Thrones and Bones: Frostborn by Lou Anders

Oct8

This middle grade fantasy adventure takes place in the frozen North, very Norse, but on a different planet than Earth, one with two moons? The mythology that the story incorporates is definitely Norse/Scandinavian, but the different planet aspect allows the author to deviate from Norse folklore and culture whenever he wants without getting accused of being inauthentic. At least, I suppose that’s why he set the story on another planet. I can’t see that the foreign planet setting serves any other purpose . . . yet. (This book is, of course, the beginning of a series.)

Anyway, Karn lives in Norrongard where his father is jarl and owner of the family farm. Karn is due to inherit the farm someday, but he’s not much interested. He’d rather be playing Thrones and Bones. Typical unmotivated young teenage boy.

Thianna lives even farther north than Karn because she’s a frost giant, sort of, half. Her mother was human, and her father is a giant, which makes Thianna a misfit. She wants to be seen as a full-fledged giantess, but she’s too short for a giantess and too tall to be a human. She’s definitely tough and stubborn, not unmotivated.

When both Karn and Thianna are forced to leave home under dangerous and unjust circumstances, they meet up and help each other to evade their pursuers and to survive long enough to figure out their own strengths and goals. Thianna carries the Macguffin, a horn that neither Thianna nor Karn understands the significance of, but that everyone wants. Somehow the horn is dangerous enough to practically destroy the world. That part is never completely explained, but rather left open, perhaps for the next book in the series?

Anyway, lots of near-death experiences, a huge, hungry dragon, undead draug, murderous relations, an avalanche or two, and flying wyvern, among other things, make the book exciting and full of vicarious reading adventure. Read it if you like northernness or Norse mythology or chasing-around-in-the-snow adventures. Stay for the friendship that develops between two very different young people, Thianna the Bold but sometimes Foolhardy and Karn the Lazy but Master of Strategy.

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This book is also nominated for a Cybil Award, but the views expressed here are strictly my own and do not reflect or determine the judging panel’s opinions.

Cybils: Picture Books

Oct7

The category contains titles for toddlers and third graders, funny stories and moving tales, history and fantasy, traditions and diversity, elegance and silliness, education and entertainment. An amazing conceptual range for books with typically 32 to 48 pages.

Here are a few Picture Book Fiction books that may deserve a look, but haven’t been nominated yet. If one of these is your favorite, please nominate it for a Cybils award.

The Christmas Cat by Maryann Macdonald. NOMINATED
Stone Soup with Matzo Balls by Linda Glazer.
Deep in the Sahara by Kelly Cunnane.
The Artist and the King by Julie Fortenberry.
Audrey Bunny by Angie Smith.
Those Magnificent Sheep in Their Flying Machines by Peter Bentley.
Mikis and the Donkey by Bibi Dumon Tak. NOMINATED in Middle Grade Fiction.

Keep turning in nominations for all your favorites in all of the categories, but remember that only those books published between Oct. 16, 2013 and Oct. 15, 2014 are eligible. And only one book per nominator per category.

Rain Reign by Ann Martin

Oct7

I have a weakness for stories about quirky children, especially autistic or Asperger’s children. I absolutely loved Rain Reign, the story of Rose, whose name is a homonym, who loves homonyms, and who loves her dog, Rain, whose name is also a homonym.

Homonyms are everywhere, and Rose is the collector of all things homonymic. Rose (rows) is also the owner of a stray dog that her father brought home for her in the rain, hence the name, Rain (reign).

What did I like about this book?
I liked Rose, even though I could see how she could be annoying with her constant attention to homonyms and prime numbers, her insistence that all traffic rules must be obeyed to the letter, and her tendency to blurt out her concerns and thoughts in inappropriate places and at inappropriate times.

I liked Rose’s Uncle Weldon, who is a gentle soul who lends some stability to Rose’s otherwise out of control life.

I even liked that Rose’s father, a borderline abuser and alcoholic, makes the right decision in the end, for Rose and for the others in Rose’s world.

Rose’s schoolmates and teachers are for the most part kind and patient, even though Rose is not always easy to deal with in the classroom or outside.

