Not So Baby's Bookshelf

FireStar -- Chris D'Lacey

Reading Level -- 4th grade -- ages 9 - 12
Length --548 pages
Chapter Book -- no pictures
Warnings : black magic, violence, death, aliens, religious questioning, pregnancy out of wedlock
Rating:2 stars

OK, I have to admit, this book lost me. The first two I enjoyed - even if I wasn't keen on the second one for a six year old -- this one I feel exemplified the "jumped the shark" concept.

Basic Plotline: David and Zanna have set off on their Arctic adventure, leaving Lucy and Liz at home with the dragons.  On the adventure, a combination of Gwilanna and David's writing bring about actions no one at home could have expected. The story jumps around a great deal, introducing alien being that posess people and animals, ancient mystic creatures and beings, in depth discussions of the role of the stars in the creation of mankind, etc.  The long and the short of it is that David eventually figures out what is going on and chases the Alien ( the Fain) to the Arctic, where he faces off with the creature and is "killed" by several ice spears to his chest.  His sacrifice, however, ends the Fain, and David dies in Zanna's arms.  In the Epilogue, Zanna tells Liz (who has been reaquainted with her long lost love, Arthur) that she (Zanna) is expecting David's baby, so a part of him will always be with them.

Comments: To me, this novel felt rushed -- almost as if a publisher said "The first two were a hit, hurry up and throw together another one so we can get people to buy it before they lose interest."  Things seem forced in places and don't fit in others (Gwilanna's "defeat" in literally one paragraph? Lucy sleeping with the bear for 3 months? Why not just set the story 3 months later and not have the long wait?  Arthur suddenly appearing out of nowhere, and then trying to make it look like HE is the one who has been writing the writing of the book? Contrived.)  And as far as issues go, Man...this one touches on ALL the hot button topics.  If you've read the Golden Compass, this appears to be headed along those lines.  Like GC, There is this underlying question in the book about whether or not God exists, but unlike GC, D'Lacey never comes right out and answers the question.  A lot of talking in circles creates the possibility of Alien beings creating Earth, or possibly a creature called "Godith," and Gaia (somewhat akin to Mother Earth) plays a role as well.  There is a fair amount of Physics/laws of space time that come into play, as well.  Most disturbing, however, for a small child, is the violence and death that plays such a pivotal part in this story.  Lucy is kidnapped, and held hostage in a cave in the Arctic, Zanna is kidnapped by the bears, and seems to be dead for part of the story, Gwilanna is frozen in ice, and then at the end, the Fain (alien) goes on a rampage and leaves multiple people dead or near dead.  And, of course, in the final act of sacrifice, the reader is led to believe that David has also died.  That's a lot of death for a children's book! Admittedly, if you're familiar with the Arthurian legends (one of my personal loves!) you'll pick up on any number of loose to strong alusions in this series -- especially so in this book.  Gwendolyn/Guinevere play significant roles, Arthur is "brought back" from the aisle of Avalaon -- no wait, in this book it's Farlowe Abbey, and David is ultimately sailed off on an ice floe with 4 bears as his guides -- similar to Arthur disappearing on the lake rather than dying.  HOWEVER, for a child of 6, these allusions are moot.  What matters is that the story itself has lost all of the sweet innocent charm of the first book and become an action adventure novel.  The few short pages where you revert to the "special" dragons seem to be a breath of fresh air, but only a momentary one before diving back into the darkness and danger of the book.

The end - Zanna's announcement of her pregnancy - came as a huge surprise to me. There is one line early on where she mentions to David while they're in the Arctic that he didn't mind her "warming him up last night," but it is so fleeting I would never have worried about it until the end.  The sudden revelation of her pregnancy is bound to raise questions, especially since the birthing of a dragon has been such a focal point of the novels. Suddenly the relationship question from the last book raises its head again, and I find myself wondering if it's necessary to introduce to a six year old the concept of raising a child out of wedlock.....or how that child came to BE out of wedlock!

So I am left again saying that while D'Lacey is clearly an excellent writer, and very adept at creating characters that catch your interest and keep you engaged, this book too should be placed on a higher shelf and reserved for the 11+ crowd.

