Thursday, February 11, 2010

Samantha Hansen: Rock Star!

Nancy Viau (2008). Samantha Hansen Has Rocks in Her Head (Gr. 3-6)

Ten-year-old Samantha Hansen is crazy about science.  She loves learning about caves, clouds, the weather, and especially rocks.  She also likes to make lists: a talent she got from her dad, who died a long time ago.  When her mom announces a family vacation to the Grand Canyon, Samantha's wildest dreams come true: she'll get to see the biggest, oldest, most colorful rocks she's ever heard of.   The vacation almost falls through, however, because Samantha has trouble controlling her temper.  It's not easy to be calm with a pesky older sister and classmates who like to tease!

There's a lot to like about Samantha Hansen.  She asks honest questions and makes honest mistakes.  She's a good friend and a (mostly) good sister.  She's also a little awkward, and sometimes you want to jump into the story and stop her from whatever she's about to do.  On the whole, Samantha Hansen makes this a very good book that skips along quickly in her quest to know as much as possible about her family, herself, and (of course) rocks.

No comments:

Post a Comment