Arabel and Mortimer Review

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Arabel and Mortimer ReviewArabel and Mortimer is a book written by Joan Aiken and illustrated by Quentin Blake. The first chapter of this book is called Mortimer's Tie. It's about this bird who doesn't like to go anywhere without his dark green tie. Mortimer is Arabel's pet raven. Arabel's parents Mr. and Mrs.Jones had just gotten a brand new car. Arabel was watching Chris wash her dad's new car. Mortimer, who was always getting into trouble was studying a waterhose very hard. Mortimer got his foot stuck in the waterhose and got himself all tangeld up in it. He was pecking and pekcing. He poked many holes in the waterhose. One time, Mortimer, who loved to dig in cracks of cars was digging in Arabel's father's car when he found a ring. It belonged to Lady Dunnage. She had a parrot named Isabella. Isabella was a very proper parrot she had all of her feathers brushed back and she looked beautiful. Miss Dunnage asked Mr. and Mrs.Jones, "Would you like to go on a cruise with me?" So, the whole family went on a cruise.
Arabel and Mortimer OverviewIn this silly sequel to Arabel's Raven, Mortimer floats out to sea on a grand piano, tries to get even with three giraffes that have stolen his doughnuts at the zoo, and takes off with King Arthur's sword. Will Arabel ever be able to control her troublemaking pet raven?

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Buried Fire Review

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Buried Fire ReviewJonathan Stroud reached fantasy fame with the wizard-and-djinn Bartimaeus Trilogy, but it wasn't his first foray into the fantasy world. Recently rereleased is "Buried Fire," a simple but well-written fantasy adventure, with a dark lesson about arrogance and power.
In a small English village, a boy named Michael fall asleep on a hillside, and is consumed by the thoughts of a sleeping dragon deep underground. Elsewhere in the town, workmen come across a strange Celtic cross buried in the church's foundation -- with a dragon on it. Then Michael staggers home, suffering a strange fever and a drug-like high -- and claiming he can see INSIDE people. Unsurprisingly, the stodgy vicar Tom thinks he's on acid.
But when his brother Stephen follows Michael to the spot where he slept, he's given the same strange powers. At the same time, Tom. The boys have no time to savor their powers, because they are not the only ones who have them -- and the other people in the village who have the four gifts of the dragon are using them to try to bring the dragon back. Now Stephen and Tom may be the only ones to stop them -- and to save Michael from becoming one of them.
They say that power corrupts, and it corrupts quite a bit in "Buried Fire," where the magic and action literally starts on the first page. Stroud lightly sprinkles his story of ancient dragons and magic with a bit of old folklore, and carefully crafts a back-history for the mysterious "witches" that surround the dragon's influence.
"Buried Fire" starts slow, and takes some time to really get moving beyond Michael's strange powers. The ending, on the other hand, is extremely abrupt -- how about another chapter or two to round things out? But Stroud has a good prose style: detailed, rich and very intense. Particularly imaginative is the first power -- the "sight" -- and how it allows Michael and Steven to see the kind of souls that people have. This could have turned out silly, but Stroud adds an otherworldly feel to it.
Michael seems to be the lead at first, but later he shares the stage with his brother Stephen, who is not as powerful, but is not corrupted by the malevolent Mr. Cleever. Both are strong characters, with Michael falling victim to a longing for power and dominance, and Stephen desperately trying to save his brother. And the villains are all the more sinister because the dragon's thoughts seem to be warping them.
Think you knew dragons? Think again. Jonathan Stroud's "Buried Fire" is an intriguing, somewhat dark fantasy adventure, putting a few new twists in the stories of unexpected powers and hidden monsters.Buried Fire OverviewDeep in the English countryside, the unearthing of an ancient Celtic cross awakens an imprisoned dragon and unleashes a smoldering evil. Less than a mile away, 13-year-old Michael McIntyre falls asleep on a lush green hill, and wakes up with frightening and sinister new abilities. Michael possesses the four gifts of the dragon-and he's not the only one, nor is he the most powerful. The others, whose identities will be slowly revealed, offer Michael powers beyond his wildest dreams if he will keep their secret safe. Now he must choose: give up these astonishing but devastating new abilities and help his family and friends banish the evil that lies beneath their fragile earth, or join the others in their crusade to protect their gifts and set the dragon free - a choice that may well destroy everyone Michael loves. Those with power will stop at nothing to keep its secret, while those without it need Michael's protection to survive. Buried Fire combines elements of fantasy and mythology in a spellbinding tale of good versus evil.

