Ryan’s Snow Day Post: Fall & Winter Reading Roundup

Since school started, life has been a lot busier than it was in the summer. I have been doing swim team and the new robotics club at my school. I earned my brown belt in karate! Even though there has been so much going on, I still managed to read a lot of books this fall and early winter. If you are looking for something new to read, here is a brief synopsis of each book or series.

The Hunger Games Trilogy: This series is about a teenaged girl named Katniss Everdeen, who lives in District 12 of Panem, which is basically North America in the future. Panem is ruled by President Snow in the Capitol, and the society is a dictatorship. To keep order in the districts, every year each district is required to send two teenaged tributes (a boy and a girl) to an event called The Hunger Games. The annual Hunger Games is a reality television show during which there literally can only be one survivor. It is a fight to the death. The only reality television I watch is The Amazing Race. In that show, the contestants are fighting for a million dollars, not their lives. At the end of The Hunger Games, Katniss and her friend Peeta turn out to be two survivors. In the following two books in the series, Catching Fire and Mockingjay, Katniss and Peeta have to go back to the arena for another terrifying Hunger Games. Uprisings and rebellion lead to a civil war. I read this entire series in less than two weeks. It was a page-turner! I really liked how the author had me guessing about the geography and what part of the current United States different parts were set in. She gave clues about where they were. I enjoyed looking online at some maps artists have drawn about what the boundaries of Panem might look like.

So far I have watched The Hunger Games and Catching Fire movies. I always like to see someone else’s vision of what people and places might look like. It’s fun to compare the movie against the book. The Capitol people in the movies didn’t look quite as weird as I pictured them in my mind. This is an exciting series to read if you don’t think you will be bothered by kids killing each other, which is pretty scary.

Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods: I was very excited for this book to come out; we went and bought the first day it was released. It is a large format book which makes it different from Rick Riordan’s other books. This book tells Greek myths from a teenager’s perspective and it is very funny.

The Maze Runner: I have read the three books in this series. There is a prequel called The Kill Order, but I haven’t gotten to it yet. In this series, a boy named Thomas ends up in the midst of a bunch of strangers in a huge glade that is surrounded by a maze. He has no memories at all except for his name. He has no idea how he got there. I picked up context clues that, like The Hunger Games, this book was also set in the future United States. Thomas is basically a prisoner because he can’t escape where he is without going through the maze. There are other teenaged boys with him (no girls) but no one knows who is holding them captive. No one knows how they got there. Spoiler alert: by the end of the story, Thomas and the others do get out. In the next two books, The Scorch Trial and The Death Cure, the boys find out that they were in the maze as a sort of government test. The rest of the world had been hit by sun flares, was scorched, and was therefore uninhabitable. To achieve population control, the government released a disease that killed tons of people. The boys in the maze were immune to the disease and the maze served as a testing facility for other government experiments. It sounds depressing and awful but it is actually a very exciting story, and the ending is hopeful. I need to get my hands on the prequel so I understand more of the back story. There is also a film for this book, which I saw with my Dad and really liked.

Alex Rider: Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

This is the first book in the Alex Rider series. Alex Rider is a teenaged boy. Notice a theme in what I am reading lately? His parents were killed. He lives with his uncle, which isn’t actually a bad thing. Usually when the main character is an orphan and has to live with a relative, the relative is horrible, but that’s not the case in this story. Example: Harry Potter and the Dursleys. So. Ahem. Uncle Ian is a banker like my Dad, or so Alex thinks. Uncle Ian is killed in a “car accident,” and Alex finds out he was actually a spy for the Brisith government. Did I mention they live in England? Alex ends up needing to finish the job Uncle Ian was doing, which was stopping a bad guy from poisoning the entire population of England. He succeeds. I assume in the rest of the series that Alex Rider becomes the spy, but I haven’t gotten to read another one yet. I’m looking forward to another story about Alex Rider. Apparently there was a movie version released in 2006 but I haven’t caught it yet.

