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March 2008

Hi folks!

I hope you are all enjoying your reading. I apologize for flaws within the site. I am trying to redo the website, and my technical expertise is being tested. Your patience is greatly appreciated, and please e-mail me if you have any suggestions for making the site better for you. 

While criss-crossing the country on a lot of planes and picking up every virus that had not yet invaded my body from my daughter’s preschool class, I managed to read a bunch of great books this past month. David McCullough’s A Path Between the Seas is fantastic (it is about the making of the Panama Canal), and I am anxious to watch the HBO mini-series later this month of his wonderful biography on John Adams. I treated myself to several Jeffery Archer novels (his Kane & Abel is one of my favorites), including False Impression and A Matter of Honor. I have also managed to read a couple of Cormac McCarthy and Jodi Picoult novels, just so I could sound hip if I ever get invited to a party again (young children prevents a social life).

Anyhow, enjoy this month’s book selections below. I hope you are all reading some wonderful books. Make sure to tell me all about them. If you're an author or a publisher and would like to send me review copies of your book(s), please send them to the address listed for authors and publishers.

I hope you are reading some wonderful books. Make sure to tell me about them by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Have a wonderful March, and enjoy your books!

Danny ;-)
Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington

Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington

By Thomas Cathcart,Daniel Klein 191 pages Adult

Danny Says

Authors of the wonderful Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes, this book comes long just in time for the election. Democrats and Republicans, Libertarians and Visigoths will all enjoy this terrific look at how politicians from all time periods and ideological backgrounds use words to deceive and confuse.   
Buy on Amazon
Sharp Objects

Sharp Objects

By Gillian Flynn 254 pages Adult

Danny Says

So I subscribe to Entertainment Weekly, and I often read Gillian Flynn’s pieces. Nothing, however, prepared me for this gripping horror/suspense. Flynn has written a frighteningly memorable debut novel that left me eager to purchase her next effort.
Buy on Amazon
Walden

Walden

By Michael T. Dolan 135 pages Adult

Danny Says

This one reads like a college freshman version of The Catcher in the Rye. A clever satire that blends laughs and tears, joys and fears. I enjoyed how this novel captured a contrarian perspective of the early college experience. 
Buy on Amazon
Garfield Large & in Charge

Garfield Large & in Charge

By Jim Davis 96 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Davis is always funny, and the reason I include this book recommendation is to bring more attention to his website, www.professorgarfield.org. This is one of my favorite websites to teach students how to write, as its free comic strip creator is a terrific way to allow students to create their own Garfield comic strips to teach sequence of events, review concepts learned each day, etc. Any K-8 teacher needs to check out this site.
Buy on Amazon
The Arrival

The Arrival

By Shaun Tan 128 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

This is a MUST BUY for all middle school teachers. I think it is one of the best books I have read for young adults in years. A wordless picture book that captures the immigrant experience and speaks loudly to my English language learners, this book can be used to stimulate amazing class discussions. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
Buy on Amazon
The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

By Stephen Chbosky 224 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Chbosky knows teenagers, and this book does a decent job of addressing the issues so many 11th graders face. I recommend this book to parents of teens, as I hope it will make more parents empathetic with the trials and tribulations of today’s adolescents.
Buy on Amazon
Define

Define "Normal"

By Julie Anne Peters 196 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

The story of two opposites discovering they are not so different after all is nothing new. Still, many teenage girls I read with connect to 15-year-olds Antonia and Jazz. I think Peters does a good job of capturing the way teens communicate. 
Buy on Amazon
Patches' Easter Adventure

Patches' Easter Adventure

By Hans Wilhelm 32 pages Children

Danny Says

Just in time for Easter, this beautifully-illustrated and wonderfully-told tale of a forgotten toy bunny ranks among my favorite stories written by Wilhelm, who has one of my favorite websites, www.hanswilhelm.com. Go to the website and check-out the “Story Time” area, which boasts FREE downloadable FULL-TEXT and PICTURES of Wilhelm’s out-of-print books. 
Buy on Amazon
Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity

Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity

By Mo Willems 48 pages Children

Danny Says

I guess I am recommending bunny books for Easter this month (is it me, or do Easter and daylight savings time get earlier every year?). Mo Willems can do no wrong, as this former Sesame Street writer is one of the top children’s book authors in America today. If you have never read one of his books, you are in for a treat (and, come on, his books take less than five minutes to read from cover to cover).
Buy on Amazon
Bunny Money

Bunny Money

By Rosemary Wells 32 pages Children

Danny Says

Rosemary Wells, please forgive me for taking so long to include you on my recommended reading list. Rosemary Wells should be REQUIRED reading, as her tales of Max and Ruby are hilarious. My kids especially love this store of Ruby and Max going into town to buy Grandma a birthday present, only to see Max squander most of Ruby’s Money on food and fake vampire teeth. I have never met a child who did not adore these books.
Buy on Amazon

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