The Unforgettable Guinevere St. Clair (MMGM review)

The Unforgettable Guinevere St. Clair
Author: Amy Makechnie
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (hardcover June 12, 2018, paperback June 4, 2019)

It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, and I have a fascinating book to recommend. Amy Makechnie's debut middle grade is difficult to categorize. Part mystery, part slice-of-life, part family dynamics, it follows the story of the eponymous Guinevere St. Clair, also known as Gwyn, as she moves from New York City to her parents' hometown of Crow, Iowa with her little sister, Bitty, and her father and mother to try to help her mother, referred to as Vienna, regain memories lost when Gwyn was four years old.

Vienna doesn't remember her daughters, or anything else that happened after she was thirteen. While this might sound like an "issue" book, and it certainly deals with a serious issue of brain injury and the impact on a family, the characters are so rich and the story so compelling, you don't feel like it is an issue book. (Not that I mind such books, but some find them too heavy.)

And oh my, those characters. Gwyn is feisty and difficult and headstrong, but also a passionate defender of her quirky friend, Micah (who I adored), and his constant companion and best friend, Jimmy. Micah's mother, Gaysie Cutter, is scary and unpredictable, but Gwyn's father firmly believes in her. When Gaysie's one friend, an older man named Wilbur, disappears, Gwyn feels compelled to solve the mystery of where he has gone or what has happened to him, and her number one suspect is Gaysie.

Hang on for the ride as Gwyn tries to find evidence and understand the complex world of adults in this close-knit but relatable rural town.

I heartily recommend this, and think you will find, as the title suggests, both the book and the characters quite unforgettable.


Order The Unforgettable Guinevere St. Clair on Amazon US, or find where you can order it from a local indie bookstore.


Find the rest of the Marvelous Middle Grade Monday reviews for October 7, 2019

The Monster Catchers (MMGM review)

The Monster Catchers
Author: George Brewington
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (March 5, 2019)

It's another Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, and I have a great new book to recommend, perfect for the occasion. George Brewington's debut middle grade novel is an entertaining romp through a world where cryptids (supposedly mythological beasts) are real and Bailey Buckleby knows all about them. He should, he's the son in Buckleby & Son, the people you call when your unpleasant neighbors or uninvited visitors are non-human and an infernal nuisance.

Seventh grader Bailey is amazing with Frisbees, but he doesn't use them to goof around or play with his friends. Instead, they are his weapon-of-choice when dealing with meddlesome monsters or uppity upperclassmen. But after a strange visitor comes calling, looking to buy a certain monster of whom Bailey is especially fond, everything starts to go to pieces... including Bailey's faith that his father is 100% truthful about the family business.

Wild, exciting, and more than a little manic, this book will delight children who love the unusual and aren't entirely sure that grownups always know best. I heartily recommend this madcap adventure, and hope that Mr. Brewington has the sequel underway.

Note: Under a new policy on the blog, I am doing away with ratings. I'll simply recommend books I can recommend.


Order The Monster Catchers on Amazon US, or find where you can order it from a local indie bookstore.


Find the rest of the Marvelous Middle Grade Monday reviews for June 10, 2019

Nadya Skylung and the Cloudship Rescue (MMGM review)

Nadya Skylung and the Cloudship Rescue
Author: Jeff Seymour
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers (May 15, 2018)

It's another Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, and I have a wonderful new book to recommend, perfect for the occasion. Jeff Seymour's debut middle grade novel is an absolute delight, and I am already eagerly waiting for a sequel.

Nadya Skylung is a member of the crew of the Cloudship Orion, which in this richly imagined world plies its trade from city to city powered by a cloud garden. Nadya's role is to help keep the plants in the garden  happy and healthy. (Far more than just tending to them, as skylungs like Nadya communicate with the plants in a manner that is part telepathic, part empathetic, and much cooler than I can describe here.)

When pirates attack and seize most of the crew, Nadya and her friends must decide whether to follow orders and escape, or risk everything to save the only family she's ever known. 

Nadya is heroic, headstrong, and a bit of a pain in the tush, and you won't be able to stop cheering for her, even when she stumbles and falls flat on her face. A very real, and very entertaining character, but the supporting cast is equally complex and fun.

