Archive for the ‘Conceptual: age 12 and up’ Category
Tuesday, March 4th, 2008
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| Author: | Diana Wynne Jones |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1999 |
We here are huge fans of Diana Wynne Jones.
We admire the magical worlds she creates and her characters -- human, wizard, and fantastical -- captivate us. We find the plots of her stories unpredictable but plausible, at least in the magical environments in which they take place. One of the coolest things about her stories is that although the plot of each of her novels is really unique, characters and laws of magic overlap in intriguing ways in the many worlds described in her many stories.
We enjoyed reading Deep Secret, mostly because we became interested in Nick Mallory, who is a protagonist in another of Jones' many novels, The Merlin Conspiracy. However, it is not one of our favorite Diana Wynne Jones books.
For one thing, Deep Secret seems to mostly target adults, perhaps because it seems to be Diana Wynne Jones' tribute to science fiction conventions. The plot -- regarding a Magid (a powerful wizard whose undercover job is to keep magic under control in some sector of the multiverse) in search of a student -- is certainly compelling for certain young readers. But Jones unnecessarily throws in words (such as "orgy") that young readers are likely to ask their parents about.
Anyway, Nick is a nice, seemingly ordinary teenage boy with a witch (in all senses of that word) for a mother and a touching relationship with his ne'er-do-well cousin Maree. When my daughter and I first "met" him in The Merlin Conspiracy, he was looking for someone to train him to control his wizardly gifts. In Deep Secret, Nick seems not to be consciously aware that he needs training.
We enjoyed learning more about Nick and Maree and the Magid Rupert Venables and many magical creatures, including some fascinating centaurs and phantasmagorical chicks, but might not have found ourselves so riveted if we were not already familiar with many other stories in the Diana Wynne Jones opus.
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This might be a good read-aloud for older readers. It was fairly easy for me to just omit the few paragraphs that alluded to activities at science fiction conventions that would not be appropriate for young people. |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Deep Secret |
Posted in Child-raising, Computers in society, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Dealing with bullies, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: age 12 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Friday, February 29th, 2008
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| Author: | Sara Lewis Holmes |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2007 |
Abandoned by her parents (her father, a long-time sufferer from chronic depression has disappeared; her mother is just not around), constrained by overly restrictive homework assignments that she can't or won't complete, condemned to spend long, long hours in detention, terrified that now that she has been identified as gifted, she will be forced to hang out with the nerds in the gifted pull-out class, Candace frantically tries to metaphorically grow hair long enough to provide an escape.
While not a fairy tale in the ordinary sense, Letters From Rapunzel brilliantly demonstrates the power of those ancient stories to help us understand our seemingly mundane lives.
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The descriptions of the father's illness did not unduly upset my relatively sensitive 13 year old, but I would not recommend this book for young readers.
Highly recommended for adolescents. |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Letters From Rapunzel |
Posted in Child-raising, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: age 12 and up, School | Comments Closed
Thursday, February 28th, 2008
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| Author: | Jerry Spinelli |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2007 |
It had been one of those errand-intensive Saturdays. On the way home after much driving, with groceries in the car, my 13 yr. old said, in a studiously casual way, "Hey Mom, you know the sequel to Stargirl is out." One of the pathetic things about us is that we forget our own phone numbers, but know by heart the precise coordinates of every bookstore and/or library in our current vicinity (where ever in the world that might be) and their hours. We checked Love, Stargirl out of the library within 15 minutes.
If you have a gifted child, particularly a girl, who is about to enter high school, or who is already in high school, and who has not already read Jerry Spinelli's amazing
novel about the glory and the pain of being orders of magnitude different from one's peers, go now and read Stargirl. And then hand it to the child.
Love, Stargirl, which takes the form of a letter that Stargirl writes to the boyfriend who was insufficiently tolerant of her uniqueness, is not really a sequel that can be fully appreciated unless one has already read Stargirl. In her letter, Stargirl describes the process by which she rediscovers her joy in creatively reaching out to others.
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Solving the puzzles that Stargirl poses us is interesting and moving and so we recommend reading Love, Stargirl highly, but -- read Stargirl first. |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Love, Stargirl |
Posted in Child-raising, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Homeschool, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
Thursday, February 21st, 2008
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| Author: | Diana Wynne Jones |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1998 |
"The cool thing about Diana Wynne Jones is that we've read many of her books, but her stories are all very different.
