Carnival of Children’s Literature, No. 2

Wheee! The fun has begun. Head on over to Chicken Spaghetti for the second Carnival of Children's Literature. There's even whirling teacups - and a lot of great blog links about children's literature. Have fun!

Riddle in the Mountain

Kathy Henley is scared of noises in the night that no one else can hear. Sure, she and her family just moved to Boulder, Colorado, and everything is strange and different, but Kathy is sure she isn't imagining the noises. But when her brother David and his new friend Frank dare her to go ghost hunting with them, all three children encounter a strange little man who burns a riddle into their minds and sends them back in time to 1879. The little man tells them that they must find "the key" and return it to its rightful place. Each of the three children has one part of the riddle, and they must work together to solve the mystery and find the key so that they can return to their own time.

Riddle in the Mountain is a fast-paced, fun story which combines mystery and fantasy with the Old West and a bit of Cornish mining folklore. Whether you like mystery, fantasy, or your tastes run towards historical fiction, there's something here for everyone. The Old West mining town is vividly drawn, and the characters are interesting. There's a few surprises along the way which add to the fun. A pleasure to read! An appendix at the end contains historical notes on Colorado history, the Cornish in America, and mining folklore. Riddle in the Mountain would tie in well with curriculum units on the history of the Old West in general and Colorado history specifically. It also touches on aspects of immigration in America and Cornish folklore.

Wands and Worlds Small Press Month Blogfest

Saviors of the Bugle

I have to confess - I wasn't sure that I'd enjoy this book. After all, it doesn't have fairies, wizards, or dragons - none of the things I normally enjoy in a book. But I'd agreed to review it, so I started reading. And kept on reading right through to the end. What I discovered was an exciting, compelling story with depth and meaning.

The publisher describes this book as being about three children trying to save their small town's newspaper, which it is, but it's also much more than that. It's about the responsibility of ordinary citizens to stand up for what they believe in, and the need for communities to protect their citizens. It's about the rights and responsibilities of the free press in a democratic society. It's also about ordinary kids coming of age and finding themselves.

And that's really what makes this book so compelling - the ordinary kids. These aren't superhuman, Nancy Drew types who can do no wrong. They make mistakes, they get tongue tied, and they don't always make the right choices. But they do the best they can with what they have, they stand up for what they believe in, and in the process, learn a little bit about themselves.

There are subplots about the tensions and misunderstandings between adolescents and their parents, about child and animal abuse, and about the difficulties faced by small town businesses. The author weaves the various threads together with skill. The book is very well written (although there are a couple of typos).

Saviors of the Bugle would be an excellent addition to a middle-grade civics class or unit.

Buy Saviors of the Bugle from Amazon.com

Wands and Worlds Small Press Month Blogfest

Small Press Month

March is Small Press Month, a celebration of small and independent publishers. There's a lot of exciting work being published by these small presses, some of it mainstream, and some of it work that might never, for one reason or another, see the light of day at the large, profit-oriented media conglomerates that dominate publishing. Small presses keep the pioneer spirit alive: taking chances on new authors and innovative books, experimenting with new technologies, or reaching under-represented audiences. By controlling costs, keeping print runs small, and using creative marketing techniques, small presses can afford to publish books for small niche markets that the "big 6" wouldn't even consider a possibility. Small presses are the "cowboys" of the publishing world.

To celebrate Small Press Month, throughout the month of March I'll be blogging about some excellent kids' and teen's books from the small and independent publishers. I hope that I can help you discover some new books that you otherwise may never have heard of.

For more information about Small Press Month, including "Ten Things to do for Bookstores & Libraries" and "Thirty-One Things to do for Small Presses & Independent Publishers," see the Small Press Month web site:

http://www.smallpressmonth.org

The City of Ember

The underground city of Ember was built as a refuge where humanity could survive a disaster. Ember was designed to last hundreds of years, and the builders planned for everything - except the possibility that the instructions for getting out of the city and into the world above might be lost. Now, Ember is starting to fall apart. The generator that runs everything, including the lights, is failing, and the storerooms are running out of food. The future of Ember rests in the hands of two twelve-year-old children: Doon Harrow and Lina Mayfleet. Can Doon and Lina find a way to save Ember before the lights go out forever?

The City of Ember has been on my "to read" list for quite a while. Now I'm sorry I waited! It's an outstanding book - exciting, suspenseful, and intriguing. The city and culture of Ember are vividly drawn, and the characters are engaging. Doon and Lina are two very different characters, who nonetheless find friendship with each other on their quest to do what the adults in the city can't - or won't - do. Young readers will relate to their frustration at trying to get the adults in their lives to take them seriously.

I listened to the audio book from Audible.com and the audio is very well done. The narrator does a good job creating distinctive voices for all the characters, and music and sound effects add the the atmosphere without being overpowering.

Ptolemy's Gate

The first time I read The Amulet of Samarkand, I was hooked. I succumbed to the charms of the wise-cracking djinni Bartimaeus, and I adored the book. The Golem's Eye was harder to like. It was still a good story, and the character of Kitty made an interesting addition, but young magician Nathaniel was behaving abominably, and there wasn't enough of the wonderful voice of Bartimaeus.

I had hopes that Ptolemy's Gate would live up to the expectations set in the first book. I'm happy to say that it's everything I'd hoped for - and more!