While the plot of this novel is exciting, it is the whole world that will really pull you in. I read a lot of middle grade, and love many books, but only a few worlds over the years are so compelling I want to go live there for a while. Aside from those created by J.K. Rowling and C.S. Lewis, I can't think of any world more enticing than Jeff Seymour's. It isn't that it feels safe or comfortable, but then Harry Potter faces lots of danger and it doesn't make me want to visit less. There is just so much texture and depth behind every tidbit you learn about the cloudships and the cities, you want to explore and learn more.

But I guess we'll have to rely on Mr. Seymour. I hope we get to see more of Nadya and her friends, and learn more about this fantastical (and fantastic) world.

A real gem, I predict this will go on to be a favorite cherished book by middle grade boys and girls. It has that staying power which as a kid would have made me visit and re-read again and again.

Five stars!

Order Nadya Skylung and the Cloudship Rescue on Amazon US, or find where you can order it from a local indie bookstore.


Find the rest of the Marvelous Middle Grade Monday reviews for May 28, 2018

The Mad Wolf's Daughter (MMGM review)

The Mad Wolf's Daughter
Author: Diane Magras
Kathy Dawson Books (March 6, 2018)

This is the second week in a row participating in Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, and as I mentioned last week, the second debut middle grade novel that launches a series I know may will loved and look forward to. You can read other MMGM picks linked at Greg Pattridge's MMGM page.

A Scottish medieval adventure about the youngest in a war-band who must free her family from a castle prison after knights attack her home--with all the excitement of Ranger's Apprentice and perfect for fans of heroines like Alanna from The Song of the Lioness series.

One dark night, Drest's sheltered life on a remote Scottish headland is shattered when invading knights capture her family, but leave Drest behind. Her father, the Mad Wolf of the North, and her beloved brothers are a fearsome war-band, but now Drest is the only one who can save them. So she starts off on a wild rescue attempt, taking a wounded invader along as a hostage.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about this book, and especially about Drest, the heroine who won't give up until she saves her family, even if her family may turn out to be less than the stellar ideal she has in her head.

This book transports the reader back to medieval Scotland when girls were not expected to be as strong and brave as their brothers, and certainly not expected to become legends. I really like that Drest is as strong-willed and determined as she is without being unrealistic, and both her quest and her dealings with her captive and others show the power of both her spirit and her belief in what is right.

One of my favorite characters is Tig, a friend and ally Drest meets on the way. More than anything else, Tig believes in Drest, and helps her believe in herself.

A simply wonderful middle grade adventure with a simply terrific heroine, I can't wait read the sequel. (For those who worry, this book stands alone very well, but you'll want to spend more time with Drest and her world.)

I strongly recommend this for kids and anybody who loves an exciting adventure.

Five stars!

Buy The Mad Wolf's Daughter on Amazon US,
or find where you can buy it in a local indie bookstore.

Find the rest of the Marvelous Middle Grade Monday reviews for April 16th

Or you can read my last week's MMGM review of The Serpent's Secret.

The Serpent's Secret (MMGM review)

The Serpent's Secret
Author: Sayantani DasGupta
Scholastic Press (February 27, 2018)

It's been a while since I participated in Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, but I have a couple of books that I absolutely must share, both of them debut middle grade novels that launch series I know will be loved and anticipated by all their readers. You can read other MMGM picks linked at Greg Pattridge's MMGM page.

On the morning of her twelfth birthday, Kiranmala is just a regular sixth grader living in Parsippany, New Jersey… until her parents mysteriously vanish later that day and a rakkhosh demon slams through her kitchen, determined to eat her alive. Turns out there might be some truth to her parents’ fantastical stories—like how Kiranmala is a real Indian princess—and a wealth of secrets about her origin they've kept hidden.

To complicate matters, two crushworthy Indian princes ring her doorbell, insisting they’re here to rescue her. Suddenly, Kiran is swept into another dimension full of magic, winged horses, moving maps, and annoying, talking birds...

I loved the cover of this book long before I got a chance to read it, but worried whether it would live up to the promise. Oh my gosh, does it ever. Kiran's parents seem wacky in the beginning, but as you travel with Kiran (as both you and she cling desperately on for dear life) into the magical world of this book, it turns out their stories are nothing but a pale shadow of the exciting, scary and hysterical world of snot and rakkoshes (all the rakkoshes!) she encounters as she tries to rescue them.

