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Archive for the ‘Reading level’ Category
Book review: Ender’s Shadow
Saturday, July 15th, 2006Book review: First Meetings in the Enderverse
Saturday, July 15th, 2006 | Tweet |
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| Author: | Orson Scott Card |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | Science fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2003 |
Prequels to the Ender stories; includes the original novella which grew to become Ender's Game. Fans of Ender's Game will like these. | |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: First Meetings : In the Enderverse | |
Book review: Dragon’s Milk
Monday, July 10th, 2006 | Tweet |
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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: | 1989 |
I enjoyed reading Dragon's Milk. It's about a girl who is different from everybody else in her little town. Kaeldra has to get milk from a dragon so that her foster-sister won't die. And that's how Kaeldra's adventure starts. I was upset with the end of the book because it was sad but I'm still going to read the other books in the series. -- Fizzy, age 11 | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Dragon's Milk | |
Book review: The Book of Ruth
Monday, July 10th, 2006 | Tweet |
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| Author: | Jane Hamilton |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | For grown-ups |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | For grown-ups |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1989 |
"What did Cinderella's mother die of?," my daughter asked me, when she was 4. I myself had never troubled to think about this. But I came to realize that, in stories for children, from fairy tales to adventures to Walt Disney musicals, the mothers' presence is usually notable for its absence. Their deaths are required so that plots can unfold. And yet, I have recently come across a few novels that consider thoughtfully the role(s) a mother may play in her daughter's future. In the two grimmest, White Oleander and The Book of Ruth, the power of the mothers to destroy their daughters despite great distance, time, and, in the case of White Oleander, despite tall prison walls, is absolute. The sorrows of mothers, say Janet Fitch and Jane Hamilton, are visited on their daughters. ... | |
Perhaps it is because the mothers in White Oleander and The Book of Ruth are so monstrous that we cannot forgive the mothers for the torment they inflict on their daughters. We hold them responsible for failing to surmount their own troubles in order to better the lives of their children and grandchildren, even when their daughters actively contribute to their own tragedies. This book is more fully reviewed in our discussion of some books about the relationships between moms and their daughters. | |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Book of Ruth | |
Book review: White Oleander
Monday, July 10th, 2006 | Tweet |
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| Author: | Janet Fitch |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | For grown-ups |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | For grown-ups |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1999 |
"What did Cinderella's mother die of?," my daughter asked me, when she was 4. I myself had never troubled to think about this. But I came to realize that, in stories for children, from fairy tales to adventures to Walt Disney musicals, the mothers' presence is usually notable for its absence. Their deaths are required so that plots can unfold. And yet, I have recently come across a few novels that consider thoughtfully the role(s) a mother may play in her daughter's future. In the two grimmest, White Oleander and The Book of Ruth, the power of the mothers to destroy their daughters despite great distance, time, and, in the case of White Oleander, despite tall prison walls, is absolute. The sorrows of mothers, say Janet Fitch and Jane Hamilton, are visited on their daughters. ... | |
This book is more fully reviewed in our discussion of some books about the relationships between moms and their daughters. | |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: White Oleander | |
Book review: What To Keep
Monday, July 10th, 2006 | Tweet |
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| Author: | Rachel Cline |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | For grown-ups |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | For grown-ups |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2004 |
The daughter of a brilliant but flawed neurosurgeon learns to appreciate the imperfect life her mother has helped her to lead. | |
This book is more fully reviewed in our discussion of some books about the relationships between moms and their daughters. | |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: What To Keep | |
Book review: The Botany of Desire
Friday, July 7th, 2006 | Tweet |
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| Author: | Michael Pollan |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | non-fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2006 |
Elegant essays about the symbiotic relationship between certain plants and humans. The discussions about the way tulips and potatoes changed human history ought to change the way any reader thinks about gardens and commercial agriculture. | |
Moral: Just because we think we're at the top of the food chain, that doesn't mean we can't be manipulated by things we believe we subjugate. -- Emily | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World | |
Book review: Small Steps
Thursday, July 6th, 2006 | Tweet |
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| Author: | Louis Sachar |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2006 |
Small Steps is kind of a sequel to Holes, but it's from the perspective of Armpit (Theodore) instead of Stanley. I liked Small Steps; I read it in less than a week, although it gets a little smushy in some parts -- lots of kissing and stuff. In the beginning, it's just a little bit boring, but it picks up at the end.So if you read it… Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Fizzy, age 11 | |
Parent's note: Along with the romance mentioned, the plot also involves battery and an attempted beating to death.... -- Emily | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Small Steps | |
Book review: Maniac Magee
Thursday, July 6th, 2006 | Tweet |
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| Author: | Jerry Spinelli |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1990 |
Modern day tall tale, beautifully written by Jerry Spinelli, whose Stargirl we also loved. Maniac's athletic gifts and personal fortitude give him entree behind the window curtains of many homes in his small Pennsylvania town, where he is privileged to share meals and experiences with old and young, black and white, humans and zoo animals. Maniac re-pays the kindness of strangers by helping to bridge, although not heal, the town's racial divide. | |
Winner, 1991 Newbery Medal | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Maniac Magee | |
Book review: Love Medicine
Monday, July 3rd, 2006 | Tweet |
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| Author: | Louise Erdrich |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | For grown-ups |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | For grown-ups |
| Genre: | Fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1984 |
Set of interlocking short stories that combined help us understand many things about life on Native American reservations. One has to do with the devastating effect of alcohol on family life. | |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Love Medicine | |