I just found out about another interesting digital story-telling tool: Google Search Stories. This tool allows you to make 30-second movies, like the one Google used during the 2010 Super Bowl. Now, you can’t do all the neat things that they did in the commercial, but you can still come up with some creative stuff. …read more…
The Surprise by Sylvia van Ommen
This completely wordless book presents us first with a mystery: what is Sheep doing? After taking some measurements, Sheep finally shears off all her wool, dyes it red, and takes it to Poodle, who spins it into yarn. She (or he?) then works late into the night, knitting a special surprise. I won’t ruin the …read more…
My Name is Brain Brian by Jeanne Betancourt
If you’ve read my posts up to now, you’ll know how strongly I feel about what makes a book work or not. And if you’ve read my “10+ Rules” page (see the link above) and I tell you that the first chapter of this book is called “The Jokers Club” (sic) you can pretty much …read more…
Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen
Worried about finding enough money to buy a new inner tube for his bike, a twelve-year-old boy gets an old riding mower from his grandmother for his birthday. Soon he is mowing his neighbors’ lawns, and making more money than he thought possible. When he meets Arnold, a stockbroker who teaches him about managing money, …read more…
Attack of the Growling Eyeballs by Lin Oliver
I’ve reviewed the Hank Zipzer books twice, and while I’ve had plenty to say about Hank Zipzer and Henry Winkler, I said nothing about Mr. Winkler’s cowriter, Lin Oliver, because I had never heard of her until I encountered the Hank Zipzer books, and knew nothing of her writing. So I did what I always …read more…