 | Tweet |
| Tell friends about this blog entry | |
Archive for the ‘Fiction’ Category
Book review: The Thief Lord
Saturday, May 13th, 2006Book review: InkSpell
Saturday, May 13th, 2006 | Tweet |
| Tell friends about this blog entry | |
| Author: | Cornelia Funke |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2005 |
No doubt most authors of fiction hope to evoke worlds using words alone. But what if it were possible for certain readers to actually cause people and objects to transition between fictional worlds and our world, just by reading aloud? This is book two of what is promised to be a trilogy. If anything, my 11 yr. old and I liked this book even more than its predecessor, InkHeart. And, as an added bonus, InkSpell provides a touching and believable portrayal of a pair of pre-adolescents who are just about certain they are in love. | |
In fact, we are coming to believe that anything Cornelia Funke writes might be enjoyable reading. See also:
| |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: InkSpell | |
Book review: Dragon Rider
Saturday, May 13th, 2006 | Tweet |
| Tell friends about this blog entry | |
| Author: | Cornelia Funke |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2004 |
Lovely, gentle story about a community of fantastical creatures and a few humans who adventure together to discover a place in which to build a new life together. One of the many delights:
| |
We have come to believe that anything Cornelia Funke writes might be enjoyable reading. But Dragon Rider might just be our favorite of Funke's books. It has no where near the stress level of others, particularly the Ink... books. But you should read them all. (Well, maybe it should be your kid who is seen getting them out of the library.) See also: | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Dragon Rider | |
The Golden Compass and other books in the series: A rant
Tuesday, April 18th, 2006 | Tweet |
| Tell friends about this blog entry | |
I read the Golden Compass and its sequels because my then 14-year old daughter and husband strongly recommended them. Turns out that I actively dislike all the books I’ve read by Philip Pullman. There’s a strong undercurrent of child abuse in all of them and it grosses me out.Lord of the Rings doesn’t bother me as much as Pullman but it’s not a favorite either.
The Golden Compass is about a series of disappearances (and mutilations that result in the deaths) of youngsters of a species that is similar to but not human. I found the book very, very disturbing.
I am a huge fan of fairy tales and don’t have a problem with bad/creepy things happening in stories if I feel that there’s a purpose behind the bad things happening. (Click here for my defense of fairy tales…)
So, for example, I’m ok with the destruction of the planet Alderaan at the beginning of Star Wars, because I feel that it is \”necessary\” for the plot AND because the quality of the movie was such that (I felt) it \”justified\” the virtual destruction. On the other hand, there was a TV series called Battlestar Gallactica that began with the destruction of the earth. I thought the characters and plots and events and writing of that show were dreadful and so they did not \”justify\” the destruction of earth and all its inhabitants.
In the case of the Golden Compass, I find the writing pedestrian and the thing that made me think it was creepy was the plot, NOT the writing. For the entire book, it’s basically a mystery about why these children are being abducted and mutilated. So, they keep having to be abducted and mutilated.
Worse, unlike in a fairy tale, there is no resolution in this book. (Resolution occurs in the third book of the series. Not soon enough, in my opinion.)
One skill I would like my children to learn is to discriminate between books. In my mind, I distinguish between Animorphs and Narnia, at least when they are being read by a 12 year old. Animorphs are mind-candy. When she was at that stage, I didn’t prohibit my daughter from reading Animorphs, but I was not willing to buy the whole series (couldn’t afford it anyway). I MIGHT have been willing to buy the whole Narnia series.
I have discussed why I think this book is repulsive with my daughter. Her \”defense\” of the book was that, \”But Pantalaion is so cute!\” Sigh. It’s fine with me that she enjoyed reading the book. But the fact that the concept of daemons is intriguing and that one of them was cute does not make the book great. So, if we are going to allow our children to read, uncensored, it puts a burden on us to read those books too (no matter how distasteful that might be) so that we can help them work through issues that might arise when they read them. (And, no, you don’t have to read ALL the Animorphs books. But you do have to know enough about them to discuss them intelligently with the child.)
