Blog Archive

Google Search Stories

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…

PDL Book Sale – October 2, 2010

It is absolutely amazing that I made it to two of these sales in a row. Again, I picked up a bag-load of books for $12.70. Here’s what I got: Short story collections and novels: Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? by Lorrie Moore. Even if I had never heard of Lorrie Moore, the title …read more…

Every Man for Himself: Ten Short Stories About Being a Guy edited by Nancy Mercado

I don’t know how I missed this one, but I did. And I’m a bit upset about that, because there are some fine stories in here. I warmed to this book from the very beginning, because Nancy Mercado tells us …what these stories are not. They are not stories about your voice changing, learning how …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…

Brothers by Yin

In this sequel to Coolies, Shek and Wong’s younger brother Ming arrives in San Francisco from China to stay with his brothers and work in their store. Although he is admonished not to leave Chinatown, he eventually does, making his way to the local school. He meets the irrepressible Patrick, an Irish immigrant his own …read more…

Coolies by Yin

As this book opens in modern times, a young unnamed boy hears the story of his ancestors, Shek and Wong, as they came to the United States from China and worked on the railroads in California, experiencing long hours, hard work, and over racism, while at the same time managing to hold on to their …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…

PDL Book Sale – August 7, 2010

The Portage District Library had a book sale yesterday. They have six of them a year, but for some strange reason, I seem able to only get to about half of them. It’s always a lot of fun, and you can pick up some great bargains. Most paperbacks are three for a dollar, hardcovers are …read more…