Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where 0 = no objectionable content and 5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content.
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The First Book in The King of the Trees Fantasy Series
Ratings Explanation
Violence: Rolin, the Tree People and Thalmosians’s battle Felgor, his foot soldiers-Army of Gorks, Gorgorunth the Black Serpent/Dragon and the Yegs to rule the kingdom. Waganupa – The Tree of Life is burned and destroyed.
Sexual Content: Rolin and Marlis kiss, as they are married.
Adult Content: Symbolism of Christ the Savior’s sacrifice, atonement, and resurrection for all mankind.
Summary
Rolin, son of Gannon sets out to solve a riddle left behind by his grandmother: an old wooden box, a jeweled pendant, and the mysterious green cloaks. Rolin’s adventures take him worlds beyond the walls of his little log cabin. With the help of some grumpy griffins and a long-lost prophecy, Rolin and his friends battle a sorcerer and his underworld army; deadly snake-trees; dragons and other mythical creatures. On their perilous quest for the fabled Isle of Luralin, they must trust the King with their very lives. In the end, they learn that “The greatest help oft comes in harm’s disguise to those with trusting hearts and open eyes.”
This is a Christian Fantasy book, written in the tradition of C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. A great coming of age story! Burt is a beautiful writer, with an exceptional grasp of language. Although, I did stumble reading some of the character’s names aloud. However, a glossary and pronunciation guide is provided. I recommend this book for all ages.
Being “left back” in 6th grade while all her friends move on to 7th grade is the horrible possibility facing Abby Carson. To be promoted, Abby will have to do top work on all homework and tests, and do a big extra credit assignment as well! So she gets started writing pen pal letters. Sadeed Bayat lives in a community in the mountains of Afghanistan. Sadeed is assigned to help his little sister Amira write the letters, but he wants to write to Abby himself. He must do so secretly because conservative tradition dictates that it would be improper for boys and girls to write to each other. Abby sends a handful of corn from Illinois. Sadeed sends a particle of rock from the mountains near his village. Despite difficulties caused by intolerant adults, a few exchanged letters enrich the lives of three young people on opposite sides of the world.
Andrew Clements writes “school stories,” and I have loved all of them that I have read. He taught 5thgrade for many years, and his books show a real understanding of this age. They are realistic stories of modern kids with individual problems. Here’s a simple story with no fighting, swords, dragons, blood, magic, or epic anything, that shows real life to be warm and rich and interesting. It brought to life the yearnings of two 12-year-olds each wanting to reach out across the world to a friend. I would enthusiastically recommend this book to all my friends in the upper elementary years.
Violence: In the Amazon rainforest, subbing for an Amazon tribal princess, natives shoot poison darts in Desi’s direction and at the “bubble” she travels in. The bubble then malfunctions, sending her crashing to the rainforest floor and breaking her rib.
Sexual Content: Desi kisses Prince Karl. She also receives mouth-to-mouth resuscitation from a dreamy boy when she falls into a dunk tank and almost drowns.
Adult Themes: Desi’s attorney father prosecutes the father of her former best friend (Celeste), landing him in jail. Celeste’s mother then divorces her father. Celeste blames Desi for ruining her life.
Synopsis
Desi Bascomb is a 15-year-old girl who dreams of making an impact in the world. The problem is, how do you do that when you’re stuck in Sproutville, Idaho, your ex-best friend torments you and is dating the boy you’re secretly crushing on, and your boring job requires you to dress as a groundhog for the local pet store? Ahh, with a little magic potential (“MP”), of course, which Desi just happens to be unwittingly in possession of. She spots an ad in the paper looking for a “substitute Princess” and eagerly signs up when Meredith, a fairy godmother of a very different sort, appears in a magical bubble in her bathroom. Now all Desi has to do is rub some magical Egyptian rouge on her cheeks and, presto! she morphs into whatever princess is in need of a breather from the tedium of royal life. What she learns, however, is that not all princesses live glamorous, charmed lives. They have problems, too, like manipulative older sisters and unrequited love. Navigating these trials on-spot proves more difficult than Desi expects, and even though she lands herself in hot water a few times, she uncovers her true self-worth along the way.
Girls who enjoy princess-themed stories (a la “The Princess Diaries” or “Ella Enchanted”)–and even girls who don’t–will devour this book. The story is light-hearted and upbeat, but I was glad to see the main character learn that a princess’s life is not always enchanted. An entertaining read that leaves you with that happy, bubbly feeling afterwards. This book, released in spring 2010, is the first in a series (book 2 is in the works). I’m sure the sequel will have an eager following.
Title: The Ruins of Gorlon (The Ranger’s Apprentice, Book 1)
Author: John Flanagan
Ratings Explanation
Violence: Pushing, name calling, humiliation – like having to stand holding a heavy rock over his head, and enduring beatings with heavy sticks. A boy is held with a knife to his throat, fighting with a wooden sword and canes, and a boy is paddled and kicked. A monster receives an arrow in the eye, screams in rage and fury, is pierced with arrows and pikes. There is a battle using war axe, broadsword, arrow, and pikes, without a lot of gory descriptions. There are 2 or 3 descriptions such as “blood streaming from a half-dozen deep slashes in his back.” A monster emits piercing screams of agony as it burns.
Sexual Content: Will is kissed on the mouth once by a girl and he thinks about the memory later.
Adult themes: Abusive hazing
Summary
Fourteen-year-old Will has one great dream: to become a knight in the Kingdom of Araluen. If only he would grow!! As the smallest of all the orphans being kept by the Baron, his chances of being chosen for Battleschool are slim. When he is finally assigned an apprenticeship, it is his abilities to move across a field unseen, climb steep tower walls like a spider, and his great inquisitiveness that land him an assignment with the Ranger instead. The next days are filled with learning about Rangers—they are the intelligence arm of the king’s forces. The next months are filled with practicing the skills Rangers use—knife throwing, stealth moving, tracking the enemy, listening in without being seen, and learning to work with his unstoppable pony Tug. In the meantime, Will’s friend Horace is having a harder time in his assignment at Battleschool. He is humiliated, harassed and beaten by three upper classmen, and he thinks the authorities intentionally look the other way. A deep resentment starts burning inside of Horace, with a bitterness that threatens long-term trouble. He doesn’t realize that his instructors look at him as “a natural”, with the talent to be one of the great swordsmen of all time. Horace alienates his friends, including Will, and then they face life-threatening danger together. Bigger trouble lies ahead as rumors of war whisper through the intelligence community, and Will joins his master in facing the dangerous beasts called Kalkara that are slaying the military leaders of Araluen.
Will begins as an orphan, a common place to start in this kind of adventure, and ends up in battle, a common place to go. However, a story does not have to be original to be good! I like the way the relationship between Will and Horace develops, because friends do butt heads and have hard feelings, and sometimes these things really cement a true friendship. Although a medieval fantasy, these young men face struggles real kids might face. I thought many parts of the story were realistic, not overly contrived. Good adult characters add a lot to the story. Most of the adults in this story act logically and honorably, and show patience and understanding in training the young people. The Ranger’s description of the Battlemaster is choice: “He’s got a little more up top than the average bush and whacker.” This adventure would appeal to boys in the 9 to 12 age range.
Language: Derogatory language and name calling such as loser, portly, chubby, ugly beast, creep and chunky funk are used. Lulu speaks disrespectfully to people in authority.
Adult Themes: Mr. Munchauser has a gambling problem and is always trying to bet.
Synopsis
People are scared of many things. For some people, the fear gets out of hand and begins to rule their lives, becoming a phobia. That’s how it is for Madeline, Theo, Lulu and Garrison. Each has an uncontrollable phobia. Madeline is deathly afraid of bugs, Theo is petrified of dying, Lulu is scared of confined spaces and Garrison is terrified of deep water. Luckily, there is a place for just such children – The School of Fear. The School of Fear is “an exceedingly exclusive program run by the elusive Mrs. Wellington; it is actually so select that few people are even aware of its existence.” Things are not always as they seem though, and the four 12-year-olds are in for some interesting and even frightening experiences!
This was such a fun read! I found the whole book so amusing, I even laughed out loud (which really is something for me). Theo was by far my favorite character. I loved him! There is a new phobia listed at the beginning of every chapter which is funny. I’d share it with whoever was closest to me. Amid all the humor were deeper messages too. Don’t judge a book (or person) by its cover. Helping others will help you forget your own fears and problems. And finally, most problems (or phobias) are not miraculously cured. Instead it takes time and effort and will likely be a life long journey. Here is my favorite quote from this book: “It is a rather lamentable fact that few can call upon courage with the expediency they can fear.” I think the recommended age range for this book is spot on. I am now happily passing this book onto my kids.
Violence: Captain Jibby’s hand was once eaten by a tiger (and was replaced by a Swiss Army Knife with multiple, useful tools.) The “Coats”–referring to the men in suits chasing after the Cheeseman family–use guns to threaten Captain Jibby. The Coats kidnap Ethan, the father, and his son Gerard at gunpoint. A monkey accidentally shoots his spy partner in the leg with a banana-shaped gun. Captain Jibby rams his bus into a chain link fence that one of the Coats is climbing. Captain Jibby stabs a Coat in the shoulder with his knife-hand.
Adult Themes: Mrs. Cheeseman was poisoned and killed by the evil men who want her husband’s time machine.
Synopsis
Ethan Cheeseman is a scientist/inventor who has developed a super-secret time machine. The problem is, the secret got out and now a whole slew of dirty government spies and evil thugs all want a piece of it–or actually, the entire thing. This means Mr. Cheeseman and his three children, who are all “smart, pleasant, witty, attractive, polite, and relatively odor-free” are constantly on the run, moving from city to city and barely staying in one place long enough to make any friends. The evil “Coats” will stop at nothing to get their hands on the time machine, even poisoning Mrs. Cheeseman, who dies before the story begins. But this clever family is resourceful and quick, eluding the Coats at nearly every turn, changing their names with each move (half a chapter is devoted to recounting their long string of hilarious pseudonyms) and relying on their trusty, hairless, clairvoyant dog Pinky, who warns the family when evil is near. Along the way, they meet and make friends with the odd members of a traveling circus sideshow and a quirky cowboy poet. The story is narrated by Dr. Cuthbert Soup, “founder of the National Center for Unsolicited Advice”, and–you guessed it–he doles out short tidbits of advice on everything ranging from tattoos (“avoid getting one at all costs”) to dealing with ghosts (“listen to them carefully”) to squash recipes (“eat doughnuts”).
We read this one as a family, and there were several places where I found myself laughing so hard that my kids had to wait for me to catch my breath before continuing! An entertaining, offbeat, and clean adventure, one that everyone will heartily enjoy. I hope this debut novel from “Dr. Soup” is not his last.
Author: Herman Melville, adapted by Lance Stahlberg and illustrated by Lalit Kumar Singh
Ratings Explanation
Language: one instance each of hell and damn
Violence: Whalers hunt and kill whales. Moby Dick destroys the Pequod and Captain Ahab is dragged under the water.
Adult Themes: Vengeance
Synopsis
Out of money and anxious to see the “watery part of the world”, young Ishmael decides that his next adventure must be on a whaling ship. Pairing up with his new friend Queequeg, they sign up to sail on Captain Ahab’s ship, the Pequod. Ahab leads his crew on a marine adventure to destroy Moby Dick, the greatest white whale ever encountered.
Having never read Moby Dick, I enjoyed getting the highlights of the story. My two boys got a hold of this graphic novel before I did and both read it in a day. An 80-page version, as opposed to the over 600 page version, makes this classic story accessible to much younger readers. My hope is that when my boys are required to read the original at some point in their educational future, they will be less daunted having had this introduction to Moby Dick.
I liked the style of Singh’s illustrations. Captain Ahab looks crazy with revenge while he is hunting Moby Dick and I loved the depiction of Queequeg, a tattooed harpooner from New Zealand.
Language: Swearing includes four uses of “damn” and several uses of a swear word in fairy language that is not translated, “D’Arvit.” There are mild ongoing insults between characters and verbal sparring.
Violence: We see magical creatures fighting humans and bodies fly into walls, shattering bones. There is one battle including gun shots to a troll, “serrated ivory” talons piercing a human’s chest, blood matting the Troll’s fur, a human paralyzed, the troll thinking about eating a human. The troll is crippled with blows by a mace and then hand-to-hand combat. There are several incidents of highly explosive dwarf flatulence.
Adult Themes: Artemis is a youthful criminal from a criminal family. His mother has no control of Artemis, takes a lot of sleeping pills, and has been bedridden since her husband disappeared, losing her sanity. A fairy is corrupted by alcoholism.
Synopsis
Artemis Fowl is a 12-year-old criminal mastermind from a legendary family of criminals. His father is missing, possibly killed, and his mother has lost her sanity. In addition, the family fortune has been largely lost, and Artemis sets out to restore it. This is the story of “his first villainous venture”—a scheme to kidnap a magical creature and hold it hostage for a ransom of fairy gold. First, he deviously acquires “The Book,” which tells the rules of the magical world. Then he abducts a fairy who is out of magic for the moment. A team from the “Lower Elements Police,” or LEP, is dispatched to rescue her. Having knowledge of fairy operations, Artemis and his trusty bodyguard Butler are one step ahead of the fairy folk for most of the conflict. The situation escalates to a life-or-death battle of wits, brawn, and technology, which concludes with a clever turn of events. In the fairy world we meet sprites, leprechauns, centaurs, goblins and others of a magical persuasion, and learn about fairy technology. The book includes a secret message along the bottom of all the pages, and the reader can either break the code themselves or get help online.
This fantasy speeds along on quick repartee, interesting technical inventions and unexpected plot twists. Some of the characters that started out as “just plain bad” turned out to be more “human” than expected, and I found myself wincing, hoping that Artemis would not betray his loyal servants. His concern for his mother and loyalty to friends surprised me and added a satisfying depth to the story. The part about dwarves eating dirt and bodily “processing” the dirt as they tunnel, with lots of powerful flatulence, was definitely directed at young boys. There was suspense and risk and lots of humor. It’s a fun adventure for the 9- to 12-year-old but interesting enough for younger teens as well.
Violence: The boys in town pick on other boys (especially a new immigrant boy) and prove who is the toughest amongst them through fist fights that result in black eyes and bloody noses. Very typical of the time period, however.
Adult Themes: Tom has quite the ability to swindle other kids, especially his younger brother John, and be able to talk his way out of any guilt. There is one chapter in which a friend who has lost his leg talks about and attempts to commit suicide, (quite comically, however) because he feels “plumb useless” at his inability to do any chores. Tom saves the boy’s self esteem by helping him cope and succeed with his new disability.
Synopsis
Take a step back to a simpler time–where dirt roads run through town, when boys played in vacant lots, carried marbles and slingshots in their pockets, and schools were the one-room variety. This is Adenville, Utah, circa 1896. The Great Brain is a comical book told through the eyes of eight-year-old John (the author) who is the youngest of three boys. His ten-year-old brother, Tom, is the Great Brain. Tom uses his great brain to earn money, usually through swindling. He charges the neighborhood boys a penny apiece to watch the first “water closet” in town flush. Tom also comes up with a scheme to get the new school teacher fired when Tom feels unduly punished. But, Tom is also the town hero when it is his plan that saves two boys who are lost in a cave. There is never a dull moment around Adenville with Tom Fitzgerald on the loose!
If you liked the antics of Tom Fitzgerald in The Great Brain, then you’ll be excited to read more! It is the first book in a seven book series.
I loved this book as a child and have loved sharing with my children. It was a great read-aloud during a car trip. All ages can enjoy the mischievous antics of The Great Brain.
Violence: Witchhunters of the Middle Ages seek to persecute, imprison, or behead witches and wizards in one tale. In another, a wicked warlock kills a maiden he woos to steal her beating heart and replace his own with hers, then dies in the process. In another tale of three wizard brothers, one brother dies when his throat is slit; another kills himself.
Adult Themes: Typical unethical behavior of witches and wizards seeking to gain control over others.
Synopsis
This book is a short collection of five fairytales from the magical world of Harry Potter. The tales were supposedly written by a 15th century wizard named Beedle the Bard (a sort of magical version of Hans Christian Andersen), and include extensive commentary by the late Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. The commentary is often longer than the tales themselves, but very tongue-in-cheek and well-written. So now the “Muggle” reader can enjoy such familiar tales to the wizarding world as “The Warlock’s Hairy Heart” and “Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump.” Like traditional fairytales, virtue is prized and wickedness is condemned; those who deserve to come to a bad end generally do. However, unlike Muggle children’s fairytales in which magic often lies at the root of a person’s troubles (a spell has been cast on our heroine by a wicked witch, for example), these tales are meant to teach young wizards and witches that magic can cause as much trouble as it cures.
This is an enjoyable read for any fan of Harry Potter. My favorite tale of the five was “The Fountain of Fair Fortune,” in which three young, clever witches seek to relieve themselves of their sufferings and trials by entering the magical curing waters of the fountain, but in the end solve their problems through their own wit and wisdom.
Violence: The dragon Kyto threatens to crisp the fairies of Never Land. During the battle seven fairies are lost to his flaming rampage.
Synopsis
Gwendolyn Jane Mary Darling Carlisle is the descendant of the famous Wendy Darling of whom we hear so much about in the tales of Peter Pan. That first ‘kiss’ that Peter gave Wendy (in this story it is an acorn), has been handed down from generation to generation enclosed in a locket. Gwendolyn cherishes this ‘kiss’ which she carries around in a locket on a chain. Every night she dreams of fairies and hopes that Peter will come to take her to Never Land so that she can see them. The ‘kiss’ occasionally gives Gwendolyn visions of things happening in Never Land. Months and then years pass before the day Peter arrives and asks Gwendolyn to come with him. Upon arriving in Never Land, as tradition would have it, Peter puts her to work mending socks and washing dishes. When Gwendolyn is finished, she sneaks out to find the fairies hoping to make friends with them. The fairies are not so excited to see her. They call her (and every other human) a Clumsy. She slowly wins them over with special gifts she has brought. Gwendolyn spends all of her time observing and helping the fairies. She also meets the island’s protector, Mother Dove, who guards a magical egg that gives Never Land its power. The fairies’ peaceful life is interrupted when they find out that the island’s dragon Kyto is planning to escape his cage and destroy the Fairy Haven. Gwendolyn begs to help but the fairies are somewhat unsure of her abilities. Gwendolyn must learn to find her own talent and trust in her new friends in order to save them all.
If you are a Peter Pan lover you may want to stick with the classic version. Peter makes only necessary occasional appearances in this story and seems to forget that he even brought Gwendolyn to Never Land. Even Tinker Bell has abandoned him to live in Fairy Haven. This story is for the fairy lover. Gwendolyn has been one her whole life. Her passion is a little overboard and I found her character frustrating at times, but the young fairy lover will surely overlook these flaws and enjoy the story.
Title: Peter and the Shadow Thieves (Starcatchers Series, book 2)
Author: Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
Ratings Explanation
Violence: The pirates on Mollusk Island kidnap the island chief’s daughter. It is briefly mentioned that Slank (one of the “Others”) killed and ate Little Richard while lost at sea. In London, Peter runs into a man who beats runaway children; Peter is attacked by a street vendor who sells birds and has captured Tinkerbell, then arrested by a policeman for hitting the bird seller. The Others kidnap Molly’s mother. A servant girl working with the Others tries to stab Molly with a kitchen knife. At the Tower of London, Molly tells Peter the story of two princes who were locked up, beaten, and murdered in the Tower by their cruel uncle. Mr. McGuinn, a fellow Starcatcher, is killed when he falls from a stone stairwell. In the final battle for the starstuff, both Peter and Molly’s father are shot by the Others (both recover.)
Adult Themes: Peter is arrested and sent to jail, where he encounters several other boys (street urchins) who have been sent there “to rot.” Boys who have been arrested are seldom set free again, but generally face a lifetime of imprisonment or hardship (very Dickensian). When Molly’s mother is kidnapped by the Others and held for ransom, Molly’s father must choose between surrendering the starstuff to the evil powers or saving her life.
Synopsis
In this sequel to Peter and the Starcatchers, Peter and his gang of Lost Boys now live on Mollusk Island and gamefully spar with Black Stache (now nicknamed “Hook” by Peter & co.) and his fellow pirates. But the day a different ship arrives on the island bringing Slank, the noseless man Nerezza, and a dark, creepy figure called Lord Ombra in search of the magical starstuff, Peter smells trouble. When Ombra and his men learn the starstuff is in London, they sail off, and Peter decides he must head to England to warn Molly and her family before the evil men get there first. He stows away on Ombra’s ship unseen, then flies off in London with Tinkerbell to find the Aster family. London does not receive Peter kindly, and he is cast into jail and Tinkerbell kidnapped by a bird seller before they can even blink. They escape, of course (the ability to fly can come in handy) and eventually reach Molly, but not before the eerie, inhuman Lord Ombra kidnaps her mother for a starstuff ransom. Ombra steals people’s shadows (and their souls), reads their thoughts, and turns them into emotionless robots. But Peter, Molly, Tink, and even a young George Darling team up to combat the nefarious shadow-thieving Others and ensure that the starstuff does not fall into their filthy hands.
This sequel-to-the-prequel proves just as satisfying as the first, but has a different tone. There is less swashbuckling and pirate jargon, as Hook and his crew on Mollusk Island take a back seat to the main storyline set in the streets of Dickens-era London with the spooky Lord Ombra, whose shapeless figure can creep under doorways and suck up people’s shadows without warning. Famous London landmarks (the River Thames, the Tower of London, Kensington Gardens) make brief but shining appearances in the story, with the final showdown between good and evil being set in farm country at a very familiar, “stony” location. The authors even have James Barrie (Peter Pan’s creator) make a clever cameo in one scene. Another entertaining and adventurous read.
Title: The Unusual Suspects (The Sisters Grimm, Book 2)
Author: Michael Buckley
Ratings Explanation
Language: Insults and name calling are prevalent throughout this book. “Dirty little snot face, horse breath, you are as slow as you are ugly, ugly freak, big goon, numbskulls, idiot, stupid, fat boy” and so forth. (There are way too many to list.) In one place a teacher calls a student a worthless fat body and then says, ”I bet you didn’t forget breakfast. Everyone can see that.” The teacher calls all the students morons. Someone “mumbled a bunch of cuss words Sabrina had never heard before.” There is talk of barfing and farting.