**One minor note -- D'Lacey has recently released several very short books each focusing on a specific dragon from Liz's collection.  I haven't read the short ones yet (they're not long enough to keep K's interest), but they seem to be aimed more at the 6ish age group.  If she hadn't already read Fire Within, they might have worked for K.  As soon as I can get my hands on one, I'll review it as well.

IceFire -- Chris D'Lacey

Reading Level -- 4th grade -- definitely not a beginner book
Length --421 pages
Chapter Book -- no pictures
Warnings : magic, witches, discussion of creation/life force, kissing, some violence
Rating:3 Stars!!

Why is it that all series seem to do this? The first book draws you in, you get interested in the story, the characters, and the concepts -- and then following books take you down a path you never intended to go? What a disappointment. :(

Plotline: Basically this book picks up where the last one left off.  Lucy, Liz, and David are at home, and David's "girlfriend" Sophie sets off on a trip to Africa for a short time.  At that point, things begin to change -- the simple, child friendly story from the first book quickly descends into magic, mystery, and otherworldliness.  The plot itself follows David and Zanna's (Zanna is a classmate of David's with a serious attraction to our hero) attempts to learn what happened to Gwain (the last dragon's) tear. In the process of learning that secret, Zanna "quickens" a dragon egg sending Liz into a "birthing trance," and they draw to themselves an ancient Polar Bear mystic (disguised as their professor) and a Sybill (witch - disguised as Liz's aunt.)  The story culminates in a showdown in David's bedroom where Liz incubates her dragon egg while David and the Sybill fight. In the end good wins over evil, David's girlfriend Sophie returns, and he is forced to choose between Sophie and Zanna -- or rather Sophie chooses for him.

Comments:Let me start by saying that as an adult reader, I enjoyed this book! It was an easy read, and interesting - with plot twists I wasn't expecting, and characters that drew me in.  If you're an adult, or looking for a book for a child say 11+, this book would be a good one.  Unfortunately, I'm screening for a 6 year old, and this book did NOT fit the bill.  There's an underlying issue in this book that may slip past you on first glance -- it's a relationship nightmare.  David is essentially cheating on the girlfriend he's promised to wait for by building this relationship with Zanna, and yet you (the reader) find yourself rooting for him to do just that.  Aside from that, however, there is serious magic and alternative ideas in the role of Gwilanna.  She is clearly evil, and not afraid to use her evil for negative purposes -- including KILLING David at one point! (She allows him/forces him to fall through a hole in the floor, and we are given a brief description of his body being crushed beneath the rocks as his hand goes limp.  Not pleasant....he is "brought back to life" by a polar bear tooth that has been given to him.)  All these things together set of big warning bells for me.  Because my daughter had SO loved the first book, we read this one together, and she was equally upset.  She said it was too scary, and in her words "The first book is good for now, the next book is good for maybe, someone who is ten." :) Brilliant child.

Once sentance summary:  This book has an interesting plot and well developed characters, making it good for an older crowd, however the subject matter it touches on (including dark magic, death, and violence) leave me suggesting it be left OFF of The Bookshelf.

Matilda - by Roald Dahl

Reading Level -- Age 8 & up
Length --240 pg -- Chapter Book --  small pictures every few pages
Warnings : magic, animal illness/death
Rating: 4.5 Stars

KD's review:

" Matilda is a funny book because, well, she reads a lot -- like me! Because she reads so much she learns lots of things, and the things she reads get her in trouble.  Like the time she learns how to build a ladder, and after she builds the ladder she gets super glue in her dad's hat so that he'll have to sleep in it! YEEEESS, I think people should read this book! I think it would be good for people who are like 6 through maybe 11.  Younger people would like it, but maybe they would have trouble reading the words, because they are small.  There's a few pictures, and a couple are big and a couple are small, but they don't tell the whole story in the pictures. "

The Fire Within -- Chris D'Lacey

  

 
Reading Level -- 4th grade -- definitely not a beginner book
Length --approx 300 pages
Chapter Book -- no pictures
Warnings : magic, animal illness/death
Rating: 5 Stars!!

Yep, there's been a serious jump in my daughter's reading, so this book is another level up! I bought it on a whim (because the cover caught my eye) and was happy to discover that the story lived up to the title.

The first in a series by D'Lacey, this book introduces us to Liz and Lucy Pennykettle, who open the story by opening their doors to a new college student tenant, David. While David adjusts to life in the Pennykettle house, and forms a close bond with the Pennykettle women, he is constantly slightly uncertain about the many clay dragons that pepper the house. Liz makes the dragons and sells them at craft fairs, but David is certain there is something "odd" about the dragons. (You, the reader, are clued in that the dragons just MIGHT be alive -- but David seems a bit slow to catch on. This is really laying out the plot for future books, and plays a minor role in the first one.)

Plot: In his VAST amounts of spare time (unusually vast for a college student -- interestingly attending class seems to be not only optional, but very minor for David,) David assits Lucy in investigating the disappearance of local squirrels. In the process, he decides to write a story book as a birthday present for Lucy. Obviously, the squirrels that take so much of her attention make a good cast of characters. To help David out, Liz gifts him a dragon of his own -- Gadzooks -- a "writing" dragon, who David "imagines" scribbling an odd word or name on his clay tablet when David is stuck with his story. In the end, David and Lucy solve the squirrel mystery, and everyone lives happily ever after -- with the exception of one squirrel, who, suffering from kidney failure, has a short happy life in the wild before he passes away.

The story itself is fairly harmless -- not scary, and fairly well written. It draws the reader in, and you begin to care not only about David, Liz, and Lucy -- but also about the squirrels. This first step in the series really only hints about dragons -- a few basic stories are told, we discover that dragon names all must start with "G," and a few clues/mysteries are spread out to pique the readers' interest. If your early reader isn't interested in fantasy, this story still may work for them.

As far as warnings go, this first book is fairly safe - nothing that is challenging aside from the length, but it reads quickly. One of the squirrels does die in the end of the book, so death is approached, but it's handled gently. David does develop a crush on the animal rescue "lady," and eventually asks her out -- and she becomes his "girlfriend," but that relationship really plays almost no role in the story itself. The one big warning I'd give is that this is the first in a series -- and the series itself doesn't remain quite so "warm and safe."

Overall, though, I'd give this one an A -- and my daughter loved it so much that her Christmas wish was for a "clay dragon" of her own!

The Tiara Club #1: Princess Charlotte and the Birthday Ball

Reading Level -- about 1.4ish? Age 6-9 according to the cover
Length -- 69 pages
Chapter Book -- pictures nearly every page
Warnings : teenage characters, magic
Rating: 3 Stars!!

This book is the first in a series called "The Tiara Club," and is aimed at those just making the transition to chapter books. The story itself is something of an adapted fairly tale -- the story of five young princesses who have just arrived at the "Princess Academy." The plot of the story revolves around attempting to retrieve dresses for the ball. One of the princesses (Charlotte) acts very "un-princesslike" in chasing after the carriage, her shout resulting in the trunks and dresses falling into the river. Luckily the girls are able to demonstrate their "true friendship" and earn back the right to attend the ball -- and with a little fairy dust they even have dresses to wear.

Overall the writing is pretty trite, and the story itself is fairly predictable. It's a good entry into chapter books for your early reader - something a bit more challenging, but definitely not going to win any awards or be a treasured memory. The print is large, and a picture takes up at least half of every other page. As an added bonus, there is a sheet of stickers about halfway through, and if you want to you can visit a website listed on the cover and use a "hidden" word to unlock games. (The website is pretty much a let-down, however, so I'd avoid building it up. There are a couple of games and a printable coloring sheet, but not much else. To help you get the idea of the hidden word, in this first book it is in chapter 3 in the picture of Queen Gloriana at her desk.)

The only hesitations I'd point out is that these girls are "teenage" princesses, and the story introduces two older princesses who are a bit snooty and look down on our heroines. These two older characters basically "flunked out" of the princess class the year before and now have to re-do their first year. They continue to play a role in later books as well, so be ready. There are some references to not liking people, or other princesses not being as "cool," and definitely some superiority among the 5 friends -- an attitude I don't endorse in my daughter. We just made sure to mention that behavior "wasn't nice," and then moved on. There is also some use of magic -- to test Charlotte's quick thinking, and also to "fix" the dresses, but it's fairly innocent.

