Quick Blog Tutorial

There have been some questions and concerns raised via email about interacting with this blog, where things are located, and how to do any of "that stuff." So I am going to address the questions and concerns here in a quick and easy tutorial.  

Follow — I am taking the steps to make this blog readily available and easy to use by offering several different ways to keep in touch and be a part of this community. I will be adding more as I find new, better and easier ways to make everything work. "Followers" will automatically receive notifications rwhen the blog is updated and can easily leave comments on the posts. Some people have had difficulty becoming followers because of their service provider. Sorry. The follower button is currently operated by Google friends and can be found on the left hand side of the page. If you have a Google account of any sort this should be easy to work.

Subscribe — Subscribers can have the blog entries streamed to their Google or any other home page that allows RSS, atom and several other feeds. instead of waking up and checking your Wall Street Journal headlines you can check your Chapter One updates. You don't have to do one or the other, you can actually do both. This is a quick and easy way to keep in touch. The subscribe button can be found on the left hand side of the page and looks like this.

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

Atom — Atom is a feed like the subscribe button. It can only be used for pages that allow an atom feed. It can be found at the bottom of the front page and is a "type" link.

E-mail — You can also e-mail me at mcgeath@mcgeathfreeman.com requesting automatic e-mail updates. I will add you to the list and you will receive updates whenever the site is updated.

Comments — I want everyone to take part in the discussions and reviews. Make comments on the books that we cover, or on the review itself. Suggest titles for upcoming reviews or ideas for interviews and articles. 

At the bottom of each entry (see above image) is a small comment button. You should be able to click on that and leave a comment or read comments that have already been made. Anonymous comments are accepted. However, I reserve the right to remove any comment I do not feel is appropriate for the site or it's readers. 

Reactions — Also at the bottom of each entry is a simple way to comment. You may not have time to write a full manifesto or have anything that interesting to say. I still want to know what you think so register your reactions with a simple click. There are several reaction blocks and all it takes is a click to register your thoughts.

E-mail Post — In the same area below each post you'll find a small letter button (Didn't show up on the image above). The button sits directly to the right of the comments. This e-mail button makes it easy for you to share the entry, review, discussion, etc. with any of your friends or colleagues. Spread the word about a book, author or this blog. It's easy.

If this was helpful, let me know.
If you have any more questions, let me know.
If you have any suggestions, let me know.
I need your help to make this site everything it can be, and everything we want it to be.

Thank you.

Action, Adventure, and a Fairytale Twist

I have decided to stay on the subject of graphic novels for a little longer. Lately, it seems everything I see is about graphic novels. Books such as, “Geronimo Stilton” and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” are a cross between a chapter book and a graphic novel. Then you have “Captain Underpants” and “Babymouse” which are graphic novels pretending to be chapter books.


All the major publishing houses are looking for some way to tap into the graphic novel market. You’ll find successful middle readers being converted: “Warriors,” Artemis Fowl," and “Skeleton Key” come to mind. Movie and TV franchises like “Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones,” and “Twilight Zone” are not immune either. Popular titles including, “The Boxcar Children,” “The Hardy Boys,” and “Nancy Drew” are also getting inked. I’m only surprised there are no plans for “Harry Potter” as a graphic novel… or are there.


Just like traditional books, though, there are good, bad and ugly stories in this genre too. The newly published “Calamity Jack” is a prime example of the “good.”

“Calamity Jack”
By Shannon Hale and Dean Hale
Illustrated by Nathan Hale
For ages 8 - 14
Shannon and Dean Hale return to the graphic novel genre with another rollicking adventure in
“Calamity Jack.” When we last left Rapunzel and Jack (“Rapunzel’s Revenge,” http://chapteronereviews.blogspot.com/2009/02/graphic-novels-have-had-cult-following.html) they were embraced in a fairy tale kiss and poised to live happily ever after. Or so we thought.

“Calamity Jack” begins with a flashback to Jack’s birth in the city of Shyport and quickly progresses through his formidable years. We learn that his mother owns and runs a bakery in a tenement house and that Jack was generally up to no good. Along with his partner in crime, a feisty pixie named Pru, Jack decided to run a scheme on Blunderboar, a corrupt giant. When some magic beans get out of hand and the scheme goes awry Jack has to leave town quickly. With a certain golden-egg-laying-goose under his arm Jack goes west.