Violence: Ms. Smirt pinches the girls repeatedly. Sabrina and Daphne find Mr. Grumpner dead. They see his “bloodless purple face.” People are attacked and chased by a frog girl. Then they are chased by killer bunnies. Sabrina hits a monster in the head with a shovel. There is a “sound of ripping flesh” and then a bloody knife. Monsters capture people and attack Sabrina. Sabrina breaks her arm and is violently thrown against the wall. Puck and the Big Bad Wolf fight. “I’m going to kill you.” The school explodes in flames and smoke.
Sexual Content: Ms. Smirt tries to flirt. Daphne says, “You are in love with her. You want to kiss and hug her!” Someone gives Snow White “a huge kiss on the mouth.”
Synopsis
In this second book of the Sisters Grimm series, Sabrina and Daphne continue to help their grandma solve mysteries in the small town of Fairyport Landing. Fairyport Landing is the town where the Everafters live. Everafters are actually fairy-tale characters who fled Europe to escape persecution. Settling in the little river town almost two hundred years ago, they now use magical disguises to live and work alongside their normal neighbors. Sabrina and Daphne start school and find Snow White as a teacher and the Pied Piper as the principal. When the kids find a teacher dead, they have a new mystery to solve. Sabrina continues working to find which Everafter is holding her parents captive. She becomes increasingly angry and distrustful of every fairy-tale resident. Her anger takes center stage in this book and fuels the fire of the villains. Literally.
I find I have much to say about this book, but if I say it all, I may reach epic levels. The good: pictures, silhouettes at the beginning of each chapter and a fun storyline. I really do think the ideas behind these books are good. In the first book I loved all the vocabulary lessons given because the younger sister, Daphne, didn’t understand some words. This happened much less in this book, which I was sorry about. I love the magic mirror. He’s my favorite character. He shows you what you want if you ask in a rhyme. He also keeps all the magic “stuff” organized and under lock and key. There are many things I didn’t like. I did not like all the name calling and insults. Do kids really need to hear that? I especially did not like all the references made about “chubby” kids. If I were a child who was overweight, or even felt overweight, this book would make me feel bad. I guess the problem I have is that all the insults and name calling are supposed to be funny but the reality is, words like that do hurt. Especially when coming from teachers or other role models.
Now, here is something I can totally relate to. “When one wakes up to find a giant hairy spider crawling on one’s face, one should be allowed to throw a hissy fit.” (I completely agree with this!) Next is my favorite line from the book. “Of course the Big Bad Wolf does yoga, why did I even bother to ask?”
Title: The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Book 5)
Author: Rick Riordan
Ratings Explanation
Language: “gods” used as an exclamation, e.g., “Thank the gods!”
Violence: A large ship explodes, killing many, including a friend of Percy. Percy takes on an entire army in Hades and single-handedly destroys them all. A full-scale battle in Manhattan with Percy and the other half-bloods battling Kronos and his army. In the battle, Percy tries to wound, not kill, the half-bloods who are on Kronos’s side. Destruction of many monsters. Annabeth is stabbed and another beloved half-blood is killed in battle.
Sexual Content: Percy and Annabeth kiss.
Adult Themes: Strained relationships between the gods and their half-blood children. Some are willing to give their lives in order to advance their cause.
Synopsis
In this last installment of the Percy Jackson series, Percy and his friends from Camp Half-Blood prepare for the final battle against Kronos and his ever-growing army. While the gods are busy fighting the monster Typhon, who is advancing across the U.S., Percy and his army must defend Manhattan and Mount Olympus. Percy finally learns the entire prophecy surrounding his 16th birthday and realizes the gravity of it. It is very possible that he will not survive the fight against Kronos, the Lord of Time. Surrounded by those still loyal to the gods, Percy leads the army in this final conflict.
This was definitely my favorite book of the Percy Jackson series. Percy has always been the kind of hero I like to read about, but his loyalty, strength and bravery were extra-apparent in this book. I especially enjoyed the setting of Manhattan as, coincidentally, my first visit to The Big Apple coincided with finishing this book. Being there made the descriptions of the city so alive I half expected to see monsters and Greek demi-gods rounding every corner.
My three readers ages 13, 10 and 8 all love this series. The level of content (in all 4 areas that we rate) remains constant throughout the series. I find that an advantage since in some series the content escalates with each book, making it inappropriate for younger readers to complete a series. Overall, I honestly enjoyed Percy and his adventures.
Violence: Vision of a boy after he was beaten, bruised and bleeding, about to become a human sacrifice. Scene cut out as the knife is coming down.
Adult Themes: History of human sacrifice to gods briefly discussed.
Synopsis
Eleven-year-old Hector reluctantly accompanies his mom on a trip to Italy for the summer. She was asked to interpret ancient writings for an archeological dig of an Etruscan site. Hector finds a companion in one of the archeologists who suggests that he become his apprentice. Hector’s first find is a strange rock with the symbol of an eye on it. He shows the archeologist, who claims the rock is not Etruscan and must have been dropped by a tourist. Hector hangs on to the rock anyway, for a souvenir. That is when things take an interesting turn. When Hector holds on to the eye rock, he finds himself traveling back in time to when the Etruscans inhabited the area. He meets a twelve-year-old boy named Arath, who is the son of the current priest and next in line to become a priest. His uncle Cai, however, is a jealous man and wants Arath dead so that he can inherit the religious position himself. Arath knows his life is in danger and begs Hector to help him. Hector is forced to return to the present site where unfortunately, nothing has been found to impress the sponsors of the dig. They are threatening to close down the operation. With the help of his eye rock, Hector’s ‘intuition’ leads him to find a few interesting Etruscan artifacts which helps to keep the crew motivated. Shortly afterward, Hector is brought back to the past where he tries to learn more about Arath’s situation. He knows he does not have much time to stop his evil uncle from killing him. Torn between two worlds, Hector’s summer is suddenly turned into a time traveling adventure where he must find a way to save his new friend and keep the site from shutting down.
An interesting plot that really made me want to travel to Europe to do a little digging myself. I enjoyed Hector who was unassuming and awfully normal but brought into the middle of a great adventure. The idea of human sacrifice, especially involving children was hard to think about. Although not described in great detail, I would steer sensitive readers away.
Violence: Some fighting with arrows and swords. Queen is forced off balcony and falls to the river far below. Queen threatens to kill her daughter and the king to gain power. The queen poisons the king to gain control over him.
Sexual Content: A scullery maid forces a kiss upon Christian. Babies born out of wedlock.
Adult Themes: Desire to rule a kingdom no matter the cost to family and others. Dysfunctional family relationships.
Synopsis
Christian is adopted by a troll, Edric, who lives in a crystal lined cave in a forest. The young boy grows up learning the ways of troll life and inventing contraptions from things left behind on the forest road. One of these contraptions is a telescope with which Christian enjoys watching the inhabitants of the castle across the river. As he grows older, Christian becomes more unsettled and wants to see and be a part of the outside world. With Edric’s permission, he leaves the cave hoping to find a job at the castle. Christian finds a job helping the castle housekeeper. This presents him with the opportunity of getting to know the young princess he has seen for years only through a lens. He finds Princess Marigold quite enchanting. She loves the simple things in life like reading, telling awful jokes, and playing with her dogs. She is very lonely however, because of a curse put upon her at birth. Marigold can read the thoughts of anyone that touches her. No one dares to touch her and rarely even talks to her. Christian is not afraid of this and finds Marigold fascinating, simple and charming. Unfortunately, the queen wants Marigold married so that she can take over the kingdom. Christian struggles with his emotions as he watches his new love being courted by neighboring royalty. Things get exciting when Marigold’s forthcoming marriage is announced. Christian finds himself in jail, Marigold’s sisters are locked up and the king is being poisoned. Christian must prove he is not a traitor, rid the kingdom of their evil queen, find a way to save his true love and live happily ever after.
This was your predictable fairy tale with many quirky twists and turns to keep you guessing how the heroes would ever manage to live happily ever after. Christian even manages to re-invent royal life by introducing p-mail, vegetarianism, and one ear piercing.
Language: 2 instances of “Lord” as an exclamation. Florida uses words like “putrid” and “stupid” throughout the book.
Violence: Several foster families mistreat Dallas and Florida. Mr. Trepid, who runs the orphanage they live in, smacks them when they misbehave.
Adult Themes: Dallas and Florida’s mother abandons them as babies. They genuinely want a family to call their own, but their behavior always lands them back in the orphanage. Because of their experiences they have a general distrust of adults. A young boy dies while living in the orphanage and Dallas thinks it is his fault. Mr. Trepid is dishonest.
Synopsis
13-year-old twins, Dallas and Florida, have lived in the Boxton Creek Home for Children all of their lives, and according to the proprietors, Mr. and Mrs. Trepid, cause much more trouble than they are worth. They want more than anything to find a family, but after a long string of unsuccessful foster home experiences which included digging a well, being locked in a dark, damp cellar, and defending themselves against unwelcoming foster siblings, they have all but given up hope.
Then one day Tiller and Sairy walk into the Boxton Home looking for a couple of teenagers to accompany them on their next adventure. Florida is to join Tiller on his trip down the Rutabago River and Dallas will help Sairy find an exotic bird on the island of Kangadoon. As this unlikely family gets to know and understand each other, Florida and Dallas are surprised to learn that adults can be trusted and that they are worth loving.
This is the second time our family has read Ruby Holler aloud and it was just as good the second time. We all love this sweet book in which Florida and Dallas expect the worst from Tiller and Sairy, but are terribly disappointed. These sweet, older parents teach instead of scold and show patience instead of anger when the twins misbehave. I love Creech’s writing style and the hilarious way the twins mix up words. One of my favorites comes from Florida, “She wished she’d paid more attention in health class, when that nurse had come in with a rubber dummy and showed how to do that artificial perspiration stuff.”
Recommend this one to your kids, and then treat yourself to it as well.
Violence: One character, a teenage girl named Turtle, runs around kicking people in the shins. Three small bombs explode (in a restaurant, in an elevator, and at a bridal shower) causing minimal damage and injury. Discussion of how Mr. Westing may have been murdered (the premise is a murder mystery, after all.)
Adult Themes: Samuel Westing, multi-millionaire businessman, has supposedly been murdered and multiple suspects are partnered together to solve the crime. Mr. Westing’s daughter died years ago; some speculate drowning, some think suicide. One character is disabled and in a wheelchair; light discussion of racism.
Synopsis
“I Samuel W. Westing declare this to be my last will and testament and do hereby swear that I did not die of natural causes. My life was taken from me–by one of you!”
An odd assortment of people have been personally offered the opportunity to move into a new, swanky condominium development. Once they’ve moved in, the residents of Sunset Towers discover that they have two things in common: they are all potential heirs to multi-millionaire Samuel Westing’s paper products fortune, and they are also all suspects in his murder. Now they have been brought together to have his cryptic will read to them and a puzzling set of clues dispersed to mis-matched partnerships. Thus, the Westing Game begins. The players include mothers, fathers, teenagers, a secretary, an inventor, a Chinese chef, a doorman, a doctor, a judge, and a dressmaker (not to mention a bookie, a bomber, and a burglar). They must work in pairs to solve the mystery, and the first pair to solve it wins the enormous fortune. But since none of them appear to be related, how are they all tied to Mr. Westing? And why do all the clues, when put together, become the lyrics to “America the Beautiful”?
I dusted off this Newbery-winner from my childhood to read aloud to my youngest and discovered that, even as an adult, it requires serious attention to details to follow this clever mystery. Young readers might want to take notes if they intend to solve the crime before the surprise ending. The book tends to shift perspectives frequently during the narrative, which makes it somewhat confusing if you are reading it aloud (unless you are good at acting out several different voices, including Chinese and Scottish accents), but it is a very worthwhile and entertaining read. A good introduction to the mystery genre for young readers.
Title: The Fairy Tale Detectives (The Sister’s Grimm, Book 1)
Author: Michael Buckley
Ratings Explanation
Language: There are many derogatory phrases and insults in this book. For example: loser, dirty little hooligan, incompetent boob, snot, goon, scum, mental patient, and you lumpy bag of foolishness.
Violence: Sabrina and Daphne are pinched by their case worker. The girls are bitten by pixies and they bleed. Three thugs block Grandma and the girls and threaten them with a metal pipe. Grandma hits one thug with her purse while one of the girls kick him. Mr. Canis holds two thugs up by the necks and then throws them to the ground. A giant kidnaps Grandma and Mr. Canis. Jack fires arrows at the Giant and Charming. Jack cuts the dog and leaves him bleeding. Mirror is beat up and bruised. Mr. Canis fights with Jack and bites him.
Synopsis
Sabrina and Daphne Grimm find themselves in and out of foster care homes after their parents disappear, but then they are sent to live with someone who claims to be their grandmother. The girls have always believed their grandmother to be dead, so they are quite shocked to find her not only alive, but full of information about a family history they never knew about. Sabrina and Daphne are descendants of the famous Brothers Grimm, and they learn that the fairy-tales they wrote about are actually history. The girls now find themselves in the middle of a fairy-tale mystery with a giant trying to destroy their home and new found family. When grandma is taken by the giant, Sabrina and Daphne become the detectives, because that’s what Grimms are made for.
I loved the pictures throughout this book as well as the silhouettes at the beginning of each chapter. That is one of the pleasures of reading childrens books. I also really liked how the author uses the younger sister as a reason to explain and define larger words in the book that younger readers might not understand. It’s like having a vocabulary lesson without even knowing it! I could have done without the name calling in the book and the frequent insults. There always seemed to be someone sticking out their tongue. Overall though, a fun read. I’m thinking this would be a fun series to read aloud with my 8 year old this summer. I found this book to be pretty on par with the recommended age group. My quote from this book is, “Fear can make people do terrible things.”
Language: A few instances of the word “damn”; typical derogatory pirate talk.
Violence: A lot of talk of walking the planks, men being thrown overboard, and threats of slicing them up and feeding them to the sharks; the pirates smack each other around a lot. Typical descriptions of pirate attacks on the open seas. The natives on the Mollusk Island throw Peter and his friends into a pit to be eaten by a crocodile. Mermaids viciously attack two seamen who, in turn, attempt to stab and kill the mermaids. The boys beat up one of the seamen with coconuts. Molly is held at knifepoint by a pirate. Black Stache stabs a native in the chest and leaves him to die. And quite a few other instances of pirates attempting to kill Peter, Molly, and other pirates.
Sexual Content: Allusions to Mrs. Bumbrake, Molly’s governess, spending evenings in Slank’s cabin on board the ship. Peter dreams he is kissing a mermaid and wakes to find it is true (she is actually breathing life into him); Peter sweetly thinks about kissing Molly and how “it doesn’t seem so bad”. The pirates wantonly gaze at the sunbathing mermaids (who, being mermaids, are naturally topless but with very long hair discreetly covering certain areas.)
Adult Themes: Mrs. Bumbrake (is she married?) getting cozy with Slank; an allusion to Peter being maltreated at a home for boys; common pirate behavior such as drinking rum into oblivion, ogling mermaids, stealing, plundering, pillaging, etc. The sails on Black Stache’s pirate ship resemble an enormous brassiere.
Synopsis
In this clever ”prequel” to J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, we learn all about what happened to Peter before we meet him on Wendy Darling’s bedroom windowsill. The book begins with Peter, a 13 or 14-yr-old (even he’s not sure) and his fellow orphan mates being taken from St. Norbert’s Home for Wayward Boys in London and being placed aboard a ship, the Never Land, which unbeknownst to them will deliver them into servitude on a faraway island. There he meets Molly Aster, an astute, pretty 14-yr-old girl who speaks with porpoises and confides in him about the contents of a mysterious trunk aboard the ship. According to Molly, the trunk contains mystical, glowing ”starstuff”, star matter which falls from the sky and is quickly retrieved by a secret society called the Starcatchers whose job it is to keep the powerful stuff from falling into the wrong hands. Starstuff gives anyone who touches it immediate joy, warmth, increased intelligence, and the ability to fly. It can also transform fish into mermaids, but in the hands of the Others, its power can be used for evil. Peter is instantly intrigued (and a little dazed by the lovely Molly) and vows to help her protect the starstuff from Black Stache, a notorious and greedy pirate whose ship is now in hot pursuit of the Never Land. Inevitably, a storm shipwrecks everyone on a tropical island inhabited by savage natives and a monstrous crocodile. Swashbuckling adventures ensue as Peter and Molly rush to find the trunk before the pirates do.
As with all great children’s fantasy tales, this one indulges the adults, as well. Its classic pirate dialogue (not too randy for the kids), clever storyline, and high-seas adventure will keep the pages of this novel turning. The authors fill in many of the blanks from the original story (and the Disney cartoon) with delightful satisfaction.
Violence: A cruel man kicks and yells at a hobo when he is discovered sleeping on a train. The diner owner yanks Edward out of a little boy’s hands and slams the rabbit against the lunch counter, shattering Edward’s head. Edward is nailed to a wooden stake and turned into a scarecrow, and the illustration of him resembles a crucifixion. Some of these themes and images may be disturbing for sensitive children.
Adult Themes: A little boy’s father is an abusive alcoholic. The boy’s younger sister dies, and he runs away from home.
Synopsis
In a house on Egypt Street there lives a beautiful china rabbit named Edward. He dresses in the finest apparel and is adored by a little girl named Abilene. But Edward thinks so highly of himself that he thinks very little of anything or anyone else. Being loved by Abilene is fine as long as she doesn’t squeeze him so tightly that his clothes get rumpled. One day they embark on an ocean journey, and Edward is tossed overboard by two careless boys. There on the ocean floor he lays for some time, until a storm tosses him upwards and he is caught in the net of a fisherman who brings him home to his wife. Thus begins an adventure for Edward of being lost and found over and over, from Abilene to the fisherman, from a garbage dump to a hobo, from the railroad tracks into the arms of a deathly sick little girl (who squeezes him very tightly), and all along the way, Edward begins to understand what it truly means to be loved and to love in return. But will he ever see little Abilene again?
I read this book aloud to my little girl before bedtime, and each night after she fell asleep I would keep reading to find out what happened next to Edward. Of course I knew he was just a pompous toy rabbit, but like Abilene, I loved him anyway and became engrossed in his journey. The book is pure magic. Edward is real not just to the reader, but to every character whose path he crosses in the book; the characters themselves are so sweet that it is heartbreaking to see Edward get separated from each one of them. The ending gave me goosebumps. A beautifully told story; it is, however, incredibly poignant and sad in many parts, which may be considered too heavy for very young or sensitive readers. That being said, it is still an extremely worthwhile read.
Language: Profanity in many of Grandfather’s exuberant exclamations; Viola, the cook, tends to use “Jesus” and “Lord a’mighty” as exclamations. A handful of “damns” and “hells” sprinkled here and there.
Violence: Grandfather tells Callie about the horrors he witnessed during the Civil War: amputations, mutilations, death, disease, burning bodies.
Sexual Content: Calpurnia tells her best friend Lula what is expected of wives when they marry (“lots of kissing”); Callie learns how plants reproduce; some light discussion on the mating rituals of farm animals and other species in the wild.
Adult Themes: Callie’s mother drinks Lydia Pinkham’s “tonic water” (which isn’t water) when stressed. Grandfather smokes cigars and imbibes on occasion. He makes several attempts to produce liquor from pecans in his laboratory and gives Callie a taste, which results in her fitful coughing and belching.
Synopsis
It is 1899 in Fentress, Texas, and young Calpurnia Virginia Tate (known as “Callie Vee”), the only daughter of seven children in an uppercrust family, is soon to turn twelve. There are certain expectations of a girl in this era, none of which Callie is living up to. She is less than praiseworthy at knitting, sewing, cooking, or “deportment” (i.e.: posture and propriety). What she cherishes is spending time with her Grandfather, inaugural member of the National Geographic Society, out in his shed or in his library studying and classifying plants and insects and learning about evolution (gasp!). She is fascinated by science but realizes that because of societal constraints, she will probably never be able to realize her dream of becoming a scientist. Callie’s mother is overly concerned with her only daughter’s preoccupation with Darwin and Dickens, but when she attempts to steer her toward more ladylike pursuits by giving her the book The Science of Housewifery for a Christmas present (a humorous and poignant moment in the story), Callie feels her ”life sentence [has] been delivered.” Despite these impediments, Callie is a determined and charming heroine who knows her heart and ambitions. The conversations she has and discovery she makes with her grandfather (a new plant species) are the highlights of the book. When a new invention, the telephone, comes to tiny Fentress and the entire town turns up to watch its installation, Grandfather says to her, “Do you realize what this means, Calpurnia? The old century is dying, even as we watch. Remember this day.” The book ends with the new century dawning, and the reader is left to wonder if Grandfather’s words will ring true not just for the passage of time, but for the future of our young lady scientist and her traditional expectations, as well.
A wonderful novel. I relished watching the relationship between inquisitive little Callie and her grandfather blossom as she learned by his side about the world around her. Lines like “I’d never fainted in my life, but I thought it sounded like an interesting experience,” and “It was too bad, but sometimes a little knowledge could ruin your whole day, or at least take off some of the shine” (upon seeing through a microscope all the miniscule creatures that inhabit her favorite swimming hole) made this book truly enjoyable and real. Details that make the turn-of-the-century come alive are Callie’s first taste of Coca-Cola at the county fair and Grandfather’s infatuation with a new-fangled invention, the automobile. A book you will recommend to your friends.
Sexual Content: Typical 12-yr-old girl talk of kissing boys. Marylin has a crush on her teacher, Mr. Kertzner, who has a crush on Marylin’s newly-divorced aunt. At Marylin’s first boy-girl party, the kids play spin-the-bottle and must kiss whomever the bottle winds up pointing to. Marylin wonders what it would be like to kiss so-and-so, etc. Andrew asks Kate to “go” with him.
Adult Themes: Kate’s dad suffers a heart attack. Talk of Flannery hanging out with friends who smoke. The girls have a seance at a slumber party. Marylin’s parents are getting divorced.
