Bears! Bears! And more Bears!

Backyard Bears by Amy Cherrix

We see them in the backyard, digging through trash. But what doing we really know about bears? (Here's a hint...Goldilocks was all wrong.) Bears are so much interesting than our stories about them. Backyard Bears takes us into the lives of city bears. What a great pick for reluctant readers!

A Coyote in City Park?

A Pup Called Trouble by Bobbie Pyron

Ever been to a city park? Possums, crows, dogs. You’d expect to see them. But a coyote pup? How did he get there? Trouble finds himself there after his curiosity and impulsivity take him away from the wilds and into a world he knows nothing about. Think of Watership Down,and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, and you’ll have the flavor and feelings of A Pup Called Trouble.  This is a good choice for reluctant readers. Who doesn’t want to read about a coyote trapped in the city?

Books for Animal Lovers...and Who isn't?

 A Dog's Way Home by Bobbie Pyron 

Adventure. Danger. Sadness. Everyone will face these someday. That’s why I connected with A Dog’s Way Home.Abby and her dog Tam are in terrible car accident. Tam, crate and all, is thrown into a rushing river that carries him far away. But It’s more than a dog separated from owner story. It’s about the courage Tam the dog and his owner Abby show as they look for one another. And thankfully, there’s a happy ending! I love books that show the human and animal spirit.

Bogeymen aren’t so scary after all!

Kids from Burnsville,NC helped me celebrate Toe River Art’s 2019 opening. I read aloud from my book Bogeyman 101:A Guide to Bogeyman Around the World. My excellent listeners draw pictures of the bogeymen.
XHere they are!

Do You Need a Friend?

Something I’ve noticed about my favorite writers is that I think they’re writing about me. Maybe not today’s me, or even yesterday’s me, but me someday. That’s what Barbara O’Connor does in Wonderland: The Novel. I found myself in all her main characters (yes, even the dog’s.) Poor little rich girl Rose is in need of a friend. Gypsy girl Mavis, whose mom just can’t find the right job, or man, or life, is never in a place long enough for her to make a friend. There’s Mr Duffy, who is not only mourning his wife but also his dog, and the runway greyhound Henry who only wants a true home. That’s all you need to know. If you’re like me, you won’t put the book down until you find out what happens to these star crossed friends.

I’m really suspecting there is no CM Surrissi. It’s Quinnie Boyd who is writing these mysteries. After all ,how else could the 13 year-old voice be so true? Quinnie Boyd in A Side of Sabotage has grown up, now dealing with friends who both want to be her special friend, the upcoming departure of her first boyfriend and now a sabotage at her Dad’s restaurant. That’s a lot for her to deal with, but she does, in the same funny, insightful way I expect from her. By the way, I guessed wrong when I figured out who was sabotaging Gusty’s. I was tickled to see, when I looked back, that the answer was there all along. That’s what good mysteries do, don’t they?

When I worked as a children’s bookseller, I steered kids away from fantasy for a simple reason: I thought I didn’t like the genre. Then came His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman. The Golden Compass, the first in the series, blew me into fantasy land. Children are disappearing in 12 year old Lyra’s world. Scrappy Lyra, decides to solve the mystery and rescue them. That’s enough of the plot to start.But what I can tell you is thatWhat drew me into to this parallel universe were the daemons. In this world, souls take the form of animal companions. Besides being help mates, they reflect one’s character. The diabolical Mrs. Coulter, Lyra’s mother, has a vicious golden monkey. Lyra’s on again off again father has a snow leopard for his daemon.If you want to go somewhere else, this is the series for you. I’d recommend it for good upper elementary readers and above and of course, us.