After “Rapunzel’s Revenge” and the fairy tale kiss, Jack and Rapunzel head back east to the big city of Shyport. Unfortunately everything has changed. Buildings are crumbling, giants appear to run the city, Jack’s mom is being held prisoner by Blunderboar, and average citizens keep turning up missing. Oh yeah, I almost forgot the giant ant people that are terrorizing the city. Jack and Rapunzel team up with Pru and young newspaper man, Freddie Sparksmith, to rescue Jack’s mom, bring down Blunderboar and save the city.

Like “Rapunzel’s Revenge” the action is set in a strange fantasy version of the American west. Only this time the adventure is moved off of the frontier and into a bustling city. The characters are well developed through dialogue and the illustrations. Nathan Hale brings the characters to life with rich colors, layers and humorous facial expressions. The dialogue is witty and quick as are the dangerous and exciting situations. “Calamity Jack” is a worthy follow-up to “Rapunzel’s Revenge.” Read as a pair or on its own you and your kids will enjoy the tale.

Also of interest:

“Into the Volcano”
By Don Wood
For Ages 8 – 14
This suspenseful adventure follows two young boys as they are whisked off to the island of Kocalaha,
to stay with family they never even knew they had. The adventure is fast and furious with lava flows, surfing, underground exploration, kidnapping and treasure. Presented in the form of a graphic novel “Into the Volcano” depicts each twist and turn of the plot with vivid clarity. Unfortunately many of the twists and turns have no real explanation and some of the illustrations depict gruesomely frightening scenes -- younger readers be warned. The strange plot twists and frightening elements won’t matter too much to readers though; they’ll be too caught up in the excitement.

Graphic Novels, Creativity, and the Joy of Reading.

Does it matter what your children read?

Recently both of my sons have become obsessed with graphic novels. Everything from "Batman" to "Bone" to "Calvin and Hobbes." I don't have anything against graphic novels or traditional comic books. I have enjoyed reading a few myself (there is a collection of comic books in my garage.) Up until recently though my nine-year-old son was reading "Wayside School", "Tom Swift," "Harry Potter," "The Chronicles of Narnia," and just about everythign from Andrew Clements. My five-year-old who is still learing to read loved storytime with "Ready, Freddy!," "The Curious Garden," and "Stuart Little." Neither child is a reluctant reader so I never even considered comic books and graphic novels as options for story time.

Then my children went to school and began coming home with graphic novels from the library. They were reciting stories, playing games, and pretending all in the realm of the graphic novels they were reading. Instead of being disappointed they were not reading large impressive chapter books I needed to look at the situation from a differnt angle. My kids were jazzed about literature. They were excited to use their imagination in a differnt way. They wanted to create their own books. That's pretty cool.

The early books were often just scribbles on paper with no words. The hieroglyphics only meant something to the nine and five-year-old minds of the boys who created them. But I was proud of the creativity and effort. Before long they were binding upwards of 10 illustrated pages together with tape. The stories were rudimentary, but followed a basic plot. Best of all the stories generally had nothing to do with the graphic novels they had been reading.

So here's the lesson to be taken from this. It doesn't matter what style of book your children are reading, as long as they are reading and ecited about it. I read recently (I need to find where I read it) that people who read were more engaging, made more money, and had better qualities of life than people who didin't read. Now who doesn't want that for their children.

While we're on the topic of graphic novels, I came across this fun piece from Suvudu.com about the process brother and sister team Matthew and Jennifer Holm take in creating a "Babymouse" graphic novel for kids. Check it out, it really is quite entertaining: http://digg.com/d31HAvq

You may also want to try a couple activities with your kids.

Begin by drawing 10 - 12 squares. Make sure your squares are large enough to include a picture. You may just want to use single pages. Leave space below the squares for a couple sentences. Talk to your kids about a character. Maybe it is your child's favorite stuffed animal or lego guy. Then ask them what the story is about. What happens to the character? To get things going you write the first sentence. Let your children write the rest and have them draw pictures in each square to accompany the story.

Try a different angle on this same basic activity. Once you have the 12 squares prepared. Draw pictures in each square, alternating with your children. Think of it as telling a viusal story, line by line. Don't talk to each other about the story, just see where you and your kids take it. Once all the pictures are completed have your kids go back and write in captions, like a comic book to tell the story.

You'll have a great time, a great memory and you may be surprised to see what stories you create together.