With riddles and puzzles and twists galore, this is a novel that will delight kids (when they can sneak the book back from their parents who will doubtless sneak it from them after they go to sleep). It is great fun to wallow in all the mythology Sayantani DasGupta throws in, and I am sure this will appeal to many due to its diversity, but most of all, it is an excellent adventure.

I strongly recommend this to kids and their parents and anybody who loves exciting adventure and a terrific sense of humor, and I can't wait for the sequel.

Five stars!

The Serpent's Secret on Amazon US

Find the rest of the Marvelous Middle Grade Monday reviews for April 9th

The 11:11 Wish (review)

The 11:11 Wish
Author: Kim Tomsic
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (February 13, 2018)
Borrowed ARC.


Megan is starting 7th grade at a new school, and she's determined to leave her awkward, nerdy past behind, but middle school has a way of upending plans. Caught between two rivals before she even makes it to her first class, Megan has to use her wits to try and rescue her social status, but her wits aren't helping much. Just when social disaster seems certain, Megan happens to wish on a magic clock at 11:11 exactly, and mysterious, wonderful things start happening.

If only magic didn't come with such a high cost.

An absolutely charming romp through the intricacies of middle school politics, crushes and the desire to fit in, mixed with magic and math and mayhem. Against the poignant backdrop of a first year without mom, and a sister and dad who are struggling to cope as well, this story does a great job of wrapping everything up in a satisfying package.

I strongly recommend for tweens and teens. It's possible that the fashion-related elements will discourage some boys from reading, but that's their loss if it does. The embrace of STEM is very welcome.

Five stars!

Won't be released until February, but go ahead and pre-order it for your favorite teen today.

Amazon

Foxheart (MMGM review)

Foxheart
Author: Claire Legrand
Publisher: Greenwillow Books (October 4, 2016)
Courtesy of our local library

I'm excited to offer a lovely new book by Claire Legrand for Marvelous Middle Grade Monday.

Twelve-year-old Quicksilver is not an orphan, but her parents left her in a convent orphanage anyway. Never fitting in, or wanting to, Quicksilver learns to fend for herself... and take what she wants. With aspirations of being the greatest thief in the Star Lands, and when she finds a stray dog she names Fox, she even has a companion.

But everything changes in a flash when a strange group of seven visit the convent late at night, and wreak havoc in a search for witches (of which very few are left in the world). Quicksilver escapes with Fox, and they head out to perfect her thieving ways, but before long they run into an old woman who changes everything. Soon, Quicksilver and Fox are embarked on a quest they don't much want to help people they don't much like while fighting an ancient king who may not be quite what he seems.

Themes of love and loss, loyalty and sacrifice, and the importance of deciding your own fate are woven into a tapestry that is a delight to watch, and even more fun to live through. I particularly liked that Quicksilver's early dream of being a great thief never fade and are integrated into her new life. Richly imagined with great characters and a very clever fantasy world, this is a delight for middle grade kids, and anybody else who loves a good story.

I strongly recommend this to all who love fantasy, magic and wonderful worlds.

Four and a half stars out of five.

To find other posts for MMGM, visit Shannon Messenger's blog where she toils to keep up with them.

Amazon

Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles (MMGM review)

Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles
Author: Shari Green
Publisher: Pajama Press (October 12, 2016)
Digital review copy courtesy of NetGalley

I'm very excited to offer a wonderful, poignant book in verse for Marvelous Middle Grade Monday.

Bailey and her younger brother, Kevin, are staying with their Nana Marie in the small town of Felicity Bay for a month, but it is not quite a vacation. Their parents are struggling, and have gone away on a retreat called Marriage Repair. Bailey and Kevin barely know Nana Marie, but as they have nowhere else to go, they get to spend a month near the ocean with her. Bailey believes in miracles, and hopes for one to make her parents happy again.

Meanwhile, Felicity Bay feels like a miracle of its own. Bailey makes a new friend, Daniel, and loves exploring and playing in the sea. But when Daniel keeps coughing, and she finds out he has cystic fibrosis, she starts to lose faith.

