Young Adult Books

I highly recommend all the Uncle Eric books. I appreciate learning to think. THese are eye opening and very informative.

I'm not kidding. I've read mises, hayek, rothbard, dawkins, and many other great writers and influential works. But page for page, with its clarity and ability to transform an average uneducated person to almost genius... The logic, peppered with awesome bits of history... This is one of the greatest books of all time. The one-two punch of Richard's Whatever happened to penny candy(about economics) with this book, is perhaps the best gift one can make to a young person just starting out in life and to an adult as well. Just awesome, all the books in the uncle eric series are must haves period. No sequence of easy to read pages can do so much to educate a human being as the uncle eric series.

I thought this book was really interesting and I felt that it presented a logical explanation of why our legal systems are the way they are. I gave it a four because I know some lawyers who told me that the premises in the book are bogus... but they could be wrong.

I have enjoyed this book very much! I had entered a search engine on Amazon.com books to study the differences of liberals and conservatives and purchased this book along with two other books, one from USA Today, by Victor Kamber and Bradley O'Leary, and the other on Moral Politics by George Lakoff, I then read Richard Maybury's book. I next bought Maybury's book on Ancient Rome and then ordered five more. My next book to read was this book, Whatever Happened to Justice?, apparently not the revised version. I really found convincing this book as accurate in historical truth in regards to the original political model set by Hamilton, Jefferson, Henry, Adams & etc. This is the first time I've read a critical difference between democracy and liberty and the argument for the later. While Democracy is majority rule, it is whatever the mob or majority decides, where as Liberty is based on the two eternal, multi-religious, multi-culture laws of "Do all you have agreed to do," and "Do not encroach on other persons or their property.". Now that's ecstasy for me.


The information on the differences between the old British Common Law and Political Law. Now this is significant, as Common Law is based on the above two maxims, while Political Law is on whatever the government decides, whether it be a monarchy, fascist, socialistic or democratic - the government creates the laws. Common Law, the two maxims, are historical science, laws higher than man's; laws of nature itself.


This book lucidly and simplistically explains the origins of government, that is, the thoughts and conceptions of the founding American government; Jefferson, Hamilton, Adams, the ideas of the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists, are some of the most lucid and clearest explanations I have ever read on this subject. I can't help but agree that the unregulated free trade, with limited government, employing the two multi-religious, multi-cultural maxims - two basic common laws - would bring the founding fathers ideal towards the reality of a Pythagorean harmonious exchange of prosperity and liberty. The ideas of liberty takes precedence over democracy.

And so now I'm very interested in reading Mr. Maybury's books on WWI and WWII. As I found a review on the bluestockingpress website from one reviewer named Harry Browne. Now that's got to be the Harry Browne who ran for President (Libertarian)! A person whose thoughts I happen to admire. And I have read many of his online articles on WWI and WWII in the past and was always so impressed. It appears that Richard Maybury's book has been the excellent source.

Mr. Maybury does a wonderful job of explaining the differences between natural "scientific" law (also known as "common law") which can be discovered because it is universal and given by God, and resides universally in the hearts of men, and "political law" which is created by men and which almost always violates Maybury's Two Laws (which form the basis of scientific common law): 1) Do all you have agreed to do; and 2) Do not encroach upon another's person or property. Maybury then illustrates how much of the current social and even economic problems we now experience are due to the erosion of natural common law. I agree with him wholeheartedly.

I subtract one star for the following reason: Maybury is close to greater light, but loses it by embracing the enlightenment thinking that exalts the reason of man to such a degree that it shares the throne or even eclipses the acknowlegment of God. When we forget God, and cease to be grateful, our downfall is assured. I believe enlightenment thinking was our first unwitting step down as a nation. The two laws which Mr. Maybury advances are very good ones, but they are less than the two laws upon which all else hangs: 1) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength; and 2) Love your neighbor as yourself.

