Archive for February, 2007
Monday, February 26th, 2007
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| Author: | Diana Wynne Jones |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1975 |
There are just a few authors that my 12 year old and I trust implicitly.
After having raced through umpteen of her novels, we may have placed Diana Wynne Jones in that category. Sure, The Magicians of Caprona was kind of stupid.... But if you locked us in a library, with a short deadline in which to emerge with a book we were willing to read, it might very well be one by Diana Wynne Jones.
Dogsbody pre-dates the Chrestomanci stories; it's a bit more science fiction than Jones' usual fantasy. The characters and plot -- Cinderella meets Puss (or, in this case, Dog) in Boots -- are very appealing.
The story is told mostly from the point of view of a high Illuminancy, Sirius, who, because he lost his temper and (apparently) killed someone, is exiled to Earth in the body of a new-born puppy. As Sirius learns how to survive as a dog, while solving the mystery of how he was framed, we also learn a bit about the Troubles in Northern Ireland and about how controling our impulses can help us get what we need/want. |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Dogsbody |
Posted in Animals, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, History, Reading level: age 8 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Friday, February 23rd, 2007
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My 12 year old just gags every time she sees a commercial for this movie.ÂÂÂ
She really hates books in which majorly bad things happen \”suddenly\” to one or more protagonists.  Mr. McCabe, her 5-6th grade teacher, sent this link to me: http://www.slate.com/id/2160370/pagenum/all/#page_start He was the one who \”made\” her read the book. (Which I STILL have not read. Think dear daughter and I share a genetic link?)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0064401847?tag=armadilloassoc0c
Posted in Child-raising, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Dealing with bullies, Death is a central theme, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: age 12 and up | Comments Closed
Monday, February 12th, 2007
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| Author: | Diana Wynne Jones |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2003 |
A girl whose family manages a historic castle in England summons a witch, Robert, who was buried 350 years earlier. Although Robert's behavior is impulsive and assertive, he usually has reasons for enchantments. |
Recommended.
-- Emily
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Wild Robert |
Posted in Conceptual: 8 and up, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
Friday, February 9th, 2007
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| Author: | Cynthia Lord |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction, autism |
| Year of publication: | 2006 |
In Al Capone Does My Shirts, the first-person narrator is a boy whose family moves to Alcatraz so that his sister may apply to a school for autistic children near San Francisco.
In this less anachronistic modern-day Newbery Honor Book, the first-person narrator, Catherine writes down rules for her autistic brother, David, although she's learned from experience that he routinely ignores them.
Written by the mother of two children, one of whom is autistic, the plot, written with the help of Lord's non-autistic daughter, clearly demonstrates how much the parents of the autistic child demand from the one who does not suffer from that disease. |
Catherine's patience and empathy border on saintliness, and the moral (perhaps the message to the author's non-autistic child) seems to be that she is a better person for having helped her parents with her brother.
-- Emily Berk |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Rules |
Posted in Conceptual: age 12 and up, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
Thursday, February 8th, 2007
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| Author: | Terry Pratchett |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2006 |
Sometimes a precocious person uses her gifts in a way that have dire consequences. Whether or not the harm was intentional, that person should take responsibility for the problems she creates and try to resolve them.
Early in this tale, Tiffany Aching, a very mature and gifted if reluctant witch, makes the awful mistake of arousing the romantic attention of the Wintersmith (God of Winter), and nearly simultaneously but through no fault of her own, loses her teacher and home. Wintersmith is the story of how Tiffany:- Rectifies (with the "help" of her silly blue friends the Nac Mac Feegle and her not-quite-as-silly boy?friend, Roland) the wrong she's done,
- Learns to fit back into her home, and
- Comes to appreciate, understand, and learn from other mentors.
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Wintersmith is the third installment in the story of Tiffany Aching.
My daughter and I also enjoyed reading the previous books in the series:
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Wintersmith |
Posted in Conceptual: 8 and up, Death is a central theme, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
Monday, February 5th, 2007
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| Author: | H. M. Hoover |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | Fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1988 |
De-mythologization (probably not a word, huh?) of the story of Medea, including the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece, from Medea's point of view.
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As in The King Must Die (the story of Theseus and the Minotaur), , in this story too, the ways of the patriarchal Greeks mostly triumph over the matriarchal societies that share their waters.
Another theme is the unfortunate tendency of those who lack knowledge in science and healing to assume that those, especially women, who master those arts, are witches (evil).
Despite its sympathetic portrayal of Media, in this account, as in the original, Medea's overwhelming love of Jason very badly clouds her judgment and causes her to act murderously.
Recommended. |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Dawn Palace,The |
Posted in Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Dealing with bullies, Death is a central theme, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Reading level: age 12 and up | Comments Closed
Friday, February 2nd, 2007
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| Author: | Mary Renault |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | Fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1958 |
De-mythologization (probably not a word, huh) of the story of Theseus and the Minotaur.
In this version, Theseus expresses his wonder at the radically different ways of life in the patriarchal Greek world in which he grew up and the matriarchal Minoan lands he comes to rule. |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: King Must Die,The |
Posted in Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Death is a central theme, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Fairy tales, Fiction, Reading level: age 12 and up | Comments Closed
