Entries Categorized as 'Review'

Tigre

Our rating: ***

Pepe has tended his family’s twenty-four goats ever since a tigre killed his father. Now, after four years, the Tigre has struck again. The oldest man in the village, Uncle Ruiz, predicts more bad luck, and soon Pepe must decide who and what to believe. Sam Jackson, a visiting “Norteamarican” becomes friends with Pepe as they attempt the very dangerous task of killing the Tigre. But, unfortunately, Uncle Ruiz begins spreading the rumor that Sam is an evil spirit, and must leave. Can Sam and Pepe bag the Tigre before it’s too late?

This book makes quite an interesting read. The superstitions Uncle Ruiz has are very eye opening. Pepe has a friend goat, Brother Goat, who is always on the look out to knock someone over, but is really very gentle. I like how Pepe’s highest dreams are owning thirty-six or forty-eight goats, and, after the Tigre’s reappearance, a gun like the “Norteamaricanos” use.

Half Magic

Our rating: ****½

Jane, Mark, Katharine, and Martha are four ordinary children. They love reading books about magic, but can’t help wishing they could find some magic somehow. Then, when Jane finds an old, dropped coin on the sidewalk, everything changes. It’s a magic coin that grants wishes. Well, almost. It will grant half of your wish. This may sound simple to thwart, but it’s not as easy as it seems. After all, if you have a cat that can half talk, how many times do you have to wish it to not talk before it’s back to normal?

This is a very funny book. The children go from one adventure to another, in a style very similar to E. Nesbit. Most of their wishes result in a minor disaster of some sort or another, and they have to figure out how to get everything back to normal. In the end though, everything is nicely resolved. I definitely recommend Half Magic.

Always Reddy

Our rating: *****

Mr. Hoops’s dog Reddy, one of the best bird dogs, has another litter of puppies. But Mrs. Hoops invites their mother to live with them, and their mother is allergic to dog hairs. So Mr. Hoops sold all the puppies but one. Now he must find a place to house Reddy and the puppy.

This is a great book! (Thus five stars.) You may have to go through Inter-library Loans to get it, but you may find it worth the effort! Please read this book! I definitely recommend it!

Rainbow Valley

Our rating: ****½

The Meredith family has come to live at St. Glen’s Point, but as Mrs. Meredith died long ago, and Mr. Meredith is busy with his duty as the new minister, the Meredith children, Jerry, Una, Faith, and Carl have to look after themselves. As a result, they’re almost always getting into trouble, although half the time it’s more of an accident than anything else. They do their best to raise themselves (even forming a Good Conduct club), but most people think things would be better for everyone if Mr. Meredith were to marry again…

The seventh in the Anne of Green Gables series, Rainbow Valley focuses more on the Merediths, than the Ingleside children. The many escapades of the Meredith children can be quite funny, along with the part where a young couple comes to the manse to be married, and Mr. Meredith, who can be rather absent-minded at times, begins the ceremony and gets to “Ashes to ashes and dust to dust,” before he vaguely realizes that he’s performing a funeral, not a wedding.

The Spell of the White Sturgeon

Our rating: **

Ramsay Cartou, formerly from Chicago, is on his way north to take a job in a tannery. However, during his trip through Lake Michigan, the boat sinks during a storm. Ramsay makes it ashore and arrives at Three Points, ready and eager for the job at the tannery. Unfortunately, his potential boss turns out to be a man who Ramsay wouldn’t work for in a million years. Due to the man having most of Three Points under his thumb, Ramsay finds refuge with a farmer and eventually learns to be a fisherman.

I didn’t tell you half the story! There’s a lot more. The White Sturgeon is dreaded because it is commonly believed that his appearance heralds disaster. While Ramsay is learning to be a fisherman, someone begins destroying the local fishermen’s nets, so Ramsay and his fishing friend Hans have to catch the vandal before their livelihood is ruined.