Synopsis
Kate and Marylin are eleven years old and have been best friends for as long as they can remember. But when a new girl named Flannery moves into the neighborhood and threatens to come between the two, their perfect friendship is put to the test. Suddenly Marylin is thinking about cheerleader tryouts and boys, while Kate is still thinking about catching fireflies and baking cookies. When Flannery chooses Marylin for her new BFF, Kate is snubbed and begins to sit with the “nerdy” kids at lunch. She meets Paisley, an off-beat world traveler who doesn’t seem to care what anybody thinks of her, even when she has a piece of food stuck to her shirt. Kate suddenly sees the nice boy Andrew in a whole new light–it is she, not Marylin, who finds herself with a boyfriend. Meanwhile, when Marylin makes the cheer squad and Flannery does not, it’s Marylin’s turn to be snubbed. Marylin finds out that her parents are getting divorced and wishes she could talk to Kate about it, but now that she is part of the in-crowd, will she have the courage to reach out to Kate and renew their friendship?
I viewed this book from two angles, the first being that it portrays somewhat accurately the ups and downs of preteen life and all of its insecurities, peer pressure, and backbiting. The second, however, is that I struggled to finish it because of these issues and a trite story line. Was it because I’m not eleven anymore and no longer concerned with these problems? I doubt it, but there may be some schoolgirls out there who see themselves in the characters and can relate. Not on my “must-read” list, but an innocuous read; a pre-cursor to typical teenage romance novels.
Violence: Hugo is treated roughly after robbing a store. Hugo is seriously hurt from his hand being slammed in a door. Isabelle breaks her leg falling off of a chair. Hugo is almost run over by a train while trying to run away from his pursuers.
Adult Themes: Hugo and Isabelle sneak into the movies without paying. Isabelle’s parents died when she was a baby. Hugo’s father is burned to death after being accidentally locked in a museum that caught on fire. Hugo is orphaned after the accident and is sent to live with his alcoholic uncle. His uncle disappears and Hugo must learn to survive on his own. He steals his food from local stores. The toy shop owner’s health is affected by his past. He has a breakdown. Hugo is put in jail for a short time. His uncle’s body is found at the bottom of a river.
Summary
After Hugo’s father dies in an accidental fire, Hugo is given to his alcoholic uncle who lives in the local train station and maintains their clocks. One day his uncle leaves and never comes back. Hugo doesn’t want anyone to know he is alone and decides to keep up appearances by maintaining the clocks himself. His hope for living lies in trying to repair an automaton his father found in the museum where he worked. Hugo is convinced the robotic man holds some secret answer to a happier future. Hugo relies on stealing food and parts from local stores. One day he is caught by the toy store owner. A young girl, living with the owner, befriends Hugo and tries to help him discover the mystery of the automaton. They discover the toy store owner is the famous Georges Melies, a magician and maker of early films. Hugo and Georges find their lives mysteriously intertwined and end up becoming the answer of hope that the other had been searching for.
This book amazed me. Selznick uniquely combines 525 pages of illustrations and text with a movie like feel to tell this amazing story. The message was tender, the story suspenseful, and the artwork beautiful. My favorite quote from the book is when Hugo is looking down from the clock tower with Isabella and says, “I like to imagine that the world is one big machine. You know, machines never have any extra parts. They have the exact number and type of parts they need. So I figure if the entire world is a big machine, I have to be here for some reason. And that means you have to be here for some reason, too.”
Title: Remembering Isaac – The Joyful Potter of Neiderbipp
Author: Ben Behunin
Ratings Explanation
Violence: Mary, Emily, and Marge witness the near killing of a chicken in what Farmer Hill called ‘the pecking order’, saying there was little he could do to save the poor bird. “He told us that if he stepped in now, it would only be a matter of time before another bird began to get picked on and that it would be better just to let nature take its course.” The chicken’s pecking order is no different than the girl’s social circle.
Sexual Content: Jake and Amy share a kiss.
Adult Themes: Pregnancy Loss.
Summary
Jake purchases a post-college graduation airline ticket to Greece and eagerly awaits his upcoming adventure. A ceramics professor suggests he apply for an unusual position, a town potter. Neiderbipp’s town potter, Isaac, has died. Jake takes the bus to rural Pennsylvania to weigh his options before his departure for Greece. He arrives in Neiderbipp and finds a somewhat quirky, yet charming town settled by German immigrants in the early 1700’s. A town that looks as if it has been transplanted from Germany to Pennsylvania. Jake is intrigued and accepts a trial position as the town potter for the summer, delaying his trip to Greece for a few months.
Jake cleans out the potter’s studio/shop and discovers an array of mugs hanging from the rafters with varying levels of dust. As the summer passes, Isaac’s friends stop by to clean their mug, make a pot of peppermint tea, and share their “Isaac Experiences” with Jake. Jake realizes that Isaac was much more than the town potter as he pieces together Isaac’s life story. Jake also discovers the “wisdom of a humble craftsman”.
This book simply makes me want to be a better person. I loved it! I look forward to reading the sequel.
Title: The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson & the Olympians #4)
Author: Rick Riordan
Ratings Explanation
Language: “Thanks the gods” used as an exclamation.
Violence: Empousi, monsters that are half vampire, exist to feed on the blood of young men. Percy slashes through one with his sword and she explodes. Another weird, disturbing monster, who is half woman and half dragon, attacks Tyson with poison swords. Percy battles a monster with 3 chests. He shoots an arrow through all three hearts, killing him. Monsters throw hot lava on Percy and his skin starts to burn. King Minos is completely bound with string and dies. A centaur is stabbed in the chest with a javelin. Percy is put in an arena to fight for the entertainment of monsters. He kills one monster and then fights another half-blood boy. He has the boy at sword point, but lets him go. He then fights another monster, killing him. Kronos’s army launches a full scale attack on Camp Half-Blood; there is a lot of fighting and many monsters die. A few campers are also killed in the battle.
Sexual Content: Annabeth is the the daughter of Athena and a mortal man. Athena was born out of Zeus’s head; born literally from thoughts. As Annabeth explains to Percy, “I was a brain child. Literally. Children of Athena are sprung from the divine thoughts of our mother and the mortal ingenuity of our father.” That’s as far as the explanation goes. Annabeth kisses Percy.
Adult Themes: Nico, son of Hades, summons the dead. His dead sister appears to him. He also summons an army from the underworld to combat the monsters attacking Camp Half-Blood.
Synopsis
This 4th book in the series starts with Percy scoping out another new school at orientation. He is attacked immediately by two monsters masquerading as cheerleaders, but with the help of his new mortal friend, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who can see through the Mist, Percy escapes unscathed to Camp Half-Blood.
When the camp discovers that Luke is leading Kronos’s army there by way of Daedalus’s legendary labyrinth, Annabeth is called on a quest. She is to find Daedalus’s workshop, enlist his help and stop the progress of the advancing army. The quest team, consisting of Annabeth, Percy, Grover and Tyson, must first learn how to navigate the constantly changing labyrinth. Enlisting help in some unusual places, they find Daedalus, but it is too late; Luke’s army beat them to the workshop by an hour. Now the race is on to see who will reach camp first. Will Annabeth and Percy arrive in time to sound the alarm and help defend Camp Half-Blood? Or will Luke and his army destroy the camp as they have promised?
This has been my favorite book yet in the series. Percy is a flawed hero, bumbling things up regularly, but he is always loyal; he never wavers in his allegiance to what he sees as the right cause. He is unfailingly true to his friends, and never blood thirsty or vengeful.
Adult Themes: Leigh’s parents have recently divorced and his father is mostly absent from his life.
Synopsis
Dear Mr. Henshaw,
Guess what? Today the school librarian stopped me in the hall and said she had something for me. She handed me your new book and said I could be the first to read it. Now I know Mr. Fridley isn’t the only one who notices me.
Leigh Botts is a sixth-grader with a lot of trouble on his mind. His parents have recently split up, he and his mother have moved to a new town, and Leigh’s only friend at his new school seems to be the kindly custodian, Mr. Fridley. He is angry at his father, a cross-country trucker who took the pet dog with him, seldom phones and usually sends his support payments late. Does he even remember my name? Leigh wonders to himself. (He only ever calls him kid–even Mr. Fridley calls him son.) And to add insult to injury, someone keeps stealing all the “good stuff” out of his lunch every day. Then an assignment in English class comes along: write a letter asking questions to an author. Naturally, Leigh chooses Mr. Boyd Henshaw, who’s been his favorite author since the second grade. What Mr. Henshaw replies just may help Leigh through this rough patch, gain him some perspective, and earn him a friend or two while he’s at it.
Written as a series of letters and journal entries (first “Dear Mr. Henshaw”, then “Dear Mr. Pretend Henshaw”, then just a date at the top of the entry), this book is a shift from Beverly Cleary’s usual light-hearted fare of children living on Klickitat Street and motorcycle-riding mice. But as can be expected with Mrs. Cleary, her trademark sense of humor and realistic voice help paint an endearing portrait of a young boy coming to grips with himself and his emotions. A wonderful and poignant book.
Language: When writing the ransom note for his illiterate captors, Jemmy tells them, “I’ll tell [the King] you’ve got reserved seats in Hell.” Many instances of demeaning name-calling and mild harsh language, but nothing objectionable; i.e. “dim-witted numskulls”, “insolent rascals”, “scurvy riffraff”, etc.
Violence: Jemmy is repeatedly beaten by the King’s servants, descriptions of which are not explicit. The kidnappers whip the prince and mistreat both boys.
Adult Themes: Child abuse; as the prince’s official whipping boy, Jemmy has been taken from his home to live in the castle and bear the injustice of corporal punishment for the prince. The prince runs away and demands his whipping boy come with him. The boys are taken hostage by two ruffians who threaten and beat them. The boys escape, are hunted by their captors, and are chased through a sewer.
Synopsis
By royal decree, Prince Horace (a.k.a. “Prince Brat”) is not to be spanked, thrashed, cuffed, smacked, or whipped, for it is forbidden to lay a finger on the heir to the throne. So when the prince misbehaves, which is often, it is the fate of poor young Jemmy, former rat catcher and commoner plucked from the streets, to suffer his thrashings for him. One day, Prince Brat, bored of castle life and hi-jinks, decides to run away and forces Jemmy to accompany him. While in the forest, the two boys are seized by the infamous ruffian Hold-Your-Nose Billy and his dull accomplice Cutwater, who demand a King’s ransom for the prince’s safe return. But Jemmy, who is sharper than the two of them combined, fools his kidnappers into thinking he is the royal brat and then escapes their hairy, garlic-scented clutches. Naturally the prince follows, as does adventure and mishap. But soon enough, amidst mistaken identity woes, dank and smelly sewer chases, and a dancing carnival bear, the boys learn the meaning of trust, friendship, and keeping your word. And of course, the rogue captors reap their own due reward in the end, as it should be.
This story is a clever, immensely enjoyable twist on the classic “prince and the pauper” tale set in a day and age long gone, when boys were called “lads” and expressions such as “Do say!” and “As I live and breathe!” found their way into conversation. It comes across as a humorous adventure story reminiscent of Huck and Tom, but it’s clear it claimed the Newbery Medal for its true heart– a tale of two very different boys whose initial mutual dislike for each other turns to appreciation and trust by journey’s end. At one point Jemmy queries, “Was it clothes that made a prince, just as rags made a street boy?” It is great fun to watch as they discover what lies beneath their princely/pauperish exteriors. I marked it for grades 4-5 reading level because of the vocabulary, but it would be a delightful (and quick) family read-aloud.
Language: Miss Franny, the librarian, describes war as “hell”. Amanda tells her, “Hell is a cuss word.” Miss Franny replies, “War should be a cuss word, too.” Gloria Dump expresses herself by saying “Lord”. The Dewberry boys call Otis “retarded”.
Adult Themes: Opal’s mother abruptly left her and her father when Opal was only three. Opal struggles to understand being abandoned. When Opal asks her father to tell her about her mother, he tells her she was an alcoholic. Gloria Dump tells Opal that she has made many mistakes in her life, some of them attributed to drinking too much. Opal gets a job in a pet store working for Otis, who says he was in jail once. Opal worries her father won’t like her working for a “criminal”. (It turns out Otis went to jail for refusing to stop playing his guitar on a street corner.)
Synopsis
Young India “Opal” Buloni and her father, a preacher, move around a lot. Their latest move is to a small town in Florida called Naomi. Opal has no friends until she rescues a mangy mutt from a supermarket and names him Winn-Dixie. Now everywhere Opal goes, Winn-Dixie comes along, including to church and the library. The lovable dog attracts unlikely people who soon become friends with Opal: Miss Franny Block, the elderly librarian, and full of good stories; Gloria Dump, an old, nearly-blind black woman that the Dewberry boys think is a witch; Otis, the shy, quiet, guitar-strumming pet store clerk; even “pinch-faced” Amanda Wilkinson, who Opal later learns is not mean, just sad because of the death of her little brother. Opal’s relationship with her father begins to change, and he opens up to her about her mother, telling his daughter ten things about her that Opal memorizes in her head, so she will recognize her if she ever walks back into their lives.
Over the course of a muggy Florida summer, Opal’s friends teach her life lessons that transform her. She learns from Miss Franny that in life, sometimes sweetness is mixed in with sorrow in a way that makes it endurable. Gloria Dump shows Opal her “mistake tree”, with empty liquor bottles hanging by strings to scare away the ghosts of the things she’s done in the past. She tells Opal that the most important lesson to learn in life is different for everyone, but that “you can’t always judge people by the things they done. You got to judge them by what they are doing now.” Gloria, whom Opal describes as the best adult she knows, also teaches her that “There ain’t no way you can hold on to something that wants to go. . .you can only love what you got while you got it.” By the end of the story, Opal’s heart, which ached for so long without her mother, has begun to fill up again with the love of so many quirky and wonderful people, and she attributes it all to her faithful pooch, saying, “Just about everything that happened to me that summer happened because of Winn-Dixie.”
This is a pure gem of a book. It resonates with sweetness and sorrow; its tale of unbiased friendship, expressed in the voice of a little girl with a hint of Southern twang, will strike a chord in every reader. Highly recommended.
Sexual Content: Hornet falsely claims she is being molested/kidnapped by Detective Victor Getz, as he is following the orphans through the city.
Adult Themes: Prosper and Bo are orphaned. Their cruel Aunt Esther does not want Prosper at all. She only wishes to adopt Bo, since he is a darling little boy. The orphans would rather live in an abandoned movie theater than live at The Sister’s of Mercy Orphanage.
Synopsis
The Thief Lord is a story of two brothers, Prosper and Bo. Prosper is twelve and Bo is five years old. After the death of their mother, they run away from their cruel Aunt Esther. Esther wants to adopt a perfect little boy, she wants Bo, and only Bo. She wants to send Prosper to boarding school. The boys flee to Venice, the magical city their mother told them about. While orphans in Venice, they are befriended by a pack of orphans and their leader, Scipio a.k.a. “The Thief Lord”. The Thief Lord provides them with shelter in an abandoned movie theater, The Stella. They survive by selling possessions Scipio steals from the wealthy to a quirky and greedy shopkeeper, Ernesto Barbarossa. The boy’s happiness is fleeting. Aunt Esther hires a detective, Victor Getz to bring Bo back to her. Victor Getz finds Bo and Bo tells him where he lives. Victor meets the owner of The Stella, Dottorre Massimo, and finds The Thief Lord is Scipio Massimo, Dottorre’s son. Victor raids The Stella and is held hostage by the orphans. They ultimately befriend Victor and he realizes that his heart has softened towards the orphans and he dupes Aunt Esther.
The Thief Lord’s services are in demand. He accepts the job and enlists the orphans to help him steal a wooden wing from Ida Spavento, a famous photographer. The orphans are caught by Ida Spavento as they try to steal the wooden wing. Ida reveals the story of the wooden wing. The wing belongs on a magical merry-go-round that can make a child an adult and an adult a child. They follow the buyer of the wooden wing, the Conte, to the island, where the merry-go-round is kept. The Conte and Countessa ride and become younger versions of themselves. Scipio rides and becomes and adult. Barbarossa crashes the party and rides, turning into a child, and breaks the merry-go-round. Scipio cannot go home to his father as a grown man so he becomes Victor’s apprentice detective. The orphans grapple with a horrid child Barbarossa. They don’t know how to rid themselves of him. They help Barbarossa trick Aunt Esther into adopting him. Barbarossa begins to steal from Aunt Esther and she sends him away to boarding school where he successfully bullies all the other children and forces them to call him, “The Thief Lord”.
We read this book aloud. I really enjoyed reading this tale set in Venice. Funke is a fabulous writer! I could smell the sea air coming off the lagoon as we traveled through the canals of Venice with Scipio and Prosper.
Language: A made-up word, “Ploopy” is used. ”Wipe my heinie, ploopy.”
Violence: Lots of bullying. Leon Ricket gives Greg wet willies and flicks his ear while in detention. There are cartoon illustrations of bullies tripping people. Rodrick punches Greg. He then shoots him with a paint ball. Greg convinces Rowley that some random guy standing at the urinal is a professional athlete. Rowley asks him for his autograph.
Sexual Content: Greg wants to play spin the bottle with Holly. He wants to sneak over to Holly’s house during a sleepover. Greg doesn’t want to spend a sleepover getting groped by a bunch of first-graders. The first graders want to play, “Who Licked Me?”
Adult Themes: Bullying.
Synopsis
Greg Heffley is an unlikely hero, as a weak specimen among men. He continues to chronicle his middle school experiences through his “Journal”. In Book Four, Greg tries to sidestep his father’s plans to send him to military school. A quick sampling of Greg’s experiences: Greg is totally freaked out by Shel Silverstein’s picture. Greg is sent to detention with all the future criminals. Greg sits in chocolate on the way to church on Easter Sunday. He doesn’t want to go inside with a poop-like stain on his pants. Rodrick pulls off his pants in the church parking lot and gives them to Greg. Greg wears his mother’s sweater as kilt-like clothing to attend church. Greg’s underwear is found in the hall at school.
The potty humor continues. However, Greg has plenty of humorous antics. I found myself laughing aloud, during my son’s art lesson. I tried to muffle my laughter, to no avail.
Language: One “Thank God”, Greg’s video game name, “Bad Fart Ahead”, Rodrick’s band is called, Loaded Diaper, only it’s spelled “Loded Diper”. Ricky Fisher pointed out that their robot shouldn’t be able to curse. Ricky then came up with twenty curse words no one had ever heard of before. School newspaper cartoons contain, “Moron”, “Doctor, could I have a new butt, my old one has a crack in it.” There is plenty of potty humor.
Violence: Greg is worried that some jerk will catch him carrying his journal and think that it is a diary, since it says diary on the cover. There is a cartoon picture of Greg being punched by a bully and the bully yells, “Sissy!” Greg tells his younger brother, Manny that he ate a spider, it was just a tiny ball of thread. Rowley and Greg are ambushed with snowballs.
Sexual Content: There are references to “hot girls”. Rodrick’s heavy metal magazine has a picture of a woman in a bikini, lying across a car. His mother asks, “Do you have anything you want to say to women for having owned this offensive magazine?” While wrestling in gym class, Greg’s singlet does not aptly cover him and he feels a breeze down below. He spends seventh period getting WAY more familiar (wrestling) with Fregley than he ever wanted to be.
Adult Themes: Bullying in middle school. racial undertone, “Grade levels should be based on height, not age. I guess that would mean kids like Chirag Gupta would still be in the first grade.” A kindergarten student poops his pants. Wacky Dawg cartoon pokes fun at Bryan Little’s betrayal. He kisses his girlfriend’s best friend.
Synopsis
Greg Heffley is an unlikely hero, as a weak specimen among men. He chronicles his middle school experiences through his “Journal”. Greg navigates his way through survival and the seemingly all important quest for popularity.
My fifth and second grade readers really enjoy this humorous series. (I hope they will remember the funny parts of middle school in a few short years.) The potty humor is pervasive.
Language: No swearing but several bits of name calling and taunting. Many of their names are based on primitive crudeness (the Meathead Tribe, Snotlout, Duhbrain, Newtsbreath etc.)
Violence: These young viking characters are all about the ruff and tumble lifestyle of their parents. Lots of teasing, bantering and taunting. A very large dragon has eaten an entire army of Roman soldiers, carts, horses and all. The dragon also describes the best way to bone a human. Live sheep are one of the dragon’s favorite snacks because of their crunchy bones. Two dragons take chunks out of each other during a fight. A large dragon explodes after his fire breathing holes are plugged. His innards are sprayed everywhere.
Synopsis
Hiccup is the unassuming hero in this book. He is the son of the viking Chief Stoik but unfortunately, lacks the brawn and brutal manner that is so important in his culture. As part of a right of passage, Hiccup must capture a dragon and prove that he has trained it. This doesn’t turn out well. He comes back with the smallest, most common dragon that doesn’t even have teeth. Discouraged, Hiccup talks with his grandfather Old Wrinkley who is trying his hand at predicting the future. His grandfather tells Hiccup that there is hope and that he will eventually become a hero. Hiccup finds that using his brains can be just as important as using brawn. He does eventually save his tribe from a gigantic sea dragon using his clever tricks.
A fun read for those that enjoy a quirky sense of humor. There are silly illustrations and ink splots all through the book adding to its youthful appeal. Hiccup is the true underdog hero that we all find ourselves rooting for.
Language: Referring to the Olympian gods, “Oh my gods” and “thank the gods” used as exclamations. Percy and his friends visit Hoover dam, in jest they refer to the “dam bathroom, dam french fries, dam snack bar” and laugh about it.
Violence: A monster masquerading as a professor changes back into his true form and shoots poison darts at Percy, then Annabeth stabs the monster with a sword. There is a fair amount of sword fighting in the book. A vicious, armed game of capture the flag. Thalia blasts Percy with electricity. Skeletons, under the direction of “The General”, attack Percy and his friends. They try to destroy the skeletons but they are able to reform. They are also attacked by a lion and they kill it with arrows. The skeletons shoot at them and hit Percy but he is wearing a bulletproof fur coat so he is not harmed. They stab the skeletons and they explode in flames. A giant pig destroys the skeletons, smashing them to pieces. A giant metal statue attacks them and a character dies trying to save her friends. A battle with Atlas using arrows, spears, javelins and swords. A character falls 50 feet off a cliff and his broken body lies on the rocks below. A biplane shoots machine guns at the monster army. A character dies from a dragon bite.
