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September 2007

Hi folks!

I am so excited to be enjoying time with my family at our timeshare in Palm Springs for the Labor Day holiday. I get too many e-mails from folks on holidays and Sundays, and I want to remind everybody that it is pretty important to take at least one day off every week to spend time with your loved ones (I don’t care if it is Sunday or Saturday or Wednesday, don’t forget the important people in your life). I, for one, am enjoying the time relaxing and catching up on a bunch of books I have had on my desk. 

Just finished Pat Conroy’s My Losing Season. He is such a gifted writer, and I always appreciate his kudos for teachers (if you have not read Conroy’s Prince of Tides, The Great Santini or The Water Is Wide, you are in for a treat). I have to admit a guilty pleasure, too: I just devoured the 2008 Guinness Book of World Records, which includes all sorts of useless information that I live for, like the world’s tallest man stands at eight feet, five inches in the Ukraine (by the way – this is a great book for boys who are reluctant readers). It is a little too long to include on a lazy readers’ list, but at just around 288 pages I would highly recommend you grab a copy of Jerry Spinelli’s Love, Stargirl. Let’s just say you can never go wrong with Jerry Spinelli, one of my favorite young adult authors (who all ages can enjoy). Finally, for the dorky crowd, I cannot say enough about Maxwell Maltz’s Psycho-Cybernetics. I have become addicted to brain research, and Maltz blends wonderful anecdotes with practical research that can produce magnificent results. I use many of his concepts in my presentations on motivation.

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 September, and enjoy your books!

Danny ;-)
The Book of Spam

The Book of Spam

By Dan Armstrong & Dustin Black 208 pages Adult

Danny Says

Subtitled “A Most Glorious and Definitive Compendium of the World’s Favorite Canned Meat,” this is the book I have been waiting for my entire life. I love Spam! Maybe it is just in reverence to Monty Python, but I have always gotten a kick out of all things Spam, and this book makes the perfect gift for the Spam aficionado or curious bystander. Great photos and hilarious (and often fascinating) tidbits about Spam.
Buy on Amazon
Forever Ours: Real Stories of Immortality and Living from a Forensic Pathologist

Forever Ours: Real Stories of Immortality and Living from a Forensic Pathologist

By Janis Amatuzio 209 pages Adult

Danny Says

Pretty fascinating accounts from a forensic pathologist about her encounters with the dead, and how to make the living feel better about their loved ones during their bereavement. The pages turn easily on this one.
Buy on Amazon
A Dog Year: Twelve Months, Four Dogs, and Me

A Dog Year: Twelve Months, Four Dogs, and Me

By Jon Katz 240 pages Adult

Danny Says

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not an animal lover. It is not that I dislike animals; I simply tend to despise irresponsible pet owners who think I enjoy their cats ripping up my welcome mat or celebrate their dogs doing their business in my front yard. That is why I was surprised to love this book so much. I guess Jon Katz is well-known, but I just grabbed his book from a pile and found myself instantly captivated. He is better known for other books, and I intend to read them. In the meantime, grab a copy of this treasure and learn plenty about human beings as well as “man’s best friends.”
Buy on Amazon
Crackback

Crackback

By John Coy 208 pages Children

Danny Says

The kind of book I would have read in middle school, this story chronicles a teen’s football woes as he tries to please his father and coach and fit in with his peers. Deals with a variety of issues that make it a page-turner.
Buy on Amazon
Miss Potter: The Novel

Miss Potter: The Novel

By Richard Maltby Jr. 189 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

One of my favorite tricks for finding short books is to look up screenplays and novels of the movies. They almost always tend to be short, and for some reason I can read these accounts very easily (good tip for teachers and parents of reluctant teen readers). I loved this movie, which did not receive the publicity and recognition it deserved. This book would also make a great read aloud for elementary school teachers who want to read Peter Rabbit and give students extra background knowledge about Beatrix Potter.
Buy on Amazon
Overboard

Overboard

By Elizabeth Fama 186 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

You have to read this one! This knocked my socks off, even when I was reading in sandals. Based on the 1996 accident in Indonesia that saw a ferry capsize, drowning hundreds of passengers. This intriguing first novel by Fama places a self-absorbed American teenager surviving the night with a Muslim boy she gave a lifejacket to as the ship went down. Honestly, I had no idea I would like this book as much as I did. A real treat. 
Buy on Amazon
A Field Guide to High School

A Field Guide to High School

By Marissa Walsh 144 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

This book will take a maximum of two hours to read (big print, lots of dialogue and a few blank pages – yes)! Worth the brief read, as ultra-popular valedictorian Claire leaves this guide behind for her in-coming freshman sister Andie to know the ins-and-outs of high school. Let’s just say that Claire may not have known everything, and the book provides plenty of laughs for all ages to enjoy.
Buy on Amazon
Solar System SOS

Solar System SOS

By Arlen Cohn 32 pages Children

Danny Says

When the sun strays from its normal position, representatives from each planet in the solar system team up to solve the problem. Part of the Eyeball Animation series (the books all have cool big plastic eyeballs popping out), this is a fun way to introduce students to the planets.
Buy on Amazon
Actual Size

Actual Size

By Steve Jenkins 28 pages Children

Danny Says

I have featured a number of books by Steve Jenkins (and his frequent collaborator, Robin Page) in my book talks around the country, and I did not realize that I had never featured him in a single lazy readers’ pick. He is one of my favorite children’s authors, as his books always include wonderful illustrations that educate students on a wide array of subjects, from animals to geography. This book is great because it features illustrations of the actual size of different animals’ claws, wings, etc. Kids love comparing the size of their hands and fingers to the pictures. Lots of fun!
Buy on Amazon
First Day Jitters

First Day Jitters

By Julie Danneberg 32 pages Children

Danny Says

Every teacher needs to buy this book. A wonderful read-aloud for students to enjoy about Sarah Jane Hartwell’s reluctance to get out of bed and go to school for the first day. The illustrations by Judith Dufour Love brilliantly hide Sarah until the very end, when we learn that she is not a new student but a new teacher. Kids really get a kick out of this book. 
Buy on Amazon

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