From the Cover:  Do you play the piano?  I do.  Miss Kari, my piano teacher, tells me that true artistry takes great imagination.  It also takes a lot of practice.  The big day of my piano recital is almost here, and hoo boy, have I been practicing!  I’ve even got the help of my lucky hat and shoes – not to mention my lucky underwear!  What could possibly go wrong?

With true understanding of the challenges of live performance, Alison McGhee and Scott Menchin have created an ode to improvisation, chutzpah, and the power of lucky underwear.

My Review:  This is such a cute book and takes me back to the days when my children played piano and the annual piano recital!  I love this book because the little girl (main character) has so much confidence that she  truly believes that she is creative and talented, and also I love that she works very hard and enjoys playing piano!  This is a good book to teach children to have a “Plan B” in case “Plan A” fails to succeed.  Plan B might just do the trick!   Don’t give up – think of something new that will work.  The adults in our main character’s life are SO encouraging and affirming.  No wonder the little girl loves piano!  She is not afraid that she will fail or upset her parents and other adults in her life.  This book is accelerated reading book level 2.4, so it will be perfect in my classroom library.  I also plan to read it aloud.  I can’t wait!

I am heading back to school August 10 – the kids begin August 12 and I need some ideas of a great picture-book read aloud for my new class of 7 year old children.  I usually read Officer Buckle and Gloria and I will still read this because it helps set up classroom rules.  I would like some other good ideas dealing with first day of school, making friends, creating classroom rules, making good choices, including everyone, bullies, behavior, etc., etc.  I would also love just some really FUN books.  Thank you for your help.  I am also in the middle of a move to a new house, so I don’t have time to look for one without HELP!  I wouldn’t mind if you suggest books for the WHOLE year.  I just love, love, love books for kiddos!  If you do as well suggesting books for this as you did for chapter books for girls, I will be so happy!

No! Never! is a delightful children’s book about Daisy the Dalmatian.  She doesn’t want to eat her veggies, clean her room, take a bath, do her homework or any other chore.  She is adament about this until her mother explains that she won’t reach any of her other goals until she completes the goals of taking care of herself.

My Review:  While reading this book all I could think about was ways I could use in it my second grade classroom.  First of all, it is great for teaching making and reaching goals.  I also thought it would be great for teaching quotation marks, which is one of our standards.  They are used throughout the book, as it is written in conversational style.  I always enjoy books by Sally O. Lee.  I wish they were Accelerated Reader leveled, but nonetheless they make great read alouds and discussion starters in my classroom.  The illustrations and stories are just plain sweet and kid-friendly.  This will also be great for my 8 year old, 6 year old and 3 year old granddaughters!  Children love dogs!  They make great main characters!  I recommend this book!

Product Description:The second book in the Above the Line series finds independent filmmakers Chase Ryan and Keith Ellison at the center of Hollywood wheeling and dealing. The two friends discover that all that glitters is not gold—and that success in Tinsel Town could cost them everything—their relationships as well as their ideals. 
From the Back Cover
Filmmakers Chase Ryan and Keith Ellison have completed their first feature film, and Hollywood is buzzing with the news. In the wake of that excitement, the producers acquire rights to a novel that has all the ingredients they want for their next project. At the same time they cross paths with a well-connected player who introduces them to the right people, and suddenly every studio in town wants to talk to Chase and Keith. The producers’ dreams are on the verge of coming true, but Chase’s marriage is strained and Keith’s daughter — Andi Ellison — is making questionable choices in her quest for stardom. The producers are gaining respect and are on the verge of truly changing culture through the power of film — but is the change worth the cost? 

My Review:  Check out the promo video on YouTube for a good preview of the book.  As always, Karen Kingsbury has a winner.  She seems to connect well to her reader.  If I had a middle school or high school daughter at home still, I would not hesitate to give them this book.   Even as a grandmother, I enjoyed it!  The book deals with real life issues of love, family, temptation, sin, and the human condition.  Kingsbury has a way of keeping you reading and wanting more.  I think living near L.A. and recently seeing the moving Fireproof and all of  it’s sequels, this book was especially interesting to me.  The main characters in this book want to make a difference with their films, just like the church in Georgia wants to make a difference with their films.  I recommend this book highly – another great summer read!

From Back Cover:  When her husband, John, is recruited to be a big-time hedge fund manager, Marcy Emerson gives up her job, uproots her life, and moves from Chicago to New York City.  But try as she might, March is never going to fit into one of the supposed seven categories of Hedge Fund Wives – the Accidental, the Westminster, the Stephanie Seymour, the Former Secretary, the Socialite, the Workaholic, or the Breeder – especially when behind every male may lurk a stab in the back.

