Friday November 21, 2008
Children's Books: Ages 9-12
Displayed below are the top selling items for today, Friday November 21, 2008 along with the review customers have voted "most useful".
To find top selling items in for a specific category, use the menu on the left or click here to see all categories.
- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
- Untitled Paolini : Inheritance, Book III (Inheritance) by Christopher Paolini
- Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J. K. Rowling
- 39 Clues : Maze Of Bones by Rick Riordan
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book by Jeff Kinney
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid : Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney
- Burning Up : On Tour with the Jonas Brothers by Kevin, Joe, And Nick Jonas
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The Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman
(based on 41 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Author: Neil Gaiman
Publisher: HarperCollins
Price: $10.79
You save: $7.20 (40%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
89 out of 98 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 10/4/08
The gravity of the situation
I've noticed that there's been an increased interest in the macabre in children's literature lately. Sometimes when I've had a glass or two of wine and I'm in a contemplative mood I try weaving together a postulation that ties the current love of violent movies into this rise in children's literary darkness. Is the violence of the world today trickling down into our entertainment? Hogwash and poppycock and other words of scoff and denial, says sober I. But I've certainly seen a distinct rise in the Gothic and otherworldly over the last few years, and one wonders if it's because kids want more of that kind of stuff or publishers are merely getting less squeamish. All that aside, generally I'll read a May Bird book or an Everlost title and they'll be fun examinations of the hereafter, but not the kind of things that touch my heart. Great writing doesn't have to transcend its genre. It just has to be emotionally honest with the reader. And The Graveyard Book is one of the most emotionally honest books I've yet to have read this year. Smart and focused, touching and wry, it takes the story of a boy raised by ghosts and extends it beyond the restrictive borders of the setting. Great stuff.
It starts with three murders. There were supposed to be four. The man Jack was one of the best, maybe THE best, and how hard is it to kill a toddler anyway? But on that particular night the little boy went for a midnight toddle out the front door while the murderer was busy and straight into the nearby graveyard. Saved and protected by the denizens of that particular abode (the ghosts and the far more corporeal if mysterious Silas), the little boy is called Bod, short for Nobody because no one knows his name. As he grows older, Bod learns the secrets of the graveyard, though he has to be careful. The man (or is it "men"?) who killed his family could come back for him. Best to stay quiet and out of sight. Yet as Bod grows older it becomes clear that hiding may not be the best way to confront his enemies. And what's more, Bod must come to grips with what it means to grow up.
Can I level with you? You know Coraline? Mr. Gaiman's previous foray into middle grade children's literature. Come close now, I don't want to speak too loudly. Uh... I didn't much care for it. WAIT! Come back, come back, I didn't mean it! Well, maybe I did a tad. It was a nice book. A sufficient story. But it was very much (new category alert) an adult-author-to-children's-author-first-timer-title. Gaiman appeared to be finding his sealegs with Coraline. He took the old Alice in Wonderland trope which adult authors naturally gravitate to on their first tries (see: Un Lun Dun, Summerland, The King in the Window, etc.). Throw in some rats, bees, and buttons, and voila! Instant success. But Coraline for all its readability and charm didn't get me here [thumps chest:]. I didn't feel emotionally close to the material. Now why it should be that I'd feel closer emotionally to a book filled with a plethora of ghosts, ghouls, night-gaunts, and Hounds of God, I can only chalk up to The Graveyard Book's strong vision.
My husband likes to say that the whole reason Buffy the Vampire Slayer worked as a television show was that it was a natural metaphor for the high school (and eventually college) experience. Likewise, The Graveyard Book has this strong,strange, wonderful metaphor about kids growing up, learning about the wider world, and exploring beyond the safe boundaries of their homes. There's so much you can read into this book. I mean, aren't all adults just ghosts to kids anyway? Those funny talking people whose time has passed but that may provide some shelter and wisdom against the wider, crueler world. Plus Mr. Gaiman also includes characters in Bod's world that kids will wish they had in their own. Silas, a man who may be a vampire (though the word is never said) is every child's fantasy; A mysterious/magical guardian/friend who will tell you the truth when your parents will not.
