Yes...it has been a LONG time since I had a topic for a top ten and a list on that topic with ten in it! This one took a lot of thought...These books are all in a series. I have read most if not all of the books in the series with them (OK, the only series I haven't read all of represented on the list is Captain Underpants...now you know). These are the ones I like more than the other books in the same series. Only one is a first book (one other is kinda of a first book; just not written first). Two are graphic novels. Two are hybrid graphic/text. And two are SADLY out of print at present. These are series books that prove that not all series (serieses?) are fluffy and sub-par fiction. Try them all--Mr. Tim guarantees they is good books! Series books · Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor PP Poopypants by Dav Pilkey · Lamp from the Warlock’s Tomb by John Bellairs · Celery Stalks at Midnight by James Howe · Magician’s Nephew by C S Lewis · Bad Kitty: Drawn to Trouble by Nick Bruel · Darth Paper Strikes Back by Tom Angelberger · Ghost in the Third Row by Bruce Coville · And Then There Were Gnomes by Colleen AF Venable · Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J K Rowling · Binky the Space Cat by Ashley Spires |
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Boy did I feel out of the loop when walking through the Exhibits Hall at PLA last week and catching a glimpse of a pink and sparkly book that said "10th Anniversary Edition." Not that I read a lot of pink and sparkly books, but it's been known to happen. On the inside cover there were 14 other titles featuring the chipper fairy Pearlie...How did I miss these totally? And then I guessed. Yep, it was published ten years ago in Australia! Ahh. So I snagged a copy of the 10th anniversary edition (and first American release). Turns out Pearlie has a TV series (which has also made it to America) made by the Aussies and the Canadians (probably pretty good since it's Nelvana, they do good stuff...usually) This first in Pearlie's series introduces her. She's a park fairy (who knew parks had fairies...other than Triangle Park -- ha ha bad Dayton joke...) She decides one day to make a list of all the things each park animal should do, so the animals won't be confused. She hangs the list on the front gate of the park and heads off to bed. In the night two troublesome rats find the list and plan mischief. The next day every animal is doing the wrong thing. The Mama Duck is trying to leap from tree to tree (without wings). The spiders are trying to croak on lily pads. The frogs are trying to spin webs with yarn...Pearlie investigates and finds a mixed up list...and when she discovers who made the mess, they get what's coming to them. Cute. Not deathless literature nor hysterical comedy (which one might expect from one of the Queens of Aussie Comedy) but cute. Mike Zarb's wide-eyed illustrations are a lot of bright fun & a perfect match. Pearlie is a nice spunky female character who gets a diverse supporting cast in future volumes. Worth a try. We're getting them for our pink-and-sparkly fans. Should be great fun for the easing into chapter fans...though there are no chapters...and some of the vocabulary might be outta their reach, so it might work best as a read-together for a first time through! Brilliant re-imagining of the story of Morgan le Fay (though I had always thought it was le Fey). This prequel/companion to I Am Mordred again deals with Briton's première dysfunctional family. Morgan resents her half brother Arthur from his birth. He is the offspring of King Uther who murdered her father to sleep with their mother. Arthur is the reason she and her flighty older sister Morgause must flee their castle Tintagel with their nurse who is more than just a nurse. Arthur is the object of their mother's obsession when she goes slightly mad after Uther's death. Morgan tries to fight fate and live a happy life away from the world with her true love Sir Thomas, but she loses the fight, her lover, and for a time her mind. The characterizations, especially Morgan's, are excellent as is the imagery and writing in general. Morgan's complex relationship with Thomas not to mention what is intimated at the tale's end to occur between ½ siblings Morgause and Arthur push this title on to YA ground unlike it's companion volume...which I guess inevitably ends in patricide, so it skews a bit older too. The infusion of figures from mythology is nicely handled too. The author has created a wholly believable world. Worth a look-see whether you are an Arthurian tale fan or not. There are draggy bits, but the last thirty-forty pages are wonderful! As I said this is a prequel/sequel to "I am Mordred." I loved this and only liked Mordred. But I usually have a soft spot for sorceresses especially those of Arthurian Legend. Try these...but I suggest reading Mordred first. Then comes my favorite part: the cat takes a nap.
