on my comfy couch, hanging out inside since it's too hot and humid to be out on my beloved screen porch. As soon as I finish this entry, I'm beginning my reading.

Books on my pile:

Dark of the Moon by John Sanford (I'm starting with an adult book)
Smiles to Go by Jerry Spinelli
The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas
4 Kids in 5E & 1 Crazy Year by Virginia Frances Schwartz
The Bronze Pen by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Along Came Spider by James Preller
Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson

So, with that said, I'm off to read! I'll check in once in a while, and let you know general comments about what I've finished, but my blog reviews will come after the 48 Hour Challenge. Stay tuned...

48 Hour Challenge for Karen...

The 48 Hour Challenge for me starts Saturday morning at 9:00 AM with some great bloggers from the Columbus, Ohio area. The group will include me, Bill (my blog partner), MaryLee and Franki from A Year of Reading, Katie from Creative Literacy, and Stella from the fairly new blog, Learn Love Grow. We will gather at one of our favorite breakfast places (Northstar Cafe), and then proceed to the wonderful children's bookstore here in town, Cover to Cover. We will be shopping and reading and blogging while there. And, to make a 48 Hour Challenge even better, we will have an opportunity to hear Sarah Prineas, the author of The Magic Thief, speak at Cover to Cover.

Are we going to have a fabulous 48 Hour Challenge or what??!!

One Book Down

It took me the whole day, between swimming and watching my son play baseball, they won and he had a great hit, but I finished my first book, When the Sergeant Came Marching Home by Don Lemna.

It's a post WWII book that takes place in Montana. The main character's father comes home from the war and moves the family to a farm in the middle of nowhere, with no indoor plumbing or electricity. The boy hates it and makes plans to save ten dollars so he can run off to Hollywood. As time passes, he realizes the country life isn't so bad and decides to stay. The book has a great blend of humor and struggle to make it an enjoyable read. It brought to mind many of Richard Peck's books that tell of the simple life in the country in a similar time period. I'll be adding it to our library collection in the fall, but for now, I'll keep reading, so many books so little time!

48 Hour Reading Challenge Book Pile

I know, I know, I said I would post my reading challenge book pile early this morning. Well, it's my first day of summer break, and I didn't get out of bed quite as early as I had planned, and then there were some things that I needed to take care of for the student trips to Boston that I host, and then I need to run to the store to pick up some breakfast groceries and so now I am getting around to making my list. It's probably not long enough, but I'll add as I go, and and I always reserve the right to change in the middle. Here it is, in no particular order:





Thank You Lucky Stars by Beverly Donofrio
Teddy Roosevelt and the Treasure of Ursa Major by Ronald Kidd
Dear Sylvia by Alan Cumin
The Bronze Pen by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
When the Sergeant Came Marching Home by Don Lemna
The Trouble With Rules by Leslie Bulion

My plan is to kick it off around 1:00. I'm headed to pool with my family and it seems like the perfect start to summer.

Last Day!

Well, another year in the books today. That makes 23 if my math is correct, and to my way of thinking, it was one of my best yet. Our last day was a bittersweet one, our principal, who opened the building with many of us 12 years ago is retiring and so his final comments to the staff were filled with memories and tears all around. He is moving on to a new adventure, a mission to Africa to work with children there as part of his church. He's willing to do whatever needs to be done, just so he's "not in charge" as he told me once.

Adding to the sad side of things today was the loss of my library aid, Yvonne. Thank goodness I got the benefit of her knowledge and expertise for one year, she taught me a lot about running a library. Not only will I miss her help, I will miss her daily friendship, and common sense that helped me make so many decisions this year. Unfortunately during budget cuts these hard working, behind the scenes people are the first to go.

On a more upbeat note, as I turned out the lights in the library now named for our retiring principal, I looked back and a smile came through the tears. I had a real sense of accomplishment and pride in a job well done this year. For the first time in a while, I wasn't quite ready to leave, but I know exciting things will happen next year after a summer of recharging the batteries.

My recharging starts tomorrow with Mother Reader's 48 Hour Reading Challenge. I'll post the titles in my stack early tomorrow morning as I get started!