In a perfect world John would have been there to help her navigate the waters, but in this volatile financial market, relationships have a way of nosediving faster than the Dow, and Marcy quickly finds herself tossed aside for a thinner, blonder model.  But while living out of suitcases and drowning her sorrows in cocktails, Marcy realizes it’s time to get back up on her own two feet again…and fight for those things in life that are far more important than money.

My Review:   Every once in a while it is fun to take a peek at how the “other half” lives, and this book provides just that.   I liked the main character, Marcy, but found her rather naive and gullible at times.  Her marriage and family dynamics were both rather odd to me.  Neither seemed especially healthy, although in many ways, she herself seemed healthy and she was likable.  Her husband, John, was the kind of man you love to hate.  The marriage never seemed especially stable from the beginning of the book.  As you can tell from the description of the book above, people who seemingly have it all are still not necessarily happy.  I enjoyed this book, but I could live without the overuse of the f word and graphic sexual scenes.  There were also a few blatant errors in editing.  Overall, I found Hedge Fund Wives an enjoyable and entertaining read with a happy ending.

1.  Postmortem  -  Synopsis:

Product Description
Breathtaking and wise, Abigail Elliot and the Dollhouse Family by author Barbara Bliss is a celebration of the heart and of the family. A literary debut that truly exhibits the ties that bind a mother to her child, this children’s fantasy fiction is a magical, whirlwind tale of one little girl’s lively imagination. When Abigail Elliot is forced to endure the absence of her mother, she learns that the truly tender heart holds a flame for those it loves. With a lyric, at times piercing prose, the author crafts an affectionate world where a family that resides in a dollhouse soothes and lulls young Abigail to sleep at night with fond stories of her mother. Written for young readers, this book will not only intrigue, it will ignite an interest in history, genealogy, and the magical places of the heart. 

About the Author
As a teen, Barbara Bliss began a career in opera and cabaret. She has sung with the symphony orchestra in Barcelona, Spain and Washington DC, the New Jersey State Opera, and Alice Tully Hall. She began teaching voice twenty-five years ago and continues to teach, sing, and write every day.

My review: This book actually made me cry.  I don’t think my 8 year old granddaughter is quite ready for it, but maybe in a couple more years she will love it as I did.  The book’s setting is in New York City in the 1940s.  I love reading books from that time era.  The book is sweet, old-fashioned, and treats mental illness in a dignified manner.  The fantasy is sweet, the characters are respectable and likable, and the story is engaging.  Parts of the story contain mystery and childish antics.  The story is clean and well written.  Abigail Elliot and the Dollhouse Family would make a GREAT children’s movie!

Product Description
The roiling blizzard toys with the overweight Chrysler, nudging it into a spin. The momentum leads to impact: a thundering, crunching of metal and glass. Caitlin Neuman awakes from this nightmare, wondering if it might be a harrowing memory-she’s the lone survivor of a crash that killed her parents and twin sister years earlier. Or could the nightmare be an eerie insight into some family she’s never met? Then again, it might just be a bad dream. Caitlin engages retired Detective Paco LeSoto to find out the truth. Paco’s clever wife, Molly, tags along, uncovering her share of clues. She spouts her own deliciously skewed English, while Paco suspects her “Mollyprops” are clever contrivances. Their investigation takes them to the Boston family, another set of twins, and a string of suspicious deaths. In a Chesapeake Bay beachside home not far from the Neumans, newlyweds Newton Boston and his blonde bombshell wife, Delylah, grapple with their own family turmoil. Delylah’s adult children churn up vicious undercurrents that threaten the entire household. Four deceased husbands lie in Delylah’s past. When another family member dies under mysterious circumstances, the clues point to murder. The LeSotos expose the sinister connections. But can they stop yet another killing, bring justice to the culprits and peace to both families?

My Review:  This was a great cozy mystery!  I love the main characters who are a couple of older and funny (yet smart) detectives.  Mr. LeSoto used to be on the police force, and his wife just has good common sense.  They work well together.  I love the way Molly LeSota speaks. The authors give Molly many cute and humorious plays on words.  The twin connection is interesting and also believable.  You are kept wondering how Delylah will dispose of her newest husband as it seemed she did her previous husbands.  The end has an interesting yet not altogether surprising twist.  The build up to the end was great!  I want to read more from these authors, Rosemary and Larry Mild.

“Rosemary and Larry Mild are giving away a signed copy of their book, Boston Scream Pie, to one lucky tour visitor. Go to their book tour page, enter your name, e-mail address, and this PIN, 6372, for your chance to win. Entries from The Friendly Book Nook will be accepted until 12:00 Noon (PT) tomorrow. No purchase is required to enter or to win. The winner (first name only) will be announced on their book tour page next week.”