Harry’s Mad (Paperback)
by Dick King-Smith
ISBN: 0679886885

Price: USD 5.50
62 used & new available from USD 0.10

Harry, an English boy, inherits a pet parrot from his American great-uncle. He quickly discovers that Madison (Mad for short) the parrot has been taught to carry on conversations by his great-uncle, who was a linguistic professor. Mad soon becomes one of the family, but when he gets kidnapped by a burglar, Mad must find a way to get back home.

This is your basic talking-animal-gets-kidnapped-and-has-to-return-home book, but it has two things going for it to set it apart. First, Dick King-Smith is a master of animal books and British humor (or should I say humour?), so Harry’s Mad is just plain fun in that regard. Second, the storyline of an American parrot being adopted by a British family has all sorts of fun with the differences between the two cultures. So while you won’t find anything too profound here, Harry’s Mad should do the trick of delighting young and old alike.

The Charlatan’s Boy: A Novel (Paperback)
by Jonathan Rogers
ISBN: 0307458229

Price: USD 11.19
46 used & new available from USD 1.55

The story of Grady, a boy with no knowledge of his family, as he travels with a cheating showman named Floyd. The golden age of their show used to be the “Wild Man of the Feechiefen Swamp” act, but now that feechiefolk have become a laughable legend, the traveling duo are forced to find other shows make money from. That is, until they hit upon a scheme that will force all of Corenwald to believe in feechies once more—and bring back an opportunity for their favorite bit of show business. As they travel back and forth across the land, Grady also begins to discover things about himself.

I found this story very entertaining. Though some characters appear only for a short time, many of them actually do tie back in later in the book. My main complaint was that most of the book involves them cheating the townspeople in one way or another, but Grady’s conscience still pesters him, and the story ends well. Readers of the Wilderking Trilogy (The Bark of the Bog Owl, The Secret of the Swamp King, and The Way of the Wilderking) can enjoy picking up on subtle tie-ins, while new readers can still enter and enjoy the world of Corenwald. Overall, definitely worth reading. According to the back of the book, there’s a sequel on its way later this year. I shall look forward to it.

The Mozart Season (Paperback)
by Virginia Euwer Wolff
ISBN: 0312367457

Price: USD 6.99
79 used & new available from USD 0.10

Allegra Shapiro, a twelve-year-old violinist, is confronted with the opportunity to perform in the Bloch Competition finals—and she accepts, even though she’s certain she’ll be the youngest player. Mozart’s fourth violin concerto is what she must learn. And so begins “the Mozart season” of her life, in which Allegra focuses on practicing. As the summer progresses, she learns not just the Mozart piece, but about people, music, and herself.

While it’s not bursting with plot, The Mozart Season is still an interesting read, especially for musicians, and at times it’s quite touching. My main objection to the book is the overuse of a kind of “scattered train of thought,” first-person writing style. It is effective in conveying Allegra’s young point of view, but it comes across too strongly, in my opinion. For the most part, however, I enjoyed the book. It’s not going on my list of favorites, but I consider it a very worthwhile read.

The Highly Trained Dogs of Professor Petit (Paperback)
by Carol Ryrie BRINK
ISBN:

Price: $4.95
13 used & new available from USD 4.95

Willie is the errand boy for Puddling Center, a town where all the people think much more of work than play. One day, a showman named Professor Petit comes to town with his five dogs. Willie and the Professor become good friends, and Willie is distressed to hear that Professor Petit’s show may go bankrupt. The cause of the trouble is another showman, Black Hoskins, who is taking all of the Professor’s business. Professor Petit doesn’t mind being beaten by an honest showman, but Black Hoskins seems to be doing everything in his power to shut down the Professor’s show, and Willie suspects that the competing showman is swindling the townsfolk as well.

The Highly Trained Dogs of Professor Petit is a short, fun story. Some of the tricks done by the dogs seem a little unrealistic, however the rest of the book has plenty of charm to make up for that slight flaw. Younger and older readers will both find the story entertaining, and I highly recommend it.

The Magic City (Paperback)
by Edith Nesbit
ISBN: 8132052773

Price: $6.50
3 used & new available from USD 6.50

Phillip is bored one day in his stepfather’s mansion, so he builds an enormous city out of anything that comes to hand. To his great surprise that night, he shrinks down (or the city gets bigger) and finds himself in a realm containing every city he’s ever built. Through various magical rules, his stepsister Lucy joins him in the city, and they set out on a quest to perform seven tasks and fulfill an ancient prophecy of a coming deliverer who will be king. But their progress is hindered at every turn by the Pretenderette, who wants to claim the throne for herself.

The Magic City is signature Nesbit. How else do you describe her delightful style and humor? The story world is cleverly put together in a way that leaves you guessing about what will come next, but it makes perfect sense once Nesbit explains. I only took off half a star because the main character is bratty enough in the first couple chapters to make you think it’s not going to be any good. Keep reading! This one has made it onto my list of favorite Nesbit books.