I do not think Mr. Maybury has forgotten God, and he cannot be accused of being ungrateful - for he loves this country and recognizes our unique blessings, but his enlightenment thinking is slightly off the mark. As an example of this, I cite Mr. Maybury's correct assertion that right-to-life questions are of utmost importance - as the ultimate violation of encroachment against another's person. However, and true to his enlightenment thinking, he grounds our natural right to life in our intelligence (which is surely one of the attributes of God we share, but which is fallen). Logically, Maybury goes on to question what degree of intelligence would be required before our right to life would no longer be protected by common law! I quote from page 117 of Maybury's book: "Rights seem to be attached to intelligence. But we don't know what level of intelligence, or how to measure it. To be within the protection of the law, how smart is smart enough?" This sums up the weakness of the book to my mind. I would argue that the right to life is not grounded in our intelligence, but in our humanity created in the image of God.

Incidentally, I am a lawyer and also the mother of a child who suffers from autism. Under Maybury's reasoning, my child's right to life is more questionable than his siblings and mine because of his reduced mental capacity. If I have learned anything from my autistic son, it is that human life is valuable because it is made in God's image, even though the image is marred by our fallen state.

Still, I am grateful to Mr. Maybury for his valuable book and I intend to use it in the education of my children.

I have a copy of this book for sale on Amazon.co.uk (Amazon won't allow overseas sellers to list items on Amazon.com). An opportunity to obtain this rare and very popular title!

This book has been republished! I just received the copies I ordered in the mail and they are perfect and beautiful! This is a treasure of a book and now, thanks to Fidra Books - everyone who loves it can afford to have a copy! YAY!!!!

I first checked this book out of my small town library at age 10 or 11. I recall frequently being drawn back to it, and, every time I remembered it and could find it (it was elusive even then, a battered, dusty book with an illegible spine) I would reread it and be spellbound. Suddenly, twenty-five years later, returning to this town with my own children, I one day thought of this book and was unable to get it out of my mind. Unable to remember either title or author but having a vague idea of what the book looked like on the shelf (!), I went to the town library, thinking that I'd recognize it if I were to see it! I have no idea why I was so compelled. In any case, I was unable to find it, and promptly put it out of my mind. Now,several years later, I again am visiting my home town and, for some reason, awoke after midnight last night with the title of the book, Winter of Enchantment, spontaneously occurring to me. After a fast internet search, I found other reviews describing similar experiences. Alas, it is long out of print and not to be found. This story left a lasting impression on me, like no other from my childhood, and I would love to find it once again to share with my own kids. In short, please reprint what is surely a marvelous book!!!

I am 14 right now..and have been looking for this book for 2 years. I read it when I was about 11..and wasn't really interested. I re-read it and fell in love with it..but little did my mom know, she threw the book away a couple months later. I was in complete shock. This book MUST be re-printed!!... IT MUST!!...

Just a note that "Winter of Enchantment" is going to be re-pusblished by Fidra Books, and will be due out in November of 2006. The "House Called Hadlows" is scheduled to be published the following year.

This was an extrordianry book...i fell in love with it..it gave me hopes and dreams about my crush..and how one day, he would soon fall in love with me...it showed me how cliques can hurt, and how much i used to love hanging out with my old friends, before i found my new ones...i just loved this book...

Wonder is about a seventh grader who goes from popular to loser over the summer. She tries to make it through the school year with no friends and her ex-best friend against her. She then shows SCANTA that she isn't bothered by their teasing and gets to be friends with them. Wonder was WONDERful and a very fun book to read.

Jessica and Shelia have been best friends since kindergarden, but everything changes on the first day of seventh grade.I would recommend this book to a girl in the fifth, sixth, or seventh grade. I would also recommend Wonder to a girl who likes to read books about two best friends. Since Shelia is now popular and Jessica is a social outcast, Jessica doesn't think she will ever have friends again. One day jessica becomes popular and shelia becomes the social outcast. The last reason i would recommend this book is because it teaches you a lesson. The lesson is always remmber who your true friends are.

I don't know how I would have survived junior high. "Wonder" is wonderful and an amazing portrait of a girl who goes through, just like most junior high girls, the junior high struggle of losing and gaining friends. I was like Jessica in sixth grade. I was short for twelve. My best friend had left me and I was alone in a world where people changed best friends as often as they did their clothes. I went through sixth grade feeling upset and out of place. Junior high is not an easy time, and that is a fact. In seventh grade, however, I had what Jessica happened to her happen to me. She made new friends and was glad with the fact; I made friends I would never trade with anything. She kept in touch with her old best friend Sheila, saying it'd take some time before they hung out together; I did the same with mine.

