false 11 76 76 true 5721280 read 0 true 4153252 currently-reading 0 true 4153251 to-read 41 false 5459033 fiction 32 false 5458023 fantasy 20 false 5459037 adventure 16 false 5459051 series 15 false 5459039 family_story 15 false 5459040 magic 11 false 5454262 mystery 10 false 5459054 school_story 7 false 5459032 historical 7 false 5459053 humor 4 false 5460021 novels-in-verse 4 false 5459035 biography 3 false 5460080 animals 3 false 5459034 holocaust 3 false 5460071 poetry 2 false 5460079 nonfiction 1 false 7307692 ghost-story 1 false 5597164 graphic 1 false 5459052 halloween 1 false 5459043 folktales 1 false 8819918 strong-female-character 1 false 5459036 sports 1 false 5459041 bilingual 0 false 8819929 strong-male-character 0 false 5459048 novels http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78746843 to: Madame Pamplemousse and Her Incredible Edibles (Hardcover) by Rupert Kingfisher
bookshelves: fantasy, fiction, magic, strong-female-character
Madeleine is an excellent cook, a talent which she should be able to use in her uncle's restaurant in Paris. Monsieur Lard, her uncle, forbids her to cook lest she outshine his efforts--which she would quickly do. In her errands for him, she finds a small shop owned by a Madame Pamplemousse that sells "incredible edibles" made from fantastical sources such as dragons and sea monsters. Instead of the paté which her uncle chooses from another store, Madeleine buys paté here and it quickly become the favorite dish at the restaurant. Her greedy uncle, wishing for the secret recipe to the dish, takes Madeleine to Madame Pamplemousse's shop to work there so she can secretly find the recipe for her uncle. Madeleine's employer is very aware of what's going on and she befriends Madeleine and sharpens her culinary skills in the shop. In the end Maedleine learns it's not just the ingredients that make the recipe, but the spirit of the cook who blens them together. Those who already enjoy cooking will be inspired and others will be entertained by this often humorous story about a greedy cafe owner and his talented niece. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78539511 to: The Last of the Sky Pirates (Edge Chronicles, Book 5) by Paul Stewart
bookshelves: adventure, fantasy, fiction, series
When Rook is chosen to be one of three apprentice librarians to complete their education in the Deepwoods and complete their treatises, he seems to have neither the pedigree or the background for the appointment. But, as he and Magda and Stob journey to reach the Deepwoods, the skill and talent that others saw in Rook emerges. The trip to get to their study base, Lake Landing in the Free Glades, was a trial. Once there they must enter training to become librarian knights and design and complete their own instrument of flight. And there Rook is reunited with Varis Lodd who had rescued him as a foundling from the Deepwoods. She once again bonds with Rook and enlists his skills in flying with her and another to free banderbears held as slaves.

This dangerous mission succeeds in release of the banderbears, but it is a trap to ensnare Varis. In their retreat Rook is shot by a poison arrow which almost ends his life. A long convalescence leaves him behind as his two classmates, Magda and Stob, leave on their studies in the Deepwoods.

When Rook is finally able to leave on his mission to learn more about the banderbear, it takes a long while for him to even find one to observe. His patience brings him success and he bonds with a banderbear. Through this relationship, Rook meets the title character: Twig, the last of the sky pirates.

When Twig learns that a friend he believed dead is in prison, he and Rook plan a rescue mission using Twig's ship, apparently the only flying ship left with a flight stone intact.

This book stands alone, but it was a surprise to meet Twig again, so much older than his last appearance. And I think this book was a bit more suspenseful than the others--it led me to spurts of reading longer than I really had time to do. It also led me to do some digging online to see if I could find a timeline or an outline for the books to see the connect for some of the books. Finally, it left me ready to plunge into the next book in the series. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78148212 to: The Robe of Skulls (Hardcover) by Vivian French
bookshelves: fantasy, fiction, magic
The abundant silver skulls on the cover of this book might make me wonder about its appropriateness for an elementary audience were it not for the fact that I have first grade princesses wearing pink shirts with rhinestone-studded skulls on them. It is the tall figure of Lady Lamorna on the cover wearing the dress she has ordered from the Ancient Crones, looking much more elegant than she is in the book. She has a bit of a problem: she has no way to pay for her dream dress. With magic on her side, however, she knows how to get the gold she needs. It will just take a bit of trickery, magic spells, kidnapping, and demanding ransom to solve her problem.
Poor Gracie with the pure heart stands stirring water soup for her cruel stepfather Mange and her stepsister Foyce. Life has been miserable since her mother's death, so when a bat named Marlon appears and offers a means of escape, Gracie packs quickly.
From this point, it gets a bit complicated, but eventually good and evil will clash, with Marlon bringing together the diverse cast to work together: Gubble, the troll; Marcus, the ne'er-do-well prince; Professor Scallio, the helpful tutor to the royal twins; Millie, Marlon's daughter, and the Ancient Crones, the seamstresses to Lady Lamorna. And even evil Foyce will aid in the undoing of Lady Lamorna while bringing resolution to another problem.
In spite of the macabre cover, Marlon's light-hearted approach and Gracie's goodness keep this book from being too dark and dreary and may cause the reader to hope for more adventures with Gracie, Marcus, Marlon and perhaps even Lady Lamorna.
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/64940612 to: Where I Live (Hardcover) by Eileen Spinelli
bookshelves: family_story, fiction, novels-in-verse
This book both begins and ends with a poem named "where i live," but the two poems--and the two places--are different. This book, written in the voice of young narrator and poet Diana, details the difficult road between the two.

