Here are my picks for October:
The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi tell the adventures of the Grace children after they move into a creepy, old, Victorian mansion. They find their ancestor, Arthur Spiderwick's field guide to the unseen fairy world and discover who is behind the mischief in their new home.
Sadly, the Grace family has suffered through divorce and the father is absent. Jared's behavioral problems at school are linked to his anger about the divorce. The novels, however, are mostly concerned with mysterious hobgoblins, pookahs, griffins, and elves. These books are short and easy to read, suitable for 3rd or 4th grade.
Recommended with caution regarding the divorce issue.
The Sisters Grimm is another series about fairies, and also fairytale characters come to life. Read my previous review here.
Into the Woods by Lyn Gardner, is a novel about several fairytale characters: the Pied Piper, Little Red Riding Hood, Aurora aka Sleeping Beauty and others. One adventure leads into another as the heroine strives to rescue and reunite her family. Highly recommended.
Lastly, but most definitely a gem worth owning, is Olivia and the Little Way, by Nancy Carabio Belanger. Belanger makes the message of St. Therese of Lisieux relevant to children today through the plight of Olivia Thomas, recent transplant from Texas to Michigan. Eager to make new friends, Olivia falls in with the popular crowd, excluding some of the kinder people in her class. She learns the error of her ways, but rather than turn her back on the snobby girls, she strives to teach them about the Little Way as well! Olivia is a wonderful character, sinful, yet repentant.
This story is so appropriate for October, October 1st being the feast of St. Therese the Little Flower, and for November, the month to celebrate all saints, or even December, as a gift. But I digress... Truly, this is one of the best saint stories for children that I have ever read. My daughters loved this book, and I even caught my 13 year old son reading it. Highly Recommended!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Discovering Elizabeth Enright
Finding author Elizabeth Enright's delightful novels for children has been one of the best things about this summer. Written in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, Enright's books have been re-printed with her original illustrations. Her stories about Gone-Away Lake, the Melendy Family and Thimble Summer are all lovely tales about children, their mishaps, and their adventures.
Gone-Away Lake and Return to Gone-Away chronicle the discovery of a dried up lake community from the past by two young cousins. Portia and Julian befriend the eccentric, elderly couple who still live there, exploring the abandoned Victorian mansions and listening to the exploits of the people who once lived there. Enright received the Newbery Medal for Gone-Away Lake in 1958.
The Saturdays is a charming novel about the four Melendy children and their decision to pool their allowances, thus allowing each of them one Saturday apiece to do something truly thrilling. In The Four-Story Mistake, the Melendy children leave their beloved house in Manhattan for a large home in the country. Then There Were Five is the most dramatic of the four novels. The Melendy children rarely see their father, due to the onset of the war. They meet over-worked orphan, Mark Herron, on a scrap collecting drive, and try to keep Mark safe from his abusive guardian with criminal connections. In Spiderweb for Two: A Melendy Maze, the two youngest Melendys are the only children home during the school year. Anticipating a bleak and boring autumn, Randy (Miranda) and Oliver receive a mysterious letter sending them on a scavenger hunt that lasts until spring.
My personal favorite Elizabeth Enright book is Thimble Summer. Newbery Medal Winner of 1938, Thimble Summer begins with the Linden family struggling through a drought on their Wisconsin farm. Young Garnet finds a silver thimble in a creek-bed and believes it may be a magic thimble when it rains later that night. The rest of Garnet's summer is touched by magic as she escapes being locked in the library all weekend, runs away and returns home unnoticed one busy day, and shows her pig at the county fair.
All of these books are perfect for reading aloud, or listening to in the car. My daughters and I have been enjoying them all summer and I plan to share them with some nieces for birthday gifts. Perfect for ages 9-12 and Highly Recommended.
Gone-Away Lake and Return to Gone-Away chronicle the discovery of a dried up lake community from the past by two young cousins. Portia and Julian befriend the eccentric, elderly couple who still live there, exploring the abandoned Victorian mansions and listening to the exploits of the people who once lived there. Enright received the Newbery Medal for Gone-Away Lake in 1958.