Drawn to Read: The Klise Connection

The wait is over, this week's edition of "Drawn to Read" is here. As you hopefully know by now I am highlighting illustrators of picture and chapter books, that are creating exemplary work — adding style and life to current children's literature. I welcome your suggestions for future illustrators and comments on the ones I post. I have featured Elise Primavera, Jon J. Muth, Adam Rex and Mo Willems. Then last week we put the spotlight on some charity work illustrators, crafters and artists were doing for Haiti. Now we are back to children's book illustrations, in a big way, with the wonderful stylings of M. Sarah Klise.

Teamed with her sister Kate (above left) as the author, M. Sarah Klise(above right) has illustrated and published 13 books (two more on the way) for children 3 – 12 years old. She first came to my attention when I read the first of a series of middle reader books — "Regarding the Fountain." You may have children familiar with them: "Regarding the Fountain," Regarding the Sink," "Regarding the Trees," "Regarding the Bathroom," and "Regarding the Bees."

The "Regarding the..." series follows Mr. sam N.'s middle school class through several wacky adventures with famed fountain designer, Florence Waters, criminals, principals, weddings, and much more. The stories unfold in scrapbook 
style presentations of news articles, memos, e-mails, photos, postcards and notes. The execution of the tale means the illustrations are as much a part of the narrative as the words themselves. Sometimes, for that matter, the illustrations are the words. Aside from the cover art, everything is black and white line art. The somewhat primitive style ads movement and humor to the situational comedy. This style of storytelling is not always easy. It can create choppy flow and plot development can be lost. Such is not the case with this series. The Klise sisters create a seamless marriage of illustration and text. Visual and verbal puns abound.

M. Sarah and Kate Klise have penned and illustrated four other books using the scrapbook/journal style, they have seemingly perfected, to tell the story. "Letters from Camp," is a spoof on the classic summer camp story. It follows pairs of brothers and sisters who have been sent to Camp Harmony to learn how to get along. "Trial By Journal," is a comedic mystery that follows a 12-year-old girl as she serves on the jury for a murder trial. The "43 Old Cemetery Road" series is an extremely quirky tale of a ghost and her friends. All of these books are filled with visual and verbal puns and wordplay. Sarah's line art adds character to the storytelling and encourages children to follow along.

Next I came across a series of picture books, by the Klise sisters, that focus on Little Rabbit and his mother. These engaging tales of childhood are brought to life with richly colored acrylic illustrations that are layered with texture and detail. The Little Rabbit books include, "Shall I Knit You a Hat?: A Christmas Yarn," "Why Do You Cry: Not a Sob Story," "Little Rabbit and the Night Mare," and the soon to be released "Little Rabbit and the Meanest Mother on Earth." Klise easily enters a young child's world with whimsy and wonder. She attacks childhood fears and challenges head on and softens the threats with warm illustrations that invite children to linger in each scene.

M. Sarah and Kate Klise have won just about every award and honor imaginable and deservedly so. Unfortunately the ALA has not deemed to honor them with a Caldecott or Newberry Award. It's only a matter of time though. 

Also, keep your eyes out for a new picture book by the Klise sisters due out in May — "Stand Straight, Ella Kate: the True Story of a Real Giant." If you are interested in learning more about this dynamic duo or their books visit http://www.kateandsarahklise.com and tell them Chapter One Book Reviews sent you.

So the Drama! New book takes a look at teen relationships

I recently highlighted two teen/young adult novels about vampires, pixies and werewolves. It seems about two-thirds of the books for teens these days are about the supernatural. The other third are teen dramas about love, relationships, school cliques, sex and drugs. The latter two seem to be glamorized far too often in today's teen novels. So when I received a review copy of "The Lonely Hearts Club" I cringed. The fact that Stephenie Meyer, author of the "Twilight" series, has an endorsement of the book prominently displayed on the front cover didn't sway me. I believe the "Twilight" series sets teen girls up for poor relationships with potentially abusive guys. That, however, is another review. After much consternation I brought myself to read, "The Lonely Hearts Club."