The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer

My copy of this book was autographed by the author! I got it at an event last year when I heard him speak. Eoin Colfer is very funny in person. This book is about a teenaged girl (for a change!) named Chevie Savano who works for the F.B.I. This is the first book in a series. Chevie ends up having to guard a broken time machine after messing up another job very badly. She gets up to all kinds of trouble; the time machine somehow ends up working and she sends herself back to Victorian England. There she meets former a magician’s assistant who is running away from the magician, who also happens to be a killer! This is another exciting plot with lots of action and mysterious characters. I recommend it to anyone who likes the Artemis Fowl series, also by Eoin Colfer.

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Okay, so this book was good, but I really only read it so I could watch the movie. I could not get into the second book in the series and I gave up. There are too many good books to read for me to waste time on one I don’t like (unless I have to read it for school.) Anyway, Ender’s Game is about a boy around my age named Ender. Even though he is only a kid, he is extremely smart. The story is set in the future. Ender gets chosen for Battle School, which is a training academy for space fighters. Ender is so talented that he is promoted to the Command School within a few short months. Ender stops an alien threat that was advancing for its third attack within a few years. He is a hero. I did watch the movie with my Dad, and in this case, the movie was actually better than the book. I hardly ever say that.

The Zoo at the Edge of the World by Eric Kahn Gale

Usually my Mom picks out books for me to read, and she has an excellent sense of what I will like. I don’t really like to go shopping, but we happened to be in a bookstore in New Hampshire and I actually picked this one out myself! This story is about a boy named Stephen who lives in a zoo in the middle of the Amazon jungle. His father is one of the greatest explorers in the world. People come there for vacations all the time. Stephen finds it hard to communicate with people because he has a terrible stutter and is hard to understand. His special gift is that he can talk to the animals and they understand him. One day his father catches a big, black jaguar. The jaguar gives Stephen the gift of understanding. He could always talk to the animals, but when they talked back to him, he didn’t understand them. Now he does. In the end, the jaguar is saved from being killed and everyone is happy. This book is different from what I have been reading lately, because it’s not related to technology and it is set in present day rather than in the future. I liked this story a lot and need to see if the author has written any other books.

The Apothecary by Maile Meloy

Well. This is the first book in a really long time that I have completely disliked. Okay, I hated it. It was an option on my summer reading list and it took me more than a month to get through it. I really only like to be reading one book at a time so that I don’t mix up their plots in my head. Because I disliked this book so much, I didn’t read much during the month of August and early September. This taught me about how important it is to choose my books wisely. My Mom kept telling me I didn’t have to finish it if I didn’t want to (as I had already finished plenty of books on the school list) but I also hate leaving books unfinished. However, this experience taught me that it was okay to quit the Ender’s Game series when I was not enjoying it. (See above).

This story was about a girl named Janie who lives in 1950s England. She moved to England with her family because her father was suspected of communist activity in the United States. When she moved to England, she met a person in school named Benjamin whose father was an apothecary. An apothecary is like an old-fashioned version of a pharmacist. Secretly, the apothecary makes potions. When he gets abducted by Russians, Janie and Benjamin have to use his potions to rescue him and stop a nuclear bomb being launched in the middle of Norway. This sounds like an exciting story that would be right up my alley, don’t you think? But it was just boring and slow and I couldn’t wait to be done with it. Therefore I don’t really recommend The Apothecary.

The Fire Within by Chris D’Lacey: Finally! A dragon story! This book is about David, a young man in his 30s, who comes to live with a woman and her daughter. After his first few days with them, David knows something is “up” in their household. One day he goes into the forbidden pottery room. (Should’ve been a clue right there that something weird was up. Forbidden pottery room?) In the forbidden pottery room, David finds a bunch of clay dragons. The woman finds him in there and allows him to keep one of the little guys. He takes it to his room but it keeps disappearing. David soon finds out that the little clay dragon is actually alive and so are the others…he ends up saving the dragons. Something made the dragons sad. When dragons are sad, they cry. When dragons cry, they lose their fire. When they lose their fire, they die. Aaaaw. David catches one of the dragon’s tears and has him drink the tear. It makes that dragon better, so he does it to all the others. And they live happily ever after. There are four more books in the series; I got some for Christmas but haven’t gotten to them yet. This book is a little below my reading level but I love dragon stories. I recommend it for 3rd/4th grade and up.

Here There Be Dragons by James A. Owen

More dragons! Yay! This story is about John, who (spoiler alert!) is actually J.R.R. Tolkien in the story! In case you didn’t know, Tolkien was a real person and the author of the legendary Lord of the Rings (haven’t read yet because my Mom wants me to wait) and Hobbit stories. The Hobbit is one of my favorite books of all time, so this was an exciting development. One day John comes to England and finds that one of his professors is dead. He also finds out that the dead professor was guarding a special map of the Archipelago of Dreams, aka Avalon, which is a fictional place to us (like Middle Earth or Narnia) but it is real in the story. Another guardian of the map was Bert, and he takes John, Jack (C.S. Lewis in the story) and Charles (Charles Williams in the story) to Avalon. C.S. Lewis and Charles Williams are also famous fantasy authors. They all get to Avalon by taking the Indigo Dragon, which is a living dragon ship. They find that Avalon is in a big mess because their king (Arthur Pendragon) is dead and people are fighting over who should be the new king. One contender for the throne is Mordred, also known as The Winter King. Mordred tries to get the map from Bert because it is the key to summoning the dragons. At the end of the story, John, Jack, and Charles end up defeating Mordred with the help of the dragons and all the dragon ships. This book was awesome! We found it by accident at the library book sale. Anyone who likes Tolkien, Narnia, or fantasy stories should give it a try.

Ranger’s Apprentice books Six thru Nine by John Flanagan

The Siege of MacindawErak’s RansomThe Kings of ClonmelHalt’s Peril

I’m actually reading book nine now, but just wanted to write an update that I am continuing to enjoy this exciting series. You can read about earlier books in the series by clicking here.

Space Encyclopedia by Peter Bond

This book is so cool. I’ve learned a ton of things about space and space exploration that I didn’t know. It has made me more interested in studying astronomy if I can.

TodHunter Moon: Pathfinder by Angie Sage

This is the book I am keeping at school right now for when I have a few minutes to read. It is written by Angie Sage and is related to another series of hers that I follow, about a character named Septimus Heap. Stay tuned…

Just in case you are wondering, I did not type all this. My Mom and I had a long talk about my bookshelf this afternoon and she typed while I talked.

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Ryan’s Review: Under Wildwood by Colin Meloy

Under Wildwood by Colin Meloy

Although this is the second book in this series, I have not written about it before. The Wildwood Chronicles are about a girl named Prue who lives in Portland. Right next to Portland is the Impassable Wilderness, which is a big forest that people have entered but no one has ever come back out of. One day, when Prue is out taking her baby brother for a walk, a flock of ravens swoops in and steals her brother away from her. The ravens take Mac into the Impassable Wilderness and Prue follows them in with her friend Curtis. They have an adventure together and eventually get Mac back. Curtis decides to stay with the Wildwood Bandits, who are the people who live in the section of the forest called Wildwood.

In Under Wildwood, Prue’s new science teacher, Darla, attacks her while she is walking home from school. Prue manages to fend off the attack because Curtis flies in on the back of an eagle in the nick of time and saves her. They fly into the Bandits’ camp and Curtis tells Prue that someone sent her science teacher as an assassin. Darla comes and attacks the camp with three other assassins. Prue and Curtis are away during this attack and when they return, everybody is gone….missing….poof!

Prue and Curtis are attacked by Darla and they get knocked into a canyon. In the canyon, they find a cave, which leads to Underwood…which is under Wildwood. Prue and Curtis have adventures in Underwood, which include helping a mole army defeat another mole army. They eventually escape Underwood into a small junkyard outside Portland. They manage to get back into Wildwood. We still don’t know why Darla is trying to hurt Prue, but I think that Prue is going to turn out to be a Mystic. The Mystics are a group of people who lead Northwood, which is another part of the Impassable Forest. The Mystics have special powers, such as controlling plants. Prue has some of these powers and I am guessing she is not only a Mystic but probably a special one. I am hoping to find out the truth in the third book.

For this post, Mom asked Ryan questions, Ryan talked, and Mom typed.

Ryan’s Summer Reading Log #5

Kingdom Keepers Book Six: Dark Passage by Ridley Pearson

I have written about other books in this series here.

In book six of the Kingdom Keepers series, “Dark Passage,” the Keepers discover a mysterious journal written by Walt Disney that gives directions to waking up the most powerful Overtaker. In case you didn’t know, the Overtakers are all the Disney villains, come to life. As the Keepers try to figure out the mysteries of the journal, the Overtakers are trying to find a way to get the journal from the Keepers. Eventually the Overtakers succeed and awaken Chernabog. He is the main villain from a Disney movie called Fantasia. Finn, leader of the Keepers, confuses Chernabog in an underground maze. When one of the tunnels caves in, Finn thinks Chernabog has drowned, but no one is really sure at the end of the book.

This journal reminds me of Tom Riddle’s diary in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. That diary brought a character back to life and was also very mysterious.

Amulet Book Two: The Stonekeeper’s Curse

This is the second book in this series of graphic novels. I wrote about the first book here.

In “The Stonekeeper’s Curse,” we find out that Em’s amulet is trying to take control of her when it talks to her and tries to convince her to let it take control of her mind.

When Em and Navin arrive in a very large city in their walking house, they find out that their walking house is not the only walking house! Walking houses are pretty normal things. They’re pretty much like cars in this world. It’s pretty convenient.

In the city, Em and Navin meet a bounty hunter named Leon Redbeard who also happens to have experience in training people with magic amulets. He is a helper for Em and Navin. Leon teaches Em to control the amulet; this helps her defeat some evil elves who also happen to have amulets. Em is the only person in this world with an amulet who is not an elf, and the elves wanted to kill Em for the amulet.

After Em defeats the evil elves, at the end of the book is a scene with a house standing on top of the mountain with its arms ripped off by elf magic. I’m looking forward to the third book in this series because there are still elves left….bum bum bum…cliffhanger!

For this post, Mom asked Ryan questions, Ryan talked, and Mom typed.

Ryan’s Summer Reading Log #4

Last week I finished two books. I read the first book in a new “Warriors” series called “Dawn of the Clans” by Erin Hunter. The book itself is called The Sun Trail. The other book I finished was Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier and I’ll tell you about that one first because I have a lot to say!

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes is one of my “choice” books for summer reading for 6th grade.

Peter Nimble is a ten year old blind orphan who has learned to be a thief. He is a very good thief and he steals everything: food, jewelry, money, art work. One day he steals a mysterious locked box from a carriage. This is the first lock he has ever come across that he cannot open. It takes him a long time but he eventually opens the box and inside he finds three pairs of eyes. When he tries on the first pair, or the golden pair, he is transported to the last place the golden eyes had been, which happens to be an island on top of the world. There he meets Sir Tode, who is part man, part horse, part cat. Peter Nimble and Sir Tode are sent on a quest by Professor Cake, who owns the island.

All the messages people send out in bottles end up at this island. The most recent message in a bottle came from the Vanished Kingdom on the island itself. Together Peter and Sir Tode must find the mysterious Vanished Kingdom because someone inside the Vanished Kingdom is in serious trouble.

One exciting thing that happens on the quest for the Vanished Kingdom is when Peter finds out he is a prince! He is actually the prince of the Vanished Kingdom. This reminds me of one of my favorite movies, Spaceballs, in which the character Lonestar finds out he is an “honest-to-God prince.”

Peter and Sir Tode become good friends, and they make other friends along their journey. They meet up with Peter’s long-lost sister, Princess Peg. Actually, Peter is kind of the long-lost brother. They also make friends with good old Frederick, the giant dogfish. Unfortunately, they also make some enemies: King Incarnadine, who is Peter and Peg’s uncle, and LongClaw, who is the captain of the King’s Royal Night Patrol.

In about the middle of the story, Peter tries a second pair of eyes, the amethyst eyes, which are purple. The amethyst eyes turn the wearer into the last animal they’ve seen. While wearing the amethyst eyes, Peter turned into a beetle, a sparrow and a sea serpent. This helped him out of several unpleasant situations.

Spoiler alert! By the end of the story, Peter and Peg eventually kill the King and become King and Queen themselves. When Peter puts on the third pair of eyes, the emerald pair, they eventually become his own, normal eyes.

I loved this book. I mean, I didn’t kiss it or anything, but the idea of seeing things with different eyes was really cool.

You can read my overview of Erin Hunter’s “Warriors” series by clicking here.

“Dawn of the Clans” is a prequel series to the other “Warriors” series. In The Sun Trail, the tribe of Rushing Water, who live in the mountains, is starving. Two brother cats named Clear Sky and Gray Wing lead most of the tribe in search of a new land. They are kind of like pioneers. They arrive at a forest where there is a lot of prey available. Some of the cats want to live on a moor nearby instead because those cats are better at hunting in that area. Gray Wing leads the cats that want to live in the moor and they set up their own separate camp. The two groups are separated for so long that they start to become hostile toward one another. Gray Wing and Clear Sky become enemies. Their conflict does not resolve by the end of this story and because I have read the series that come later, I don’t think it ever will. I love the “Warriors” books so I am glad to have another series to read.

In this post, Robin asked questions, Ryan talked, and Robin typed.

The Mother-Daughter Book Club

In this post, Robin shares her thoughts on some books first. Each selection has a “Maegan says” note at the end.

Maegan’s teacher compiled an excellent list of “choice” books for summer reading; she only needs to read one of these but of course she wants to tackle them all. I hope she always keeps this “can do” spirit. Thanks to the fabulous folks at The Blue Bunny Book & Toy Store for ordering us everything on the list. According to the Scholastic Book Wizard, some of these choices are far above her grade level; she wants to read them independently, so I feel compelled to read them when she is finished. Then I can ask her questions and check her comprehension and ability to connect to the story. First up is The Magical Ms. Plum by Bonnie Becker.

I fell in love with Ms. Plum right away. As she anticipated her new class, she thought: “They will be wonderful. Hopers and schemers, helpers and dreamers, jokers and heroes. I can’t wait to meet each and every one.” It would be an amazing gift to children if every classroom teacher considered his or her students in this way.

Tales of magical grown ups just never get old. Ms. Plum probably hangs with Mary Poppins and Mrs. Piggle Wiggle. In addition to her unorthodox lessons, over the course of the school year, Ms. Plum chooses different students to get something from her magical supply closet. It doesn’t take long for the students to realize that with the requested item (paper, push pins, etc.) out will also come a small magical animal. Each animal that emerges comes out for a specific reason for that particular child and helps him or her grow or change in some positive way.

Maegan says: My favorite animal that comes out of Ms. Plum’s closet is the little donkey who takes everyone’s notes across the room in little baskets. I liked how the children figured out that their grumpy ideas were making everyone, including the donkey, feel more sad. So they stopped.

I also liked when the monkeys came out and gave everyone candy. Each candy tasted just right to each person. I can’t decide what my perfect candy would taste like. I love candy. I want to go to Ms. Plum’s class! I think you’ll have a lot of fun reading this book. Pig snout! Pig snout!

Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary

This one’s not on the summer reading list, but recently I had the pleasure of reading Ramona the Brave to Maegan. I devoured the Ramona books as a child; I felt like she was a friend I knew personally. Although the books trace Ramona as a preschooler all the way up through the middle grades, Ramona the Brave is set in the first grade. Being a passionate, spunky six year old is frustrating when you feel everyone is rushing you to just grow up.

There are so many memorable scenes in this story, but my favorite part is the infamous “owl scene,” in which Ramona’s classroom neighbor copies her art project detail for detail. The teacher doesn’t notice or take the time to understand what really happened, and heartbreaking drama follows suit. Although Ramona reacts to life’s injustices with a bit too much passion, she really is just misunderstood. Beverly Cleary gets the emotions so right.

Details of the story are dated but still charming. If your child enjoys Ramona, she will also probably enjoy Junie B. Jones.

Maegan says: Ramona Quimby reminds me of the song “Naughty” from Matilda: the Musical, which we saw in New York City over April Vacation. Sometimes you have to be a little bit naughty.

My favorite part of this story was when Ramona had a babysitter on Parents Night at school. She really wanted to talk to her Mom when she got home, so she left her a note on the hall table. The note said “Come here, Mama. Come here to me.” She didn’t even sign her name, but her Mom knew it was from Ramona!

I would like my Mom to read me another Ramona book because I find her so different from me. I also just like my Mom to read to me.

The Library Dragon by Carmen Agra Deedy

How would you feel if your school library was guarded by a grouchy dragon? This sweet tale teaches us not to judge one another based on prejudices. Maybe dragons aren’t all bad once you get past the scales, and perhaps small children can look at a book without smudging the pages or ripping the covers. Loaded with puns and groaners, you will laugh out loud if that sort of humor tickles your funny bone. Clever, modern illustrations complete this story about Miss Lotty’s transformation from Miss Lotta Scales to Miss Lotty, Library Goddess.

Maegan says: There is a librarian, but she’s a dragon! She will not even let the children touch the books. Her name is Miss Lotta Scales. A girl named Molly lost her glasses and couldn’t see a thing; she found herself in the library by accident. A book dropped on her head and she put it in her lap. She found her glasses and started to read the book “Snuff the Magic Dragon” out loud. When Miss Lotta Scales heard Molly reading to the children, she decided to take over reading to the children. Her scales fell off and she turned into Miss Lotty! What’s a librarian that’s not at least a little bit or a little part dragon? Who would guard the books?

We love books about dragons. If you do, too, try these picture books:

How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head by Bill Peet

There’s No Such Thing as a Dragon by Jack Kent

Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin

Puff The Magic Dragon by Peter Yarrow (with music cd)

Dragonology by Dugald A. Steer

Ryan’s Picks for Chapter Books Featuring Dragons:

My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

How to Train your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville

Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke

Beast Quest #1: Ferno the Fire Dragon by Adam Blade

The Fire Within by Chris D’Lacey

For more mature readers, grade 5 & up:

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

 

Ryan’s Summer Reading Log #3: Artemis Fowl

Artemis Fowl #4: The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer

The Artemis Fowl series is set in Ireland, and it is about a very rich boy who has a big, tall bodyguard named Butler. One day Artemis and Butler meet Captain Holly Short, who is a fairy. Together with Butler and Holly, Artemis Fowl has many adventures in saving the fairy world and human world from different evil enemies that threaten it.

In book four, The Opal Deception, an evil pixie named Opal wakes up from a self-induced coma after a whole year. Opal wants the human world to find out about the fairy world, but that could be dangerous to the fairies. She wants to make this happen to get revenge on the Fairy Police because they stopped a rebellion she started right before she went into the coma.

Holly comes back together with Artemis and Butler after being separated from them for the same year that Opal is asleep in the coma. Holly is a fugitive from the law as she is suspected of murdering someone even though Opal is the real killer. Together they stop Opal from making her evil plan happen and Holly eventually clears her name.

I recommend this series to readers who like science fiction and fantasy. Recently I heard Eoin Colfer speak at the Mega Awesome Adventures event and I thought he was very funny. Hearing him speak made me want to read more of his books. I think he should be a comedian, too!

In this post, Robin asked questions, Ryan talked, and Robin typed.

Ryan’s Summer Reading Log #2: Ranger’s Apprentice

Ranger’s Apprentice Book Four: The Battle for Skandia by John Flanagan

This is the fourth book in John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice series. This story is set in medieval times. It is about a boy named Will, an orphan who wants to be a warrior. When he asks Sir Rodney, the principal of Battle School, if he can be an apprentice in Battle School, he is told he is too small. He ends up becoming an apprentice of a Ranger; this is perfect for Will because he is quick and quiet. The kingdom is split into 50 fiefs; each fief has a Ranger to protect it. The Rangers Corps is a group of people who are expert archers who can blend in with their surroundings.

In book four, The Battle of Skandia, Will and Evanlyn, who is secretly a princess, have just escaped from slavery in the kingdom of Skandia. They are found by friends, but quickly discover that an army from a kingdom to the east is trying to conquer the entire western hemisphere. The four adventurers eventually team up with the people who captured Will and Evanlyn in the first place to defeat this army.

