Baby Island, by Carol Ryrie Brink
5 stars!
Description: Capable twelve-year-old Mary Wallace and her
not-so-capable, ten-year-old sister
Jean are traveling alone to Australia when the ship capsizes! In the chaos that
ensues, Mary and Jean are put on the wrong lifeboat – the one with the four
screaming babies! The two sisters are
set adrift with babies Elisha
(the “pink” twin), Elijah (the “blue” twin), Ann Elizabeth (the spoiled but
lovable one-year-old) and Jonah … whom Mary has a hard time keeping
Jean from throwing overboard in hopes it will calm the storm like in the
biblical Jonah story. When they reach Baby Island, they have all sorts of misadventures just
trying to survive alone on a deserted island.
Concerns: None.
Summary: Practical Mary simply
wants to live through this baby-abundant adventure while nutty Jean naturally wants to survive, but also
have fun! Baby Island certainly has the means; tracking the mysterious Friday, searching for pirate’s treasure,
conversing with a talking parrot, and attempting to keep the identical twins
from getting mixed up all contribute to a wild,
crazy and witty adventure all the way through!
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Friday, June 14, 2013
Book Review of The Strictest School in the World
The Strictest School in the World: Being the Tale of a Clever Girl, a
Rubber Boy, and a Collection of Flying Machines, Mostly Broken (The Mad
Misadventures of Emmmaline and Rubberbones), by Howard Whitehouse
5 stars!
Description: Fourteen-year old Emmaline Cayley is fascinated with the science of aviation, so naturally she decides to build her own airplane! However, she runs into one problem: she is afraid to fly. To solve this problem, Emmaline enlists the help of Robert Burns (aka Rubberbones) to pilot her plane. But all of Emmaline’s plans come to a screeching halt when she is sent away to a boarding school. This isn’t just any old boarding school – it’s the strictest one in the world. Emmaline must drop her plans for flying machines, instead putting her brain to work finding out what is concealed in the tower that makes all the students tremble in terror. Escape is ever in her mind, but in all the years of the school’s existence, no one has ever gotten out alive.
Concerns: Brief fortune telling.
Summary: I loved this book! It’s hilarious, it’s adventurous, and it is just all-around fun! The lengthy title does not even begin to describe the adventures that await you; the ferocious field hockey games are my personal favorite, the description of Aunt Lucy’s infamous cooking made me shudder in disgust, and Rubberbones’s death-defying feats are a thrill to even the most reckless explorer!
5 stars!
Description: Fourteen-year old Emmaline Cayley is fascinated with the science of aviation, so naturally she decides to build her own airplane! However, she runs into one problem: she is afraid to fly. To solve this problem, Emmaline enlists the help of Robert Burns (aka Rubberbones) to pilot her plane. But all of Emmaline’s plans come to a screeching halt when she is sent away to a boarding school. This isn’t just any old boarding school – it’s the strictest one in the world. Emmaline must drop her plans for flying machines, instead putting her brain to work finding out what is concealed in the tower that makes all the students tremble in terror. Escape is ever in her mind, but in all the years of the school’s existence, no one has ever gotten out alive.
Concerns: Brief fortune telling.
Summary: I loved this book! It’s hilarious, it’s adventurous, and it is just all-around fun! The lengthy title does not even begin to describe the adventures that await you; the ferocious field hockey games are my personal favorite, the description of Aunt Lucy’s infamous cooking made me shudder in disgust, and Rubberbones’s death-defying feats are a thrill to even the most reckless explorer!
P.S. Proceed at your
own risk. There are dangers in every chapter.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Book Review of Tuck Everlasting
Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbit
5 stars!
Description: Meet Winnie Foster, a 10 year old girl who is tired with her boring life as the only child in an annoyingly controlling family. One fateful day, Winnie decides to run away from it all, change her name, and accomplish something great to make her mark on the world. Before she gets far, she stumbles across a mysterious family called the Tucks who, though strange, seem nice enough – until suddenly they kidnap her. As the alarming chain of events unfolds, Winnie realizes that in meeting the Tucks, she discovered a secret that could change the world forever… but the appearance of a stranger with a dangerous proposition threatens the lives of the Tucks and the welfare of the entire world.
