By:
On:
In: Reaching Reluctant Readers, Young Adult Book Reviews
With: 0 Comments

Told in stages, similar to the process that occurs in a rocket launch, Amy Cherrix invites her readers to do some critical thinking as they read her book In the Shadow of the Moon. With this nonfiction account, Cherrix tells the story of America, Russia, and the hidden history of the space race. Some of that history is dark because of the shadowy behavior of certain people. No doubt, we are all well aware that people keep secrets, governments classify documents to keep the populace in the dark on certain topics, and individuals veil their intentions hoping to get what they want.  We also mayRead More →

By:
On:
In: General Book Reviews, Ideas You Can Use, Random Thoughts and Musings
With: 0 Comments

With Hope in the Mail, novelist Wendelin Van Draanen has written an inspirational and practical book for writers—one that would make an excellent supplementary text for a creative writing course or a “cheerleader” for any budding writer!  As both a teacher of writing and a writer myself, I found plenty of moments where I nodded knowingly or smiled wryly.  Despite this being a nonfiction book, Van Drannen brings her trademark humor to her writing. As I read, I collected various tidbits of wisdom, not the least of which is that no matter how young you are, you have experiences, knowledge, feelings, and observations worthy ofRead More →

By:
On:
In: Ideas You Can Use, This is interesting, What's Happening at PBC
With: 0 Comments

It’s that time of year again: the PBC Preferred Collections are here! It’s easy to stay current with all the new books you NEED to see, just use the PBC Preferred Collections! 3 Easy Ways to Stay Current 1.) Pick your own titles using our handy order forms. These are the Featured Collections, a.k.a. the FULL lists. 2015 – 2016 Elementary New Releases 2015 – 2016 Middle School New Releases 2015 – 2016 High School New Releases 2.) One form and you’re done for the whole year! Use the three levels of PBC Preferred Collections. We combed through our featured collections (above) for the whole year and picked out all the must-have titles,Read More →

By:
On:
In: Elementary Book Reviews, General Book Reviews, Middle Grade Reviews, Reaching Reluctant Readers, Realistic Fiction, Sports
With: 0 Comments

Twelve year old Peter Lee and his family are avid baseball fans. Even his strict Chinese immigrant father Ba -who has Peter do homework on the way to games- has some regard for the sport. However, once tragedy strikes, and takes with it a cherished loved one, no one talks about baseball anymore. Peter’s mom stops talking altogether. Convinced that what brought them together before can keep them together now, Peter joins a Little League team. The only problem? The league is short one coach. Ba steps in to seemingly save the day, but his methods rub Peter and his teammates the wrong way. Now whatRead More →

By:
On:
In: Action & Adventure, Action & Adventure (YA), General Book Reviews, Middle Grade Reviews, On the Edge, Reaching Reluctant Readers, Sci Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
With: 0 Comments

The Brothers of the Ikkuma Pit have fended for themselves since birth. They have no Mothers; only themselves and each other. When they arrive outside the Pit as babies, they must spend a whole night alone before they are welcomed inside to be cared for and guided by the Brothers that came before them. Every time a new Little Brother enters the Pit, a Big Brother must leave to make room for him. No Big Brother has ever returned after leaving to tell of what the outside world holds. Urgle is a Big Brother and he’s not very good at it. His Little Brother CubbyRead More →

By:
On:
In: On the Edge, Reaching Reluctant Readers, Realistic Fiction, Realistic Fiction (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
With: 0 Comments

Growing up isn’t easy. It never has been, and it probably never will be. High schooler Jason is just trying to make it to eighteen with as little trouble as possible, which is difficult when you have an abusive small time drug dealer for a dad and a little sister to look after. But Jason knows how to fight back; there isn’t a day that his dad comes at him that Jason doesn’t give as good as he gets. His tough kid reputation has made sure that no one at school messes with him. He makes money doing odd jobs around the city, saving upRead More →

By:
On:
In: Ideas You Can Use, This is interesting, What We're Reading, What's Happening at PBC
With: 0 Comments

We’ve made it easy for you to keep up with all the upcoming and brand new releases coming out this year, just use the PBC Preferred Collections! 3 Easy Ways to Stay Current: 1) Use our handy order forms: Elementary (Grades K-5) Full Order Form Middle School/Junior High (Grades 6-8) Full Order Form High School (Grades 9-12) Full Order Form 2) Order from the PBC Preferred Collections: One Form & You’re Done! We combed through our featured collections (above) for the whole year and picked out all the must-have titles, and created these collections for you. It’s easy to keep your library current with any size budget.    Read More →

By:
On:
In: Elementary Book Reviews, Ideas You Can Use, Picture Book Reviews
With: 0 Comments

The first time I picked up Moonday by Adam Rex I only looked at the pictures. BEAUTIFUL illustrations help to tell the story of the day the moon comes out of the sky and hangs in a girl’s backyard. It’s so imaginative and something I think most children wish would happen to them! I love how the story also follows the town and answers the question, what would happen in our town if the sun did not come up one day? This is the perfect book to aid in a teacher’s writing lessons. It would be great for teaching detail because the girl describes whatRead More →