Talk about the kidlit you're reading!

Morrell

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Just finished The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer. It's really good! Definitely want to read the other two in the trilogy.
 

sissybaby

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I just finished Wolf Storm. I think someone around here wrote it. All I can say right now is, the action never stopped. Wore me out. Made me sweat. Couldn't quit.

Now I'm reading Bigger Than A Breadbox. I don't know what to think. It started out in a certain way and then, BANG! something totally out of the blue came up and I have no idea where she's going with it.
 

Kitty Pryde

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Just finished an older one, The Wild Angel by EC Spykman. It was great, kids in 1908 getting into trouble and fighting each other. But I don't know why it was called that--none of the characters would really be a wild angel. Maybe some timely pop culture reference now lost in the mists of time?

And THe Curse of the Linoleum Lederhosen by MT Anderson. This series is extremely hilarious. A kid from a cheesy old boy adventurer series, and a kid from a horror mystery series, and a regular normal kid, become friends in the real world (ish) and have crazy adventures.

And attempting Tom's Midnight Garden, another "classic". It's a neat premise: when the clock strikes 13, a garden magically appears in his backyard. But it's soooooo slow going. The writing is good but the author is reluctant to allow anything at all to happen.
 

Morrell

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I'm plowing through Tom's Midnight Garden too, Kitty. Had it since before Christmas, and am making myself finish it before starting anything else. I agree with you--the premise is great, but NOTHING HAPPENS.

And there seem to be a lot of logical inconsistencies. Tom can go through a solid door in the garden, and he can't pick up objects like bows and arrows or treehouse boards ... but he can get muddy, and he can climb trees, walk on walls, and ride in wheelbarrows.

Also, why can't he just say, "Hey, Hattie, what year is it?" The ten-year time span thing is perplexing, too. Really, she changed from six to sixteen and he didn't even notice? Don't know how far you are, so sorry if those were spoilers ... if there's even anything to spoil.
 

MsJudy

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Just finished The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer. It's really good! Definitely want to read the other two in the trilogy.

Bleah. I did not care for this one at all, and could not make myself finish it. Talk about telling, not showing...

I kept thinking, it's just how she's getting the story set up, the scenes will get stronger. Then the little sister (6 years old, maybe?) announces to the big brother Exactly Why She's Been Acting The Way She Has. Completely unbelievable level of insight for a character that age, and not the way to further the plot. Reminded me of the Robot Devil from Futurama:

You can't just go around having your characters announce their feelings! That makes me angry!
 

Britwriter

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Still reading it aloud with fourth graders. The class eccentric has taken to carrying around a black umbrella so he can be like the butler, Praiseworthy. The teacher actually starting calling him Praiseworthy because she likes encouraging their imaginations. It's pretty cute.

Today I inadvertently started a horrible class discussion over the book by asking if they thought the "squirrel gun" the MC was using to hunt jackrabbits would help fight off the bear he had just encountered. Then one girl said, "Why are we talking about guns anyways? Killing an animal, why, that's like as bad as killing a person!"

But since the school is big on 'considering other points of view', I pointed out that he's a subsistence hunter, killing an animal to eat so he doesn't starve. And that when we eat meat at school or at home, someone else killed it for us. Well, this gal did not realize that meat was made of dead animals, and I tell you she was SHOCKED!!! that she had been eating dead formerly cute creatures. I felt bad, because it had all gotten so serious, and I told the class it was okay to choose to eat meat or not. The teacher just laughed and said "Better you than me!"

That's so cute, dressing like Praiseworthy! I love eccentric kids. :)

We have discussions about survival and the ethics of eating meat in our house regularly - my kids are vegetarian by choice, having worked out what meat was almost before they could walk. However, when we read, we put things in historical context, and they understand why people lived as they did in different time periods. That's another reason why I love teaching history from good fiction - it gives insight into the lives and perspectives of the people who lived that past, instead of just dry facts.
 

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I just finished the Mother Daughter Book Club. I loved it, especially as I'm reading Little Women too at the moment, by coincidence, and have been reading extracts to my kids over the past few months.

I"m not sure about reading the whole of Little Women to them yet, though, as I remember being so upset by Beth. What age do people remember reading Little Women? I think I was twelve, but it's hard to recall exactly.
 

Kitty Pryde

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Now reading Empire of Gut and Bone by MT Anderson, which is a sort of Lovecraftian-Horrors-versus-elves-versus-robota scifi fantasy adventure mystery, the third in the series. It takes place in a world that consists of the innards of a huge possibly dead creature so it is full of child-pleasing gross stuff. Great so far.

I'm plowing through Tom's Midnight Garden too, Kitty. Had it since before Christmas, and am making myself finish it before starting anything else. I agree with you--the premise is great, but NOTHING HAPPENS.

You're hardier than me. I'm picking up a bunch more kid classics at the library today, so I may have to skip this one. Getting The Brothers Lionheart, Gone-Away Lake, Flour Babies, more John Bellairs, and more Hilary McKay. And Wolf Storm, woo woo! I seriously want to read all of these books all at the same time.
 
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Amarie

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I just finished Wolf Storm. I think someone around here wrote it. All I can say right now is, the action never stopped. Wore me out. Made me sweat. Couldn't quit.

