Cloudy With a Chance of Books

This very slight story reminded me of The Velveteen Rabbit. It was filled with sadness – a very pretty sadness.

The story is about a little girl who envies her dollhouse dolls their safe and loved life. She takes things away from the dolls. Her grandmother recognizes the problem after a magical note from the dolls and comes to the rescue sewing a special dress for Madison that seems to solve her loneliness by showing her she is loved. As is always true of Block, the descriptions are rich and filled with the fanciful. The story was poignant, yet I wonder how it would play with an actual child. It feels like it may be more for the teen or adult reflecting on childhood.

I will admit a bias towards action and plot in my fiction and this was more atmospheric and allegorical. So, perhaps for those with tastes different than my own.
2010, 61p.

This book has a great villain. I find I sometimes need someone to *boo* and *hiss* and the nanny Miss Barmy with her plans to orphan Emmy and steal her fortune is perfect. She channels Cruella deVille with her willingness to stomp on a lonely little girl, her goodhearted bookseller parents, and some defenseless rodents on her route to personal wealth.

This book has some great rodents – rodents with magical powers from the sweetly mind-reading Endear Mouse to the braggart Rat of the title whose second bite shrinks people to rodent size.

Emmy herself is a grand heroine. She figures out Miss Barmy’s plans with help from some rodent and human friends. It is nice to see a balanced girl who can do a lot for herself and is independent, but also find friends she an rely on for the help she needs. I love a smart girl who succeeds against evil and makes good choices to treat her friends well. Emmy makes the right choices even if she thinks they may cost her. Luckily, the author makes sure all comes right for Emmy because I don’t think I could have stood it if she weren’t left happy.

Jonathan Bean’s artwork and most especially his flipbook edging were a delightful addition. Frosting on a well-written delicious story. 346p., 2007.

This is the third book in the Magic Thief series. It is the story of Connwaer, a young pickpocket turned magician turned protector of his city. The city of Wellmet’s magic is in danger from a rogue magic that wishes to destroy it. Conn due to his generally bad reputation for being in the thick of trouble has been exiled from Wellmet just when he knows his city needs him most. He won’t let the threat of execution keep him from trying to save the city he loves.

Prineas brings back all the characters her readers have come to love and throws in dragons too. I really enjoy these books for their warmth. There’s many a dark fantasy written. These books have dark moments and the danger is palpable, but the love and friendship that ties the characters together is what matters most. I know comparisons to Rowling’s Potter grow tiresome in the world of children’s fantasy books, but I must say this warmth and caring between characters both child and adult is a reading pleasure that Prineas and Rowling capture beautifully. I also find that while each of these books tells a complete story I still want to know more at the end of each book in this series. I think that is indicative of a gifted storyteller to give a book that is satisfyingly complete, but leaves one wondering and thinking about the characters. Fans of the series will not be disappointed. 368p., 2010.

*** Spoiler Alert ****
If you haven’t read Demon’s Lexicon and think you will (and I think it’s well worth it) then don’t read the following review.

The author said her 2nd book in this series was harder to write than the first. This second book also had me thinking even more than the first – I like to think as a reader.

This is the story of Mae. Mae is the non-magical, human sister of a magician. She’s befriended Alan and his brother, Nick, a demon who’s been raised as a human. Nick cannot lie, but is cruel and inhuman by definition. Alan, in contrast, is kind to a fault, but lies to everyone almost all the time. Mae is drawn to both brothers, though there is no traditional love triangle here. Sibling love seems to rule the day as the two brothers alongside Mae and her brother all try to protect their sibling from magicians and demons alike.

Mae comes to life in this book as a more full-fledged character than in the previous title. This is her book. She tries to figure out her attractions to the boys in her life. She tries to understand her love of the Goblin Market with its magical trade and beautiful dancers who dance to ask favors of demons.

This book had characters with complex motivations and a well articulated magical world. Those who liked the first book will be impressed with this one. I’d also give this to fans of Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series. 440p., 2010.

I finally got around to reading our new Newbery winning book for 2009.

I really enjoyed it as anyone who loved Madeleine L’Engle as a child and early teen would. I still love her, but that’s where the love started. My dad read Wrinkle in Time aloud to me and I was hooked. Rebecca Stead clearly felt the same love of this author in her youth.

I would tell parents who enjoyed The Time Traveler’s Wife that this is a juvenile book with similar reading appeals. Sure, this was about time travel, but really it is was about life which is made of time. It’s also about that special time of realization that each child experiences when they lift the veil of their childhood world to see the wider world. I’ll join everyone else in highly recommending this title. 208p. , 2009.

The ninja who sneak about under cover of night are vampires. This gives them their superhuman stealth and strength. Of course!

Nick Lake clearly knows his Japanese culture and it soaks out of this epic story of young Taro who is foretold to be the next shogun. Taro and his devoted friend Hiro travel with the vampire ninja, Shusaku, to hide from the assassination attempts of Lord Oda. There are also revenge plots, sword masters, beautiful & deadly ladies, ancient objects of mythic power, ninja trickery, and plenty of combat.

It took me a chapter or two to become immersed in this ancient Japan where vampires were real. But, once hooked the epic journey of Taro to discover his heritage and avenge his adoptive father had me. I picked it up for the ninja vampires, but will continue reading for the drama, romance, beautiful world and just to see how Taro overcomes all to be the next shogun.
368p., 2009

In an alternative Europe, Darwinists have successful unraveled and recombined the stuff of life to create new animals. The Leviathan is a Darwinist engineered giant dirigible that is primarily sperm whale, but encompasses a whole ecosystem of animals each working to keep the Leviathan military airship aloft. Deryn disguises herself as a boy in order to realize her dreams of flying in the Royal Air Service and serves aboard Leviathan.

