23 Books {A Bottomless Book Bag}
Monday, April 11, 2022
Ever Faithful: A Vintage National Parks Novel by Karen Barnett
Raising Lumie by Joan Bauer
This is an uplifting book despite the fact it is about an orphan named Olive, a sixth-grader, who has to go and live with her step-sister after her father dies. She has deep grief to deal with and she also has to move away from her school. Her sister, Maddie, is a young adult who is a great example of someone who has been able to survive despite a difficult childhood. Because she wants to save money, Maddie moves Olive and herself into a house share. They share a large house with several adults and these people become a found family.
Maddie also had a new graphic artist job which has a boss who loves dogs. In fact, he is involved in a program to help raise puppies to be seeing-eye dogs. He invites Olive to come to work with Maddie and she meets the puppies and learns all about puppy raisers. She also meets 8th grader, Jordon who is a puppy raiser. He has an eye disease and may find himself blind in the future.
Olive gets the chance to be a puppy raiser and the reader gets to follow the journey of raising a puppy to the point where the dog can go to school to be a seeing-eye dog. This is a dream job for Olive because she has wanted a dog for a long time. She is determined to be very successful. Of course, it isn't always so perfect.
I loved all of the characters and who couldn't resist the puppy called Lumie. The cover of the book shows how stinkingly cute this puppy is. Animal lovers will adore this book. It is a quick read and packs a lot of story into a short book. I loved it and will be promoting this book to all animal lovers.
Pony by R. J. Palacio
This is a book that features photography technology of the time. The father is a brilliant man who has invented a clever way of creating photography which is a front runner in our current photo development. Money counterfeiting is the criminal activity that the gang is operating.
There are some creepy parts to this story, some violence and death as well. But it is also heartwarming and uplifting. The writing is incredible and you will want to savor this book. I would class this book as upper elementary up to young adult. I think many adults will love this book as well.
Wednesday, April 6, 2022
The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong
Monday, April 4, 2022
A Duet For Home by Karina Yan Glaser
Cleo Porter and the Body Electric by Jake Burt
Saturday, March 19, 2022
Maizy Chen's Last Chance by Lisa Yea
Maizy and her mother come back to Last Chance, Minnesota for the summer to help her grandparents until her sick grandfather feels better. Her grandparents run a Chinese restaurant in a small town and they have been doing this their entire life. Maizy and her mom live in Los Angeles and Maisy has never even visited Last Chance. Turns out, grandfather is sicker than they thought and they stay longer. As a result, Maizy gets to know the people of the town and she spends much time with her grandfather. He teaches her poker and tells her stories of her great-great-grandfather and how he ended up running the Golden Palace in small-town Minnesota.
I just loved spending the summer with Maizy and her family and was fascinated by the story of how a young man named Lucky came from China to San Francisco and eventually made his way to Minnesota to make a life. You learn about paper sons, the intercontinental railroad, racism, strength of character, and hardship.
This book is contemporary with a dash of history. There is a mini-mystery but mostly it is a family story with lots of love and Chinese food. :)
Saturday, March 5, 2022
Packing for Mars for Kids by Mary Roach
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
25 Books I Love | Middle Grade March Read-a-Thon
I collected 25 of my favorite middle-grade books that I have read recently. I highly recommend all of them. Check out my list!
Tuesday, February 22, 2022
Middle Grade March 2022 Read-A-Thon
The prompts this year are:
1. Read a book older than you.
2. Read a book with five or more words in the title.
3. Read a book with an orphan as the main character.
4. Read a book with an Asian main character or set in Asia.
5. Read a contemporary book.
If you want to hear more about Pony by R. J. Palacio, check out this book review from Donna. She recently read the book and has posted a review that gives you a good idea of what to expect.
Saturday, February 5, 2022
City Spies: Forbidden City by James Ponti
Saturday, January 29, 2022
How to Train Your Dad by Gary Paulsen
Alone by Megan E. Freeman
Monday, January 17, 2022
Jo Jo Makoons by Dawn Quigley
Sunday, January 16, 2022
Best Middle Grade Books I Read in 2021
This book is so beautifully written and tells the difficult story of two girls who were sexually abused by their mother's boyfriend. Every adult who reads this book loves it and it is really a great book for many middle-school kids. Watch the video linked to the image to learn what the author has to say about the reason she wrote this book.