"Wonder" changed my life. Will it change yours?

This is my favorite book, and the situations in it are things that happen in real life. I found it easy to relate to some of the characters, and a lot of them reminded me of my friends.I loved the ending, and anyone with major problems at school or with friends should read this book to see that the situation could be much worse.

My love of horses brought me to this book and it didn't dissapoint. The surgery done on Piebald ( the horse) was explained in detail. The old horse was useless to the Circus. They wanted and needed horses who could perform beautiful movements like the "Airs Above The Ground". The old horse is rescued and as in all Mary Stewart books there is a chase, this time along the top of a mansion. MS is intriguing in that she writes in detail. You can smell and feel the circus and everything about it. As always, MS keeps me reading even when I guess the ending.

If you love horses, that makes this book even better. Trust me, you don't need to read a plot summary, this is a great book even though it is nearing 50 years old.

Having read one too many very bad books lately, I went back to one of my favorites. Mary Stewart is one of the original true storytellers of the last generation. Her ability to research and create a in-depth tale of intrigue is amazing.

I can recommend most of her books, including the Merlin series, but AIRS was one of her greatest.

This is the kind of book I can imagine lots of people being sniffy about, cheesily packaged and unashamedly romantic - probably a lot wouldn't even pick it up in the first place. Well that's their loss, but I'd like to get a read-mary-stewart campaign off the ground. She is so good: a deft and clever writer who wears her literary nounce lightly. I adore her stories, her settings and her feisty (but not too feisty!) heroines. No one else is as consistently good: let's hear it for romantic fiction! I've been chastised on the bookwormonthenet blog for offering qualified praise to writers like Mary Stewart and for using phrases like 'pulp fiction' - but no, it is no slur. These are stunning books by a vastly talented writer. I also think film producers ought to be trawling the stewart back catalogue: I can just see Cate Blanchett as the heroine of Airs Above the Ground and the whole sub-plot around the Austrian circus, spies and a lost Lipizzaner stallion would translate fabulously to the wide screen. Go on, someone, do it!

Airs Above the Ground is not quite as compelling in its descriptions and plot as The Gabriel Hounds, My Brother Michael, or This Rough Magic (my favourite); however, it is still a classic Stewart mystery/romance, even if the romance is quite evident from the start. Vanessa March is quite likable and the only Stewart heroine thus far to not have annoyed me just a little bit. My favourite element of the book is the friendship that develops between Vanessa and young Tim Lacy, who is trying to break away from a stifling household and forge a path for himself. As far as the descriptions of exotic locales go, trademark to Stewart, I enjoyed the chase scene through the castle. Airs Above the Ground didn't wow me and I found the ending a bit strange as it didn't feature Annalisa at all..., but all in all, a pleasent read.

I have loved every novel written by Mary Stewart, some more than others. I read this one well over twenty years ago and many times since then. It is one of my many favorite of her books. In her books you get to travel; you feel as if you are really there. I have wanted to visit almost every place I have visited in her books. I too had pledged to see the Lippizaner stallions someday & I finally got to see them a few years ago. They were wonderful of course. There is magic in all the Mary Stewart books; the relationships in this one in particular were warm and appealing.

Alabama moon is a very adventurous tale with lots of facts about the woods. And its so good I got up in the morning and read it until it was bedtime. I rate it 5 stars, my favorite book yet (even better then the golden compass and man was that gooooood.)

This book tells the journey of Moon Blake, who have always lived with his father. But when his father died, he must find a way to escape the outside civilziation and find his home. This novel has an exciting plot, wonderful research, and is a great read. By reading this book, one could also learn the meaning of friendship.

This book is abselutely action-packed, full of adventure and shocking endings (made me cry when I read the shocking ending.) Some parts just makes you want to say "OOHH DDAARRNNIITT! But it's still the best book I have read in my whole entire life! This book is so great, I would give it 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars!

My 11 year-old is a reluctant reader, but every now and then a book comes along that keeps his interest even when it is not "reading time". This is one of those books. Moon Blake is a compelling character, having grown up in the woods with his reclusive father. And his story is captivating. He just wants to be left alone to go to Alaska, but he's picked up and taken to a boys home instead. I love how the story evolves, how you see Moon change his ideas of the world, and how he deals with the abusive constable who won't leave him alone.