The Saturdays is a charming novel about the four Melendy children and their decision to pool their allowances, thus allowing each of them one Saturday apiece to do something truly thrilling. In The Four-Story Mistake, the Melendy children leave their beloved house in Manhattan for a large home in the country. Then There Were Five is the most dramatic of the four novels. The Melendy children rarely see their father, due to the onset of the war. They meet over-worked orphan, Mark Herron, on a scrap collecting drive, and try to keep Mark safe from his abusive guardian with criminal connections. In Spiderweb for Two: A Melendy Maze, the two youngest Melendys are the only children home during the school year. Anticipating a bleak and boring autumn, Randy (Miranda) and Oliver receive a mysterious letter sending them on a scavenger hunt that lasts until spring.
My personal favorite Elizabeth Enright book is Thimble Summer. Newbery Medal Winner of 1938, Thimble Summer begins with the Linden family struggling through a drought on their Wisconsin farm. Young Garnet finds a silver thimble in a creek-bed and believes it may be a magic thimble when it rains later that night. The rest of Garnet's summer is touched by magic as she escapes being locked in the library all weekend, runs away and returns home unnoticed one busy day, and shows her pig at the county fair.
All of these books are perfect for reading aloud, or listening to in the car. My daughters and I have been enjoying them all summer and I plan to share them with some nieces for birthday gifts. Perfect for ages 9-12 and Highly Recommended.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
World War II: Four Novels, Four Perspectives
I read these books one after the other, by chance. I am always picking out the award winners, and all of these novels are Caudill Award Nominees, or Newbery Honor books. Two happen to be about girls, and two about boys. Each takes place in a different city. Only two of the four are about Jews. One even takes place in the Asian theater. Each of these novels is exceptionally written historical fiction. Together, I think these novels offer a prismatic view of the war that impacted the whole world.
First, Someone Named Eva by Joan M. Wolf is set in Czechoslovakia. Eleven year old Milada's entire town is evacuated by Nazis in the middle of the night. The men are separated from the women, and Milada, along with several other blond, blue-eyed children are separated from everyone else. Milada and the other Aryan children are sent to a German repatriation school where they are forced to learn German, join Nazi youth groups, change their names, and become German citizens. These children are eventually adopted into German military families. Someone Named Eva is chiefly about Milada's struggle to remember her identity while wearing a mask to survive. Highly Recommended. (Violence and some physical child abuse do take place. Not for younger readers.)
The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss is a fictionalized re-telling of the author's own childhood. Annie is eight years old when she and her teen-age sister begin their two years of hiding during the Nazi occupation of Holland. This book illustrates how many life and death decisions were made by parents and families during this time. Annie's father wants to move to America, but her mother refuses. They spend some time in a hidden house in the woods. Shortly before they are discovered, they seek sanctuary in the homes of their Christian friends and neighbors, separated from their parents and other sister. When the one villager starts revealing the whereabouts of hidden Jews to the Nazi authorities, Christian families are murdered. It's up to Annie's host to stop the mole. Highly Recommended. (Oh yes, there's violence here too.)
Elephant Run by Roland Smith is a completely different view of the war. Nick Freestone is the son of an American mother and a British father, who runs a teak plantation in Burma. Their marriage ended when Nick was five years old and his mother left Burma for London. Now fourteen years old, Nick returns to Burma, alone, to escape the Blitzkrieg. (Teak is harvested by elephant. The elephants and their mahouts or trainers are major characters throughout the book.) The day after he arrives at the plantation, the Japanese take over. His father and his father's surviving friends are sent to a work camp, while Nick is made a servant of the Japanese officers who now reside in his father's home. The only one who can help Nick now is Hilltop, a Buddhist monk, who is respected by both the Japanese and the Burmese. Highly Recommended. (Violence, Nick is beaten with a cane several times, murders, a lovely, little romance-innocent and harmless, discussion of Buddhist vows, fine for middle school and up.)
The Mozart Question by Michael Morpurgo and illustrated by Michael Forman is the story of an interview with world-famous violinist, Paolo Levi, and a cub reporter in Venice. The reporter/narrator is given the interview assignment at the last minute, and is instructed not to ask the "Mozart Question." She is never told what that question is however, and so she fumblingly reveals her instructions before asking, "What made you pick up a violin and play that first time?" Paolo tells her his story. Paolo's father was a great barber, but before Paolo was born, his father had been a great violinist. No one will tell Paolo why his father never plays music anymore. At the age of nine, he meets a street musician and with his father's old violin, he secretly begins violin lessons. When the street musician realizes that he knew Paolo's parents, all secrets are revealed. Paolo's parents met while playing in an orchestra in a concentration camp. They played at the entrance to soothe the new arrivals on their way to the "shower rooms." Enough spoilers, this book is highly recommended, and surprisingly non-violent, at least not explicitly. With beautiful watercolor illustrations, this little book is a gem for young readers.
