Raves: Traci's Book Recommendations

 Everyone knows that I am pretty nerdy and really love books and that I work at the library.  But what everybody doesn’t know is that kids’ books are for grown-ups too!  So here are five kids books that I like that you can read no matter how old you are.

 

The City of Ember/ The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau

I’m not really into futuristic fiction (think Brave New World), but I really liked these books.  The first one, The City of Ember is about a city lit entirely by light bulbs- no sun or moon.  But, the light bulb supply is starting to run out, and nobody really knows what to do.  Two 12-year-olds discover an old map and hope that it will lead them to a place where they can find more supplies.  The sequel, The People of Sparks, tells where the map leads them and what happens to the people of Ember after they arrive in the City of Sparks.  Sounds pretty nerdy, but they are really well written, and they kept my attention.  It’s a real thinker.

 

Dear Mrs. LaRue- Letters from Obedience School by Mark Teague 

This is a really funny picture book about a dog who writes all of these sad, sad letters to his owner, Mrs. LaRue, about how horrible obedience school is.  The thing is, as you are reading these letters, you can see that the school is actually really nice and the dogs are really living it up! At one point, the dogs are sitting in the hot tub being served drinks with little umbrellas in them.  I thought it was pretty funny.

 

 

To the Top: The Story of Everest by Stephen Venables

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not really into nature and outdoors and stuff, so a book like this also usually wouldn’t interest me.  But, I had to read it, as it is nominated for a Beehive Book Award and I really thought it was interesting.  It is the history of people who have climbed Mount Everest, written by a guy who actually climbed Mount Everest himself.  And it has really cool photos of frostbitten toes and stuff.

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison 

This isn’t really a kids’ book-more like a book for teens-but it is so funny! It’s like Bridget Jones, only in high school.  I think Bridget Jones is very funny, but if you don’t then you probably won’t think this is funny either.  There are now like four books in this series all about the main character, Georgia Nicholson, who lives in England.  England’s pretty funny, right? They talk funny, and use funny words.  If you’re counting, I think I’ve used the word funny like fived times. It’s funny. And it has the word “thongs” in the title--and “snogging.”