4 Stars. I love this series. It's just so innocently fun! The girls are funny but caring, as are their circle of friends. Girls in their "tween" years should love these books as well. This installment was just as much fun as all the others. I missed having Rosalind around but without her guidance, the three younger Penderwicks [...]
**SPOILERS FOR THE 1ST IN THE SERIES, BLISS** Rosemary Bliss feels incredibly guilty; she lost her family's magical cookbook to her evil Aunt Lily and now everything in their hometown of Calamity Falls just feels drab. To make matters worse, Aunt Lily is everywhere Rose turns--on the TV, on the radio, and now on the grocery store shelves with Lily's Magic Ingredient. Something has to be done. Rose and her older brother Ty sneak onto the set of Lily's TV show, where Rose challenges Lily to a bake-off. Basically, whoever wins the prestigious Gala des Gâteaux Grands in Paris gets to keep the magical Bliss Family Cookery Booke. With an assortment of Bliss family members, talking animals, and magic ingredients, Rose flies off to Paris to do her best in the world-class competition. I still love this series! I hate to cook, but I have a sweet tooth that won't quit, so baking is right up my alley. The Bliss family are all so quirky and endearing that I just have to love them. Earnest Rose who feels more responsibility for everything than she should; charming Ty, trying to win over all the ladies; funny Sage with his microphone hoping to mine his conversations for hstandup comedy gold; and little bewitched Leigh, spouting off Lily's praises at every turn. They're funny and adorable and so loyal to each other. I just love them. The other characters are great too. Balthazar Bliss, a many-times-great grandfather, is roped in to help and he's cranky and funny. His talking cat, Gus, is delightfully sarcastic but comes through when he's needed. A talking mouse, Jacques, finds himself involved as well and discovers that his bravery is much bigger than his tiny body. They all add to the fun of this magical little book. The…
Miri is a small teenage girl from the mountains. She feels inadequate in her village because she isn't allowed to help in the quarry, the lifeblood of trade. She tries her best to help every way she can, but she just knows that everyone must think she's a burden. One day, with the spring traders, a delegate from the faraway court arrives. He announces that the priests have divined that the prince will find his princess in their village. All girls between the ages of 12 and 18 must go down the mountain to where a Princess Academy has been set up to teach them all that they must know to be fit to be a princess. This wasn't my favorite of Shannon Hale's books (That would be Goose Girl, followed closely by Book of a Thousand Days), but I still liked it. I felt that it had a good message for young girls about learning what you can, speaking up for yourself and others, helping others, and being happy with your own talents instead of focusing on what you can't do. It did all this without being preachy in the least. I liked the girls. Miri was by far the most well-developed, but they all had their little (or big) dreams. They are of course changed by their lessons but they still remain true to who they were before. Miri was a plucky little thing and I admired her courage. I suspected how everything would end up from really early on, but I still enjoyed the journey to get there. I highly recommend this for tween girls. Read an excerpt. Find author Shannon Hale on her website, her blog, Facebook, and Twitter. Buy Princess Academy at Malaprop’s | Better World Books I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my…
The Bliss family has a secret. A lot of bakeries say that their pastries are like magic but their pastries really are magic. Oldest daughter Rose loves helping out in the kitchen but she hasn't been allowed to do much more than fetch ingredients and she's never been entrusted with any magical recipes. But when both parents are called away for a week to help a neighboring town, they leave Rose with a key to the magic recipe book. Coincidentally, their long-lost "aunt" Lily rolls into town just as the Bliss parents are leaving and she seems awfully curious about the bakery... What a cute read! I just loved it! Rose is the responsible one in the family and it's starting to wear on her. She's a little tired of watching her brothers have all the fun while she isn't even allowed to do any real baking. Anyone can bake a scone; Rose wants to bake a love muffin. The misadventures the Bliss children have while their parents are gone just amused me to no end. Their solutions to their problems are more and more creative but they just cause bigger and badder problems. Aunt Lily is just enough of a suspicious character to keep Rose on alert, but she's smooth enough that Rose is able to forget about her for little bits of time too. It's obvious she's up to something, it's just not entirely obvious how she intends to do it. The siblings learn lessons about family and listening to their parents and trusting their instincts and each other, but the book does not beat you over the head with them. This was cute enough that I looked forward to getting on the elliptical machine so I'd have time to read it. Need I say more? I'll be…
The seventh son of the seventh son, aptly named Septimus Heap, is stolen the night he is born by a midwife who pronounces him dead. That same night, the baby's father, Silas Heap, comes across a bundle in the snow containing a new born girl with violet eyes. The Heaps take this helpless newborn into their home, name her Jenna, and raise her as their own. But who is this mysterious baby girl, and what really happened to their beloved son Septimus? The first book in this enthralling new series by Angie Sage leads readers on a fantastic journey filled with quirky characters and magykal charms, potions, and spells. Magyk is an original story of lost and rediscovered identities, rich with humor and heart. Another book I've waited too long to review... Magyk was a lot of fun to read! Funny and suspenseful, I kept turning the pages right through to the end. That means a lot when you consider that I read it while striding away on the elliptical machine at the gym. The Heap family reminded me a lot of the Weasleys--there were about a million of them, they were talented, and they were poor. But they loved each other a lot and that made everything okay. I guessed pretty early what was going on but this is a book written for the middle grades; they might not guess as quickly. I've had a lot of practice at this kind of thing! I need to track down the rest of the series soon. I need to see what's going to happen next! I recommend this for boys and girls from around the age of 10 and up. They should all tear through it the same way I did! Read an excerpt. Find author Angie Sage on Twitter and…
4 Stars. I just love the Penderwicks. They are all so cute! Rosalind feels older than twelve, but in her circumstances, I think that's right. She's stepped up to be a mother figure to the younger children. Skye is so abrasive and intelligent, Jane is so dreamy and unintentionally funny, and young Batty is just adorable. I love [...]
