Wonder by R. J. Palacio

When my son was in 6th grade he came home from school all excited about this book called Wonder.  He really liked it and wanted his own copy to read (the special edition from Target with the Julian chapter in it.)  He read it and put it on his book shelf and I forgot about it until I heard it was going to be a movie and I thought I should finally read it.  Well, I finally did and I was a bit underwhelmed.  After all the hype, excitement, and love out there about the book/movie, I think I was expecting too much.   

I did enjoy the book.  The story and told from all the different points of view was surprisingly interesting; I usually find that annoying in stories.  I think I wanted more depth and more details, which I guess isn't very realistic for a children's book.  I gave it 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.   The Julian chapter was my favorite part of the book.  After the entire book of reading how awful Julian was, it was very interesting to read why he did what he did.  It was a good reminder to have compassion for people that don't behave well, you never know what is going on in their lives and that when you do make mistakes, you can apologize and move on with your life. 

After my college-age daughter has read the book, all three of us are going to go see the movie over Christmas break!  I am excited to see the movie version. 

Spring Break, Day 2

Started off the day by missing a doctor appointment.  I have been having problems with that over the last six months.  Took Midwestern daughter to the orthodontist then treated the kids to lunch at the local pancake house.  After that we spend the afternoon watching Ghostbusters and building a new palatial rabbit cage for Rabbit 2 (of 3). 

I read Midwestern son, You're on Your Way, Teddy Roosevelt by Judith St George.  It is really cute, educational, and has a great lesson.  What else could you ask for in a picture book?

The Great Wide Sea by M.H. Herlong

The Great Wide Sea by M.H. Herlong
A 2011 Rebecca Caudill book

I really liked this book for young readers. I find myself thinking about it several days after I finished it, even as I read another book. It follows a family as they sail the Bahamas after the tragic death of their mother. The author only gives you just enough information and leaves you to think/wonder about the rest. The sailing and island tropics descriptions make this a great summer read. Take it along on vacation. I thought the stranded on the island part was a bit common, but the rest of the book was wonderful. I definitely recommend it. This is also a book boys might like.

Cirque Du Freak by Darren Shan

Cirque Du Freak by Darren Shan
Book 1 in The Saga of Darren Shan

This is a Vampire book for Younger Readers. I decided I wanted to read the book after seeing the movie The Vampire's Assistant. The book is the first of 12 books in the series, the Saga of Darren Shan. The Vampire's Assistant is actually the second book in the series--the movie covers more than the first book. I actually didn' t like the movie. It was campy and the effects were really stupid, plus toward the end the plot seemed muddled. I wanted to see if the books were better.

The movie follows the book fairly closely. There are some differences. I did like the book better. The author tried to make the book kind of creepy and for a young reader it probably would have been a bit creepy. I thought the freak show, Cirque Du Freak, was stupid, but I liked the main character, Darren and his interactions with his friends, parents, sister, and the vampire. I'm intrigued enough that I will probably read the next book.

I would recommend this book for grade/early middle school boys. I also think it would be a lot of fun for a parent to read aloud to a child at Halloween; parents of boys that are reluctant to read especially.