Graphic-Novel-Loving Librarian Blog

Summary : Families always enjoy playing games and sports with each other, because they bring family members closer together. But being able to play for fun is one thing but to do it at the professional level is a remarkable feat. There have been many siblings who have played various professional sports together, whether it was the Ripkens and Griffeys in the MLB or the Wilkens and Grants in the NBA.  But no family has ever been able to field an entire team, that is until the Acerra family.  We learn about the brothers love for the game of baseball, their various individual accomplishments, and more amazingly the numerous family   achievements. Vernick gives us an amusing true account of the family being able to field a professional baseball playing in many leagues for a number of years bringing joy to many baseball fans and families alike.   Reference: Vernick, A. (2012). Brothers at bat: The true story of an amazing all-brother baseball team. New York, NY....

Summary: Have you ever wondered if your parents really are your parents? What if you found out that some people, who have been looking for you for years, say that they're your parents? What would you do? For Janie, this is exactly what happens.  She discovers that the missing person picture on the back of a milk carton is a picture of her when she was young. She even remembers the dress that she's wearing in the missing person picture. Janie is beside herself, not knowing how to react or if to even believe it. At one point she's a regular teenager trying to convince her parents to get her driver's permit the next she's wondering if Janie is her real name. When Janie discovers her true identity and her parents true identity, her questions and problems only grow. If what her parents, now grandparents, say is true that she was for removed from her location for her own safety then why is someone publicly looking for her. When Janie does a little investigating on her...

Summary: Were all nursery rhymes fabricated or were they simply unsolved crime mysteries? The only way we can find out is by following Binky. Who's Binky? Well, he's a cop, robbery detail in the Pinecone Division. We get to tag along with Binky as he investigates a break in at the Bears house, a missing person case of a witch who lived in a candy house, and property damage from a giant falling from the sky. See all the popular nursery tale mysteries get solved, where justice is served, and the crime rate in Pinecone drops. Reference: Levinthal, D. & Nickle, J. (2012). Who pushed Humpty Dumpty? And other notorious nursery tale mysteries .  New York, NY. Schwartz & Wade Books. Impressions: This book had me from, "My name's Binky. I'm a cop." I found the stories to be amusing and creative. To re-visit old nursery rhymes as crime mysteries greatly impressed me. I think that this book could be enjoyed by many age groups and not just younger kids. ...

Summary:  Who wouldn't want to be a half-god?  To be the child of an Olympic god would be awesome with a capital A, right?  Well, as we discover, it isn't as great as we might believe.  If you don't believe me just ask young Percy Jackson.  Percy, or Perseus, is an at-risk student who has a proclivity for trouble, not only at home but also at school.  While he is at school strange instances occur, like a bully who is picking on Percy gets pummeled by a flood of water from a water fountain and while on a field trip to the museum he gets attacked by a Fury. What? A Fury? You read correctly, a Fury; a Greek mythological monster. Though he is able to defeat the Fury, who for some reason tries to kill him, Percy is told by his favorite teacher, Mr. Brunner, that he must leave the city and head to a place called Camp Half-Blood.  It is there that Percy will find the answers to many of his questions, or so he is told.  Ironically, Percy's best friend...

Summary: We're all different in our little ways, and we do our best to hide our differences. For some people their differences aren't so easily hidden, which makes some people think that their differences gives them carte blanche to mock them.  In this book by Ellen Potter, 12-year-old Owen is a chubby kid who gets picked on by his classmates and his gym teacher, which often times leaves him feeling dejected and alone. Owen does has a few friends but they aren't the most popular kids in the school either.  To top it all off, his sister, Caitlin has joined a group of girls who are tired of the unequal treatment of girls in the school, and in society, so they decide to give themselves boy's names.  Caitlin insists, then, on being called Jeremy. As if Owen needed more fuel for his tormentors to ignite. However, the most troubling aspect to all of this, is that someone keeps stealing Owen's Oreo cookies from his lunch bag. You can call some people every name in the b...