4 Stars. I listened to this ages and ages ago, but I remember that I loved it. I don't even recall the sisters' names, but as I listened they each had a distinct personality and I was easily able to differentiate between them. There is no big plot here, it's just a series of little adventures that these sisters have on their [...]
When The Wish Giver comes to the Coven Tree church social, four townspeople exchange 50 cents each for one wish. They can't even begin to dream how their wishes will affect their lives. I remember loving this book when I was in about fifth grade. I couldn't remember a thing about the story but I remember how much I loved this book. It held up well! As a young reader, I doubt that I noticed that the story is a cautionary tale about being careful what you wish for, I just liked the fanciful way that the wishes turned out. Polly wishes that people would like her and smile when they see her. Rowena wishes that a handsome traveling salesman would put down roots in their town. Adam wishes for water all over his parents' farm. They get what they wish for, all right! This was a quick, easy read for me and I'm pretty sure I smiled all the way through, reliving the magic I felt as a young reader. The illustrations by Andrew Glass are great too. There's one picture of the traveling salesman in particular that still sends a chill down my spine! I wholehearted recommend this for younger readers. It's a fun story that would be a delight to read aloud with a child. Banned/Challenged: The Wish Giver shows up in the 99th spot in the top 100 most-frequently banned/challenged books from 1990-1999. I can't find a reason why, so I'm going to take a stab at it. Read the second paragraph of the book: "Witches have abounded in this part of New England since colonial days, when Cotton Mather held his witch trials in Salem to be rid of them. The very name of our village comes from the huge, twisted tree down at the…
Despereaux was born different. He's super-small and his eyes opened right away. And as he grows older, he's decidedly un-mousy in his behavior. In fact, he falls in love with Princess Pea. What will he do for her? I was drawn into this dreamy fairy tale from the first page. I can't say that I fell in love with any of the characters; that doesn't really seem to happen in true fairy tales. But I did fall in love with the book and all the gently-taught lessons it contained. There are lessons about individuality vs conformity, courage, honorable defiance, love, forgiveness, loyalty, envy, and judgment. And they're all presented so subtly that kids probably won't realize they're learning anything. There were several quotes I loved that will show you the heart at the center of this story. "Reader, you must know that an interesting fate (sometimes involving rats, sometimes not) awaits almost everyone, mouse or man, who does not conform." "The sound of the king's music made Despereaux's soul grow large and light inside of him." "Stories are light. Light is precious in a world so dark. Begin at the beginning. Tell Gregory a story. Make some light." "Reader, do you think it is a terrible thing to hope when there is really no reason to hope at all? Or is it (as the soldier said about happiness) something that you might just as well do, since, in the end, it really makes no difference to anyone but you?" I loved this little fairy tale with a big heart and recommend it. It would be perfect for parents to read aloud with their children. Reviewed May 25, 2009 Read an excerpt. Find author Kate DiCamillo on her website. Buy The Tale of Despereaux at Malaprop’s | Better World Books Friday…
September is bored at home. Her dad is fighting a far-off war and her mom is working long shifts at the factory. When the Green Wind comes along and offers to take her to fairyland, she jumps at the chance. But all is not well in fairyland. Good Queen Mallow has disappeared and The Marquess rules in her place. The Marquess has introduced laws and bureaucracy to the fey. It isn't long before September finds herself on a quest that sets her at odds with The Marquess, and that is never a safe place to be. What a delight! I was immediately thrown back to my favorite classic children's fantasies--Alice in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz... I'm sure there are more, but those are the big ones. Yet it was wholly its own story when it came to actual plot. There were nods to other books, but the characters and places that September encounters on her journey were unique and fun. There's the loyal wyverary A-through-L (He's a cross between a wyvern and a library. Yes, a library), Lye the soap golem, Calpurnia the velo wrangler, Saturday the marid, Iago the panther of storms, and many, many more. Each will live in my memory for a long time to come. I will think of them fondly and dream of the adventures we might have had if only a wind had offered to take me to fairyland when I was a child. I really liked September and her loyal friends. September feels like a real little girl. She's heartless sometimes, as the narrator points out, but she's one of the most loyal and true characters you will ever meet. She literally sails to the end of the earth for her friends. She's brave and resourceful and…