FINISHED:

Riordan, Rick. (2008). The 39 clues: The maze of bones. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Dahl, Roald. (1983). The witches. New York: Farrar Straus & Giroux.

[Been awhile since I've read some Dahl, and in the spirit of the season (Halloween is in 2 days) I thought I'd read this one - for the first time.]

*

Picture Book Tuesday: HALLOWEEN

STARTED & FINISHED:

Kraus, Robert. (1973). How Spider saved Halloween. New York: Scholastic.

[D'oh! Looks like I read this one for Halloween last year, too. I was looking for a cover image to post here and MY OWN BLOG SHOWED UP! These Spider books will forever be in my possession. Most of them aren't NEARLY as enjoyable, dead-pan funny, or nostalgic as How Spider Saved Christmas but cute nonetheless. As in typical Spider fashion, in this one he can't come up with a costume that doesn't still look like himself. Eventually, he dresses up as a jack-o-lantern to scare off some bully bugs who are going around smashing pumpkins. Unfortunately, Fly (my favorite) isn't quite up to his dryly cantankerous self in this one.]



Preston, Edna Mitchell. (1969). One dark night. New York: Viking.

[An "additive tale" a la "The House that Jack Built" in which a number of kids dressed in Halloween costumes follow each other down a dark road only to be scared off by the squeeking of a mouse. I was drawn to this one because of the illustrations by Kurt Werth - must find other examples of his work. They have a fantastic "vintage" look in their simplicity. Would make a GREAT read-aloud during the Halloween season.]




Devlin, W. and H. (1972). If... New York: Parents' Magazine Press.

[Old Witch is called upon when it looks like rich old Mr. Butterbean is canceling Halloween. He locks her up and throws her in a tower so that she won't interfere, but her trusty crow comes to her rescue and after turning Mr. Butterbean into a frog, Halloween is back on! Again, the illustrations are what drew me to this one. They look super familiar and I guess it's because the duo who did this one also did a Thanksgiving one that I've seen before. There's a great sense of perspective in many of the illustrations, and by the style it is SO clear that they were done in the '70s - bold, bright colors outlined in black - super '70s styled. I'll have to do some research, but by the look of them I'd swear that these folks had something to do with some of those holiday cartoon specials of old...]

*

FINISHED:

Koontz, Dean. (2003). Odd Thomas. New York: Bantam Dell/Random House.

[Odd lives in a medium-sized town in the California desert and can communicate with the dead. He sees them hanging around the places where they died, and he has the ability to sense when evil and/or death are around. This one reminded me too much of a Stephen King novel, and I just don't like Stephen King - there's just something icky and upsetting about their work, to me. There's a nice love story here, and I was quite surprised by an event at the end, but it was also a lot of explanation and not a whole lot of action, suspense, or horror.]

STARTED:
Riordan, Rick. (2008). The 39 clues: The maze of bones. New York: HarperCollins.

[This is the start of some new series in which a couple of kids have to find a bunch of clues to something that will affect their family name, and, likely, the world at large. Each one, I guess, will be written by a different author, and kids reading these will be able to collect cards and go online to help solve a major mystery which could earn them big bucks. Color me INTRIGUED!]


ABANDONED:
Hardinge, Frances. (2008). Well witched. New York: Scholastic.

[Just drudgery. Quite a letdown for me because I was really looking forward to this one. It was confusing, I kept feeling like I missed something, and just never really got going for me.]

*

FINISHED:

Clements, Andrew. (2002). A week in the woods. New York: Aladdin/Simon & Schuster.

[Mark is a spoiled rich kid who has moved to a new town. In the fall he's going to be attending an exclusive prep school, so for the remainder of 5th grade he's going to public school. He enrolls just in time to take part in the annual 5th graders Week in the Woods where all 5th graders spend the week in cabins at a local park camping while studying nature. Unfortunately, Mark has gotten on the bad side of Mr. Maxwell, the science teacher for whom the Week in the Woods is a pet project. Not one of my favorite Clements novels, this one takes a long time to get going only to end predictably and abruptly. It's still great, however, to see Clements, as usual, have the young person show up the adults. Kid Power to be sure.]

STARTED:
Koontz, Dean. (2003). Odd Thomas. New York: Bantam Dell/Random House.

[Recommended by my sister-in-law. Never read anything by him before, so it's probably time. Looks like School Library Journal reviewed it(??).]

*

FINISHED:

Augarde, Steve. (2004). The various. Oxford, England; New York: David Fickling/Random House.

[FANTASTIC. Midge has to spend a few weeks with her Uncle on his farm while her mother is touring with an orchestra. While looking around the place, Midge stumbles across a small, winged horse who is trapped and hurt. She nurses him back to health and he takes her back to his home in the woods where other Various creatures live. There, she finds out that another girl, many years ago, named Celandine, knew of the Various. Much more happens, most of which is quite compelling, and the language that Augarde uses is exquisite. Can't wait to read the next book in the trilogy - too bad I've already got a couple of other books lined up to read before I can get to it.]

STARTED:
Clements, Andrew. (2002). A week in the woods. New York: Aladdin/Simon & Schuster.

[Was in the mood for some more Clements.]

*

FINISHED:

Pfeffer, Susan Beth. (2006). Life as we knew it. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.