First, Someone Named Eva by Joan M. Wolf is set in Czechoslovakia. Eleven year old Milada's entire town is evacuated by Nazis in the middle of the night. The men are separated from the women, and Milada, along with several other blond, blue-eyed children are separated from everyone else. Milada and the other Aryan children are sent to a German repatriation school where they are forced to learn German, join Nazi youth groups, change their names, and become German citizens. These children are eventually adopted into German military families. Someone Named Eva is chiefly about Milada's struggle to remember her identity while wearing a mask to survive. Highly Recommended. (Violence and some physical child abuse do take place. Not for younger readers.)
The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss is a fictionalized re-telling of the author's own childhood. Annie is eight years old when she and her teen-age sister begin their two years of hiding during the Nazi occupation of Holland. This book illustrates how many life and death decisions were made by parents and families during this time. Annie's father wants to move to America, but her mother refuses. They spend some time in a hidden house in the woods. Shortly before they are discovered, they seek sanctuary in the homes of their Christian friends and neighbors, separated from their parents and other sister. When the one villager starts revealing the whereabouts of hidden Jews to the Nazi authorities, Christian families are murdered. It's up to Annie's host to stop the mole. Highly Recommended. (Oh yes, there's violence here too.)
Elephant Run by Roland Smith is a completely different view of the war. Nick Freestone is the son of an American mother and a British father, who runs a teak plantation in Burma. Their marriage ended when Nick was five years old and his mother left Burma for London. Now fourteen years old, Nick returns to Burma, alone, to escape the Blitzkrieg. (Teak is harvested by elephant. The elephants and their mahouts or trainers are major characters throughout the book.) The day after he arrives at the plantation, the Japanese take over. His father and his father's surviving friends are sent to a work camp, while Nick is made a servant of the Japanese officers who now reside in his father's home. The only one who can help Nick now is Hilltop, a Buddhist monk, who is respected by both the Japanese and the Burmese. Highly Recommended. (Violence, Nick is beaten with a cane several times, murders, a lovely, little romance-innocent and harmless, discussion of Buddhist vows, fine for middle school and up.)
The Mozart Question by Michael Morpurgo and illustrated by Michael Forman is the story of an interview with world-famous violinist, Paolo Levi, and a cub reporter in Venice. The reporter/narrator is given the interview assignment at the last minute, and is instructed not to ask the "Mozart Question." She is never told what that question is however, and so she fumblingly reveals her instructions before asking, "What made you pick up a violin and play that first time?" Paolo tells her his story. Paolo's father was a great barber, but before Paolo was born, his father had been a great violinist. No one will tell Paolo why his father never plays music anymore. At the age of nine, he meets a street musician and with his father's old violin, he secretly begins violin lessons. When the street musician realizes that he knew Paolo's parents, all secrets are revealed. Paolo's parents met while playing in an orchestra in a concentration camp. They played at the entrance to soothe the new arrivals on their way to the "shower rooms." Enough spoilers, this book is highly recommended, and surprisingly non-violent, at least not explicitly. With beautiful watercolor illustrations, this little book is a gem for young readers.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Good books for your summer reading.
Shooting the Moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell is about a 12 year-old girl, who has been raised "army." Her father is a colonel and her brother has just enlisted. The unique twist in this book is that the super patriotic colonel does not want his son to go to Vietnam.
This thought provoking novel about the Vietnam era manages to avoid political agendas, giving poignant insight into the emotions of the time. Highly Recommended.
The Naked Mole Rat Letters by Mary Amato tells the story of Frankie (Francine) and her efforts to keep her father from having a romantic relationship. Never fear! The father is widowed, not divorced, the family is church-going, and Frankie's maze of lies and deceit catches up with her in the end. Amato tells a fabulous story of familial love and small town closeness. I have to recommend any book that incorporates both naked mole rats and hammer dulcimers. Highly Recommended.
A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban is the quirky tale of Zoe, would-be concert pianist. Her loving and somewhat agoraphobic father buys her a wheezy electric organ instead. This book has several endearing plot lines, but my personal favorite would be Zoe's discovery of how full your life can be, even without brand name clothing. Highly Recommended.