Another skill I think these children need to acquire is the ability to defend their reading (and other) choices. I am a major fan of science fiction and we went as a family to see the movie The Matrix (the first one). Which I really enjoyed. Yes, it’s violent, sloppy, yadda, yadda, yadda. I REALLY enjoyed watching it. And I can tell you why sometime off-line if you are interested. And I do not regret taking my 12 yr. old daughter with me to watch it. When I told an overly politically-correct acquaintance (who was outraged that her 15 yr. old son had gone to see The Matrix and loved it) that our whole family had gone to see it, she screamed at me about how inappropriate it was of me to allow this. But when I asked her why it was inappropriate, my friend said she had never seen it and never would. To keep up with these kids, you need credibility. It’s fine to take a position, but you have to be able to make an intellectual argument because otherwise these kids discount what you’re saying AND they don’t learn to construct the intellectual arguments themselves.
So, again, in this particular case, I urge parents who are contemplating recommending The Golden Compass to their children to read it before they do. (But I think the same about The Giver and Ender’s Game and Feynman and …, all of which I feel more positively about.)
To buy The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
–Emily Berk
Book review: The Bat Poet
Saturday, April 15th, 2006 | Tweet |
| Tell friends about this blog entry | |
| Author: | Randall Jarrel |
| Illustrator: | Maurice Sendak |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 5 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 5 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1997 |
Kind of like "Are you my mother?" but with an artistic consciousness. Encourage your children to read this before they get too mature. A lovely simple story of a Poet and yes, he does happen to be a bat, who is looking for his Audience. | |
| Similar books | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Bat Poet, The | |
Book review: The Carpet Makers
Saturday, April 15th, 2006 | Tweet |
| Tell friends about this blog entry | |
| Author: | Andreas Eschbach |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | Science Fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2005 |
One of the most seriously weird science fiction books of all time. And it's a pretty interesting one too. About a society whose culture and economy are based solely on the life-consuming creation of carpets made from hair. | |
Slowly, very very slowly (in the very best sense of the word slowly), this set of seemingly peripherally-related short stories becomes an examination of the evils of absolute rulers. Given some of the recent political writings of Orson Scott Card, it surprised me that he championed publication of this book in English. | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Carpet Makers, The | |
Book review: Missing May
Saturday, April 15th, 2006 | Tweet |
| Tell friends about this blog entry | |
| Author: | Cynthia Rylant |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1993 |
This short, poetic novel, which won the Newbery Medal in 1993, gently but persuasively puts forth the theory that it's worthwhile to learn from experience and from others, even others who may not seem very impressive from the get-go. It is not difficult to read, is pretty short and the text is pretty large. | |
I strongly recommend Missing May for advanced, thoughtful readers intolerant of sex or violence. My daughters found it too sad to read, though. The book would benefit greatly from a really good picture of a whirligig. (Here's a link to The Whirligig Tour. Lots of cools whirligigs here.) | |
| Similar books | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Missing May | |
Book review: My Side of the Mountain
Saturday, April 15th, 2006 | Tweet |
| Tell friends about this blog entry | |
| Author: | Jean Craighead George |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1959 |
reviewed by Jennifer Dees I've just finished reading one of my old favorites to my daughter, and it occurs to me that it's a very good book for homeschooled kids. The book is "My Side of the Mountain", by Jean Craighead George (1959). I vividly remember that I cherished this book at about 8 or 9 years old, little pioneer girl that I was. We lived "out in the country", with woods bordering our 10 acres, and I spent many a happy hour out in the woods, in my own world, imagining myself an adventurer from some time past, probably as a male protagonist (they had all the fun; the feminist revolution hadn't hit our small town yet). My daughter's well into chapter books but this one's a little long and deep for her, but when I saw it in the library I couldn't wait. I read a lot to her when I can find a break in her own reading. I knew this was one we would enjoy together, and we did. | |
