Kids' Book Reviews

   If you like puns and ancient Roman history, do I have some tales (tails) for you. British author Robin Price is having a field day with I am Spartapuss, Catligula, and Die Clawdius. The books are a silly romp through the courts and coliseums of an imaginary Feline Empire. Along the way though, pick up some interesting factoids about the spas, bath houses, and eating habits of regular Roman citizens. Steeped in satire and silliness one reviewer called these 'Brilliant fantasy. "Gladiator" with cattitude!'  - Andrew Penman, The Daily Mirror

   Fans of Elizabeth Winthrop's 2005 book Counting On Grace will recognize another strong female protagonist in McMullan's Addy O'Donnell. Twelve-year-old Addy is fostered out after her parents disappear. Her mother has gone off to Texas in search of true love and her father is simply gone. Placed with a loving family, Addy is overcoming her impoverished past when her father returns and takes her back to No-Bob. No-Bob is a collection of hovels in a forgotten part of Mississippi where the O'Donnell clan has long established themselves as "the meanest folks" around. Set in the rural South ten years after the Civil War, Addy's poor white relatives pit themselves against the newly-freed blacks. Addy's struggle to grow up straight and strong against such overwhelming poverty of spirit is richly imagined. This is not an easy book but McMullan captures the struggle to leave one life in search of another, better life and to reconcile our deepest and most complex feelings about family.

   For one week in October of 1962, the world held its collective breath while the United States and Russia faced off over the issue of missile installations in Cuba. The Cold War threatened to become "hot" in a dangerous way. People were frightened, thinking  the stand-off might end in nuclear war. Families stocked up  their private bomb shelters and towns ran air-raid drills for their school children. We ducked under our school desks, covering our heads and wondered where our parents would be when the bombs dropped. But up north in Canada, they take things more in stride and Rex Zero's parents reassure their children with humor and quiet forbearance --- "things," they say, "will work out."
   Tim Wynne Jones captures the daily rhythms of 11-year old Rex's life through that brief period of time. Using a subplot involving an escaped panther, a daring new girl who breaks into the boys' club, an aging WWI hero, and a smattering of French to challenge the reader, Jones explores the deeper issues of war and peace, bravery and bravado, foolishness and forgiveness. This book is not for every reader but for children who want to know more about surviving tough times with their humanity and sense of humor intact , it is a thought-provoking read.  Related titles might be Avi's Don't  You Know There's a War On?  and Meg Rosoff's young adult novel How I Live Now.

 You are young, freeborn, and black  --- living in a small village just north of Detroit, Michigan over the border in Canada just before the Civil War.  Your village is called Buxton Mission of Raleigh. Founded by a white minister, your town is a haven for slaves from the southern United States who make  their way along the Underground  Railroad. Scarred by years of slavery, your elders keep a close watch over you but revel in your natural born freedom. But beyond the safe confines of your village, the "paddy rollers" or slave hunters can still slip by the border and take you back into bondage. How much will you parents tell you about their early lives? When will you be grown-up enough to share their bitter history?  What does it mean to be free? What would you risk to help a neighbor?

Considered for the prestigous Newbery Award, Elijah of Buxton is a powerful piece of historic fiction. Carefully researched and beautifully written, it is a natural starting point for older children studying our nation's sad dependence on free black labor. In Elijah you will find a playful boy growing into a hero. Christopher Paul Curtis won the Newbery Award  for Bud, Not Buddy and honor recognition for his first novel The Watsons Go to Birmingham  --- 1963.

I finished reading the book Ella Enchanted and it was DEFINETLY one of my all time favorite books! I really recommend it. You can feel whats going on, and picture the characters like you right there. I traveled to the land of Frell, a funeral, and a evil stepmothers house all while sitting on the couch. Submitted by Munchy

    Firedrake the dragon was content to live in his valley home, until in was invaded by humans, who wanted to flood it! He and his brownie,(a furry, cat-like creature,) named Sorrel will try to find a magical place nobody thinks exists. On the way they meet a boy named Ben. What will happen? Will they ever find a safe place for all the dragons in time?    

Roy Erberhart is no stranger to new schools. He has had to move a lot because of his father's job. Roy also is not a stranger to bullies, which is good because his new school has a particularly bad one. Dana Matherson is big, mean, and loves to smoke. He torments Roy on the bus. Meanwhile, Mother Paula's All American Pancake House is moving into a site ... that has resident burrowing owls! The company intends to bulldoze right over their nests! Can Roy juggle the bully problems, helping a brother and sister who are intent on saving the owls, and a desire not to get into trouble?

In the second of Christopher Paolini's fantastic series, Eragon has to travel to the elves, in the heart of the great forest Du Weldenvarden, to complete his training as Shur'tugal (the elvish word for dragon rider). He travels with the elf Arya, Orik the dwarf, and, of course, his dragon Saphira. When he reaches the city of Ellesmera, the elves's capital, he and Saphira are put through extremely difficult training by Oromis and his dragon Glaeder. After a few months in Ellesmeara, the Varden report that Galbatorix's armies are gathering and Eragon is needed for the war. He must leave the elves to fight in battle. Will Eragon and the Varden defeat the Empire, or will Alagasia be forever ruled by a tyrant?

Do you enjoy adventure? A wild goose chase? Hilarious characters? Then this is the book for you! Taran, a boy growing up on a farm with no excitement or variety, yearns for adventure. At about the same time, the Horned King, battle master of the Lord of Death, Arawn, is gathering armies to attack the sons of Don, the defenders of the land of Prydain. Taran becomes entangled in the captivating plot when he meets Prince Gwydion in the forest and is forced to leave the farm where he grew up to meet companions, a bard who tends to bend the facts, a golden-haired princess who has quite a temper, and an outcast named Gurgi; who helps him save the land of Prydain.

This masterpiece of imagination and conflict is a must-read for any reader of any age. The focus is on Lyra Belaqua, daughter of Lord Asrail, the infamous Mrs. Coulter, and Lyra's daemon Pantelaimon. Lyra starts her life as a ragamuffin living in Oxford's Jordan College and is swept away in a thrilling plot consisting of a symbol reader, armored bears, and captivating characters. More than anything, Lyra wants to discover the world only visible through the aurora borealis; and for her and her father to go there together. However, her path will be full of danger and unexpected events; which she must overcome in order to reach her goal.

The classic Cinderella story comes to life in "Ella Enchanted" the tale of love and sadness of a 12-year-old girl living in the magical land of Frell. Ella is cursed with obedience, she must do whatever anyone tells her to do: wash dishes, or even cut off her own head! So when Ella falls in love with the prince, Char, she doesn't know whether to marry him or endanger him and all of Frell with her curse, or live her life as a scullery maid in her stepmother's house without him. This epic story is something to read over and over again. Newbery Award winner.

The beautifully crafted masterpiece of the world of middle earth is centered around the one ring, forged in Mount Doom by the Dark Lord Sauron. The ring and its master are determined to control middle earth. The elves, dwarves, and men live in constant fear of Lord Sauron's vast army. Meanwhile, on the other side of the desolate Misty Mountains, live the Hobbits or Halflings. The ring has come into the possession of an old hobbit named Bilbo Baggins. The Baggins family are very well respected until Bilbo's adopted son Frodo sets out to save all of middle earth from Sauron and the ring, which he must destroy. Will Frodo and his gardener Samwise Gamgee succeed in returning the ring to the raging fires of Mount Doom, or will middle earth be doomed forever?