At the beginning of the book, life is perfect. She has a wonderful family, a home she loves, a BFF Rose, and a kind, empathetic teacher. She wins a poetry contest and is invited to a writing workshop. The mood at homs causes Diana to suspect that her parents are getting a divorce. Then--good news--her parents aren't getting a divorce; bad news--her father lost his job. Then more bad news that Grandpa Joe has broken his arm and Mother must go care for him. Finally, the worst news--the family must move in with Grandpa Joe.

This is a quiet, poetic book--a book that reminds us of the power of a loving family, good friends, and a caring teacher. Diana is able to cope with the upheavals in her life and shares her feelings in each entry. She goes to the writing workshop, learns to meet new friends and finds someone in her new neighborhood who shares her love of astronomy. And she learns to love her new home. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74870700 to: Syren (Septimus Heap, #5) by Angie Sage
bookshelves: adventure, fantasy, fiction, magic, mystery
I nearly devoured the entire book the first weekend after I got it and then realized that it would be gone too soon and doled out the rest of the book through the week to be finished today. I recommend it for those who have made it through the rest of the series and still want more.

Marcia rewards Septimus with a promotion for successfully having returned from his queste and he promptly uses his new freedom to leave on a personal quest to retrieve his friends from the Trading Post. Aunt Zelda's power of "seeing" has alarmed her about Septimus' and Spit Fyre's safety, but her attempt to help him fails when he rebuffs the small boy Zelda has sent with a charm. Unfortunately, it is not just Septimus who is in peril. Jenna finds her father, Milo, who entices her and her friends to join him aboard his luxurious ship which has a pricey chest in the hold. And Wolf Boy has been sent off on a dangerous quest of his own by Zelda. Jenna leaves her friends on Milo's ship to fly off with Septimus, but Septimus, Beetle and Jenna become marooned on the syren's island after Spit Fyre is downed by lightning. A reunion with Milo is not a cause for celebration when the group discovers the contents of the chest in the hold and sees a terrible plan to destroy the castle unfold before them.

The series continues to entertain with humor and suspense and familiar characters that readers have grown to know. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72215098 to: Stand Tall, Abe Lincoln (Hardcover) by Judith St. George
bookshelves: biography, nonfiction
With so many biographies about Lincoln, one might wonder about the value of just one more slim volume. But this picture book biography is a gem, revealing to the reader that part of life to which a child might relate,Abe's childhood. St. George and illustrator Matt Faulkner reveal in short chapter and double-page illustrations the challenges young Abe faced. Abe's mother died when he was only nine-years-old, leaving the family so devastated that daily household maintenance and hygiene was forgotten. Abe's dad realized the need for a woman in the home and he traveled back to Kentucky to find a wife. He returns with a wagon full of furniture, a new wife, and three children. Abe doesn't warm up to Sally, his new stepmother and it seems at this point that there's an opportunity for this to turn into an "evil stepmother" story. But the opposite happens. Sally becomes the impetus for the education of Abe, his sister, and Sally's three children. Her encouragement of Abe's talents appear to foment so much of his later successes.

