By: Tanya,
on 7/25/2012
The Bromeliad Trilogy by Terry Pratchett, usually known for his humorous science fiction for adults, is part satire, part parable and all adventure story. My husband and I (mostly my husband) first read these books out loud at bedtime to our older son some eight years ago. Now my husband is reading them out loud to our youngest, who is seven. Long after my son has fallen
By: Tanya,
on 7/2/2012
Project Jackalope by Emily Ecton is one of those books that fills a very important, once over looked niche in the world middle grade kid's books. Although a different beast from Project Jackalope, Jeff Kinney and his Wimpy Kid books have made writing books about boys who are not orphaned wizards popular again. The awesome Tom Angleberger exploded the field with his very funny, thoughtful
By: Tanya,
on 5/30/2012
Despite intentions otherwise, the Reading Level 1.5 label at books4yourkids.com represent a wide range of books. My intention with this distinction is to recommend books that can serve as a bridge between the large format, leveled beginning to read books and the smaller chapter books like Magic Tree House, Junie B Jones, Ivy + Bean and the like, which are a solid second grade reading level,
By: Tanya,
on 5/25/2012
Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms (known as Small Change for Stuart in the UK, where it was first released) by Lissa Evans is fantastic! This mystery with a missing magician, a trail of clues and a hidden trove of amazing mechanisms reminded me very much of a childhood favorite of mine, John Bellairs, (The House with the Clock in Its Walls, The Letter, the Witch and the Ring, The Treasure of
By: Tanya,
on 5/13/2012
Kenny and the Dragon is now in paperback! Tony DiTerlizzi's Kenny and the Dragon, his first solo chapter book, is an homage to Kenneth Grahame's The Reluctant Dragon as well as a literary name dropper. I'm not sure what copyright laws allow Gregory Maguire to mess with the characters of L Frank Baum's Oz books, or countless authors to toy with the characters Jane Austen brought into this
By: Tanya,
on 5/10/2012
Increasingly, I find I am helping parents find good books for sensitive kids. The popularity of Harry Potter and Diary of a Wimpy Kid introduced two different but influential themes of darkness, for lack of a better word, into the realm of children's books. More and more, a work of fantasy will present themes of darkness and suspense with antagonists who are much more malevolent, sometimes
What a timely review. I just picked this up for my son to read after hearing about it. Now I am eager of rhim to wake up so he can begin reading it.
That's awesome! I have to confess, I was skeptical about the book when I first picked it up. It really surprised and pleased me. It feels like it could have been written 30 or 40 years ago which gives it a certain feeling of innocence that I liked. Hope you two enjoy it!