I have been reading The House of Dies Drear to write questions for the Lenihan/MACS Battle of the Books. I can't WAIT to finish this book...I'm not a fan! It is a mystery that seems to be resolving like a Scooby-Doo episode but without the funny parts. Oh well...

If you met author Sarah Prineas this past fall when she visited Marshalltown, you might be excited to know that the third book in the Magic Thief trilogy is out. Here is an interesting piece of trivia from Prineas' website:
'
Here's a funny thing about the three Magic Thief books: their first lines.

The first line of The Magic Thief is:

A thief is a lot like a wizard.

The first line of The Magic Thief: Lost is:

A wizard is a lot like a pyrotechnist.

And the first line of The Magic Thief: Found is:

A wizard is a lot like a thief.

I just finished reading Do You Know the Monkey Man? by Dori Hillestad Butler. I wanted to read it after hearing from so many Battle of the Books readers that it was a favorite, plus the author lives in Coralville, Iowa.

It was an interesting story about a Sam, a girl who is determined to track down her father, who she hadn't seen or heard from since she was three years old. Her parents divorced shortly after her twin sister, Sarah, drowned in a boating accident. But evidence starts piling up suggesting that maybe her sister is still alive....and Sam wants to find out, no matter what. She especially wants to see her father before her mother and Bob, her fiancee get married.

This story is suspenseful, and you will get caught up in Sam's search.

 

I just read The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas, which is not only a 2009-2010 Battle of the Books (Lenihan) title, but is also by an author who lives in Iowa City.

This is a great fantasy chapter book about Conn, a thief and lock pick, who stumbles into a relationship with a powerful wizard (Nevery), then finds out he is a lot less ordinary than he once thought. If you liked Magyk by Angie Sage, I think you will like this book.

This book is a suspenseful read that will draw you in quickly, and make you very excited to read the sequel, The Magic Thief Lost. Another exciting thing is that we are working very hard with teachers to make a plan for Prineas (the author) to come to Marshalltown. Watch for more info!

Also, you should be able to pick up a Battle of the Books list soon and get a jump start on reading for the 2009-2010 school year.

I just finished reading Double Identity, one of the Battle of the Books titles. It was okay, although not nearly as good as Among the Hidden, the first book in the Shadow Children series by Hadddix. Both books are science fiction books that take current scientific ideas and explore possible future consequences. I have to say, though, that my all time favorite Haddix book is not sci fi at all, but a realistic "problem" novel called Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dumphrey, about a teenage girl who is dealing with some major family challenges (for awhile, she is the primary caregiver to her younger siblings...with both parents absent.) It is written in the format of a journal she keeps for her English teacher, Mrs. Dumphrey. It's a great book...much like another favorite of mine, A Door Near Here by Heather Quarles. Both of these novels can be found in the young adult section.

As I mentioned earlier, I am trying to read as many of the books on the Battle of the Books elementary list as possible. I just finished The Liberation of Gabriel King by K.L. Going (who also wrote the award-winning Young Adult novel, Fat Kids Rules the World). This book was especially interesting to me as it chronicles 1976 summer of friendship between Gabriel King and Frita Wilson...who are almost the same age I was in 1976, the year of the nation's Bicentennial.

Like Frita, my best friend in sixth grade was a boy...and just like in The Bridge to Terabithia, this novel shows that friendships--especially in childhood--are based on mutual respect, love, and interests...not necessarily along gender lines. I think that our society pushes kids to grow up so early, and often tries to define all cross-gender friendships as budding romances which is disservice to those kids and undervalues the incredible impact of friendship in our lives.

This novel tells about Frita's plan to "liberate" Gabe (who is a self described "chicken", "scaredy cat" whatever you want to call it) from his fears by having them both make a list of fears to face, and therefore (in theory) overcome. Gabe is particularly worried about dealing with the bullies that he will be around daily when they start 5th grade in the fall.

As the summer progresses, though, Gabe learns that there are some things that are really scary...when Frita (who is black) comes face to face with prejudice. Yet he also learns that it is love and friendship that motivates bravery...not in the absence of fear...rather in spite of it. As Gabe's Pop eloquently states in his own way: "Ain't nothing so scary when you've got people you love."

I'm getting excited that our Battle of the Books Bash, planned (with both Lehihan and MACs staff) for those students participating in the elementary Battle of the Books challenge, is coming up on Tuesday, February 27. I'm really trying to get a lot of the books read. I just finished The Missing Manatee, and before that So B. It (which was awesome!) Right now, I'm reading The Liberation of Gabriel King. I think it is going to be really cool to have so many people who have read a lot of the same books all in one place. Both the elementary and the middle school lists are, in my opinion, really good lists with a lot of variety, so they'd also be a good "recommended" list for anyone looking for some good books.