It’s been awhile since I’ve read a book that made me question the wisdom of reading just before I fell asleep! The Shadows: The Books of Elsewhere, though quite middle grade appropriate, plays off of several of my personal fears and is the creepiest kids’ book I’ve read since I was a kid myself. The […]
How to Train Your Dragon
June 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment
How to Train Your Dragon is a funny adventure that has absolutely nothing but a few names in common with the movie based on it. A bunch of young Vikings are attempting to survive their rites of passage, which include capturing and training a hatchling dragon that will serve as a hunting companion. Hiccup Horrendous […]
Sheep
June 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Sheep is about the adventures of a Border collie pup. When the sheep ranch where he was born burns down, he’s sold to a pet store. From there, he ends up as a pet and then runs away, traveling with several people or alone, until he finally finds the home where he belongs. In many […]
Water Sky
June 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Water Sky is the story of Lincoln Noah Stonewright who, at around age 13, goes to Alaska to visit friends of his father. Lincoln is part Eskimo*, but he’s grown up around Boston and doesn’t know the Eskimo ways. While he’s there, he learns a lot about the culture and wrestles with the morality of […]
Geronimo Stilton, Secret Agent
May 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment
At my kids’ suggestion, I finally got around to reading my first Geronimo Stilton book, Geronimo Stilton, Secret Agent. It’s more or less what I expected—a sparse plot but visually interesting. Geronimo is the only character even slightly developed in the story. I was fascinated, though, to learn that the books are originally written in […]
Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword
May 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Review written by Jessica Banks. Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword is a graphic novel that tells the story of Mirka, a feisty eleven year old with a head full of heroic aspirations of dragonslaying and adventuring. What makes Mirka different from all the other girls is her context—she lives in Hereville, a town populated […]
The Talking Earth
May 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Jean Craighead George wrote many books about nature and protecting the environment. I recently reread The Talking Earth, which is about a young Seminole girl name Billie Wind who spends 3 months on her own in the Everglades. When Billie Wind says that she doesn’t believe the legends of her people, she’s sent to spend […]
The Grimm Legacy
May 21, 2012 by 1 Comment
The Grimm Legacy is one of the more original worlds I’ve encountered in a while. Elizabeth could be a modern day fairytale heroine. Her father remarried after her mother died, and Elizabeth’s stepmother expects her to do a lot of housework. Putting her stepsisters through college costs money, so Elizabeth recently had to give up […]
Icefall
May 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Review written by Jocelyn Koehler. Icefall is well-conceived suspense story that also happens to be a historical novel…with vikings. Somewhere in medieval Scandinavia, a king sends his children (daughters Solveig and Asa, and son and heir Harald) to a remote outpost, accompanied by a small band of warriors, where they’ll be safe from the coming […]
Stout Hearts and Whizzing Biscuits
May 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Stout Hearts & Whizzing Biscuits is an amusing story of 11 year old Oliver Stoop whose family inadvertently stumbles on the kingdom of Patria, a sovereign nation nestled in Indiana and founded thousands of years ago by ancient Greeks. It’s somewhat inexplicably similar to medieval Europe with castles and knights (plus an old Studebaker), although […]
