This spring, my Girl Scout co-leader, Liz Root, and myself, started a book club for our troop of fifth grade girls. I am loving this project because it is so different from book discussion groups that the kids have been divided into at school - all based on reading abilities. This is based on being a member of our troop. That's all. And it is confirming my long held belief that reading well written books for your age group, regardless of a student's reading level, is rewarding. Being able to relate to a book, it's characters, and others who have... Continue reading

With two kids going in different directions, the weekend plans can be crazy. There are weekends such as this, when everything happens. The high school daughter has been invited to a Mary Kay party (really!) the grade school daughter will be sailing for two days which means that she has had to decline a sleepover invite (there were tears). But the best part about it is that my husband can juggle it all - because I have been invited to be the bookseller at The Orange County Performing Art Center's Family Series production of "Stellaluna". And if that were not... Continue reading

I was excited to read "National Treasure Changing Tides" by Catherine Hapka as I am a fan of the National Treasure movies (a movie that is appropriate for the kids but has enough adventure for the adults -great family movie nights). So I sat down with the book and initially thought that the the first couple of chapters were a prequel to the real story - some historical information that we, the readers needed. However, it soon became evident that the entire book is set in the early 1600's. This is neither good nor bad - it was just an... Continue reading

I have been leading a girl scout troop for five years - can you believe it took that long to start a book club for them? Last week was the first book club for Troop 2079 (17 fifth grade girls) and we started with a gem of a book. "Darby" by Jonathon Scott Fuqua, is set in the South in 1926. The main character, Darby (of course), is nine years old. She has two best friends, Beth, the daughter of the town's lawyer who lives in a house so beautiful, Darby believes the president should reside there, and Evette, the... Continue reading

or Not? Consistency is the one trait that parenting experts across the board seem to agree on. Coincidence that it seems one of the hardest? And I believe that is true because where we stand on hot topic buttons tends to change. With experience, circumstance - honestly, with mood. Today's... Continue reading

I had a great 61 minute conversation with my sister today. These are hard to come by as she is east coast, I am west. She has a toddler, I have a teen (and a tween to boot!). Timing is never on our side. But today she called - and... Continue reading

Today was a good day. I went to a funeral of a woman who died one month before the birth of her first grandchild. The mother of two adult children. Who died of a degenerative disease that slowly ate at her nerves and muscles. It was a sad occasion and... Continue reading

Just plain fun! That's how I would describe "The 39 Clues, Book 1" (and as soon as I am done writing this, I am going to go find Book 2 and get started!) The 39 Clues is not new - I am late to the game, no two ways about it. But, in this case, better late than never. So for those of you who may have had a couple of things going on in the last year and a half and aren't aware - let me fill you in! For those of you who already know (and by know,... Continue reading

I wrote this blog a couple of weeks ago (the day the Newbery's were announced to be exact) and then something happened and the whole page disappeared without saving a single word. Unfortunately, I had to move onto another project so the blog got left for the time being. I tell you this because the reason that I chose to highlight the book was because of the Newbery announcement, since Ms. Stead won the Newbery this year for her book, "When You Reach Me". I have not yet had the chance to read the winning title, but her debut novel,... Continue reading

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I get asked all the time for book recommendations for kids - and I love making the recs - each one, I make personally with the child whom I know or who is being described to me in mind. Often times the comment after the rec is "He / She is a really good reader - will this be challenging enough?" It is a fair enough question from a well meaning parent. We, as parents, are definitely being trained to think about grade levels and test scores when we are picking books for our kids. Our schools are defining our... Continue reading

I first became a fan of Ms. Krull's work about nine years ago when my now teenage daughter participated in The Writing Project at UCI campus. At the end of the session, an author was featured for the day, and that particular summer, it was Kathleen Krull. For the three weeks leading up to the visit, we checked out her biographies from our library and read about the days in the lives of some very interesting people. What I liked most - they were not the boring biographies that we were required to read as kids. They really brought these... Continue reading

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Epiphany Books is excited to have been invited to be the on-site book seller at Lowell Elementary School's Annual Author Festival. I am excited to meet new people, undoubtedly get some new ideas and as always to work with more authors! Barbara Hick's is one of the six authors who will be presenting a workshop at the Festival and today one of her titles, "The Secret Life of Walter Kitty" arrived. The illustrator, Dan Santat, did a great job of depicting Wally! From the moment you lay eyes on the cover of the book, you know that he is one... Continue reading

