Argh! How many books are there going to be in the Amulet series? They keep ending just when they’re getting interesting and I’m once again left wondering what happens next. Same darn thing happened last night when I read Cloud Searchers. I was just settling in and getting excited about the story and … BAM. When is the next book coming out? Sheesh.
Have I mentioned I really like this graphic novel series (for younger kids)?
Amulet: Cloud Searchers Read More »
Finishing the Cybils Shortlist Challenge is going to be errr challenging. I’ve got a lot of books to read and some of them have been on my reserve list for a very long time. I’m beginning to think the cuts in library funding are going to prevent me from reading them all. But, I’m still trying. I finished five last night. I only really loved one of them and I couple were just plain bad.
The two that I really did not like were Shampoodle and The Book that Eats People. The Book that Eats People was really disappointing. I had high hopes but it was boring. A book that eats people should not be boring. Shampoodle was just one of those boring rhyming books where dogs have weird grooming things done to them – for nothing. I’m not a fan of those sorts of books.
The Curious Garden was nice. I liked the story. I liked the idea of helping nature grow in the middle of the city and seeing others join in. Very nice. Not great but good enough. Good Dog, Aggie wasn’t bad either but it wasn’t super awesome. Just good enough — though the boxy faces on the animals weren’t my favorite dog illustrations in the world.
The one I loved was Alice’s Shooting Star, though I didn’t love the title. I want a better title for this fun story. Rosie is an awesome kid and Alice is an even more awesome big sister for recognizing her sister’s personality for the great thing that it was. It can be difficult having a kid (or a sibling) like that but it’s who they are and there are lots of things to like about a quirky kid. I almost wish I had a kid in this age group so I could buy the whole series of Alice books.
5 More Cybils – Easy Readers and Picture Books Read More »
The very first book I picked up off of the shelf of our brand new library was The Remarkable & Very True Story of Lucy & Snowcap. The cover pulled me in. TW saw it on the shelf at home and commented on the cover. Elly saw it yesterday on my bed and commented on the cover. It’s a very comment-worthy cover.
The story’s not half bad either. TW thought it was a little creepy for a middle grade fiction but I didn’t think so. Some bad things happen – through magic. Some of the people aren’t as nice as you might like them to be, but that’s how life is. I think the start is a little jarring – taking a newborn baby to the Lifestone garden to leave him to die. But, to be clear there was no choice, the curse was killing him – not the leaving him in the garden. I think there’s a big difference and most kids will understand that. It was the curse, not abandonment.
The Remarkable & Very True Story of Lucy & Snowcap Read More »
There have been moments this year when I have to laugh out loud at the old Nancy Drews – Yesterday, there were a lot of moments like that. The Clue of the Velvet Mask included a bad woman in a “Javanese” costume and every time I read the word “Javanese” I laughed out loud. I mean really. I cannot even imagine what I thought of the word when I was 10… I wish I remembered.
The Clue of the Velvet Mask Read More »
I bet Mystery at the Ski Jump makes the PETA people very unhappy. Furs. Furs. Furs. Youch. I, on the other hand, enjoyed it quite a bit. I apparently enjoyed it quite a bit as a child too, since I practiced writing my name several times on the inside of the front jacket.
Mystery at the Ski Jump Read More »
I saved Tiger Moon for last, from the Cybils shortlist YA Science Fiction & Fantasy list, because I was afraid I wouldn’t really like it. I don’t know what caused me to feel that way – but I did. Sure enough, I had a really hard time getting into it. After two days, I was only on page 59 (and it’s a pretty long book.) On day three, I didn’t even pick it up. Day four – I finished it. It improved. Or maybe my mood improved? Or I wasn’t as tired – nah, couldn’t be that because I’m really tired. I think the story improved as the “hero” grew into his hero status. The story had more depth, the characters more interesting, the storytelling more compelling. In the end, I did like it – but this wasn’t much competition for the others in the category.
Ah I loved this one, The Clue in the Crumbling Wall. No idea why, really. But I did. I remember loving it when I was a kid too. I think it was Salty. I like Salty old seamen.
