My Favorite Authors

Looking for a good read. A lot of these authors are fantasy authors and all are my favorite.


1. Jeniene Frost : The Night Huntress Series

2. Kelley Armstrong : Women of the Other world Series, The Darkest Power trilogy ( young adult book ) and the new Darkness Rising trilogy: first book: The Gathering.

3. Kim Harrison : Rachel Morgan or aka The Hollows series

4. Jim Butcher : The Dresden Files, The Codex Alera series

5. Ilona Andrews : Kate Daniels Series

6. Anne Bishop : Black Jewel books

7. Yasmine  Galernorn : Sisters of the Moon or AKA The Other world series

8. James Rollins : Thriller, Suspense, Mystery writer. Sigma series.

9. Jeanne C. Stein : Anna Strong series

10. Robert B. Parker : Virgil and Cole books. Starting with Appaloosa. Westerns.

11. Tanya Huff : Blood Book Series.

12. Carrie Vaughn : Kitty Norville Series

13. Charlaine Harris : Sookie Stackhouse Series. This is the series that True Blood is based on. Love the television series.

Hope Was Here Book Trailer

Blood and Chocolate Book Trailer

Al Capone Does My Shirts Book Trailer

Fresh Start

The only reason I had this blog started in the first place was for a class assignment, a Children's and Youth Lit class for my Master of Library and Information Sciences. So that is finally done and I figured since I had the blog space now, I would use it. I got an 80% on the blog assignment. In case you were wondering.

Module Fifteen : Draw Me a Star

This book follows an artist's journey as he creates his own world.

Bibliography:  Carle, Eric (1992). Draw me a star. New York, NY: Philomel Books.

I enjoyed the simplicity of the story and the illustrations, abstract and beautiful in their own right.

Reviews:

Publishers Weekly

During his youth, this gifted authorartist explains in his newest book's afterword, his German grandmother would often draw him a star while chanting a nonsense rhyme. Taking that symbol as his foundation, Carle here creates a world pulsating with life and color-a world that bursts forth from a good star sketched by a young artist. This kaleidoseopic pentagram requests a sun from the artist's pen; the sun asks for a tree, and so on until a man and woman are living happily among Carle's characteristic collages-flora and fauna of all shapes, sizes and vivid hues. Meanwhile the artist, now a bearded old man, continues to draw and create. This unusual, practically plotless work seems to embody a personal scenario close to the artist's heart. His unadorned language, pulsing with a hypnotic rhythm, adroitly complements the familiar naive artwork. Though some may be disturbed by similarities between Carle's evolving world and the biblical creation story (the unclothed male and female figures, for example), this tale of imagination and creativity pays homage to the artist within all of us-and may well fire youngsters' imaginations. Ages 4-up. (Sept.)

Children's Literature

"Draw me a star. And the artist drew a star. It was a good star". So begins another of Carle's deceptively simple picture books. The star asks the artist to draw her a sun. Then the warm sun asks the artist to draw a tree and the tree puts in a request for some people. The people need a house which needs a dog and so on until the artist is asked by the moon to draw her a star and the cycle is almost complete. The artist starts out as a toddler drawing the star, and matures through the book. This unique version of the creation story can be interpreted on many levels. Carle's painted tissue paper collages are, as always, brilliant. 1998 (orig.

Children's Literature

This poetically dreamy story tells of an artist whose creations continually inspire until he actuates a universe bursting with dynamic color and life. Subtle themes are inscribed in the simple text. There is the life-long consuming passion of the artistic process, and the glory of an artist who holds onto a star and "together, they travel across the night sky."

School Library Journal

K-Gr 4-- A young boy is told (readers are not sure by whom) to ``Draw me a star.'' The star then requests that the boy draw it a sun; the sun asks for a ``lovely tree,'' and throughout his life the boy/man/artist continues to create images that fill the world with beauty. The moon bids the now-elderly artist to draw another star, and as the story ends, the artist travels ``across the night sky'' hand-in-hand with the star. This book will appeal to readers of all ages; its stunning illustrations, spare text, and simple story line make it a good choice for story hour; but older children will also find it uplifting and meaningful. Especially pleasing is a diagram within the story, accompanied by rhyming instructions on how to draw a star: ``Down/ over/ left/ and right/ draw/ a star/ oh so/ bright.'' An inspired book in every sense of the word.-- Eve Larkin, Middleton Public Library , WI

BookList

In this large, brightly illustrated picture book, an artist draws a star, which asks him to draw a sun, which asks him to draw a tree, which asks him to draw a man and a woman . . . and so on. There are biblical overtones, with the man and woman next to the tree looking like Adam and Eve before the Fall, but within a few pages the house is built, the tulips are up, and the scene becomes modern, from houseplants to clothes. Soon, the night asks the artist to draw a moon, and the moon requests a star, bringing the text full circle. Then there's a switch. A drawing lesson demonstrates how to make an eight-pointed star. Next, the artist's star carries him, floating Chagall-like, across the dark, star-spangled sky. On the last page, Carle addresses a letter to his "Friends" describing how his grandmother showed him how to draw a star while reciting a nonsense rhyme, and how his trip on a shooting star inspired this book. The illustrations, in Carle's signature style, are collages of painted, torn, and cut papers. A free-spirited, original offering.

