The Lacemaker and the Princess is a historical novel set in France in 1788. It involves real characters, including the royal family. Our heroine, Isabelle, is made up, although the author explains that there could very well have been a girl like her in 1788 France. Isabelle has been making lace since she was 4 […]
The Escape of Princess Madeline
April 9, 2013 by 3 Comments
The Escape of Princess Madeline is described by the author as a novella, although in print I think it would be at least comparable to a typical 10 chapter style book for younger readers. It tells the story of Princess Madeline who has to come to terms with the expectations of growing up as she […]
The Princess Curse
April 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Review written by Jeff Dougan. As Amanda and Jocelyn Koehler have noted, there’s been a lot of interest recently in retelling the story of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.” It’s one of my two or three favorite fairy tales (in company with “The Six Swans” and “Seven Simons”). In a fairy tale, I like a hero […]
A Tale Dark & Grimm
March 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment
A Tale Dark & Grimm takes several familiar and a nice variety of less familiar Grimm fairy tales and links them together, casting Hansel and Gretel as the main characters in all of them. The premise is that these seemingly unconnected tales are actually all parts of one story. The author is also very straightforward […]
Hatchet
March 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Review written by Jocelyn Koehler. Hatchet is one of my favorite-est “boy books” (more on that below). It freaks me out to think that it’s 25 years old! Maybe that’s partly because it seems like it should be ageless. The core of the story is a boy living alone in the woods, and no amount […]
The Magician’s Elephant
February 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Review written by Jocelyn Koehler. Are there kids out there who read the New Yorker? Because those are the only kids I can imagine loving The Magician’s Elephant. That’s not to say it isn’t beautiful and at times moving. But entertaining? Not so much. Ostensibly, it’s the story of a young boy named Peter in […]
The Penderwicks at Point Mouette
February 8, 2013 by 1 Comment
The Penderwicks at Point Mouette is the third book about the Penderwick Family. It assumes, as I will, that you’ve read the other two. (In fact, I accidentally picked up this one when I meant to read the second one and by the first paragraph knew I was missing part of the story—and honestly, if […]
The City of Ember
February 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment
My son read The City of Ember for school and thought I might like it as well. He and I had opposite reactions, actually—he thought it was kind of boring until toward the end, whereas I found the earlier parts more compelling. Regardless, it’s an interesting and thought-provoking read. Lina and Doon live in Ember […]
The Candymakers
January 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment
My daughter desperately wanted me to read The Candymakers—having finally gotten to it in my queue, I can see why she was so excited. It’s the book that would result if you mashed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with The Westing Game, and it was possibly the most surprising book I’ve read in years. I […]
Villain School: Good Curses Evil
January 24, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Villain School: Good Curses Evil is an amusing book about three young villains who attend Master Dreadthorn’s School for Wayward Villains because they just aren’t quite evil enough. Countess Jezebel—Dracula’s daughter—prefers chocolate to blood. As a youngster, Big Bad Wolf Jr. saved a human child from drowning. Rune Drexler is our protagonist, and also the […]