Then a mermaid appears (well, a driftwood mermaid), and a retired pastor with an ice cream cart starts shouting prophecies. Bailey thinks that just maybe a miracle is possible after all, if only everything doesn't fall apart first.

The story is lovely, and winds up in a beautiful way with Bailey discovering that sometimes you have to make your own miracles, and that sometimes even miracles aren't enough. But through the sadness and joy, Bailey remains optimistic, and discovers that families always love each other, even when it is hard to get along.

I strongly recommend this to all who love the sea, and families, and miracles. And even root beer candy.

Five stars out of five!

To find other posts for MMGM, visit Shannon Messenger's blog where she toils to keep up with them.

Amazon

P.S. After I read this, I was pleased to see that this is a Pitch Wars success story. How terrific to see the writing community pull together to support emerging writers.

Finally, a snippet of verse from the book showing how wonderfully Shari Green captures this age.

The Detective's Assistant (MMGM review)

The Detective's Assistant
Author: Kate Hannigan
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (April 7, 2015)
Review copy courtesy of the publisher

I am thrilled to offer a great new historical novel with a terrific girl heroine for Marvelous Middle Grade Monday.  From intrigue to history to ciphers, this book should interest many middle graders of either gender.

When eleven year old Nell Warne is dropped off at her Aunt Kitty's door not long before the Civil War, she is not wanted and not welcome. Kate thinks she has no use for the girl, but Nell's indomitable spirit, clever mind and dare devil attitude soon prove to her aunt that there is more to the girl than meets the eye, as Nell helps with some of the dangerous and tricky cases her aunt has to solve. Because Kate Warne is a detective with Pinkertons, and they are called to solve jewel heists and murders, and even to protect Abraham Lincoln as he makes his way through a sharply divided land to his inauguration.

In a very clever juxtaposition underlying the story of Nell and Kate is the story we learn through letters between Nell and Jemma, a friend whose family has fled to Canada. Though they have always been free blacks, the roving bounty hunters have little respect for the law. Nell and Jemma practice ciphers and code words to prevent anyone who intercepts the letters from finding out details about  Jemma's family and the people who help slaves escape to the North. We gradually learn how the underground railroad and the abolitionist movement are intricately involved with Nell's story, and in the end seal the increasing affection between Nell and her Aunt Kate while helping her faraway friend.

In short, the book is delightful. Nell is a terrific combination of smart and careless, take-charge and nervous. She has trouble with her spelling, embarrasses her Aunt and herself, and doesn't always (often) do as she is told. I think girls of today will love her spunk and courage while laughing at how she makes the same mistakes (and decisions) they do.

Five stars out of five!

To find other posts for MMGM, visit Shannon Messenger's blog where she toils to keep up with them.

The Tapper Twins Go to War (With Each Other)
Author: Geoff Rodkey
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (To be published April 7, 2015)
Digital review copy courtesy of publisher via NetGalley

It is Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, so I thought I'd highlight a book coming out soon. It is available for pre-order, so follow the link above if you would like a copy.

Claudia and Reese are twins, but they are nothing alike. They have almost no goals in common, until they start a war (with each other) or pranks and practical jokes that gets increasingly out of hand and involves many of their classmates as well. The problem with a war is often how to end it, and neither one is quite sure how.

Written in an entertaining and often very funny combination of oral interviews (transcribed), texts between the parents (which are hysterical), screenshots and photos (Some quite silly), this book will entertain anyone in grades 3 to 7 who has to endure the trials and pitfalls of school, friends and family. I definitely recommend it.


Four stars out of five.

Random Body Parts - Gross Anatomy Riddles in Verse (review)

Random Body Parts: Gross Anatomy Riddles in Verse

Author: Leslie Bulion
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers (March 1, 2015)
Review copy courtesy of publisher via NetGalley.

For Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, I had to let people know about this book coming out in about a week. There may be some who can resist a book with poetic riddles, science and gross imagery, but not me. With witty and intriguing poems that often slyly echo Shakespeare, entertaining illustrations and explanations for those youngsters who want to dive deeper into the science, this would be an excellent book for middle grade classrooms or homes.

A few of the words may be challenging, especially the more medical ones, but the author does a great job of explaining what they mean. Kids will enjoy learning some of the grosser words, and may well be heard repeating some of the clever phrases.

One riddle that I particularly enjoyed:

Wherefore Art Thou, Alveoli?
al VEE oh LI
al VEE oh LI
please tell me why
we must rely
on such small fry
to say goodbye
to carbon di-
oxide and then
how is it that you know
just when
to give us
oxygen
again?

My only quibble with the format of the book is that the solutions are too close to the riddles, though I understand it would have made the book much longer to put them on subsequent pages. I simply think kids might try a little harder to figure out the riddles (and feel smart when they do!) if the answers were more removed. On the other hand, I love that the poetic forms are explained at the end after the glossary. Yay, poetry.

Nonetheless, I would strongly recommend this for fifth and sixth graders interested in science, poetry, riddles or the human body.

Four out of five stars.

It has been quite a while since I have participated in Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, but I was glad to see that Shannon Whitney Messenger is still active. See her blog from today for many more MMGM links.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday - Un Lun Dun

Un Lun Dun published in U.S. by Del Rey in Jan 2008
Author: China Miéville
Purchased personally

It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday again, and I'm proud to be part of this great tradition started by Shannon Whitney Messenger promoting middle grade books.

I was browsing through Mac's Backs, a wonderful independent bookstore near us, and I happened upon Un Lun Dun without ever having heard of it before. As I very much enjoyed The City and The City, I bought the book to see if China Miéville could do as good a job with middle grade as he had with adult science fiction.

Like some wonderful mix between The Phantom Tollbooth, No Passengers Beyond This Point and Neverwhere, this book takes kids on a wonderful, somewhat scary but ultimately fantastic voyage through an abcity beneath London populated by fantastical creatures who have seeped down from London.

Filled with wordplay and incredibly imaginative characters, this should be appealing to 5th to 7th graders, as well as many older teens and adults who are willing to give it a try. While the main characters are girls, this is a book that will appeal equally to boys and girls. I would strongly recommend it.

Five stars!

Purchase a copy on Amazon.com
...or on Amazon.co.uk

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday was started by Shannon Whitney Messenger. She, and others frequent MMGM posters are:

Shannon Whitney Messenger at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe
Joanne Fritz at My Brain on Books
Shannon O'Donnell at Book Dreaming
Brooke Favero at somewhere in the middle
Myrna Foster at Night Writer
Sherrie Petersen at Write About Now
Kimberley Griffiths Little at Kimberley’s Wanderings
Barbara Watson at Novel and Nouveau

If you watch those blogs today, as well as Shannon's blog, you are likely to find other great middle grade book recommendations.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: Nate Rocks the World

Nate Rocks the World independently published.
Author: Karen Pokras Toz
Free copy sent by author after request

I have a backlog of books to review, most with partial reviews saved in draft mode, but I decided to do a Marvelous Middle Grade Monday (woefully neglected for the past several weeks) on another self-published book.
Nate Rockledge is ten years old, and he has many of the difficulties boys of his age face. His mother is a truly terrible cook. His father reminisces endlessly about past glories. His thirteen year old sister taunts him mercilessly.

But Nate has a secret. Like a fourth grade Walter Mitty, Nate dreams of heroic adventures where he saves the day, and often the life of the cute Madeline who lives across the street, although Nate does.not.like.girls! Unfortunately, after saving the day, he is left with little but the comics he draws and the wish that he could do something real. Little does he know how close the chance for real heroics is.

I love the way the author seamlessly blends Nate's real life and his fantasies of heroism and excitement. Middle grade readers, especially on the younger end, will easily relate to the loose boundaries between real life and fantasy, and will also instantly relate to the real trials and tribulations Nate faces with his family and friends.

I can easily recommend this book for both boys and girls in third through fifth grade. I'm glad to have had a chance to read it.

Four out of five stars.