Several years have passed, and Nathaniel, known to all as John Mandrake, is now on the Council, one of the most important men in the government. But things are spiraling out of control, and between the war, protests by the commoners - and protecting his own position - Nathaniel is kept pretty busy. He fears to release Bartimaeus back to the Other Place for a much needed rest, but the longer Bartimaeus remains in this world, the weaker and less effective he becomes. Meanwhile, Kitty is involved in a plan of her own, a plan that she hopes will solve the problems facing her country. When Bartimaeus and Nathaniel uncover a plot against the government, the three of them - Nathaniel, Bartimaeus, and Kitty - will be thrown together against unimaginable danger.

Start with an exciting story that'll keep you on the edge of your seat, add in a wisecracking djinni, an idealistic young woman, and an, er, unsympathetic but confused magician, and you've got a winner. But even more than that, Ptolemy's Gate is a powerful and moving story that resonates with choices and consequences, sacrifice and redemption, and the human bonds of love and obligation that even djinni can fall prey to.

Jim Dale reads the classics

Yesterday, my 10 year old son and I were eating lunch together at the mall. We were quiet, each of us lost in our thoughts, when suddenly he exclaimed, "I really like Around the World in 80 Days! It's such a great story!"

As great as Jules Verne's book is, and indeed it's one of my favorites, Mr. Verne can only take partial credit for my son's ardor. The rest of the credit has to go to Jim Dale, whose wonderful narration of the book we have been listening to. Jim Dale, who is best known as the U.S. narrator of the Harry Potter books, has a remarkable voice and an ability to bring any story to life. Athough I have read the book before, I found myself literally holding my breath in unbearable suspense as the members of the Reform Club waited and the clock ticked towards 8:45. (My only criticism of this audio book is the cover, which features a balloon, one mode of transportation that wasn't used by Phileas Fogg and Passepartout. Hello?)

We also recently listened to Dale's narration of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and although it's an old favorite that we've read many times, Dale opens up new dimensions to the story with his narration and his voices.

There are so many excellent classics like these that children could benefit from being exposed to. But let's face it, some of the classics are difficult to read because of modern changes in language and writing styles. An excellent reading of these books can make them much more understandable and more vivid to a modern audience. And, I'll bet that a lot of children and adults have listened to these audio books just because it's Jim Dale, thus exposing them to something they may not have read on their own. I hope that Jim Dale will continue to read more of the best classics to help keep them alive for modern audiences.

Meeting the Other Crowd: The Fairy Stories of Hidden Ireland

My husband always chides me for not reading more non-fiction. He loves reading books about people and places and events in history. I prefer to use my reading time to escape into other worlds and faraway times and places.

I found a way that I can "have my cake and eat it too." As a record of folklore, Meeting the Other Crowd: The Fairy Stories of Hidden Ireland is classified as non-fiction, but in its compulsive readibility it reads like fiction. Irish storyteller and folklorist Eddie Lenihan has traveled through parts of Ireland, collecting stories of the Good People from old-timers before these stories disappear completely in the modernization of Ireland.

The stories themselves are a fascinating glimpse into faerie folklore and it's interesting to see the roots of many modern fantasy works. They range from the consequences of cutting down a faerie bush or building a house on a fairy road, to humans "asked" to referee fairy sporting matches. But the stories are also a portrait of a way of life that is disappearing. Lenihan and co-editor Carolyn Eve Green did a good job at capturing the authentic voices of the storytellers.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in faerie folklore.

The Chronicles of Faerie: The Hunter's Moon

One of my current fascinations is with the fairie folk. There's something appealing about the legends of the "other folk," charismatic, mercurial, and potentially dangerous. So like us in some ways, and yet so different in others. Ever since I "discovered" the fairies in reading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, I've been reading books of fiction and folklore about fairies. So it was with some excitement that I started reading The Hunter's Moon, the first book in O.R. Melling's The Chronicles of Faerie. I wasn't disappointed.

The Hunter's Moon is a beautiful, lyrical tale of friendship, love, and sacrifice that's sure to please any fantasy fan. The melding of ancient and modern Ireland sets a poignant backdrop for an exciting story that builds to a startling conclusion. Melling's love of Ireland and her knowledge of folklore are skillfully woven into a story that brings the land of Ireland and its people to life. It made me long to visit Ireland, both the modern and the old, and to dance with the fairies whatever the risk.

The book was originally published in Canada in 1993, but Melling has updated it with several modern pop culture references. While this would seem to be a risk, ensuring that the books will become outdated quickly, the references serve to show the contrast between the modern and the ancient. I'm looking forward to reading book 2, The Summer King, scheduled in the U.S. to be released in May of this year.

Oh, and Melling is a blogger! Read O.R. Melling's blog here

A Dark and Atmospheric Fantasy

If you like dark and atmospheric fantasy, you may enjoy The Book of Dead Days and its sequel, The Dark Flight Down, by Marcus Sedgwick. The books tell the story of a young orphan who knows nothing of his past and whose only name is Boy.

In The Book of Dead Days, Boy lives with the magician Valerian as a servant/assistant. Valerian has made a Faustian bargain, and if Boy and a girl named Willow can't help him find a certain book of power before New Years Eve, Valerian will be dead. In The Dark Flight Down, Boy is abducted and taken to the palace of the Emperor Frederick, where he is plunged into a world of intrigue, mystery, and danger.

Sedgwick's strength is his richly detailed word-paintings, which bring the setting and the characters to life. The books are dark, mysterious, and exciting. Both books are good, but I especially enjoyed the second one. The story was more interesting, and the character of Boy more fully developed.