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Most of us know that bright children frequently read books written for adults, but it’s less commonly recognized that bright adults frequently read books written for children.  (Harry Potter, anyone?)  No matter how old or how young we are, what unites us as readers is that deep feeling of satisfaction that comes with turning the last page and thinking “Now that was a good book.”  

T.H. White’s The Once and Future King, A Wrinkle in Time, Harriet the Spy, and  The Lord of the Rings  are only a few of the books that have been read by adults and children with equal delight, and have been claimed by both groups as favorites.  The element that these books all share are the magic created by a writer who placed highly original characters in a world that was constructed by considering the story, not the age of its readers, nor any underlying didacticism. 

The people we hope to have in our new book group are readers who can sink into a children’s book with pleasure and want to talk about it in a community of like-minded bibliophiles, whether they be eight or eighty, whether they live in Peoria or Phnom Penh.  Our goal is to host an ongoing conversation in which people from all over the world, adults and children, can unite over books that they all love and want to discuss online. 

The books that are featured will fall into the range of readers between the ages of eight and twelve and will be set in countries all around the world.  We hope  that the magic of literature will help to bring together the inhabitants of far-flung continents, in the same way that the book discussions will bring together people of different generations and different cultures. 

This is a book group that exists in whatever timeframe you choose—send your responses  while you’re still in your pajamas,  while you’re eating lunch, or when you should be doing your homework.  Send your comments and respond to other readers whenever you like—it’s that easy.  If you don’t like the book that’s been chosen, let us know.  If it reminds you of others that you’ve read, tell us.  If you don’t like the questions that have been posed about the book, write about the points that are meaningful to you.  Suggest titles for future discussion. Argue, discover a new point of view, chat about books—for many of us there’s nothing better than that.  Opening a book opens a new world to explore, and a good book makes that world a part of its reader forever.  Let’s discover new worlds together through the magic of books.   

Thanks to Shaken & Stirred, I discovered this amazing sculpture of The Battle of Pelennor Fields from The Return of the King, made entirely out of candy! My favorite part is Grond, the battering ram, made from red licorice ropes. Pure awesomeness!

Click here to see it

Edited to add:

There's a Kid safe edition for those who don't like the bad language

Nein, dies ist keine Illustration für eine neue "Jaguar-Modelreihe", sondern nur eine Zeichnung für einen Liebhaber dieses Autos, zum 60sten Geburtstag. Herzlichen Glückwunsch !

http://www.silversnail.com/storefront/

These window displays (in Toronto's comic book store The Silver Snail) are recreations of the battle for Helm’s Deep from the Lord of The Rings, using Muppet Show action figures.

In case you have not tired of any and all news possibly pertaining to Lord of the Rings type stuff, I have something for you today. Now personally, I'm sort of hobbited out. I'll comment on the odd weirdo living situation here and there, but I didn't feel the need to draw any sort of attention to the pseudo-hooplah surrounded J.R.R. Jr.'s "completion of the series", whatever that may mean. Nope. But a blog piece that tries to sort out exactly how hobbits fit into the larger scheme of Middle Earth? I'm in. And I quote: "I presume that hobbits were small yet integral in some way to Middle Earth’s economy, there to befriend non-hobbits like Aragorn and Gandalf and to remain more or less subservient the entire time, never expressing a singular self-interest." Worth a peek.

Thanks to Shaken and Stirred for the link.