Entries Categorized as 'Review'

The Stolen White Elephant

Our rating: **½

When the King of Siam decides to send the Queen of England a white elephant, a man in the Indian civil service is chosen to convey this present. However, not long after arriving in New York harbor, the white elephant is stolen! The man (who appears to have no name, by the way, this being written in first person) immediately goes to the police and enlists their help. Inspector Blunt takes charge and the hunt for the elephant begins.

This short story is written in typical, humorous Mark Twain style. The Inspector is very thorough and takes down all the details of the elephant’s description so that his detectives will be sure to recognize the elephant upon sighting it! I went ahead and marked this as “All Ages,” but I think older readers may enjoy it more.

The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet

Our rating: ****

When David sees an ad in the newspaper about someone named Mr. Bass wanting a spaceship, he plans on being the first person to build a spaceship and bring it to Mr. Bass. He and his friend Chuck build a spaceship and bring it to Thallo Street, Mr. Bass sends them off on an adventure to rescue the people living on the small planet Basidium-X!

This was an interesting story and I enjoyed it.

Journey from Peppermint Street

Our rating: ****

Siebren is tired of baby-sitting his younger brother, Knillis. So when Siebren’s grandpa starts out on a short journey to visit a sick aunt, Siebren is very happy to be able to go along also. On the way, he buys a rather helpful ball from an ex-dike inspector, has an adventure in a scary marsh, and meets a very delightful deaf-and-dumb uncle.

A wonderful story! I really like DeJong’s style of writing. The book is written through Siebren’s eyes, but is still in the third person. The plot is simple, yet enjoyable to older readers. I strongly suggest that you read this book.

The Paradise War

Our rating: ****

Lewis and his roommate Simon live at Oxford. One day, Simon sees an article in the newspaper about a spotting of an extinct type of ox. He and Lewis go to check it out and find that it was killed with an ancient Celtic spear. On further investigation, they find a cairn (a Celtic monument type thing). Simon goes in, and though Lewis waits for him, he never comes back out. Lewis returns to Oxford and tries to live his normal life, but strange animals start roaming the streets, and then he meets a professor who claims that the Celtic Otherworld is real – and dangerous. Professor Nettles is sure Simon somehow got into the Otherworld, and he and Lewis go back to the cairn to find him. Lewis goes in, and now he’s in a strange world, surrounded by warriors about to begin a battle…

Whew! That’s just enough to get you going. There’s about two thirds of the book left that I didn’t even mention! The Paradise War is one of the better Lawhead books I’ve read. If you like Celtic myths, this one’s for you. Some of the ancient customs are really weird.

My Father’s Dragon

Our rating: ***½

Elmer always wanted a dragon, so he’s overjoyed when an alley cat tells him about a dragon imprisoned on Jungle Island. Elmer goes to the rescue, but he has to overcome the animals who live there – with very funny results!

This one is fun, but not too difficult to read. The story continues in two more books about Elmer and his dragon friend.