All Hallows Read

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Dreamed up by Neil Gaiman, author of Coraline, Odd and the Frost Giants, and The Graveyard Book, All Hallows Read suggests that people give out spooky or Halloween-themed books for Halloween instead of candy.  There are several book lists on the website, for younger and older readers.  If you are looking for a good book to give away, take a look at AllHallowsRead.com.

The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman

5/5 stars


The Gollywhopper Games is a book for those who enjoyed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and who love doing puzzles.  Gil Goodson is trying to help his father get his reputation back and help his family move, after his father was fired from the Golly Game and Toy Company for something he didn't do.  Gil enters a nationwide contest to be chosen to compete in the Gollywhopper Games, a series of puzzles and events involving words, math, history, and physical tests within the Golly company's factory.

The reader can solve the puzzles along with Gil, and along with the national television audience watching all the players' every move.  Will Gil's encyclopedic knowledge of the Golly company and his devotion to his father win the game?

A View From Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

5/5 stars

I just love that E.L. Konigsburg won the Newbery Medal for two books, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler in 1968, and A View From Saturday in 1997, 29 years later.  In between, she wrote many other books, full of unusual characters and almost unbelievable links between them.  I reread this book recently, as it is part of the Global Reading Challenge list from our King County Library System children's librarians.

Four students, previously unconnected, find themselves as part of an Academic Bowl team coached by a teacher who recently returned to the classroom after a car accident that left her a widow and in a wheelchair.  Each chapter is told by a different character, with the story tied together by coincidences, connections, friendship, and the team's loyalty to their teacher.  They are an unlikely team, yet they become friends and complement each other.  Each thread of their individual stories is woven together into the fabric of the complete book, as E.L. Konigsburg does so well.