Buy 'Nate Rocks the World' on Amazon.com

Normally, there are several bloggers who participate in Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, but since it is the 4th of July holiday here in the United States, most are taking a holday. The only other I have found so far is Deb Marshall, who is Canadian. She profiles Leslie Carmichael (Lyranel's Song and The Amulet of Amon-Ra), and has an interview with the author plus a giveaway. See her post HERE.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: Earthling Hero

It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday again, and I'm proud to be part of this great tradition started by Shannon Whitney Messenger promoting middle grade books. This week, I am pleased to share a book that is unusual in two ways. First, Earthling Hero is self-published, and second, it is in eBook form only. The self-publishing didn't worry me, as I have read some great self-published books, but a middle grade book only available in electronic form?

Fortunately, I gave the book a chance. It didn't hurt that it is available on both Amazon and Smashwords, so if you have a Kindle as I do, you can buy it that way, but if you don't, Smashwords has it in various formats, so that you can easily read it on-line or on another eReader. It also didn't hurt that the book is 99 cents!

In Earthling Hero, Mikey is 11 and a bit of a loner. He hikes in the mountains where his scientist parents live, and generally keeps to himself. All this changes when he wakes up one morning to find a boy in his room who looks just like him. Soon, he is embroiled in foiling a plot that threatens the planet. Oh yes, and he makes a couple friends as well.

Mahvelous Middle Grade Monday - Fashionista Edition

The Time-Traveling Fashionista, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in Apr 2011
Author: Bianca Tuertsky
Illustrator: Sandra Suy

Product description:

Louise Lambert has always dreamed of movie starlets and exquisite gowns and longs for the day when she can fill the closet of her normal suburban home with stylish treasures. But when she receives a mysterious invitation to a vintage fashion sale in the mail, her once painfully average life is magically transformed into a time-travel adventure.

It is Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, and I couldn't resist highlighting this delightful, or as Louise learns to say when she travels back in time, simply mahvelous, debut novel by Bianca Tuertsky. It is listed as young adult, but the heroine is twelve and I think girls from nine and up will enjoy this. Released this week, there is still time for you to be the first to read (or introduce to your favorite middle grade/tween/teen girl) this fun and fashionable story.

Louise loves vintage fashions, and those tweens and teens who share her fascination will adore the twenty-five luxurious color illustrations of the glamorous dresses and clothing of the early 1900s, created by the talented Sandra Suy. Those of us who are less taken with fashion will still enjoy Louise and how she deals with her sudden lurch from ulta-ordinary shy twelve year-old with frizzy hair and braces to glamorous seventeen year-old actress, Alice Baxter.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: No Passengers Beyond This Point

It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday again, my sixth week of this great idea started by Shannon Whitney Messenger. This week, I am pleased to talk about a book that I think may become a classic, No Passengers Beyond This Point by Geniifer Choldenko.

When I was quite young, probably second or third grade, I read The Phantom Tollbooth for the first time. Frankly, I was a bit creeped out, but the story was captivating, and I wound up reading it several more times during my childhood. Mind-twisting and scary, humorous but disturbing, the book spoke to me in some odd way.

That's the kind of book No Passengers Beyond This Point is. Crazy and scary and captivating, it is like a cross between The Phantom Tollbooth and Neil Gaiman's Coraline (the book, as I've never seen the movie).

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday - Math Doesn't Suck

It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday again, my fifth week of this great idea started by Shannon Whitney Messenger. This week, I'm doing something a little different. While there are many, many wonderful fiction books for middle graders, there are also some very important and worthwhile, even marvelous, non-fiction books.

Danica McKellar is an actress (I will forever think of her as Winnie on The Wonder Years), but she is also a very smart lady. She has written a series of fabulous books about math. Now, I can hear a few of you cringing out there.

What's marvelous about math?

The answer is, there's a lot that is marvelous about math, but a lot of girls don't think so. (Some boys, too, but this post is for the girls.) In fact, a lot of girls are not only scared of math, they think that liking math is bad. Not cool. Not attractive to boys.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday plus our first giveaway

It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday again, my fourth week of this great idea started by Shannon Whitney Messenger. I am back from Gelsenkirchen, Germany, and decided to focus on one of my favorite books from my childhood. For those interested in the giveaway, details are most of the way down this page.

When I was growing up, my whole family was obsessed with the Wizard of Oz books. Aside from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and a couple of the sequels, it was hard to find these books, mostly published between 1900 and 1920, but my parents searched and discovered many of them. Fortunately for kids today, many have been re-released in the past few years, so it much easier to track them down now than it was forty years ago.

