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.

I LOVE THIS GRAPHIC NOVEL. I borrowed it from the library and despite diminishing space for books may need my own copy.

Give to any science geek 3rd grade and up. Give most especially to 5 – 7th grade science geeks. Though adult science geeks will not be immune to its charms. Give to fans of comic books. Give to those who appreciated Scooby Doo in younger days, but have now outgrown it. Give this one to people who loved the Goonies and kept Data close to their hearts.

The Secret Science Alliance is a club with three members: Greta, a paranoid prankster, Ben, a smart kid who does not test well, and Julian, the classic geek who while brilliant never manages to make friends. The trio develop new inventions in their secret underground lair after school.

They uncover a nefarious plan to steal treasures from the local museum. When police don’t take them seriously and the clock is ticking, the Secret Science Alliance must use all their gadgets to stop the thieving scientist and save the day.

The plot isn’t complicated, but the detail in the artwork describing everything is intricate. All the characters, even the supporting parent types are well drawn and pull the reader into the story. The author has each kid sneak out of their rooms at night and the sequence of panels detailing how they fool their parents (each one has a different method) is brilliant. Some comics that do detailed artwork well, don’t do action sequences well, but not here. The madcap action complete with glue bombs and spring-loaded shoes is interspersed with detailed maps and timelines seamlessly.

I laughed out loud for the final scene of our heroes eating waffles together. You’ll have to read this one to see why.

I am putting this one in the science fiction category, though it is more fiction about science & invention than the speculative fiction or classic science fiction.

I hope Eleanor Davis writes more about these three lovable inventors: Julian, Greta and Ben. 2009.

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.

The FLUFFS (Fierce, Large, Ugly, and Ferocious Furballs) escaped the explosion of their marshmallow planet and are now in search of sweet candy and human brains turned to sweet mush to eat. They may look like giant rabbits, but they are far more deadly than your average Earth bunny.

The Fluffs land near Camp Whatsitooya on the banks of Lake Whatsosmelly. At camp the twins, Kevin and Joules, are happy to be escaping their parents’ trip to an International SPAM cooking competition. They’d rather be making lanyards in any array of colors than be taste testers for their parents’ latest SPAM creation. It is lucky for their fellow campers (and the Earth) that Kevin has watched many nights of the Late, Late, Late Creepy Show. He knows when you are at summer camp and start to hear strange things in the woods and someone says it is probably nothing – it is almost certainly something and something dangerous.

This zany story of deadly, mind-controlling, sugar snarfing, alien bunnies gets my seal of approval. It is light-hearted and humor-filled, but underneath the humor Beaty applies a remarkable amount of wit. I would put her narration on par with Lemony Snicket or M.T. Anderson. The narrator speaks directly to the reader and the artwork added by Dan Santat completes the package perfectly. I loved watching the comic strip of what happens when the camp’s director is being nabbed by a FLUFF. 192p., 2010.

I was prepared to not like this book. But I did like it.

I loved the Little Princess as a child. I bought the book in my elementary school gymnasium at an end of year book fair and read it multiple times over the following summer. Sequels to books whose authors have passed from the world seem unnecessary. For me, Harriet did not need to spy again and Scarlett need only be Gone with the Wind.

But McKay noticed that Frances Hodgson Burnett left her cast of supporting characters to uncertain futures. This book is the story of what happens in Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Girls after Sara Crewe has recovered her fortune in diamonds and gone. Ermengarde, Sara’s best friend, has been left behind and is a bit lost. Lavinia rises to lead the school girls again without Sara and the little girl Lottie is up to all kinds of mischief without Sara to keep her in check. Miss Minchin herself is haunted by Sara’s time in her school.

McKay creates a place where the magic of the Little Princess and her spirit haunt the halls. McKay does great honor to the original book and gives the reader a chance to see the girls of Miss Minchin’s find their way without Sara. She adds in a few new magical characters. The world of the school gets a new neighbor boy and a new maid to take the place of Becky. There’s also a great disaster, but it’s in the small things that McKay’s work really shines. Unlike the original, when this one ended I could not imagine wanting any more. Thank you for continuing this story, Ms. McKay. 273p., 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.

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.

Conn, a master pickpocket and magician’s apprentice, returns in this sequel to The Magic Thief. The stone he used to focus his magical abilities has been destroyed. Now he undertakes explosive pyrotechnic experiments in order to regain his connection to magic. Meanwhile, dark shadow creatures are turning people into stone on the streets of Conn’s home city of Wellmet. Conn travels with the envoy of the Duchess’s daughter to meet the Sorcerer king of Desh. The envoy hopes they can discover the origin of these dark, evil attackers and stop them.

This second book of a series is even better than the first book(which delighted me as well). I became so enchanted with the characters that I missed them after I finished the book. I am impressed with the illustrations and art design of the book which add another layer to this already compelling fantasy. The letters written between characters add depth to the story showing the characters’ personalities in both the handwriting and writing style. I even went to the website and signed up for the newsletter, so I will know when the next book is coming and where the author is signing. This fantasy had a warm quality that reminded me of classic books like the Wizard of Oz or E. Nesbit. I highly recommend this fantasy series to middle graders.  391p., 2009

Lord Umber is a great inventor and explorer. He finds the boy named Happenstance on his expedition to dangerous volcanic caverns guarded by an enormous centipede-like creature. Happenstance called Hap has no memories before meeting Umber in the cave. He has amazing eyes that can see in the dark, the ability to jump great distances and he never needs to sleep. Hap joins Umber’s band of explorers and they are soon hunted by a dark creature called Occo hungry for Hap’s emerging magical powers.

While the story features plenty of action from shark attacks at sea to battles with the evil Occo, it is the two mysterious characters that drive its plot. There is Lord Umber a genius who is not entirely comfortable in this magical world of Kurahaven despite his many accomplishments and vast wealth. And there is Hap who is a mystery even to himself and wonders as he learns more if he will bring good or evil to the small group of Umber’s band he has come to love. Catanese will need more books to do these characters justice and I look forward to reading them. This new fantasy combines action packed sequences with a deep fantasy world worth exploring.

342p., 2009