The Clue in the Crumbling Wall Read More »
I sat down with these four books, from the Cybils shortlist, and was prepared to smile. Well. That didn’t quite happen. The first book I read ticked me off. The second, I liked better but was left wishing for a slightly different story. The last two, no complaints.
Jeremy Draws A Monster is the one that ticked me off. Jeremy is a little boy who lives in the top floor of an apartment building. He doesn’t ever go outside. In his room, you see that there are drawings around the room. Obviously, he prefers to stay inside and draw, as some children do prefer. One day he draws a very large monster – and that monster comes to life. The monster begins to demand he draw other things for him and the monster never says please or thank you. After a day of Jeremy drawing things for the monster, the monster decides to go out. And this makes Jeremy happy. He goes to bed… only to be woken by the monster banging on the door to come in. Jeremy lets him in, the monster takes his bed, and Jeremy draws him a one way bus ticket out of here. The next day, Jeremy walks the monster to the bus and sees him off… and on his way home, the children ask him to play soccer… and he does. The end.
So the moral is what? If you are one of those weird kids who doesn’t like sports or isn’t good at them and would rather stay inside and draw because you are good at that… then your art turns into a monster and takes over your life and that’s bad? And if you just went outside like a normal kid, nothing like that could ever happen? And if you’re one of those kids who doesn’t understand art or artists, then this story tells you that those kids are weird and it’s better to play outside than it is to be an artist? (the illustrations were excellent though… in case you were wondering.)
Then there was Silly Tilly – a silly goose who drives the rest of the barnyard insane with her antics. She’s always goofing off and the other animals got sick of it and told her to cut it out. This made Tilly sad… and eventually the other animals realized that she was fun to be around and they missed her sillyness. So they apologized and Tilly went back to being an annoying clown. Well ok I added that annoying part… but that’s what it felt like, nobody learned moderation here. Because it’s true that people who are silly all of the time are fun some of the time but they are also annoying some of the time. That’s what the message should have been, not an all or nothing thing. Kind of similar to Jeremy and his monster, don’t you think?
Next, All the World – nice rhyming picture book showing kids and adults doing lots of different things. Even a storm that sends folks running for their cars is part of the world and how the world works. Nice. I like this one.
The Lion & the Mouse is a retelling of Aesop’s Fable. Lion could eat the mouse but decides not to. Later, lion is snared by a trap and the mouse comes and frees him. Nice illustrations, no words. I liked it.
Four Fiction Picture Books from the Cybils Shortlist Read More »
The second book in the A Resurrection of Magic series is a Cybils shortlister. TW and I had been looking at it for awhile in the library, without realizing it was on the shortlist. Thankfully, I reserved the first book to start with because the second would have been crazy to read without having this background story. And what a background story it is.
Skin Hunger tells two different stories, one of Somiss and Franklin and Sadima as they were trying to rediscover magic – and one of Hahp, Gerard and eight other boys trying to become wizards — and Somiss and Franklin are the wizards who run the school. Evil place it is, obviously since it’s run by Somiss who is… horrible. I kept waiting for there to be something good, something redeeming about him. There wasn’t. Maybe in the next book we’ll learn more… I hope. Because otherwise, I just hate the guy. It will be awhile before I find out – TW just picked up Sacred Scars, and it’s much longer than this one. Maybe I’ll get to it next week.
Yesterday was… a day… so I figured the easiest books to read would be some Nancy Drews for my challenge list. And I was right. The Clue in the Jewel Box and The Secret in the Old Attic are history. Well duh, of course they’re history – I’m reading my old books. I should probably stick to Nancy Drews for the rest of the week due to the crazy schedule I’m keeping but I’m going to give a YA fantasy a try today. If that doesn’t work, I’ll head back to Nancy.
One question – wasn’t Helen scheduled to get married in the first few books? Suddenly she’s back and there’s no mention of a fiancé. Or a husband. Or maybe it wasn’t Helen – it was someone else??? It’s bugging me, I need to go back and figure it out.