Sleepless by Cyn Balog

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

What if I told you Sandmen were real? Every night when you go to bed your personal Sandman comes and seduces you to sleep. I would have to say I need to talk with my Sandman because most nights I toss and turn before I can get comfortable enough to sleep. In Sleepless Eron De Marchelle is a Sandman. Eron was once human and at the age of seventeen he died and was offered to either move on or become a Sandman. After 100 years of service you become human again. I would think that to some that would sound appealing. Eron is in charge of Julia and two others. He has feelings for Julia that a Sandman is forbidden to have. Even after he becomes human he is forbidden from pursuing Julia. But Eron's term of service is almost up. Will he risk everything to try and be with her?

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read.

The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

Reading Level: Young Adult
(5 out of 5)

Yes, you read that correctly. 5 out of 5. I LOVED this book. Alona Dare is the popular cheerleader everyone loves to hate. Will Killian is the troubled Goth kid. Did I forget to mention that Alona died and is now a ghost and Will can see and communicate with the dead? Once Alona figures out Will can see her and talk to her she wants answers even if that means talking to a total loser. Will doesn't want anything to do with any ghosts because they have been a pain in his butt since he was little and he especially doesn't want to help high and mighty Alona Dare. But they realize they can help each other and along the way sparks fly, sarcasm flows, and this is just a delicious read.

Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements

Reading Level: Juvenile
(4 out of 5)

Bobby Phillips is a normal teenager until one day he steps out of the shower and he can't see himself. What's a boy to do? He tells his parents, who take a little convincing and then they all agree they can't tell anyone else because Bobby would most likely be carted off and experimented on. So that means no school and no contact with the outside world. Which brings trouble from the school and from Bobby when he doesn't listen and decides to go out and explore. This was a fun read. I would only want to be invisible if I had the power to become visible again but in Bobby's case as the days go by it doesn't seem like that's going to happen.

Impossible by Nancy Werlin

Reading Level: Juvenile
(4 out of 5)

The ballad "Scarborough Fair" was the inspiration behind this book. Lucy Scarborough is seventeen when she discovers that the women of her family have been cursed through the generations, forced to attempt three seemingly impossible tasks or to fall into madness upon their child's birth (taken from the book jacket).

When Lucy was a baby she was taken in by Leo and Soledad. Her birth mother, Miranda, was the crazy homeless lady that walked around with a shopping cart shouting at people. At seventeen Lucy becomes pregnant and she finds out that the women in her family are cursed. Every woman at seventeen has become pregnant and after giving birth all have gone crazy. The only way to save themselves is to complete three impossible tasks. The women before Lucy haven't succeeded but Lucy has a great support system: Leo, Soledad, and Zach. Can Lucy complete the impossible tasks before it's too late?

This book really sucked me in. I really enjoyed it.

Stash by David Klein

Reading Level: Adult
Haven't read it yet so no rating

As you can see from above I haven't had a chance to read this book yet but it looked good. The main character Gwen has it all. She is an attractive, thirtyish stay at home mom living in a very nice neighborhood. Gwen's perfect world is about to get turned upside down. After buying a small bag of marijuana from an old boyfriend she is in a car accident that leaves her bruised but the other driver dead. When the pot is found in her car they throw the book at her. With all the drug problems at the schools the police want to set an example. This book is told from multiple perspectives and is driven by psychological suspense and an escalating plot.

My read pile is pretty large at the moment so I'm going to tuck this one away for when my read pile is smaller.

Reference Book Review: A to Zoo by Carolyn Lima and Rebecca Thomas

How did I not know about this resource when I was a Children's librarian? Awesome resource for finding picture books. In the early 80's John and Carolyn Lima had a vision to create a reference book to provide better subject access to picture books for children. A to Zoo was created. A to Zoo has 13,755 titles cataloged under 1,215 subjects. Start with your ABC's and and end with Zoo's.

Animal books-check
Growing up-check
Flowers-check
Weather-check

and so much more.

There is also a bibliographic guide, title index, and an illustrator index.

Great resource for librarian, teachers, and parents.

Reference Book Review: American Eras

American Eras Early American Civilizations and Exploration to 1600 is a very interesting book. This book consists of eleven chapters. Each chapter is broken down into the following categories: Chronology, Overview, Topics in the News, Headline Makers, and Publications.

Chronology is a time line of important events to 1600, Overview gives you information about the topic, Topics in the News breaks it down by year, Headline Makers highlights a couple prominent people of that era, and then Publications lists related reading material.