I liked this well enough, but I missed the words. I don’t think they were necessary…but I like the sound of words—even ones I don’t understand. If I were Banjo, I’d probably give it two and a half or maybe three treats (but I eat all my treats). Daddy Tim says that this Nonny Hogrogian lady has won two Caldecott awards. No Caldecats. But her name is lots of fun to say over and over: nonnyhogrogian nonnyhogrogian nonnyhogrogian.. Today’s tip for CaCHuPs: Just because your brother cat is bigger and older than you, doesn’t mean you can’t wrap him around your pinky-paw. You just have to chase him a little. Banjo’s twice my size and if I run at him the right way…he just flops down. Try it…your Daddies will laugh.
Pratchett has spent the greater part of his career writing about the Discworld, and we readers thank him for that! In one of his rare non-Discworld novels (the first since 1996's Johnny and the Bomb if I'm not mistaken, though he has a couple of newer collaborations now) he's created a real winner for kids, adults, fans, non-fans...all human-types. (Parrots will like this too; however some pigs may be scandalized). It's set in a world similar to ours but with a different history. England is beset by plague & the heir to the throne who was quite a ways down the list before some dying occurred in the royal family needs to be fetched from his position as Governor of Port Mercia. His daughter Ermintrude who was in route to be with him will need to be picked up on the way... Meanwhile, on an island so small as to not be on maps--well maps made by people who think being on a map makes you civilized--Mau is leaving his boyhood behind. He's about to complete the ritual that will lead him to being considered a man...Then something happens--a wave washes away everything and everyone Mau knew. But it deposits Ermintrude's ship in a tree. Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of reading a Pratchett novel knows that summarizing them just doesn't do them justice, so I'm stopping there. Suffice to say that this is an amazing book. It's fun to read. The characters are funny, but never made fun of. Pratchett's trademark dry, sly British humor is well in evidence. It takes on several weighty issues (death, imperialism, religion, grief) without ever being preachy or patronizing. It's the story of a boy who didn't know there were questions (especially about the whole gods thing) and a girl who was taught questions were improper (especially questions about propriety)...how they meet and share their questions and answer a few of them. That with guns and sharks and milking of pigs in. Just like his Discworld books starring Tiffany Aching, this is a gift to young audiences and people who read like them. Try it you will like it!
As a child I fell in love with the Arthurian tales at the same moment Philip Reeve did (according to his author's note): when I first watched what he describes as the "barking mad" and "brilliant" movie "Excalibur." I can still recite Merlin's spell that got Uther into the castle to sire Arthur in the movie; I wonder if he can. I have since read quite a few retellings of the Arthur legends or adults and young adults and kids...and this Carnegie Medal winner (Britain's version of the Newbery Medal) is a very good addition to that long list of books and series. I never forgave Mary Stewart for explaining away all the magic in her novels...this does similar, Myrddin is a very smart trickster and storyteller not an actual wizard, but "Here Lies Arthur"'s magic lies in the telling of the tale and the concrete characters. The re-jiggering of the old tales is quite imaginative. Myrddin is a pragmatic athiest, Arthur is a shrewd, stubborn, pig of a warrior (except in Myrddin's retellings of his exploits). The narrator Gwynna/Gwyn (she dresses as a boy for a fair piece of the novel) is real and engaging. At its character-driven core, it's the story of a father and his adopted daughter/son. If you have young adventure readers...boys or girls ages 10 to 14...this is an excellent pick for them. Fantasy readers might not love it quite as much (the whole no-real-magic thing) but they'll still like it. It's worth a read by big people too! I passed my copy on to my dad (who's in his 70's and he loved it too). Oh, and in case you ever need to break into a castle surrounded by a moat in the middle of the night & you want to be disguised as the king: "Ahn'hal Nathrack Oothfas Bethode Dah'hee El D'invey" (my spelling might be a bit off, should still work if you say it right...) Just finished the sequel and thought I would revisit the first book which I liked a little more: I read a lot of children's books in 2011, upwards of 200 and this was one of my top ten or so picks for the year...wink wink, some of you can guess what that means if you know why I read so many books in 2011. At the turn of the (19th to 20th) century in a very different New York city from the one on our Earth (magic works but is frowned upon, everyone uses it but it's kind of illegal): Sacha Kessler is glad he made it through his bar mitzvah without showing any signs of magic. His grandfather is a rabbi and an expert on Kabbalah...but then Sacha SEES magic as its being cast, and he's recruited to be an Inquisitor's Apprentice (the magical wing of the NYPD). Sacha and the rich Lily Astral both are assigned to Inquisitor Wolf who has quite the reputation. Lily is enthusiastic but a little clueless about the world outside of her life of privilege. The three investigate attacks on the inventor Edison at the behest of J P Morgaunt, the richest and most powerful man in New York, maybe the country. There are also attacks that appear to be perpetrated by a dybbuk (devil or doppelganger). Sacha learns he might be a wizard in the making...and he saves the day (with a bit of help) narrowly escaping Morgaunt's machinations...but can he escape the dybbuk? Full of wonderfully descriptive writing, this book brings to life a New York that never existed but which feels totally real. The characters are memorable and well-rounded and true to their milieu. This is a page-turning adventure story that while fast-paced, suspenseful, unpredictable, and full of quirky humor invites readers to contemplate prejudice, ethics, immigration, classicism, gender stereotypes, and race in a totally inoffensive and age-appropriate manner.