One thing I particularly liked about the book was the fact that Bod makes quite a few careless or thoughtless mistakes and yet you don't feel particularly inclined to throttle him because of them. Too often in a work of fiction a person isn't properly put into the head of their protagonist. So when that character walks off and does something stupid there's the sense (sometimes faint, sometimes not) that they deserved it and you're not going to stick around and read about somebody that dumb, are you? But even when Bod is at his most intolerable, his most childishly selfish and single-minded, you can understand and sympathize with him. Bod is no brat, a fact that implies right there that he is someone worth rooting for. We see our own young selves in Bod, and we root for him as a result. And as Bod reaches each stage in his growth, he encounters experiences and personalities that help him to reach maturity. That's a lot to put on the plate of a l'il ole fantasy novel, particularly one that's appropriate for younger kids.
And it is appropriate too. Don't let the fact that the first sentence in the book ("There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife") put you off. The murder of Bod's family is swift, immediate, and off-screen. What remains is just a great fantasy novel that has the potential to appeal to both boy and girl readers. Kid wants a ghost story? Check. Kid wants a fantasy novel set in another world appropriate for Harry Potter fans? Check. Kid wants a "good book". That's my favorite request. When the eleven-year-old comes up to my desk and begs for "a good book" I can just show them the cover and the title of this puppy and feel zero guilt when their little eyes light up. A good book it is.
I guess that if I have any objections at all to the title it has something to do with the villains. They're a bit sketchy, which I suppose is the point, but we live in an era where children's fantasy novels spend oodles of time defining their antagonists' motivations and histories. Gaiman's more interested in his hero, which is natural, but the villains' raison d'être is just a bit too vague for the average reader. Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that Bod's family is slaughtered at the start of this tale you wouldn't necessarily know whether or not to believe that these people are as nasty as we've been told.
That said the book's a peach. I once heard someone postulate that maybe Neil Gaiman wrote it just so that he could play with the sentence "It takes a graveyard to raise a child." Unlikely. Fun, but unlikely. I mean, he does make a casual allusion that isn't far off from that phrase, but he never goes whole hog. This book doesn't feel like it was written to back up a joke. It feels like a book written by a parent with children growing up and moving out. It's a title that tips its hat to kids making their way in the world, their pasts behind them, their futures unknown. This is not yet another silly little fantasy novel, but something with weight and depth. The fact that it just happens to be loads of fun to boot is simply a nice bonus. Highly recommended.
Click here to see more reviews for: The Graveyard Book
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Untitled Paolini
Inheritance, Book III (Inheritance)
by Christopher Paolini
(based on 386 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Author: Christopher Paolini
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Price: $16.50
You save: $11.00 (40%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
238 out of 279 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 9/21/08
A satisfying fantasy adventure tale
I enjoyed the first two books of this series, and was eager to read the third. I won't outline the plot, because you can find that elsewhere. I will just tell you what I think about this book.
It is an enjoyable read, and a worthy third installment to the series. I thought that Eragon was a very good story, and Eldest not quite as good, although Paolini's writing had improved. Brisingr is the best of the three. I fell back into the story right away, and I found myself caring about the characters, even worrying about their safety. This is what I look for in fiction: it made me want to pick up the book every chance I got. If it interferes with the rest of my life, it is a very good book. Brisingr is one of those books. I am thankful to my son that he recommended this series to me.
Some reviewers of Eldest were very critical of the fact that the plot is derivative of other epics, like The Lord Of The Rings or Star Wars. I didn't mind this in the least. It is the tale of a hero's journey, complete with absence, devestation and return. It is one of the oldest tales in storytelling. We already know the story, but it is the storytelling that makes it good or bad. Paolini is a good writer. Not as great as Tolkein or LeGuin, but good nevertheless. I was able to suspend my inner critic, and enjoy the read. I recommend that you do the same.
Click here to see more reviews for: Untitled Paolini
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Inkdeath
by Cornelia Funke (based on 25 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Author: Cornelia Funke
Publisher: The Chicken House
Price: $14.99
You save: $10.00 (40%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
51 out of 56 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 9/26/08
Funke is on a serious roll
I love the Inkheart trilogy, I seriously can't get enough of it! I must admit at first I was somewhat reluctant to read the conclusion to the trilogy, afraid it might be a letdown as most serie-enders are becoming, but it was as excellent as the first and second books (not to mention the breathtaking cover). Its excellently paced, descriptive, suspenseful, and keeps you flipping the pages, just salivating for the finish. I admit it started a little slow in my opinion, but it definitely picked up and kept my interest; I just couldn't put it down. I don't really want to give anything away, except that this is an amazing book, and you cannot miss out on it.