Adult Themes: Good vs. evil. One character is disowned by her family and her father is the cause of her death.
Synopsis
In the third installment of the Percy Jackson series, Percy and 4 others are off on a quest to rescue Annabeth and Artemis and thwart the dark plan of the rising Kronos. Traveling cross country from Washington DC to San Francisco, they again encounter several mythical monsters bent on stopping their progress. According to the oracle’s prophecy, this quest will only succeed with the ultimate sacrifice of one of their own.
I enjoy this series. Percy is a very likable hero, humble and flawed, but strong and brave too. All my reading-age children have read this series and loved it.
Language: A few common swear words. Taunting and degrading talk towards those who were accused of being non-revolutionists (teachers, parents, wealthy, elderly etc). Signs were hung around the city claiming unlawful actions and wrong doing on the part of many innocent people.
Violence: The Revolution caused many to look down on the wealthy regardless of age or health. Many teachers, parents and elderly were pushed around and beaten to get a confession of wrong doings. Those who were suspected of having different political views and opinions were tortured and beaten until they confessed, whether they were guilty or not. Some committed suicide rather than face a life of disgrace.
Sexual Content: Teacher accused of having relations with a student. Mention of a women who had several sexual relations outside of marriage. Ji-Li has an admirer but wants nothing to do with him. When Ji-Li’s home is searched they find her sanitary belt. She is humiliated that nothing is kept private.
Adult Themes: The Revolutionaries taught that political status comes before family. Many young people were caught up in the allure of their Revolutionary leaders and disowned their families. The Revolution was meant to bring new ideas and change to improve China. All old traditions and anything alluding to them were to be destroyed. The homes of many families were searched for photos, books, clothing, antiques etc. that reflected old China. These things were confiscated and destroyed leaving many families in poverty. Teachers were looked down on as corrupting the minds of the youth with old ways. They were publicly disgraced and replaced with new Revolutionary-minded teachers. Reverse discrimination from the poor to the wealthy was common. The wealthy were publicly humiliated and made to work regardless of age or health to help them repent of their years of wrong doing. Those who were suspected of different political views were subjected to verbal torture from family members and physical punishment from captors.
Synopsis: When Mao Zedong launches China’s Cultural Revolution, young Ji-Li’s world turns upside down. She was top of her school class and highly recognized for her hard scholastic work. Ji-Li comes from a well-to-do Chinese family with a history of wealthy landlord ancestors. The Revolution taught that all old culture must be abandoned and the wealthy blamed for China’s suffering. Ji-Li’s father, the son of a wealthy landlord, is detained leaving the rest of her family living in constant fear. Over the next few years, Ji-Li must decide whether to disown her ‘black’ family and join the Revolution or give up all she has worked so hard for to help her family.
I was deeply touched by Ji-Li’s story. I have a better understanding of how an entire nation can be swallowed up in an idea that leads to their destruction. The Revolution through a child’s viewpoint was powerful and eye opening. I closed the book with an appreciation for our incredible freedom and an admiration for all of the heroes around the world that choose to follow their heart. The author, Ji-Li, currently oversees projects that promote eastern and western relations. She also shares her story in person with many students around the nation.
Violence: An old woman ,fearful of catching the fever, hits Mattie with her cane, knocking her to the ground. The local doctor bleeds Mattie’s mother in hopes of curing her. Two men break into the coffeehouse looking for food and money. Mattie defends herself with her grandfather’s sword by wounding one of the men. The intruders injure her grandfather, causing his death.
Sexual Content: Mattie admires a young apprentice named Nathaniel. She wonders what he would think of her standing in the creek with her underclothes. Mattie kisses Nathaniel on the cheek.
Adult Themes: Incredible devastation from the yellow fever epidemic. Dead bodies are everywhere waiting for burial. Many children are orphaned and many parents loose their children. As the fever runs its course, the person can have violent fits, vomit blood, and sometimes go mad. Mattie is with her grandfather when he dies. She must figure out what to do with his body. Mattie’s mother cannot be found. She is left wondering if she is an orphan. Some mention of the racial prejudice of the time.
Synopsis
A young teenage girl, Mattie Cook, lives above the coffeehouse run by her mother and paternal grandfather. She spends her days avoiding chores while her mother works tirelessly with their African-American cook, Eliza. Rumors have been spreading of a fever spreading through America’s then capital city, Philadelphia. Shortly thereafter, her worn out mother contracts the disease and requests that Mattie be taken immediately to the country to avoid the plague. Against her will, Mattie is escorted by her grandfather. He becomes ill on the journey and although it was not yellow fever, frantic townspeople forbid them to enter their gates. Both are thrown from the wagon, leaving Mattie to care for her grandfather with no food or water. While doing so, Mattie contracts yellow fever and is taken to a hospital. She spends days suffering and eventually recovers. She and her grandfather return home in hopes of finding her mother alive. They find that the city is mostly abandoned. Only a few people have remained, shut up in their homes suffering from the fever or trying to avoid it. The smell of death and disease is everywhere and there are too many bodies to bury properly. Wheelbarrows are used to carry the dead to a large mass grave. Mattie’s mother is missing and her grandfather is still ill. After a run- in with two thieves, her grandfather dies and Mattie must face life alone. While searching for answers, she finds their old cook Eliza, who takes her in. Mattie joins Eliza and the Free African Society in caring for the sick. Mattie’s attitude towards work matures as she tirelessly serves the suffering. Relief from the fever finally comes with the first frost and Mattie and the city begin to heal.
I heard recently that boiling water hardens eggs and softens carrots. Trials have a similar effect on people’s hearts. Reading this book was taking a step back in time when people were tried to their very core. The story line grabbed me because Mattie Cook was human like the rest of us and decided to take the worst and do with it the best she could.
Sexual Content: Princess Addie and the Sorcerer Rhys kiss. They profess their love for one another and marry.
Violence: The Gray Death kills many people. The Kingdom of Bamarre idealizes their greatest hero in the epic poem Drualt. Drualt is a dragon/monster slayer. The epic poem contains descriptions such as, “”Two gryphons lay dead, Entrails spilling”. The dragon, Vollys, hungrily devours the gryphons. Vollys captures Princess Addie and keeps her prisoner. Vollys blows fire on Addie’s skirt and burns her leg. Addie then discovers a trunk filled with human bones. Addie wields the sword, “Blood-Biter” and wounds the dragon.
Synopsis
Queen Daria succumbs to the Gray Death, leaving behind two young daughters. Princess Addie is reserved and fearful. Princess Meryl is brave and bold. They are very different, but rely upon each other, and are one another’s greatest asset. Brave Princess Meryl becomes ill with the Gray Death. Princess Addie cannot believe that her strong sister is now facing an impending death. Addie is terrified. She knows she must find the cure for the Gray Death and she has just nineteen days before Meryl will die. Addie overcomes her fear and sets out on a journey to find the cure. Addie encounters spectors, ogres, gryphons and the dragon, Vollys, in her quest to save Meryl’s life. Addie ultimately saves the Kingdom of Bamarre.
This is an enjoyable fairy tale. Your young readers will enjoy reading of Princess Addie’s brave crusade.
Title: The Dark Hills Divide: The Land of Elyon Book 1
Author: Patrick Carman
Ratings Explanation
Violence: Pervis, a city guard, verbally belittles Alexa and destroys some of her personal property. Two evil cats are killed after being crushed by bookcases. A group of convicts joins together to take over the city. Alexa hits a man in the leg with a fire poker. The impact causes bleeding and a broken bone. The same man admits killing Warvold, a city leader and friend to Alexa. Alexa’s wolf friend attacks the man, causing further damage to the injured leg. Alexa’s friend, Yipes, keeps the attacker at bay with a knife.
Adult Themes: Alexa is with an important city official and friend when he dies. She describes the feeling of his cold bony wrists and cold clammy skin. A boy with dwarfism is shunned by society and leaves the city to live on his own. Prisoners are branded with letters indicating their crimes. Alexa spends some time in a prison, with rank smells and sounds, trying to find answers to her questions.
Synopsis
Alexa, a small but clever twelve year old girl, visits the city of Bridewell every summer with her father, a political leader. Bridewell and three nearby cities are surrounded by a high, stone wall to protect the citizens from an unseen evil that lives outside of them. These walls have been there for as long as Alexa can remember and she has always wondered what lay beyond them. One sad night after watching her old friend Warvold die suddenly, she finds a key in his hand. Alexa takes it without telling anyone in hopes that the key will help her find the answers that she has been looking for. This key and her curiosity lead Alexa to a map which shows a way out of the city and beyond its walls. Alexa is determined to follow the map which leads to an enchanted land. Here she finds a friend and guide in Yipes a dwarf. Yipes introduces Alexa to the talking animals that inhabit this enchanted land. These animals help her to find the answers she is seeking. Alexa also discovers that Bridewell is in danger of being taken over by convicts filled with revenge for past wrongs. Her courage and wit help to save the city and expose an unknown, powerful enemy.
I enjoyed this story, the first in its series. Alexa was an engaging character, small for her age but full of curiosity and adventure. Her friends Yipes the dwarf and Murphy the talking squirrel made unique supporting characters. There are a few intense moments that are not overly graphic but could be intimidating to some young and sensitive readers.
Violence: Four children are expelled from the factory; sucked up a tube, thrown down a hole for bad nuts, shrunk, and blown up into a giant blueberry.
Synopsis
Poverty stricken, ten year old Charlie Bucket is the winner of the fifth golden ticket! He finds the golden ticket inside the wrapper of a Wonka Chocolate Bar. Charlie wins a lifetime supply of chocolate and a tour of Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Charlie chooses Grandpa Joe to accompany him on a tour of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Charlie and the four other golden ticket winners begin the tour. The other children, debilitated by their glutton and greed, ultimately, miss out on an adventure of a lifetime. Charlie, through his gratitude and enthusiasm, wins a ticket out of poverty for himself and his family.
Another oldie, but goodie; we read this book aloud. My eleven, eight and four year old children loved this book. They enjoyed discovering the differences between the book, the “Johnny Depp” movie version and the “Gene Wilder” movie version. We are just fostering those analytical skills, right?
Violence: Vengeful killing of a mountain predator and her babies, in response, for killing a tethered falcon.
Synopsis
Sam Gribley ran away from his home in New York City, to the Catskill Mountains two years ago. Sam has survived and adapted to the land. His younger sister, Alice has decided to join him. Sam is initially annoyed with Alice’s presence. Alice brings an “Industrial Revolution” to the wilderness. A conservation officer confiscates Sam’s peregrine falcon, Frightful, an ”endangered species”. Alice disappears. Sam and his professor friend, Bando, track Alice through the Catskill Mountains. Sam discovers the “imposter” conservation officer. The criminal tries to sell the peregrine falcon on the black market. Alice, Bando and Sam find themselves entwined in an action-packed sequel as they vie to save Frightful, the falcon.
This is an oldie, but goodie; a great sequel to My Side of the Mountain. My eleven and eight year old children thoroughly enjoyed listening to the sequel as we read aloud. The sequel is better than the original.
Language: Around 10 instances of profanity. “Hell” used a hand full of times.
Violence: Sal is punched in the stomach and nose. A man is hit and killed by a truck.
Sexual Content: An innocent kiss.
Synopsis
Sal and Miranda, Miranda and Sal. That’s how it always was, until one day it wasn’t anymore. Best friends since early childhood, Sal and Miranda are inseparable, but one day Sal gets punched by another boy on the way home from school and walks out of Miranda’s life with no explanation. Then she starts receiving mysterious notes that seem to predict the future. The first note tells her that someone is coming to save her friend’s life, but which one of her friends is in danger? How do all of the dots connect? Filled with emotion, this realistic representation of a 6th grader’s life in 1979 New York City will touch the heart of all kinds of readers.
I heard Nancy Pearl review this book on NPR one morning, voicing her opinion that it should win the Newbery Medal. With such an enthusiastic endorsement, I checked it out from the library and my 12-year-old promptly commandeered it, reading it in a few hours. It took me longer, of course, as I have much less discretionary reading time than she, but it was worth every minute. I thoroughly enjoyed this exceptional book.
Violence: Grace is kidnapped, tied up and help prisoner. Marty hits Butch in the head with a stick. Bertha ties up Butch. A dinosaur kills a person. Characters in peril.
Adult Themes: Grace and Marty’s parents are missing after their helicopter crashes in the Amazon. They go to live with their uncle.
Synopsis
The O’Hara twins, Grace and Marty, are attending boarding school in Switzerland when they learn that their parents have disappeared in the Amazon jungle. Whisked away to live with a mysterious uncle they never knew they had, they arrive on Uncle Travis’s private island in Washington state. Travis Wolfe is a cryptozoologist. He studies cryptids, mythical creatures, like the Sasquatch and the Lock Ness Monster, whose existence has not yet been scientifically proven. Uncle Travis has an excursion to the Congo planned, which does not include the twins, but the twins have plans of their own.
Literally falling into the Congolese jungle, Grace and Marty learn to navigate the dangers of the jungle while trying to find a dinosaur that may not be extinct. If that isn’t enough for the 13-year-olds to worry about, they also have to outsmart Travis’s enemy and cryptid hunter, Noah Blackwood and his henchmen, who are also looking for the dinosaur. Grace and Marty find out what they are truly made of in the jungle, they also find out who they truly are.
This was a fun read-aloud for our family. It is exciting and kept everyone engaged, and it has some interesting relationships as well.
Violence: Mafatu kills a shark, a pig and an octopus.
Adult Themes: Mafatu’s mother dies when he is very small. His father does not approve of him because he is a timid child and not brave like the other boys his age.
Synopsis
Somewhere in Polynesia is the island of Hikueru, where Mafatu lives with his father. While a young boy, Mafatu nearly drowned at sea and has been terrified of the ocean ever since. Now at 10 years of age, the other boys tease and taunt him because he won’t go out fishing with them. Mafatu’s father is the chief, and in a society in which bravery is prized, Mafatu can tell that his father is ashamed of his fear. The time has come for Mafatu to face his enemy, the sea. He ventures out in his boat knowing that he will either come back fearless, or he will not come back at all.When my 10-year-old son finished this book he announced, “I just finished Call It Courage and on a scale from 1 to 10, it is a 10!” With that kind of recommendation I thought I better read it too! We ended up reading it aloud with our family, which I highly recommend. The narration and descriptions lend themselves naturally to a great read-aloud book. We all thoroughly enjoyed it and I think the message is important. Everyone has a fear to face, but with ingenuity and courage, we can conquer what most frightens us.
Violence: The Germans burn down part of Tivoli, an amusement park in Copenhagen, to destroy the Dane’s morale. The Nazis raided a Resistance meeting. They shot people as they ran for safety. Lisse, Annemarie’s older sister, was run down by a military car. Peter is later captured and executed by the Germans in the public square at Ryvangen. The Nazis take lists of all the Jews in the congregation, from the synagogue, and plan to relocate them to concentration camps. The Nazis burst into the Johansen’s apartment in the middle of the night in search of the Rosen Family who live across the hall. Ellen Rosen assumes the name of Lisse Johansen. The German officer pulls Ellen Rosen’s dark curls and demands to know why she is not blond like the other Johansen daughters. Annemarie’s mother falls and breaks her ankle while returning from guiding the Rosens through the woods to the harbor for their escape to Sweden. Annemarie is stopped by four German soldiers and two dogs, in the pre-dawn hours, while running through the woods to deliver a forgotten handkerchief used to aid the escaping Jews. (Swedish scientists prevented detection of the escaping Jews by creating a powerful powder composed of dried rabbit’s blood and cocaine. The blood attracted the dogs, and the cocaine numbed their noses and temporarily destroyed their sense of smell. Many lives were saved by this device.)
Adult Themes: The German Nazis have invaded Denmark and have made life very difficult for the Danes. The Jews of Denmark are “relocated”.
Summary
Annemarie, a ten year old girl, lives in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her parents have been extremely somber since the death of her older sister, Lisse. Life is very difficult during the German occupation. Annemarie longs for cupcakes and sweets, but everything delicious to eat is redistributed for use by the German Army. Annemarie matures as she participates in aiding the Rosen Family’s escape to Sweden. She plays an integral part in salvaging the forgotten decoy that ultimately saves the Rosens in their escape from the Nazis.
I loved the young, strong, heroine found in Annemarie Johansen. I strongly recommend this book for young readers.
Violence: Islanders hunt and skin sea otter. Many men are killed in a battle between Aleuts and the islanders. Wild dogs kill a young boy. Karana shoots dogs with arrows and kills several. She also kills an octopus.
Adult Themes: Karana, a young woman, looses her entire family and must survive alone.
Synopsis
The Island of the Blue Dolphins is based on the true story of a young girl who lives on a remote island. After Aleuts visit the island and kill most of the men, including her father, a ship comes to take the survivors away. Shortly after boarding the ship, she realizes that her younger brother has been left behind on the island. She cannot bear to leave him, although the chief promises that they will return to rescue him later, and jumps off the ship. The rest of the book is the story of her lonely survival on the Island of the Blue Dolphins.
I read this book as a child and, if memory serves, I liked it. Unfortunately, this reading did not live up to the memory. I had completely forgotten how sad the story is. We read it aloud as a family and it was a little upsetting for our 7-year old and the 10-year old thought it was boring. (He’ll be reading it next year in school, so he’ll get another chance to enjoy it.) Her determination to survive is admirable, but her struggles and the harsh environment wore on us. Maybe it is more upsetting now because I’m reading it from the perspective of a mother.
Violence: a girl attacks a boy, hits and kicks him and puts him in a strangle hold. Two witches try to kill their mother with magic spells.
Adult Themes: I don’t necessarily think that magic is an adult theme, but I will mention a couple of things here. In their spells and incantations, the witches use skulls, bones, toads, spiders and snakes. They turn people into stone, turn a man into a turtle and a dog into a snake. A few ghosts appear.
Synopsis
Set in 1927, Elijah and his parents live in Dredmoore Hollow on an old farm that has been in his Mama’s family “practically since the pilgrims.” As far as Elijah knows, his Mama doesn’t have any family except Grandma Ester, who travels by hot air balloon, so when two strange women show up announcing themselves as his aunts, he is skeptical. Elijah is easily spooked and, by his own admission, lily-livered, but all of the strange occurrences that coincide with the arrival of Aunt Serena and Aunt Agnes cannot be blamed on Elijah’s overactive imagination.
When Elijah’s parents unexpectedly leave town, he has no choice but to go the Moaning Marsh with his aunts and stay at their home until his parents come for him. Elijah learns that his mother has been keeping a dark family secret from him, but he can’t quite figure out what it is. His aunts talk about the “family gift” and they are exceptionally interested in his chin. What could possibly be going on? It is up to Elijah to find out and rescue his missing parents.
A very entertaining read, The Witches of Dredmoore Hollow kept me anxiously turning pages. The story is chilling enough to keep kids on edge, but it won’t scare the daylights out of them. The creepiness and humor will strike a perfect balance for most young readers.
Violence: Naval battles, shooting guns, dropping torpedoes, explosions. Injuries and death resulting from battles, but no gore.
Synopsis
William L. Shirer, author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, recounts Britain’s quest to find and destroy the Bismarck, Germany’s greatest battleship in WWII. Full of stratagem and battles, this historical account is sure to hold the interest of youth interested in WWII.
My husband found this 1962 copy on my parents’ bookshelf last time we visited them and we started reading it aloud to the kids on the drive back to our house. Our sleepy 7-year old dozed off and missed the first several chapters and never really got interested in it, but our 12 and 10-year olds were hooked. There are many ships and captains to keep track of, but it is quite exciting, and we all enjoyed learning this part of WWII history. This book could definitely be used as a source for a research paper.
Language: Hamilton Knapp writes the word “cripple” on the chalkboard in reference to his teacher, Mrs. Olinski, who is a paraplegic. Hamilton Knapp writes on Julian Singh’s leather book bag, “I am a ass.” Julian changes the phrase to read, “I am a passenger on Spaceship Earth”.
Violence: Hamilton Knapp and Michael Froelich attempt to feed Ginger, the dog, a tranquilizer and laxative in the form of a doggie treat.
Sexual Content: Grandpa Gershom said to Grandma Gershom, “Why don’t you ask me how I can stand making love to the same woman over and over again?” Sixth grade girls display lacy bra straps inside their T-shirt necklines. The groom gives the bride a very long and thorough kiss. The bride, Grandma Margaret Draper, is referred to as a thoroughbred Protestant and Grandpa Izzy is a thoroughbred Jew, but they don’t plan on breeding. Grandpa Izzy refers to Margaret as zaftig, which is Yiddish for pleasingly plump. He can’t keep his hands away from her and is constantly pinching her.
Adult Themes: Allen Diamondstein kept saying, “Isn’t it ironic? My father is getting married just as I am getting divorced.” Nadia grapples with her parents’ divorce. Nadia channel surfs and watches a show about teenagers whose mothers flirt with their boyfriends and another about people who pierce weird body parts.
Synopsis
Mrs. Olinski, a sixth grade teacher at the Epiphany Middle School, has the responsibility of choosing an academic team to compete in The Academic Bowl. The team, The Souls, are hand chosen by Mrs. Olinski—or did the team choose Mrs. Olinski? The Souls trounce the competition and win round after round. Finally, they have the opportunity to compete in the State of New York Academic Bowl. Nadia, Julian, Ethan and Noah’s lives have been intertwined in many ways and generations, long before the academic team was created.
I chose this book based on the author, E. L. Konigsburg, its odd title, and its Newberry Medal status. This book is a quick read, but not up to the high bar set with Konigsburg’s “From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler”.
Violence: The children have nightmares during which any injury received carries over to when they are awake. During these dreams the children become trapped in a giant shell, caught in an avalanche of building of blocks and are chased by an evil man with a long sword who eventually falls on it, ending his life.