This series is cool because it is set in a different time period, there are a lot of interesting creatures in this world, and there is a lot of action. It is also a tale of friendship between Will and Horace, who are unlikely friends because they are so different.

Another series by John Flanagan is The Brotherband Chronicles, which is also really good, but I recommend starting with the Ranger’s Apprentice series first. I also recently downloaded a Ranger’s Apprentice app for my iPod; it’s a cool archery training game.

In this post, Robin asked questions, Ryan talked, and Robin typed.

Today a Reader, Tomorrow a Leader

Over the past few years my family has become involved with a wonderful nonprofit group called Catching Joy, which provides age-appropriate community service activities for children and families. One organization we support that is near and dear to my heart is Reach Out and Read, which has an amazing partnership with primary care providers to make reading materials available to children from all types of backgrounds. Their mission is meaningful to Ryan and Maegan as well, as they simply cannot imagine a life that is not filled with books.

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Earlier this year I assisted the Canton Girl Scout Service Unit in a day of service. We made Valentines to be delivered to February Meals on Wheels clients, centerpieces to cheer up the dining room of the local nursing home, dog toys for the animal shelter, joke cards to cheer up children in hospitals, and upcycled book marks to accompany the donations of new books, which were the price of admission to participate in the activities. During the winter the rest of the materials were delivered to their receiving organizations, but it suffices to say that it took me a while to get organized on a major delivery to Charlestown.

poster group bookmarks

Today Jim helped me deliver the four cartons of books and bookmarks to the Reach Out and Read headquarters, where we were very warmly received. Flat Stanley made his first trip into Boston to visit the wonderful staff.

stanley

 

This post was written by Robin.

Ryan’s Summer Reading Log

Kingdom Keepers series by Ridley Pearson

This weekend I finished reading Shell Game, which is book five of the Kingdom Keepers series by Ridley Pearson. In this series five teenagers are elected to be DHIs, which are Daylight Hologram Images. This means they are holographic guides to tourists in Walt Disney World; but that’s not all they are! The truth is that this program was devised by the Disney Imagineers in effort to stop the Overtakers…or all the Disney Villains such as Maleficent, Jafar, Ursula the Sea Witch, etc. from committing crimes and doing evil things.

The main character, Finn Whitman, goes to sleep one night and while he is asleep, he is awake in the Magic Kingdom as a hologram. Finn and the other four DHIs have many scary adventures that take place in Walt Disney World after dark fighting the villains.

By the 5th book, Shell Game, the DHIs have become known as the Kingdom Keepers. In this story, the Keepers board the Disney Dream ship, which will be the first cruise ship to travel through a new area in the water. There were many other boats whose captains wanted to be the first to do this. The Keepers soon find out that every single Overtaker is on board this ship and that they have now created their own DHIs, but the Kingdom Keepers manage to shut down the Overtakers’ DHI server. Because of an upgrade in DHI technology, the Kingdom Keepers can now become holograms when they are awake. This helps them to escape many bad situations, because they can just walk through the wall!

In a shell game, a person puts something, like a ball, under a cup with two other cups beside it. A person watching the game observes as the cups are moved around quickly and then has to guess which cup is now covering the ball. In this story, there is somebody aboard the ship who is not supposed to be there – a stowaway placed by the Overtakers. He is hiding in an empty stateroom but keeps moving. The Kingdom Keepers try to find which one of the empty staterooms he is in but they just can’t seem to locate him, and so it is like a shell game.

This book was good because the mystery was really well done. It kept me wondering what would happen next. It was also very exciting because in several parts things happened that made me think the villain would win, but then the hero did. There are funny parts and that keeps the story bright. This series will be most fun to read for kids who have been to Walt Disney World.

Recently I heard Ridley Pearson speak at an authors’ event called the Mega Awesome Adventures, which also featured Rick Riordan and Eoin Colfer. This event inspired me to start reading this series. Mr. Pearson loves to talk about his books and seems to have neat inside connections at Walt Disney World. He has been allowed to preview attractions before they open and is allowed to be inside Disney World after dark, which helps him write his stories. He has an awesome job!