Alice Hoffman (who, once I post my favorite big-people authors top 10 you will find is one of my favorites) is very nearly always fantastic...in both senses of the word: imaginative or fanciful and extraordinarily good. I could waffle on for hours about her ability to make the mundane magical, tug at heartstrings, create breathing characters, and inject fantasy into everyday life...but we're here to talk about Green: Sixteen-year-old Green, who in "Green Angel" lost her family in a violent attack that leveled a nearby city, lives a lonely life with her plants in the village of her birth. She longs for the love of Diamond, the mute stranger she nursed back to health while she was recovering from her personal tragedy. When Finder, who used to be thirteen-year-old Troy Jones, brother to another of Green's foundlings (Heather who vanished mysteriously) asks Green to find his sister by talking to the Enchanted (those the villagers fear might be magical or monstrous,) Green and Finder set off to find Heather...and maybe Diamond. They encounter a number of "witches" who have suffered losses like everyone else and each gives Green a gift as well a little wisdom. There's a slam-bang finish which isn't hinted at through the rest of the slow, lyrical story & I don't want to ruin it further. Hoffman mixes her usual magical realism with fantasy (which is a mix that boarders on redundant) and there is some repetition in the narration that galls...but this really is a beautiful book and a fitting sequel to "Green Angel." There are echoes of the tale of Baba Yaga (only this time the "witches" are good) and a lot of contemplation of love and loss. Perfect for literary-leaning teens and people who read like them. You can read this without reading "Green Angel" first, but why? Both are quite short & now available in one volume! Read both, you won't be sorry. Mr Tim Recommends "Hatter M: Nature of Wonder" by Frank Beddor (and the rest of the series)8/14/2013
I love David's books. He makes me laugh ("Boy Meets Boy"). He makes me cry ("Are We There Yet"). Every time I open one of his novels I feel like I know him better than I do (and I am lucky enough to have spent some time with him at library conferences...and he's lucky enough to not live too close to me :-). This was just great. He is a master of the love story. And dipping his toe into the Fantasy-Genre pool (ok, "Wide Awake" was kind of a Fantasy, for now--you gotta read it to find out why I say that), he totally nails the cross-genre storytelling. Strong characters that all ring true with round personalities. "A" is the same person day after day...in a different body. He/she wakes up in a new town in a new body every day. It's been going on for as long as he/she can remember. There are rules, but when he/she wakes up in the body of Justin...and meets Rhiannon the rules get thrown out the door. Big issues (gender, sexuality, right and wrong, origins of true love...) get addressed. They make you think, but they never stick out like they do when you're in the hands of a less skilled author. There is vivid writing that's so down to earth...when reading Richard Feynman, my dad says it's like reading a book he wrote himself. That is kind of the way I feel when I read David's novels especially this time: Kate Bush's "Running up that Hill" (a personal favorite song) figures in the tale...and Alice Hoffman's books (another favorite author of mine) appear in the story...and then there's the the fact that I stole Judy Blume books from my sister. You'll have to read this to find out how that figures in. this is a great read, I never wanted to put down...and one I would recommend to nearly everyone |
About MeTim is a writer, book reviewer and Librarian. He has a Master's of Library Science and was on the Newbery Committee twice. Technology scares and often annoys him, but he is always game for a silly costume! Archives
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