Adult Themes: Ed and Eleanor are orphans cared for by their parents’ siblings. Their Uncle Eddy has suffered severe emotional trauma due to the disappearance of his younger siblings Ned and Nora. He is shunned and teased by the townspeople. Aunt Lily’s love, Prince Krishna, turns up missing as well after trying to find the two missing children. The bank threatens to take the family’s home if back taxes are not payed. Eleanor and Eddy worry where they will live.
Synopsis
Eleanor and Eddy Hall live in an eccentric old house in Concord Massachusetts. The children are in the care of their deceased parents’ siblings, Uncle Freddy and Aunt Lily. Uncle Freddy was once a respected authority on the local transcendentalism (Emerson, Alcott and Thoreau are historical residents there), but after the disappearance of his younger siblings, Ned and Nora, Uncle Freddy’s mind is never the same. Aunt Lily does her best to hold the family together and support them by teaching piano lessons until the bank shows up demanding that all the back taxes on the home be paid by a certain date. Eleanor and Eddy worry what will become of them all. The town already looks on them as outcasts. One summer day changes it all when the two go exploring in the attic. They find a room that seems to have remained untouched since Ned and Nora’s time. It had two little beds and a collection of toys and is lit by a colored glass window. Upon closer inspection, the window reveals a message or poem of sorts with the title Transcendental Treasure. Intrigued by a possible treasure that may help them save their home, Eddy and Eleanor beg to move into the attic. Once settled, the children find their dreams at night go along with clues from the poem etched on the window. They also discover that the dreams are somehow real. Whatever happens, good or bad, is reflected in the real world when they awake. They also catch glimpses of Ned, Nora and Aunt Lily’s love, Prince Krishna. They do find treasure throughout their adventures, but not the kind that brings them money. Their adventures became more and more dangerous the closer they come to the final clue. In the end, Eleanor and Eddy break the spell holding Ned, Nora and Prince Krishna prisoner all these years and return them to a recovered Uncle Freddy and a grateful Aunt Lily. They also come away with a greater understanding of the treasures life has to offer.
I don’t think this book is in print currently but, it is available through places like Amazon. It is actually a first in a series of the Hall Family Chronicles by Jane Langton. A truly unique children’s book with a great mixture of adventure and true life lessons. I am a little partial, because I too am a fan of Emerson, Alcott and Thoreau. One of my favorite Uncle Freddy quotes is ‘… we are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones… So carve yourself well!” A great read for young and old.
Title: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices From a Medieval Village
Author: Laura Amy Schlitz
2008 Newbery Medal Winner
Violence: A boy and his uncle kill a boar with spears. The knight’s son wants to go on the crusade to “sharpen my sword on the Saracen’s throat – crush the bones of the heathen horde – all for the glory of Our Lord!”
Adult Themes: Class distinctions. Children were sometimes beaten by parents. The miller is dishonest and fills the flour bags with chalk, the baker steals the bread and the peasant steals from the lord. Dislike between Jews and Christians. The beggar boy fakes a crushed foot and he and his father stage a miracle healing with holy water in order to make money. Note: these are not major themes, but will provide opportunities for discussion with your children.
Synopsis
This collection of 22 individual but related poems and essays gives the reader an exceptional overview of a typical English Medieval village. Each selection is from the perspective of a child or youth in the village and through their narration we learn how children were treated, their social standing, how the village functioned and even what they ate. There are also six one to two page explanations on topics pertinent to the narratives such as the crusades, medieval pilgrimages, and Jews in medieval society. Beautiful artwork adds to the charm of this book.
I found this a fascinating read. My favorite character is Barbary, the young girl who takes her toddler twin brothers to the market to buy fish because her step mother is at home pregnant with another baby. One of the twins grabs the fish out of her basket and throws it on the ground. Barbary has to wade through the mud to pick it up, then the other twin has a messy diaper all over her. Just then she sees the Lord’s daughter in a beautiful blue dress with her hair combed “sleek as an otter.” Barbary feels the injustice of life and throws mud at her, but she only enjoys her vengeance for a moment before she feels guilty. She stops by the church on her way home to pray for forgiveness and realizes, “all women are the same – silk or sackcloth, all the same.”
Children 4th grade and up will enjoy this book. It would be fun to get a group of friends together and memorize some of the selections.
Language: 1 instance of profanity. “God Bless America!” used as an exclamation.
Violence: Ghost story mentioned with a chainsaw cutting up a woman and a nail driven into her head (very brief).
Adult Themes: Griffin’s father quits his job to develop an invention. It isn’t going well and his parents are very worried about money. They have to put their house up for sale because they can’t afford it anymore. Kids in the story plan and carry out a robbery.
Synopsis
Griffin Bing is “the man with the plan.” He always knows what to do, but when he is cheated out of a valuable baseball card by a shady sports memorabilia collector, he has to make a plan like no other to get back what is rightfully his. A well planned heist ensues with lots of surprises and near misses.
This was a very fun read-aloud for our family. We all enjoyed the kids getting even with the dishonest Swindle, but they don’t actually get away with the heist. (We wouldn’t want to encourage criminal behavior!) You’ll have to read it to find out how it ends, but justice is poetically served.
Language: One common swear word and some uses of the name of deity. Name calling like jerkface, buttwipe, Neanderthal, freakazoid etc.
Violence: Bullying by the popular kids. A knockout punch to the nose by a football player. The entire football team tackles Cap who is innocently dressed in the opposing teams uniform.
Sexual Content: Naomi kisses Cap in front of a group of students and lets him know it is to be continued. Cap is attracted to Sophie. When he looks at her he feels funny.
Adult Themes: Cap is arrested for being an under-aged driver after taking his grandma to the hospital. Cap is arrested again for driving a school bus to the hospital after the driver passes out. Sophie’s parents are divorced. Her dad frequently makes promises he doesn’t keep. Some anti-government opinions from Cap’s hippy grandmother.
Synopsis
Capricorn Anderson has been raised by his hippie grandmother Rain on a farm commune his whole life. He knows nothing of modern technology, and has had little or no social interaction with the outside world. That all changes when his grandmother is seriously injured and has to stay in the hospital. Cap, as he is called, is forced to move in with a guidance counselor and her moody daughter. He is enrolled in the local middle school where school politics rule and weirdness is shunned. Zach, a fellow student, has climbed the popularity ladder and sees Cap as an opportunity to become the next legend of Claverage Middle School. As the school’s tradition goes, the oddest nerdiest student is elected eighth grade president and always wins. Zach nominates Cap for the job and sees to it that he wins. Innocently, Cap becomes the butt of all of his pranks and jokes but not for long. Cap’s unique non-violent and non-competetive upbringing helps him through it all. Students begin to admire his weirdness when they see that it is genuine kindness with a hippie flare. Capricorn Anderson wins over the student body and helps Rain to see a way to balance the past with the future.
This was a great story of accepting and understanding others before we judge them. It reminded me of the book Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. Each chapter in the book was from a different character’s point of view. This gave a different insight to the situation at hand which was interesting.
Adult Themes: Madame Calcet is widowed. She can no longer pay rent. She and her three young children become homeless and seek shelter under a bridge in Paris. Madame Calcet leaves her young children to fend for themselves during the day while she works in a laundry. The family is exposed to gypsies as they join them in their camp. The gypsies proclaim, “They don’t steal from friends, only from strangers.” The gypsies sustain the family with food and shelter until Armand determines to help provide for the family.
Synopsis
Armand, an older homeless man, lives under a bridge in Paris. He thoroughly enjoys his lack of responsibility and aimless wanderings, until he returns to his shelter under the bridge to find that three hungry, cold children have occupied his space. The children have instructions from their mother to remain hidden so the authorities will not take them away. The children while away the hours until their mother returns from work. The children become endeared to Armand as he searches to provide them with food and warmth. Armand determines that he will help provide for this ready-made family, and leave his carefree ways, as he quickly becomes their adopted grandpa.
This is a heartwarming story published in 1958. An innocent tale that defines family. I recommend this book for your young reader.
Language: The word nigger is used twice by members of the Knights of the Southern Order of Manhood. A group of captured Apache Indians are called the “meanest bunch of cut-throats ever walked on two feet.”
Violence: Mention of violent acts against the black population by members of white supremacy groups, such as burning businesses and schools, destroying property and lynching. A local white supremacy group throws torches into Sarah Jane’s home. Her father threatens to shoot anyone that means harm to the family or property even though he had no ammunition in the gun. Sky defends the property by scaring the group off with well aimed arrows. One arrow does hit a man in the leg. Buster, Sarah Jane’s dog, is shot by one of the group members in the struggle and dies. Sky is attacked in a store by two large men. He skillfully defends himself, ending up with a knife and threatens to scalp one of the attackers.
Adult Themes: Native Americans are shipped by train from Florida to a reservation. Mention is made of their suffering at the hand of the white man. Sarah Jane’s father briefly remembers hard times during slavery. The black population of their town are looked down upon and treated unequally in spite of the end of slavery. Black citizens are threatened, and some beaten, if they choose the exercise their right to vote. Segregation is carried out in businesses and schools.
Synopsis
Sarah Jane and her parents lived in a small Alabama town in 1888. One day, she and her father noticed an unexpected train full of soldiers escorting a group of Apache Indians. They were on their way to a reservation after being held in Florida for the past two years. While her father was speaking with some of the guards, Sarah sees a young Indian boy escape. She decides to say nothing of what she saw because she feels that everyone has the right to be free. A few days afterward, the Apache’s translator, Mr. Wratton, comes to the farm in search of the missing boy and leaves empty handed. Sarah later finds the Indian boy, Sky, hiding in their barn, suffering severely from swamp fever. Her mother takes him to the house and she and Sarah nurse him back to health. Mr. Wratten learns that the boy has been found and decides to let Sarah’s family care for him until his health returns. Sky’s recovery is slow but he learns to respect the family that has helped him so much.
Tragedy strikes when the family’s cotton crop becomes infested with boll weevil. They are unable to pay their debt to the white man that threatens to take over their farm. Sarah finds a carpentry job for her father, who is a skilled craftsman, making desks for an all black school. The debt collector gives them thirty days to pay before he takes over the farm. A few nights later, the Knights of the Southern Order of Manhood threaten to destroy Sarah’s home and all of the wood to make the desks. Sky helps to defend his new family by scaring the group off with arrows. The time to pay off the debt was quickly approaching, but workers were now scared for their lives and no one came to help with the desks. Sky mysteriously dissapears for a few days and brings back Mr. Wratten, along with several Apache Indians, to help finish the project. Through this group effort the job was finished on time and the farm was saved. Sky decides to stay with his new family and hope is restored to Sarah Jane’s family.
McKissack bases this story on her own family history. Her great-great-great grandfather was a Native American who married an African American woman. I found the mix of these cultures fascinating. Both races had suffered so much from prejudiced thinking and fought so hard to stay free. I enjoyed having this story told through the point of view of a child. It was interesting to see her perspective as the nation was trying to redefine itself. Because the difficult topics of this book were handled truthfully yet tactfully, I highly recommend it to young readers wishing to more fully understand this difficult time in our nation’s history.
Violence: Mr. Cantina grabs Primrose by the collar. Primrose is run over by a truck and loses her pinky toe. She then loses the tip of her finger, which was caught in a fishing net, when she nearly drowns. Uncle Jack heroically saves Miss Honeycut from a fire, and is severely burned.
Adult Themes: Miss Perfidy dies while in intensive care. Uncle Jack is not interested in caring for Primrose in the slightest, it would be an imposition. Everyone in Coal Harbor tells Primrose to accept the fact that her parents are dead. Miss Bowser tells Primrose how fortunate she is to have parents who love one another, unlike most of the kids in town. “Most of the kids in town don’t even have two parents, one dead one and one alive one. Or they got two divorced ones who don’t talk to each other. Or they’ve got a mom and a bird-of-the-night dad who sang one sweet song and never appeared again.”
Synopsis
Primrose, a young girl, lives in a little fishing village in British Columbia. Her father’s boat is caught in a terrible storm at sea. Primrose’s mother heads out to sea to find her husband and they are lost at sea together. Primrose Squarp adamantly denies that her parents are dead. She is convinced they are shipwrecked, somewhere. An entire year passes before her parents are rescued and return home. During the year, Primrose is passed from one neglectful care-giver to another. Primrose has three crazy accidents. First, she is hit by a truck and loses her pinky toe, then she loses the tip of her finger in a tangled fishing net, when she nearly drowned. Primrose is eventually placed in foster care. In spite of the many challenges, Primrose Squarp remains an optimist.
As an enormous waffle fan, I love the title of this book! The story is a modern day Pollyanna tale. Fourth and fifth grade readers will enjoy this book.
Author: Pearl S. Buck (Pulitzer and Nobel Prize Winner)
Ratings Explanation:
Violence: Nature versus man as a small Japanese village faces the fury of a volcano and a tsunami.
Adult Themes: The tsunami kills many of the fisherman and their families in the village. Jiya is from one of these families but was able to escape before the tidal wave hit. He is left to face the death of his father, mother and brother. In their culture, the Japanese are taught to “learn to live with danger” and “enjoy life and do not fear death.”
Synopsis
Kino and Jiya are good friends growing up in a small Japanese village. Kino and his family are rice farmers who live high up in the hills. Jiya and his family are fishermen by trade and live below the hills on the beach. One day, while working in the rice fields, Kino and his father notice a great deal of smoke rising from a volcano 20 miles away. Changes in the sky and ocean make the villagers nervous as they watch, trying to protect their families. The sound of a great bell from a palace below warns the villagers of danger and encourages them to come within its wall for safety. Some heed the warning but many stay close to their homes. Jiya’s family orders him to flee to the palace for protection. Jiya instead runs up the hills to his friend’s home. Kino and Jiya watch the commotion in the village below when suddenly the ocean turns angry and a giant tidal wave sweeps up onto the beach, taking houses and people with it. Jiya watches in horror as his family is swept away. Kino’s family commits to care for Jiya and raise him as their own. Before fully recovering, the wealthy owner of the palace comes to visit him. He tells Kino’s father that he would like to take Jiya as his own son and give him an education. Knowing that this is a great opportunity for the grieving Jiya, Kino’s father encourages him to visit the palace to see the opportunities that would be his. Jiya obeys and visits the old man. After touring the grounds, he then tells the palace owner that his choice is to stay with Kino’s family. The old man is irritated at Jiya’s response and tells Jiya he could have everything he needs. Jiya respectfully tells him that he already has a home on the farm. Jiya returns to the hills and grows from a boy to a man. He learns to live with his loss with the kind help of Kino’s family. He is eventually drawn back to the ocean where he longs to be a fisherman like his fathers before him. Then facing his greatest fear, Jiya builds a home on the beach for him and his new wife (Kino’s kind sister) .
This is an incredibly powerful story in a very few short pages. I loved the wisdom of life that Buck has pulled from the Japanese culture. The underlying theme of the book is that life is stronger than death. As Kino’s father tries to help his son understand the tragedy that has torn at their village he says, “No one knows who makes evil storms … We only know that they come. When they come we must live through them as bravely as we can, and after they are gone, we must feel again how wonderful is life. Every day of life is more valuable now than it was before the storm.” A great read for quiet contemplation and thoughtful discussion.
Language: 2 common swear words and one instance of profanity
Violence: A description of the many ways an elephant can kill a human. A rogue elephant knocks Nick down and almost tramples him. A Japanese soldier hits Indaw with a rifle and kicks Mya. There are two dead bodies lying in front of a home, one has been decapitated and the other, Mya’s father, has been beaten to death. A Japanese soldier is executed (beheaded) for killing Mya’s father. Indaw and other Burmese are taken behind the house and beaten. Bukong uses his cane to maintain order and control. He hits anyone who opposes him or makes him mad. The Japanese colonel hits Bukong with his own cane. An elephant attacks a man and then other men attack the elephant. Some animal kingdom violence. A Japanese captain orders a Burmese house burned for no reason and he hits an old man with a stick. POWs threatened with execution if they try to escape. Captain Moto hits Nick, Mya and Hilltop with his baton and threatens them with his sword. An elephant flips a jeep over and it kills Captain Moto, then the elephant gores Bukong with his tusk, killing Bukong. The elephant is shot at and two Burmese are shot and killed.
Sexual Content: Bukong, who is at least 40, plans to marry Mya, who is 12. He touches her face and favors her. She is repulsed.
Adult Content: Before WWII breaks out, Burma is governed by the English, but many Burmese resent the English and want to govern themselves. This leads to many of the Burmese welcoming the Japanese invasion. The Japanese are generally portrayed as brutal and violent, with one exception being Captain Sonji. Nick’s father is sent on a long march to a POW camp. The POWs are treated very poorly with barely enough food to keep them alive and basically no medical attention.
Synopsis
When Germany bombs London, Nick Freestone’s mother sends him to Burma to be with his father and ride out the storm of the war in Europe. But almost as soon as Nick arrives in Burma, so do the Japanese. The teak plantation his Father’s family has owned for generations is turned into a base for a Japanese air field, Nick’s father is sent to a POW camp and Nick becomes a prisoner in his father’s house. A daring escape liberates Nick and his friend Mya from their captors, but then they must brave the Burmese jungle on elephant back and dodge Japanese soldiers in order to rescue Nick’s father and Mya’s brother.
We read this book aloud as a family and everyone liked it. My husband and I did find ourselves doing a lot of explaining about the Burmese/Enlgish relations before the war and then the Burmese/Japanese relations after the invasion. There are nuances to that subject that children will not understand because of their limited life experience. We also spent time discussing the current positive relationship the US has with Japan.
Author: Ted Bell (New York Times Bestselling Author)
Ratings Explanation
Language: A few common swear words and two derogatory uses of the name of deity.
Violence: Nick, Kate and Gunner are threatened to be electrocuted by a security system if they continue to trespass. A sailor is ordered to be sealed in a torpedo tube of a submarine and launched to his death. Several instances of death and injury occur during a battle between two ships. Sailors are killed or injured by cannon balls, guns and swords and the victims are seen laying on the deck or heard moaning and screaming in pain. Before the battle, the ship’s decks are covered in sand to absorb any blood that would make it slippery. A sailor’s severely injured leg is amputated and thrown into the sea. Nick finds an injured sailor bleeding from both ears. Nick sees another sailor fall on the deck that has “a small fountain of blood bubbling at his belly.” One sailor sits on the deck drinking the last of his rum with only half of his face still intact. Sailors on both sides of the battle are described as “wanting at each other’ throats”. An evil pirate cuts off the end of his own tongue and swallows it to show Nick how sharp his dagger is. The pirate’s dagger is shot out of his hand along with three of his fingers. He goes crashing to the deck below. The arm of the evil pirate captain is cut off and Nick sees the fingers on the stump still twitching. Nick is cautioned to beware of the pirate captain’s bird because it could peck his eyes out. A Nazi doctor aboard the sub tells Hobbes that he is a horrible surgeon but a great interrogator while flashing a scalpel. Hobbes dreams that this crazy doctor cuts out his tongue. The eccentric submarine captain shoots his escaping assistants as they try to swim back to their U-boat. Their blood pools in the water which attracts sharks which finish them off. The captain thinks he is leaving Hobbes and young Kate behind to suffer death by electrocution.
Sexual Content: The pirate captain cannot be found and is suspected to be “sporting with his captured English filly”. He is later said to be sipping tea with his English mistress. Nick finds the woman a prisoner, chained up with “long deep red curls falling over the creamy white silk of her dress and bosom.”
Adult Content: Nick’s father goes against government wishes by being on the look out for the suspicious activity of German Nazis in the waters surrounding his light house. He is later sent a letter telling him that he no longer has a job as light keeper and must move. The submarine spying on them is an experimental Nazi U-boat. It’s captain is short tempered and displays erratic behavior. His assistant, a doctor, uses torture as a method of extracting information. An evil pirate captain kidnaps children and holds them for ransom in the dark dank depths of his ship. Most of the men in the story smoke as a means of relaxing. Alcohol is consumed by sailors as well as by Lord Hawke and company for dinner.
Synopsis
Twelve year old Nick McIver and his younger sister Kate live on an English island in 1939, shortly before WWII. Their father is part of a spy ring that is on the look out for suspicious activity in the waters around their lighthouse. The English government is in denial that another war could possibly be coming and has warned all spying to cease. Mr. McIver is found out and sent a letter relieving him and his family of duty at the lighthouse. Nick’s parents immediately head to London to sort things out leaving their children in the care of an old family friend named Gunner. Meanwhile, Nick and Kate discover a strange chest on the shore near their home. With the help of Gunner and a reclusive neighbor, Lord Hawke, and his assistant Hobbes, they are able to open the chest and discover a beautifully crafted gold ball along with a note inside. The note is from Nick’s ancestor, a sea captain living in 1805. It explains that the gold ball is actually one of two time machines in existence and that he is in desperate need of help. Nick, Gunner and Lord Hawke head to the past to aid the captain. There they find Billy Blood, a common enemy and owner of the other time machine. Blood has kidnapped Lord Hawke’s children and taken Nick’s dog in hopes of obtaining both time machines. This evil pirate has also kidnapped several other children from wealthy families throughout time and is holding them for ransom money. Before it’s all over, the two ships engage in an intense battle leaving Blood with only one arm and fleeing off somewhere in the past or future. After returning all of the children to their families, Nick returns home to find that his sister and Hobbes have had an adventure of their own. They had been captured while trying to deliver secret documentation concerning sightings of a German U-boat. To their surprise, they become the U-boats prisoners. Through careful planning and a lot of acting they persuade the captain of the German sub to return to the island. Hobbes uses the captain’s ego against him and captures the U-boat in a secured lagoon. English government officials are notified and come to inspect the submarine. In the end, the two young heroes, Nick and Kate, are congratulated and reunited with their family.
This book was a fun sea-going journey from beginning to end and certainly satisfied in the adventure department. I enjoyed the characters and found the mix of Nazis and pirates a great combination for some very suspenseful moments. Although this book was written for readers ages 9-12, I thought that the battle sequences and threats of torture by scalpel were a bit intense for the younger reader.
Violence: The Trojan War is described as a bloody field of battle. Odysseus remembers soldiers screaming as they died, and swords and battle-axes crashing into their shields. The Cyclops eats two of Odysseus’ men. Odysseus and his men plunge the burning point of a spike into the Cyclops’s eye, blinding the Cyclops. Circe changes Odysseus’ men into swine. Scylla, a monster, snatches six men into his jaws. Odysseus’ ship sinks in a terrible storm and every member of the crew is lost except Odysseus. Odysseus becomes a prisoner of the Goddess Calypso for seven years. Odysseus kills Antinous with an arrow to the neck, he gags and falls to the ground. Odysseus kills all remaining suitors arrows.
Sexual Content: Beautiful women, the Sirens’, sing a song so lovely that any man who hears it is drawn to them–and to his death.
Adult Themes: Odysseus and his men persuade the Cyclops to drink wine until he is drunk. Odysseus travels to Hades – The Land of the Dead! The aggressive suitors torment Penelope by eating her food, staying in her home, and demanding she choose a new husband.
Synopsis
King Odysseus leaves his wife, Penelope, and his infant son, Telemachus, behind in Ithaca, while he fights in the Trojan War with another Greek King, Menelaus. They fight against the people of Troy for ten years! Odysseus misses Penelope and Telemachus dearly. When the war finally ends, Odysseus begins his journey, his odyssey home to Ithaca. Odysseus finds the journey home to be more difficult than the war as he encounters Cyclops, Greeks Gods and Goddesses, sirens, and monsters. He finally arrives home and battles Penelope’s aggressive suitors.
My 4th grade son, Ansel, recommended I read this book. Ansel devoured this simplified version of “The Odyssey” in an evening. An interesting read, with easy to understand explanations of Greek Mythology as well as great background information about the author, Homer.
Title: Stop That Bull, Theseus! Myth-O-Mania Book Five
Author: Kate McMullan
Ratings Explanation
Violence: Theseus battles Sinis, a troll. Sinis is catapulted through the air to his death. Theseus then battles Sciron, a giant. Sciron kicks mortals to their death from a cliff into the sea, where they are caught in the jaws of a turtle. Sciron belly-flops off the cliff onto the turle’s back. The turtle swims Sciron out to sea, to his death. Procrustes is a mortal and a murderer. He runs a hotel and insists on tucking his guests to sleep. He declares “Our beds are just the right size for You!” He ties his guests to the bed and wields an ax to make them fit on the beds. If the guests are too short, he stretches them and then chops them up. Procrustes proclaims that he got such a bang out of murdering that after a while he quit wrestling so he could whack full time. Procrustes is snapped to death in a collapsible bed. A trap door springs open and the bed disappears into the black hole, with a faint splash. Queen Medea tries to poison Theseus with wolfs bane. She does not want Theseus to usurp her son’s position as the next King of Athens. Theseus vows to kill the Minotaur. He and thirteen Athenian youths are sent as a tribute to the Minotaur. The tributes are not eaten by the Minotaur. They are new wrestling partners for the Minotaur to train with. Theseus forgets to take down the black sails as he returns to Athens. King Aegeus jumps to his death when he sees the black sails.
Sexual Content: ”Zeus was into building a dynasty, which means he married dozens of beautiful goddesses, nymphs, and mortals so he could have hundreds of good-looking gods, goddesses, and heroes as descendants.” Aethra and Poseiden spent a few wild evenings together in Troezen and then they married. King Aegeus came through town and Aethra began to flirt with the king. Aethra jilted Poseidon for King Aegus. Unbeknownst to them, Theseus is really Poseidon’s son, and not King Aegeus’s son.
Adult Themes: Pre-marital sex - Poseidon and Aethra. Aethra then commits adultery with King Aegeus, while still married to Poseidon.
Synopsis
Zeus’s version of the myths is completely wrong. Greek Mythology is finally set straight by Hades, King of the Underworld, as he reveals the true story.
Hades, King of the Underworld, is asked by his older brother, Poseidon, to keep an eye on his son, Theseus. Theseus is extremely forgetful. Theseus and Hades travel from Troezen to Athens. Theseus encounters and defeats three bullies on his “road trip” to Athens. When Theseus arrives in Athens, Queen Medea tries to poison him. Theseus then travels to Crete to battle Asterius, the Minotaur. He finds the minotaur does not want fresh meat to eat, he wants fresh meat to wrestle. Unfortunately, Theseus forgets to change the ship’s sails from black to white on his return to Athens. When King Aegeus sees the black sails he commits suicide, thinking Theseus has been slain by the Minotaur.
My 4th grader insisted I read and post this book. He LOVED it! This is an entertaining read, although more violent than I would prefer. I thought Procrustes’s use of the ax was intense for a 4th grade level book.
Violence: Seth is attacked by fairies after he captures one and they turn him into a misshapen walrus. Dark creatures try to harm Seth and Kendra, but they are protected by magical charms. Dale is turned into a statue by something evil. The house is ransacked and nearly destroyed by unknown dark creatures. Grandpa and Lena are kidnapped and held against their will. Grandma shoots Muriel with a small crossbow and she is wounded, but lives. An army of fairies fight dark creatures and a demon. Many fairies are wounded or killed, but most of them are healed. Some dark creatures are also killed.
Adult Themes: Seth and Kendra’s other grandparents die of asphyxiation. There is a brief discussion of the wake, funeral and coffins.
Synopsis
Kendra and Seth don’t really know their Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson, so when they go to stay with them for two and a half weeks, they are prepared for boredom. To their amazement, they discover that Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson are the caretakers of Fablehaven, a preserve for magical creatures where both friendly and dark creatures exist. Once they discover the secret, they learn that fairies, imps, witches, satrys and many other creatures are alive and well at Fablehaven. But when Seth breaks his Grandpa’s strict orders regarding interaction with some of the more unsavory creatures at the preserve, an evil is unleashed that could claim all of their lives.
Both my 6th grader and my 4th grader have read all of the Fablehaven books so far and have loved them. They have been begging me to read them since last summer, but it took me awhile to get around to starting the series. Overall I liked the book. I thought that the demon and evil witch were taken care of a little too easily, but was also glad to skip the violence that could have been created to get rid of them. I loved the army of oversized fairies, very cool!
Violence:Hermann attaches fireworks to the dog’s tail.The dog loses a leg and partial eyesight.Stefan pushes a harp down the stairs at Grossenfluss, a boarding school, and critically injures the cruel headmistress.A young boy is saved from near trampling by a horse.
Sexual Content:Frau von Tannenberg falsely claims to have rapidly met and married Annika’s father, who deserts his young pregnant wife only weeks after their marriage.Frau von Tannenberg often travels with her brother-in-law, Oswald, much to her sister’s disdain.
Adult Themes:The Eggharts, a wealthy Vienna family, resist caring for their elderly aunt.The aunt, a former Parisian Chorus Girl was nicknamed “La Rondine”.The Eggharts begrudgingly comply and the great-aunt is given an ascetic space in which to live her last months.Frau von Tannenberg deceives Annika, an orphan, as she claims to be her long-lost mother.Unbeknownst to Annika, Frau von Tannenberg is a con artist who uses unscrupulous methods to steal Annika’s inheritance.Annika is completely unaware of her inheritance from “La Rondine”.Frau von Tannenberg sells a few jewels, rapidly spends the money, and hides the remaining jewels in a vault in Zurich.Frau von Tannenberg then sends Annika to Grossenfluss, an inhumane boarding school for unwanted girls of the aristocracy.Girl #126 commits suicide at Grossenfluss, and the police are not allowed to investigate the girl’s death properly.
Synopsis
Ellie and Sigrid, a housemaid and a cook, discover an abandoned baby girl in a village church while hiking in the Austrian Alps.They raise Annika in the home of three eccentric professors in Vienna, where they are employed.Annika is loved. However, she yearns for her mother.Annika has an opportunity to make money reading to her wealthy neighbor’s great aunt. She befriends “La Rondine” and soon it is not a job at all, but a pleasure to visit with the older woman.When “La Rondine” dies, she bequeaths her possessions to Annika.Annika is completely unaware of the inheritance.Frau von Tannenberg arrives to claim Annika as her daughter.Annika leaves Vienna and returns with her mother to Germany, to the ancestral home, which is a castle that has fallen into great disrepair.Annika is not permitted to attend school or work due to her new aristocratic status.She grows increasingly homesick.Annika befriends Zed, the stable boy.Hermann, her step-brother, is showered with attention and gifts.Frau von Tannenberg steals her inheritance and lavishes the riches upon her son, Hermann.Annika is then sent to Grossenfluss, a boarding school.The Professors, Stefan, and Ellie rescue Annika and bring her back to Vienna.Pauline and The Professors unravel the mystery surrounding Annika’s so-called “mother” and the stolen inheritance.
At 403 pages, this is a very quick read.Although, I am convinced the story could have been pared down. I enjoyed the interesting character names and setting of the early 1900’s in Austria-Hungary and The German Empire.Ibbotson’s descriptions of Viennese cuisine were divine.Strudel anyone?This book is extremely mild in all categories. I recommend this book to young readers Grades 4-8.
1996 Newberry Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Honor Book, ALA Top Ten Best Book, ALA Best Book for Young Adults, ALA Notable Children’s Book, IRA Young Adult’s Choice, The Jane Addams Peace Award Honor Book, A Booklist 25 Top Black History Picks for Youth, An NCSS-CBC Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, Bank Street Child Study Association Children’s Book Award, A New York Times Book Review Best Book, A Publishers Weekly Best Book, A Horn Book Fanfare, A Bulletin Blue Ribbon, A Golden Kite Award for Fiction, Winner of the California Young Reader Medal
Ratings Explanation
Language: Hell, Damn, Ass, Diety, ”…we all heard him say, real clear, the ”S word”. “Byron flips Kenny a dirty finger sign, Byron flips double middle fingers and a finger sign that Kenny has never seen before.”
Violence: Byron bullies Kenny at home. Larry Dunn bullies Kenny at school, giving him “Maytag (face) Washes” in the snow. Byron and Buphead bloody Larry Dunn’s nose as they repeatedly throw him into a chain link fence as a crowd of kids cheer them on. Rufus, Kenny’s friend, and his younger brother, Cody, recount their squirrel hunting with a .22. Byron kills a bird with a Swedish Creme cookie. Momma burns Byron’s hand to punish him for lighting matches. Kenny nearly drowns in a whirlpool at Colliers Landing, where six other children have drowned. A church building in Birmingham, Alabama is bombed and 4 girls die. Kenny witnesses the aftermath of the bombing, as the bloody young girls’ bodies are brought out of the church building. Kenny suffers from shock and depression.
Sexual Content: ” Dad reached over past Momma to start the car, but on the way his hand kind of accidentally on purpose brushed her chests. Boy, did they think we were blind? Even though Dad thought he was being slick, everybody saw this.” Mr. Robert studs his coon dog.
Adult Themes: Racial prejudice that led to the Civil Rights Movement (ie”Coloreds Only” Bathroom, Swimming Pool etc.). The Watson’s stop at a rest stop in Tennessee at night on the drive to Alabama and they are all afraid, “Man, they got crackers and rednecks up here that ain’t never seen no Negroes before. If they caught your ass out here like this they’d hang you now, then eat you later.” Kenny is so scared that he feels a couple of warm drips of urine dribble down his leg. The church in Birmingham is bombed because, “Two grown men hate Negroes so much that they’d kill some kids just to stop them from going to school?” Kenny faces ridicule because he has a lazy eye. Rufus and Cody have raggedy clothes and no food for lunch each day. Dad Watson shaves Byron’s hair when he straightens it to have “Mexican Hair”.
Synopsis
Ten-year-old Kenny Watson and his family, “The Weird Watsons” live in Flint, Michigan. Kenny has a younger sister, Joetta, and a thirteen-year-old brother, Byron, who is an “official juvenile delinquent”. Kenny struggles to avoid being bullied by Byron at home and bullied by classmates at school. Kenny is a brilliant young boy, who longingly desires a friend. He is elated to have Rufus, the new guy, be his friend. Byron is a magnet for trouble. As a last resort, the Watson’s take a road trip to Birmingham, Alabama, the home of Grandma Sands. Momma and Dad arrange to leave Byron with strict Grandma Sands for the summer, and possibly the next school year to encourage Byron to improve his decision making abilities. While in Birmingham, a church building is bombed and four little girls are killed, many are injured. Kenny witnesses the aftermath of the bombing and struggles to comprehend racial prejudice and the violence surrounding the Civil Rights Movement.
I first read this book about ten years ago, as a new mother - and loved it! Our family listened to “The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963″ on CD while on a road trip last year. This book was an incredible way to introduce my children to the racial inequality that led to the Civil Rights Movement. My children were stunned to learn this is part of our American History. As I read this book again last week, I am impressed by the author’s ability to weave a humorous and captivating family story into the historical context of the Civil Rights Movement. I highly recommend “The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963″.
Language: As Hattie is milking, the cantankerous cow slaps Hattie’s face with her tail. Hattie slaps the cow back and practices a curse word she heard on the train. Hattie thinks, “There was no Aunt Ivy to recoil in horror at my language and, truth be told, there is nothing like the occasional outburst of profanity to calm jangled nerves.”
Violence: Violet the cow, is attacked by a wolf while grazing. Hattie rescues the cow from certain death. However, the wolf makes off with Violet’s tail. An arsonist set the Mueller’s barn on fire because Karl was born in Germany. A lawyer, Mr. Ebgard, is ruffed up by members of the Council of Defense because he wrote a letter defending a minister preaching to his German congregation in German.
Adult Themes: Prejudice prevails against German Americans during World War I. The Flu Epidemic of 1918 claims the life of Perilee and Karl’s young daughter, Mattie. Hattie helps deliver Perilee’s baby. Hattie ties off the cord, thumps the baby on the back and tries not to be too alarmed by the amount of blood as she cleans up the birthing room.
Synopsis
Hattie Here-and-There, a sixteen year old orphan has been shuttled from one relative to another throughout her life. When given the opportunity to go west and prove up on her late Uncle Chester’s homestead claim in Montana, Hattie courageously begins her journey. Hattie’s best friend, Charlie is ”Fighting the Kaiser” in Europe during World War I. Hattie and Charlie correspond and detail their separate adventures.
When Hattie arrives in Montana, she learns to brave the elements, build fences, milk a cranky cow, cook edible food and nurture her neighbors. Hattie is befriended by Perilee Mueller, her German born husband, Karl, and their children. For the first time, Hattie feels at home. She learns the real definition of home. Hattie finds the strength to stand up to Taft Martin and his gang of rowdies, the “Council of Defense”, who make life difficult for anyone of German descent during World War I.
I devoured this Willa Cather-esque book! I was enthralled with Hattie’s determination as she assumed her late Uncle Chester’s homesteading claim and the many tasks required to “prove up” the claim. I found the history of hardship for Americans of German descent during World War I fascinating. Kudos to Kirby Larson for a well-written story based on her great-grandmother’s homesteading experience as a sixteen year old girl. I look forward to reading more of Larson’s work. A great read for 4th-8th grade readers.
Violence: Two men try to kidnap the main characters in the book, but Milligan, a quasi-body guard, shoots the men with tranquilizer darts. Several children engage in a fight, including kicking, hitting, and shoving. Once again Milligan shoots some of the children with tranquilizer darts.
Adult Themes: All of the children in the book are alone, some are orphaned and some have been abandoned. The antagonist in the story uses these children in his diabolical plot to take over the world. One of the children in the story lies and falsely accuses another child of making him cheat in school.
Synopsis
Reynie Muldoon, an 11-year old orphan, responds to an unusual ad in the newspaper addressed to “gifted children looking for special opportunities.” He and 3 other children complete and pass a series of non-traditional tests that qualify them for a secret and dangerous mission. Together the 4 bright and resourceful children constitute the Mysterious Benedict Society and are tasked with bringing down the evil Mr. Curtain and thwarting his plan to take over the world. Each member of the society has unique talents that are essential to the success of their plan, but learning to rely on each other and working together to accomplish their assignment is not as easy as it seems.
After an enthusiastic recommendation from my 12-year old daughter, I tackled this nearly 500 page book. Overall I quite liked it, although the length may discourage some young readers. A fun story of kids outsmarting the evil adult, it reminded me of Chasing Vermeer, by Blue Balliett. The book also brings up some meaty discussion points like messages in the media, abandonment, loneliness, and putting yourself at risk for the benefit of others.
Violence: Animal kingdom violence. Bear kills a rabbit by sinking his teeth into its neck (it ends up being a dream), bear kills 3 seal cubs, mother bear is killed by orca whale, bears kill birds and rabbits to eat, bears attack each other over territories. A bear attacks a zookeeper. A bear, who is a shape shifter and turns into a boy, is shot and wounded.
Adult Themes: All three bears in the story are orphaned or abandoned and must make their way alone in the world. Toklo has a sick brother named Tobi. Toklo resents him because their mother gives Tobi all of her attention and because he slows down their progress. When Tobi dies their mother looses her senses. Thinking that Toklo is also dead, she tries to bury him. When she realizes that Toklo is alive, she chases him away and abandons him.
Synopsis
Seekers: The Quest Begins follows 3 young bears separated from their families as cubs. Navigating the dangerous world on their own is no easy task, but they all receive help along the way and also learn to help others. This is the first in the Seekers series.
We read this book aloud as a family and it took a REALLY long time. No one seemed to be very interested in it. Some books just aren’t written to be read aloud and perhaps this is one of them. I don’t plan on reading any more of the books in this series, but if your child really likes animal stories they just might enjoy this book.
Language: Hell, damn and the term for a female dog (in reference to Little Ann, a female dog) are used.
Violence: Billy is beat up by a gang of young boys in town as he collects his new dogs from the train depot. A mountain lion prowls in front of the cave where Billy and his hound pups spend the night. Billy traps a racoon and kills him with a double bit ax in order to obtain a skin to train his hounds. Old Dan and Little Ann track and kill many racoons. Rubin Pritchard picks a fight with Billy. Rubin then becomes enraged when he sees that Old Dan is killing his hound, Old Blue. Rubin grabs Billy’s ax and runs towards the dogs, to kill Old Dan and Little Ann. Rubin trips, falls on the ax and bleeds to death. The hounds track a mountain lion. The lion tries to attack Billy. Old Dan and Little Ann sacrifice themselves to save Billy’s life. Old Dan is severely injured. He is disemboweled by the big cat. Billy hacks the mountain lion with the ax. Old Dan and Little Ann’s jaws clamp down on the mountain lion’s throat. They rip the jugular vein and kill the moutain lion. Billy’s Mom cleans off Old Dan’s intestines and then stitches him closed. Old Dan dies from the violent encounter. Little Ann dies mourning the loss of Old Dan.
Synopsis
Billy is a ten year old boy who lives on a farm in the Ozarks. Billy finds a magazine discarded by fishermen. In the magazine he discovers an advertisement for red coon hound pups. He works hard to save money for two years to purchase the pups. Unbeknownst to Billy’s parents, Billy’s grandpa orders the dogs for Billy. Billy is so excited to get the dogs. He walks all the way to town, thirty miles each way to collect the dogs from the train depot. Billy camps in a cave on the way home and encounters a mountain lion. The fire and the hounds protect Billy from the mountain lion. Billy trains his pups to hunt racoons. Old Dan and Little Ann outhunt everyone around. Billy, Old Dan and Little Ann become an inseparable three-some. Their love for one another is unconditional. Grandpa is goaded into a bet with Rubin and Rainie Pritchard, which ends poorly. Rubin falls while running with Billy’s ax and he bleeds to death. Grandpa registers Billy, Old Dan and Little Ann in a championship coon hunt. Little Ann wins the “Best-Looking Hound” contest and Billy receives a silver cup. Billy, Old Dan and Little Ann win the Coon Championship Hunt and Billy receives a gold cup and three hundred dollars that was collected from the hunt’s participants. Mama feels that her prayers have been answered, because the family can now afford to move to town and her children may receive an education. Old Dan and Little Ann track a mountain lion. A violent fight ensues. Old Dan sacrifices himself to save Billy. Old Dan dies. Little Ann dies mourning. Billy buries both dogs on a scenic overlook. When Spring arrives Billy finds that a beautiful red fern has grown between the two graves. Indian legend states that “only an angel could plant the seeds of a red fern, and that they never die; where one grew, that spot was sacred.”
How can I read and review youth literature and not include this perennial favorite? This book is the first memory I have of my mother reading aloud to us, her children. The six of us, (out of eight), lay on the threshold of our bedrooms and listened to my mother read as she leaned up against the wall in the hallway. I loved the story of Billy, a ten year old boy’s adventure and the unconditional love Old Dan, Little Ann and Billy all had for one another. I recall my great sorrow when she read of Old Dan and Little Ann’s deaths. I also remember crying when she told us that Wilson Rawls, embarrassed by his lack of education, burned a trunk full of manuscripts he had written. I cried over the loss of such great stories. “Where the Red Fern Grows” is with few exceptions, an autobiographical tale of Rawl’s childhood in Scraper, Oklahoma.
My children received this book for Christmas. We began reading aloud and I wasn’t sure it would have the same effect upon my children as it had on me. I was wrong. Night after night, my daughter would beg for just one more chapter. She also claimed she couldn’t sleep, because she just couldn’t stop thinking about getting a dog. (We are dogless.) They were so sad when Old Dan and Little Ann died, but they loved the story! If you haven’t yet read this to your children – what are you waiting for?
Violence: Esperanza’s father is killed by bandits. Esperanza sees his body covered in a blanket in the back of the wagon. When the Esperanza’s mother, Ramona rejects an uncle’s proposal of marriage, the uncle arranges to have their home burned down. Esperanza recalls bandits coming to the house, ” six men, their faces covered with handkerchiefs, and they all held rifles.” The strikers put shards of glass in the box of asparagus to cut the women packer’s hand. The strikers also plant “several writhing gopher snakes”, and even an “angry rattlesnake”.
