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| Author: | Margaret Wise Brown |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 5 and under |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 5 and under |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1949 |
Doesn't rhyme so harder to memorize; not cutesy; some pretty hard words in surprising configurations | |
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| Author: | Anita Diamant |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | For grown-ups |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | For grown-ups |
| Genre: | fiction, historical |
| Year of publication: | 1997 |
Riff on life of biblical woman, Dinah | |
A passage in the book of Genesis refers to Dinah, the only daughter of Joseph. Dinah's brothers "avenged" her by killing her husband and all his men. Diamant's novel gives voice to Dinah, who is granted only this one passage in the Bible. In so doing, Diamant muses on the way the roles of women changed as Abraham's descendants' allegiance to the single God, El, became stronger. Contrasts in an interesting way with The King Must Die, which also describes a transition from a culture where women were acknowledged to possess some divinity to one in which male deities were ascendent. -- Emily Berk | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Red Tent, The | |
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| Author: | Zilpha Keatly Snyder |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1991 |
Working class fairy tale | |
Boy in trouble meets gifted gargoyle and together they quest to find the boy's heritage, father, and place in the world. As with other books by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, it's hard to differentiate between magic and reality here. This book contrasts interestingly with Adam of the Road, in which the quest is just as desperate, but the boy must make his way on his own. -- Emily Berk | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Song of the Gargoyle | |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: | |
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| Author: | T.H. White |
| Illustrator: | Dennis Nolan |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction, King Arthur |
| Year of publication: | 1938 |
Lovely anachronism-rich story of the childhood of King Arthur. | |
My daughter recommends this version because of the gorgeous illustrations by Dennis Nolan After the first appearance of an anachronism -- is it the mention of "Red Indians" near page 5?, my daughter leapt upon other chronological inconsistencies. And, well, those last words -- daughter just roared with amusement. Any version of this book is recommended, but if you can, try to find this one and take a look at page 96, "'I could be a hawk in Hob's mews,' said the Wart stoutly." Soooo cute | |
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| Author: | Mark Costello |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | For grown-ups |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | For grown-ups |
| Genre: | Fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2003 |
Authors of novels like to think that they create civilizations using words alone. And so do computer programmers. In The Big If, secret service people guarding the Vice President of the United States do the same. Could it be that everyone does this to survive. (Except maybe not everyone is self-aware enough to know they are doing it.) | |
The recursion is dizzying. This involving novel draws us in to all three worlds:
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Big If, The | |
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| Author: | Cynthia Voigt |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1988 |
A gloomy book about the effects of war and weather on real bodies and minds. And about how a child can come to feel responsible for the acts of man and nature. | |
My ten year old found it compelling, but depressing. Without an understanding of the hideous weapons used during World War I, the descriptions of the injuries were difficult to understand. (Not that I'd have wanted them to be graphic.) A child might take the moral of this scary fairy tale to be "Be very careful what you wish. Very careful." And, yes, I approve of that message as it's presented in Into the Woods. "Be careful the wish you make. Wishes come true. Not free." And I do think it's good for all people to think through the full ramifications of their actions and their wishes. And through the main character, the book does help us to think about how to formulate effective, clear, less dangerous wishes. But do we want our children to worry that their possibly less-than-perfect wishes will come true? | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Tree By Leaf | |
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| Author: | Louise Erdrich |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | For grown-ups |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | For grown-ups |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2001 |
Woman is mistaken for a priest, and ends up adopting his identity and ministering to an Indian reservation in the early twentieth century. It's interesting to learn the background of some of the characters we met in Love Medicine. | |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse | |
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| Author: | Kate Dicamillo |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Learning to read |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Learning to read |
| Genre: | Fairy tale |
| Year of publication: | 2003 |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread | |