Showing posts with label adventure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adventure. Show all posts

The Fairy's Return (Princess Tales) Review

The Fairy's Return (Princess Tales)
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The Fairy's Return (Princess Tales) ReviewThe Fairy's Return is a retelling of the golden goose story. Robin and Princess Lark love each other, but King Harrumphrey forbids their marriage. All seems lost until the fairy Ethelinda intervenes. This story is filled with subtle wit and plays on words. If you enjoy humor and fairy tales, read The Fairy's Return!The Fairy's Return (Princess Tales) Overview

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To Have and to Kill LP: A Wedding Cake Mystery (Wedding Cake Mysteries) Review

To Have and to Kill LP: A Wedding Cake Mystery (Wedding Cake Mysteries)
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To Have and to Kill LP: A Wedding Cake Mystery (Wedding Cake Mysteries) ReviewMary Jane Clark comes up with a great recipe for this murder mystery as the murderer certainly wasn't the one I thought it was !
Clark keeps the reader guessing as Piper, a struggling actress who is trying to get over a broken engagement and moves back in with her parents, to get her life back together joins in the family cake decorating/baking business. When she agrees to do the cake for a television star, life gets mighty interesting in the kitchen.
I liked the book; sure, it wasn't intense, but I read it for the sheer enjoyment of her writing style. The only thing that would have made the book even better would have been if Piper, the main character, and Jack (the handsome FBI Agent) had gotten together. They are friends, but if they had gotten together as a real couple in the end it would have been a nice ending.
My wife is anxious to try Piper's "Simple Buttercream Icing" recipe for the wedding cake that was included in the book. Also, I thought it was interesting that Piper was using Twitter -- looks like Clark is interested in showing that she's "with it" ! (smile)
An easy read because the chapters are short which enables readers to put it down and pick it back up. A good book that is enjoyable and will keep your interest.To Have and to Kill LP: A Wedding Cake Mystery (Wedding Cake Mysteries) Overview

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52 Loaves Review

52 Loaves
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52 Loaves ReviewIf you enjoyed watching the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", then you are going to relish reading "52 Loaves". Just as the audience did not have to be Greek to laugh at the hilarious movie scenes and to empathize with the protagonist's experiences, readers do not have to bake bread, to be fully sated with this wonderful book.
For me, the most satisfying book is one that balances character, plot, setting, and theme. In "52 Loaves", all four strands are woven in a tapestry of well-written, thoughtful words.
The main "character" is the author, William Alexander. If you can recall a time in your life when either a meal or food tantalized you with its sublime taste, smell and texture, you can understand the author's dogged attempts to recreate a memorable experience with a loaf of bread. Given bread's many dynamic variables (flour, yeast, time and temperature), replicating a loaf of bread without a recipe, is intricately complicated. As the story enfolds, we laugh heartily as the author encounters one mishap after another in search for this elusive recipe, while admiring his doggedness. The single-focused character who we meet at the beginning of the book becomes introspective and philosophical at the end.
The plot holds the reader's interest as it revolves around the author's activities, his tribulations paired with triumphs, his obstacles followed by revelations. Along with the author, we learn from and enjoy meeting, among others, the miller, the bakers, the hippie, the scientist, the storeowner, and the monk. While we know intuitively that the author will eventually bake a "perfect" loaf, we read on to share in this victory. Rich in setting, the book travels from one location to the next - a myriad of fascinating places that culminate in a week's stay at a French monastery. The descriptions are precise in detail, informative in context, and lyrical in tone - a pleasing juxtaposition. Finally, like the author who learned that the perfect bread is the penultimate one, at the conclusion of the book, the reader will think about its many meanings long after the last page is read.
"52 Loaves" is quintessential story-telling. Whether you have never baked a loaf of bread, want to bake a loaf of bread, or have experienced the joys of baking your own or eating the "perfect" loaf, this is the book to read.52 Loaves Overview

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Hundred Dollar Bill Review

Hundred Dollar Bill
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Hundred Dollar Bill ReviewHundred Dollar Bill is set during the Forties--one of my favorite eras. It has a spunky heroine, Chloe Lambert, who also happens to be a Secret Service agent working undercover to find the counterfeiter ring in the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. She must flee when the man she became involved with and found out is married, is killed by his wife and she is framed for the murder by the counterfeiters. Thanks to help from her landlady, she travels to Miami Beach, Florida where she gets a room above a bakery and a job in a bank, counting pennies. The setting may be glamorous but her life is no longer that. But things change.
She runs into an old flame and fellow agent, Mike Taurus. He doesn't believe she is guilty of killing anyone or even being treasonous. But others do believe this, including possibly the current president, Franklin Roosevelt. Mike joins Chloe in a madcap endeavor to solve this caper. Worse, there are bad guys after them, plus it seems her murdered boyfriend is not dead as she was lead to believe. Things couldn't get more complicated for the hero and heroine, but this adds more fun for the readers.
If you enjoy watching the Lucille Ball madcap comedies or any of the great mysteries/comedies of the Thirties/Forties, plus read a good romance, then this book is for you. Ms. Morris does a dandy fine job with the storyline and sucks you into it and you don't stop until the HEA end.Hundred Dollar Bill Overview

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Hazel Green Review

Hazel Green
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Hazel Green ReviewWhen I was about nine or ten, I loved the Hazel Green series and basically grew up on Odo Hirsch stories. Now I am still in love with the books and note my pen-name: Hazel Green has got to be my favourite literary character.
"Hazel Green" follows the adventures of a girl(Hazel) in her urban environment around her. The characters are true and believable, and the most enjoyable things about this book and the others in the series is the way that they describe the ordinary life of normal people in the neighbourhood - but it hooks you. It is delightful to learn how the local florist arranges her flowers, how the fish shop owner obtains his fish, and you lick your lips at all the amazing delicacies on sale at the bakery.
The reader is put into the the shoes of someone in Hazel's vicinity, who is delightful company with her charismatic and childish but frank and true personality that reflects exactly what it feels like to be a child.
THe other thing that Odo Hirsch has managed to do is make a sort of soap-opera about the kids and shop-owners in the neighbourhood of the Moody building and other places in the urban setting. He manages to make the completely normal problems in life interesting as Hazel, inquisitively, tries to solve the problems and mysteries of her neighbourhood.Hazel Green Overview

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The Burning Jacket Review

The Burning Jacket
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The Burning Jacket ReviewOf the three main characters in this book I was able to identify best with the oldest one because of her alternative life style, and secondly with the youngest one, even though I am closest in age to the middle one. I enjoyed the various themes Nel touches on, including deforestation, modern terrorism, the elderly, and broken homes. Also, being a dog lover I was happy to have dogs be a definite part of the story. It was a very engrossing read and I have recommended it to all my reader friends.The Burning Jacket Overview

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All-American Puppies #4: Uptown Poodle, Downtown Pups Review

All-American Puppies #4: Uptown Poodle, Downtown Pups
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All-American Puppies #4: Uptown Poodle, Downtown Pups ReviewI think this book series is the best series I ever read.Everyone in my family agrees with me.My sister and I are really big dog fans.These books are perfect for dog lovers.I like how they are from the dogs point of view.So if your a dog lover you will like these books,too.All-American Puppies #4: Uptown Poodle, Downtown Pups Overview

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The Case of the Fiendish Flapjack Flop (Humpty Dumpty Jr., Hard Boiled Detective) Review

The Case of the Fiendish Flapjack Flop (Humpty Dumpty Jr., Hard Boiled Detective)
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The Case of the Fiendish Flapjack Flop (Humpty Dumpty Jr., Hard Boiled Detective) ReviewThis book not only makes playing with your food OK, but uproariously fun! Humpty Dumpty Jr. is a detective any kid will love - with his smart alic mouth, "down and dirty" ethic and attitude and desire for justice, what's not to love?! Throw in a few "eeeww" discriptions such as "It's face was rotting wart-flesh. Foul green snot oozed over cracked teeth" and clever rhymes such as "Fe! Fi! Fo! Fegg!" roared the ogre, "I smell the blood of a rotten egg! Be he live, or be he dead, I'll grind his shell to make my bread!" and you have a book sure to engross the most picky of reader.
The Case of the Fiendish Flapjack Flop, takes such nursery rhyme characters as Patty Cake, Humpty Dumpty, the Queen of Hearts, the Knave of Hearts and many others and lends it own very unique twist. I found this to be of utmost cleverness and enjoyable fun.
In this first case, Humpty Dumpty Jr. discovers the beloved Patty Cake missing and her bakery Pat-A-Cake Bakery in ruins. With the help of a street kid named Rat and an egg beater magic wand, Humpty takes the search through the mean streets of New Yolk. Will he be able to crack the case or will the case crack him first? The only way to find out is to grab up a copy of The Case of the Fiendish Flapjack Flop as quickly as you can and enter the world of fiendish foods.
I simply cannot recommend this story enough. It is great fun, full of laughs and a sure way to get any child wrapped in the world of reading. I am very anxious to read the next in the series The Mystery of Merlin and the Gruesome Ghost. So be on the lookout for my review on it shortly!The Case of the Fiendish Flapjack Flop (Humpty Dumpty Jr., Hard Boiled Detective) Overview

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Fiscal Pear & Shimmer in The Call of River Whale Review

Fiscal Pear and Shimmer in The Call of River Whale
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Fiscal Pear & Shimmer in The Call of River Whale ReviewIn this adorable read we meet our two very interesting main characters, Fiscal Pear, who is of course a pear, but one who has grown arms and legs, and Shimmer, a lightning bug. Sounds like a strange duo? Hold on you haven't heard anything yet.
As we begin the story we are told of a little village that has several bakeries, The Bakery of Apples, The Bakery of Blueberries, the Bakery of Cherries, the Bakery of Peaches, and the Bakery of Pears. Everyday they make delicious bake good for the villagers, but there is one problem. The evil owner of the Bakery of Pears is not happy when all of her customers pass her by for the other Bakeries. What will this evil baker do?
She decides that something must be done and she gets in touch with the very evil, Butt Rott Root. The name alone should send shivers down your spine. This evil slimy thing teams up with, Cutter, his name describes him quite well, and devises a plan, that includes kidnapping Fiscal Pear, to put all the other Bakeries out of business. Now the adventure beings.
I have to say that our author has let her imagination go wild in this wonderful book, and the reader will be pulled into her world of fantasy. The storyline is quick moving, sure to keep any readers attention, and the characters are both good and evil, endearing and frightening. There is a hint of mystery as the story moves along, as all of your questions on just why Fiscal Pear has arms and legs, and what his purpose is in the world is is not answered, at least not in this book. Good touch. There is adventure, friendship, excitement all merging with just the right mix to make one enjoyable read.
I loved this book. It is definitely different, imaginative, and one that will hold your attention from beginning to end. Great book! Highly recommended.Fiscal Pear & Shimmer in The Call of River Whale Overview

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Nueva York: The Complete Guide to Latino Life in the Five Boroughs Review

Nueva York: The Complete Guide to Latino Life in the Five Boroughs
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Nueva York: The Complete Guide to Latino Life in the Five Boroughs ReviewAn informative and entertaining read that captures the essence of Latino NYC in its many and diverse manifestations, making it the rare guide that is indispensable for both natives and newcomers alike. These guys truly know their stuff. Highly recommended.Nueva York: The Complete Guide to Latino Life in the Five Boroughs Overview

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Bake Sale Review

Bake Sale
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Bake Sale ReviewSara Varon's "Bake Sale" is a 158 pages graphic novel that probably best for older children who could use their parents' kitchens to try out the recipes listed in the back. Actually there are eight recipes, two of them for frosting but only one has a separate listing. The recipes themselves are shows in two places -- either we see Cupcake making them and commenting on their ease or difficulty, or we see them at least mentioned in the story.
The story of Cupcake, his bakeshop and his quest to go with his friend Eggplant to meet a famous baker is the basic tale. Through this we see how small bakeries operate, how creative small business owners struggle to be, and how the person behind that morning coffee or cookie we may treat ourselves to might live beyond their store. Cupcake's emotions and life seem honest if a bit freaky.
Freaky because Varon has created a world in which food is the dominant lifeform. This is freaky on three levels. First, our main characters do not have real names, only what they are -- Eggplant, Cupcake, Potato, Sugar -- and so forth. Apparently there are many of the same kind of food and yet other names are never given. Second, these food people run the full gambit from living veggies and fruits to processed food like Sugar and Turkish Delight. Finally the most freakish aspect is that living food eats, grows, process, and cooks with food. It felt similar to a book about cannibals.
That is likely just me as an adult talking, I but most kids under the age of 12 could just see past that but don't be surprised if sensitive children are confused.Bake Sale Overview