In the library, this could be used during a banned book week display. Or in conjunction with a teacher's art lesson.

Cover rights belong to Eric Carle

Module Fourteen: Awful Ogre's Awful Day

Follow Awful Ogre as he starts his day, his daily activities, and back to bed at the end of the day.

Bibliography: Prelutsky, Jack (2001). Awful Ogre's Awful Day. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.

I really liked this book. At times, it could be a bit gross, but an ogre isn't a nice clean monster. I love how the poems had a rhythm that made them fun to read, and it felt a lot like a normal story, even in poem form.

Reviews:

Publishers Weekly

Prelutsky uncorks his latest collection of light verse, a divinely wretched celebration of subversity. Every detail of Awful Ogre's day offers possibility for gross-outs, from sunup ("I flick aside the lizard/ Clinging grimly to my chin,/ And now I feel I'm ready/ For my morning to begin") to sundown (a sly swat at Goodnight Moon as Awful Ogre drifts off to sleep with "Good night to furtive spiders/ That lurk in murky wells./ Good night to loathsome vermin/ With nauseating smells"). Whether he's writing a love letter to an ogress ("I long for the sight/ Of your craggy gray face,/ The might of your bone-breaking,/ Painful embrace") or puttering in the garden ("I'm growing carnivorous roses/ And oceans of overblown mold"), Awful Ogre proves an ideal agent for Prelutsky's oversize humor. Switching gears from the lushness of his Caldecott-winning Rapunzel, repeat collaborator Zelinsky presents Awful Ogre as a grotesque but goofy innocent, sillier than he is sinister. Awful may have only one eye and green hair, and a skunk might indeed curl up in his left nostril, yet he has a childlike sweetness as he dances (shown in a series of a dozen panels) or snuggles up in bed with his cactus. A virtuoso performance by two master funny-bone-ticklers. Ages 6-up. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Children's Literature

A series of eighteen imaginative verses, filled with gruesomely descriptive language, details the day of the ogre as told by himself. The rhythm of the rhymes changes with the subject, from disgusting meals and unusual love-letter to storm and bedtime, complete with reverse nightmares. The grisly, repulsive humor should appeal enormously to most kids; parents and teachers may find some hard to stomach through their laughter. Zelinsky draws the double-page scenes with devilish delight, tinting them with appropriate colors to enhance the graphic impact. Don't miss the borders, like that being torn on the jacket/cover by the ogre and repaired on the title page by tiny workers in hard hats. Many other inventive details are hidden throughout; both poems and illustrations will require many readings for full appreciation. 2001, Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins, $15.95. Ages 6 to 12. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

School Library Journal

Gr 1-5-This collection of 18 witty poems chronicles a day in the life of Awful Ogre. He towers over buildings and ordinary folk with his carpet of grass-green hair; red, bulbous nose; and single, large, green-and-yellow eye. He doesn't sound real cute, but underneath he's one swell guy. In "Awful Ogre's Breakfast," Prelutsky has fun with the normal breakfast routine. The spread depicts the ogre leaning back on his chair, gazing into his bowl of, yes, scream of wheat, complete with tongues and teeth. Children are sure to memorize Prelutsky's inventive verse and will avidly search the illustrations for their hidden jokes. Take for instance "Awful Ogre's TV Time," in which his favorite channel is the Chopping Network. In "Awful Ogre Dances," Prelutsky's prose stretches across the bottom half of the spread in perfect accompaniment to Zelinsky's dozen frames of Awful Ogre lithely (honestly) gliding across the top half. "I dance with abandon/Bravura, and zest,/I carom off boulders/And beat on my chest./I pirouette wildly/And leap into space/With power, panache,/And unparalleled grace." Even though Awful Ogre claims to be the awfulest of all, he remains awfully appealing throughout his rants and misadventures. Consider purchasing an extra copy-just in case he is checked out for an awfully long time.-Lisa Gangemi Krapp, Middle Country Public Library, Centereach, NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

In a library setting this would be a good story time read to introduce kids to poetry. Or could be done with a teaching unit on poetry.

Cover rights belong to Paul O. Zelinsky