I highly recommend this story to dog lovers, lovers of children on the autism spectrum, and rule followers everywhere. Rain Reign might bring a tear to the eye, but I can reassure those who are wondering what my children always wonder about dog stories:(possible spoiler!) no dogs die in the course of this story.

Cybils: Young Adult Speculative Fiction

Oct6

Magic, aliens, ghosts, alternate universes, time travel, space travel, high fantasy, dystopian, post-apocalyptic futures, horror, and sentient animals are just some of the many topics that belong here. If a book could happen today or could have happened in the past, nominate it in YA Fiction. But any story thatâ€™s impossible, improbable, or merely possible â€“ but not quite yet â€“ belongs in Speculative Fiction. Magic Realism is tricky, but more often than not ends up here. The age range for this category is approximately 12-18.

Here are a few YA Speculative Fiction books that may deserve a look, but haven’t been nominated yet. If one of these is your favorite, please nominate it for a Cybils award.

Parched by Georgia Clark.
Donâ€™t Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski.
Destined for Doon by Carey Corp and Lorey Langdon. Reviewed at The Book Nut: A Booklover’s Guide.
Nightmare City by Andrew Klavan.
Mindwar by Andrew Klavan.
One Realm Beyond by Donita K. Paul. Reviewed at Redeemed Reader.
Merlinâ€™s Nightmare by Robert Treskillard. NOMINATED
Rebels (The Safe Lands) by Jill Williamson.

Do carry on with nominations for all your favorites in all of the categories, but only those books published between Oct. 16, 2013 and Oct. 15, 2014 are eligible.

Alvin Ho: Allergic to the Great Wall, The Forbidden Palace, and Other Tourist Attractions by Lenore Look

Oct6

Alvin Ho is back again, kind of like his namesake, the chipmunk. (Actually, the two have nothing to do with one another. I just was reminded of Alvin the Chipmunk for some reason and wanted to post a picture. Maybe because both Alvins have a penchant for getting into lovable trouble.)

This time Alvin Ho goes on a trip at Christmas time to China with his family to visit his relations who live in a tall scary apartment building. And Alvin has to fly across the ocean in an airplane, aka tin can, to get there. And there are maybe a billion people in China who could squash you. And you might have to use a squat toilet or be stuck all over with acupuncture needles like a pincushion. Scary, right?

Those are only a few of the dangers Alvin faces as he explores, or tries to keep from exploring, a new country. I’m getting a little jaded on Alvin, but I think this book might be just as funny and just as comforting to the average second or third grader as were Alvin’s previous adventures.

I did especially like chapter 15, You Can Make a Friend Anywhere, where Alvin does something very generous and kind in spite of all of his fears and phobias. The rest is standard Alvin Ho fare, although it provides a good introduction to the tourist attractions and interesting aspects of a visit to China. I felt sorry for Alvin’s dad, though, who is forced to be very, very patient and forgiving with Alvin’s childish anxieties and careless misdeeds.

Read this one if you’re a fan or if you want a painless introduction to China or if you have yet to meet the inimitable Alvin Ho.

Cybils: Middle Grade Speculative Fiction

Oct5

Nominations are open through October 15th for the Cybils, the book awards for children’s and young adult literature that are administered, judged, and awarded by kid lit bloggers. I’m on the panel for the Middle Grade Speculative Fiction category, described as “books written for eight- to twelve-year-olds . . . with talking animals, time-travel, ghosts, and paranormal abilities, and all the other books that might not have obvious magic or travel to distant planets, but which push past the boundaries of daily life into the realm of the almost certainly impossible.”

Here are few books that haven’t been nominated yet, but deserve a look.If you’ve read one of these and want to give it a nod, go to the Cybils website and put in your nomination.

Dreamwood by Heather Mackey.NOMINATED
The Heroâ€™s Guide to Being an Outlaw by Christopher Healy. NOMINATED
Minion by John David Anderson. NOMINATED
Magic in the Mix Annie Barrows.
Twelve Minutes to Midnight by Christopher Edge.
Mouseheart by Lisa Fiedler. NOMINATED
The Warden and the Wolf King by Andrew Peterson.
The Glass Sentence by S.E. Grove. NOMINATED
Jack Staples and the Ring of Time by Mark Batterson and Joel Clark.
Revealed by Margaret Peterson Haddix.
Shouldn’t You Be in School? by Lemony Snicket.