Adult Themes: There is a Mexican saying: ‘Full bellies and Spanish blood go hand in hand.” “Those with Spanish blood who have the fairest complexions in the land, are the wealthiest.” The Mexican peasants travel in a train car filled with trash, reeking of rotting fruit and urine to the United States. Ramona, Esperanza’s mother contracts Valley Fever in California and also has pneumonia. Esperanza is exposed to prejudice for the first time. The other Mexicans in the worker’s camp in California are prejudiced against her, because she came from an extremely wealthy background. The Americans are prejudiced against the Mexicans. “People here think that all Mexicans are alike. They think that we are all uneducated, dirty, poor, and unskilled. It does not occur to them that many have been trained in professions in Mexico.” There are special sections at the movie theater for Negroes and Mexicans. The Mexicans can only swim in the pool one day a week, the day before the pool gets cleaned. “Voluntary Deportation” - the workers are rounded up during raids and put on buses. The buses are parked at the bus station until late at night with those they captured on board. Families don’t want to be separated from their loved ones and usually go with them.” (The Voluntary Deportation Act gave counties the power to send great numbers of Mexicans back to Mexico. Government officials thought this would solve the unemployment associated with the Great Depression (it didn’t). Many of those sent to Mexico were native-born United States Citizens and had never even been to Mexico. This was the largest involuntary migration in the United States up to that time. Between 1929 and 1935 at least 450,000 Mexicans and Mexican Americans were sent back to Mexico.
Synopsis
Esperanza is a wealthy thirteen year old girl living on El Rancho de las Rosas in Mexico. Esperanza’s life is wonderful! She has everything, a loving father and mother, a beautiful home filled with many possessions and servants to serve her. Tragically, her father is killed by bandits. The ranch then becomes the property of her villainous uncles. One of the uncle’s desires to marry Ramona, her mother. The proposal is rejected. Esperanza, and her mother flee, with the help of their servants, to the United States. They settle in a camp for migrant workers in California. Esperanza faces many challenges, as she struggles with hard labor, lack of acceptance, financial hardship and loneliness. Ramona’s illness necessitates a long hospitalization, which leaves Esperanza without any family. The migrant worker’s strike for better working conditions during this time. Esperanza is terrified of the “voluntary deportation” and the possibility of being separated from her mother. Eperanza gracefully manuevers through her difficult circumstances.
As a resident of the State of Arizona, a border state, I was quite surprised to learn of the “Voluntary Deportation” Act of 1929. This Act gave counties license to send anyone of Mexican descent back to Mexico. I have had a difficult time comprehending the power that was given to these counties. I cannot imagine the U.S. Government passing an “official act” which would give them license to raid my home or workplace, because I am of (Italian, German, Swedish, English or Scottish) descent, deprive me of my U.S. Citizenship, and send me to a foreign country, based solely upon my lineage. This is exactly what happened to many Americans during the 1930’s. Their families had been in the U.S. for generations, and yet they were sent to Mexico during The Great Depression, because their great-great-grandparents had come from Mexico.
“Esperanza Rising” begins with a Mexican Proverb which states, “The rich person is richer when he becomes poor, than the poor person when he becomes rich.” This proverb is the theme of the book. The book lends itself to discussion with your children regarding: poverty, wealth, labor, loneliness, determination, migrant workers, and immigration. I would like to read “Esperanza Rising” aloud to my children for the valuable discussions it would provide.
Violence: Amy and Dan are physically attacked by cousins also searching for the clues. There is an explosion while Amy and Dan are in a tunnel, they are trapped, but escape. While driving a boat they crash into a larger ship, are knocked unconscious, taken on board the larger ship, and later thrown overboard. Amy and Dan are held at dart gun point by their cousins Ian and Natalie. There is another explosion. Ian is knocked unconscious and Natalie is hit with the tranquilizer dart.
Adult Themes: Amy and Dan break into a hotel room and steal a clue, jumping out a window to escape. They also steal a recipe from a monastery, which they mistakenly think is a clue, but later return it. There is a short conversation at the beginning of the book about whether they will stoop to the dastardly deeds of their rivals to get the clues. They decide that if they really want to win, they will have to play hard ball.
Synopsis
Amy and Dan are on the hunt to collect the 39 clues that will lead them to the Cahill family secret and fortune. This time they are in Austria and Italy searching for clues from Mozart’s life. Their ruthless cousins are still trying to win the contest as well and will stop at almost nothing to get ahead.
I liked the first book better than this one. It felt like this second book was cutting corners and details in order to keep the book short. But, all in all, a fun series for kids with very minimal content to worry about. The violence is brief and non-graphic. Both my 6th grader and 4th grader like the series and my 1st grader has just started the first book. This would be a fun series to read aloud since the books are short and fast paced.
Language: Aunt Elinor curses often. “Elinor swore a lot, and the more upset she was the worse her language became.” The only words mentioned specifically are “damn” and “bloody hell” and one instance of diety. Elinor is also referred to as a “fat woman” (offensive language in my house).
Violence: The villains are from the middle ages. They use brute force first and may or may not ask questions later. Dead roosters are their calling card. They infest the hills surrounding their village base with venomous snakes. People condemned to death are put in a crypt under the church to die. Tires are slashed. Capricorn’s henchmen shoot shotgun rounds at the escaping prisoners. While Elinor is driving the escape car, she collides with a stone wall. Farid is bitten by a marten (a furry creature) and his finger bleeds profusely. Farid hits Flatnose in the forehead with a rock and knocks him unconscious. Mo is bitten by a dog and his sleeve is covered in blood. Eleanor holds a shotgun to Basta’s head and threatens to kill him. Flatnose and Basta are gagged, tied up and the left in the hills. Basta uses his knife to slit throats and gash faces. Dustfinger’s face is scarred by Basta’s knife. Basta cut a pattern into Dustfinger’s face when they both fancied the same girl. Dustfinger pulls a knife on Mortimer. Flatnose puts his hand over a woman’s mouth to keep her quiet and she dies. Farid snares a rabbit and kills it. Farid recalls beatings by the thieves, “they beat me like a dog”. Tresa and Dustfinger are held captive in dangling nets. Meggie and Fenoglio are kidnapped by Basta and Flatnose. Capricorn threatens to wrap “pretty little vipers” around loved one’s necks, he threatens, “You all love something…”. Capricorn seeks the submission of all. The Shadow submits to Capricorn. The Shadow is immortal, invulnerable and as pitiless as Capricorn. The Shadow kills many. An execution is planned and they hope the executioner is good with the sword so it will be over quickly. Meggie kicks Basta in the shins and he drags her back up the stairs by the hair. Dustfinger has the opportunity to kill Basta and he nearly takes it as he runs the knife over Basta’s flesh. Elinor punches Cockerell and bloodies his nose. Mortimer a.k.a. Silvertongue hides in a shallow grave with skeletal remains.
Sexuality: Capricorn refers to Meggie as a “pretty little thing” that will come in handy when she is a bit older. Capricorn has women read out of books by Darius to take care of his needs. Basta likes to use snakes to scare women who reject his advances.
Adult Themes: Capricorn was subjected to abuse as a child. “His father, a blacksmith, made him play with hot coals, and sometimes beat him as hard as he beat the iron he forged. There were more blows if he said ‘I can’t’ or ‘I’ll never do it’.” Arson. A trusted authority figure, a policemen, brings escaped prisoners seeking help, back to their captor, Capricorn. Inkheart is rife with betrayal.
Synopsis
The book’s title is Inkheart “because it’s about a man (Capricorn) whose wicked heart is as black as ink, filled with darkness and evil.”
Meggie is twelve years old. She and her father, Mortimer, have been constantly on the move since she was three years old. Mortimer is a book binder. They are both avid book lovers and voracious readers. Curiously, Mortimer has never read to Meggie aloud. One night, an old acquaintance, Dustfinger loiters under the street light in front of their home. He is invited inside and therein begins the adventure for Meggie. The trio of Dustfinger, Mortimer and Meggie travel to great-aunt Elinor’s to hide. Mortimer is found and taken captive by the villains. Meggie, Elinor and Dustfinger then travel to Capricorn’s hide-out to convince him to free Mortimer. Meggie’s eyes are opened to her father’s mysterious talent. When Mortimer reads aloud, the story escapes from the pages of the book, and is transplanted into their world. Meggie soon discovers that she also possesses the gift. Meggie discovers how to use her imagination to save her family.
“Inkheart” the movie will be released Friday, January 23rd, 2009. The movie will no doubt pale in comparison to the book. They always do. However, if the movie is 2/3 what the book is, it will be a fantastic movie! The bags under my eyes are ENORMOUS today, after reading this book into the wee hours of the morning. The adventure was captivating! I was disappointed by the survival of two of the villians, Basta and Mortola. However, their existence is a perfect segway into a sequel.
FYI: Inkheart was first written in German and then translated into English. The writing style is superb. As a lover of the printed word, I found the inclusion of book binding history to be fascinating.
1/27/09 We saw the movie last night and the plot drastically departs from the plot in the book. My husband, children and I all enjoyed the movie, but it is very loosely based upon the book’s premise. My children were surprised when I outlined the differences and now they would like the book read aloud to them.
Title: The Misadventures of Benjamin Bartholomew Piff: You Wish
Author: Jason Lethcoe
Ratings Explanation
Language: Only one reference to “Profanity Production” in the Curseworks Factory. “In spite of the heavy walls, Ben blushes when he hears the foul curses that were emanating from the room.”
Violence: Ms. Pinch raises her hand to Ben as if to strike him and stops at the last minute. In one of the footnotes a factory worker flies a chair after too much drinking at the pub. He ascends three thousand feet and his body is never recovered. Simon Spinchley is turned into a spider. There is a scaly, dragonlike monster the Curseworks Factory has built. During the battle sequence, hideous creatures screech curses, which emit a horrible green acid that burns. The fanged jaws of a creature crack the windshield. Many of the flying chairs crash during battle, and death is imminent. The Jinns swing giant scimitars like sickles through the Spider Monkeys. Ben is shot by a magical curse-covered arrow. He is immediately in agonizing pain as the liquid fire courses through his veins.
Adult Themes: Ben’s parents die in a plane crash. He recalls how great his life had been before he became an orphan. He recalls being told about their deaths. Ben misses his parents terribly. He finds himself in an orphanage under the watch and care of cruel adults. Later in the story, Mr. Thornblood, the President of the Curseworks Factory, who has a history of being very manipulative, slyly tries to persuade Ben to give his wish to him.
Synopsis
Benjamin Bartholomew Piff is an orphan. Ben he has been living for the past year at “Pinch’s Home for Wayward Boys”, a dilapidated orphanage managed by the cruel spinster, Ms. Eliza Pinch and “The Disciplinarian”, and cook, Mr. Roach. Ben plots his escape and is foiled. Ben then receives a cake from his kind case worker, to celebrate his 11th birthday. Ms. Pinch snatches the cake from Ben and Mr. Roach locks the cake in the refrigerator. Later that night, after Ben has spent hours scrubbing pots with a toothbrush, he unlocks the cake from the refrigerator, lights the candles and makes a birthday wish….and follows the rules for Birthday Wishing:
1. The wish must be made with the eyes closed.
2. Every candle on the birthday cake must be blown out in one breath.
3. The wish must never, ever be spoken aloud.
Ben wishes for the most dangerous wish of all…unlimited wishes. He is thrilled with his clever wish, until he learns he has completely disrupted the fragile balance in the magical realm of wishes and curses. Ben is then recruited by the Wishworks Factory President, Candlewick, to be trained for battle against the Curseworks Factory and their evil army of henchmen. The battle ensues as Wishworks fights to regain power.
The old adage, “Be careful what you wish for…. ” is brought to life in “The Misadventures of Benjamin Bartholomew Piff You Wish”. This story will interest 4th – 6th grade readers as they read on their own. Please don’t forget to read the hilarious footnotes! The book’s gem, “Forgiveness is the sweetest revenge”.
Violence: Miri’s mother is hurt in the quarry while she is pregnant with Miri. Miri is born early and her mother dies a week later. Marda’s leg is broken as a cart in the quarry rolls back down the mountain and crushes her leg. The teenage girls in the village are forcibly taken to the Princess Academy. The tutor, Olana is an extremely strict teacher. She punishes them with palm lashings and deprives them of meals. Olana also locks them in a cold, dark closet inhabited by a rat. The rat tries to nest in Miri’s hair, as she lies on the cold stone floor for hours. Miri tries to run away as the bandits take the academy hostage. She is tackled by a bandit. Knut, the school caretaker has his arm broken by the bandits. A bandit catches Olana by the throat and shoves her against the wall. Dan, a bandit, lifts Esa from the ground by her neck and threatens to make sure she never speaks again. Dan tells Onor, both bandits there will be “plenty of time for killing later”. A bandit stuffs his cap in one of a girl’s mouth. Dan gags Miri and pulls her by the hair. He then threatens to slit her throat. As the girls try to escape, Dan grabs Miri and tells her, “I’ll see you broken and dead.” Dan and Miri fall off a cliff onto a ledge together. Dan clenches Miri’s leg until Miri’s father strikes him on the forehead with a mallet. He then falls to his death.
Sexuality: Miri and Peder dance, hold hands and kiss. Miri has butterflies when she thinks of Peder and envisions marrying Prince Steffan, who looks just like Peder.
Synopsis
Miri is named after a flower that grows on Mount Eskel. Miri is a fourteen year old girl, that lives in a village near the top of Mount Eskel. The village quarries linder, a unique, highly-prized, pale stone used to build palaces. At age eight, the children in the village begin to work in the quarry. Miri’s father, a widower, has forbidden her to work in the quarry. However, Marda, her older sister gets to work in the quarry. Miri longs to be a part of the unifying song and speech of the quarry workers. Instead, Miri spends her days tending to the goats and caring for their home.
A delegate of the King of Danlander arrives in the village and declares the priests have read the omens and divined the home of the prince’s future bride as Mount Eskel. All teenage girls younger than the prince are required to attend a makeshift Princess Academy for one year to prepare for royal life. The young women begin their education and their perspective is forever changed. The girls become fierce competitors for ”Academy Princess”, the valedictorian of the class. The entire academy is then held hostage by violent bandits, hoping to ransom the future princess. Miri finds a way to outwit the bandits, using a unique gift. A new princess is chosen and Miri learns that real love is based on friendship. Miri is a strong and determined young woman. Miri realizes that the application of her education, will ultimately increase the quality of life for her village.
This book is not the predictable fairy-tale you envision from the title, “Princess Academy”. This book is a multi-layered story about a young girl’s education, relationships and the meaning of family. Her perspective of the world completely changes through the course of the story. I found myself cheering Miri on in her quest for knowledge. “Princess Academy” is a breath of fresh air and an inspiring book for young females to read.
Violence: King Oscaro is accidentally hit in the head by a large metal ring while attending a sporting event. The impact causes him to slip in and out of consciousness for weeks. Uju hurls a dagger into an ogre’s throat. Aza is given a poisonous apple, which nearly causes her death. Aza fights the evil villain, Skulni in the mirror.
Sexual Content: The newlywed, Queen Ivi flirtatiously touches Prince Ijori’s cheek. While traveling back to the castle, Prince Ijori and Aza spend the night together clasping hands. They also share a kiss. Aza bathes with gnome ladies in the lake. The gnome ladies skin is wrinkled and leathery, so they do not seem naked to Aza.
Adult Themes: Queen Ivi is intensely jealous of anyone she sees as a potential threat. Queen Ivi is also very concerned about Prince Ijori’s attentions being directed towards Aza.
Synopsis
Aza has the most amazing voice in the Kingdom of Ayortha. Aza can “illuse”, which is throw her voice while singing. Singing is one of the two prized qualities in Ayortha, a kingdom that communicates through song. However, Aza does not possess the other prized quality, which is beauty. In fact, she is deemed ugly. Aza is hidden in the shadows at the Featherbed, an inn her family runs. Through fortuitous circumstances, she becomes the lady-in-waiting to the new queen. Aza has to step into the limelight as her new role requires. The new, jealous Queen Ivi threatens Aza and she performs a dangerous task for the queen. Aza learns where her real value lies as she begins the journey to save herself, the queen and the Kingdom of Ayortha, as the pursuit for beauty results in disaster.
This book is a great way to introduce youth to the consequences of basing their self-worth on their appearance. The consequences are amplified and therefore appear ridiculous. This book would be a great way to open up a discussion which would help your child to decide what they will value? (Be prepared to break into song.)
Violence: The story of Harry’s parents death is recounted. Cousin Dudley is cursed with a pig’s tail. A troll sneaks into Hogwarts and creates havoc. Harry and Ron attempt to rescue Hermione and take on the troll. Ron puts a spell on the troll’s club and it hits the troll on the head which knocks him out. A baby dragon nips and bites fingers. A three-headed monstrous dog scares Harry, Hermione and Ron and almost bites off Professor Snape’s leg. Harry is nearly killed playing Quidditch, as he falls from the sky. Hermione puts a “full body bind” spell on Neville and he falls to the floor. A large plant, “Devil’s Snare” nearly suffocates Harry and Ron to death. The Chess Queen knocks Ron unconscious with her stone arm. The most chilling and violent scene is when Harry comes upon Voldemort, a “slithering shadow” as he has just killed the innocent, a unicorn. Harry sees Voldemort lower his head over the wound in the animal’s side and drink its blood. Harry encounters Voldemort again, who has taken over Quirrell’s body as they wrestle for the Sorcerer’s Stone.
Adult Themes: Harry is grossly neglected by the Dursley’s. Age old battle of good vs. evil. The evil states there is no good vs. evil, only power and those too weak to see it.
Synopsis
Harry Potter is an orphan. His parents were killed by the evil villian, Voldemort, while he was still a baby. Harry is unaware of who he really is. Professor Dumbledore leaves Harry, as a baby, on his relative’s doorstep, where he spends the first eleven years of his life living with his aunt, uncle and cousin. The Dursley’s treat Harry horribly. He is neglected. He sleeps in a tiny closet at the bottom of the stairs. On Harry’s eleventh birthday, he is hit with a barrage of letters informing him of his acceptance at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His life changes as he attends Hogwarts and discovers who he really is – a famous child whom Voldemort could not kill. Harry makes friends and enemies as he learns about the world of wizardry. Harry has a chilling encounter with Voldemort as they vie for the Sorcerer’s Stone.
Each year, an entirely new group of children are introduced to reading the Harry Potter Series. Ansel, my fourth grader, and I read this together aloud in a week’s time, by alternating paragraphs. (Grab that glass of water.) I found myself tempted to open the book while he was still at school. This first book whet the appetite of both my young readers. Unbeknownst to me, my first grader, Helena was often listening while playing in the same room. We are currently reading book two aloud and Helena persistently asks when we can read the next chapter. I believe I am now locked into reading the entire series aloud. This first book was action packed and I thoroughly enjoyed Rowling’s sense of humor.
{FYI: I have an unofficial tally of “orphan” hero’s and heroine’s in literature…..add this book to your own personal list.}
Language: Gilly’s speech is laden with hell and damn for shock value, as she tries to ruffle her religious foster mother. She also liberally uses derogatory terms regarding race - ”colored” and learning disabilities – “retarded”.
Violence: Gilly fights a group of boys on the playground and is sent to the principal’s office.
Adult Themes: Gilly is a child who is neglected by her real mother. She is very lonely and desires to be wanted and loved. She recounts her sad history of foster families.
Synopsis
Galadriel Hopkins “Gilly” is an eleven year old foster child, who has been bouncing through foster families her entire life. Gilly wants a home of her own. She wants her mother, Courtney Rutherford Hopkins to come get her. Gilly finds herself assigned to yet another foster family. Maime Trotter already cares for a foster child, W.E. (William Ernest), a young boy with a learning disability. Gilly is disgusted by the new situation. She claims Maime Trotter is illiterate, W.E. is retarded, and is stunned to learn she will be sharing dinner each night with Mr. Randolph, an older, blind, black gentleman. Gilly then steals cash from Mr. Randolph and Maime Trotter, packs her bags and heads for the bus station. She tries to purchase a one way ticket to California to be with her mother. Gilly is caught at the bus station and Maime Trotter does not press charges. Gilly then writes a letter to her mother negatively describing her foster situation. In the meantime, Mr. Randolph, W.E. and Maime Trotter become endeared to Gilly. Gilly’s desires to be wanted and loved are being met with Maime Trotter, W.E. and Mr. Randolph.
Her grandmother who was not aware of Gilly’s existence, receives a letter from Courtney requesting that she raise Gilly. The grandmother collects Gilly. Gilly is laden with remorse for having written the letter, she does not want to leave. Gilly moves in with her grandmother, and sorely misses Maime Trotter, Mr. Randolph and W.E. She then meets her mother, a flower child, for the first time. Gilly is devastated to learn that her mother has absolutely no interest in raising Gilly.
I did enjoy reading Gilly’s story. However, this book is laden with many difficult issues such as foster children, racial prejudice, and disabilities. I plan on reading this book aloud with my children, to ensure that these issues are addressed throughout the course of the book.
Title: Heroes Don’t Run: A Novel of the Pacific War
Author: Harry Mazer
Rating Explanation
Language: Several swear words and profanities. Name calling and derogatory speech in boot camp.
Violence: Drill Instructor yells at recruits and punches one in the stomach. Marine recruits are trained to kill. The main character goes to Okinawa to fight where there is shooting, exploding shells and grenades. Descriptions of war. Two characters are killed in the fighting.
Sexual Content: No “dirty pictures” or “pinups” allowed at boot camp.
Adult Themes: When Adam returns home after being wounded in the war, he is different. He is anxious and nervous around people and noises. Adam’s father was killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Synopsis
Heroes Don’t Run is the third installment of the trilogy about Adam Pelko. The first two novels, A Boy at War and A Boy No More follow Adam from right before the attack on Pearl Harbor until he is ready to enlist. In Heroes Don’t Run, Adam joins the Marines at age 17, lives through boot camp and is sent to the Pacific for battle. Adam experiences the horrors of war in Okinawa and sees friends die for their country. Wounded in battle, Adam returns home a hero.
This book stands alone and can be enjoyed with or without having read the first two books in the trilogy.
My husband is a World War II buff and we all enjoyed reading this book aloud as a family. I was relieved that the descriptions of war were not too graphic, but be aware, it is about war and there are deaths and killing. Our kids didn’t seem bothered by the violence, but that could have been because we read it aloud together. Things always seem scarier when you are reading alone.
