Allan Wolf

The Blanket Where Violet Sits shares an evening to remember for Violet and her family as they stargaze in the park. Told in cumulative rhyme and accompanied by detailed illustrations in muted tones the story takes the reader on a journey from Earth and out into space. A variety of perspectives show how small we are in the vast universe and emphasizes where Violet is located throughout the book. Additional information at the end, such as a glossary or planet names, would have been beneficial. Inventive concept that will keep readers attention and could be used in a classroom or a storytime.… (more)

Collection of poetry all revolving around a garden created at a school. There are many different styles of poetry present in the book. Some of the poems are informational in nature, like "Latin Nomenclature" which gives the Latin names for many different vegetables, and "The FBI of Compost" which teaches children how composting works. Others are humorous, like "Diary of a Carrot" which tells the story of a carrot that starts to grow but isn't sure what he is until he is chopped up and put into a stew. I think this book would be highly engaging for all grades, but particularly grades 1 through 4.… (more)

This was a total random pick for me. I'd never heard of it, but I'm a sucker for books with titles like this. Who Killed Christopher Goodman? Well, I instantly wanted to know!!

The thing is, we kind of KNEW who killed him right away. I was hoping for a mystery and what I got was more of a story of how bad things happen-- and the trajectory that puts a person in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The book follows 6 teens (including the killer) through the events that lead up to Christopher's death. None of them knew Chris all that well, but they all feel guilt about not preventing his death. Christopher was kind of too good to be true. A guy who does his own thing, is nice to everyone and makes them feel at ease, is all-inclusive, and charming in so many ways. His personality made him the ultimate tragic victim.

I didn't dislike the book, but I also didn't think it was great. This was more of a case where the story is there, but the writing didn't bring it life. The only character I really clicked with was Doc, the "sleepwalker" who has a crush on the girl who is crushing on Christopher Goodman. I thought that the use of multiple perspectives (which I usually love) didn't do anything for the book. I think Doc's and the killer's should have been the only ones.

OVERALL: I liked it, but wanted more of a mystery (I mean, the title is a bit misleading in that regard, no??). I thought the idea of the story could have worked, but the writing sort of held it back. A few more drafts of this book may have been needed.

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