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Tom's Midnight Garden Review

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Tom's Midnight Garden ReviewDo you remember those old textbooks they used to hand out in fourth grade English class back in the 1980s? How they'd contain a section or a snippet out of some of the great works of children's fiction in the hopes of whetting our elementary appetites and interests so that we'd seek out the books on our own? No? Well, I do. I remember reading one of these textbooks one day and coming across a section in which a boy lives in a house where the clock strikes thirteen one night. Then he stumbles onto a magnificent eerie garden that only appears at this time. For years I carried the images from this single slight little passage with me, not knowing where they came from. It was only when I became a children's librarian that I decided to rediscover my mystery book. It didn't take long either. "Tom's Midnight Garden" is a true literary classic. Combining a British love of gardens with a bit of ghostly hauntings, time travel, and magical hours that don't exist in the regular world, the book has remained a classic, even if it has slipped out of the public eye a jot.
Tom and Peter are uncommonly close brothers. For them, summer is the time when they can play endless games in their backyard for hours at a time. Imagine Tom's sorrow then when Peter comes down with the measles right at the beginning of the warm months AND Tom has been quarantined to his stuffy old aunt and uncle's home. The boy is, needless to say, less than delighted with this chain of events. His relatives occupy the second floor flat in an old building that is separated into apartments. To top it all off, Tom has insomnia every night and finds himself wandering the building. One night the grandfather clock on the first floor starts chiming an unheard of thirteen chimes. Drawn by this peculiar number, Tom goes to the first floor, opens the back door, and finds himself facing a beautiful gigantic garden and woodsy area. This is especially odd when you consider that during the day this place is a paved over alleyway replete with garbage cans and a high fence. At night, however, it transforms into a magnificent wonderland for Tom and the girl he meets there, Hatty. Hatty and Tom become inseparable, in spite of their mutual confusion over what exactly is going on. Only when Tom is threatened with having to leave his aunt and uncle's (and thereby the garden) does he discover the source of the magic and the modern-day tie that pulls him there.
Comparisons of this book to "The Children of Green Knowe" make perfect sense. As I read this title, it didn't take much urging to be reminded of that other great fantasy in which a boy makes friends with otherworldly children. "The Secret Garden" also pops into the brain, due to its eerie ghostlike wailings and magnificent hidden garden. "Tom's Midnight Garden" is a little more methodical and (dare I say?) modern than these other books, though. Though Tom and Hatty don't initially question why a garden mysteriously appears in his backyard every night, eventually Tom must solve the mystery with a little detective work of his own. It's to the author's credit that by the tale's end, everything has been explained in a believable way. Some fantasy authors are far too willing to show something spectacular and then explain it away with the lame excuse of "it's magic!". Philippa Pearce is no such hack. This is a well-thought through book that justifies its fantasy and still remains fun.
I can't help but wish that reissues of "Tom's Midnight Garden" might consider giving it a bit of an updated cover. The original illustrations by Susan Einzig are inoffensive enough, but wouldn't this book benefit from lush full-page color illustrations from someone like Tasha Tudor, Tony DiTerlizzi, or (as long as I'm indulging myself in pure fantasy) Dave McKean? Slap a post-1958 cover on this puppy (possibly showing Tom getting his head stuck midway through the shed door) and you've got yourself a book that kids would be dying to get their hands on. Instead, you've a title that savvy adult, parents, librarians, and schoolteachers will have to coyly promote. Once the right kind of kid discovers it, however, you'll have a dickens of a time prying it from their hands. A fantasy that deserves more attention.
Tom's Midnight Garden OverviewTom is furious. His brother, Peter, has measles, so now Tom is being shipped off to stay with Aunt Gwen and Uncle Alan in their boring old apartment. There'll be nothing to do there and no one to play with. Tom just counts the days till he can return home to Peter.Then one night the landlady's antique grandfather clock strikes thirteen times leading Tom to a wonderful, magical discovery and marking the beginning of a secret that's almost too amazing to be true. But it is true, and in the new world that Tom discovers is a special friend named Hatty and more than a summer's worth of adventure for both of them. Now Tom wishes he could stay with his relativesand Hatty -- forever...


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The Enchanted Castle Review

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The Enchanted Castle ReviewWorking in a bookstore, I meet a lot of people, especially parents buying books for their children. As you can imagine, several of them ask, "What do you have that's like Harry Potter?" I always recommend E. Nesbit's books. They never know who I'm talking about. But they usually become interested very quickly.
Edith Nesbit was an outspoken British writer who wrote enormously entertaining children?s books in her later years. Many of these books combine normal, everyday children with magical themes or elements. In 'The Enchanted Castle,' three children - Gerald, Cathy, and Jimmy - stumble upon a lush, beautiful garden, where they find a princess who has been asleep for 100 years. Or is she really who she says she is? All the children know is that something strange is going on - like why are the statues moving?
'The Enchanted Castle' IS enchanting. The writing is colorful, exciting, and engaging. If your child is looking for something in the Harry Potter vein, the E. Nesbit books are just what the doctor ordered. Kids won't even care that it was written nearly 100 years ago. It still reads pretty well today, and that's what counts.
291 pagesThe Enchanted Castle OverviewThis anthology is a thorough introduction to classic literature for those who have not yet experienced these literary masterworks. For those who have known and loved these works in the past, this is an invitation to reunite with old friends in a fresh new format.From Shakespeare's finesse to Oscar Wilde's wit, this unique collection brings together works as diverse and influential as The Pilgrim's Progress and Othello. As an anthology that invites readers to immerse themselves in the masterpieces of the literary giants, it is must-have addition to any library

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