Entries Categorized as 'Younger Readers'

The Hundred Dresses

Our rating: ****

Wanda Petronski says that she has a hundred dresses all lined up in her closet. The other girls at her school laugh and make fun of her. Everyone knows that Wanda only has one dress, the faded blue one she wears day after day. One girl, Maddie, wants to stand up for Wanda; but she’s afraid of being picked on also. When Wanda leaves town, it seems impossible that Maddie will ever be able to apologize.

This is quite a story. A great example of why you shouldn’t tease people. You’ll probably end up sorry, but, as in this story, unable to apologize. The writing style is very nice. Eleanor Estes did a great job on her books. I very much recommend that you read this.

Journey to Freedom

Our rating: ****

Chip, the youngest in a family of white-feet, is told by Silver the prophet that he will be a great soldier. Eventually, Chip commands a part of soldiers called the Rag-Tags. The Rag-Tags are Ben, Singer, Budger, Trooper (a short-tailed shrew), Peedee and, of course, Chip. Join the white-feet as they fight against the brown rats and the Dread Deliverer, and as eventually most of them sail West.

This is a sort of allegory. I’d probably suggest it for 7 or 8 and up. Half of the Rag-Tags eventually die, but it’s still a pretty good book. This is the only book by Gilbert Morris I’ve read yet.

The Minstrel in the Tower

Our rating: ****

Alice and Roger’s mother is sick with a burning fever and Zara, an elderly neighbor, is caring for her. Then, their mother sings a strange song about her brother being a noble knight, and tells Alice and Roger to find her brother. The two children set out on a quest to find her brother, only to be captured by two men and held for ransom! Does their mother have a brother? Will they be able to escape? What will happen to them?

Good book! It’s a fairly quick read and is set in Medieval times.

Roverandom

Our rating: **

Roverandom is a little dog, but one day, after not being polite to a wizard, he is turned into a small toy dog. He has many adventures, including a trip to the moon, where he becomes good friends with the man-in-the-moon, and his dog, Rover, and a visit under the ocean with some mermaids. But all the while, he keeps an eye out for the wizard in the hope that he may get his real doggy life back again.

I only gave this book two stars because parts of the plot seem a little slow, but it’s a very enjoyable book, and I certainly liked reading it. J.R.R. Tolkien wrote this fantasy story for his young son, after losing his toy dog at the beach. They never found the toy again, but the story served as a consolation.

Miranda the Great

Our rating: ***

Miranda is a large cat who lives in Ancient Rome. She lives happily with her owners until Rome is invaded by Barbarians. The family packs up and leaves for a country house, leaving Miranda and her daughter hiding in an urn. In the fire that follows, Miranda sets out to find and rescue all the lost cats in Rome before it’s too late!

I liked this book. Eleanor Estes’ style of writing is wonderful. She wrote in a simple way, making it easy for children to read. Don’t let that discourage you, though. Estes’ books are enjoyable to older readers, too.