The boy in it is the oldest of 9 kids who live with their parents in a crowded New York City apartment. He dreams of living on his own in the woods. Some land is still in their family from a great grandfather, in the Catskill Mountains, northwest of New York. He tells his father he wants to run away and live on his own, and his father, not really believing him, tells him to go ahead. He heads for great grandfather's land, arrives in the Catskills in May, and begins to learn how to live off the land. He carves a home for himself inside a huge, ancient hemlock tree. He fishes in streams and makes fires with a flint and steel. He learns which roots taste good, makes walnut and acorn flour from the nuts, and so on. When hunters poach on his land, he hides the downed deer they lose sight of under branches and then he makes clothes from the deer hide and smokes the venison. As far-fetched as it may sound, the transformation of this city boy to one who can live off the land, with no adults, is very believable. He hikes into town and researches things he needs to know in the local library. He swipes a baby falcon from a nest and with the aid of falconry books from the library, raises and trains the falcon to hunt for them both.My daughter and I both loved this independent learner, so close to the earth, and understood when the only thing that brought him back into the "real world", over a year later, was loneliness and a need to be with other people. Yet we were sad along with him for his loss of the true wilderness experience. The book I have says it's for "Ages 10-14" but my advanced 6-year-old loved hearing this read aloud to her.-- Jennifer Dees Jennifer Dees is a member of the San Francisco Homeschoolers support group | |
| Similar books | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: My Side of the Mountain | |
reviewed by Jennifer Dees
I’ve just finished reading one of my old favorites to my daughter, and it occurs to me that it’s a very good book for homeschooled kids. The book is *My Side of the Mountain,* by Jean Craighead George (1959). I vividly remember that I cherished this book at about 8 or 9 years old, little pioneer girl that I was. We lived \”out in the country,\” with woods bordering our 10 acres, and I spent many a happy hour out in the woods, in my own world, imagining myself an adventurer from some time past, probably as a male protagonist (they had all the fun; the feminist revolution hadn’t hit our small town yet).
My daughter’s well into chapter books but this one’s a little long and deep for her… but when I saw it in the library I couldn’t wait. I read a lot to her when I can find a break in her own reading. I knew this was one we would enjoy together, and we did.
The boy in it is the oldest of 9 kids who live with their parents in a crowded New York City apartment. He dreams of living on his own in the woods. Some land is still in their family from a great grandfather, in the Catskill Mountains, northwest of New York. He tells his father he wants to run away and live on his own, and his father, not really believing him, tells him to go ahead.
He heads for great grandfather’s land, arrives in the Catskills in May, and begins to learn how to live off the land. He carves a home for himself inside a huge, ancient hemlock tree. He fishes in streams and makes fires with a flint and steel. He learns which roots taste good, makes walnut and acorn flour from the nuts, and so on. When hunters poach on his land, he hides the downed deer they lose sight of under branches and then he makes clothes from the deer hide and smokes the venison. As far-fetched as it may sound, the transformation of this city boy to one who can live off the land, with no adults, is very believable.
He hikes into town and researches things he needs to know in the local library. He swipes a baby falcon from a nest and with the aid of falconry books from the library, raises and trains the falcon to hunt for them both.
My daughter and I both loved this independent learner, so close to the earth, and understood when the only thing that brought him back into the \”real world,\” over a year later, was loneliness and a need to be with other people… yet we were sad along with him for his loss of the true wilderness experience.
The book I have says it’s for \”Ages 10-14\” but my advanced 6-year-old loved hearing this read aloud to her.
— Jennifer Dees
Jennifer Dees is a member of the San Francisco Homeschoolers support group,
Book review: Linnea in Monet’s Garden
Monday, April 3rd, 2006 | Tweet |
| Tell friends about this blog entry | |
| Author: | Cristina Bjork |
| Illustrator: | Lena Anderson |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction, historical/art |
| Year of publication: | 1987 |
Young girl visits the places Monet lived and learns about how he translated his life into his paintings. | |
(This is technically fiction, but the fiction provides lots of information about Monet and about how an artist lives and works.) | |
| Similar books | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Linnea in Monet's Garden | |
Book review: Jane Eyre
Saturday, April 1st, 2006 | Tweet |
| Tell friends about this blog entry | |
| Author: | Charlotte Bronte |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Sophisticated readers |
| Genre: | fiction, historical |
| Year of publication: | 1847 |
A difficult book; much, much sadder than I had remembered from when I'd read it to myself a very long time ago. It's about temptation and the definition of bigamy. | |
My daughter was really shocked by the way children (Jane Eyre and her classmates) were treated in the beginning of the book. She was horrified by the sacrifices that Jane felt required to make in order to resist temptation and preserve her good name. I'm pretty sure that, although the book is fiction, the conditions it describes are ones that affected many women at the time depicted in the novel. See also The Cider House Rules. | |
| Similar books | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Jane Eyre | |