A terrific book you won't be able to put down.

This book begs for a sequel and soon, too. We--we readers--have to know what happened to Moon and to Hal...What happens to them as they grow, mature, and face their young adult high school and college days? And when they grow up, get married and have families of their own...As they approach old age...Will they, can they, escape (overcome) the events described here in the formative days of their youth. Rarely has a book cried out for a sequel more than this one.

In fact, Mr. Key may have his own cottage industry here, a book on their continuing relationship (Moon and Hal) and/or single books on each boy.
Mark Twain did it and did it well with Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. Mr. Key has the same oportunity here. Here's hoping he's up to the opportunity--not the "task," but the "opportunity."

Orginally written as a book for teens and a little older, Alabama Moon has touched all and stirred the slumbering chords of all generations as it deals with youth, growing, up, family, love and lack thereof.

Outstanding. Don't miss it.

This is a really fun book that everyone can enjoy. There are a lot of hidden meanings. The author makes you feel in the end that how you make money is probably just as or even more important than how much you make. I think this is a book for every one.

SO AWESOME!!!!!!!!!
I love this book! It is so awesome. Singh really leaves you hanging. You never know what will jump out at you next.

You wanna laugh, don't miss this one. I don't know about what the others are talking about, I didn't get any deep meanings out of this. But what I did get was great entertainment. get this one for your collection. Also nice to add to your collection are: Aesop for Children (Winter), Grimm's complete fairy tales (Grimm), Great Children's stories (Richardson). There are many other great children's books out there, but these were the ones I enjoyed the most. Oh, and I almost forgot the two classics that no children should ever be deprived of: The Little Prince (Exupery) and Charlotte's Web (White).

A brilliant story of contemporary philosophy which draws upon fable, fairy tale, and mythology-as well as modern aesthetic and mathematical thought. Even more brilliant is the style in which it was written, a literary equivalent to Cubism with all sorts of pleasant repetitions and poetic phrases. If Picasso had been a writer, I imagine him writing something like this, although he probably would have stayed away from caterpillars and butterflies, especially pink and blue ones.

The only writer who has made me laugh and cry in the same book. It can be slow at times,but trust me, stick with it! I have recommended it to many others who have told me how they laughed out loud and even cried in cafes, getting a whole lot of other people interested in the book. Now I see why so many people are enjoying and talking about what is but a simple tale of a caterpillar searching for its food plant. I think my only problem with the book is that the author didn't give the caterpillar a name. I think this bothered a lot of people. Poor thing needs a name. Instead she is always referred to as THE BRAVE LITTLE CATERPILLAR. It's tedious and tiring and I wish he had given her a name, any name, couldn't have been that hard. Personally I would have named her. But that's not reason enough to bash a book that has won the heart of so many young Asians. And if great art bears true witness to an experience, I think Singh has quite honestly captured the ambitions and anxieties, the experience, of second generation American Asians, be they Indian, Korean, or Japanese. Myself I had a dad who ever since I was a child would sneak into my room while I was sleeping and whisper, in my ear, 'Doctor, doctor, I want to be a doctor,' in a sad and futile hope to subliminally mold my dreams and desires. But when he saw that wasn't working, it was sort of forced upon me and sadly this was for his own ego. So now for his ego I truly believe I'm wasting my time studying something I really don't want to be studying. But, slowly but surely, I'm summoning up the courage to leave the 'Silk Palace' and pursue my 'food plant' whatever it may be. I admittedly don't know yet. But that's more because I regrettably let someone else define my life. In writing this, I see and feel how powerful this book is and I look forward to anything else this author has to say.

Olivia O'Donnell's senior year hasn't started off too well. On the first day of school she finds herself in a three-way tie for valedictorian and needs to come up with a volunteer position to give herself an edge over the competition. As she schedules volunteer time in her already over-crowded day planner, other things get crowded out-family, friends, homework. But an unexpected stint on a makeover show gets her to thinking about others, especially those women trying to start a new life in the shelter. Olivia learns about what is really important in life and uses that knowledge to help out others.

This is a book I will encourage my daughter to read.

