Well, I read The Penderwicks, by Jeanne Birdsall. It was OK ... kind of a growing-up story. It takes place in Massachusetts, at a house in the country that the Penderwick family has rented for a month. There are four girls in the family, and their dad, a professor who drops Latin quotations a lot. Their mother died after the youngest girl was born. Oh, and there's also their dog, Hound.
The oldest kid is Rosalind, who has to take care of her younger siblings. She's practical, hard-working and pretty, and on the edge of her first real crush. Batty is the youngest. She's emotionally addicted to the butterfly wings she wears all the time, and to Hound.
Jane is a dreamer who wants to become a writer. And Skye is the rebel.
Throw this lovely family into a guest cottage on an estate, complete with an interesting teen-age gardener, a nasty landlady, and the landlady's son, Jeffrey, and you have a great formula for what should be a wonderful book.
But it didn't do much for me. Maybe the people just didn't have quite enough character? I love Roald Dahl's delightfully nasty characters. But the Penderwicks, for me, were rather flat.
Anybody disagree? Write and tell me why I'm wrong! Or right.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
The Penderwicks
Has anybody out there read "The Penderwicks" by Jeanne Birdsall?
This book looks really interesting to me. The subtitle is, A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy. How can you not want to read something like that?\
I notice, too, that it's turning into a series. The second one is called, The Penderwicks of Gardam Street. Yeah, it sounds like something you'd watch on PBS, but I have always liked that kind of literature.
OK, I'm going to read it. If anybody else has read it, please write and let me know if you liked it, or if I'm wasting my time.
This book looks really interesting to me. The subtitle is, A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy. How can you not want to read something like that?\
I notice, too, that it's turning into a series. The second one is called, The Penderwicks of Gardam Street. Yeah, it sounds like something you'd watch on PBS, but I have always liked that kind of literature.
OK, I'm going to read it. If anybody else has read it, please write and let me know if you liked it, or if I'm wasting my time.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Seeking the new Merlin
“One thousand years have passed since I, Merlin, mighty wizard of the Pendragons, magical defender of the Britons, and wise enchanter of the sword Excalibur, was imprisoned for all eternity in an oak tree by the cunning sorceress Vivienne, whom some call Nimue. One thousand years have passed since wizardology was practised in its true form, for the secret knowledge has grown scarce. Now most of those who call themselves wizards are but meddlers, unworthy of the name, while those who would make the best apprentices squander their time on a host of fledgling sciences.
“I have therefore, by that magic which still remains to me, caused a part of the oak that is my prison to be made into a book, so that at last an apprentice may be found to seek out and learn the old secrets, and by his efforts raise wizardology to its rightful place once more. …”
I discovered these words, and more, on a slip of paper inside a tiny envelope glued to the inside of a book – at the library.
Is anybody out there interested in taking up Merlin’s challenge?
If so, read the book! “The Wizardology Handbook: a Course for Apprentices,” edited for the modern reader by Dugald A. Steer. It’s on the “new” shelves in the Children’s Department, under Y Steer.
And if you read it, please write on this blog and tell the rest of us what you learned … and what you have become.
Is it possible that Findlay, Ohio (or Arlington, or Arcadia, whatever) could be the home of the future greatest wizard in the world?
“As I will, so mote it be!” -- Merlin
“I have therefore, by that magic which still remains to me, caused a part of the oak that is my prison to be made into a book, so that at last an apprentice may be found to seek out and learn the old secrets, and by his efforts raise wizardology to its rightful place once more. …”
I discovered these words, and more, on a slip of paper inside a tiny envelope glued to the inside of a book – at the library.
Is anybody out there interested in taking up Merlin’s challenge?
If so, read the book! “The Wizardology Handbook: a Course for Apprentices,” edited for the modern reader by Dugald A. Steer. It’s on the “new” shelves in the Children’s Department, under Y Steer.
And if you read it, please write on this blog and tell the rest of us what you learned … and what you have become.
Is it possible that Findlay, Ohio (or Arlington, or Arcadia, whatever) could be the home of the future greatest wizard in the world?
“As I will, so mote it be!” -- Merlin
Thursday, August 21, 2008
This is YOUR blog!
Hey kids,
If you like books, and want to talk about them with your friends or kids you don't know, this is the place!
The Kids' Books blog is for you. If you're reading a great book, old or new, write about it! Ask questions. Criticize it. Write about what you like or don't like about it. Tell about the other books you've read by this author.
Or write about new books that you know are coming soon. Harry Potter fans -- J.K. Rowling's new book, 'Tales of Beedle the Bard,' will be out in December. So write about how excited you are ... or aren't.
Write about your favorite book, or one that your mother used to read to you when you were little. If there's a book you would like to re-read, but you can't remember the title or author, write about what you can remember. Maybe somebody will read it and be able to help you.
You can use this blog any way you want, so long as it has to do with books. Have fun!
If you like books, and want to talk about them with your friends or kids you don't know, this is the place!
The Kids' Books blog is for you. If you're reading a great book, old or new, write about it! Ask questions. Criticize it. Write about what you like or don't like about it. Tell about the other books you've read by this author.
Or write about new books that you know are coming soon. Harry Potter fans -- J.K. Rowling's new book, 'Tales of Beedle the Bard,' will be out in December. So write about how excited you are ... or aren't.
Write about your favorite book, or one that your mother used to read to you when you were little. If there's a book you would like to re-read, but you can't remember the title or author, write about what you can remember. Maybe somebody will read it and be able to help you.
You can use this blog any way you want, so long as it has to do with books. Have fun!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Rose Blanche
I just read "Rose Blanche" by Roberto Innocenti. I was left feeling sad and thoughtful. It's a short book that you can read in about 10 minutes. The pictures are absolutely stunning with lots of detail.
The book's title is the name of the main character, a young girl who lives in Germany during the second World War. She experiences the war, but she doesn't really understand it. I read in the author's notes that the name Rose Blanche was chosen because it was the name of a group of young Germans who were against the war, and who finally were all killed.
I don't want to tell the whole story, because then people wouldn't want to read the book for themselves. I hope you will read it, and then blog here to let others know what you think.
The book's title is the name of the main character, a young girl who lives in Germany during the second World War. She experiences the war, but she doesn't really understand it. I read in the author's notes that the name Rose Blanche was chosen because it was the name of a group of young Germans who were against the war, and who finally were all killed.
I don't want to tell the whole story, because then people wouldn't want to read the book for themselves. I hope you will read it, and then blog here to let others know what you think.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)