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Is 'Chicken Skin' a Local Delicacy? (Primo's) Review

Is 'Chicken Skin' a Local Delicacy (Primo's)
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Is 'Chicken Skin' a Local Delicacy (Primo's) ReviewI loved Mike's first book, and the second, "Chicken Skin", is just as good. Stories of the local folks make me feel like I'm a fly on the wall in Primo's Bar, and I wish I were! Hawaiian folklore combined with the crazy mischief Mike's characters get into make for a great, relaxing read. Almost like being in the islands....Is 'Chicken Skin' a Local Delicacy (Primo's) Overview

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Bliss (Bliss Bakery) Review

Bliss (Bliss Bakery)
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Bliss (Bliss Bakery) ReviewI often grab a middler's novel from the children's section of the library just for the fun of reading it. I can read it quickly and it doesn't tax my brain with multiple sub-plots to keep track of. A good novel for the eight to twelve year olds has a good plot, believable characters, and is just plain fun. "Bliss" by Kathryn Littlewood meets my qualifications.
The story centers around Rosemary (Rose) Bliss and her siblings, Parsley (Leigh), Thyme (Ty), and Sage, as they tend to the family bakery for a week while their parents leave town on an emergency. The bakery is known for magical delights that have curing powers. When Aunt Lily shows up unexpectedly and the children decide to experiment with some of the recipes in the family's Cookery Book, the results aren't quite as they expected.
Although Rose and her brothers and sister are part of a magical family, they are as ordinary as can be. Any twelve-year-old girl will relate to Rose and her feelings of inadequacies -- all girls go through that phase. Baby Leigh is about preschool age and very typical. The boys, Ty and Sage, well, their mischievous brothers. Rose is bothered by Aunt Lily's sudden appearance and doesn't quite know what to do about her.
The Bliss children's capers with the recipes from the Cookery book are chaotic and delightful. They have only a few days to undue the calamities before their parents return home. Aunt Lily isn't really all that much help.
I also look for books for my middler granddaughters that don't focus on romance. There are far too many for that age group. I want them to have fun reading. Again "Bliss" fills that need for me. As I'm on the lookout, Ms. Littlewood's books will be at the top of my list.Bliss (Bliss Bakery) Overview
Rosemary Bliss's family has a secret. It's the Bliss Cookery Booke—an ancient, leather-bound volume of enchanted recipes like Stone Sleep Snickerdoodles and Singing Gingersnaps. Rose and her siblings are supposed to keep the Cookery Booke under lock and whisk-shaped key while their parents are out of town, but then a mysterious stranger shows up. "Aunt" Lily rides a motorcycle, wears purple sequins, and whips up exotic (but delicious) dishes for dinner. Soon boring, nonmagical recipes feel like life before Aunt Lily—a lot less fun.

So Rose and her siblings experi-ment with just a couple of recipes from the forbidden Cookery Booke.

A few Love Muffins and a few dozen Cookies of Truth couldn't cause too much trouble . . . could they?

Kathryn Littlewood's culinary caper blends rich emotional flavor with truly magical wit, yielding one heaping portion of hilarious family adventure.