After the first few books had made L. Frank Baum rich and famous, he became increasingly desperate to write something other than Oz books, but his fans were relentless. He compromised by writing outside-of-Oz books which dealt with the wonderful lands outside the Deadly Desert, but which were still filled with the wondrous, magical creatures and people that his young fans demanded.

In my opinion, the very best of these non-Oz Oz books was Rinkitink in OZ (click on image above or this name to find out more ordering choices). A delightful story of a young prince who sets out to rescue his parents with only the help of three magic pearls, a very fat visiting king and a quarrelsome goat, this story has stood the test of time wonderfully. The humor, the adventure and the excitement are as lively today as they were in 1916, and the language is surprisingly fresh and easy for modern children to follow. Those few words which are out of date today are easily understood in context, and the pace is faster than some of the OZ books, and thus more palatable for today's youth than some of the others.

Best of all, this is a book practically begging to be read aloud. It would be perfect for either a classroom or for parents who want to share the story with their children. This is a book not to be missed. Please note that my link above is to the hardcover only because it has the cover I knew as a child. The book is in the public domain, and can be had for free or very little on Kindle, or in low-priced mass paperback from Signet and others. And if you and your kids like this, there are many other Oz books as well. (Hint: After L. Frank Baum died, Ruth Plumly Thompson wrote a few Oz books that are equally excellent.)

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday was started by Shannon Whitney Messenger. I don't know yet whether she had a chance to post today, but a few others have taken up the task in recent weeks, including Joanne Fritz at My Brain on Books, Shannon O'Donnell at Book Dreaming, Brooke Favero at somewhere in the middle and Myrna Foster at Night Writer. Sherrie Petersen has an awesome MMGM post with an interview and giveaway bonus. If you watch those blogs today, as well as Shannon's blog, you are likely to find other great middle grade book recommendations.

For those who have patiently read all the way down to here, I am giving away two books that I have reviewed for My Comfy Chair.

    

To enter the giveaway, make sure you are a follower and post a comment letting me know which of the two books you would prefer. For this giveaway, I am going to request only U.S. or Canadian entries, as I don't know the cost of shipping overseas. If your profile doesn't list an email address, let me know how to contact you for a physical address if you win. Winners will be chosen on Friday, so you have until the end of the day Thursday to enter.

My review of Tom Sawyer and the Ghosts of Summer
My review of The Brimstone Key

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday - Swallows and Amazons

    
It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday again, my third week of this great idea started by Shannon Whitney Messenger. I almost didn't make it this week, as I am busy presenting at a technical conference (Lotus Notes Development) in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

My pick for this week is a little less obvious, as the Swallows and Amazons books were published back in the 1930s and 1940s, but they are a wonderful and timeless set of books. There is no magic or fantasy, except for the magic of the children's imaginations. In the first book, the Walker children, John, Susan, Titty and Roger, have a chance to spend a week at the edge of a lake. With a telegram of permission from Father and the full support of Mother, they take a sailboat and spend the week exploring and adventuring. Their sailboat is the Swallow, and thus they are the Swallows, but they soon meet to do battle with Nancy and Peggy Blackett, the Amazons, and their Uncle, whom they refer to as Captain Flint.

Dreamy and full of innocent imagination, these books may be a little slow paced for some middle graders raised on television and video games, but they are excellent for more quiet and reserved children who will see the excitement of real children making their own adventures. A child may need to look up some of the sailing terms, but most make sense in context.

I grew up on these books, available in Canada even while they were difficult to get in the United States, and it is exciting to see them re-released. Buy the first and share it with your child, and if he or she responds, there are twelve more available which all share the same charm and quiet sense of adventure.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday was started by Shannon Whitney Messenger, but it looks like she didn't have a chance to post today. A few others have taken up the task this week, including Joanne Fritz at My Brain on Books, Shannon O'Donnell at Book Dreaming, Brooke Favero at somewhere in the middle and Myrna Foster at Night Writer. Why not head on over to check out these great blogs and show a little love for the Marvelous Middle Grade Monday effort?

Buy the first book, Swallows and Amazons, from Amazon.com
Buy the first book, Swallows and Amazons, from Amazon.co.uk