:D

THe Curse of the Linoleum Lederhosen-I'm putting this on my list, because I'm looking for crazy, funny books.
 

Spiral

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I finally got around to reading The Lost Hero (when we first bought it, my son claimed first reading rights, and then it disappeared into the bowels of his bedroom for a while), and I started on The Son of Neptune last night.

I also just finished reading the BFG to my daughter. It took longer than it should have, because she felt compelled to correct the giant's grammar. Through the whole book. :)
 

Smish

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I finally got around to reading The Lost Hero (when we first bought it, my son claimed first reading rights, and then it disappeared into the bowels of his bedroom for a while), and I started on The Son of Neptune last night.

I also just finished reading the BFG to my daughter. It took longer than it should have, because she felt compelled to correct the giant's grammar. Through the whole book. :)

You're reading some awesome books at your house! :Thumbs:
 

romancewriter

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Not much new to discuss. Reread a few of the Princess Diaries and that's more YA. Also rereading another Meg Cabot book, Insatiable. Not YA or MG so I'm just checking out this thread to soak up the scenery. Love all the discussion everyone.
 

timp67

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I picked up W1ldw00d again after a detour with Keith R1chards's L1fe. What can I say? Even an MG fanatic needs some rock'n'roll inspiration. :)

Anyhoo, what's bugging me now about W is all the humans AND animals that SMOKE in that fantasy world. Yuck!
 

SheilaJG

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I finished Dead End at Norvelt this weekend, and I enjoyed it. I guess I was expecting to have my socks knocked off because it won the Newbery, but I came away a tad bit disappointed.

Possible spoilers:

The "mystery" was really obvious (and if I can spot it, that's saying something, 'cause I'm usually not very good at figuring out mysteries), and parts got redundant, and other plot threads just vanished. I suppose that's like real life, tho. If it hadn't won the award, I probably would have loved it. Isn't it funny how expectations work?

Anyway, now I'm reading My Name Is Not Easy by Debbie Dahl. It's about an Inupiaq boy who goes to Catholic school in Alaska. So far, I really like it.
 

Amarie

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Sheila,
Interesting about Dead End. There was lots of debate and comments on Twitter from teachers and school librarians about the Newbery this year. I hadn't read any of the books they thought were high on the list, but it was interesting to follow.
 

Kitty Pryde

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I'm reading The Brothers Lionheart because it's by Astrid Lindgren. It's pretty decent but OH MAN. I think the number one worst ever possible method for fictional children to enter a fantasy world is by dying horribly. One kid dies in a carefully described traumatic fall, and the other kid just spends months longing for death until he finally kicks the bucket--in the first twenty pages. Yeesh.
 

Morrell

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I read like a fiend and devoured a bunch of books that were generating Newbery buzz. Can't believe none of 'em even got an Honors nod--Breadcrumbs, The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman, Okay for Now, The Romeo and Juliet Code, The Penderwicks at Point Mouette, No Passengers Beyond This Point...

Haven't read Dead End at Norvelt yet. I'm sure it's great, and all... but sheesh! I'll stop sulking and read it eventually, I suppose. :)
 

sissybaby

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Kitty - I don't know that I would want to read that book. It sounds too depressing.

Ruth - I started Breadcrumbs last night. Haven't decided yet what I think, but I do like the voice quite a lot.
 

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Well I loved Al Capone Does My Shirts, so after reading a few books that I thought were so-so, I downloaded Al Capone Shines My Shoes off Audible this morning and started listening. I really like it too! at least so far.
 

Kitty Pryde

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I'm reading The Brothers Lionheart because it's by Astrid Lindgren. It's pretty decent but OH MAN. I think the number one worst ever possible method for fictional children to enter a fantasy world is by dying horribly. One kid dies in a carefully described traumatic fall, and the other kid just spends months longing for death until he finally kicks the bucket--in the first twenty pages. Yeesh.

Errrgh. Finished reading the book. I take it back. The absolute worst method of entering a fantasy world is gleeful double suicide. Good lord. Next time I will stick to Pippi Longstocking.
 

SheilaJG

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I finished My Name is Not Easy by Debbie Dahl. I really enjoyed it, I think it's the kind of book that will stick with me, and not be forgotten in a flash. While it is fiction, many of the events actually happened. It relates the true experiences of native Alaskan children who were sent to schools that were far from their homes. One child is too young for the school, so instead of sending him back to his parents, the school adopts him out to a family in Texas! Without the parent's permission. Unbelievable, but it happened.

Soooo, I need something new to read. I don't think it's going to be the Brothers Lionheart or Wildwood.
 

sissybaby

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Yeah, Sheila, I'm with you there. Those two books are definitely NOT going on my TBR list.

I'm still reading Breadcrumbs. I don't know where it's going yet, but I am still enjoying it. The author's voice is great and her writing is lyrical. I can't not like it, even though I'm very confused by it all.
 

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I am reading Rinkitink in Oz. I'm working through all of of Baum's Oz books reading them to my daughter.
 

JoyMC

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I am reading Rinkitink in Oz. I'm working through all of of Baum's Oz books reading them to my daughter.

Aren't the Oz books wonderful? I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't know there was more than The Wizard of Oz until I got a Kindle and discovered them all in the free books. We have had great fun reading them with our daughter, too.