Posted by Sarah
Categories: All Ages, Fantasy, Fiction, Review
Tags:Dick King-Smith, Monsters, Quick Read
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After a storm hits the west coast of Scotland, eight-year-old Kirstie finds a strange thing on the beach. It looks like a giant mermaid’s purse. She and her younger brother Angus smuggle it home and into the bathtub, and soon it hatches into a strange creature. Their grandfather Grumble tells them it is a Water Horse and that this little creature eventually will grow to be fifty or sixty feet. And grow it does. Over three years it outgrows the goldfish pond and even the lochan nearby. Where will they put their beloved pet?
They name the Water Horse “Crusoe” and, especially when he’s younger, he’s a fun character, though he never says anything. A good book. The short, last chapter may give some of you a fun surprise when you read it. Kirstie is not always the kindest to her younger brother, but it’s not too bad.
Posted by Becca
Categories: Fantasy, Fiction, Review, Younger Readers
Tags:Animals, Birds, Dragons, Easy Read, Good Read Aloud, My Father's Dragon, Quick Read, Ruth Stiles Gannett
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After rescuing the baby dragon from Wild Island, Elmer starts his journey home. The dragon is happy to fly Elmer home, but a storm at sea lands them both on an island populated only by canaries. While there, Elmer learns something terrible: the king canary is dying of curiosity about a secret and the other canaries are curious to know what the secret is. Elmer knows that the only way to cure the canaries is to have the king tell his secret. But is the king willing?
Elmer and the Dragon picks up where My Father’s Dragon leaves off. In fact, all three books in the series could be combined into one book. Though this book is geared toward younger readers, it makes a fun quick read for the older audience.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Picture Books, Review
Tags:Easy Read, Funny, Good Read Aloud, McBroom, Quick Read, Sid Fleischman
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Josh McBroom, his dear wife Melissa, and their eleven children, Willjillhesterchesterpeterpollytimtommarylarryandlittleclarinda, all head West to find better farm land. On arriving in Iowa, they meet scrawny Hector Jones, who sells them eighty acres of land, not a tree stump on it, for ten dollars. The catch? When the McBrooms reach their new farm, it turns out to be a one acre pond that is eighty acres deep. Things seem to be going poorly for them, until one extremely hot summer day, when the pond dries up, and they find out that the soil underneath is so rich, anything will grow in it within a few minutes! Of course, neighbor Jones is not happy and will stop at nothing to get the farm back.
The story contained within McBroom Tells the Truth is good enough to keep everybody turning the pages. It’s a sort of picture book, in that there are pictures on every page, but the book runs almost fifty pages and takes quite awhile to read aloud. As you may have guessed, McBroom Tells the Truth is full of silliness and is most definitely a tall tale. Fleischman must have loved writing these, since there are many, many more books about McBroom and his wonderful one acre farm.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Mysteries, Review
Tags:Animals, Award Winner, Birds, Cats, Dogs, Easy Read, Good Read Aloud, Monsters, Natalie Babbitt, Quick Read
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The small village of Instep lies at the foot of Kneeknock Rise. All of the villagers are frightened of a monster that they call the Megrimum, which lives on the rise and howls every time it rains. But the villagers are also proud of the monster, so they have a fair every year to show off the monster. One year, young Egan comes to visit his aunt and uncle at fair time, and his cousin dares him to climb Kneeknock Rise. Is the Megrimum really up there?
Although this story is quite predictable (you probably know how it ends), it is also enjoyable enough to read while waiting for the next book blockbuster. Babbitt spins a tale that will delight readers, which should influence them to read one of her better stories.
Posted by Sarah
Categories: Fiction, Review, Younger Readers
Tags:Animals, Cats, Patricia Maclachlan, Quick Read
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Now that Anna and Caleb’s father is married to Sarah, a new problem arises: drought. More and more neighbors pack up and leave. Will the rain come in time, or will they have to leave too?
As with the book before this, Sarah, Plain and Tall, this isn’t one of my favorites. As a warning, one of Sarah’s aunts goes skinny-dipping, but nothing really bad comes of it.
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