A Plethora of Children's Books

Now that I have started working again, I find myself only wanting to read children's books. They are, after all, my favorite. The ones I have been reading lately are not light reading, however they have been quick reads and I have loved each of them for different reasons.

I read The Supernaturalist purely because I had taken my students to the library and happened to see it sitting on the shelf. I love Eoin Colfer, so I decided to give it a try. It was no Artemis Fowl, but I did love the story. It takes place in the future where the world relies on a Satellite to run everything. I loved how the author showed what he thought the world would become if we didn't start taking better care of it. It was actually really interesting and really funny.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret takes place in France, in the 1930's. Orphaned Hugo cares for the giant clocks at the train station, and he is also working on an invention that he believes will bring him closer to his deceased father. This is a graphic novel and I thought the illustrations were amazing. I thought the story fell flat at the end, but the pictures and style of the book were intriguing.I have placed A Single Shard on my favorites list. This is a book that I want to read over and over again. It is about a boy in 12th century Korea who learns how to make beautiful pottery, takes a dangerous journey and learns a lot about himself on the way. I loved the beautiful writing and the way in which the character is honest and good. I will be reading this book to my fourth graders near the end of the year.

Prince Caspian

After seeing the movie recently, I couldn't resist re-reading this book in order to compare. There were so many things happening in the movie that I just didn't remember happening in the book, but it had been a long time since I had read it.

I really like this book, though not as much as The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. It takes place hundreds of years after the first time the Pevensie's are in Narnia, though only a year in their time. They are called back to Narnia to help put Prince Caspian in his rightful place on the throne.

It is hard for me to admit this, but I like the movie better then the book. I thought the characters where darker and more developed in the movie and the action was more interesting. The move takes some liberties and changes some time frames and a bit of the story line, but I like these changes. In the book, you miss a lot of the action because it focuses on the girls flitting about the town with Aslan. I have to say that it is such a strange part of the book and I really hated it. Luckily, this does not happen at all in the movie.

So, go see the movie. I do like all the books in this series because I think the parallels that can be drawn to our world are very interesting, but the movie is definitely a must see.

Bella at Midnight

I found myself in the mood to read something fun and someone recommended this book. I thought it seemed like just the thing that I needed. It is a twist on the Cinderella story. I have read many of these kinds of fairy tale books and I found that this was not one of my most favorites. I enjoyed it for what it was worth; a fun, fast read. I did not like the ending, and I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters, but it did fulfill my desire for a more relaxing book.

Artemis Fowl

I recently re-read all my Artemis Fowl books in a row. I was glad I did this because I had forgotten a lot of what happens and it was nice to see how it all unfolded instead of reading them when they were coming out separately. I absolutely LOVE these books. I think they are the best example of a Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre I have ever read and I think they are great books to turn kids, especially boys, onto reading. I found myself laughing out loud at many parts and reading them to my husband. It was a bit much to read of Artemis' adventures constantly for a few weeks, but I had nothing else to read and I had a lot of fun. There is a lot of humor, adventure and excitement in these books. I definitely recommend them to anyone in need of a good, quick no-brainer.

Book of a Thousand Days

Thanks for being patient with me as I get our first book up and going. I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this book. Here are a few of mine...

Spoiler Alert!!!

I hope you all enjoyed this book as much as I did. I found it to be a delightful read. I simply couldn't put the book down. I truly enjoy this author's style of writing. I love the way she uses words. I thought that while this book encorporated a very simple format, a diary, Shannon Hale was able to bring about some deep topics.



I liked the way the book started, with the first day in the tower. It was interesting to get on the author's website and see how she originally started the book. Click here to read the excerpt. As I read the beginning I felt swept into this foreign world.

I've thought a lot about Dashti as I've prepared to write this post. In the beginning she seems quite naive. She blindly fulfills her duties and is mostly relieved to have so much food at her disposal. As time goes by in the dark tower I think her mood gets progressively darker. She begins to grumble a bit about her chores and the rats, and even Saren. She also experiences true fear in the tower. The first time is when Lord Khasar comes to visit the girls. He forces her to give him her hand and he hurts her. Then, and this part was so scary to me, I couldn't put the book down, when he throws fire into the tower and the girls have to race to put it out. She is also scared when the "knocking" men come and try to tear the tower down to get to the ladies in there.

I think that the fear and darkness make Dashti a more well-rounded character. Despite all of this, she truly rises to the challenges placed before her. She cares for Saren, recognizes their need to get out of the tower and does it, and then gets both girls to Khan Tegus' home. I love that she knew the healing songs, yet she could weave different songs together to create different effects, like no other person could do. I truly like how Shannon Hale gives her character's special powers, I think it makes the book more interesting.

Of course, I mustn't leave out the fact that Dashti conquered over Lord Khasar which was fitting. She used her wit and cunning to do it, and I thought that this particular episode was extremely exciting to read.

Dashti made the book a must-read! I truly cared for her and her fate. I liked seeing into her soul through her diary entries.

Saren's character was completely different. I don't think I every really liked her. I could understand why she was so dim. She had grown up a lady and hadn't had to do a thing for herself. She grew up without a mother, and with a father who told her that her only purpose in life was to marry. She witnessed the horror that was Lord Khasar and couldn't tell a soul about it. I can understand why she was the way she was. But, this doesn't stop me from thinking that she was very similar to a bad roommate! She couldn't do anything for herself. She relied on Dashti to take care of her. She ate all the food herself (Iloved how Dashti had to keep taking out her clothes because she gained weight), and she had major issues! Doesn't that sound just like the worst roommate you could imagine? In my mind, Saren only redeemed herself two times. Once was when she pulled Dashti away from the dump hole to stop Lord Khasar's abuse, and the second was when she claimed Dashti for a sister.

I believe that Dashti fell in love with Khan Tegus when he visited the girls in the tower. He was kind and funny to her, but did you feel that he was kind of dense? He and Saren had never met before, only written letters, yet if he had truly loved Saren, shouldn't he have been able to tell the difference between the two? I don't know. I thought that in some ways he seemed strong and was a good ruler, but Dashti was the one who saved his home. She risked her life to save everyone, and then the second they learned who she was, they all turned against her. In my opinion, it took Tegus a long time to come to her rescue!

Lord Khasar was a truly scary character! Whenever he came on the scene I could feel a knot of fear in my stomach. To me, that means he was a really good, evil character.

A few more thoughts...
The whole time the girls were in the tower it felt horrible to me. I didn't know why this bothered me so much until I realized that in some way, I share their fate. I live in a basement apartment that is pretty dark. I could totally emphathize with Dashti's situation. There is something to be said about enjoying the fresh air, the sun, the sky, the moon, the stars, and all the beautiful things in this world. I'm just glad I'm not locked up. When I start to feel a bit claustrophobic, I can just pack my kids into the car and go for a drive.

I would be willing to bet that one of Hale's next books will be based on one of the other minor characters in this book. Watch for a story about Gal or Quacha to come out soon. Just a guess!

These are just a few of my thoughts. I would love to hear what you thought about the book.