Amulet Book One: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi

The Amulet is a series of graphic novels. There is very little text in this book, so it is really like a comic book. The Stonekeeper is about Emily and Navin, a brother and sister whose father recently died. They had to move to a new house because they couldn’t afford their old one. On the first night of being in the new house, their mother is captured by a monster with tentacles! They follow the monster into the basement and through a secret door into another world. There, they find a mansion in the middle of a lake. They go to the mansion and find their great grandfather, who gives Emily an amulet. An amulet is a special stone with powers, and Emily’s amulet is supposed to help her find her mother. Emily and Navin try many times to rescue their mother, but they fail. When their great-grandfather dies of a sickness, the robots who were working in his house become Emily’s property. At the end of the book, there is a cliffhanger when they turn the house into a vehicle and go up a mountain!

I am very much looking forward to reading the second book to find out what happens to Emily and Navin. I hope they find their mother. I recommend this book for grades 3-6 and I think boys or girls would enjoy the story. The illustrations are fun and scary.

In this post, Robin asked questions, Ryan talked, and Robin typed.

Robin’s Top Ten Early & Middle Grade Chapter Books

#1 Gooseberry Park by Cynthia Rylant

This book was introduced to me earlier this year by my friend Jenn Ryan, who recommended it as a wonderful read aloud. She was spot on. Maegan and I loved the unlikely friendship between a dog, a squirrel, and a hermit crab.

#2 Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary

All of the Ramona books are wonderful and I read them over and over again as a child, but this one is my favorite. Life isn’t easy for Ramona, but you grow and change with her as she learns that although things don’t always go your way, they turn out all right in the end.

#3 The BFG (The Big Friendly Giant) by Roald Dahl

It’s hard to choose just one Roald Dahl novel for a top ten list, and I had a particularly tough time deciding between this one and Matilda. I feel better having mentioned them both. My husband would select a third title: Danny, Champion of the World. There, now he feels better, too. Dahl’s humor is a little dark but his language is wonderful and the storytelling is without equal. In The BFG, a little orphan named Sophie is snatched from the window of her orphanage in the middle of the night by a big, friendly giant. Their adventures will delight the whole family. Makes a great read-aloud.

#4 Harry Potter series by JK Rowling

This series changed the world of children’s literature more than fifteen years ago, and it is easy to see why. Rowling’s magical world leaps off the pages and creates a stunning landscape for the imagination. It’s tempting to allow advanced early readers slip through the walls at Platform 9 ¾, but this is really best saved for ages 9 & up. I cried through the last pages of the final book, not only because they were sad, but because this series that I love so much was coming to a close. The Boy Who Lived will live in your heart if you let him in.

#5 Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great by Judy Blume

This book is tangentially related to the popular Fudge series. Sheila the Great is tough as nails on the outside but really, she’s afraid of her own shadow. When she goes to spend a summer in a town away from her comfort zone, she makes new friends but will she be brave enough to show them her true colors?

#6 Nothing’s Fair in Fifth Grade by Barthe deClements

This was one of my favorites as a kid; I read it over and over and feel like the characters are real kids from my childhood. Barthe deClements tells it like it is – how kids can be cruel to one another as well as how they can be true friends. If you like the character of Elsie Edwards, stick with this author and find out how she grows up with How Do You Lose Those Ninth Grade Blues? as a young adult selection, followed by Seventeen and In-between.

#7 The Babysitter’s Club: Kristy’s Great Idea

I read the entire series in grade school, and of course all the super special editions as well! As a 2014 parent it is interesting to think about how much independence and responsibility Kristy Thomas and her friends take on as they start their babysitting business together.

#8 The Trumpet of the Swan by EB White

Louis is a trumpeter swan, but not only is he not able to trumpet joyfully, he can’t make a sound. The sweet story of how he overcomes this handicap is a must-read, especially for Bostonians.

#9 Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater

This delightful story of Mr. Popper the housepainter and his house full of penguins will delight children of all ages.

#10 The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Misselthwaite Manor, a secret garden, and a boy locked behind closed doors. Need I say more? Dive into this wonderful, enchanting classic.
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