Barbara Steiner

Oliver Dibbs, with the aid of his fifth-grade classmates, spearheads a successful movement to have Stegosaurus declared the state fossil of Colorado. Stegosaurus really was discovered in Colorado by high-school students in the early 20th century, and really was declared the state dinosaur in 1982 at the instigation of a primary-school class. The author credits them and their teacher as her inspiration in the dedication of the book.

Based on fact as it is, it's a pretty good primer for community action. (Contact your representative! Do interesting things that look good in the news media! Call the governor!) There's also a subplot in which Oliver deals with a bully. The book is not complex but it is interesting enough to hold the attention of middle schoolers and they'll learn a few things about fossils, politics, and dealing with difficult classmates.… (more)

Young-adult mystery thriller about a group of school friends staying at a house on the beach (that is said to be haunted) during Spring Break (because all the hotels are full.) While they stay at the beach house they hear noises upstairs…music, a child crying. They investigate to see where the noises are coming from and discover a hidden old ballroom which appears to still be set up for a party (streamers, decorations). And one by one the friends start mysteriously disappearing…

At first, I found the book slow, not very scary, and not much seemed to be happening. But things picked up in the second half of the book, especially the last fifty pages.

An enjoyable young-adult mystery-suspense from the 90’s.… (more)

This is one of those books I picked up years ago at a middle school book fair. Also, I'll freely admit that I chose this particular book solely on the cover. The thing is, I don't remember if I ever actually read it back then. So, I'm taking a crack at it now.

Cute story, classic tale of girl has singular interest (tennis in this case) and has no time for anything else. Her mother has definite plans for her, but she isn't on board with them. Then, enter "The Boy," who at first holds no interest for our heroine, but things can change...

While I enjoyed the story, I feel like it just ends too abruptly. There is so much left unresolved that this feels much more like a part one of at least two, if not three.… (more)