Entries Categorized as 'Review'
Posted by Rebekah
Categories: Adventure, Fiction, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Funny, Lloyd Alexander
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In this newest Vesper Holly book, Vesper, Brinnie and their guest, nick-named “The Weed,” are off in search of the ancient city of Troy. Strangely, everything seems to be going as planned. Little do they know that Dr. Helvitius is very close by…
Let me see. How to describe this book. Well, it’s a Vesper Holly. What more can I say? Brinnie is hilarious as usual and Dr. Helvitius is still unpredictable. Danger, narrow escapes, explosions…Oh! One minor detail: Vesper gets married.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: Fiction, Incredibook!, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Charles Dickens, Good Read Aloud, Scary
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Mr. Scrooge hates Christmas and calls it a humbug. He thinks nobody should be allowed to celebrate and makes life miserable for Bob Cratchit, his clerk. Then his dead partner’s ghost appears to him and tells him that he will be haunted by three spirits, as a final chance for him to change his wicked ways.
Dickens is a fine storyteller, if you can understand what he’s saying. Fortunately, in A Christmas Carol you can! He writes as if he’s telling you the story, so he pauses every now and then to explain little details, or to comment on things. A great read out loud book, if read properly. If you’ve seen the movie, why not read the book this year? By the way, if you want to see a movie version, we’ve found that the Patrick Stewart version stays closest to the book.
Posted by Ruth
Categories: All Ages, Fantasy, Fiction, Review
Tags:J. R. R. Tolkien, Quick Read
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In a tiny medieval town, the Feast of the Cake is approaching, and the baker, when searching for an old recipe, discovers a small shiny star on the page of a book. The baker is clueless, but his apprentice knows very well that it’s a fae-star. It is stirred into the cake, and a young boy, Smith, swallows it quite unaware. The star shines on his forehead, and when he grows up, he ventures into faeryland where he meets the faery queen herself and receives a surprising message from her.
A short, enchanting fairytale from J.R.R. Tolkien. It seems like a book that he wrote just for the fun of writing. It doesn’t have much plot, and it’s rather like something you might dream, but it does prove an enjoyable read.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: Mysteries, Older Readers, Review, Science Fiction
Tags:Animals, Chickens, Daniel Manus Pinkwater, Lizards, Scary
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Victor’s parents leave him at home with his sister, who quickly leaves with a bunch of her friends for a camping trip. He’s alone in the house and can do anything he wants: eat anchovy pizza, watch TV all night and build model planes on the dinner table. Victor meets a strange black man, who takes his pet chicken everywhere and goes under several names, with Charlie being the most prominent. Then, long after the TV stations stop broadcasting for the night, lizards take over the station and put on their own shows. Afterwards, Victor notices lizard music records, posters and advertisements all over his town. Victor thinks this is strangely connected to a movie he sees about Pod People from another planet who take over people one by one. He knows that Charlie holds the key to the whole mystery, but can Victor convince Charlie to tell him?
Lizard Music is probably one of Daniel Pinkwater’s weirdest books. Every little thing fits together and points to giant lizards. You may not want to read this if you’re not on good terms with reptiles. Otherwise, it’s pretty good, although I question Victor’s activities at home by himself. A thrilling story with many unusual twists and turns. Just don’t read it at night!
Posted by Jordan
Categories: Fiction, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Funny, Good Read Aloud, Scary, Thomas L. Tedrow
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Larry, Terry and Sherry Youngun are the children of Methodist minister Thomas Youngun. When a rabies epidemic hits Mansfield, Missouri, everyone is scared. Then Sherry is bitten by a rabid bat and must have medicine before it’s too late. Meanwhile, Terry and Larry are having trouble with a rich boy, Willie, who is doing mean things to the local packrat and then blaming the Younguns.
I always laugh when I read this book. The sequels are funny, too. The rabies part is probably too intense for younger readers, but luckily, The Younguns of Mansfield is good to read out loud. Unfortunately, this book is out of print, so you’ll have to buy it used.
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