Princess or Bust?

Every little girl seems to be enamored with princesses. It seems only natural the whole "princess thing" will would continue as they grow older. Of course, if you begin referring to cliques as princesses the term may not be held in such high regard for long.

“Diary of a Would-be Princess”

By Jessica Green
For ages 9 - 12
This "school" story follows Jillian, a fifth grade girl in a small Australian town. “Diary of a Would-be Princess” has potential, but the pacing and coloquial Australian dialogue drag it down. It has some highlights worth reading, but the rest falls flat. Rated 2.5 (cliques, adolescent relationships, procrastination)

What appears to be a great new book for young girls about how to deal with life, relationships, and school turns out to be only mildly interesting. The story follows Jillian James, a fifth grader in a rural Australian town. Written as a journal, everything is told from Jillian’s perspective, aside from a few notes from her teacher. The journal offers an interesting look at a girl who begins the year wanting to be in the popular “princess” clique, but throughout the year develops group of friends, mostly male outcasts, that are uniquely her own.

The pacing is slow and the Australian slang can be difficult to decipher at times. Jillian has a nice flare for humor and her character is well developed, but the supporting cast remains a little flat. Unfortunately, by the time Jillian makes her climactic and thoroughly entertaining speech on the virtues of procrastination, most readers will have put off reading this book until later in the summer.

Spirited Summer Reading

Okay with supernatural story lines, but don't want your daughter reading "Twilight?" What are you to do? Sift through the book shelves at your local bookstore and keep your eyes peeled. There are plenty of books that fit that description without the violence and sexuality that comes with most of the vampire genre. I happened upon this fun summer read and enjoyed it enough to share.

“I So Don’t Do Spooky”

By Barrie Summy
For Ages 10 - 15
Best suited for 10 - 13 year old girls, "I So Don't Do Spooky" follows a spirited young girl and her ghostly accomplices as she solves paranormal mysteries. It is entertaining and fun with just enough drama to keep it honest, but it probably won't leave a lasting impression. Great for vacations. Rated 3.5 (mystery, ghosts, humor.)

Think 13-year-old Nancy Drew with ghosts thrown in. This is the second book in the series by Summy that follows Sherry Holmes Baldwin. It’s a teen mystery with a twist. Sherry’s mother is a police officer who passed away and is now a ghost at The Academy of Spirits. With the help of her ghostly mother and grandfather Sherry sets out to discover who is stalking her step mother. Summy keeps the pace quick and the content light-hearted even when discussing death and family loss.

At the heart of this mystery is a story about friends, family and relationships. The dialogue is believable and the situations are somewhat universal to 13-year-old teens without being overly dramatic. It is not shifty enough to really draw you into the mystery, nor does it really qualify as a super natural thriller. I see these books as fun, light vacation fare that are best read in paperback. They are charming and enjoyable, but probably won’t leave a lasting impression.

Sorry for the Delay

I have been delayed in posting new reviews, discussions, interviews and such and I apologize. With my recent move to North Carolina came a new job, house hunting, and generally finding a new work flow for my book reviews. The good news is I have not stopped reading. So I now have a stock of books to review. I will begin by posting a review for a fun summer read later this evening.

Thank you for your patience and support.

To Read or Not to Read?

That is the Question.

Every year the American Library Association releases a list of the most "challenged books." These are the book that receive the most requests to be banned from libraries sand schools around the country for being offensive in one manner or another. This year, Stephanie Meyers' "Twilight" series made the list at #5. I am no fan of the Twilight series. I believe it sets a bad example for teen girls with sexual content and abusive relationships. I, however, do not think it should be banned. I am all for the first amendment. I believe the best way to keep bad and inappropriate books off the shelves is not to buy them. What amazes me most about the lists is that "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Catcher in the Rye" still make it every year. You would think by now something would have replaced them.

You can check out this and past year's lists here http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/21stcenturychallenged/2009/index.cfm

What do you think of the annual "challenged books" list? Should authors exercise personal responsibility? Should parents be aware of what their children are reading? Should the government protect us from questionable literature? And who decides what is questionable literature?
The American Library Association has really taken to the lists. They have even put together a celebration week.
http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/index.cfm
Let me hear your thoughts.

Road Trip Reading

I will be traveling with my children soon. Hopefully we will get a few chance to go places during the summer, but we'll begin with a rather long drive from Missouri to North Carolina. The drive got me to thinking about our last trip. We packed the car and headed to Hilton Head, SC for a vacation.