"The Lonely Hearts Club"

By Elizabeth Eulberg

For Ages 14 and up

In her debut novel Elizabeth Eulberg explores the lives of 16-year-old Penny Lane Bloom and her best friends. At the beginning of her junior year Penny decides she has had one too many bad relationships. Guys aren't worth the heartache, since they all seem to be after one thing and care about nobody but themselves. Penny decides to give up guys altogether — no dating until she is off at college. She looks to the only four guys in her life that have never steered her wrong, John Paul George and Ringo, for inspiration and forms The Lonely Hearts Club. Of course, there is only one member, herself. That doesn't last long though. As word of her club spreads the number of members quickly increases. This is also where the plot and character interaction really takes off.

Let's be clear, "The Lonely Hearts Club" is neither a man-hating club or book. The club is less about no dating than all the other aspects of life as a teenage girl. Besides, as the girls find out, it is very difficult to cut boys out of their lives altogether. The club is a support group of friends who help each other be themselves. It offers encouragement to respect yourself and have your own identity. If you remember high school you remember seeing far too many people lose themselves in their relationships and lose their friends in the process. Penny's club sets out to show teen girls that they do not need a boyfriend to validate who they are and if you do have a boyfriend make sure they respect who you are.

So the plot is somewhat cliched, but so are most of the teen novels on the market right now. We can't judge this book on the merits of its originality. What we can judge it on is character development, believability, message and entertainment value. "The Lonely Hearts Club" is driven by characters and conversation. Both of which Eulberg does a very nice job of developing. The characters are well developed, well rounded and believable. Readers will have no trouble making a connections and getting sucked into the drama. The conversations are quick, witty, and often poignant without being preachy or fake. Penny Lane and her friends Tracy and Diane are strong female characters with strong voices. They, and the rest of "The Lonely Hearts Club" are good heroes for today's teen girls.

Sexuality, drugs and drinking are too often glorified in teen novels. This is not to say authors should ignore the existence of such variables in their plots. Like "The Lonely Hearts Club," however, they should take an honest look and include such devices as sex to the extent that it progresses the plot. Eulberg does a very nice job of dealing with sexuality without glorifying it. Everyone is not "doing it." Alcohol comes up a couple times in the book and once again Eulberg does a nice job with context. She does not dismiss teen drinking nor does she glorify it.

Overall I was impressed and entertained with "The Lonely Hearts Club." Teens need good role models in their literature and Penny Lane is just that. "The Lonely Hearts Club" offers a message of self-respect, strength and the belief in oneself wrapped in an often humorous romp through high school.

Girls, or young women, who enjoyed "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," in middle school will enjoy "The Lonely Hearts Club" now.

Drawn to Read: Hearts for Haiti

It's "Drawn to Read" time! For the past couple weeks I have been highlighting illustrators of picture and chapter books, that are creating exemplary work — adding style and life to current children's literature. In light of the tradgedy in Haiti I am straying from the original concept of "Drawn to Read" this week so we can all make a little difference for those in need.


My wife, Andie, is taking part in two small grassroots efforts to raise money for those in need. So click over to Andie's blog to learn more about Hearts for Haiti. Take a look at what illustrators, artists, and crafter are doing to raise money. So far Hearts for haiti has raised more than $13,000 for Doctors Without Borders. It's a simple way to help and you may get something out of it too. Just follow the link below.
Hearts for Haiti

Vampires, Pixies, and Werewolves, Oh My!

Teen Novels Run Amok. 

Have you looked at the young adult section of your local bookstore lately? Honestly, how does one decide which vampire book to read? It seems to the untrained eye — maybe even the trained eye — that the only thing young adults read about is vampires, pixies and other mythical fantasy creatures. Of course all these creatures are living a 90210/Gossip Girl, life of romance, betrayal and high school. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy fantasy novels and mythical creatures as much as anyone, but how does the average person find a good book when all the books appear the same at a glance? I recently finished two such books and I am here to tell you about them.

"Hearts at Stake"

By Alyxandra Harvey

For Ages 12 and up

"Hearts at Stake" is the first book of The Drake Chronicles, a new series which follows exploits and drama surrounding the Drake family. As it happens the Drakes are an ancient and royal line of Vampires. they are not made with a bite like most vampires. No, they go though a sort of metamorphosis on their 16th birthday. it still involves the drinking of blood. When they awaken the Drakes are dead. Well, undead to be precise. 

There are many types of vampires. The Drakes are very civilized and do not kill people to feed. There are less civilized vamps that are killing machines. Then there are many vampires which fall in the middle somewhere. There are also vampire hunters. The vampires have a councils and royal governing bodies, which of course leads to wars. Especially when you throw in an ancient prophecy. This all brings us to Solange.

