Wolf Country (book review)

In Wolf Country, John Theberge tells the story of he and his wife Mary's adventures tracking the Algonquin wolves. Through his writings one learns a lot about a few of the wolf packs, such as the Jocko Lake and the McDonald Creek packs. You also get to know some individual wolves. The book describes the wolf-killing ban and the "winter of hate" that followed. It also talks about predator and prey relationships between wolves and deer, and the problems of coyote-wolf hybridization.

I enjoyed this book, and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in wolves or in the wildlife of Algonquin park. I hope that sometime I can read his other books and that they are as well-written and interesting as this one!

I give this book 9 out of 10 stars.

Video Nasty (Short Story Sunday Peril review)

Video Nasty, by Philip Pullman, is the story of three unsuspecting boys, a gruesome video, and a ghost...

Martin, Kevin, and David don't know what they are dealing with when they let the strange and mysterious boy watch their new video Snuff Park with them. At first they are just having fun, but then things start to get very scary. Just how does the weird boy know so much about Snuff Park?

I could tell straight away that this story was written by Philip Pullman. The dialogue was very similar to that of His Dark Materials. This was a very spooky story and I enjoyed every second of it. In fact, I can't wait to get to the next one!

This story gets 9 out of 10 stars.

(This story was from Scary! 2 edited by Peter Haining.)

Sounder (book review)

Sounder, by William h. Armstrong, is the story of a faithful coon dog named Sounder. Sounder is extremely loyal to his master, so when his master is taken away by the cops for stealing food to feed his family, Sounder tries to protect him. In the process, he nearly dies. Sounder helps his master's son live through the hard times ahead, but can he help the boy get his father back?

This was an extremely well written book, and I definitely enjoyed it. However, the story was so tragically sad that left me feeling a bit depressed.

I read book for the Newbery Challenge. (Four down, four to go.)

I give this book 8 stars out of 10.

The Penderwicks (book review)

The Penderwicks, by Jeanne Birdsall, is a story of friendship and adventure. The four Penderwick sisters: Batty, Jane, Rosalind, and Skye, are off to Arundel Mansion in the country for a great adventure. Once there, Skye accidentally runs into the owner's son, a boy named Jeffrey. Skye introduces Jeffrey to her sisters, and they become great friends. The sisters and their friend have many adventures they will never forget!

This book was OK, but I just couldn't really get into it. The sisters were very believable characters, but their personalities were not especially unique. It seemed as if the story was meant to be believable, but at times their adventures just didn't fit the bill. I have a feeling I would have enjoyed this book more when I was younger.

I give this book 6 stars out of 10.

Other books read since my last post:
*The Haunting of America by Troy Taylor (8 stars)
*Avalon Circle of Magic: All's Fairy in Love and War by Rachel Roberts (6 stars)
*The Sisters Grimm: The Problem Child by Michael Buckley (9 stars)
*His Dark Materials: The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman (9 stars)
*The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (9 stars)
*A Break With Charity by Ann Rinaldi (8 stars)
*The Bartimaeus Trilogy: The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud (9 stars)
*Sabriel by Garth Nix (9 stars)
*Stravaganza: City of Masks by Mary Hoffman (9 stars)
*Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors by Jenny Nimmo (9 stars)
*Catamount by Michael Peak (9 stars)
--That's a lot of good books lately!

Spooky Titles

I'm so excited that the R.I.P. II Reading Challenge is finally starting!

Here's my starting list, but I may add more. (Probably later today, since we're going to the library.)

*Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
*The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
*MacBeth by William Shakespeare
*Scary! 2 edited by Peter Haining
*The Sight by David Clement Davies
*The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
*Vampire Plagues Book One: London, 1850 by Sebastian Rook
*The Best of Poe: The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, The Cask of Amontillado, and 30 Others

Updated to add:

*The Bartimaeus Trilogy Book Two: The Golem's Eye by Jonathan Stroud
*The Beasties by William Sleator
*The Beast of Noor by Janet Lee Carey
*The Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson
*The Cronus Chronicles Book One: The Shadow Thieves by Anne Ursa
*The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien