The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkein

As I think everyone knows, The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkein continues where The Fellowship of the Ring left off. The Two Towers is split in two halves, with the first part focusing on the remaining members of the broken fellowship and the second half focusing on Frodo and Sam’s journey. While I had found some delightful things in Fellowship, this book was dark, and it just kept getting darker. I am delaying starting the final book of the trilogy. Continue reading »

1000 Books: Jez Alborough

In honor of Children’s Book Week, I thought I’d mention a favorite author my son and I have discovered through our project of reading 1000 picture books together: Jez Alborough. Alborough has fun, quality picture books. Some rhyme. Some have a precious little gorilla that reminds me of my own little monkey boy. Most are ridiculous and imaginative. Continue reading »

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

In The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, Thursday Next is an agent for SO-27, working in the Literatec division in alternative 1985. Her job is to stop literary thieves from taking original manuscripts. This is a very important job, for people in Thursday’s world are able step in and out of books: if one were to mess with the original manuscript, every copy of the book would be changed forever.

I loved the “Dragnet” tone of the narration, and the outrageous abilities of people in the book (such as going back and forth in time or accidentally falling in a hole in time) make the solving of a crime hilarious. The characters’ names alone are funny (from Jack Schitt, a bad guy, to Paige Turner and Thursday Next). Besides the humorous and fantastic elements, though, I loved the import of literature to the people in Thursday’s world. If only Shakespeare’s plays were the entertainment of choice in our world! Continue reading »

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie King

I was looking for a light-hearted mystery to fill the requirement for my library summer reading program, and The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie King certainly fit the bill. I’m glad I read it.

Mary Russell is an astute young woman residing in the World War I British countryside when she meets her neighbor, a retired middle-aged gentleman known to the world as Sherlock Holmes.

It quickly becomes clear to the reader that Mary Russell’s powers of observation help make her a competent match for the retired detective. From their first meeting, Holmes and Russell form a friendship. And when Russell becomes involved in some mysteries, Holmes takes her on as his unofficial apprentice.

I enjoyed reading this book. From the introduction, Laurie King made it appear that this was a true account and that she had simply came upon the memoir. I loved that little twist to make this feel realistic. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice was light-hearted, and it was fun to see a literary character in a new situation.

However, I felt I would have loved it more had I been originally familiar with Sherlock Holmes’ tales and maybe mysteries in general. I do admit that I’m curious to read Sherlock Holmes now.

Continue reading »

Poetry for Young People: William Shakespeare

Poetry for Young People: William Shakespeare (edited by David Scott Kastan and Marina Kastan and illustrated by Glenn Harrington) goes beyond Shakespeare’s sonnets. In just 50 pages, the editors have also included some of the key speeches from Shakespeare’s repertoire.

As with other volumes in the series, each page has a bit of explanation about the poem that follows. In this case, it also gives a background to particular play the poem is from and the reasons for each speech in the midst of it. It’s a great introduction to Shakespeare’s plays — including tragedies, comedies, and histories — and it’s a great reminder of the context of the classic lines and phrases we’ve heard so often, from “Double, double, toil and trouble” to “All the world’s a stage,/ and all the men and women merely players” and “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”

The paintings were prepared exclusively for this children’s book. Each illustration is mature and bright, and each is appropriate for the poem at hand. I think the illustrations are absolutely stunning.

This volume focusing on Shakespeare is the most mature of the three books I’ve reviewed from the Poetry for Young People series (I’ve also looked at Robert Louis Stevenson and Lewis Carroll). It is by far my favorite: it’s perfectly appropriate and interesting for adult and child alike.

Poetry for Young People: William Shakespeare counts for the BiblioShakespeare Challenge.

The Green Knowe Chronicles by L.M. Boston

Green Knowe is a medieval castle in the English countryside, and it is full of enchantment and ghosts. L.M. Boston’s chronicles about the manor house are full of child-like delight.

And yet, describing the series as a whole is challenging. They all, but one, involved magic of some kind. They all, but one, focus on a mid-twentieth century child or children having adventures. They all, but one, focus on Green Knowe itself as the center of action. Half of them focus on a mysterious connection with the past. All of them have some delightful characters, but one does have a disturbing, wicked character.

As a series, then, the novels do not always feel to be connected to one another. All the same, I enjoyed the visits to the mysterious manor house, and I knew that adventures of some kind were waiting. While I enjoyed some stories more than others (and one I would never recommend to a child), I think most children will enjoy the stories of a time when children could play freely by themselves, all summer long, in an old castle and the grounds surrounding it. Continue reading »

Abecedaria (aka Alphabet Books)

In medieval children’s primers, the alphabet was the main tool of learning and was often portrayed in a way that also taught religion (Seth Lerer, Children’s Literature, page 61). Poems and teachings would be in the order of the alphabet. This had biblical precedence, as the 22 stanzas of Psalm 118 “use the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet in order” (page 61). This group of books has the really cool name “abecedaria.” I love that word!

Our kids still use alphabet books to learn. I had a fun time reading children’s alphabet books to see how we learn the alphabet today. While all of these “teach” the alphabet, some encourage critical thinking, and some of them have specific purposes for further teaching. Continue reading »

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling (and BBAW giveaway)

In honor of Book Bloggers Appreciation Week, I’m giving away my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. For more BBAW giveaways, visit here and here. Continue reading »

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

I don’t usually reread children’s fantasy, but as I read one of Madeleine L’Engle’s memoirs, I decided to reread her most well-known novel, A Wrinkle in Time. Continue reading »

Alexander McCall-Smith

Favorite Authors
When I was a child, I would go to the library on my bike with a backpack full of already-consumed books, return them, and get another full backpack full of to-be-read books. Sometimes I’d go through a series, reading every single one as they were available at the library. Other times I went through “author phases.” Then I would check out every book by a particular author and read those.

For past two years or so, I’ve been on an author kick again: I was looking for quick, easy-to-read, “empty” fiction that was enjoyable. I realize this isn’t really a good thing. I should always use my precious reading time for books that actually add something to my life. But they do: they add sanity.

I enjoyed reading Alexander McCall-Smith’s The Number One Ladies’ Detective Agency a few years ago; it’s a good book club book and every book club I’ve been in has read it. It is about a “lady detective” in Botswana. How McCall-Smith, a man in a kilt, is able to capture this delightful woman and the intriguing country in this series is just amazing to me. (I know he wears kilts because I met him in Chicago a few years ago: he was wearing a kilt. That was before I knew most of his books take place in Scotland.) When I went to find the subsequent books in that series to read them (I think I’d only read through number five), I found that he had a number of other series. Continue reading »