Our family likes to vacation and travel, even if only for a daytrip. For some reason though, we never seem to stop teaching. Okay, teaching might be an overstatement. What I should say it we try to have as many educational experiences as possible without our children feeling bamboozled. For instance, during Spring Break we went to museums in Savannah, GA, learned about the old Central Georgia Railroad, and a great deal about both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. We also spent time at the beach building moats and castles, finding sea creatures and studying them, and discovering interesting shells (nature, cause and reaction, etc.) We even went to a quilt show. One of the bigger highlights, though, was reading "Charlotte's Web." This was the second time for our nine-year-old and the first for our five-year-old.

"Charlotte's Web" is a wonderful book and both my children loved it. I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. "Charlotte's Web" wouldn't have won numerous awards and had two movie adaptations if it wasn't a good and beloved book. Sometimes, however, it helps to be reminded of the reasons a classic is a classic with the new eyes and ears of our children.

As we read I remembered all the wonderful things about the book and E. B. White's marvelous writing style. Then I gained a new appreciation for the book. The real beauty to "Charlotte's Web" can be found in the book's versatility for teaching. Purely from a writing standpoint "Charlotte's Web" offers great insight into writing with emotion and description. Take a closer look at the story itself and there are lessons and discussions to be had on friendship, love, life, death, babies, reproduction, vegetarianism, spelling, pride, word definitions, and so much more. It's a treasure trove of experience and potential knowledge waiting to be opened, shared, and learned.

This is not the first time we read a chapter book while on the road. We try to find a book to read on all our family trips. That's not to say we don't let our children play video games and watch movies, we do. They also read books on their own and play car games, but family reading with a special book is always one of our favorite times during the trip. It's usually a great learning experience for all of us.

Surfs Up!

It was 90 degrees yesterday. It's suppossed to reach that mark again today. I guess that means it's almost summer. All I can think about is getting to the beach. Once I have had my fill of sand in my clothes maybe I'll take a quick trip to the mountains. But I'll end up back at the beach. Maybe I'll try my hand at some surfing or waterskiing this summer. It's been a long time since I have attempted either. If something like surfing sounds interesting to your young children, have I got a book for you.

“My Daddy Taught Me to Surf”

By Joseph Tomarchio
Illustrated by Shane Lasby
For Ages 4 – 8
It's not the next Caldecott Winner, but "My Daddy Taught Me to Surf" is an enjoyable introduction to surfing, community and love of the ocean. This paperback book will get young children revved up to hit the waves. It's just too bad the illustrations aren't better. Rated 3.5 (how-to, conservation, elementary illustrations)

Do you live near the beach? Are you planning a beach vacation? Yes? This book may be just right for you. The story follows a young boy and his father as the father patiently explains the fundamentals of surfing to his son. He covers everything – the parts of the surfboard, terminology, understanding of waves, and respect for nature, and of course, instructions for actual surfing. The text is a little long, but still enjoyable. The only real area of this book that is subpar is the illustration work. They are somewhat elementary in approach and style.

Children interested in surfing will be raring to go after reading “My Daddy Taught Me to Surf.” Surfer moms and dads will remember their first wave with a smile. So if you are planning a surfin’ safari pick up a copy  of this book for the trip. Visit taughtme2books.com for availability near you.

The Science of Harry Potter

I can't quite decide which book to review next. I just finished "Kingom Keeper III," "Keepers of the School," and I am halfway through "Trackers." When I am not reading I am busy researching schools in my free time. That got me to thinking about how easily some books fit into a school curriculum.

Even though the "Harry Potter" series ended it is far from old news. The last two movies (book 7) are set to be released this year and Universal Studios Orlando just opened an exciting new theme park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Needless to say, "Harry Potter" is still popular. You can even use the series for teaching science.

A couple years ago, when we were homeschooling our eldest son we read "Harry Potter and the Socerers Stone." We incorporated science into the lessonplan with a couple Harry Potter Spells and Potions Science Activity Kits. We covered flight, chemistry, snakes, physics and more. We were teaching science at a second grade level and were able to adapt the projects to fit. The kits could easily be adapted for kids in second through fourth grades. The projects were fun and actually worked to get our son interested in science. Although anyone who knows our son knows that wasn't a difficult task.

We still have some of the materials. We have found that they also make great summer fun activites.

Enjoy.