72. Freddy and the French Fries: Fries Alive! by David Baldacci

This is not a book I would have picked up in a million years. But Emma chose it for her free book at the last children's book fest at the library. We tried to read it a while back, but I convinced her to switch to a different book. But finally the time had come, and we read it. It reminds me a lot of Captain Underpants or Johnny Neutron. A really smart kid creates a bunch of life-sized french fries and brings them to life to help him fight the boy that constantly bullies him. Very Frankenstein-ish. It really is funny. As I read it, the girls would laugh and laugh at the antics of Freddy and his friends. I could see this being very popular with little boys. My girls thought it was hilarious. Emma picks some fun ones.

71. Disney Nursery Rhymes & Fairy Tales

I know some people hate that Disney takes stories and makes them their own. I don't really see it as any different than fractured fairy tales. And my girls love the pictures and stories. Daisylocks and the Three Bears seems to be their favorite. This is Lily's bedtime choice. She likes books that have groups of stories; they're easier not to lose I think. I like them too because the stories are a good length for Lily. I think it is a good collection with a lot of classic stories and nursery rhymes. I liked it.

70. Jade the Disco Fairy by Daisy Meadows

Jade the disco fairy epitomizes all the good parts of disco: great dancing, crazy bright clothes, just the littlest bit of attitude. I think this book is really funny, especially since I don't think Ruth has any idea what disco is. Kirstie and Rachel have to help the fairy find her disco ribbon that helps every one in the world dance disco well. They have to wrest it from a disco dancing goblin dressed in a polyester leisure suit. Funny!! And I had YMCA going through my head the whole time I was reading it to her. It made a good bedtime story.

69. Misty to the Rescue by Gillian Shields

This is actually the first of the mermaid series (we haven't been reading them in order). In this one, Misty and her friends get the crystals from the crystal cave, but then are attacked by Mantora (the bad mermaid) and sent to the kelp forest, far from their home. They must figure out where they are, start back toward home, and find Misty's crystal which she lost in Mantora's storm. They also must try to save the kelp forest which is being cut down by the evil humans. It's all right. Ruth seems to love these books and I think they are ok. Here's to another bedtime story.

68. Flora the Dress-up Fairy by Daisy Meadows

Jack Frost is up to his old tricks again. He and his goblins are trying to sabotage a castle costume party and steal the castle for their own party. Kirsty, Rachel, and Flora the dress-up fairy are on the case. This is another of Ruthie's bedtime story choices, (sometimes we read two at once, one for her nap and one for bedtime). The cover caught her attention because it had a fairy dressed up as a mermaid, does it get any better than that?!! The pictures are great, the story is pretty good and it's all about dress-up--the perfect book for little girls. So, I would recommend it for any little girl and their mom.

The Flash TV series

I know this isn't a book but I just got done watching the series on Netflix and decided to put my review up here. I really like it. The costumes and the stories are a little cheesy but I like that. I miss the days when you could watch a light crime mystery without all the gore and true to life situations. I wish they had more TV like this and Remington Steele and Scarecrow and Mrs. King. The drama on TV now is too heavy for me. I can't watch much of it. The only thing I watch consistently is Smallville. So if you're in the mood for some good, light, superhero drama, this is the show for you.

67. If Life Were Easy, It Wouldn't Be Hard: And Other Reassuring Truths by Sheri Dew

I listened to this book on CD. I vaguely remember reading it a while back. I really like it. Sheri Dew is honest and to the point, and she doesn't try to sugarcoat things. She also has great stories. I just like her way of discussing the gospel. This book definitely made me want to be a better person and rely on the Lord more. I would recommend it to anyone. I even thought of having Kate listen to it as a good example of a righteous woman.

66. Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix

I've been toying with reading this series for a long time. My niece and my sister read several of them a couple of years ago and really liked them. But the cover art looked a little spooky to me and I'm not really into scary books anymore. Then Kate read this one (the first in the series) for her book club at school so I decided to read it too. It reminded me a lot of the Hunger Games series. And as a bonus, the book was pretty short too. The premise of the story is that on a future earth ravaged by war and famine, the government has made a law that you can only have two children. However, some people still have a third child, either by accident or on purpose. But they are forced to hide these children so the Population Police don't find them and kill them and possibly the whole family. The story is told from the viewpoint of Luke, one of the hidden children. It's a great premise and pretty interesting story--probably not as gripping as Hunger Games, but still intriguing. Most likely I will continue on with the next book, Among the Impostors (there are about 7 or 8 in the series). I love science fiction because it makes you think about lots of issues.