She doesn't repeat herself. This one goes from amazing to intense, maybe it's even a little too intense," says my 13 yr. old.
As you can tell, we here are huge fans of Diana Wynne Jones.
We admire the magical worlds she creates and her characters -- human, wizard, and fantastical -- captivate us.
We find the plots of her stories unpredictable but plausible, at least in the magical environments in which they
take place.
Dark Lord of Derkholm is about a planet that is used as a playground by a imperial power, in the person of one
"Mr. Chesney". The inhabitants are compelled to stage elaborate wargames, games in which they and the tourists who pay to
join them risk losing lives, families, and livelihoods. (Lest this be thought of as a metaphor for the American adventure in Iraq,
please note that this story was written back in 1998, before our Mr. Cheney lead us there.)
I have a friend whose brilliant son graduated from college and then promptly enlisted in the military. "Maybe I won't get sent
to Iraq," he told her. "Yeah, and why are they teaching you Arabic?" she asked him. There are young people who need to
truly understand how terrible war can be. And maybe we should try to communicate this to them before they are
old enough to sign on the dotted line of that enlistment contract.
But what about the kids who have already drunk the Kool-Aid? Those who know that war is not a game. Do they
need to know that mercenaries sometimes rape innocent children? That sometimes heroes die in battle?
That those who sponsor the wars often profit vastly from the carnage? Maybe not. But I think I'd have been happier if
my friend's son had thought about these things before he enlisted.
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So, do we recommend Dark Lord of Denholm? Not for sensitive children. Because they will fall in love with the griffins
and the dragons and flying horses and annoying geese and Derk and his human children and then they will read about how
all these gorgeous characters suffer just because they live in a society that plays at war.
Do I think our children ought to read books like this one? Even though they can hardly bring themselves to read on?
Yes. In a country where our leaders feel comfortable cheerfully singing "Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" to the melody of a Beach Boys song,
our children need to read about how a downtrodden society can pull itself together and say "No" to war. |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Dark Lord of Derkholm |
Posted in Animals, 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, History, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: age 12 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Thursday, September 6th, 2007
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| Author: | Karen Hesse |
| Illustrator: | Robert Andrew Parker |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction, historical |
| Year of publication: | 2000 |
"Read this book," my 12 yr. old ordered me. "I'm pretty sure you'll like it. I liked it a lot."
And I did indeed like it a lot. And, I learned a lot about sea voyaging in the late 1700's too.
Hesse based her tale on fact -- there was really a young boy named Nick Young who "appeared" on the roster of Captain Cook's ship Endeavour quite a few months after the ship had left England, but before it had put into any port. Hesse guessed that he had been a stowaway and was discovered once it was too late to put him ashore.
Nick's story is told in the form of his journal entries for the entire voyage, each of which provides a date, a latitude and longitude (in measurements of Capt. Cook's time, which means that if a reader were to want to follow Nick's journey on a globe, one would have to do a little math), and an approximate location in words.
In Hesse's imagination, but perhaps this is truly how it happened, once Nick is free to show himself, he makes himself useful as assistant to the ship's physician, writing tutor, and friend to the Goat and the dogs and many of the sailors.
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Captain Cook proves an adept leader and for many months of the three year journey; he kept nearly everyone on board alive and healthy. But seafaring was risky in those years. There was violence; the close quarters of the ship required stringent enforcement of rules -- punishment was by lashes with the cat-o'-nine-tails or worse -- and Nick does lose many shipboard friends to accidents and disease. My usually very sensitive daughter accepted these sad events because, she felt, they were the historical reality and also because Nick helped us experience them through his accepting (if sometimes tearful) eyes.
Because the tale is told in the voice of a boy, it is not challenging to read. However, Nick does have a strong grasp of sailing terminology and 18th century turns of speech. The glossary at the end of the book and the maps on the inside covers are useful additions.
