Maw Books

Maw Books – book reviews, book recommendations, book lists, author interviews and more!

Halloween has been a month long event here at our house.  We got dressed in our costumes no less than a billion times and attended at least half a dozen parties as well as hosting one for all of my little guy’s friends.  I’m now raiding the boys candy stash and recovering by convincing my husband that I need to take long naps.

We’ve been reading a lot of Halloween picture books about monsters and other spooky things this month.  I reviewed Jeremy Draws a Monster, Goodnight Goon, Leonardo the Terrible Monster, Where’s My Mummy, Dear Vampa, and A Very Hairy Scary Story.  I had many more books in my pile that I thought for sure I would also review this month including Billy Bones: The Road to Nevermore,  Frankenstein Takes the Cake, There Was An Old Monster!, Gris Grimly’s Wicked Nursery Rhymes, Thirteen O’Clock, Three Little Ghosties, and Spooky ABC.  There’s always next Halloween right?  I’m also halfway through Frankenstein by Mary Shelley which I didn’t finish for my face-to-face book club and Heather’s Dueling Monster’s Read-a-long.  I’m still planning  a review of that one.

As many of you know from the past photos of my husband that he’s a bit crazy about Halloween costumes.  The past few years he’s dressed up as Edward Scissorhands, Willy Wonka, and the Joker.  He pulls them all off and looks great!  Normally he works on the costume all year but everything changed this time around when Michael Jackson died.  So yes, we succumbed to one of the most popular costumes this year and each of us dressed up as a different era in Michael Jackson’s life.

I know many of you have asked if Taylor won his office Halloween costume contest this year after winning two years in a row.  In the morning he arrived as the black Thriller Michael Jackson and then at lunch time he changed to the white Billy Jean Michael Jackson (as seen in the pics above).  It was hilarious because he came out dancing.

But did he win?  Well, he got second place.  Just take a look at the following photo and take a wild guess at who won (my husband even spent two nights helping his friend out with the winning costume – I swear I want to borrow it one day, it’s so cool).

I’d love to share some video with you of my husband dancing because he danced a ton!  We are putting one together and I’ll add it in here and tweet the link as well when it goes up.  It was really nuts.  He really pulled off the look!

And well, to make the post a bit more bookish, guess who we ran into during our Halloween activities?  Brandon Mull:

It was a fun time with the Jackson Four at our house!

What’s your favorite Michael Jackson look?  Favorite song?  So many kids didn’t know who we were!  Luckily, we brainwashed our kids.  They loved it.  And know quite a few dance moves themselves.

*ahem*  Can I just mention that my husband lost 40 lbs for this role!  He looks fantastic!  Now I need tips on how to convince him to get rid of that ponytail . . .

Hey you! Yes. You! I've noticed that you've stopped by to visit a few times! But I don't know who you are. Why don't you take a moment and introduce yourself. Don't be scared. I try not to bite. I know you're a lurker but I'd love to hear your thoughts about what's been bringing you here. And if you haven't done so already, don't forget to never miss a post by subscribing to my feed or receiving updates by email. Thanks for visiting!

The New York Times Bestseller List
November 1, 2009

Hardcover Fiction

1. THE LOST SYMBOL, by Dan Brown. Robert Langdon among the Masons.
2. THE SCARPETTA FACTOR, by Patricia Cornwell. Apparent threats on Kay Scarpetta’s life make her hesitate when a TV producer wants her to star in a show.
3. PURSUIT OF HONOR, by Vince Flynn. The counterterrorism operative Mitch Rapp must teach politicians about national security following a new Qaeda attack.
4. NINE DRAGONS, by Michael Connelly. The Los Angeles detective Harry Bosch fights crime at home and in Hong Kong
5. THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett.  A young white woman and two black maids in 1960s ­Mississippi.

Hardcover Nonfiction

1. HAVE A LITTLE FAITH, by Mitch Albom.  A suburban rabbi and a Detroit pastor teach lessons about the comfort of belief.
2. SUPERFREAKONOMICS, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.  A scholar and a journalist apply economic thinking to everything: the sequel.
3. WHAT THE DOG SAW, by Malcolm Gladwell. A decade of New Yorker essays.
4. TOO BIG TO FAIL, by Andrew Ross Sorkin. ( The 2008 financial implosion on Wall Street and in Washington, by a New York Times reporter and columnist.
5. ARGUING WITH IDIOTS, written and edited by Glenn Beck, Kevin Balfe and others.  The case against big government.