Click here to see more reviews for: Inkdeath
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)
by J. K. Rowling (based on 3236 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Edition: 1st Edition, Book Seven (7)
Author: J. K. Rowling
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Price: $20.99
You save: $14.00 (40%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
535 out of 660 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 7/21/07
A perfect ending to a glorious series
Before the release of the seventh and last book of the Harry Potter series, I re-read all the preceding volumes. Throughout, I followed how the author developed her grand theme of Right vs Wrong, the strong vs the weak and the evils of the misuse of power. How was Rowling to end this series? Obviously, the Apocalypse was at hand, and the heroic struggle between Harry Potter and the evil Voldemort would be the climax of the series. While we waited for the last book, rumors abounded. Fake spoilers floated over the internet like the soul-sucking Dementors, threatening to extinguish the enjoyment people would get from this final volume. So, no spoilers from this reviewer. All I will say is that "Deathly Hallows" lived up to my expectations and in fact, ended pretty much as I imagined it would. Rowling keeps true to her theme right to the end and to her artistic vision as well. There is plenty of action right from the get-go. This is by far the most exciting of the seven books, with duels, battles, fights, daring escapes and amazing twists of fortune. There are plenty of surprises and also many reasons to weep. The action sometimes is non-stop, but from time to time, there are welcome respites in the action, times for moments of tenderness or friendship between surprising pairings of characters. The sub-theme of the redeptive power of Love is evident in these idylls. J. K. Rowling is a master writer who has created an amazing work of art with the Harry Potter series and just as any master craftsman, she has chosen the perfect finish for a fine series of books. I look forward to new series with entire new worlds or...perhaps this is really the end. Some authors do write themselves out when they've said their say. I don't know. But I do know this author is one I enjoy reading and I hope we have many more new adventures to discover from her pen. Bravo! Joanna Daneman
Click here to see more reviews for: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)
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39 Clues
Maze Of Bones
by Rick Riordan (based on 28 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Edition: Hardcover
Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Price: $10.18
You save: $2.81 (22%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
58 out of 66 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 9/13/08
An addictive new series
I was reminded of both The Da Vinci Code and the Harry Potter books as I read Maze of Bones. First of all, it's an addictive read. Second, it is a mystery with multiple clues involving famous people, like Dan Brown's book. Last, like J.K. Rowling's famous books, it is about a group of people separated into four different branches, or houses; and about children saving the world.
The plot involves the diverse, far-flung Cahill family, which has been the most powerful family in history. Anyone important in history was probably a Cahill, including Abraham Lincoln, Isaac Newton, Winston Churchill, Napoleon Bonaparte and, especially, Benjamin Franklin. The source of the Cahill's power has been lost over time. The 39 Clues is about the search for that source, by a group of Cahill relatives vying against each other to find the answer. The clues are found all over the world.
Penniless orphans Amy and Dan Cahill enlist the help of their teenage au pair, Nellie, to find the solution to the mystery. The kids seem like real people, and you root for them against their mostly despicable relatives. Amy is a painfully shy, stuttering 14-year-old; Dan is a precocious 11-year-old who loves collecting things. Although they often fight, the siblings help each other during the many dangerous adventures collecting the clues.
Maze of Bones is the first of 10 books in this new Scholastic series, which also has an elaborate supplemental contest where readers can try to come up with the answers to the clues themselves. The book comes with six game cards that you can use to get clues online. There are 350 cards in total, so the series is also a card-collecting game for kids.
But if you just want to read Maze of Bones, it's certainly worthwhile. It's fast-paced, full of fascinating people and has an interesting mystery. I recommend it, and look forward to the second book.
Click here to see more reviews for: 39 Clues
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Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book
by Jeff Kinney (based on 18 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Edition: 1
Author: Jeff Kinney
Publisher: Amulet Books
Price: $6.57
You save: $4.38 (40%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
10 out of 13 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 10/13/08
Great book for even early readers.