The Thing About Georgie by Lisa Graff is...now don't spoil this for your kids...Georgie is a dwarf. His parents are both professional musicians, and the length of his arms prevents him from playing any instruments. When Georgie finds out that he is to be a big (yet little) brother, Georgie struggles with the knowledge that he isn't exactly what his parents were looking for in a child, but learns that he is everything they ever wanted. Highly Recommended.
This thought provoking novel about the Vietnam era manages to avoid political agendas, giving poignant insight into the emotions of the time. Highly Recommended.
The Naked Mole Rat Letters by Mary Amato tells the story of Frankie (Francine) and her efforts to keep her father from having a romantic relationship. Never fear! The father is widowed, not divorced, the family is church-going, and Frankie's maze of lies and deceit catches up with her in the end. Amato tells a fabulous story of familial love and small town closeness. I have to recommend any book that incorporates both naked mole rats and hammer dulcimers. Highly Recommended.
A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban is the quirky tale of Zoe, would-be concert pianist. Her loving and somewhat agoraphobic father buys her a wheezy electric organ instead. This book has several endearing plot lines, but my personal favorite would be Zoe's discovery of how full your life can be, even without brand name clothing. Highly Recommended.
The Thing About Georgie by Lisa Graff is...now don't spoil this for your kids...Georgie is a dwarf. His parents are both professional musicians, and the length of his arms prevents him from playing any instruments. When Georgie finds out that he is to be a big (yet little) brother, Georgie struggles with the knowledge that he isn't exactly what his parents were looking for in a child, but learns that he is everything they ever wanted. Highly Recommended.
Monday, January 19, 2009
James Herriot, Troll Bridge by Jane Yolen
I'm back! I did take a long and lovely break, re-reading James Herriot's wonderful stories of his life as a country vet in Yorkshire during the 1930s. My 12 and 11 year olds received All Creatures Great and Small and All Things Bright and Beautiful for Christmas, and love them just as much as I do.
Today, I spent all day on the couch reading A Rock and Roll Fairy Tale, Troll Bridge, which is apparently the second in a series, but I couldn't tell. Co-authored by award-winner, Jane Yolen and her rockstar son, Adam Stemple, Troll Bridge is fresh and fun, mixing pop culture and Nordic legends. The main characters are fifteen and sixteen years old, but the book is appropriate for any strong reader. I think both genders will enjoy this one. Highly Recommended.
Today, I spent all day on the couch reading A Rock and Roll Fairy Tale, Troll Bridge, which is apparently the second in a series, but I couldn't tell. Co-authored by award-winner, Jane Yolen and her rockstar son, Adam Stemple, Troll Bridge is fresh and fun, mixing pop culture and Nordic legends. The main characters are fifteen and sixteen years old, but the book is appropriate for any strong reader. I think both genders will enjoy this one. Highly Recommended.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Twilight, New Moon, Breaking Dawn
Yes, I've read them. I have very mixed feelings about them. Are they appropriate for children? No. Stephenie Meyer writes about seventeen year olds, and thus these books might be intended for seventeen year olds but that doesn't mean that these books are appropriate for young adults. I mean just because Edward and Bella don't do anything but kiss and clutch, they still share the same bed night after night, all the while keeping her father in the dark. Some have told me, "It's completely innocent." How can that be true when Bella herself says she loses control everytime their lips touch?
Let me backtrack...Bella moves to Forks, Washington after living in Phoenix, Arizona most of her life. Her first day at a new school, she notices the beautiful but distant Cullens family. She sits next to Edward Cullens in science and senses that he hates her. She also notices his black irises, (in his eyes, not flowers) and his extremely cold skin. Edward misses the next few days of school. Much of the story is told in the mind of Bella, not much action or dialogue compared to the inner workings of Bella's psyche.
Speeding things up, Bella falls for Edward, who now has topaz irises. She is warned to stay away from him and his family, by Billy Black who is fifteen year old Jacob's grandfather. Jacob tells Bella about his tribe's legends and why the Cullens aren't allowed on LaPush Reservation land. He refers to the Cullens as the "cold ones" and his own tribe as the protectors. Bella clues in and does some internet research on vampires.
She asks Edward about his "family" and learns that the Cullens are "vegetarian" vampires. They have chosen not to feed on human prey, rather they hunt wild game: grizzlies, mountain lions, elk. Vampires are created, not born (by surviving a vampire bite). Carlisle, the patriarch of this group, or "coven" of vampires was created by an attacking vampire in the 1600s. He has never taken a human life, and rather uses his superior senses to heal, working as a physician in the local hospital. The other vampires, Esme, Edward, Jasper, Alice, Emmet, and Rosalie were either created by Carlisle, because they were on the brink of human death, or created by others, led to Forks and willingly joined the Cullen way of life.
