A faerie holds a early morning sun beam in her hand and marvels at its perfection.

A skinny little Hallows Eve Faerie…. not your average Tinkerbell!

The Green Thumb
A wicked little Halloween tale!

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The Book of Dreams
The Chronicles of Faerie: Book 4
by O. R. Melling

Dana Faolan, half-mortal, half faerie teen, is unhappy. Recently moved to Canada from Ireland, she misses her home and blames her father for moving her away from her beloved Ireland. She hates Canada: it's a strange country, she doesn't have any friends, and worst of all, there's no magic like there is in Ireland. Her only consolation is the world of Faerie, where she can go and visit her mother, the Light-Bearer, any time. Faerie becomes an escape from reality, one that she perhaps relies on a bit too much.

Then, all the portals between the Earthworld and Faerie are severed by an unknown enemy, putting both realms in peril. If the gateways are not restored by Samhain, then the two realms will be divided forever. Only Dana can restore the gateways. Accompanied by her new friend (and possible romantic interest) Jean, a French Canadian with secrets of his own, and with help from Laurel and Gwen, two Friends of Faerie, Dana sets off on a quest to find the Book of Dreams. In the process, she just might find that there is magic everywhere, even in Canada.

The Book of Dreams is a big, beautifully written fantasy on a grand scale. In her travels, Dana encounters people of the many different cultures that make up Canada, and the story is rich with beliefs and folklore from around the world, including Irish, French-Canadian, Hindu, Christian, Chinese, and several native peoples, including Cree and Inuit.

Melling's writing is beautiful; even her many descriptions of food, from the vegetarian meals Dana's Indian stepmother cooks, to the variety of food she encounters on her journeys, make the book worth reading (and will make you hungry while reading it!)

The story is well-paced and sometimes has a mythic feel to it. The pace is a bit slower than some YA readers may be accustomed to; the battles and dangers are balanced with scenes of family and encounters with other cultures that are important to the development of the story, but which make this a more leisurely read. The pacing, combined with the length of the book, may intimidate some readers, but good readers who love richly woven stories will enjoy it, particularly those interested in folklore and other cultures.

Don't get me wrong: there is plenty of action, as well as interesting characters (I particularly liked Dana's aunts) and a hot romantic interest. There is courage, and sacrifice, and poignant moments. This is a Rocky Road ice cream kind of book, packed with lots of chewy and delicious treats.

O.R. Melling wrote the Chronicles of Faerie so that each book stands alone, and can be read independently, and yet all the books are linked. Each of the first three books in the series features a different story and a different protagonist, although characters from the other books sometimes make cameo appearances in each book. This book can also be read independently, but I think that it would be best appreciated by someone who has read the other books in the series, because it is kind of the culmination of the series, and all the characters from the other books play a part in this one.

Our 2006 interview with O.R. Melling

Read my reviews of the other Chronicles of Faerie books:
The Hunter's Moon
The Summer King
The Light-Bearer's Daughter

Review copy provided by the publisher at BEA.

During our common planning time today, my colleagues and I brainstormed a list of texts we’re going to have students select from for their literary essays. Many people think that kids should pick whatever book they’re reading, I’ve come to believe that having children select from a pre-selected set of short texts is better. [...]

January 27 is the ABC Canada Literacy Foundation’s Family Literacy Day; an event that celebrates and promotes literacy, with a family twist.

Across the country, libraries, schools, community centres, arts centres, and homes — maybe even your home — will be hosting events and reading children’s books. It’s a great excuse to read a book with your child, if you need one.

On this edition of Just One More Book, Mark speaks with Margaret Eaton, President of the ABC Canada Literacy Foundation about literacy and this year’s Family Literacy Day.

Authors mentioned:

• Robert Munsch

Mark refers in this interview to the following quote from a recent post on Jen Robinson’s Book Page. Jen wrote last January, in an article about a talk that Jen heard by read-aloud advocate Jim Trelease, that:

“He (Trelease) suggested that we need some sort of national campaign to inform people all over the country of the importance of exposing their kids to more words every day, and encouraging them to enjoy reading. He gave an analogy to the campaign that was used to successfully cut the incidence of smoking in this country by 50% over 40 years, a combination of informing people, scaring people, and insulting people, and thinks that we need to try something similar in American homes re: reading.”

More statistics and literacy tidbits referenced by Mark in this interview can be found here:

• New Data on Reading from the Miss Rumphius Effect blog
• Jim Trelease Talk: My Notes from Jen Robinson’s Book Page blog

Photo: ABC Canada

I guess I'm fairly content with this piece, although my humans always seem to look a bit off. It's a bit on the monochromatic side which is somewhat unusual for me. I was going for a kind of barren yet wild feeling with this piece. If she's the princess of blackberries her dress would be stained and torn after all that running around through the brambles, right? I think I probably should have made the figure a bit more angular in her features to emphasize her other-worldliness. She's a bit too soft and round, but then again she is a "princess."

5x5" and 8x8" prints are available through my DeviantArt account here.
Greeting cards, note cards, and decorative boxes are available at my Cafepress shop.

by Renee Kirchner, Teaching Tips Contributing Editor

Prediction is an important reading skill that children must develop. It helps them to understand stories and create meaning as they read. Teachers can help children learn how to use clues from a story to predict what will happen next. One of the best types of text for teaching predicting is the circular story.

Circular stories follow a pattern. They end the same way they began after following a series of predictable events. Talk to children about other things that follow a circular pattern such as seasons or an animal’s life cycle. Explain that every year we have four seasons: winter, spring, summer, and fall. We always have four seasons and we can predict the type of weather to expect because it follows a circular pattern each year. Let them know that some stories are predictable, just like seasons, because they follow a circular pattern.

There are many fine examples of picture books that you can use to teach prediction. Read some of the stories listed below and ask children to predict what will happen next when you read. It might be helpful to draw a circle on the board and write out the plot points. This will illustrate how the story comes back around to the place that it started.

Picture books with circular plots:

The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant

When relatives arrive from Virginia, the house is filled with people and good times. There are so many relatives that they can’t all eat at the same time and they sleep on top of each other. At summer’s end, the relatives leave and the house seems big and quiet again. But, the relatives will be back again next summer.

Stephanie’s Ponytail by Robert Munsch

Stephanie arrives at school one day with a ponytail. The next day, all the girls are wearing ponytails, too. Stephanie wears her hair differently every day trying to thwart the copycats. Finally she tells her classmates that she is going to shave her head. The story has a surprise twist ending. The cumulative text is great for teaching how to make predictions.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

In this modern-day classic, one simple act, giving a mouse a cookie, triggers a whole set of other events. The demanding mouse needs a glass of milk after eating the cookie and so on and so on. Children will enjoy guessing what the mouse will need next.

Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto

Maria thinks that she lost her mother’s diamond ring in a batch of tamales she was making for Christmas dinner. When her cousins arrive, she tells them the problem and they help her look by biting into each of the tamales. Soon all of the tamales are gone and they have to make another batch.

Seven Little Rabbits

Seven little rabbits go down the road to visit their friend toad. This repetitive text keeps children guessing if any of the rabbits will make it to toad’s house. One by one they get tired and need to take a nap. The rhyming text makes for a great read aloud.