Posted by Jordan
Categories: Adventure, All Ages, Fantasy, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Cats, Edward Eager, Funny, Good Read Aloud, Turtles
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Jane, Mark, Katharine, and Martha of Half Magic fame are back. On vacation at a lake, Mark catches a turtle, and Jane dreamily wishes for a magic lake. The next thing the children know, the turtle tells them that they’ve gotten their wish, and they’ve made a huge mistake: A lake full of magic is way too much magic! After adding some rules about days when the magic will happen, the turtle leaves them to their fate – with hilarious results.
Next to Half Magic, Magic by the Lake is my favorite Eager book so far. It’s probably the most exciting Eager book I’ve read. Unfortunately, the ending is a bit predictable, but other than that, this book is a lot of fun.
Posted by Sarah
Categories: Adventure, All Ages, Fantasy, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Bill Myers, Funny, Insects, Long Read
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Denise finds a strange rock in her uncle’s attic and soon discovers, to her obvious shock, that it reflects moonlight and sends a signal to an alternate dimension. Three strange creatures arrive and whisk her and her friend Nathan off to Fayrah, where they begin to learn about kindness and the love of the creator, Imager. Over the four books, they continue to travel through dimensions, bringing along Nathan’s older brother Joshua, and eventually have the opportunity to be Re-breathed by Imager.
While this could not be ranked as a masterpiece of writing, per say, I still enjoy the story. Some of the characters, Denise in particular, are special to me. Whether or not this book is for you, I can’t say. It has its faults, but you may consider taking a look at least.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Incredibook!, Review
Tags:Animals, Birds, Funny, Good Read Aloud, Henry Reed, Indians, Keith Robertson, Out of Print
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Henry Reed is coming back to Grover’s Corner, but in a whole new way. Instead of flying directly to Grover’s Corner, he’s going to San Francisco, where his friend Midge’s family is. They all plan to drive back, across the continent back to New Jersey. But with Henry and Midge having a way of starting innocent accidents, and souvenirs for their travel museum piling up, Mr. Glass might not survive to drive them home!
Personally, this is my favorite Henry Reed book. Everywhere the car stops, Henry and Midge cause an accident or get pulled into something. From Midge starting a gold rush, to Henry saving a hotel swimming pool, Henry Reed’s Journey is a definite winner. Too bad it’s out of print.
Posted by Rebekah
Categories: Fiction, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Animals, Dogs, Mark Twain, Quick Read
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Here, Aileen Mavourneen tells the story of her life. She led a pleasant existence until one day when she was sleeping in the nursery, she woke up to find the baby’s crib in flames. She dragged the baby out of the crib and into the hall, where the master found her and kicked her, thinking she was hurting the baby. Upset by the reprimand, Aileen went upstairs and hid in the garret until the owners realized what she was really doing and apologized. The very sad part of the story was when the master performed an experiment on Aileen’s puppy, which blinded it and eventually caused its death.
I know it sounds rather gloomy, and the end is gloomy, but there are funny parts in it, too. Particularly Aileen’s mother’s habit of using long words. The whole story is told in Mark Twain’s cynically humorous style.
Posted by Ruth
Categories: Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Animals, Cats, Donkeys, Lloyd Alexander, Pigs
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Lidi is a skilled magician with fast-moving hands and long copper curls. She travels with her guardian/canvas master Jericho giving performances throughout the country. Lidi’s greatest hope is to find Ferramondo, one of the greatest magicians, to learn the one trick that no one else knows. The rope trick. On her journey, she is joined by a young girl named Daniella, who becomes the Added Attraction; and Julian, a mysterious young man who seems to have more to his story than he tells at first. Through it all, Lidi is constantly on the lookout for clues to Ferramondo’s whereabouts.
I’m afraid I didn’t do this book justice in my summary. It’s really very interesting, with sub-plots and all. I enjoy reading it very much. The ending takes an unusual twist that you probably won’t be expecting, but is still satisfactory.
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