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| Author: | Benjamin Hoff |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 5 and under |
| Genre: | Non-fiction, philosophy |
| Year of publication: | 1983 |
Not difficult to read, but explains some very interesting ideas in a humorous way. | |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Tao of Pooh, The | |
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| Author: | Emily Rodda |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 5 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 5 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1993 |
A Quest, gently told; a good chapter book for a young/new reader. In Questing to the top of the mountain with six fellow villagers to obtain water for his village, Rowan, a frail, young shepherd, gains confidence and courage. | |
Unlike in other Quests, in this one, the trials that confront the travelers are nearly all resolved through reason, rather than force. For example, Rowan's climactic encounter with the dragon benefits both the boy and the beast. Another nice touch: Rowan's fellow travelers do their best, but then, when a trial requires more than they can do, they retire for the good of the group, with the good wishes of the group. (Take that, Joe Lieberman!) --Emily | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Rowan of Rin | |
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| Author: | Anthony Burgess |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | For grown-ups |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | For grown-ups |
| Genre: | Fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1963 |
Very violent sci fi. Challenging to read because it's written in a mush of English and Russian. But there are translations of the hard words in a glossary in the back. | |
The movie is pretty intense too. | |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Clockwork Orange, A | |
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| Author: | Meindert DeJong |
| Illustrator: | Maurice Sendak |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | Fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1955 |
The children of a Dutch fishing village try various strategies in order to find a wheel that they can put on the roof of their schoolhouse so they can attract storks that will bring them luck. Winner, 1955 Newbery Medal | |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Wheel on the School, The | |
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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: | 2001 |
The books in this set are:
But the first book in this volume, The Magicians of Caprona, a Chrestomanci-universe-based story with many similarities to Romeo and Juliet was a real disappointment. | |
In this case, of course, the warring families are magicians who fight each other by casting spells. The story is told from the point of view of a "slow-learner", who, of course, brings the families together and saves the city, and learns he is differently-abled, not dis-abled. Even though the author is obviously a talented, creative, and thoughtful writer, we found this book tedious and predictable. Surprisingly little violence, despite the war that underlies the plot. Surprisingly little romance, considering the Romeo and Juliet theme. Much discussion of Punch and Judy, so the reader might want to be familiar with traditional puppet shows/themes before reading this... -- Emily | |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume 2, Book 1: The Magicians of Caprona | |
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| Author: | E.L. Konigsburg |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1996 |
Motley group of gifted kids learn about each other and to work together to win a contest, aided by an inspiring teacher. | |
Newbery Medal winner. | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: View From Saturday | |
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| Author: | Susan Fletcher |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1997 |
I liked Flight of the Dragon Kyn better than Dragon's Milk because it is not as depressing. There is some tragic violence in this pre-quel, though. Flight of the Dragon Kyn tells the story of a girl named Kara who can call birds down. The people in her village don't like her or her gift; When she was very little she came down with a deadly sickness and they left her in a cave for dead. When she came back to them, her eyes had turned from blue to green. Some villagers claimed that a dragon gave her its milk and that that's why she had changed. When Kara gets older, she is taken away to call down dragons for the king. Kara realizes that she and her gifts are being used to commit great evil. What is she to do -- Fizzy, age 11 | |
Note: Conceptual age set to 12, because of violence. | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Flight of the Dragon Kyn | |
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| Author: | Frank Herbert |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Sophisticated readers |
| Genre: | Fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1971 |
What I love about Dune is the incredibly thoughtful and comprehensive description of the whole desert planet and how humans can find a way to live in such an inhospitable place. I recommended Dune to my older daughter when she was about 13. Her opinion on Dune (but then she read it just about at the same time she read Winter's Tale & Monte Cristo, which have remained some of her favorite books, now 4 years later), was that it was "OK", compared to these others which really captivated her. | |
The beginning of Dune is very violent, very intense. And it only lets up a little once about 200 pages into the book when our hero is just about out on his own. (That's often why the violence occurs early on, even in Disney. Have to get rid of mom and explain away dad so hero is forced to be brave and we can have a plot. But in this case, the beginning is quite elongated, full of betrayal and torture, and sad.) The plot is kind of like Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, except that (perhaps because Asimov's characters are much less lifelike) Asimov is much less in-your-face violent and Asimov's women are -- fifties women, which is to say, extremely stereotypical. OTOH, for an 11 year old, maybe he should read the Foundation Trilogy first and then Dune? And, finally, Dune is the first in, like, a series of 5 or so books. The first book doesn't actually end with any finality. AND, I really, really, really detested the sequels. Can't remember why, but I know I never got through even the first sequel. SO, I have no idea what happened after the first book. My advice is that if there are other books on your list, I would probably postpone Dune for a while. For an 11 year old, I would probably opt for Asimov over Frank Herbert. I really did LOVE the I, Robot stories and I think they raise interesting questions about the relationship between people and technology, even today. And the Foundation Trilogy, with the caveat about the women. In fact, you might want to look into some of the anthologies of classic science fiction. (But reading those was what got me into reading Harlen Ellison and Kurt Vonnegut and they are probably NOT books my mom would have wanted me reading. But she was like me. I do not forbid my kids from reading anything, I just sometimes divert them toward something else ...) --Emily | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Dune | |
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| Author: | Blue Balliett |
| Illustrator: | Brett Helquist |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2006 |
My teacher gave me Wright 3 because I liked its prequel, Chasing Vermeer sooo much. I read The Wright Three in a day -- It is one of those books where you can't stop reading because no matter where you are in the book, you're always at a spot where it's too exciting to stop. (I remember when we were reading Chasing Vermeer in class and my teacher had to confiscate my friend's book because she was too far ahead and wouldn't stop reading.) Wright 3 is about three kids named Calder, Petra, and Tommy. Petra and Tommy at first don't like each-other but are both friends with Calder. They have to work together to save the Robie House, a historical house in their neighborhood that has lots of secrets. | |
Both Chasing Vermeer, and Wright 3 have illustrations with hidden meanings and however hard you try you can't figure out what they mean until the end of the book. --Fizzy, age 11 | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Wright 3, The | |
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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: | 1988 |
The books in this set are:
Charmed Life is the story of Cat and Gwendolen, brother and sister orphaned when their parents were drowned. Gwendolen seems to be a talented magician. And Cat -- well, not so much. Both are adopted, for reasons Cat finds difficult to understand, by a very powerful sorcerer, the Chrestomanci. The Lives of Christopher Chant tells the exciting story of how Christopher Chant (barely) survived to become the Chrestomanci.Both stories explore the problems of gifted children who are made to feel inferior because they are special. | |
Growing up, neither Cat nor Christopher Chant understands that he has special talents. Instead, their "caretakers" -- in Cat's case, his sister, Gwendolen, and in Chant's case, his mother and uncle -- use their children's gifts for their own selfish purposes. It takes Cat significant time after he meets Chrestomanci to understand his kinship (in more ways than one) with him. The advantage of reading Charmed Life first (which we did by chance) was that it made Cat's confusion very real to us. My then-10 year old and I really enjoyed getting these two glimpses into Diana Wynne Jones' multiple alternative universes, in which the outcomes of historical events led to the preeminence of technology in some universes and the preeminence of magic in others. | |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume 1: Charmed Life / The Lives of Christopher Chant, The | |