My son first discovered the Wimpy Kid books when he was in 1st grade. He loved the first two, and when we saw there was a new one, he wanted it right away. (Before he even opened it, he saw on the back cover that another new one was coming out, and he got even more excited). This book is more of the same (which is a good thing), and it adds a lot of blank areas within the story where it encourages readers to use their imagination and add to the author's story.
My son starting reading this book in the store, and didn't put it down until he had finished it. The last half of the book is just lined pages for the reader to write their own stories. I am going to encourage my son to write in it a little every day.
I can strongly recommend this book to parents of children not only in middle school, but elementary school too.
Click here to see more reviews for: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book
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Diary of a Wimpy Kid
by Jeff Kinney (based on 177 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Author: Jeff Kinney
Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers
Price: $10.15
You save: $2.80 (22%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
93 out of 110 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 3/26/07
Or why you never want to play a tree in a school production of The Wizard of Oz
The world has not yet invented a method of finding the best webcomics currently available on the Internet for kids. So basically, for every twenty low-quality/poorly thought out amalgamations of crap, you get one bright shining star. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," the webcomic, was one such star. The only conclusion I can really draw at this point is that somebody at Abrams is a friggin' genius for plucking the comic up and making it into a book. Now normally I don't like to separate titles into "girl books" and "boy books", but Jeff Kinney has written such a marvelous "boy book" that for every parent that walks in the door of my library I'm going to be cramming this title into their arms. Heck, I'll slip it into their purses if I have to. This book is going to reach its intended audience whether I have to wrestle skeptical parents to the floor with it clamped firmly in my teeth. Want to transfer your Captain Underpants lovers from graphic novels to fiction? This book won't do that. It's just something that every single person will get a kick out of.
First things first. Boys do not have diaries. Girls have diaries. Let's get that straight cause things could get messy if we don't. Basically, what we have here are the gathered thoughts and memories of Greg Haffley. Greg's got a pretty average life, all things considered. His older brother is a jerk, his younger brother annoying, his best friend a doofus, and his parents perfect dweebs. To top it all off, Greg's been thrown into his first year of middle school and things are really weird. Suddenly friendships are shifting and Greg's not sure who he wants to be. Add in some haunted houses, wrestling, downhill games involving bodily injury, forbidden cheese, and basic family fears and you've got yourself one heckuva debut.
I should specify that in spite of the fact that this book is based on a webcomic, it's not a graphic novel. Not really. Comic illustrations appear on every single page and complement the storytelling, but this is really more a (what's the term again?) illustrated novel. What this appears to be, more than anything else, is a notebook that's been written in by hand with the occasional cartoony illustration here and there for effect. It never breaks up into panels or long illustrated periods. There are just tasty little comic treats on each and every page.
Now the term "laugh-out-loud funny" is not to be bandied about. When I say that something is "laugh-out-loud funny" I don't want to be talking titters, mild chuckles, or undersized, underfed guffaws. I want to describe something so amusing that you think about it later and start laughing in an embarrassing manner on the subway. Jeff Kinney gave me that more than once. There was the moment when Greg's trying to get out of performing as an apple-throwing tree in his school's production of, "The Wizard of Oz." He thinks that maybe if he screws up what he has to say, that might be his out. "But when you only have one word to say, it's really hard to mess up your lines." The next thing we know, "Dorothy" has picked an apple and Greg's trying out a tentative, "Owwwchhh?" Oh! And the form thank you letters! Greg figures out that he says basically the same thing to all his relatives. So he just cranks out a form letter and fills in the details. This works great until he gets to something like, "Dear AUNT LORETTA, Thank you so much for the awesome PANTS! How did you now I wanted that for Christmas? I love the way the PANTS looks on my LEGS! All my friends will be so jealous that I have my very own PANTS." I think I was laughing over this for a good three hours after I read it.
There's something particularly charming about Kinney's illustration/cartoons too. The lines are incredibly clean and precise, even as they are showing some pretty raucous stuff. Kinney's grasp on visual gags is without comparison. At one point Greg happens to mention that if you "mess up in front of Dad" (i.e. kick over your little brother's toys maliciously) he'll throw whatever he has in his hands at you. We then see two shots of Greg misbehaving. The first is labeled, "GOOD TIME TO SCREW UP:" and shows him kicking over some blocks while his dad is holding the newspaper. The second reads, "BAD TIME TO SCREW UP:" and shows him doing it while his dad is cementing together a brick wall. Comedy gold, people! The comics are drawn over lined paper, making the whole enterprise really feel as if you're poring through someone else's journal.