Westerfeld reimagines the first world war as a battle between the British and French Darwinists with their genetically engineered animals built for battle and the Austro-Hungarian Clankers with their mechanically advanced tanks and walkers which remind me of creations from the video game Battletech.

Half of the story is told from Deryn’s perspective as she hides her gender to enlist.  The other half is told from the perspective of Alek who is the orphaned child of Archduke Ferdinand whose murder triggers The Great War.  The orphaned Alek hides in the mountains of Switzerland with his trusted advisors hoping to avoid capture or assassination.  When Leviathan is sent on a special mission to carry Darwinist created eggs out of Britain, she crashes bringing Alek and Deryn’s stories together.

This delivered a number of reading pleasures.  I love stories of girls in disguise infilitrating male institutions and Deryn’s story of hiding her identity in order to fly was thrilling.  The Darwinist creatures and clanker tanks were fascinating creations and made for some epic battle scenes.  The larger political intrigue driving the action left mysteries and suspense for the sequels.  If you know something about WWI it is fun to note the changes, but the reader doesn’t need to know that history.  I would recommend this strongly to readers who enjoyed Airborn by Oppel or Airman by Colfer.  It is very different from Westerfeld’s Uglies books, but every bit as well written and enjoyable.  Keith Thompson’s illustrations paired nicely with the text and did not make the book more juvenile for me.  Instead, the illustrations added a coolness and I think teens who enjoy graphic novels will particularly appreciate them.  448p., 2009.

Lucy Pennykettle knows there is a monster in her room. Her mother does not believe her, but crafts Lucy a miniature guard dragon named Gruffen to protect her. Her mother uses a magical snowball to bring the clay dragon to life. Gruffen discovers the monster is really a bat. Lucy and Gruffen must protect this bat from a neighbor who wishes to get rid of her and find her a safe place to have her bat pup.

This was a simple, charming story with illustrations that perfectly matched the tone. Gruffen’s missteps in his attempt to guard Lucy added humor. More tales of the magical miniature dragons created by Lucy’s mom are forthcoming. It is fun to read about the secret lives of these dragons who do not move when nosy neighbors are near, but are capable of magic when there are no prying eyes. This is a good new series for the 2nd or 3rd grader looking for a cozy magical tale. 104p., 2009.

Cybils nominee for Easy Readers/Short Chapter Books category.

Jake’s parents have disappeared on an archaelogical expedition. They send Jake and his older sister, Kady, each half of an ancient Mayan coin. When the artifacts his parents recovered from their last expedition are displayed in London, Jake visits the exhibit. He puts the coin halves into a miniature golden pyramid which pulls him and his sister into another world.  In this world Native Americans fly on dinosaurs and Romans live alongside Mayans in a valley protected by the power of crystals. This valley is in danger from the rising power of the Skull King and his unnatural creations.  Jake makes two good friends, a Mayan girl and a Roman boy, with whom he will fight the Skull King and his warriors.

This book reminds me of Narnia as siblings who love each other but don’t always like each other are pulled across time to a land where a battle rages against a powerful evil.  Instead of religious undertones it is pinned on scientific principles.  The nature of light and the theory of continental drift both figure prominently in the plot.  The Skull King who literally wears shadows is less willing to use charm than the White Witch, but both plan to rule and sap the land of its vitality.  Jake is driven to pursue the discipline that his parents loved.  The author has provided Jake a host of mysteries and he takes them on like a young Indiana Jones.  There is plenty of action for this young adventurer and the unanswered questions about his parents’ fate will drive readers to want to pick up the upcoming sequel.

I enjoyed this book and think it is a great read for 6th – 8th graders particular those who like MacHale’s Pendragon books or Indiana Jones.  Pure adventure. 399p., 2009.

While her twin brother is born the 7th son of a 7th son which makes him magically powerful and lucky, Eff is born thirteenth which means she is certain to poison the lives of those around her.  Eff’s is made miserable by her cousins and Uncle Earn who believe that her parents should not have kept an unlucky thirteenth child.  Her parents decide to move the family west to the frontier in part to get Eff away from the taunts of those who know she is a 13th child and in part because the father of the family has the opportunity to become a professor of magic at a new land grant college.  The frontier borders the wild west which in Wrede’s alternate world is populated with dangerous magical creatures.  Settlers into the West take along magicians trained to protect them from magical wildlife and sometimes settlements fall to attack by steam dragons or mammoths.  The plot chronicles Eff’s school days, the dramas of her siblings especially two older sisters’ marriages, the difficulties of being sister to a magically gifted twin, and Eff’s worries that her unlucky magic will harm those around her.

Eff grows from childhood to young adulthood during the course of this book.  The scope of her growth and the setting reminded me of older books like Anne of Green Gables (who is also just sure she’ll never be able to be good) and the collected Little House books.  Eff’s family is loving and supportive, but ultimately she must figure out her own troubles controlling her magical abilities.  I very much enjoyed this alternate pioneer version of the American West and Wrede’s heroine.  The details of Eff’s family life (she has a lot of family as a thirteenth child including many older siblings with dramas of their own) and the richly imagined magical world made this a delight to read.  While “Aphrikan” magic is respected and there are black characters in the book, Native Americans are conspicuously absent in this alternate vision of a magical American frontier.  This is a quieter fantasy than some swashbuckling dragon stories, but just as rich in its vision.  344p., 2009