Lil' Mac Donald Likes To Hike!
Author: Jennifer Taylor Tormalehto
LIL' MAC DONALD LIKES TO HIKE! is a perfect first nature guide for children to learn about the wonders of wildlife in the Rocky Mountains. The familiar sing-along format is fun for children, beginning readers, and parents like. Whether your family dreams to visit the majestic mountains or seeks a memento of them to bring home, this book is ideal.
JENNIFER TAYLOR TORMALEHTO has been teaching middle school science in Colorado for over a decade. Her first book is a simple expression of her desire to share her love of nature and learning with children. She spends her free time enjoying Rocky Mountain National Park and is grateful to live and teach in the beauty of Estes Park.
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What a wonderful subject for a children's book as there is not another book like this for children. Mel
Smash Cut
Author: Sandra Brown
Smash Cut by Sandra Brown is a murder mystery thriller with lots of twists and turns. A millionaire is murdered in an elevator at point blank range. Who done it? Was it a botched robbery? Was it the companion? Typical of Sandra Brown, there is romance threaded througout the novel always with a twist of danger. Smash Cut keeps you on the edge of your seat. You don't know the ending until the last page! Great, fun, fast read!
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House Rules
Author: Jodi Picoult
House Rules by Jodi Picoult is one of the most reflective books that I have read in a long time. It is the story of Jacob Hunt who has Asperger's Syndrone and his life with his single mother and brother. He is the typical Asperger's child who has a very difficult time with social cues and behaviors.
When Jacob is accused of murdering his tutor, the law looks at him as a person without Asperger's Syndrone and the trial goes on.
Being a Special Education teacher for many years, I had always thought of children with Asperger's Syndrome from their point of view or that of their parents. This book really pointed out to me how Jacob's disability affected his brother and his life so profoundly.
Jodi Picoult has written a book that you will think about for days and weeks after you've finished reading it. It should be mandatory for all teachers to read this book so they can better understand an individual and family with Asperger's Syndrome.
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The Poet
Author: Michael Connolly
Living in Estes Park, CO it was great fun to read The Poet by Michael Connelly. Jack McEvoy is a crime reporter for the Rocky Mountain Times out of Denver (which closed down a year or so ago). He gets very involved when his twin brother, who is a homicide detective, is found dead at Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park of an apparent suicide.
Jack McEvoy decides that this is his opportunity to write the story of a lifetime on police suicides. As he does his research across the nation on police suicides, he discovers the truth about his brother.
Michael Connolly is one of my favorite mystery writers. His books are filled with many twists and turns and each book is a “page-turner!” They are hard to put down.
I especially like The Poet because it is set in Colorado, Bear Lake and Estes Park, as well as Santa Monica, which I know very well. It is a great read and I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes suspenseful murder mysteries. Michael Connolly is an incredible writer!
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Rainwater
Author: Sandra Brown
Rainwater by Sandra Brown is one of her best novels. It is the story of life and love in 1934, while racism and economic depression are still prevalent throughout the south. Ella Barron owns and runs a boardinghouse in Texas. She is a single mother raising her son, Solly, who has autism.
In walks Mr. David Rainwater. He is a kind and gentle man looking for room and board. He develops an understanding and friendship with Solly which no one has ever done before. As you see the difficulties of everyday life in the 1930s especially with a child with disabilities, you are also struck with the deep abiding love that is developing between Ella Barron and David Rainwater.
It is truly a love story that two people believe that it is better to have loved, even for a short time, than to never have loved at all.
Sandra Brown begins and ends the book with a story within a story which is just fascinating. You don’t want to put the book down. When you get to the end, you read and reread the last page. It is one of the best books that I have read in a long time.
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