Paperback Trade Fiction

1. PUSH, by Sapphire.  An abused, illiterate 16-year-old in Harlem meets a teacher who helps change her life; the basis for the film “Precious.”
2. THE SHACK, by William P. Young.  A man whose daughter was abducted is invited to an isolated shack, apparently by God.
3. OLIVE KITTERIDGE, by Elizabeth Strout.  A seventh-grade math teacher is the link in 13 stories set on the Maine coast; a 2009 Pulitzer winner.
4. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, by Stieg Larsson.  A hacker and a journalist investigate the disappearance of a Swedish heiress.
5. SAY YOU’RE ONE OF THEM, by Uwem Akpan.  Stories set in Africa, told from the point of view of wise and resilient children.

Paperback Mass-Market Fiction

1. THE ASSOCIATE, by John Grisham. An idealistic law-school graduate is forced to take a job at a large, brutalizing law firm.
2. CROSS COUNTRY, by James Patterson.  Alex Cross chases the leader of a teenage gang.
3. HEAT LIGHTNING, by John Sandford. Virgil Flowers investigates a string of murders in which a lemon was left in the mouth of each victim.
4. TRUE DETECTIVES, by Jonathan Kellerman. In the 24th Alex Delaware novel, the interracial half-brothers from “Bones” investigate a young woman’s death.
5. SCARPETTA, by Patricia Cornwell. The forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta takes on a new assignment in New York.

Paperback Non-Fiction

1. I HOPE THEY SERVE BEER IN HELL, by Tucker Max.  Life as a self-absorbed, drunken womanizer.
2. FREAKONOMICS, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.  A scholar and a journalist apply economic theory to nearly everything.
3. THREE CUPS OF TEA, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. A former climber builds schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
4. THE GLASS CASTLE, by Jeannette Walls. The author recalls a bizarre childhood during which she and her siblings moved constantly.
5. THE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE, by Max Brooks.The comedy writer offers a plan for safeguarding yourself from the living dead.

Hardcover Advice

1. KNOCKOUT, by Suzanne Somers.  Advice and interviews with doctors offering innovative cancer treatments.
2. JIM CRAMER’S GETTING BACK TO EVEN, by James J. Cramer with Cliff Mason. The “Mad Money” host offers advice for investing in a changed market.
3. THE CONSCIOUS COOK, by Tal Ronnen. Vegan recipes to appeal to meat-eaters.
4. GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS 2010, edited by Craig Glenday. Tallest, fastest, youngest, most.
5. THE KIND DIET, by Alicia Silverstone. The actress’s recipes and insights for going meat- and dairy-free.

Paperback Advice

1. NEW MOON, by Mark Cotta Vaz.  The illustrated companion to the movie based on the second book in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight vampire romance series.
2. WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING, by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel.  Advice for parents-to-be.
3. THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES, by Gary Chapman.  How to communicate love in a way a spouse will understand.
4. THE POWER OF NOW, by Eckhart Tolle. A guide to personal growth and spiritual enlightenment.
5. SKINNY BITCH, by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin.  Vegan diet advice from the world of modeling.

Children’s Picture Books

1. LEGO STAR WARS, by Simon Beecroft.  An annotated visual dictionary. (Ages 7 and up)
2. JULIE ANDREWS’S COLLECTION OF POEMS, SONGS, AND LULLABIES, by Emma Walton Hamilton and Julie Andrews. Illustrated by James McMullan.. All of the above, by various authors, plus a CD. (Ages 4 to
3. SKIPPYJON JONES, LOST IN SPICE, by Judy Schachner. The peppery red planet captures a cat’s fancy. (Ages 4 to
4. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, by Barb Bersche and Michelle Quint.  A movie tie-in adapted from the screenplay based on the children’s classic. (Ages 9 to 12)
5. LISTEN TO THE WIND: THE STORY OF DR. GREG AND “THREE CUPS OF TEA”, by Greg Mortenson and Susan L. Roth.  A school grows in Pakistan. (Ages 4 to

Children’s Chapter Books

1. CATCHING FIRE, by Suzanne Collins.The protagonist of “The Hunger Games” returns. (Ages 12 and up)
2. THE HUNGER GAMES, by Suzanne Collins. In a dystopian future, a girl fights for survival on live TV. (Ages 12 and up).
3. THE MAGICIAN’S ELEPHANT, by Kate DiCamillo and Yoko Tanaka.  An orphan in search of his sister follows a fortuneteller’s mysterious instructions. (Ages 7 and up)
4. TRICKS, by Ellen Hopkins. (McElderry/Simon & Schuster,  A novel in verse about five teenagers who become prostitutes. (Ages 14 and up)
5. SHIVER, by Maggie Stiefvater.  Love among the lupine. (Ages 12 and up)