"Hearts at Stake" is Solange's story. She is the daughter of the Drakes and appears destined to fulfill an ancient prophecy. Once she survives the "blood change" on her 16th birthday she is destined to become Queen of the vampires. Of course she wants none of it. Solange just wants to survive and avoid as much blood as possible. Unfortunately as her birthday draws closer every vampire around wants to make her his own, and the reigning queen just wants her dead. Luckily for Solange she has a best non-vampire-friend to keep her grounded and five brothers to protect her. You know how big brothers can be.

It's all very exciting, with fight scenes, vampires turing to dust, hormonal lust and make outs, weapons, and royal intrigue. It's not all great though. "Hearts at Stake" is a great deal like the other vampire chronicles on the market. It is full of teen angst and hormones. Basically it's a romance novel for young adults. My biggest fear with this sort of book is that they add fuel to the already overly sexualized media targeting overly hormonal preteens and teens. Everyone is not doing "it." But books such as "Hearts at Stake" give the impression that everyone is and it's great.

Now that I've ranted I'll tell you what I actually liked about "Hearts at Stake." The technique Harvey uses in her storytelling is compelling. The tale unfolds in what appear to be journal entries from Solange and her best friend Lucy. Alternating by chapter the girls' different perspectives give the reader a glimpse into the world surrounding the Drakes. The second installment in the chronicles will also be form two different perspective although neither will be that of Solange or Lucy.

I was also intrigued by the idea that a vampire might not be "turned," but born that way.

So let's summarize. "Hearts at Stake" is a fun adventure into a royal feud between vampire clans. It also has an interesting technique in conveying the story. Unfortunately the writing is reminiscent of a romance novel and the content is a little to teen drama series to make it a must read. It's a nice alternative to the "Twilight" series though as the characters have, well, more character. 

"Captivate"

By Carrie Jones

For Ages 12 and up

Evidently Pixies are not all like Tinkerbell. Actually, according to "Captivate" pixies are nothing like Tinkerbell. They are cruel killers with blue skin and sharp pointy teeth that feed on young people. They sound a little like vampires only more animal-like. I'll admit it, I was intrigued by the whole pixie thing. 

"Captivate" is the second book that follows Zara, a normal teen with normal teen problems. unless you call being half-pixie and the daughter of  pixie king normal. There is no need to read "Need" the first of the two books, if you have not already, but it will help you understand the entire dynamic world of pixies, weres, and other such mythical creatures. Mostly it will help you understand Zara a little better. She is a heroine. She is strong and strong-minded. She is against killing all things yet understands the dangers in the world. She has a boyfriend, but on her own terms. She has loyal friends and she has an inner strength which becomes very visible towards the end of "Captivate."

Zara is living in Maine (by way of Charleston, SC) with her grandmother. She attends high school and has  a core group of friends that no everything about her. Zara's boyfriend is a werewolf, her best friend is as normal as they come and her boyfriends best friend is a were-eagle. They spend their days at school and their afternoons patrolling for pixies. They capture and detain the pixies in an old abandoned house in the woods. They lead normal lives otherwise. Everything is about dances, relationships and the cold Maine winters until a strange new pixie shows up.

Zara begins to question everything she has come to know about pixies and learns a great deal in turn. Then everything breaks loose. The pixies escape and rampage, Zaras boyfriend is killed and taken by a Valkyrie to Valhalla for some great battle, and this strange pixie keeps saving her life. Pretty soon Zara ha to decide about her own future and whether to remain human or become one of the things she has been fighting all along — a pixie queen.

"Captivate" is well-written, with some great quippy dialogue. There is plenty of humor wrapped in the action, mystery romance, and horror. The imagery lingers with you long after you put the book down. The teen romance is there and hormonal, but not in your face sexual. The quality of writing elevates the book somewhat from being just another teen romance novel. unfortunately the only real originality is in the use of pixies as opposed to vampires. They could easily be swapped out though.

If you are into the fantasy genre and looking for a new series with supernatural elements, this is a decent choice. The quality writing and imagery keep it from being another Twilight or Vampire Diaries. The character development and toned-down sexuality keep it form being gossip girl with monsters. This allows you to concentrate on the real story of friends, loyalty, family and life-changing decisions.