Concerns: Some very dubious worldview / eastern religion-y discussions (i.e., we’re all on the wheel of life…); a character is killed.
Summary: I love this book, and since first stumbling across it a year ago, I’ve read it approximately half a dozen times. It is one of those mysterious and yet poignant books that are enjoyed by all ages. It’s a breathtaking adventure of dangers and secrets; Winnie must figure out a way to save the Tucks and keep their deadly (or rather, un-deadly) secret safely hidden. Through it all, she is faced with a choice that could change her life forever.
5 stars!
Description: Meet Winnie Foster, a 10 year old girl who is tired with her boring life as the only child in an annoyingly controlling family. One fateful day, Winnie decides to run away from it all, change her name, and accomplish something great to make her mark on the world. Before she gets far, she stumbles across a mysterious family called the Tucks who, though strange, seem nice enough – until suddenly they kidnap her. As the alarming chain of events unfolds, Winnie realizes that in meeting the Tucks, she discovered a secret that could change the world forever… but the appearance of a stranger with a dangerous proposition threatens the lives of the Tucks and the welfare of the entire world.
Concerns: Some very dubious worldview / eastern religion-y discussions (i.e., we’re all on the wheel of life…); a character is killed.
Summary: I love this book, and since first stumbling across it a year ago, I’ve read it approximately half a dozen times. It is one of those mysterious and yet poignant books that are enjoyed by all ages. It’s a breathtaking adventure of dangers and secrets; Winnie must figure out a way to save the Tucks and keep their deadly (or rather, un-deadly) secret safely hidden. Through it all, she is faced with a choice that could change her life forever.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Book Review of Basil in Mexico
Basil in Mexico, by Eve Titus
4 stars
Description: Basil of Baker Street, the world's most famous mouse detective, is at it again! A mystery story of many tales in one, we follow clever Basil and the faithful Dawson as they tackle the dastardly Professor Ratigan in London and travel to Mexico to solve the puzzle of a stolen work of art. Success seems to be in their grasp... but they are faced with a sudden blow when Dawson is kidnapped on the eve of a full-scale rebel army attack!
Concerns: None
Summary: Consider this book a low-calorie item on the literary world's fast-food menu. If you've read Sherlock Holmes, the mimicry is perfect. If you haven't read Holmes, the story itself is incentive enough. It's a fast-reading mystery with just enough dangers and complications scattered along the way -- not an outstanding or even terribly well-written classic with deep life lessons, but it's a great trip to take just for the fun of it.
4 stars
Description: Basil of Baker Street, the world's most famous mouse detective, is at it again! A mystery story of many tales in one, we follow clever Basil and the faithful Dawson as they tackle the dastardly Professor Ratigan in London and travel to Mexico to solve the puzzle of a stolen work of art. Success seems to be in their grasp... but they are faced with a sudden blow when Dawson is kidnapped on the eve of a full-scale rebel army attack!
Concerns: None
Summary: Consider this book a low-calorie item on the literary world's fast-food menu. If you've read Sherlock Holmes, the mimicry is perfect. If you haven't read Holmes, the story itself is incentive enough. It's a fast-reading mystery with just enough dangers and complications scattered along the way -- not an outstanding or even terribly well-written classic with deep life lessons, but it's a great trip to take just for the fun of it.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Book Review of Snow Dog
Snow Dog, by Jim Kjelgaard
5 stars!
Description: In a northern wilderness that is ruled by a killer wolf who hates mankind, a northern fur trapper loses his dog. The trapper's search for the dog proves fruitless, and when he gives up, we follow the trail of the dog and her pups as they fight and live and grow and die in their quest for survival, ever stalked by the menacing wolf and his pack. At last, the trapper meets one of the grown pups - but the two have little time to overcome their mutual wariness before they are faced by a growing threat in the forest. The snow has grown deep and the game scarce, and the now-starving wolf pack has come back to finish the job it started years before.
Concerns: It's a wilderness, and it can be savage. Wolf/dog fights, several casualties (including a man). One wolf in particular is frequently and flippantly called a devil. One matter-of-fact and innocent reference to a... female dog.