And for all that, the writing's not too shabby. When Greg talks about week-ends he says, "The only reason I get out of bed at all on weekends is because eventually, I can't stand the taste of my own breath anymore." Been there. Tasted that. Kinney's able to point out all kinds of funny school details we adults may have forgotten, but that kids will recognize instantly. For example, why should you tell kids that "It's great to be you," when a lot of people really should think about changing themselves? We see two bullies shoving some poor kid down at this point yelling, "It's great to be me!," you you have to concede the point. I mean, Kinney remembers what it was like to roll a really big snowball and then see that you were ripping up the grass on your lawn in the process. No one remembers that! Characters are also lovingly delineated, not only in words, but in their little comic illustrations. Take as your example the character of Greg's fellow student and neighbor Fregley. Fregley is weird. So how would you, as the writer/cartoonist, convey this? You might want to have him say things like, "Wanna see my secret freckle?". You might draw him with a mouth wider than his head. You might have him stabbing kites in his front yard, shirtless. For a start, anyway. Every character in this book feels real. Even Greg's annoying, practically mute, little brother.
And so much more. Such as the name of Greg's older brother's band. Loaded Diaper, only it's spelled "Loded Diper" with an umlaut over the "o". Greg suspects his brother thinks that it really is spelled that way. And there are the small failures and triumphs of your average pre-adolescent. No one in their right mind would ever want to return to the days of Middle School, but if Jeff Kinney keeps churning out books like this one, I'll follow him there any day of the week. This title has already been getting some pretty choice reviews here and there. Can I make a nomination for funniest children's book of 2007? Consider it a necessary purchase.
Click here to see more reviews for: Diary of a Wimpy Kid
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Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Rodrick Rules
by Jeff Kinney (based on 115 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Edition: 1
Author: Jeff Kinney
Publisher: Amulet Books
Price: $10.15
You save: $2.80 (22%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
68 out of 87 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 1/17/08
Jeff Kinney Strikes Again! PYP Funny!
In his latest book, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: RODRICK RULES, Jeff Kinney nearly put me into the hospital. That man is going to have serious medical bills to pay if this keeps up. I almost busted a gut laughing out loud and almost aspirated my Diet Dr Pepper on a few occasions. And, yes, I hold him completely responsible.
If not for Kinney's dry wit, keen insight into the lives of elementary school boys (especially their rationalization for EVERYTHING), and fantastic line drawing on nearly every page, I wouldn't have had so many close brushes with death in his latest book. But he put me there time and time again. Even when I thought I had things figured out (because I was once an elementary school boy with a wild imagination without a governor), Jeff would throw a wrinkle at me that I didn't see coming. He ambushed me with regularity throughout the pages.
But it's not just me that Jeff has his merciless sights on. He's taking out EVERYBODY. My wife teaches elementary school and Jeff's books are all the rage among the students. I have to admit to adding to that bonfire because I talk about his books all the time (and I have to admit that I haven't quite become the responsible adult either, because I'll rile my wife's fourth grade class up and take my leave--taking her out to dinner usually gets me off the hook and my cool points go up with the kids).
Parents have become interested in the books and I've told them they need to keep up with what their kids are reading. After all, they're supposed to be responsible parents. (I, myself, have been known to buy extra copies of Jeff's books and give out as gifts - some parents have accused me of inciting subversion, but I point out that Jeff's first book was a NEW YORK TIMES bestseller and that is a far better recommendation than I could ever make. Except the TIMES doesn't give away Jeff's books as gifts that I know of. That's why they hold me more accountable.)
But when I recommend the books to parents, I issue a stern warning. I call it the PYP warning. I especially give it to pregnant mothers and people with weak bladders who read in public places. PYP is Pee Your Pants. The books are just that funny. You're reading along, and the next thing you know, WHAM! -- you're laughing so hard you're peeing your pants.
