GreenBeanTeenQueen

I love love love giving books for the holidays (really, what booklover doesn't and being a librarian my family and friends have come to expect it!) So I thought I'd compile some of my favorite books to give as gifts this week and come up with GreenBeanTeenQueen's Holiday Gift Guide! Today I'm featuring great picture books! (And I'm trying not to go overboard in my lists, so this is no way comprehensive and there are so many more books I could add-these are just some of my go-to favorites) All items are linked to the Book Depository-yay free shipping! Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See ? By Bill Martin Jr, Illustrated by Eric Carle (Board Book Edition) -Any baby shower I attend, this is my staple. This is a classic go-to book and I love that it's in board book format. So many books don't translate well to the board book format because they're too wordy, but Brown Bear is perfectly simple and wonderful for all ages. The sing-song tone and illustration...

I've finished up my Gateway Committee reading and am now moving on to the list for next year (which already has about 40 books on it!) So here are a few more of my flash reviews on some of the Gateway titles I read (and again, this is just my opinion and not the opinion of the committee). Writing these short reviews help me formulate my thoughts so I can figure out what to rate each title. You can see my first Flash Review List here. Rating: 3/5 Hmm...not sure what to say about this one. I liked it and I didn't. It was very much a middle of the road book for me. The story was interesting enough-the main character's friend begins to loose control after an accident with his brother and the bullying at school begins to push him to the edge. The story is told from the "witness" point of view-how he sees things happen and unfold. It just didn't really stand out to me, but I thought it was a book worth reading. Rating: 2.5/5 Well, this one makes me feel like I don...

Hi all! Just a quick note to let you know I'm still recovering from hosting Thanksgiving and having ten family members at my house over the week! I'll be back soon with contests and ideas for bookish holiday gifts. If you have any favorite books or bookish gifts, I'd love to hear about them!

I got a special surprise from 'A' this week! I got a package from A with this note inside: The note says "Time to turn up the heat and see what secrets are revealed. Happy Thanksgiving!-A" And then I found this: An Apple Pie from 'A' with her initials all over it! Of course we had to bake it on Thanksgiving! Thanks A! And it got me very excited for the upcoming premire of Pretty Little Liars. I'm ready for the show to start back up! Don't worry, I've got the videos to get you caught up. Here's a recap of everything that's happened so far in case you missed it: And of course a preview of the new season:

Our newest state booklist will be released soon-our ratings for the books on the shortlist are due December 1st! I'm compiling my thoughts on some of the Gateway Award Nominees since our ratings are due soon. These will be shorter than normal reviews aka "flash reviews." While these books are shortlisted on the Gateway Award List and I am a reader selector for the list, these reviews reflect my own personal opinion and not that of the committee or the Missouri School Library Association. (And this isn't all of the books-I'm still working on several and I've reviewed many others already on this blog!) I'll keep you updated on the final list and try and post more of my reviews as I read. If you've read any, I'd love to know your thoughts! Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas Rating: 3/5 I really wanted to like this book since I typically love novels in verse. But this one fell short for me. The characterization was lacking-there were seve...

So I participated in the 2010 Debut Author Challenge (I set a goal of 15 books and right now I'm at 24!) I love reading Debut books so of course I'm going to participate again next year! The challenge is hosted by The Story Siren and you can find more info on her site. Be sure to join in-the prize packs each month are very cool and you get to read lots of awesome YA! So what am I planning on reading? 1. Unearthly by Cynthia Hand 2. Across the Universe by Beth Revis 3. Timeless by Alexandra Monir 4. Choker by Elizabeth Woods 5. How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy by Crystal Allen 6. Rival by Sara Bennett-Wheeler 7. A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford 8. Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton 9. Entwined by Heather Dixon 10. Clarity by Kim Harrington 11. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys 12. Kat the Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis 13. Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton 14. The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder 15. Divergent by Veronica Roth 16. Awaken by Kate Kacvinsky 17....

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted here at GreenBeanTeenQueen! Join the fun and share your great tween reads below. Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Non-Fiction/Humor Release Date: 5/11/2010 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Everyone poops. So why don't we ever talk about it history class? How did they go to the bathroom in the Middle Ages-they sure didn't have indoor plumbing! Who invented the modern toilet? How to astronauts go to the bathroom in space? Poop Happened is a look at the history of the world from the bottom up. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I'm always looking for fun, creative non-fiction to booktalk during my school visits. Poop Happened fits that description perfectly! The book is full of fun facts and illustrations and I know many middle school boys (and girls) will be excited to pick this one up. I love the way the book is set up. The chapters are short and quick to read. In addition to the main chapter information, there's a lot of sidebar information and bo...