Monday, September 2, 2013

#IMWAYR and a giveaway of Rose by Holly Webb and #currently

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now… who knows, you might discover that next “must read” book!

Our Kid Lit to YA version is hosted by Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers.
GREAT IDEA! Check out all of the What Are You Reading? participants for title ideas.

So I was contacted about reading a book they suggested as "a mix of Sara Crewe and Harry Potter." How could I say no? Two of my all time favorites!



Then I got nervous. What if I didn't like it? How awkward. Blogging etiquette and all ... in terms of people who contact me AND being true to me and my readers.

Luckily? I did like it!

the Goodreads synopsis

"Rose isn't like the other orphans at St Bridget's Home for Abandoned Girls. Instead of dreaming of getting adopted by loving, wealthy parents, Rose wants to get a job and be independent. She doesn't need anyone but herself. She finds her escape working as a maid for Mr. Fountain, an alchemist. Unable to ignore the magic that flows throughout the grand residence, Rose realizes that just maybe; she might have a little bit of magic in her too. This new series featuring magicians, witches, talking cats, mist-monsters, and friendships will have young readers in a trance!"


And my favorite quote from the FAQs on the author's website

"When I was much younger I wanted to be a librarian, because I thought that librarians got to spend the whole day reading all the books in the library. I was very disappointed when I found this wasn’t true."

Umm ... yes. She is right. We don't get to do that all day. As fun as it would be. ;)

Reading level would be strong third grade and up. Interest level might be a bit older just because of the whole being set back in1800s England. There is some scariness at the end having to do with an evil magic so keep that in mind when suggesting to readers.

I think Gus might be my favorite character. I will now need to add the later books in the Rose series to my TBR list!

So remember how I liked it? I'm going to let one of you have it. Comment with the title of one of your favorite kid lit classic books. I'll use random.org to number and choose a winner next Sunday night! Make sure you either leave an email or your blogger profile has your email. And I guess I probably have to say this is just for US readers. This time round, anyway.

I almost forgot. Coming up? I returned all my library books. With school and getting the house ready to show/sell ... they weren't going to happen. I still have a collection of E-ARCs so that's probably what it's going to be for the next while! Well. And considering I work in a library every day I could bring some books home from school, too. ;)

And now ... #currently.



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PS Does all that sound like all the areas one has to cover? Not used to hosting of giveaways. Got another one coming up from Sept. 16-30. It's a free 8X10 canvas print. The one in the pic is bigger but to give you an idea here's a preview. Make sure to follow me (Feedly, Bloglovin, Networked Blogs, or FB ... they're all in the right sidebar!) so when the Rafflecopter goes live you remember to enter! And ... my phone made the lens glare look overdone in the print. It's not. I'll have a better picture for the real giveaway post for this one.


19 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks. I have to keep reminding myself the NEW one will be worth all of the stress.

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  2. Classic? Whoa... have too many to just pick one. Let me think.... I recently reread Old Yeller... I forgot how funny parts are (little brother and Yeller's antics) and how scary it was too.
    OK.. I pick Old Yeller.

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    1. Do you know ... I am not sure if I have ever READ Old Yeller. Interesting. Will have to change that!

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  3. Is the Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale old enough to count as a "classic"? If so, my vote goes to the first one in the series, "The Merchant of Death". All ten books are great reads, but I figure I should go with the beginning!
    Swersty’s Swap Shop

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    1. The first one's the only one I've ever gotten to. There are SO MANY BOOKS and not enough time. I don't know whether it's the internet changing my brain or working in the middle of such a distracting environment but I can't sit and read for as long as I used to. Used to be hours on end. Maybe it's just getting older and having more responsibilities? Anyhow. I will finish the series eventually because I did like that one!
      I bought that series for the collection several years ago on the request of a couple boys. Remembered that #1 and thought why not for the high readers? No one after has really been able to enjoy it (they were really good readers) so I passed it on to a middle school.

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  4. Really loved reading Rose as well! :) Relieved and thrilled...

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  5. mmmmm I'm going to have to change my "wanting" now that you just mentioned Belgian waffles...somehow my hard boiled eggs just aren't doing the trick now :( haha

    Sam
    Fun With Firsties

    P.S. I'm your newest follower :D

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  6. I enjoyed reading your "Currently"...don't you just love "The Little Mermaid"?? That movie and soundtrack were wonderful. Every time I hear one of the songs, I think of my daughters when they were little (they are now 26 and 22). We used to watch it together! Good memories...maybe I should call them to see if they would come watch it with me today!! I, too, wish you good luck with your house!! AND...I LOVE Belgian waffles...now, I want some! Have a good day and year!!

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  7. Rose sounds like great fun--what ages are you thinking for that? After seeing a post by Anita Silvey, I picked up Tom's Midnight Garden (1958) by Philippa Pierce and I absolutely adored it. Good luck with your house on the market! Keeping that ready to show is a full-time job in itself!

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  8. Ha, this happens to me with library books too. Ok, I've renewed it 3 times (the limit) and if I couldn't get to it in 9 weeks, well.... it probably isn't going to happen! At least not right now. But that's one thing I love about the library--no guilt when you check out books and don't read them. (Unlike the books I buy and then don't get around to reading!) My favorite classic children's book: On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

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  9. My favorite classic is "Little House on the Prairie".
    kmhteacher@yahoo.com

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  10. Adding Rose to my must read list! hmmm favorite classic that's a hard one! I love to read. The first one that comes to mind is "A Wrinkle in Time" or "Charlotte's Web".
    Mrs. Brown Loves Bookworms

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  11. Rose does sound like an interesting read. Thanks for sharing! :)

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  12. There are too many to choose from, but if I had to choose one it would be Rascal by Sterling North. I was also a big fan of My Side of the Mountain, the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle Through Time series, and Tove Jansson's Moomintroll books.

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  13. My favorites growing up were the phantom tollbooth and Alice in wonderland.

    cheryllhoff@yahoo.com

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  14. When I was young I loved to read, but can only remember Charlotte's Web as a favorite :) since growing up and getting my 'dream job' I have read so many fantastic kids lit books, but still not many 'classic' ones. It's my goal to work through a big list of 'must reads' like those mentioned. Like you I also feel like there's not enough time to read...working on that too ;) I read Harry Potter and Little Women as an adult and they are my go to books for comfort...cannot tell you how many times I have read them (with the exception of Deathly Hallows... That was only 3 times) ;)

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  15. One of my best gifts ever was a Judy Blume box set. It included SuperFudge, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, and Blubber. (I'm still thinking of the other two books.) Loved her stuff! Side note...thanks for taking the time to keep this blog. It's one of my favorites.

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