(And as a side note, The Magic City inspired Edward Eager’s Knight’s Castle, which makes it great fun to compare the two and see where Eager plays off of Nesbit in his unique take on this concept.)

Tree Castle Island (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (School & Library Binding)
by Jean C. George
ISBN: 0613670078

Price: USD 16.00
2 used & new available from USD 7.20

Jack loves the Okefenokee swamp where his Uncle Hamp lives. He’s just built his own canvas canoe and he has permission to stay out in the swamp with it, so he goes exploring. But when an alligator causes a shipwreck and Jack is stranded, he discovers a secret about himself that he never thought was possible.

Tree Castle Island starts out with all the components of a leisurely paddle through the swamp and then, like a meandering river, turns to the plot about halfway through. Though the story is interesting and the author masterfully works into the story all kinds of facts about wildlife in a swamp, the ending feels a bit rushed. For a story with a problem that builds and plagues the characters for a solution for so long, it certainly feels abrupt to have the solution spelled out in one short chapter with no real resolution.

The Whisper of Glocken: A Novel of the Minnipins (Paperback)
by Carol Kendall
ISBN: 0152025170

Price: USD 18.95
60 used & new available from USD 0.10

Five years after the invasion of the Mushrooms, a new problem has arisen. The Watercress river, flowing through the valley of the Minnipins, has changed direction and begun flooding the towns. Five unlikely heroes, Glocken, Silky, Scumble, Gam Lutie, and Crustabread, are commissioned by the five old Heroes to journey outside the valley and find the source of the flooding. With them goes the ancient Whisper Stone, which has been passed down through Glocken’s family for generations, and contains the secret for finding the legendary Whisper of Glocken, a bell now known only in pretend-stories.

This was an interesting read, but I don’t like it as much as its prequel. Some important parts of it seemed a bit vague and confusing, and sometimes I’d get turned around and couldn’t figure out exactly where the main characters were. It’s also more strange than the first book, because the Minnipins spend most of their time outside the valley, where they meet strange creatures and plants, and even full-size humans. Overall, not as good as The Gammage Cup, but it might be worth reading just for the sake of reading it.

Secret Water (Godine Storyteller) (Paperback)
by Arthur Ransome
ISBN: 1567920640

Price: USD 11.21
42 used & new available from USD 3.28

The Swallows and Amazons return for another imaginative adventure! This time the Swallows’ youngest sister Bridget comes along on an exploring and mapping expedition as the children are “marooned” by their parents on the islands of Secret Water. However, mapmaking is threatened by war when the Eels, a “savage tribe” of four other children camping on one of the other islands, want the islands to themselves and attempt to drive the Swallows and Amazons away.

Let’s deal with my one problem with this book first. The “savage tribe” of Eels imaginatively goes the whole nine yards into playing savages, including a pretend human sacrifice to the Great Eel and a very un-pretend blood brotherhood ritual. Anybody with a sense of humor will find these parts funny, but some might consider them a bad influence. I’m in the former camp, so with that out of the way, let me tell you what I like about Secret Water.

It’s a charming, witty, exciting story full of lots of imagination and humor. Adventure? Plenty. Marooned explorers, unexplored islands, attacks from savages, and thrilling escapes. There’s something here for everybody, and you can’t help but wish that you were inside this story.

We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea (Godine Storyteller) (Paperback)
by Arthur Ransome
ISBN: 0879239913

Price: USD 10.17
54 used & new available from USD 3.13

While awaiting Commander Walker’s return in Harwich, John, Susan, Titty, and Roger make friends with the sailor of the Goblin. Mrs. Walker gives them permission to sail up and down the river for a few days until their father arrives. When the sailor disappears ashore, however, and the anchor drags, the Walker children find themselves being swept out to sea on a very real adventure.

Whereas most of the other books contain more imaginative, light-hearted adventures, the dangers in this story seemed more present and real. The children are, after all, at sea by themselves. It’s an exciting read, though sadly the Amazon pirates never show up. Nevertheless, it’s probably one of my favorite Swallows and Amazons books.

Houseboat Girl (Hardcover)
by Lois Lenski
ISBN:

Price: $36.00
9 used & new available from USD 36.00

Pasty Foster has spent most of her life on a houseboat because her father cannot bear to stay on land. After two years in a regular house, the Fosters are set for another trip down the Mississippi river. Although she is excited to be on the river, Pasty misses her friends and wishes to live in a real house again.

Houseboat Girl is not a fast-paced story by any means. The moments of adventure are over in a few pages at most. This isn’t Lenski’s best book, but the characters are realistic and the setting is different than what is found in most books, making it an enjoyable, light read.