[I had been told by a couple of people that this one is better than The Dead and the Gone, but I think the opposite - maybe it depends on which one you read first, eh? Don't get me wrong, I was still compelled by Miranda and her family's story, but I thought that Alex's tale was tighter and moved along better. I mean, not a whole lot really happens in this one when you really think about it. It all pretty much takes place in Miranda's family's house - thinking about food, mom and brothers get sick, electricity comes on and goes off, they need to wash their clothes by hand in melted snow, they've got cross-country skis, Miranda goes ice skating, there's an older neighbor and Miranda has a friend who has gone off the deep end into crazy religiousness. I just thought there was a sense of more at stake in Alex's life. Supposedly, there's a third book coming and I am looking forward to it.]


STARTED & FINISHED:

Kibuishi, Kazu [Ed.]. (2008). Flight: Explorer, Volume 1. New York: Villard.

[Just a quick little graphic novel filled with a bunch of short stories by a number of different authors/illustrators.]

STARTED:
Augarde, Steve. (2004). The various. Oxford, England; New York: David Fickling/Random House.

[Been on my list for awhile - heard such good things about it and the sequel. It was name-checked in one of the Penderwick books and it renewed my interest.]

*

FINISHED:

Pfeffer, Susan Beth. (2008). The dead and the gone. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.

[LOVED this one - it still haunts me. I thought it was so great that I nominated it for inclusion in the ACL end of the year Distinguished Books list. Here's the review I wrote for ACL:

A meteor has struck the moon, knocking it out of it’s normal orbit, and thus causing catastrophic tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions around the world. As both of their parents were away at the time a tsunami hit the east coast, 17-year-old Alex and his two younger sisters are forced to live through the ensuing devastation in New York City alone, even as the sun disappears (forever?) behind a layer of ash, and dead bodies begin to litter the streets. While many flee New York for the country where they believe things are less dire, Alex and his sisters remain in the city, hopeful that their parents will be able to find them if they happen to return, going to great lengths to find food and warmth. Brilliantly told, we are right there with Alex, only finding out tiny bits and pieces of what is happening in New York and the rest of the world as he does through occasional radio transmissions and the words of others. A companion novel to Pfeffer’s own Life As We Knew It (Harcourt, 2006), this is a harrowing, yet powerful, tale of the lengths that a young man must go through in order to survive and protect his family in a time of crisis and uncertainty. Alex is a complex character, frightened and unsure, yet selfless and strong, forced to make many difficult decisions on his own. Disturbing (Alex and a friend go “body shopping” on Monday mornings, stripping dead bodies of valuables which they can trade for food) and heartbreaking (Alex walks among the unidentified dead bodies being held in Yankee Stadium to see if any of them are his mother), this is a frightening, post-Katrina examination of how things might play out in the event of a worldwide catastrophe. Less science fiction and more actually within the realm of possibility, this novel is sure to linger with the reader long after they’ve put it down.]

STARTED:
Pfeffer, Susan Beth. (2006). Life as we knew it. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.

[Had to read the previously published "companion" novel.]

*

Picture Book Tuesday: Distinguished?

STARTED & FINISHED:

Amato, Mary. (2008). Chicken of the family. New York: Putnam.

[A little girl's two older sisters convince her that she turns into a chicken when she's asleep - even going so far as to put an egg in her bed and some feathers on the floor while she's sleeping. Cute, but not quite outstanding.]






Drescher, Henrik. (2008). McFig and McFly. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.

[LOVED this one. Two guys compete throughout their lives to build the most impressive home while their kids fall in love. AMAZING illustrations - definitely OUTSTANDING.]








Haseley, Dennis. (2008). Twenty heartbeats. New Milford, CT: Roaring Brook.

[Ed Young's characteristic illustrations always add a special something to a tale - the same goes for this one. Lyrical and meditative... and outstanding.]


*

FINISHED:

Coville, Bruce. (2008). Oddest of all. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.

[Here's my review for ACL:

In a spooky house on a rainy night, Chris and Nine help a woman to make amends with her dead mother who has been haunting her; Harley Burton finds himself in the possession of a creepy mask that looks suspiciously like a young man who has been missing for 50 years; Dennis comes to find out, after being pulled down into a pond, that he is part frog and is enlisted to speak for frogs who are victims of toxic waste dumping; in a “Tiger or the Lady” tale, humankind must decide whether they believe the good intentions of aliens who say they would like to help rid Earth of it’s problems. These, and five other tales of the twisted and fantastic are told in Coville’s latest short story collection, each tale being his own take on certain “scary story” standards. Coville hits on many different genres here, including science fiction, gothic horror, ghost, fantasy, and realism (13-year-old Murphy is recruited by the girl of his dreams to take part in a skit, written by, and opposite her, titled Debbie and the Doofus), and each is deftly set apart by it’s own language apropos to the genre. There are some nice chills and genuine creepiness here sure to appease hungry young fans of scary stories. It should be noted that there is a reference to marijuana in one of the tales, and that many of these stories have appeared, albeit in slightly different forms, in previously published short story collections.]

STARTED:
Pfeffer, Susan Beth. (2008). The dead and the gone. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.

[Reading and reviewing for ACL.]

*

STARTED:
Coville, Bruce. (2008). Oddest of all. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.

[Reading for ACL. I put Well Witched on hold... maybe forever...]

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