Award-winning author Wendy Lawton tackles a brand-new series, inspired by reality tv programs on The Learning Channel, Style Network, and various BBC Television shows. Teen Olivia O'Donnell is a multi-tasker, a stressed-out senior whose goal is to become her class valedictorian--if her energy and her day planner hold out. Her best friend Jane earns good grades, but also saves time for spontaneity--a quality that Olivia envies. Olivia used to carve time to watch Changing Faces with Jane, but lately, Olivia's schedule and goals have taken on a life of their own.

When this over-achieving young woman wins a total fashion makeover on Changing Faces, a new reality tv show, her all-new-improved look collides with the real Olivia lurking inside.

Wendy Lawton is a skilled word-weaver, but more than that--she has a knack for capturing authentic life lessons through excellent characterization and dialogue. Olivia feels like someone we all know, and her story subtly invites readers to examine their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as the consequences of their choices.

CHANGING FACES by Wendy Lawton delves into the teenage world of fashion makeovers, peer pressure, and stress in a delightful tale that grips the reader as a young girl searches for God.

I liked CHANGING FACES a lot. I definitely give it 5 stars. It's a good teenager book. It holds your interest. I liked it because I like the make-over TV shows, but in CHANGING FACES Olivia realizes she needs more than a physical make-over. She needs a spiritual make-over too.

This first book of Wendy Lawton's Real TV series is delightful. Through Olivia's personal journey, the reader is reminded of the things that are really important. As Olivia pulls out all the stops to achieve her lifetimg goal of becoming valedictorian of her high school, her discovery of what it means to serve others is exciting. As she works at a homeless shelter, "those people" become her dear friends as we see them unite to work on a shelter project. And although Olivia receives a makeover on the outside, she realizes that it was her own attitudes that needed the makeover all along. Don't miss this great read!

This is a very well-written, fast-paced, factually-based book. Chapter twenty-four, starting on page 155, about four-year-old Tidbit being used as gator bait by Clay Derby and his friends was especially enlightening (or sickening).

Title: Copper Sun
Author: Sharon Draper
Publisher and Date: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006
Flesh Kincaid Reading Level: 6.6
Pages: 302
Genre: Historical Fiction

Copper Sun is the story of a 15-year old girl named Amari who lives in an African village named Ziavi. She enjoys spending time with her eight-year-old brother Kwasi and her boyfriend Besa. She is very happy with her life until her village is invaded by pale-skinned men accompanied by warriors from another African tribe, the Ashanti. Her village is burned down and many of the villagers are slaughtered, including her whole family. All the while, Amari is astonished that people from her own land could be helping the pale strangers destroy her village. She sees the shame in her boyfriend's eyes as he is shackled and taken aboard a slave ship. She experiences a feeling of intense loss as she realizes her family has been taken from her and now she is being sold into slavery. She deals with abuse and cruelty in numerous ways, and at times feels as if all hope is lost. However, Amari is a fighter and she endures all of the cruelties of slavery without giving up.

The story follows Amari as she is captured, taken on a ship across the Middle Passage, and brought to America as a slave. When she arrives in South Carolina she is auctioned off and sold to a plantation owner as a birthday present for his son. While at the auction, the plantation owner also buys a young, white indentured servant named Polly. Polly imagines her life as a servant in the main house of the master and is disappointed to find out she will be working with Amari in the fields and living in the slave quarters. Polly initially is prejudiced toward Africans, but over time she and Amari become friends. They also build close relationships with the plantation cook, Teenie, and her son Tidbit. Teenie helps Amari through the difficult times on the plantation, including being abused by Clay, the plantation owner's son.

Clay's stepmother is the only white person on the plantation who shows any sympathy for the slaves. Soon Amari finds out that she has a relationship with one of the slaves. This begins a plot twist with so many surprises that I do not want to spoil it for you! Soon Amari, Polly and Tidbit get a chance to escape from the plantation. The last third of the book follows them on their journey to find Fort Mose, where there is a community for runaway slaves.

Chapter's alternate between Amari's perspective and Polly's perspective which gives the book an interesting twist. Although the book may seem long for some young adult readers it has so many plot twists and surprises that it will keep you reading. Draper's story provides a detailed and realistic description of life during slavery with fictional characters that draw you in and a fast-pace that makes the story readable for any young adult, whether studying slavery or not.