Children’s Paperback Books

1. THE BOOK THIEF, by Markus Zusak. A girl saves books from Nazi burning and shares them with a Jewish man in hiding. (Ages 14 and up)
2. THREE CUPS OF TEA: YOUNG READERS EDITION, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. A former climber builds schools in Pakistani and Afghan villages. (Ages 9 to 12)
3. DARK VISIONS, by L. J. Smith. A school for psychic teens. (Ages 14 and up)
4. THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN, by Sherman Alexie. Illustrated by Ellen Forney.  A young boy leaves his reservation for an all-white school. (Ages 12 and up)
5. BLUE MOON, by Alyson Noël.  An immortal girl. (Ages 12 and up)

Children’s Series Books

1. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney.  A boy records the hazards of adolescent life. (Ages 9 to 12)
2. THE TWILIGHT SERIES, by Stephenie Meyer. Vampires and werewolves in high school. (Ages 12 and up)
3. PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS, by Rick Riordan.  Battling mythological monsters. (Ages 9 to 12)
4. VAMPIRE DIARIES, by L. J. Smith.  Vampires in school, with a love triangle. (Ages 12 and up)
5. THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY, by Trenton Lee Stewart.  Gifted kids undertake a mission. (Ages 9 to 12)

Hardcover Graphic Books

1. THE BOOK OF GENESIS: ILLUSTRATED, by R. Crumb. The legendary artist tackles the first book of the Bible.
2. ABSOLUTE DEATH, by Neil Gaiman, Chris Bachalo and Mark Buckingham.  Death, the upbeat sister of Dream, is one of the best characters that emerged from the critically-acclaimed “Sandman” series. This over-sized collected edition contains two mini-series devoted to this very different incarnation of the Grim Reaper.
3. STITCHES: A MEMOIR, by David Small.  The author recalls his life, including an operation at age 14 that leaves his voice barely above a whisper, in this graphic memoir.
4. BATMAN: CACOPHONY, by Kevin Smith and Walter Flanagan.  The Dark Knight squares off against Onomatopoeia, who murders superheroes for sport, and the Joker is caught in the middle.
5. THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ, by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young. Dorothy travels to the land of OZ, graphic novel style.

Paperback Graphic Books

1. THE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE: RECORDED ATTACKS, by Max Brooks. If you want to survive a zombie attack, there may be no better way than to see how past cultures have done it.
2. JACK OF FABLES, VOL. 6, by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges.  In this latest collection of the monthly series, Jack lead’s the attack on Revise’s compound and more is revealed about his relationships between Jack and the Page sisters.
3. WATCHMEN, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. This epic tale from 1986 signaled a new maturity in comic books.
4. BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN, by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale.  This compelling mystery, set early in the Caped Crusader’s career, has mobsters, the sad downfall of Harvey Dent (Two Face) and a new foe: Holiday.
5. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: SEASON 8, VOL. 5, by various. Will things ever get better for Buffy? Now she has to deal with “Harmony Bites,” a reality show starring a former-classmate-and-current-vampire. Plus: more from the mysterious Twilight.

Manga

1. NARUTO 46, by Masashi Kishimoto.  Naruto’s friends are threatened, the mysteries of Pain deepen and Naruto must fight to protect his village.
2. ROSARIO VAMPIRE, VOL. 9, by Akihisa Ikeda. Tsukune Aono’s new school is filled with vampires and werewolves. How is a human teenager to survive?
3. SOUL EATER, VOL. 1, by Atsushi Ohkubo. Maka, an arms expert, wants to turn the Soul Eater, her living scythe, into the ultimate weapon for Death.
4. DEATH NOTE: L, CHANGE THE WORLD, by M. The detective known as L is scheduled to die in 23 days. That leaves him with 22 days to stop a terrorist group from unleashing a virus upon the world.
5. YU-GI-OH! R, VOl. 1., by Akira Ito and Kazuki Takahashi.  Yugi, the king of games, must face off against Yako Tenma, the protege of a Maxmilion Pegasus, who Yugi had previously vanquished.
6. CHIBI VAMPIRE, VOL. 14, by Yuna Kagesaki.  Karin, a vampire who every month bleeds profusely from her nose, is kidnapped by a gang of vampires who want to use her blood for their own survival.

Source: The New York Times Best Seller List

Hey you! Yes. You! I've noticed that you've stopped by to visit a few times! But I don't know who you are. Why don't you take a moment and introduce yourself. Don't be scared. I try not to bite. I know you're a lurker but I'd love to hear your thoughts about what's been bringing you here. And if you haven't done so already, don't forget to never miss a post by subscribing to my feed or receiving updates by email. Thanks for visiting!

I picked up Jeremy Draws a Monster by Peter McCarty at the library because I couldn’t resist that adorable cover.  Brought it home to discover that it’s a Cybils nominee.  Score!