Now there are still plenty of other vampires, who murder innocent humans for food, and sometimes they visit the Cullens. But the Cullens respectfully ask them not to "hunt" in their area, so usually they go out of state. Jacob, and other young male members of his tribe, the Quileute tribe, have spontaneously starting changing into werewolves. They phase back and forth between human and wolf form, and strive to hunt vampires. We find out in the 4th book that they aren't actually werewolves but shape-shifters.
So that's the back story. I have not read the third installment, but the first two books are steeped with what Publishers' Weekly calls "sexual tension." I hate to criticize anyone's writing skill, but when Bella asks Edward in New Moon, "Do you want me for my body or my blood?" I actually laughed out loud. As far as an overall theme of good vs. evil, the plot of the book appears to be keep Bella alive, safe from friends, good vampires and bad ones, so that she and Edward can test their willpower while they fool around with each other's lips and bodies. There is some discussion of souls, heaven and hell and whether or not Edward believes he has a soul, which make these books slightly better than paperback horror/romances. Granted, in Breaking Dawn, Bella and Edward do wait until their wedding night, and she does choose to keep her half vampire baby against everyone's advice. However, her reckless moral behavior prevents her from becoming a true heroine. (I did not read the third book, Eclipse, as I do not want to spend my money on these, and the waiting list at the library is very long.)
Not Recommended.
Let me backtrack...Bella moves to Forks, Washington after living in Phoenix, Arizona most of her life. Her first day at a new school, she notices the beautiful but distant Cullens family. She sits next to Edward Cullens in science and senses that he hates her. She also notices his black irises, (in his eyes, not flowers) and his extremely cold skin. Edward misses the next few days of school. Much of the story is told in the mind of Bella, not much action or dialogue compared to the inner workings of Bella's psyche.
Speeding things up, Bella falls for Edward, who now has topaz irises. She is warned to stay away from him and his family, by Billy Black who is fifteen year old Jacob's grandfather. Jacob tells Bella about his tribe's legends and why the Cullens aren't allowed on LaPush Reservation land. He refers to the Cullens as the "cold ones" and his own tribe as the protectors. Bella clues in and does some internet research on vampires.
She asks Edward about his "family" and learns that the Cullens are "vegetarian" vampires. They have chosen not to feed on human prey, rather they hunt wild game: grizzlies, mountain lions, elk. Vampires are created, not born (by surviving a vampire bite). Carlisle, the patriarch of this group, or "coven" of vampires was created by an attacking vampire in the 1600s. He has never taken a human life, and rather uses his superior senses to heal, working as a physician in the local hospital. The other vampires, Esme, Edward, Jasper, Alice, Emmet, and Rosalie were either created by Carlisle, because they were on the brink of human death, or created by others, led to Forks and willingly joined the Cullen way of life.
Now there are still plenty of other vampires, who murder innocent humans for food, and sometimes they visit the Cullens. But the Cullens respectfully ask them not to "hunt" in their area, so usually they go out of state. Jacob, and other young male members of his tribe, the Quileute tribe, have spontaneously starting changing into werewolves. They phase back and forth between human and wolf form, and strive to hunt vampires. We find out in the 4th book that they aren't actually werewolves but shape-shifters.
So that's the back story. I have not read the third installment, but the first two books are steeped with what Publishers' Weekly calls "sexual tension." I hate to criticize anyone's writing skill, but when Bella asks Edward in New Moon, "Do you want me for my body or my blood?" I actually laughed out loud. As far as an overall theme of good vs. evil, the plot of the book appears to be keep Bella alive, safe from friends, good vampires and bad ones, so that she and Edward can test their willpower while they fool around with each other's lips and bodies. There is some discussion of souls, heaven and hell and whether or not Edward believes he has a soul, which make these books slightly better than paperback horror/romances. Granted, in Breaking Dawn, Bella and Edward do wait until their wedding night, and she does choose to keep her half vampire baby against everyone's advice. However, her reckless moral behavior prevents her from becoming a true heroine. (I did not read the third book, Eclipse, as I do not want to spend my money on these, and the waiting list at the library is very long.)
Not Recommended.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
What Teenage Girls Read
A very insightful blogpost from the Mirror of Justice site examines the problems with the literature marketed to young women and lists some good alternatives to the paperback novel mire.
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