-- Emily Berk |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Stowaway |
Posted in Animals, Biography, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Dealing with bullies, Death is a central theme, Dickensian, Fiction, Gifted, History, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
Monday, September 3rd, 2007
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Posted in Child-raising, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Dealing with bullies, Death is a central theme, Dickensian, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, History, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: age 8 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Saturday, August 25th, 2007
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| Author: | Terry Pratchett |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1990 |
"What a GREAT ending!", sighed my 12 yr. old daughter, when she finished reading this book. "And it's by Terry Pratchett, so the sequel will be great too."
In this a tale of city cousins (members of a race of small and short-lived creatures called Nomes who consider the Arnold Bros. Department Store, est. 1905 to be their universe) visited by their country cousins (also Nomes, but ones who lived Outside before visiting the store), gentle fun is poked at organized religion, sexism, and rigid inability to think in general.
When the city Nomes finally realize that Final Clearance. All Sales Final! means that their universe, or at least, Arnold Bros. (est. 1905), is ending, they must work with their visitors to save themselves.
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Truckers is a celebration of technology, engineering, observation of the world, and adaptability to changing circumstances.
Highly recommended. Note that although much of the vocabulary in the story is not difficult, young readers may need help in understanding the numerous cultural references and descriptions of what went on in department stores in their heyday.
-- Emily |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Truckers (Bromeliad Trilogy: Book 1) |
Posted in Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Dickensian, Fairy tales, Fiction, Gifted, History, Reading level: age 8 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Wednesday, July 4th, 2007
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Posted in Animals, Child-raising, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Dealing with bullies, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
Saturday, June 23rd, 2007
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| Author: | Susan Patron |
| Illustrator: | Matt Phelan |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | Fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2006 |
As a lover of fairy tales, it was probably impossible for me not to love reading this sophisticated story, simply told, which pretty much turns every fairy tale convention on end:
- When my younger daughter was around 3, she was obsessed with learning how Cinderella's mother had died. In this story, we learn within the first few pages that our heroine's mother died when she was struck by lightening.
- In many fairy tales, the heroine's name has to do with her physical appearance. In this story, the heroine's name has to do with her fate.
- Most fairy tales abound in generalities and their language is very simple, even bland. Some groups are pushing to ban this Newbery Award winner because the word "scrotum" appears on its first page.
- In many fairy tales, the stepmother serves as villain. In this story, the heroine's father's first wife comes to Lucky's rescue -- she raises her after her "real" mother has died.
- In many fairy tales, the protagonist leaves home to seek his (it IS usually his) fortune. In this story, Lucky runs away from home, only to realize that she belongs with her stepmother.
And yet, The Higher Power of Lucky is a fairy tale, albeit a new-fangled one. A good one as well. |
Highly recommended for fairy tale lovers who are somewhat more worldly (older) than is typical. |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Higher Power of Lucky,The |
Posted in Animals, Child-raising, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Death is a central theme, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
Monday, June 18th, 2007
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| Author: | Simon Winchester |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | non-fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2005 |
Simon Winchester begins and ends with the San Francisco earthquake (and fire) of 1906, but by the time he gets around to it the second time, he's provided descriptions of earthquakes and tsunamis throughout the world so detailed that I was almost afraid to finish the book. But how could I not? |
Winchester's descriptions of the people and places affected are compelling. For example, the Cassandra in me
was moved by the story of the fire chief of San Francisco, Dennis Sullivan, who argued "for years that the city was a tinderbox waiting to be struck.... He must have felt vindicated when, in October 1905, the National Board of Fire Underwriters declared that San Francisco's water-supply system... was in such poor shape that the hydrants would not be able to halt anything approaching a major fire." "[T]he San Francisco fires raged, at first wholly unchecked, for ... three days" after the earthquake. Within 12 hours, half of the city had been completely burned. "Time and again, since almost every one of the hydrants proved to be dry, the firemen could only look on impotently and suffer the jeers of the crowds which at first could not understand why nothing was being done to contain the inferno."
Winchester's explanations of the geology are clear and frank. The appendix about the Richter Scale is worth the price of admission.
Obviously, not for the squeamish. But a must-read for everyone else who lives on Earth. And not just for those who live in California. Look up New Madrid in the index.
-- Emily |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Crack In the Edge of the World, A: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906 |
Posted in Biography, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Death is a central theme, History, Reading level: age 12 and up, Science | Comments Closed