Poor shy Jeremy lives on the top floor of a three-story apartment building.  Every day he looks down at the other boys and girls playing ball.  But he never goes outside.  One day, Jeremy takes out his fancy blue ball- point pen and draws a monster.  But his monster ends up to be pretty demanding and rude asking Jeremy to draw him a sandwich, a toaster, a record player, a checkerboard, a comfortable chair, a television, a hot tog, a telephone, and a piece of cake.  When the monster asks for a  hat so he can go out, Jeremy thinks with relief that he may be gone for good.

But the monster returns later that night and takes over Jeremy’s bed.  Jeremy’s a smart kid and the next morning draws the monster a bus ticket and a suitcase and helps him get out of town.  But once he puts the monster on the bus, he’s not in his room anymore.  He’s outside!  So . . . he plays ball with the neighbor kids.

I liked this one.  The illustrations are really cute.  I loved the pen and ink line quality to the blue monster.  I loved that the monster wasn’t scary.  Just very demanding.   I liked shy Jeremy and his problem solving skills.  My boys have casually looked through the pages of this one with interest although I haven’t sat down with them yet to read it cover to cover.  My four-year old is the perfect age for the short text.  The book has that special feel to it.  You just know it when you see it.

Links of interest: Peter McCarty website, more book blogger reviews, Travis at 100 Scope Notes has a much more eloquent review of this book than I do.
Genre: Fiction Picture Book, approx ages 4-8.
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. September 1, 2009
Hardcover, 40 pages. ISBN 0805069348
Jeremy Draws a Monster is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

Hey you! Yes. You! I've noticed that you've stopped by to visit a few times! But I don't know who you are. Why don't you take a moment and introduce yourself. Don't be scared. I try not to bite. I know you're a lurker but I'd love to hear your thoughts about what's been bringing you here. And if you haven't done so already, don't forget to never miss a post by subscribing to my feed or receiving updates by email. Thanks for visiting!

Goodnight Goon, A Petrifying Parody by Michael Rex is a parody off of Goodnight Moon which I  must admit we don’t have in this household nor is it a book that my kids are familiar with.  In fact,  I think I’ve looked at Goodnight  Moon only once.  Really no reason to the indifference just not a book that we’ve gotten into yet.

Anyways, in Goodnight Goon a little werewolf is having a hard time going to sleep.  He names the things in his room which includes pictures of martians taking over the moon, three little mummies rubbing their tummies, moans and groans, a skull, and a pot full of goo.  After he names them he says goodnight one by one to each of them. He puts the monsters under the bed (so clever) and ends by saying goodnight monsters everywhere.

This has potential to be a really, really cute book but the illustrations were just not doing it for me.  My kids weren’t crazy about it either but I only tried it once on them.  And well, sometimes, especially my kids, need to be exposed to a book more than once.  So, it doesn’t seem fair that I’m sharing their reaction after only one reading but to tell you the truth, they never picked it out of the pile on their own either.  It just couldn’t compete with Where’s My Mummy or Leonardo the Terrible Monster this week.

But overall, I think it’s worth taking a look at this Halloween picture book to discover if it will be a new classic in your home.  Because your kids just might love it.

Links of interest:  Michael Rex website, more book blogger reviews.
Genre:  Picture Book, approx ages 4-8.
Publisher:  Putnam Juvenile.  August 14, 2008.
Hardcover, 32 pages.  ISBN 0399245340
Goodnight Goon is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

Hey you! Yes. You! I've noticed that you've stopped by to visit a few times! But I don't know who you are. Why don't you take a moment and introduce yourself. Don't be scared. I try not to bite. I know you're a lurker but I'd love to hear your thoughts about what's been bringing you here. And if you haven't done so already, don't forget to never miss a post by subscribing to my feed or receiving updates by email. Thanks for visiting!

My boys can not get enough of Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems which we’ve been reading in anticipation for Halloween although I would stress that although great for Halloween with its monster theme is a great everyday picture book.  And I must admit (although embarrassing), that Mo Willems is a new addition to our household.  But he’s been welcomed with open arms.

I have a fun video for you of us reading Leonardo the Terrible Monster together.  At one point, it gets most rambunctious.  Another book that we will be sad to return to the library and will be added to boys permanent wish list.

Links of interest:  Mo Willems website and blog, more book blogger reviews.
Genre: Fiction Picture Book, approx ages 4-8.
Publisher: Hyperion Book. August 23, 2005
Hardcover, 48 pages. ISBN 0786852941
Leonardo the Terrible Monster is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

Hey you! Yes. You! I've noticed that you've stopped by to visit a few times! But I don't know who you are. Why don't you take a moment and introduce yourself. Don't be scared. I try not to bite. I know you're a lurker but I'd love to hear your thoughts about what's been bringing you here. And if you haven't done so already, don't forget to never miss a post by subscribing to my feed or receiving updates by email. Thanks for visiting!