The book is a great read. Although it is not lengthy, it is divided into chapters which would make it easy to read aloud to a class one chapter daily. St. George's narrative that so ably tells a good story without using invented conversation makes the book more readable. It's just a really good book and it is a book whose outstanding pictures tied to St. George's accounts of Abe's challenging childhood will appeal to kids. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71727761 to: The Runaway Dolls (Hardcover) by Ann M. Martin
bookshelves: fantasy, fiction, magic
Brian Selznick opens this books with the same kind of storytelling pictures used in Hugo Cabret. The reader sees a package lost 100 years ago in a doll factory found. The package arrives at the Palmer's home, but sits unopened because it isn't addressed to the Palmers and the family is leaving on vacation. Annabelle Doll and her friend Tiffany are intrigued and decide to investigate the strange package. When Annabelle hears a tiny voice inside, she knows she has to release the doll inside. Annabelle recognizes the baby when she toddles out--she must be her baby sister. But when the Doll family reminds Annabelle that it would be impossible for them to let baby Matilda May become a part of their family and not return her to the box, Annabelle and Tiffany make a regrettable decision. They run away taking baby Tilly with them. Unknown to them, their brothers have followed them and soon all of the dolls are plunged into the adventures of the runaway dolls.

This is the third book about Annabelle and the Doll family, but the book can stand alone. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71097927 to: Flight of the Silver Turtle (Hardcover) by John Fardell
bookshelves: adventure, fantasy, fiction, mystery, series
Interest in an experimental aircraft being built by a young pilot in a historical hangar places the young charges of the professors in danger of a Nazi-based organization Noctarma. Marcia, Sam, Zara, and Ben innocently offer Professor Ampersand's latest invention to power the strange airplane being built by Amy McAirdrie. Agents of Noctarma have the hangar under surveillance because it was the workplace for another inventor, Maskil Stribnik, whose work on an anti-gravity device is eagerly sought by the nefarious secret organization. When the children find a note from Stribnik that refers to a silver turtle, they suggest the name to Amy for her amphibious aircraft. Unfortunately this further reference to Stribnik causes an attack on the hangar and the adults are taken prisoner. The children, who were waiting in the Silver Turtle, are saved when a strange woman jumps in and pilots the ship away. This is hardly the end of the story, however, when it becomes unclear who are friends and who are agents of Noctarma. The children must race to find the real Silver Turtle before it falls into hands of the vile group and get release for the adults taken prisoner.

The emphasis of this story is much more on the mystery and adventure of the search for the Silver Turtle than the fantastical elements of the story. Some readers may have a bit of trouble with the Scottish dialect, but that is minor. More difficult may be the references to history and geography and the length of the book, but the reader looking for adventure will be rewarded.
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71008927 to: Rex Zero, King of Nothing (Hardcover) by Tim Wynne-Jones
bookshelves: family_story, fiction, historical, humor, school_story, series
Rex Zero comes by his name mathematically. His real name is Rex Norton-Norton and Norton-Norton=0. The book is full of this sort of wry humor that may fly right over the heads of young readers. Although the book isn't truly a mystery, Rex's life seems to be full of questions this year. To whom does the address book he found belong? What is the secret sister Annie is searching for in Father's office?

At school, Rex must face the ogre who is the substitute teacher, Miss Garr. Any interaction between Miss Garr and the class is always full of sparks. At home, Rex's father vacillates between sunshine and storm and Rex tries to stay out of the way of both his father and his sister Annie.

I'm not quite sure of the child appeal of this Canadian import set in the sixties. What I found humorous child readers may only find puzzling. But students will empathize with a child who feels he is a victim of a fiendish substitute teacher or who tries to help a good friend get rid of a possible stepfather by becoming Dr. Love. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/70657338 to: Samuel Blink and the Forbidden Forest (Hardcover) by Matt Haig
bookshelves: adventure, family_story, fantasy, fiction, magic, series
Samuel Blink and his young sister Martha were shipped to Norway to live with eccentric Aunt Eda when their parents were killed by falling logs. This is neither the worst thing to have happened to Samuel nor the last of his bad luck. Aunt Eda's cottage sits next to a dark forest, a forest of which she is very frightened because her dear husband Henrik disappeared there ten years ago. Strict rules and few modern conveniences wear on Samuel and the forbidden forest beckons to him. The call becomes especially strong after he find a book in the attic (breaking Rule 1: Never go up to the attic), the book The Creatures of Shadow Forest which describes the strange and fantastic creatures who live in the forest.

Samuel is intrigued, but when Martha walks into the forest, he knows he must follow and rescue her. And there a great adventure begins.

This is an inventive fantasy with some dark humor in it. First, just reading all the Norwegians' speech is a bit funny. And Aunt Eda lives in Hell, which Samuel thinks is very fitting, until Eda explains Hell is the Norwegian word for prosperity. But it is also a story of family love, of a boy who plunges into a dark wood in search of a sister who has become mute after her parents' deaths. ]]>