It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

To learn more about It's Monday! What Are You Reading? visit Mentor Texts

Niether of these books are on our Mock Newbery list but both are 2014 publications. 

This book was so intriguing I couldn't pass it up.

This book was wonderful. I too, am skeptical when I see that a celebrity has written a book, but I was very pleasantly surprised with Nightmares! It’s just scary enough to keep a reader hooked, but not so scary as to cause him/her actual nightmares.

Genre: Scary    

AR level: 4.8

Grade appropriate: 3rd and up

RATING BREAKDOWN:

Overall: 5/5-- I truly loved this book. I can’t wait to tell our fans of Doll Bones and Dead City about this book!

Creativity: 5/5-- Charlie must venture into the nightmare world to save his little brother.

Characters: 5/5-- Charlie is really struggling with his new stepmother and it is very relatable even if you do get impatient with him at times. Jack is absolutely wonderful, as are Charlie’s friends.

Engrossing: 5/5-- I read it in 2 days.

Writing: 5/5

Appeal to kids: 5/5-- It’s going to fly off the shelf!

Appropriate length to tell the story: 5/5

CONTENT:

Language: none

Sexuality: none

Violence: none-- The nightmares threaten violence like battling animals gladiator style or a witch wanting to eat children, but in true nightmare style the child wakes up or is saved before any actual harm comes.

Drugs/Alcohol: none

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This is a beautiful story that does deal with the issue of race post civil war, but it does not dominate the story. It is only part of the story. 

Genre: Historical

AR level: 5.7

Grade appropriate: 5th and up

RATING BREAKDOWN:

Overall: 4/5-- Fantastic and beautifully handled.

Creativity: 5/5-- What an interesting way to bring two boys together who come from different towns and different backgrounds.

Characters: 5/5-- Loved Red a lot. Benji started out quite hateful but grew throughout the story into a brave and noble person.

Engrossing: 4/5-- Historical fiction is not always the most engrossing. There will be plenty of kids who lose interest before finishing.

Writing: 4/5-- There was quite a bit of confusion at the beginning of the book when both boys’ stories were running parallel and they hadn’t met. It was hard to keep straight who was who.

Appeal to kids: 3/5-- See comments on “Engrossing.”

Appropriate length to tell the story: 4/5

CONTENT:

Language: mild-- Grandma prays for a man who wouldn’t serve her family “That the Lamb of God stirs his hoof through the roof of heaven and kicks your father square in his ass straight down to hell.”

Sexuality: none

Violence: medium- The madman gets shot by a drunken towns person and the boys find him in the woods.

Drugs/Alcohol: medium-- one of the secondary character’s father is an alcoholic and is abusive. (He also ends up shooting the madman…)