Thursday, April 22, 2004
Three book reviews
Hey, Kids!
I have read a few really good new Juvenile novels lately.
The first one I read was The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place by E. L. Konigsburg. (You all have probably read some of her other great books, including The View from Saturday and Silent to the Bone.)
In The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place, Margaret Rose Kane finds herself in a summer camp she dislikes, with rude cabin mates and an unbending camp director. Luckily, she is rescued by her elderly uncles, Alexander and Morris Rose. Margaret adores her uncles and loves the beautiful towers they have built and decorated over the past 45 years, so she is excited that she will get to spend the summer with them.
Until she learns the horrible news. The city council leaders have declared the towers "unsafe" and are demanding their destruction. What will Margaret Rose do? Why didn;t anyone tell her what was happening? Will anyone help her? Can she save the towers? Read it and find out!
The second book I read this week was Heartbeat by Sharon Creech. (She also wrote Love That Dog.)
Heartbeat is the story of Annie, a 12-year-old who loves to run (barefoot!) with her friend, Max, but does not want to join the track team. She has a lot going on in her life -- her mother is having a baby, her grandfather is starting to have trouble remembering things, her art teacher has given her a big assignment, and Max is acting kind of strange.
Heartbeat is written in a series of short, easy to read poems. If you liked Love That Dog, you won't want to miss this one!
Finally, last night, I stayed up as late as my eyes would stay open to finish Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes. (He's written several chapter books, but probably his picture books -- like Lilly's Plastic Purple Purse -- are more famous.)
Olive's Ocean starts out kind of sad. Martha's classmate, Olive Barstow, has been killed at the start of summer. Martha didn't know Olive well -- no one did -- but a month after her death, Olive's mother brings Martha a page from Olive's journal. Martha learns a lot about Olive from that page -- she learns that 12-year-old Olive wanted to be a writer (just like Martha herself does), that she wanted to get to know Martha because she thought Martha " is the nicest person in my whole entire class."
Olive is on Martha's mind a lot that summer, as she spends time with her grandmother, starts to look at the boys next door in a new way, begins to write, and discovers a lot about herself and about Life in general.
I have read a few really good new Juvenile novels lately.
The first one I read was The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place by E. L. Konigsburg. (You all have probably read some of her other great books, including The View from Saturday and Silent to the Bone.)
In The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place, Margaret Rose Kane finds herself in a summer camp she dislikes, with rude cabin mates and an unbending camp director. Luckily, she is rescued by her elderly uncles, Alexander and Morris Rose. Margaret adores her uncles and loves the beautiful towers they have built and decorated over the past 45 years, so she is excited that she will get to spend the summer with them.
Until she learns the horrible news. The city council leaders have declared the towers "unsafe" and are demanding their destruction. What will Margaret Rose do? Why didn;t anyone tell her what was happening? Will anyone help her? Can she save the towers? Read it and find out!
The second book I read this week was Heartbeat by Sharon Creech. (She also wrote Love That Dog.)
Heartbeat is the story of Annie, a 12-year-old who loves to run (barefoot!) with her friend, Max, but does not want to join the track team. She has a lot going on in her life -- her mother is having a baby, her grandfather is starting to have trouble remembering things, her art teacher has given her a big assignment, and Max is acting kind of strange.
Heartbeat is written in a series of short, easy to read poems. If you liked Love That Dog, you won't want to miss this one!
Finally, last night, I stayed up as late as my eyes would stay open to finish Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes. (He's written several chapter books, but probably his picture books -- like Lilly's Plastic Purple Purse -- are more famous.)
Olive's Ocean starts out kind of sad. Martha's classmate, Olive Barstow, has been killed at the start of summer. Martha didn't know Olive well -- no one did -- but a month after her death, Olive's mother brings Martha a page from Olive's journal. Martha learns a lot about Olive from that page -- she learns that 12-year-old Olive wanted to be a writer (just like Martha herself does), that she wanted to get to know Martha because she thought Martha " is the nicest person in my whole entire class."
Olive is on Martha's mind a lot that summer, as she spends time with her grandmother, starts to look at the boys next door in a new way, begins to write, and discovers a lot about herself and about Life in general.