The funniest thing about Jeff's humor, and the life of his main character, Greg Heffley, is that everything in the book COULD BE COMPLETELY TRUE. Speaking from experience, a lot of what's between those pages has been true. But I'm not going to incriminate myself now when I got away with those things all those years ago. And there should be some kind of time statute on most of them. I still don't want my mom to know, however.
Greg is THE man when it comes to taking a boring day and turning it upside down. People who underestimate the creativity of a bored child are simply asking for trouble. Nuclear war pales by comparison.
And Greg has an excuse - or a rationalization - for everything he does. Worse than that, half the time I get sucked in and totally buy into his point of view. Because, upon occasion, that point of view has been mine as well (or at least my defense). That's where Jeff's magic truly lies: he's never lost touch with his inner child. And boy, his wife must be mad and his kids must be terrified!
In this second book, I was totally blown away yet again. Greg is a middle kid, which means that his life is made miserable from both ends of the spectrum - from his older brother Rodrick and his younger brother Manny. Rodrick is the sulky teen with a band called Loded Diper. And their music stinks, so they're appropriately named. Manny is three and gets into all of Greg's stuff.
I love how Jeff sets something up in the books and continues to play off of it at appropriate times. His sense of pacing is fantastic. The work of "art" Manny creates out of toothpicks and aluminum foil is great, and I've seen that done, actually. Greg's mom tells Greg he should keep it around and he does - until it impales Greg's semi-best friend Rowley.
Another sequence in the book focuses on Greg's ringleader abilities. Kids will follow anyone with a semi-great idea. Or at least one that will bring pain or embarrassment to another kid. See, Greg is NOT hero material. At least, not yet. He does show some potential, but it's really far into the future.
One of those ideas involved making believe one of the other kids didn't exist. Following Greg's lead, the rest of the class pretends the kid doesn't exist so much that Greg gets called into the principal's office, then gets read the riot act by his parents.
I loved when Greg gets involved in the role-playing game Magic and Monsters and his mom becomes concerned. She decides to show up and play with them. And her rules don't involve all the violence and bloodshed all the kids are used to enjoying. Worst of all, some of Greg's friends start liking the way his mom plays!
Another instance is when the parents leave for a weekend trip and put Rodrick in charge. They're no sooner gone than Rodrick is on the phone calling people over for a party. Madness ensues. A door gets painted with permanent marker. Rodrick gets Greg to help him change out doors so the parents don't find out. Later, when they're punished, Rodrick says he's going to study the effects of decompression of the spine suffered by astronauts during prolonged weightlessness. He does this by sacking out on the couch and sleeping all the time while he's grounded.
If you want, you can even read the books for free on the internet. Just go to Funbrain-dot-com to read them. One of the most interesting things about Jeff's books is that they're given away for free and STILL sold enough to make it to the top of the NEW YORKS TIMES BESTSELLER bestseller list.
You see, Jeff wants everyone to read his books that wants to. However, kids want books they can hold in their hands, share with friends, and put on a shelf. Plus, it's kind of hard to take your computer and internet along when you're stuck in the car on a family trip or out with a parent at a doctor's appointment or a shopping spree.
One of the best features about Jeff's books after you put them in your kids' hands is that you don't have to worry about batteries going dead. They're kid powered: fueled by imagination and driven by humor. They're good for the environment. Except for that whole PYP warning.
Jeff's books are hilarious. I just can't recommend them enough. Call me subversive if you want.
Click here to see more reviews for: Diary of a Wimpy Kid
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Burning Up
On Tour with the Jonas Brothers
by Kevin, Joe, And Nick Jonas (based on 1 customer review)
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(Hardcover)
Author: Kevin, Joe, And Nick Jonas
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Price: $14.95
You save: $7.04 (32%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
3 out of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 11/18/08
Gorgeous Book for a Gift!
This is a gorgeous book, FULL of photos and inside scoops about the Jonas Brothers. It is a large hardbound book, like a coffee table book, and can be displayed with your Jonas Brothers collection of memorabilia.
Terrific gift for a birthday, Christmas, or other holiday. Fun for girls to read together at a slumber party too. Highly recommended for fans! Written for preteens and teens. This probably won't sell out, but it will definitely be one of the HOT Christmas gifts of the year for young girls.
Click here to see more reviews for: Burning Up
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