So when Suzanne Collins sequel to The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, comes out on September 1st you will undoubtedly be standing in line to get your copy. As you should. You're probably wondering, "Is it as good?" and, of course, it is, almost. In The Hunger Games almost every step of the story reveals yet another surprise and, while Katniss and crew continue to develop as characters and the government is revealed as even more despicable than you could have believed in Catching Fire, once you've been amazed by the original story it's hard to be that amazed ever again. CF is more about the bigger picture, the world outside of Katniss, where THG is more about Katniss's internal struggles and changes. I don't want to talk too much about the story itself because the biggest part of the fun is seeing where Collins takes it. And she takes it in some surprising directions.
Good for 10 and up. Give it to all your adult friends too.
Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins, 978-0-439-02349-8
Monday, August 17, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Comic Love
This is not about funny love affairs but instead love of the art form known as comics. I love them. I read the comics page in the paper every day. Why start your day with just the bad news? So when I found out about graphic novels, of course I was interested. And there are a lot of serious graphic novels that are wonderful. But what I really love are the goofy ones.
Just this week I discovered Jarrett J. Krosoczka's Lunch Lady, specifically Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians. Apparently this is the second in the series. Rest assured that I will be searching out all the rest of them. I didn't even notice there were others on the shelf. How could I look any further than a League of Librarians? Evil Librarians, at that. The idea was too delicious to pass up. Not that I have anything against librarians. I wanted to BE my elementary school librarian when I grew up. But librarians are always beatified in books for young readers and so how fun is it to have that turned on its head?
The Lunch Lady, her assistant, Betty, and a gang of three kids called The Breakfast Bunch solve mysteries around the school, foil evil plots, thwart criminals and use really cool gadgets made from things you'd find in a lunchroom. I really liked the spork communicator, for example. In this installment, they foil a plot by librarians to take over the world, starting by destroying a new video game system. Do I think the world would be a better place without video games? Possibly. But that's not really the point. Clearly we can't let librarians run amok.
Highly recommended for elementary school. Even middle school. Both my kids couldn't wait to get their hands on it.
Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians, by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, 978-0-375-84684-7
Just this week I discovered Jarrett J. Krosoczka's Lunch Lady, specifically Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians. Apparently this is the second in the series. Rest assured that I will be searching out all the rest of them. I didn't even notice there were others on the shelf. How could I look any further than a League of Librarians? Evil Librarians, at that. The idea was too delicious to pass up. Not that I have anything against librarians. I wanted to BE my elementary school librarian when I grew up. But librarians are always beatified in books for young readers and so how fun is it to have that turned on its head?
The Lunch Lady, her assistant, Betty, and a gang of three kids called The Breakfast Bunch solve mysteries around the school, foil evil plots, thwart criminals and use really cool gadgets made from things you'd find in a lunchroom. I really liked the spork communicator, for example. In this installment, they foil a plot by librarians to take over the world, starting by destroying a new video game system. Do I think the world would be a better place without video games? Possibly. But that's not really the point. Clearly we can't let librarians run amok.
Highly recommended for elementary school. Even middle school. Both my kids couldn't wait to get their hands on it.
Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians, by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, 978-0-375-84684-7
Monday, August 3, 2009
Science Fairs
Was Robin Brande a science geek (or maybe nerd is the right word?) when she was in school? Both her books have a strong science focus and science fairs come into play in both. Not that I have anything against geeks or nerds of any persuasion. After all, I blog about children's books that I read.
In Fat Cat, Cat is working on a science fair project for a very special science class. It is a class that focuses on creating interesting work for the fair, always engenders the winner of the fair and is a great thing to have on your college application. But instead of choosing a topic that interests the student herself, at the start of the year everyone is given a picture at random. That picture is to inspire a choice of topic for the fair project. Cat gets a picture of early humans and, at first, is totally uninspired. Then it hits her. This can be a vehicle for revenge against the boy who was once her best friend but has been her nemesis for many years. She will emulate the hominid life style--altering her diet and eschewing modern conveniences like cars--she will BE the science experiment. And she will end the year stronger, healthier, extremely fit (possibly thin for once in her life) and, most important of all, the winner of the science fair due to her unusual field of study.
Of course, nothing works exactly as planned but along the way Cat learns a lot about nutrition and exercise, a lot about the life of early humans, and a lot about human relationships in the here and now.
Highly recommended.
Fat Cat by Robin Brande, 9780375844492.
In Fat Cat, Cat is working on a science fair project for a very special science class. It is a class that focuses on creating interesting work for the fair, always engenders the winner of the fair and is a great thing to have on your college application. But instead of choosing a topic that interests the student herself, at the start of the year everyone is given a picture at random. That picture is to inspire a choice of topic for the fair project. Cat gets a picture of early humans and, at first, is totally uninspired. Then it hits her. This can be a vehicle for revenge against the boy who was once her best friend but has been her nemesis for many years. She will emulate the hominid life style--altering her diet and eschewing modern conveniences like cars--she will BE the science experiment. And she will end the year stronger, healthier, extremely fit (possibly thin for once in her life) and, most important of all, the winner of the science fair due to her unusual field of study.
Of course, nothing works exactly as planned but along the way Cat learns a lot about nutrition and exercise, a lot about the life of early humans, and a lot about human relationships in the here and now.
Highly recommended.
Fat Cat by Robin Brande, 9780375844492.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)