Monday, January 3, 2022
Starfish by Lisa Fipps
Count Me In by Varsha Bajaj
Friday, December 31, 2021
Best Books I Read in 2021
This is my bookshelf of favorite books in 2021 in no particular order. I read 105 books this year and my goal was 100. Of course, at least 50% of the books I read are middle grade and therefore I can read them much faster. Overall I had a good reading year and most of the books I read were 3, 4, or 5-star books. I had a handful of 2 and 1-star books. Typically I do not finish books if I don't like them and therefore they never get a star rating.
I don't have a #1 favorite book to name this year. Taking a look at my list, I just can't pick out one and so I will just leave it at that. These are the titles that I have most recommended others to read or I have actually just lent out.
I did participate in The Bible in 90 Days reading this year and I was happy to be able to start and finish it in 90 days. Basically, you read about 30 minutes a day from the Bible from Genesis through Revelation in 90 days. What a great accomplishment. I will have to do this again. I used the You Bible App for reading and pacing. I liked changing the version and sometimes even listened to the day's reading portion.
I did some blog posts about some of these books titles and I have linked them below. In 2022, I plan to keep this blog for my middle-grade books that I read. I will post my adult reads on Instagram and Facebook with a short review.
I also enjoyed keeping track of my books on Good Reads this year. I have a handful of friends who also track their reading this way and it was so fun to see what they were reading over the year. You can find me on Good Reads by my name, Diane Yliniemi. Try it out!
I am going to keep my Book of the Month this year too. I really enjoy this subscription book service. I actually picked three books for January since I anticipate lots of reading around a cozy fire during the cold winter months.
Scribd is another new service I now subscribe to. It has audio and eBooks that I can listen to or read. It is like Netflix for books! This was so good when I was traveling this summer because there were so many audiobooks to choose from. It also has so many middle-grade books and that is a bonus for keeping up with reading books for school.
Here is my list. If I have written a review, I have linked the books. Otherwise, I have a short summary.
The Story of Arthur Truluv, Night of Miracles, The Confession Club
Big Lies in a Small Town
Two timelines of 1940 and 2018 tell the story and mystery of a post office mural that was created and then later restored.
If I Were You, The Wishbook Christmas
The first story, If I Were You, is about two girlfriends who served in England during the blitz in London during WWII. One if from the working class and one is from nobility but the war evens the social classes. One of the women ends up pretending to be the other in order to survive after the war.
The Wishbook Christmas is a novella follow-up about the women and their families after the war.
Tuesday, November 9, 2021
Too Small Tola by Atinuke
Sunday, October 31, 2021
The Elephant in the Room by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Monday, September 6, 2021
When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Peach Pie by Erin Soderberg Downing
Saturday, September 4, 2021
Favorite Middle Grade Books from Summer Reading
I will admit that I read a lot more adult books this summer, however, I still ended up with 10 terrific books to recommend for a middle-grade reader. Check out my favorites!
Hattie Big Sky
This book is based on a true story about a young teenager who goes to Montana to homestead her Uncle's portion after his death. I loved this book back when it first came out in 2006. I listened to the audio a few years back and loved it again. On my summer trip, while driving through Montana, I listened to it again. That's high praise for a book when I can say I read it three times. I think I loved the sequel even more. Check out the next link.
Inkling
This is a fantasy about a little ink blot who comes to life and befriends a boy and his family in their struggles. Lots of pictures will make this a great book for kids and I loved the heartwarming story.
City Spies: Golden Gate
This is the second book in the City Spies series. This time the kids end up in San Francisco with lots of mystery, adventure, and spying.
Red, White, and Whole
Reha is an Indian American girl who feels torn between two cultures and also has to deal with her mother's serious illness. This book is written in verse and is beautiful and heartbreaking.
Max & the Midknights
The author of Big Nate has a new series set in the middle ages. This funny story is about Max and the quest to become a knight. It is a graphic novel-style book and is sure to be a hit with young readers.
From the Desk of Zoe Washington
Zoe learns that her father is in prison and starts to write to him discovering that he was falsely accused of his crime. As she gets to know him, she wants to help him get out of prison.