Maria's Mélange

  Welcome to the Melange - and my stop on the blog tour to celebrate Anne Ursu's latest amazing novel.  When I was offered the chance to read a digital advanced copy of The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy, I jumped on it. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has struggled to focus on books during the pandemic, right?  Diving into this novel swept me away. I was captivated by the world building and the characters, so I am thrilled to join the blog tour to help promote this powerful story. I also purchased my own physical copy of the book to share with the students in my school.  About the Book (from the Publisher): If no one notices Marya Lupu, it’s likely because of her brother, Luka. And that’s because of what everyone knows: Luka is destined to become a sorcerer. The Lupus might be from a small village far from the capital city, but that doesn’t matter. Every young boy born in Illyria may possess the rare ability to wield magic, to protect the country from the terr...

I read this fun adventure while on the plane heading toward my OWN adventure. You see, I'm a lifelong Pennsylvania gal who is moving to Austin, TX this summer. I'm sure I'll need to hit up my new local library to learn more about my new home, and I also had some questions for the author. Read his fun responses below! Who longs for all the knowledge of the universe at their fingertips? Who KNOWS they would make an excellent Librarian, even if they need to start as "Fourth Assistant Apprentice"? Who loves maps and penguins and tardigrades and ... well, you get the idea. Is that you? Is that a child you adore or a student in your classroom? If so, then The Library of Ever  by Zeno Alexander is the perfect book for you! AUTHOR Q & A 1) Do you have a special library memory? I'll share some of mine below, but I'd love to hear about yours! I have many, as I was fortunate to live near a wonderful library when I was a young child. One of ...

The Train to Impossible Places: A Cursed Delivery by   P.G. Bell (Goodreads Author) (Book description from Goodreads) A train that travels through impossible places. A boy trapped in a snow globe. And a girl who’s about to go on the adventure of a lifetime. The Impossible Postal Express is no ordinary train. It’s a troll-operated delivery service that runs  My book loving kitties loved this special delivery! everywhere from ocean-bottom shipwrecks, to Trollville, to space. But when this impossible train comes roaring through Suzy’s living room, her world turns upside down. After sneaking on board, Suzy suddenly finds herself Deputy Post Master aboard the train, and faced with her first delivery―to the evil Lady Crepuscula. Then, the package itself begs Suzy not to deliver him. A talking snow globe, Frederick has information Crepuscula could use to take over the entire Union of Impossible Places. But when protecting Frederick means putting her fri...

It's time to welcome another wonderful book by John David Anderson into the world! Be sure to go all the way to the bottom of this post for a chance to win a signed copy for yourself. Granted   by John David Anderson  (Published February 13, 2018)  ISBN: 006264386X  and ISBN13: 9780062643865 Everyone who wishes upon a star, or a candle, or a penny thrown into a fountain knows that you’re not allowed to tell anyone what you’ve wished for. But even so, rest assured: There is someone out there who hears it. Ophelia Delphinium Fidgets is no ordinary fairy – she is a Granter: one of the select few whose job it is to venture beyond the boundaries of the Haven and grant the wishes of unsuspecting humans every day. It’s the work of the Granters that generate the magic that allows the fairies to do what they do and to keep the Haven hidden and safe. But with worldwide magic levels at an all-time low, this is not as easy as it sounds. On a typical...

As of the posting of this stop on the Heartless blog tour - there are SIX DAYS left until the book releases into the wild (on November 8th). You still have plenty of time to preorder and snag a copy the very first day it is on the shelves! When I first heard about this Countdown Blog tour, I wasn't sure what each day's task would be. I loved this book enough to happily volunteer as tribute - even if my task ended up being something like "make a picture of a character from Heartless out of M&Ms and hat pins". (True story, that's actually what I said in my email!)  A black heart for Heartless I did participate in many of the other Heartless Countdown activities.... as you can see by some of my favorite photos. My copy of Alice in Wonderland           Tea time with Heartless (and my puppy) Everyone deserves a crown       My assigned task, though, was much easier than handcrafting person...

It's been a while since Batty About Books hit the trail. Last year seemed so crazy - so hectic - that we really didn't get a chance to read anything together. What would it take to get us moving? What kind of book would push us to get the band back together again? Well... take a LOOK at this one. Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older (Goodreads Author) Hardcover, 304 pages Published June 30th 2015 by Arthur A. Levine Books (first published January 1st 2015) ISBN 0545591619 (ISBN13: 9780545591614) (Join us on our blogs  (Kathy is at The Brain Lair ) , on  Facebook , or Tweet/IG with #BattyAboutBooks and/or #Shadowshaper. We'll post brief thoughts and quotes from the text during the week.) I'll admit, I had heard about this book before seeing the cover. There were rumbles about this being an intriguing storyline. When I saw the cover, though, I was hooked. FRONT: + The first thing that strikes me is the strength in that face. So often I feel lik...

It's a glorious day for a party! Well, actually, it's a bit yucky and muggy at my house this morning. Still, that makes it the PERFECT day to celebrate a book birthday. Bookstores are generally air conditioned, you know? John David Anderson is the kind of author I love, my students love, and my sons love. He writes about superheroes - Sidekicked. He writes about villains (or are they?) - Minion. His latest outing will appeal to the dungeon crawlers among us. Are your students are interested in tabletop or video games where you can "pick a class"? Do you sometimes hear them chatting about "whacking" things or "picking locks"? Harness that energy and hand them this book. To celebrate this book birthday, I bring you this cute little Q&A that Anderson did for my fifth grade son. Check out his official Blog Tour stop at the Melange as well, if you are interested in hearing what rogues need and getting a little glimpse at the plot o...

Welcome to the blog tour for John David Anderson's newest novel.... The Dungeoneers ! I'm thrilled to share this title with the world; and I love the piece he wrote for my blog on "The Rogue Essentials"  (Don't forget to get all the way to the end of the post and leave a comment for your chance to win a copy of the book. I'll choose one commenter at random on June 14th at the end of the blog tour.)  I make no secret of my love for all things geeky. Fantasy, science fiction, superheroes.... you name it, and I am there. Anderson had the scifi supheroes covered in his last two books (Sidekicked and Minion - which I also loved).  For this one, he tackles dungeon crawlers. I can't wait to share this title with my students. There's a character in it for everyone. Rogues and wizards. Warriors and druids. What class would you pick?  Dungeoneers summary  ( Publishing  June 23, 2015 ): The Dungeoneers is an action-packed, funny, an...