Hello Everyone...I am an 8th grade English teacher and I just finished reading Sharon Draper's "Copper Sun." I almost don't have words to describe how amazing it was. If you are a teacher, you will accrue many cool points from your students if you read this book with them. It is action packed, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Please read this whether you have children/students or not! It has completely enriched my life, and made me even more proud of the African American race's diligence, determination, and strength.

This is a story about a slave girl named Amari who was torn from her family and her homeland and forced to become a slave in america. there she meets a girl named polly who is an indentured servant, they eventually break free and make a run for the spanish colony hoping for freedom but constantly being hunted.
I have to admit I was bored during the 1st chapter, but as I kept reading I got more and more intruiged untill I just couldn't put the book down. Copper sun is an amazing book, and very insightful into the horrors of slavery and the ignorance, arrogance, and cruelety of white slave owners. I highly recommend this book

There has never been a better book about slavery than Copper Sun, though you go through some disgusting times with Amari you find the most painful thing is that actual people were treated like that! Draper is so wonderful in her writing, telling us exactly what it was like for Amari and I really felt like I was standing right next to her through the whole experience. Speaking of whole experience that's exactly what it is...the book starts in her home in Africa and we travel with here through the capturing of her and family members, the trip over seas, the slave action and her new home and ***spoilers (sort of)*** her final desicion! Great book HIGHLY recommend it to anyone.

I have been a fan of Prosek since his Trout days. This introspective book helped me to understand his precocious talent for observation and drawing and his need to get out on the stream. I wish him well.

The Day My Mother Left beautifully captures the agony and the pathos of an adolescent abandoned by his mother. The novel includes a myriad of conflicts that are typically found in realistic contemporary fiction. We see the conflict of person vs. person with the main character dealing with his father, mother and the school bully. The main conflict; however, is between Jeremy, the protagonist, and himself. His unresolved issues with the divorce, his mother leaving and offering no communication and his burgeoning artistic talent contribute most to the overall theme of the novel: beauty and love can grow from struggles and pain. Each character is round and dynamic; the major characters in this story evolve and change subtly as time progress in the novel. One of the highlights of the book is how the author reveals these character changes. The book is told through the eyes of Jeremy, an early adolescent. His self-centeredness only shows the other characters flaws and transformations when Jeremy finally sees them. Prosek reveals his characters and themes so movingly and realistically. This novel will appeal to late middle school students and up.

Nine-year-old Jeremy has a close relationship with his mother. She goes to every one of his baseball games, cheering him on from the bleachers. Jeremy gets teased for her enthusiastic encouragement, but he doesn't care. The bond they share is special. In fact, she is the only one to whom he has ever shown his collection of bird drawings. But when she abandons the family, Jeremy's world shatters into a million painful pieces.

It starts with an argument about her excessive drinking, the fact that Jeremy's father isn't making enough money, her crazy behavior at the fancy dinner party, his lack of attention, and especially about her seeing another man --- the father of Jeremy's rival, Rick. The two of them met at one of Jeremy and Rick's baseball games. Somewhere in the middle of it all, Jeremy's mom decides to leave and be part of a different family, one that doesn't include Jeremy.

Jeremy's older sister responds by escaping in her car for work and friends, while their father becomes imprisoned in his own despair. Jeremy must decide for himself how to put the pieces back together. Recreating his collection of bird drawings is the first step, since his mom took the old one with her. Jeremy finds comfort in the birds, in mirroring their beauty, in tromping through their wooded habitat. He also takes an art class to improve his talents and meets a girl named Casey.

Over the next three years, Jeremy continues to struggle with the fact that his mother abandoned him and never even called him on the phone, much less paid him a visit. But life continues, with even more obstacles to overcome, such as his dad remarrying and his beloved uncle getting sick. Jeremy learns to wade through the tough times without overloading his heart of bitterness. He even manages to say a prayer for Rick when he needs an operation. But will he ever be able to forgive his mom for leaving him?

James Prosek has created a beautiful story that all ages, genders and races will enjoy. He has an obvious love of nature, which shines through in his vivid descriptions of feathers, fish and forests. His novel's voice is precise and rare, nailing perfectly Jeremy's preteen character enduring pain and grief. Jeremy's spirit will inspire us all to be better people.

--- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman

I first became aware of James Prosek through his artistic and literary treatments of fly fishing and thought I would give The Day My Mother Left, his first fictional effort, a go. I am so glad I did--what a wonderful little book! Though it is intended for young adults, as a mature reader I found it very engaging.

This autobiographical novel is a very candid picture of a difficult time in Prosek's, and his protaganist's, life. Prosek tells his touching story beautifully and without remorse. I would liken this book to Angela's Ashes in its portrayal of an unbalanced family and their troubles in a voice that does not blame but instead finds grace in the struggle. In the case of Prosek, his gravitation to art and nature provides ballast and equanimity; he shows us an inner journey enabled by his exploration of the natural world. And it is a damn good story. . .

Yale-educated James Prosek is clearly an extremely gifted and multi-dimensional creative talent. I know of few other YA books that tell such a story of charm and tenderness from the male point of view. I highly recommend it!

Jeremy's mother has often been disappearing for hours at a time, but on a Sunday afternoon all truths are told.

His mother has found a new love - the father of Jeremy's enemy at school and on the baseball field. A fight occurs between Jeremy's mother and father. His mother leaves, and she takes everything with her - including Jeremy's Book of Birds that he had been illustrating himself.

No one can believe that she left. Especially Jeremy. He feels abandoned and hurt. Through his father's sadness and his own mixed-up feelings, Jeremy recreates the Book of Birds and finds solace within himself through nature.

James Prosek's THE DAY MY MOTHER LEFT is very moving. Coming from a divorced family myself, it's easy to relate and understand Jeremy's feelings. Mr. Prosek uses outstanding details within the story and has also created lovely drawings. It is a great book and experience from beginning to end.

Reviewed by: Jeremey

This book talks about friends putting on a magic show for Hank's cousins. Frankie, one of Hank's friends, is the magician. He remembers that he wants to see a monster movie so Hank says he's going to record it.But he presses the wrong button. Frankie gets mad when they get home. Hank is so sorry he takes the cable box apart. They buy a new one the guy for the cable company has a copy of the movie that Hank didn't record. Then Hank invites Frankie over to see the movie.I like this book because it has a good ending and it like he's talking to you.

This is a good book because it has a lot of action. The book has a lot of action because Hank thought his sister iguana laid eggs in a cable box. Read on to see what happens.

The Day of the Iguana tells the story of a fourth grader named Hank Zipzer and his sister's iguana. Science projects are coming due for Hank, so he has to find a project and fast. He gets the idea to take apart his cable box and see what's inside. Wha† he didn't count on is his sister Emily's iguaua laying 23 eggs.
This book gives you a look at a boy called Hank Zipzer and how he gets through a few months of fourth grade with his best friend Frankie and his sister Emily and her iguana Catharine. The story starts in the beautiful modern city of New York. Hank has to put on a magic show for his twin cousins and promises Frankie to tape a monster movie when there doing the show but he accidentally presses the wrong button and tapes something else. Hank feels so guilty that he decides to take apart a cable box and see if he can prevent that from happening in the future. My favorite part in the book is when the baby iguanas are born. They are so cute. I recommend this book to children and family because it is about honor and trust. It is a great book and teaches kids that iguana birth can make a big change to your life. It also teaches you how to be a great friend.
W.S.

A story about three friends Hank, Frankie, and Ashley. Hank and his friends are a magic act they call themselves The Magik 3. Hank's twin cousins are turning four years old. The twin's parents hire a clown but the clown gets sick. Hank's aunt needs to find an act for the birthday party. She askes Hank if he and his friends would perform. Hank and his friends agree to perform. Then Frankie remembers that there is a monster movie marthon that he can't miss. Read the book to see what happens.

The way I see it, any book that can keep a 10 year old boy away from his video games, gets 5 stars and then some. "Day of the Iguana" and the other eight books will do for boys what "The Babysitters Club" did for girls. I've been waiting a long time for something boys can relate to other than "Yu Gi Oh" comic books and "Captain Underpants." Henry Winkler has done that with Hank Zipzer and his friends, he's made reading fun for boys. You can count on Hank getting himself in a situation that would be best handled being straightforward and you can count on him going out of his way being anything but. The best part is watching you kid choose Hank over the TV. Parents all over will understand just what an accomplishment that is.