Frankly, I’m surprised that some of these haven’t yet been nominated. Go forth and nominate your favorites in all of the categories, but only those published between Oct. 16, 2013 and Oct. 15, 2014.

Saturday Review of Books: October 4, 2014

Oct3

“The person who deserves most pity is a lonesome one on a rainy day who doesn’t know how to read.” ~Benjamin Franklin

Rembrandt Old Woman Reading 1625 from Flickr via Wylio

Welcome to the Saturday Review of Books at Semicolon. Here’s how it usually works. Find a book review on your blog posted sometime during the previous week. The review doesnâ€™t have to be a formal sort of thing. You can link to your thoughts on a particular book, a few ideas inspired by reading the book, your evaluation, quotations, whatever.

Then on Friday night/Saturday, you post a link here at Semicolon in Mr. Linky to the specific post where you’ve written your book review. Don’t link to your main blog page because this kind of link makes it hard to find the book review, especially when people drop in later after you’ve added new content to your blog. In parentheses after your name, add the title of the book you’re reviewing. This addition will help people to find the reviews they’re most interested in reading.

After linking to your own reviews, you can spend as long as you want reading the reviews of other bloggers for the week and adding to your wishlist of books to read. That’s how my own TBR list has become completely unmanageable and the reason I can’t join any reading challenges. I have my own personal challenge that never ends.

Poetry Friday: Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers by Gloria Whelan

Oct3

Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers By Gloria Whelan. Illustrated by Yan Nascimbene. Sleeping Bear Press, 2008.

This week and next in our homeschool we’re traveling to Japan: sushi, haiku, kimonos, rice paper, origami, big city, small farm, tsunamis, cherry blossoms. And what else might we discover in our imaginary journey to Japan?

When you’re looking for children’s books with an international setting and flavor, Gloria Whelan is a go-to author, and Sleeping Bear Press is definitely a premier publisher of such books. Sleeping Bear has published a whole bushel basket of alphabet books featuring different countries, states, regions, and interests from A is for Aloha: A Hawai’i Alphabet to K is for Kabuki: A Japan Alphabet to Z is for Zamboni: A Hockey Alphabet. And their non-alphabet, non-concept books rate high in both beauty and educational value, too. Sleeping Bear Press specializes in picture books, ergo the pictures in the books are delightful, colorful, and rich in detail.

Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers is no exception to that description. The illustrations, in double page and page and a half spreads, are Japanese in flavor, with the delicate figures and light and dark contrasts of Japanese character writing. However, there’s also a lot of color splashed all over these pages to delight the eye and engage the imagination. Yan Nascimbene also did the small, intricate illustrations for another lovely picture book set in Japan, Hachiko: The True Story of a Loyal Dog by Pamela S. Turner.

Gloria Whelan’s text tells the story of an seventeenth or eighteenth century girl, Yuki, who must accompany her family on a 300 mile journey to the capital city of Edo. Yuki must ride in a palanquin (most of the time), and her teacher has given her an assignment to write a haiku every day to chronicle the journey. Yuki writes all of her longing for home and her fears about the future as well as her enjoyment in the small pleasures of each day into her haiku.

Once outside the gate
how will I find my way back?
Will home disappear?

River is busy
making its own long journey;
it doesn’t look back.

Gulls write their haiku
in the sky, dipping and darting,
not caged in a box.

Once during the long journey, Yuki is able to climb out of the palanquin and walk a little way. She writes:

Grass under my feet
plum blossoms drift down on me
just for a minute.

Finally, the family reach Edo, the end of their journey, and Yuki learns to appreciate where she is, instead of always looking back to long for her old home.

The book is a fantastic introduction to historical Japan and a lovely story of overcoming homesickness through poetry and awareness of daily blessings.

Jama’s Alphabet Soup has today’s Poetry Friday Roundup.

Skies Like These by Tess Hilmo

Oct2

I really, really enjoyed Tess Hilmo’s first novel for children, With a Name Like Love. I think, had my expectations not been quite so high for her second book, Skies Like These, I would have enjoyed it a lot more. As it was, I did like it, but I didn’t get the full experience. That’s the trouble with Great Expectations.

On the other hand, the Tourism Bureau in Wyoming and maybe in neighboring states should buy copies of Skies Like These in bulk and give them out as advertisements. The book is paean to the wide open spaces of the western United States, particularly Wyoming. Ms. Hilmo writes of “Wyoming’s remarkable kaleidoscope skies” and “the strong, harsh rocks of the mountain range” and “apricot-tinted light” dissolving into the red dirt of the yard, and stars in the “complete, uninterrupted stillness of the night.” Then, she fleshes out those descriptions with a story that tells how Jade, a city girl from Philly, comes to love and appreciate the wonders of the great, wild west.

Unadventurous Jade has never been to visit her Aunt Elise in Wyoming until the summer before seventh grade. In fact, Jade has always spent her summers watching TV and reading and trying out recipes at home in Philadelphia, and she likes it that way. But Aunt Elise is all excited about Jade’s visit, and Jade’s parents think that Jade could use a little adventure in her summer. So Wyoming it is!

When she gets to Wyoming, Jade meets twelve year old Roy Parker, a wannabe cowboy who believes he’s a descendant of LeRoy Parker aka Butch Cassidy. “During their Wild West summer together, Roy helps Jade find her inner cowgirl, and jade helps Roy find himself.” (cover blurb) There’s no romance here, not even an intimation, just Jade and Roy, two friends, helping each other see and do things that neither of them would have seen or done on their own.

Skies Like These is a gentle story of growing up and learning to try new things and maybe let go of old things. It is quite similar in tone to With a Name Like Love, although set in the present day instead of the 1950’s, so if you liked that one, you’ll probably enjoy Skies Like These. Just don’t get over-expectant –unless you live in and love Wyoming. If you’re a Wyoming resident, you’ll probably want to give a copy to every child in Wyoming. (There aren’t that many, right?)

Cybils: Middle Grade Fiction

Oct1

Nominations open today for the Cybils, the book awards for children’s and young adult literature that are administered, judged, and awarded by kid lit bloggers. For Cybils purposes, “Middle grade fiction encompasses a wide range of stories that do not have magical elements and are geared toward the 8 to 12 year old age group. These stories could be mysteries, histories, humor, sports, adventure and other tales set in the real world.”

I’ve read a lot of Middle Grade Fiction this year. Here are a few suggestions if you’re looking for a book to nominate in this category:

A Month of Sundays by Ruth White.
Somebody on This Bus is Going to Be Famous by Janie B. Cheaney.
Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff. NOMINATED
A Hitch at the Fairmont by Jim Averbeck.
Uncertain Glory by Lea Wait. NOMINATED
Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere by Julie T. Lamana. NOMINATED
Ollie and the Science of Treasure Hunting by Erin Dionne.
The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson. NOMINATED
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. NOMINATED
The Summer I Saved the World in 65 Days by Michele Weber Hurwitz. NOMINATED
The Spy Catchers of Maple Hill by Megan Frazer Blakemore. NOMINATED
Hope Is a Ferris Wheel by Robin Herrera. NOMINATED
Another Day As Emily by Eileen Spinelli.
PK Pinkerton and the Pistol-Packing Widows by Caroline Lawrence. NOMINATED
Saving Kabul Corner by N.H. Senzai. NOMINATED
Bird by Crystal Chan. NOMINATED
Under the Egg by Laura Marx Fitzgerald. NOMINATED
I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora.
The Battle of Darcy Lane by Tara Altebrando.
Zane and the Hurricane by Rodman Philbrick. NOMINATED
Rain Reign by Ann Martin. Review coming soon. NOMINATED
Skies Like These by Tess Hilmo.

Links are to my reviews. Certainly, if you’ve read one of the above titles or any other children’s or YA title published between October 16, 2013 and October 15, 2014, you should nominate your favorite(s) for the Cybils. Nominations are open through October 15th.