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A Guide for Using The Tale of Despereaux in the Classroom Review

A Guide for Using The Tale of Despereaux in the Classroom
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A Guide for Using The Tale of Despereaux in the Classroom ReviewThe reviews for this book were so glowing. I hoped it would significantly reduce my work creating lessons for my classes studying Despereaux. I even spent a ton of money on international expedited shipping so I could get it fast. Alas, I was greatly disappointed.
The book is slim--very slim! There are some meagre vocabulary lists, but no definitions for them. The comprehension questions are just OK, and a couple writing prompts were usable for me. Then the extra activities that make up the bulk of the book are mainly things like having a themed party, learning about lords and ladies and knights and dungeons, acting out a court session, sewing handkerchiefs.
What is this?! You have your students study a NEWBERRY-AWARD-WINNING novel, fantastically written, and spend your time in class sewing HANDKERCHIEFS? Why not study the language and the storytelling, which was so excellent as to win top honors?
I just don't get it. (Obviously. I realize others may love all these extraneous activities.) It left me wandering around the house and making unsavory mental speculations about the quality of teaching that these teacher-created materials represented. I'm probably overly cranky on this. But truly I could only use a small fraction of this already-slim book for my classes.
Not for those who want to really delve into the novel and its language and storytelling. Excellent for people who would like to sew handkerchiefs, have themed parties, talk about knights and courts and dungeons and do many other activities that are somehow related to the story, but are not of the story itself.A Guide for Using The Tale of Despereaux in the Classroom Overview

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The House on the Gulf Review

The House on the Gulf
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The House on the Gulf Review16 year old Brandon Lassiter has stumbled upon something so great that it almost seems unreal. He gets a house sitting job in this great neighborhood in Florida for the whole summer-rent free. Brandon, his 12 year old sister Britt, and his mom all move there. That way, his mom can finally finish college and get a decent job after a not so good past with her parents. But something is definately wrong with Brandon and Britt is determined to find out. With something as great as this just falling into their laps, how could he possibly be so paranoid? With suspense and mystery lurking with every turn of the page, Haddix will have you on the edge of your seat!
Margarett Peterson Haddix does and outstanding job of combining suspense and mystery, creating the perfect balance for a sure to be bestseller. This book will have you begging for more!The House on the Gulf Overview

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Beginner's Luke: Book I of the Beginner's Luke Series Review

Beginner's Luke: Book I of the Beginner's Luke Series
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Beginner's Luke: Book I of the Beginner's Luke Series ReviewUntil I encountered Luke Soloman, metafiction didn't give me much satisfaction. All too often I found it precious, with authors more intent on showing off writerly parlor tricks than providing credible, sympathetic characters or a coherent story. But the eponymous hero of Sol Luckman's picaresque novel, BEGINNER'S LUKE, is delightfully down to earth: he's often restless, sometimes guileless, perpetually seeking, and, apparently, perpetually horny. BEGINNER'S LUKE is the first installment of a series of six Bildungsromans designed to show how Luke grows, what he gains and how he learns to perceive the world. Readers will have such a fine old time following his adventures it may not dawn on them for some time that they, too, are meant to question their assumptions about reality.
In Book I, the self-generated Luke, determined not to be a tourist in his own life, sets out on his travels and promptly manages to blunder into one mishap after another, including an idyll with the leaf-eating Folarian tribe that comes to a rapid and near-disastrous end and an apprenticeship as a beggar and dumpster-diver in crime-addled Perver City. He eventually seeks refuge in his past (real? imagined? does it matter?) and relives his transition from an alienated, marginalized teenager to a college man in hot pursuit of meaning and mating material in roughly equal measures. The lessons he learns make him wiser, but does that add up to contentment? (Get real: if it did, would there be a reason for Book II?)
Sol Luckman's writing makes BEGINNER'S LUKE a rewarding romp from start to finish. This is the sort of book that could easily have self-destructed in a lesser author's hands, but Luckman makes it sing. You'll like Luke often; you'll want to wring his neck on occasion. But what you won't do is forget him. What is life's purpose? Are things always what they seem? What's the difference between living and existing? Are we the hero of our own lives? When can we be said to have finally grown up? Luke Soloman will no doubt tackle these--and scores of other burning issues--as he continues his education in Book II of the series, THE TOY BUDDHA. I, for one, can't wait to go along for the ride.Beginner's Luke: Book I of the Beginner's Luke Series Overview

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The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane Review