Summary: Set in the harsh and yet fiercely beautiful forest deep in the north country, this is an enthralling tale of a fierce struggle for survival. Reads like an old western or Royal Canadian Mounted Police story, but this time about a trapper and his dog. The description of the frozen wilds is fascinating; wild creatures include everything from the moose and snowshoe rabbits to the lynx and the grizzly bear, the rivers and marshes are almost visible on the pages, and the struggles and triumphs of the hard life are almost real as the glint of savagery in the eyes of the wolves. A favorite from the first time I read it.
5 stars!
Description: In a northern wilderness that is ruled by a killer wolf who hates mankind, a northern fur trapper loses his dog. The trapper's search for the dog proves fruitless, and when he gives up, we follow the trail of the dog and her pups as they fight and live and grow and die in their quest for survival, ever stalked by the menacing wolf and his pack. At last, the trapper meets one of the grown pups - but the two have little time to overcome their mutual wariness before they are faced by a growing threat in the forest. The snow has grown deep and the game scarce, and the now-starving wolf pack has come back to finish the job it started years before.
Concerns: It's a wilderness, and it can be savage. Wolf/dog fights, several casualties (including a man). One wolf in particular is frequently and flippantly called a devil. One matter-of-fact and innocent reference to a... female dog.
Summary: Set in the harsh and yet fiercely beautiful forest deep in the north country, this is an enthralling tale of a fierce struggle for survival. Reads like an old western or Royal Canadian Mounted Police story, but this time about a trapper and his dog. The description of the frozen wilds is fascinating; wild creatures include everything from the moose and snowshoe rabbits to the lynx and the grizzly bear, the rivers and marshes are almost visible on the pages, and the struggles and triumphs of the hard life are almost real as the glint of savagery in the eyes of the wolves. A favorite from the first time I read it.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Book Review of The Jungle Book
The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling
4 stars
Description: First, lose your image of a Disney-ified Baloo (and don't go correcting my grammar. Disney-ified either is or should be a word). Kipling's jungle displays not a tribe of goofy animals, but the the life and death struggle of a wolf pack. The jungle is a dangerous place; it can be a savage place. Above all, this jungle is the setting for a fantastic adventure of a boy and the wild creatures that protect and defend him as he grows and finally decides for himself what kind of a life he will lead.
Concerns: It's a different sort of book because it deals with a very wild setting. Can be violent and a mite dark (the sequels are more so). Humans in the book consider Mowgli a demon/sorcerer. Threats of execution. ***NOTE: review covers Mowgli and His Brothers, Kaa's Hunting, and Tiger! Tiger! It does not include other non-Mowgli stories (i.e. The White Seal), which are often published in the same volume.
Summary: Reading this book introduces the jungle as a strange and wondrous place. Danger is real, but so is friendship and loyalty; the harshness of life runs side by side with the sweet. Beyond the mysteries of the jungle itself, the story is fascinating way to follow a queer life story that spins completely outside the world as we know it. It's an odd tale, but it's worth exploring (and come on. With a name like Mowgli, how can you go wrong?).
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Book Review of Beauty
Beauty, by Robin McKinley
5 stars!
Description: A masterful version of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast. Suddenly impoverished by the loss of their merchant ships, the ill-named Beauty and her family are forced to move from their wealthy town home to the half-wild north country, where rumors of goblins and wild things still lurk in the thick trees of the wilderness beyond their doorstep. The family settles in, finding they can live happily and content in their new world - until one of them trespasses into the dark forest. From that day, their lives will never be the same.
Concerns: Magic.
Summary: To the undying relief of the reader, Beauty factually tells us she's not pretty, and moves on. She doesn't care. Good. We don't either. Instead of focusing on image and romance ad nauseam, we get a tale of mystery, secrets, and friendship. One of the best reworked fairy-tales I've read. From the magnificent horse Greatheart to the enormous library (Mark Twain?), to scattered hopeful sparrows lured to a windowsill, Beauty holds all the wonders of a new world, and it delivers on its promise.
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