Happy Belated New Year's. It feels like it has been a long time - and it has. Book Fairs, Christmas, work done on house so all things important displaced, and sick parents turned the last eight weeks into quite a blur. And while there was much stress, there were incredible moments of light - old friends, new friends, and my very favorite, cuddling up and reading some great books with my kids (and occasionally on my own!). The highlights: Suzanne Collins' "The Hunger Games" and "Catching Fire" are everything that every great review you have read says they are. I... Continue reading

First of all, apologies for lagging in the blogging...It is the busy book fair time and therefore, several things have been guiltily back burnered. So why start up again the day before Thanksgiving? Is it only to avoid the trip to the stores I still need to make? While that seems more than reason enough for me, the truth is that I could not resist a perfect tie in to the holiday - the message of Thankfulness! Epiphany Books will be presenting Pulitzer Prize winning author, Steve Breen, at the 4th Annual Share Ourselves (SOS) Festival of Trees on Wednesday... Continue reading

I read this book a couple of years ago when it came out and just remember loving the fun of it! Since then I have recommended it to many friends who have kids (boys especially) who are coming out of the Wimpy Kid series. While Scholastic gives it a reading level of 4, I definitely think that the majority of third grade readers will be read for it. It's bigger text and space between lines makes it one of those books that looks longer than it really is - the result - a great sense of accomplishment for the emerging... Continue reading

Two weeks ago, Hyperion Books released the surprise fourth book in Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson's New York Times bestselling "Peter and the Starcatchers" trilogy. As a big fan of the series, I say, yes, of course, the trilogy should have books beyond the third - why should a trilogy be so restrictive? For those of you not familiar with the stories, these are some of the best family-read-aloud-before-bed-books out there. The series is a prequel to the Peter Pan story as we know it, beginning with "Peter and the Starcatchers" in which Peter and a group of orphans who... Continue reading

Do you remember "The Poky Puppy"? How about "The Shy Little Kitten"? "The Sailor Dog" by Margaret Wise Brown? These fun little Golden Books, originally published in the forties are still available through Random House, and now through Epiphany Books, at your book fair. The books are 24 - 28 pages and have sweet stories with vintage illustrations that we love. But more than just a visual throw back, these tales share great lessons of the importance of teamwork ("The Red Hen") or trying to find ones place in the world ("The Saggy Baggy Elephant") or simple manners ("The Please... Continue reading

To say Roald Dahl has stood the test of time, just doesn't do this author or his books justice. I remember sitting in my own third grade class over thirty years ago listening to the teacher read "James and the Giant Peach", a time of day of which I always looked forward. I had a parent tell me today that she remembers that she ate peaches forever after hearing that story as a kid. I also had a parent ask me today, what was the best selling book right now. I usually avoid a straight forward answer to such a... Continue reading

Many adults have enjoyed Greg Mortenson's "Three Cups of Tea" tremendously. The modern story of someone with a humble background, making such a difference in the lives of children on the other-side of the world is very moving. The fact that it is true, incredible. The outlook on how to really make a difference to the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan, enlightening. But the story can be very powerful to children too. Penguin Group brought two new editions of "Three Cups of Tea" to our kids this past January. "Listen to the Wind" is intended for younger readers and listeners.... Continue reading

Today the third book in Frank Beddor's Looking Glass Wars trilogy is released. ArchEnemy will wrap of the wars for power in Wonderland once and for all. For those who have followed the story through the previous two books, you will enjoys seeing Queen Alyss face the dilemma of whether or not to team up with her enemy, Redd Heart in order to defeat King Arch. For those new to the series, this is a twist in a traditional story of you may know. The assumption made in the first book is that Alyss escapes Wonderland when it is taken... Continue reading

Apologies for not having posted earlier this week. As the first book fair of the season is here there have been many details to see to. I am so excited to be bringing Hexbugs to the book fairs this fall. These robotic creatures are very fun (and fragile so young children may require supervision when handling) Once they are turned on, they will start on their way, reacting to barriers and loud sounds with a change of direction and a couple of other surprises. They come with their first set of batteries and refill batteries will also be for sale.... Continue reading

Epiphany Books is partnering with The Orange County Performing Arts Center on a very special contest for classrooms K - 2nd grade! In March 2010, OCPAC will be presenting Pigeon Party as part of their Family Series. This lively, entertaining show which combines the fun of Mo Willems' beloved "Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late" and "Don't Let the Pigeon Eat a Hot Dog" comes to the Center by popular demand! And your classroom could win a field trip to the Center to see the production (bus included!) thanks to a generosity of OCPAC's Education Department. Details will be... Continue reading