This would be a good choice for kids who are interested in WWII because it isn’t too intense but still gives them an honest and realistic description of the war in the Pacific.
Violence: The main characters are caught in a fire started by an arsonist. Three people are assumed dead after an explosion, characters are in peril, there is some fighting.
Adult Themes: The main characters are orphans and then their grandmother dies. They feel abandoned and alone.
Synopsis
Amy and Dan Cahill are members of an extremely large and powerful family. At their grandmother’s funeral they and their cousins are presented with a choice to either take one million dollars right now and walk away, or begin a treasure hunt for 39 clues around the world that could lead to the world’s greatest treasure of wealth and power.
The Maze of Bones is the first in a ten book series that will follow Amy and Dan and their greedy cousins around the world searching for the clues to the treasure. Readers can also collect game cards and participate in the treasure hunt online at www.the39clues.com. Book number 2, One False Note, will be available December 2, 2008.
The Maze of Bones is a fun, clean adventure for kids. The violence is minimal and non-graphic and the story clips along. For any kids who have been to Paris, it will be fun to read about familiar landmarks there. Ben Franklin enthusiasts will also enjoy learning some lesser known facts about him.
Title: A Time for Courage – The Suffragette Diary of Kathleen Bowen - Washington D.C. 1917
Author: Kathryn Lasky
Ratings Explanation
Violence: As the women are peacefully picketing in front of the White House, a riot ensues and the suffragettes are attacked by young Army and Navy men. (The suffragettes are viewed as unpatriotic.) The soldiers punched and dragged the women. More than 200 women are arrested on false charges of “obstructing traffic”. The soldiers nearly pulled Lucy Burns, a suffragette leader off the balcony at The National Women’s Party Headquarters. A shot was fired at that time into the headquarters, narrowly missing Ella Dean. The more than 200 women who were arrested were sent to Occcoquan Workhouse in Virginia where they were treated brutally. The women were beaten and fed food filled with worms. The suffragettes then began a hunger strike and were force-fed with a tube. The force-feeding is described in vivid detail. Alma, Kat’s cousin ran away from home and joined the Red Cross and the Voluntary Aid Detachment in England. She vividly describes the wounds of the soldiers she attends to as they are brought back from the front for aid.
Adult Themes: The fight for a woman’s right to vote began when the suffragettes demanded equality under the constitution, instead of the chivalry they had already been granted. Sojourner Truth’s life as a slave is recounted as well as her speech, “Ain’t I a Woman”. World War I is the historical backdrop.
Synopsis
Kathleen Bowen, a fictional character, is a 13 year old girl who lives in Washington D.C. in 1917. She attends Miss Pruitt’s Academy for Young Ladies. Her father is a renowned doctor and her mother is a society lady and a suffragette. Kat has two older sisters. The oldest attends the university and the sister just older than Kat runs away from home to drive an ambulance in France during World War I. Kat spends a lot of time with her cousin, Alma. Kat’s mother is heavily involved fighting the cause of women’s rights. Kat’s mother is incarcerated in the Occoquan Workhouse for several months. Kat’s father spends a lot of time training people to become medical personnel for the war effort. Kat leads a lonely existence as her parents are gone tending to their causes. She says, “It’s not easy being the child of a parent or parents with noble causes. You want to believe in what your parents believe. On the other hand you’re still a kid. You want your mom there for you.”
I enjoyed reading about the Suffragette Movement from the perspective of the daughter of a suffragette. This book provides a glimpse of the sacrifices the families of the sufragettes had to make so their mothers and wives could stand in a picket line for months. Included is a timeline of women in U.S. Politics. I think most young readers would find it shocking that women in the U.S. have had the right to vote for less than a 100 years.
Violence: Dracula and other vampires attack people to drink their blood. The following history is reported in a matter-of-fact manner. The Real Dracula, known by historians as ”Vlad the Impaler” was a cruel leader who impaled his victims on a long, sharp pole. He also burned people alive, pounded nails through their heads and chopped them to pieces. Countess Bathory’s gruesome history is also recounted. She lured young girls to her castle. She then sliced them open and bathed and drank their blood in her perverse obsession to achieve youth and beauty.
Adult Themes: Vampires attack and kill humans and various gruesome ways to die are recounted.
Synopsis
This book has a synopsis of Bram Stoker’s tale, “Dracula”. A biography of the author, Bram Stoker, is included, as well as a chapter about the supersitions of vampires and the undead. There is also an informative chapter on vampires in film and the final chapter is a history of bats, “vampire bats“.
The historical approach to Dracula and the history and superstitions that surround him provide an interesting read and would be great to use as a reference for a research paper on Vlad the Impaler.
Violence: Johnathan is held hostage at Castle Dracula in Transylvania. Three female vampires attempt to attack Johnathan. Johnathan escapes by climbing down from the tallest tower at Castle Dracula and is injured. Dracula bites Lucy three times and turns her into a vampire. Dracula, in the form of a wolf scares Lucy’s mother, Mrs. Westenra, literally to death. Lucy bites a little boy’s neck. Silver stakes are then used to stab Lucy, the three female vampires and Dracula to death.
Adult Themes: There are a few vampire attacks, people turn into vampires after three attacks and a mother dies of fright.
Synopsis
Johnathan, a young lawyer from London is sent by his employer to Transylvania to deliver ownership papers to Dracula for a property purchased by Dracula in London. Johnathan is then held hostage by Dracula at the castle. Johnathan faces three female vampires who come to harm him. He is rescued by Dracula. Dracula is saving Johnathan for himself. Miraculously, Johnathan escapes and returns to London to find that Dracula and the other vampires have taken a ship to England. The vampires begin to attack the locals. Dracula turns into a wolf and scares Lucy’s mother, Mrs. Westenra and she dies of fright. He then turns Lucy into a vampire and attempts to turn Mina into a vampire as well. Lucy attacks a little boy. She drinks his blood. Van Helsing, Johnathan and Dr. Seward try to save Mina, who has been attacked by Dracula. They save her and plunge a silver stake through the hearts of all the vampires while they are sleeping in their coffins.
This book is rather detailed in vampire attacks and chilling for a fourth grade reader. After reading this book aloud with my ordinarily brave fourth grader; he has been sleeping on the floor in my room for the past three nights. This is a scary story, not appropriate for every fourth and fifth grader.
When a famous Vermeer painting is stolen, two precocious sixth graders are on the thief’s trail. Petra and Calder are new at being friends but soon discover all the things they have in common. They both love art, adore their 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Hussey, and favor blue M&Ms. Following clues and identifying uncanny coincidences brings them closer and closer to solving the crime and solidifies their friendship.
What a fun mystery!I was drawn into the story immediately. This is a great read for kids who like a good mystery with basically no objectionable material.
Title: Evangeline Mudd and the Golden-Haired Apes of the Ikkinasti Jungle
Author: David Elliott
Illustrator: Andrea Wesson
Ratings Explanation
Violence: Dadoo, a reformed headhunter, in the Ikkinasti Jungle shoots a poisonous dart at Rexi, the villainous developer, which causes him to behave in a strange manner. The Golden-Haired Apes imprison Evangeline’s parents for months. Her parents are brachiated through the jungle by the Golden-Haired Apes. There is a description of the Ikkinasti Spitting Spider, who blinds and then eats its prey.
Adult Themes: Dadoo is a reformed headhunter, who displays his trophy heads by hanging them from the ceiling in his jungle hut. Evangeline is left for months at an extended relative’s home. She is neglected and depressed with her situation.
Synopsis
Evangeline Mudd is the daughter of Merriweather and Magdalena Mudd, primatologists whose expertise is the Golden-Haired Apes of the Ikkinasti Jungle. Evangeline has had an unusual upbringing. She learned to brachiate while still a young child, that is to fly through the trees like a primate. She is also an extremely gifted piano player and composer.
Merriweather and Magdalena are asked to come to the Ikkinasti Jungle for a special research project. Unfortunately, there are only two travel visas. Evangeline is left behind with a distant relative of Mr. Mudd. Cousin Melvin Mudd owns a mink farm/fur coat company. His wife is the famous former ballerina, India Terpsichore, who is apparently consumed with “not letting herself go….”. The combination of this self-consumed couple leads to homesickness and loneliness for Evangeline as a two week stay stretches in a multi-month stay. Evangeline is rescued from the selfish duo by another famous primatologists, Dr. Aphrodite Pikkaflee. Dr. Pikkaflee and Evangeline head to the Ikkinasti Jungle to rescue Merriweather and Magdalena Mudd with the help of Dadoo, a reformed headhunter. They encounter Golden-Haired Apes, Ikkinasti Spitting Spiders and Rexi Pikkaflee, the villainous developer.
A fun read. A delightful and engaging tale for a young chapter book reader. There are great illustrations to help keep your reader focused. I anxiously await a sequel.
Violence: Jen, Luke’s new friend, is a key leader in an underground movement to make shadow children, third children legal. Jen and her fellow shadow children demonstrators are gunned down in a political rally as they peacefully demonstrate for their legality. The violent incident was not witnessed by the main characters, but retold by Jen’s father to Luke. The Population Police search for illegal third children in Jen’s home and Luke desperately hides to avoid execution.
Adult Themes: The society in which the Shadow Children live is governed by a militaristic government. Third children are illegal and are executed for their existence. The country has faced famines in recent history. In order to control the toll starvation has had on the population, they have outlawed third children. There are always food shortages and people live in fear that yet another right will be taken away. Luke’s parents have their farmland taken away. The government clears the land to build mansions for the Baron’s, the wealthy class in society. Luke’s mother takes a job in a chicken factory to make money to buy food, since they will no longer be allowed to raise swine due to the smell’s proximity to the Baron’s homes.
Synopsis
Luke is an illegal third child. He has never been to school, never been in a car, had a birthday party, never seen by his grandparents. Luke is one of the Shadow Children. He has lived his first twelve years in hiding. A new housing development is built on his family’s former farmland. He sees a girl’s face in the window in the middle of the day and is convinced that she too is a third child. He courageously sneaks out to meet her. Jen is willing to risk it all, her very life to come out of the shadows and live. Luke learns about other third children and a plan is conceived to expand rights to the shadow dhildren.
I really enjoyed the premise – a society where rights and privileges that we take for granted do not exist for the characters in the book. I could not wait to see where the story would lead me through the series.
Violence: Like in the Lightning Thief, the characters fight and kill many mythical monsters. The characters are almost always in peril, but they always escape. There are battle scenes and sword fights.
Adult Themes: Characters are children of Greek god and human unions, but in this book these relationships are talked about much less.
Synopsis
Percy Jackson is off on another quest with his friends in the second book of the series. Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson, Percy’s newfound cyclopes half-brother, go to the Sea of Monsters to save Grover from Polyphemus and steal the Golden Fleece. The quest for the fleece is actually given to Clarisse, but she needs their help to defeat the Cyclopes and return to save Camp Half-Blood.
I actually enjoyed this book better than The Lightning Thief. Gratefully, it seemed much less like a Harry Potter knock-off than the first book.
In reading both books I realize how much Greek Mythology I have forgotten. They have been a fun refresher course in who’s who in Olympus. The story moves along quickly, always with a new foe on the horizon. I like the surprise ending in this book and will be glad to read #3, The Titan’s Curse. I am going to recommend these books to my 9 year-old son.
Violence: Main character is kidnapped during a robbery and held hostage. Captors discuss killing her. She is hit on the head, her hands are tied, she is blindfolded and the captors threaten her with a knife.
Synopsis
Kaci’s family has just moved into a new neighborhood when she comes home early from school one day to discover intruders in her home. The robbers kidnap her and her nosy, retired neighbor. With quick and clever thinking and faith in a higher power, the two of them cooperate to escape their captors.
This is an exciting story full of resourcefulness. I enjoyed how the author included faith in the story. Kaci believes that God will help her get out of this very scary situation, and He does. Younger or sensitive readers may be frightened because the situation could easily happen in real life. But for those readers who love a suspenseful, dangerous story, this is a good one.
Violence: Luke is ordered by the Population Police to shoot and kill an elderly woman. He declines. A Population Police Officer is beaten and killed by rebels. Luke is chased by Population Police and his life is threatened, he escapes. A baby is born dead due to malnourishment. The father who complains about the lack of food for his pregnant wife is beaten and his facial bones are destroyed. A large group of Population Police pull their guns out to shoot Luke on national tv for being a third-born child.
Adult Themes: Lack of food for the population of the country is an underlying theme throughout this series. Posters depicting third-born children as the evil that has caused the famines persist throughout the public’s conciousness. The Population Police have forced propoganda on the people. The existence of third-born children have been blamed for the people’s hunger. Luke is a catalyst for change. Others see Luke’s defiance of the Population Police and they too take a stand against evil, which enables them to achieve freedom. What is freedom? This theme is explored when the government falls.
Synopsis
Luke Garner is a third child, a hidden child, not allowed to exist in a restrictive society where two children are the maximum number of children allowed by the government. Luke risks his life to fight for the rights of all third children. Unbeknownst to Luke, he is the catalyst that results in the Population Police and government being overthrown. As the government is abolished, the people explore and define their newly found freedom.
I thoroughly enjoyed the entire series! I love the dialog that may be opened as you discuss the issues of government, population control, food economics/famines and personal freedoms with your reader. I also enjoyed the adventure that each character experienced as they contributed to a movement of change within their society to legalize third children and change their government. This final book focuses on defining freedom.
Violence: Matthias uses a nail to puncture the tire of a moving truck. The tire blows out and causes the truck to crash. Many children sitting in the back of the truck are fatally injured. Alia is seriously injured. Gunfire between the rebels and the Population Police are exchanged. Percy is shot by the Population Police. Matthias comes across a pile of rebel corpses. Tiddy, a Population Police officer is poisoned and dies. An enormous warehouse with food storage is distributed and then blown up.
Adult Themes: Lack of food for the population of the country is an underlying theme throughout this series. The existence of third-born children have been blamed for the people’s hunger. As governing power changes hands casualties abound.
Synopsis
The threat against illegal third-born children has increased and the Population Police have become more powerful. Matthias finds himself making life and death decisions as he is caught between rebels and the Population Police. He ultimately chooses to save lives and unknowingly saves the life of a population police officer, a favorite of the general. As a reward, Matthias is given the luxury of training to become a population police officer, among his enemies. While mourning the loss of his two friends, Alia and Percy, who were caught in the cross-fire, he is enlisted by a rebel, Nina to join in a plot to overthrow the goverment. Matthias does not know who he should trust.
Among the Enemy is very suspenseful, I could not put the book down. The author’s descriptions are so vivid that your heart rate will increase as you walk with Matthias, a third child, through Population Police Headquarters.
Violence: Mark, Luke’s brother is electrocuted by a live wire fence while trying to sneak into Population Police Headquarters. He is knocked unconscious and taken prisoner and then locked in a cage in the basement. A mob of starving people push a truck over in an attempt to locate food. Mark, a passenger, sustains a severely broken leg. A drive by shooting by food smugglers results in the smuggler’s corpses shown on tv, as a warning to other would be smugglers. A badly beaten prisoner is loaded into the back of a truck, the driver, Trey, is not sure if it is a corpse or a living human.
Adult Themes: Lack of food for the population of the country is an underlying theme throughout this series. The existence of third-born children have been blamed for the people’s hunger. As governing power changes hands casualties abound. An attempted coup by the shadow children against the ruling Population Police is a violent and courageous undertaking.
Synopsis
A crisis hits and the safety of all third-born children has been severely threatened. Trey, who is a brilliant intellectual, with very little real world experience has been thrust into a role as a pivotal decision maker, a role he is wary to play. Trey’s new role leads him to experience the danger of traveling to the Population Police Headquarters with Luke’s brother, Mark as they attempt to rescue Luke who is a prisoner of the Population Police. This nonstop adventure puts all three boys in danger and risks exposing the underground movement to help all shadow children.
The tempo of the series really picks up with “Among the Brave”, a suspenseful and gripping read.
Violence: Luke Garner assumes Lee Grant’s identity. Lee Grant’s younger brother, Smits starts a fire in his dorm room and blames his bodyguard, Oscar for attempting to kill him. A sledgehammer weapon is found in the door room as evidence. Lee Grant’s parents plan to stage Luke’s death. Smits and Luke then witness Mr. and Mrs. Grant and the president’s gruesome deaths.
Adult Themes: Lack of food for the population of the country is an underlying theme throughout this series. The existence of third-born children have been blamed for the people’s hunger. Mr. and Mrs. Grant and the bodyguard, Oscar sacrifice their moral and ethical responsibilities in favor of their personal and political agendas.
Synopsis
Luke Garner has lived among the barons for the last four months under the assumed name of Lee Grant. Luke, and illegal third child has spent the last twelve years in hiding. While attending Hendricks School for Boys, his
Luke Garner, an illegal third child, spent his first twelve years in hiding. For the past four months Luke has lived among others, using the identity of Lee Grant, at the Hendricks School for Boys. But just as things are finally starting to go right, Lee’s little brother, Smits, arrives at the school and Luke finds himself caught in a tangle of lies that gets more complex with every passing day.
Can Luke trust Smits to keep his secret? And can he trust Smits’s menacing bodyguard, Oscar?
Book four builds momentum in the Shadow Children Series.
Violence: Many mythical monster attacks in which all monsters are killed. Some of the monsters look like monsters and some of them are disguised to look like humans. Sword fighting and a vicious game of steal the flag.
Adult Themes: The main character’s father is an Olympian god, obviously not married to his mortal mother. Talk of adulterous relationships between Olympians and mortals. All of the main characters in the book are children from these god and mortal unions.
Synopsis
Percy Jackson, a 12-year old who is always getting into trouble at school, discovers he is the son of Poseidon, god of the sea. He also finds out that his best friend, Grover, is a satyr. Grover takes Percy to Camp Half-Blood, a camp for the children of Olympian gods where they learn to fight the monsters that are trying to destroy them. Percy, Grover and Annabeth, daughter of Athena, go on a quest to retrieve Zeus’s stolen thunderbolt. In the process they discover a plot to destroy Western civilization and the Olympians. Their adventure takes them from Hades to Mount Olympus encountering many mythical gods and monsters along the way.
I enjoyed the story but it was impossible to overlook the many similarities to Harry Potter. For example, a young hero who doesn’t know his true identity, a special school for others of his kind, a purely evil power which has been destroyed but is once again gathering strength to regain power, certain names which it is unwise to say aloud, an important prophecy, a wise teacher and mentor, the list goes on and on.
I was really annoyed for the first part of the book, but I got over it and enjoyed the story for what it is. I find The Lightning Thief inferior to Harry Potter, but in all honesty my kids would probably love this book.
Sexual Content: Nina and Jason share a kiss. Nina believes their relationship is based on love.
Adult Content: Lack of food for the population of the country is an underlying theme throughout this series. The existence of third-born children have been blamed for the people’s hunger. Nina, an illegal third child, is turned in to the Population Police by Jason, her boyfriend, and undercover Population Police Informer. Nina grapples with Jason’s betrayal. While in prison, she is given the choice to either save herself by betraying her cellmates or face death. She ultimately trusts her cellmates and they escape prison together. However, while in prison, the children face starvation, includes a detailed description of hunger and filthy prison cell.
Synopsis
Nina Idi is a shadow child, the illegal third born in her family. She lives in a society where families are only allowed two children. Nina has been betrayed by the boy she loved. She is falsely accused, arrested and thrown into prison by the Population Police. Nina knows she is innocent of the charges. She is enraged and confused.
Nina is now faced with a most difficult decision. She will have to coerce three of her fellow prisoners into admitting they are third children, and she will save herself; or be killed. Ultimately, what choice will Nina make? Who should Nina friendship, trust and love?
Nina has been betrayed and is trying to heal her wounds. Nina has to learn to trust herself before she can again trust another. A thoroughly enjoyable read as Haddix accurately describes the emotions of love and betrayal.
Violence: Luke Garner is bullied and subjected to emotional and physical hazing as the new student at a boarding school. Luke hits Jason, the bully, with a textbook. As a reult, Jason falls down the stairs and is injured.
Adult Content: Lack of food for the population of the country is an underlying theme throughout this series. The existence of third-born children have been blamed for the people’s hunger. Luke Garner has a very difficult time trying to “blend in” and make friends. He desperately wants a friend. Luke ultimately befriends an undercover Population Police Informant, Jason, who is looking to expose illegal third children. Luke confronts Jason and a fight ensues. Jason sustains a head injury. If Luke were discovered by the Population Police, he would be killed for being a third child.
Synopsis
Luke Garner is out of hiding for the first time in his life. He has spent the first twelve years of his life in hiding. Luke is an illegal third child in a society where two children per family are allowed. If his secret were to be revealed, he would instantly be killed. Through an underground movement, he has assumed the name of a recently deceased boy, Lee Grant. Luke is now attending Hendricks School for Boys. He is terrified that his secret will be discovered. He is subjected to his classmates brutal hazing. His instructors are oblivious.
Luke is desperate to blend in. He unknowingly comes across an unlocked door to the outside. Luke will have to find the courage to go outside and find out what really takes place at the Hendricks School.
Luke learns to function in society. He is tested socially and academically as he learns to blend in. He finds that he is a very courageous person. This is an enjoyable story of personal success as Luke learns to overcome the many challenges he faces daily. Ultimately, his character is a catalyst for change throughout society.
Adult Themes: The father of one of the main characters had an affair and her parents have separated. This is not a main theme of the book but it is mentioned a couple of times. You may need to explain what an affair is and why a mother and father would separate because of it.
Synopsis
After Rob’s mother dies, he and his father move to a new town to get a fresh start, he discovers a caged tiger in the woods. An emotionally rich story about a boy caught in the powerful grip of grief.
Violence: Soldiers shoot arrows at characters but they escape. There is talk about a hanging. A fight between an elf and soldiers ends with one soldier killed. Dragon is killed with arrows while protecting his friends.
Adult Themes: Dragon drinks beer, gets drunk and has a hangover
Synopsis
Yorsh is the last elf on earth and he must find the last dragon to fulfill an ancient prophecy. Helped by human friends, Yorsh finds the dragon and learns about sacrifice and friendship.
I thought the book was a little slow at first, but it picked up and I ended up enjoying it.
