Eve's Fan Garden

‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.” (from “The Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll) I have made it no secret that I am a huge Lewis Carroll fan. I get lost in the brilliance of his writing from his creation [...]

From Goodreads.com: Ellie Taylor loves nothing better than a good argument. So when she gets accepted to the Christian Society Speech and Performing Arts summer camp, she’s sure that if she wins the final tournament, it’ll be her ticket to a scholarship to the best speech school in the country. Unfortunately, the competition at CSSPA [...]

Congratulations to Clete Barrett Smith on the release of his first novel, Aliens on Vacation! Aliens on Vacation is the first installment of the Intergalactic Bed and Breakfast series. Aliens on Vacation has been optioned by Disney and may be a major motion picture! For more information about Aliens on Vacation and Clete Barrett Smith, [...]

Let’s go, mighty Joe, Battle like the Alamo, Hey, hey, mighty Joe, Time to bomb `em – there you go! Go, go, mighty Joe! Get `em good – there you go. Elmira, New York, 1937 – hope was in short supply, especially if you were African American. The Great Depression had hit hard.  Then, Joe [...]

  From hatchetttebookgroup.com: What if a beautiful vintage dress could take you back in time? Louise Lambert has always dreamed of movie starlets and exquisite gowns and longs for the day when she can fill the closet of her normal suburban home with stylish treasures. But when she receives a mysterious invitation to a vintage [...]

When I started teaching poetry in my classroom, I also started collecting poetry for children. One of my favorite writers is Shel Silverstein. Actually, my first experience with Shel Silverstein dates back to when I was really little. I would spend part of my summer at my Granny’s house. Granny was a teacher so she [...]

I guess you think you know this story. You don’t. The real one’s much more gory… ~Opening lines of Cinderella by Roald Dahl   When most of us think of Roald Dahl, the first thing that comes to mind are his novels for children – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,  The BFG,  Matilda,  James and [...]

From  Goodreads.com: Welcome to Anara, a world mysteriously crumbling to devastation, where nothing is what it seems: Ancient relics emit technologically advanced powers, members of the old Order are hunted by the governing Watch yet revered by the people, and the great energy that connects all seems to also be destroying all. The only hope [...]

Title: Titanic – Book One, Unsinkable Author: Gordon Korman Synopsis: (from the back of the book) The Titanic is meant to be unsinkable, but as it begins its maiden voyage, there’s plenty of danger waiting for four of its young passengers. Paddy is a stowaway, escaping a deadly past. Sophie’s mother is delivered to the [...]

Title: Bones – Terrifying Tales to Haunt Your Dreams Authors: Elizabeth C. Bunce, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, David Leviathan, Margaret Mahy, Richard Peck, R.L. Stine, Todd Strasser Editor: Lois Metzger Synopsis: (from the back of the book) These bone-chilling stories by some of today’s top writers may keep you awake at night! Just remember: Skeletons don’t [...]

Title: The Case of the Beagle Burglar Author: Nancy Krulik Synopsis: (from the back of the book) Until this morning, I was a regular third grader. Then something crazy happened: I was walking my dog Scout when a squirrel hit me with an acorn. BONK! Suddenly I could talk to – and understand -  Scout, [...]

From the back cover “blurb”:  Scrub isn’t happy about leaving Florida and his friends to summer with his grandmother in “Middle of Nowhere:”.  When he arrives at her Intergalatic Bed and breakfast, he isn’t surprised by its 605 meets Star Wars décor. But he is surprised by the weird looking guests. It turns out that [...]

Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading by Tommy Greenwald, illustrated by J.P. Coovert From Goodreads.com Charlie Joe Jackson may be the most reluctant reader ever born, which has worked out really well for him so far, until he pushes his luck too far one day in middle school… I received this as an Advance [...]

A few weeks ago, I received an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of Meg Cabot’s Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls Book #6 Blast From the Past. I wasn’t really familiar with this series, so I immediately checked out the earlier books from the library.  Allie Finkle is nine year old girl whose parents uprooted her and [...]

My friend, Meagen Fox, is a 7th grade teacher in the Cherry Creek  School district in Colorado. She used Beastly in her curriculum this past year. Here’s what she has to say about the experience: At first, I wasn’t sure there was any way a retelling of the fairy tale, “Beauty and the Beast”, could [...]