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Showing posts from April 12, 2010

Stirring It Up! by Diane Muldrow; Illustrations by Barbara Pollak

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Reading level: Ages 9-12 Paperback: 160 pages Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap (February 1, 2007) Book Description: To Molly and Amanda, cooking classes with their friends Shawn and Peichi seem like the key ingredient for a super summer. That is, until their arch-nemesis, Natasha, shows up. But when tragedy strikes a local family, the girls decide to put their cooking skills to good use and make some meals for them. The meals hit the spot, plus the girls feel good about helping out. Maybe they can turn their hobby into something more? My Review: This is the first title in the "Dish" series and I liked it. The story is about twin sisters Molly and Amanda. Home life in Brooklyn, New York is busy, which means dinner is some form of take-out food every night. Since their parents work late the girls decide to take 'matters" into their own hands, quite literally. They take cooking classes. They're happy to find out their friends Shawn and Peichi are in the sam

Who's Got Spirit? by Nancy E. Krulik

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Date: October 2008 Page Count: 102 Reading Level: Ages 9-12 Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks BOOK DESCRIPTION : I t's fall spirit week at Joyce Kilmer Middle School, and the Pops have established their own exclusive "pep squad," complete with matching outfits! Jenny's friends decide to fight back by forming a rival group with their own uniforms. Things heat up even more when a costumed lion mascot appears on the scene. No one knows who's inside--is it a Pop... or not? MY REVIEW: "Who's Got Spirit?" is book number seven in the popular "How I Survived Middle School" series by Krulik. Being a sixth grader and in my first year of middle school I think it's a great series for kids my age attending MS. The situations in Krulik's story are so realistic and some of the things the characters do remind me of how my own friends act.  This book was short and sweet. Its Spirit Week (we recently had our own week at my school so I could