My daughter (who was just under 5 when she read it) flew through it in less than an hour, but loved it. (It took me about 7 minutes to read the whole book.) The pretty pink color of the cover, the pictures, and the ease of reading - not to mention the princess theme! - made it a quick favorite. Several months later, however, it's been forgotten at the top of a shelf. I'm not conviced it was really worth the $3.99, but she says it was!

Happy Reading!!

Big Apple Barn #1 - Happy Go Lucky

Reading Level -- about 2.1
Length -- 96 pages
Chapter Book -- few pictures
Warnings : None
Rating: 5 Stars!!

This sweet book is the first in a series by Kristin Earhart tracing life at a friendly riding farm called "Big Apple Barn." This story follows Happy Go Lucky, a young horse who has just been transfered to Big Apple Barn. Confused and lonely, Happy Go Lucky takes the advice of a fellow colt and "disobey's" his rider in the ring, resulting in feeling embarassed and sad when he learns he's let down his new owners. A friendly mouse in the barn explains to him that the colt wasn't TRYING to cause trouble, he just wanted different things than Happy does. Happy, of course, gets a second chance, and is able to follow what HE knows is right and prove he is an excellent riding horse.

As a parent I loved this book-- the lessons it teaches ( rely on your own definition of right and wrong, not what your peers tell you; choose to do what is right; etc) are familiar ones. One lesson that is equally important, but often ignored is the idea that your friends may not be TRYING to mislead you, but simply want different things. Happy doesn't have to ignore his friend, or make a major moral stand - he simply learns to make his own decisions instead of being a follower. Wholesome, moral, age appropriate. The main characters are animals, and the human beings are portrayed as nice and good as well.

From a child's view, my daughter loved this book. The words and writing were solid, and kept her engaged. The chapters are short, and the book is not a difficult read ( it took her about 2 hours of reading spread over 2 days -- took me about 25 minutes of skim-reading) but it is a fun read. Best of all, it's only the beginning of a great new series! I'll keep you posted on the next couple of books as we read them!

My 2 Cents

Hello!!

And welcome to my corner of the world wide internet! This blog has been born out of my frustrations as a mom of an early reader. All too soon we'd progressed past the safe world of Syd Hoff and the many board books with their sweet rhyming stories, and I found myself desperately reading children's book after children's book looking for anything that might be subject matter appropriate for my almost 4 year old, but still have a reading level that would challenge her. I quickly discovered that asking friends led to uncomfortable silences, or the occasional hurt feeling as someone thought I was bragging or insinuating my child was more intelligent than hers.  Unfortunately, teachers weren't much better -- usually referring us over and over to "Magic Treehouse" or "Junie B Jones." Over the past two years since that time, I've read an ABUNDANCE of children's books. I am now intimately acquainted with "Flat Stanley," the American Girls and I are old buddies, and Jack and Annie are my best friends. As my daughter continues to out pace her learning curve, and I find myself continuing to come up empty on suggestions for good books I thought it was about time someone start putting together an easy list of children's books for those of us desperate to find them.

As far as qualifications go, I am a high school English teacher for the gifted and talented. I have a degree in English Literature, as well as one in History, and have been certified to teach Advanced Placement courses. All of that isn't really important, though. What IS important is that I've been "pre-reading" books for a precocious child for several years already. I've learned through doing -- and I'm hoping my lessons will be helpful to you. Remember, though, these are merely MY opinions. Books are like candy - no two people will ever have the same favorites. To help out, I'll try to give a brief synopsis of sorts, followed by my assessment of the book. If you're not looking for the same things in books as I am, feel free to use the synopsis as a starting point to decide which books you'd like to pre-read for your child. I'll be posting about books as I get a free moment, so check back often. You may occasionally find me posting multiple books at a time -- or I may go a few days without posting any. If you happen to be a publisher who would like to send me books to review, feel free to email me and I'd love to help out!