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
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The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane ReviewKate Dicamllo has triumphed again, writing what I consider her best book yet, "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane." I read it in about an hour and sat crying over the last chapter. The tears were happy tears, though, and the ending very satisfying. The story revolves around the character of Edward Tulane, a vain china rabbit who is loved by his owner but feels no love in return. A misadventure throws him out of his pampered life and into a path of a series of fascinating people, each one more lovely than the last. Edward's heart grows and grows until the question is not can Edward love, but can he love again after the depth of his heartbreak. Dicalmillo has a pared down narrative style that is refreshing and throught-provoking. "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" may be a children's book, but it is never childish. The message about loving and being loved is one that is important for people of all ages.The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane Overview

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The Tiger Rising Review

The Tiger Rising
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The Tiger Rising ReviewAn adult reader, I had just finished reading a news story of the young shooter at Santana High School when I opened Kate's Tiger Rising. I was struck by the similarities of that young shooter and Kate's Rob: They were similar in age and each had moved to a new school, where each encountered taunts and ridicule; each had a emotionally distant father and a physically absent mother; each household held guns; each boy kept much pain deep inside. Where the shooter's friendships offered too little, Rob was blessed with a powerful friendship through which he healed himself and perhaps his father as well.
This story has haunted me ever since.Yes, it's a darker tale than Di Camillo's Winn Dixie, but still hopeful and a testament to the kind of friendship we would wish for all our children.The Tiger Rising Overview

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The Magician's Elephant Review

The Magician's Elephant
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The Magician's Elephant ReviewThe Magician's Elephant is parable/allegory/fable/fairytale and modern kid lit extraordinaire. The tale is somber and atmospheric but the overall feel of the story is one of hope. The characters are quirky and magic lingers on every page. More a novella, it is a quick read of a few hours even for a young reader. I don't recommend putting it off but this is one of those books to be pulled out on a snowy night in front of the fire to be read out loud with your family.
I won't detail the events as the jacket flap and other reviewers are sure to do it but I will say that if you are a fan of DiCamillo's there is no way you should pass up this book. This will seem impossible to you (as it does to me) but her writing is getting even better and with this story I think we may be seeing the beginning of a transcendence to the creation of a storyteller easily in league with Aesop, the Brothers Grimm and Frank L. Baum. I am aware that sounds sycophantic - trust me I am not. In fact, I would really like to hate her for writing so well, as an aspiring writer myself, but there is no denying the quality of this story.
There is a very visual and cinematic quality to the writing that keeps the reader engaged. It is difficult to stop thinking about Peter, Adele, the elephant, the magician, and all the others just because the book is closed.
I sincerely hope adults will pick this book up as well - especially those who have already discovered the pleasures of good children's literature.The Magician's Elephant Overview

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Because of Winn-Dixie Signature Edition Review

Because of Winn-Dixie Signature Edition
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Because of Winn-Dixie Signature Edition ReviewAs my ten-year-old daughter and I were browsing for new realistic fiction children's books to fulfill a school reading assignment, we, by chance, came across "Because of Winn-Dixie," by Kate DiCamillo. The title of the book (and the fact that it was new) influenced our purchase, but it wasn't until my daughter and I read it that we realized what a treasure we had discovered. Both children and adults will be drawn into the story of India Opal Buloni's tenth summer, when she adopts a big, ugly, but affable dog, Winn-Dixie, named after the Florida grocery store where he was found. India Opal, or Opal for short, is a preacher's daughter with a fairly unusual name. Opal has some major life adjustments to make, after moving with her dad to a trailer in a strange, new town. While trying to break through the seemingly impenetrable shell of her introverted father's feelings, she also has to wrestle with her own sadness, disappointment, and curiosity about her alcohol-abusing mother, who deserted the family when Opal was three years old. Winn-Dixie, a magnificent mutt who, among other talents, can smile with his teeth, is the facilitator of a number of new and sometimes unlikely friendships that Opal establishes over the summer, including one with her father. "Because of Winn-Dixie" acknowledges in is characters their shortcomings and sufferings, but the triumph of this book is how it celebrates friendship, forgiveness, tolerance, and new beginnings. (P.S. You might want to have a handkerchief on hand for some parts.)Because of Winn-Dixie Signature Edition Overview

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