Books
for Teens and Younger Children |
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Mini Book Review List
Titles and
Bookstore Links |
Pages with
Mercifully SHORT Reviews or the Actual Mini-Review |
Harold & the Norman Conquest |
When
a teen book starts out with the violent removal of the hero's tongue,
you've got a crowd pleaser. Elizabeth Alder's The King's
Shadow is also a good read about a young man in service
to King Harold Godwinson, who was killed by the invading army of
William the Conqueror. Nancy |
American Girl (series) |
doll parts |
|
Reading
for its own sake is a wonderful thing, but when an art lesson or two is woven into the entertaining text, then parents
everywhere should be lining up to get a copy for their kids. Chasing
Vermeer is entertaining, too! Nancy |
Amazon: The
Annotated Wizard of Oz: A Centennial... (Oz books
by L. Frank Baum are a series) |
Wizard
of Oz Costumes |
|
Nancy's
rule is we only write these mini-reviews about books we love. Lucas doesn't exactly fit that description, but
I was interested enough to finish the book because, well, it's powerful - though not for
younger readers. Caryn
|
Amazon:
1951 |
Most of us met Alice
in Wonderland through the classic Disney movie, but if you've never read Carroll's books or
introduced them to your children, you're all in for treat.
Though the Reverend Carroll wasn't all one could hope for as a clergyman,
at least he had an imagination that could create a world of wonder
for all ages. Nancy |
(series)
|
There's nothing
more satisfying than to share something you enjoy with someone else.
In this case, it's author Caroline Cooney. My kids love her
books and made sure I read them too - first her time
travel series that begins with Both Sides of Time and then The Ransom of Mercy Carter, based on the
true story of the mass kidnapping of English settlers from Deerfield,
Massachusetts in 1704. Good stuff. Nancy
Update: Cooney has done it agian with a Trojan War tale about a young girl who hangs with Helen and the gang. goddess of Yesterday is very good.
|
|
Our CDO recommended Ralph Fletcher's Fig Pudding so I read it and found myself caught up by
the family in the story.
I hate to borrow these next words, but "You'll laugh.
You'll cry." Honest. Nancy |
|
Quotations Pe |
(series) |
I'm
not quite a sucker for anything Roman,
but I always check out books on the subject so I was quite pleased
to discover this series about mystery-solving
children in and about ancient Rome.
If your kid likes history, consider Caroline Lawrence's well-researched
novels. Nancy
more
about this series in the October
30, 2005 Bear Blog - please scroll down |
|
Amelia
Island |
Amazon: Nzingha:
Warrior Queen of Matamba,... |
Nzingha |
| Amazon: Casting the Gods Adrift: A Tale of Ancient Egypt |
Nefertiti |
Amazon: Inside the Walls of Troy by Clemence McLaren |
Briseis |
|
Caroyln Meyer has written a sympathetic story about Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragon, in Patience, Princess Catherine. Mid level readers will enjoy this look at Bloody Mary's gentle mother. It's one of the "Young Royals" series. Nancy |
Amazon: Complete Anne of Green Gable Boxed Set (Anne of Green Gables, Anne of the Island, Anne of Avonlea, Anne
of Windy Poplars, Anne's House of Dreams, Anne of Ingleside, Rainbow
Valley, Rilla of Ingleside) |
Beading
Diary - August 15, 2003 |
|
A
lot of teen fiction is limp and therefore boring. Elizabeth
Marie Pope's The Perilous Gard tackles historical
fiction from the fantasy standpoint and totally involves the reader.
I loved it. Nancy
PS No wonder it won
a Newberry Honor. |
|
Ann
Rinaldi writes historical novels about teens. They are entertaining
and informative - a nice combo. Nine Days a Queen takes a sympathetic look (how could you not?) at Lady
Jane Grey. Rinaldi is clearly an author over whom
it would be easy to lose one's head.
Sorry.
Nancy
London |
Amazon: The Body of Christopher Creed |
Quotations G |
Amazon:
Witch Hill |
Quotations Wi |
|
Kids love the books
in the Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) series that begins
with A Series of Unfortunate Events, and I do too!
The children
face after peril, escaping each one only to be faced by another.
There are also witty little lessons, which every parent will appreciate. Nancy
Quotations Tp through Tr
PS The film version of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is a major hit.
It wasn't as wonderful as I had hoped, but fans of the books won't
want to miss it.
2004
PPS For an adult version, try the series by Boris Akunin
that begins with The Winter Queen.
details
PPPS The Austere Academy has
one of the world's most bizarre book introductions. Click here - right column. Quotations Tp through Tr |
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Despite the old
jokes about puppy love, small children can develop strong feelings. Flipped is a story told from two sides. It proves
we're never too young for the war between the sexes. Caryn |
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Empress Wu |
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↑
What's this?
Buffalo
Hunt
click on the photos of the campfire
buffalo to enlarge them
summer - fall 2004 Nature Conservancy's
Spirit of the Buffalo public art project in OKC
complete list of buffalo
photos on
this site
Dare
to go Bear
|
