I Am Here to Help -- Last-Minute Shopping Suggestions

Thought for the day:

“I see small orbs of light, spaced like night lights in dark hallways.  I see forks in the road, in the form of distractions and small ideas.  Too much plotting, too much worry.  Does a caterpillar plot and worry its way into butterfly-hood?  Hell no.   It has things to do, like eat poisonous milkweed.” ~ Margaret Duarte, writer ~

A gift for my writer friends:

Here are a three links I think you will find valuable.

Wonderful blog on how to succeed:

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/09/to_succeed_forget_self-esteem.html

An extraordinary poem about life: http://christinemasonmiller.com/2012/10/26/because/

Blog with some terrific writing tips:

http://onceuponasketch.com/2012/11/joss-whedons-top-10-writing-tips/

My friend and critique partner, Elizabeth Varadan, featured ME on her blog this week. Take a peek by clicking HERE.

For my fabulous giveaway, the winner is Christina Mercer! (Cue the spotlight!) Christina, I will be sending you a signed copy of The Ballad of Jessie Pearl. Christina is also a children’s writer. You can read her blog, Christina’s Writing Buzz, by clicking HERE.  Check it out and see what she’s buzzing about. I have another giveaway for today, so stay tuned.

I’m doing something a little different today. In an effort to make your last minute holiday shopping a breeze, I’m linking you to several of the books I reviewed this year for Sacramento Book Review or in a couple of cases, books I reviewed on my blog. I wrote over 150 book reviews this year, so there are lots of choices, but I’m going to link you to the ones I enjoyed the most in several categories. There is something for everyone here. Make sure you read all the way through, because at the end of this I will feature one book that will be my giveaway for this week. If you click on the title of any of these books, you will be linked to the review I wrote. The reviews are short, but will give you a pretty good idea of the book.

For the very youngest booklovers (Picture Book readers) I have five recommendations:

Neville by Norton Juster

You Can’t Scare a Princess by Gillian Rogers

Noah Webster and His Words by Jeri Chase Ferris

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

The Unruly Queen by E. S. Redmond


 For the middle-grade crowd, I recommend these:

One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

A Diamond in the Desert by Kathryn Fitzmaurice

An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo

What Came from the Stars by Gary D. Schmidt

Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead

The Amazing Harry Kellar: Great American Magician by Gail Jarrow




I don’t read as many books for teens, but I have these to recommend:

Guy Langman, Crime Scene Procrastinator by Josh Berk

Warriors in the Crossfire by Nancy Bo Flood

Just Write: Here’s How! by Walter Dean Myers

What She Left Behind by Tracy Bilen




 I even have a few recommendations for the grown-ups on your list:

Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: a New English Version by Philip Pullman

The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds by John Muir Laws

Lies, Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses by Ron Koertge Andrea Dezo


For absolutely anyone, I recommend:

An Awesome Book by Dallas Clayton

You might win a gently-read copy of Illusionology by Albert Schafer. It’s great fun for those who love magic and is suitable for middle-graders on up. You can see the review HERE. I will put your name in my proverbial hat if you are kind enough to leave a comment. Link this post on your blog or Facebook or Tweet about it, let me know, and your name will be entered twice. In your comment, please share what your favorite book of 2012 was. I'm always looking for a good book to read!

Don’t forget to stop by Shannon Messenger’s wonderful blog for more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday links. Click HERE to find it.

On the book giveaway, this is for U.S. only. Sorry, but it would be too expensive for me to send books out of the country. But please leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you. Remember, if you have trouble leaving a comment, click on the title of the post and it will give you just this post with a comments section on the bottom. Also, if you haven’t signed up by email, please do. Just look in the upper right-hand corner of this page, pop your email address in, and you will receive an email each time I put up a new post. Your information will not be shared with anyone.