My favorite part in the book is when Luke is discussing the population law with someone and he asks Luke what he knows. Luke says that he has read the government's books and some underground rebuttals. The man says, "So you got the propaganda from both sides. No truth." And when Luke asks what the truth is, he responds, "The truth, nobody really knows. There have been too many lies for too long." I thought about how true a picture this is about the facts surrounding most volatile issues. Good thing we have a prophet to tell us the truth.

65. Holly Takes a Risk by Gillian Shields

I bet you can guess who's bedtime story this was . . .That's right, Ruth's. This is the second or third of these that I have read. This one wasn't too bad. The mermaids helped save a delicate coral ecosystem from the evil Mantora's chemical spill (oil drums that were leaking). Too bad the Gulf system didn't have any mermaids around. Lots of subtle conservationist undertones totally lost on Ruth. I thought it was funny but true. I liked this one better than the others I've read in this series but I still would recommend the Rainbow Fairies series over this one. The pictures in these books are pretty dull and most of the time are just generic sea pictures instead of actually illustrating the story. And the characters just aren't as likeable or funny as the fairy books. But they are mermaids so that's what gets Ruth. I wish the Rainbow Fairies people would come out with a mermaid series. We'd be all over that.

64. Notes From the Dog by Gary Paulsen

I really like this book. The main character, fourteen-year-old Finn, has made a goal to only speak with 12 people the whole summer. Talking to people is just too hard. Then he meets a new next door neighbor, Joanna, who hires him to make a garden in his own yard. She is housesitting a neighbor's house while she has chemo for breast cancer. It really does a good job of exploring the cancer experience and community. Finn and his friend Matthew help Joanna raise money for cancer awareness and along the way their lives change. They meet lots more than 12 people and Finn realizes that he does need people and what's more, that he is good with people. And he also sees that one person can make a difference in the lives of everyone around them.

63. Lyddie by Katherine Paterson

This historical fiction novel is set in industrial revolution New England. The author, Katherine Paterson, said that the idea for the novel came out of her participation in the Women's History Project celebrating Vermont's bicentennial in 1991. It was a really interesting book. I'm used to reading about the industrial revolution in England, but not so much in America. I read this book for the mother-daughter book club at the library. They chose it partly because Katherine Paterson is the ProvoReads author for the year, as well as being the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. She really is an amazing author and has won 2 Newberry Awards, and two National Book Awards.

The main character, Lyddie, constantly battles the bear in the room, literally and figuratively. She has to take care of her family from a young age because her mother is not all there and her father leaves to try to find work and never comes back. She goes from farmer to housemaid at a tavern to finally working at a Lowell, Massachusetts cotton mill. I found it really interesting and well written. Lyddie is a strong character and also likable. I would recommend it. Kate and I both really liked it.

62. 20th Century Children's Book Treasury

Lily likes to read picture book or story collections as her bedtime stories. I think it is easier to keep track of the one big book, instead of a bunch of little books. And she likes to see what is coming up next and to put the bookmark in each time. This is a great collection. It has a bunch of award-winning picture books condensed into one big book: stories like Goodnight Moon, Lilly's Purple Purse and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. I think you might lose some of the pictures but it is still good. Lily liked all the different books and I thought it was a great way to read bedtime stories. Fortunately for us, we own a lot of collections like this so it is now on to the next one.

61. The Kingfisher Treasury of Stories for Six Year Olds

Emma really wanted to finish this collection quickly because she just turned 7 and was worried that the stories may not apply anymore. I'm not sure how they determine the stories that are best for 6 year olds but these are fun story collections anyway. They seem to be a combination of classic and international fairy and folk tales. I like them and Emma really likes them. She likes more non-traditional stuff so this is right up her alley. I would recommend any of these collections to expand your kids story selection.

60. Rainbow Magic Collection Volume 2 (books 5-7) by Daisy Meadows

Well, we couldn't very well stop in the middle of the series so Ruth chose the second volume for more of her bedtime stories. We liked the ending and this collection had a bonus book (something about the Happily Ever After Fairy) at the end that we hadn't read before so that was fun. I would definitely recommend this series for about 8 and under depending on their interest and reading level.