So, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is the one that started it all, but in the "new" order, it's the second one we read.
And it was, of course, fantastic.
The Story: I think most people know this story, which is the most famous of all of the Narnia stories. Four children (Susan, Peter, Edmund, and Lucy) are sent to the country to live in an old country house, and discover a passageway into Narnia completely by accident through the back of a wardrobe. The Narnia they find is much different than the idyllic place that found it's beginning in the previous book - it's always winter, and never Christmas. They meet The Witch (who is the Witch from Charn from The Magician's Nephew), and the Lion (of course, Aslan), and find out that they have a very important part to play in the salvation and the future of Narnia.
The Good: What isn't good about it? The characters are rich and deep, and sometimes conflicted (Edmund!) and the writing is wonderful, as expected. Some definite moral decisions are explored, and it was good to talk to Evalina about the issues. The different children each have different things to offer the reader, so everyone can find someone to connect with. Evalina liked Susan, because she was the older sister. The descriptions of the fantastical creatures were grand.
The Bad: There are some scary bits, and the witch is most assuredly evil. Since I had read this one before, I knew when to warn Evalina that something sad or scary might be coming up. As I mentioned in the write up for The Magician's Nephew, there is a lot of religious imagery (much more in this one! It's pretty blatant), but it didn't bother non-religious me, because the morals are solid and universal, so I don't really count that as bad, just something to be aware of.
The Verdict: Amazon lists this as ages 9+. It was great as a read aloud book for not-quite 6 Evalina. We read two chapters a night, at her insistence. She simply adored it. I loved reading it. We finished it in a little over a week, and again, we were also reading one of the Magic Schoolbus books along with it (one about Volcanos). Since I have not read any of the other books in the series, I cannot wait to see what comes next! This book is an absolute classic, and could be a stand alone book, even if you are not ready to commit to the whole series. There are so many reasons that it's a perennial favorite.
Evalina's "Book Report": Coming soon. Still have to upload the others. They are sitting next to my computer.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
We love Dr. Seuss in our house. I loved his books as a child, and introduced his books to my kids quite early.
Some of our Favorite Seuss Books:
Philip - Dr. Seuss ABC's. This is the perfect book for a boy obsessed with letters. It is fun to read, and as mentioned previously in the blog, he went as this book for Halloween this past year. He will lie in bed and "read" it to himself for a long time.
Evalina - She has many. For almost 6 months when she was maybe 3, she insisted that I read I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew nearly every night. And it isn't a short one. This thing is over 60 pages of prose-style Dr. Seuss. It's one I never read as a child, but oh how I love it now. I have the thing memorized. Seriously.
She also likes to read Would You Rather Be a Bullfrog? which is another one I didn't have as a child, but I like quite well.
Both The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins and Bartholomew and the Oobleck are favorites, though my husband doesn't like reading them much.
She loves to torture us with the tongue twisters in Fox in Socks. I'm getting decent at them.
And of course, Yertle the Turtle, and also Horton Hears a Who.
Here's to many more years of enjoying Dr. Seuss! Happy Birthday to him! Why don't you celebrate by picking up a Seuss you haven't read, from the bookstore or the library, and share it with your kids tonight?
Some of our Favorite Seuss Books:
Philip - Dr. Seuss ABC's. This is the perfect book for a boy obsessed with letters. It is fun to read, and as mentioned previously in the blog, he went as this book for Halloween this past year. He will lie in bed and "read" it to himself for a long time.
Evalina - She has many. For almost 6 months when she was maybe 3, she insisted that I read I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew nearly every night. And it isn't a short one. This thing is over 60 pages of prose-style Dr. Seuss. It's one I never read as a child, but oh how I love it now. I have the thing memorized. Seriously.
She also likes to read Would You Rather Be a Bullfrog? which is another one I didn't have as a child, but I like quite well.
Both The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins and Bartholomew and the Oobleck are favorites, though my husband doesn't like reading them much.
She loves to torture us with the tongue twisters in Fox in Socks. I'm getting decent at them.
And of course, Yertle the Turtle, and also Horton Hears a Who.
Here's to many more years of enjoying Dr. Seuss! Happy Birthday to him! Why don't you celebrate by picking up a Seuss you haven't read, from the bookstore or the library, and share it with your kids tonight?
Saturday, February 28, 2009
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician's Nephew
I decided to read The Chronicles of Narnia in the "new" order, which is chronologically and not in the order they were published. I know that there are people who would say that this is incorrect, but I think it is going to be just fine.
We started, therefore, with The Magician's Nephew, which was the 6th book published in the series, but the first in order of events as they occur.The Story: Digory's mother is sick, and so they move in with his Aunt and his very strange and mysterious Uncle in London. He happens to meet the neighbor girl, Polly, and they have lots of fun playing together. One day, they decide to explore the crawlspace between adjascent houses (which are all connected) and end up inadvertently in Digory's uncle's study. As it turns out, Uncle Andrew fancies himself a magician, and tricks the children into acting as guinea pigs in his magical "experiment" - after using actual guinea pigs didn't turn out so well. Much to his surprise, the children are transported magically to a place where they can travel between different worlds. They visit a strange world of Charn, where everything is dead and desolate, until Digory makes a grave error and awakens the evil Empress and Witch, Jadis. Jadis follows them back to their own world and wreaks some havoc there before Digory and Polly manage to get her back to the magical place between worlds, and then they enter what was an empty world. They witness something truly spectacular - the birth of a new world, Narnia. In order to protect this new world from the Evil Witch who hitched a ride with them, Digory, with Polly along with him, is sent on a magical quest before he (and Polly) can return home.
The Good: The writing is fantastic, and the imagery is so full. The characters are multifaceted and the adventure is exciting. Who wouldn't like to read about new worlds, and magical creatures? Even in their ordinary lives in London, Polly and Digory are fun characters. Throw magic in with them and it's just lovely. This book (and the ones to follow) are simply classics.
The Bad: Some things are a bit frightening, and some of it is a bit dated (I had to explain what a hansome cab was), but that's not all bad. Evalina's pretty sensitive at times, and none of the chapter ending cliffhangers really got her too anxious. I can't think of much bad to say about this book, except for that Evalina couldn't probably read it by herself, but she's not quite 6 yet, so what do you expect? It is rife with religious imagery, but even though I am not religious, I see nothing wrong with a Jesus-lion. It's pretty innocuous, in that regard.
The Verdict: Amazon lists this as ages 9+. For a read-aloud book, it was fine for Evalina. She loved it. I loved reading it. It didn't take very long for us to read, and we were also reading one of the Magic Schoolbus books along with it. I cannot wait to see how she likes the next books in the series. I would recommend this to anyone.
Evalina's "Book Report": Coming soon. She drew some great pictures, I just have to get them on the computer.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
A Wonderful Bonus
One fantastic thing about reading to your children is that, some days, they want to read to you.
A couple of nights ago, Evalina read The Runaway Bunny to me. The night before, it was Would You Rather Be a Bullfrog. Last night, we were treated to Yertle the Turtle, with much gusto and feeling (and when she was done with Yertle, she carefully put her bookmark in the place where she left off, since there are two other stories).
I'm bragging a little here, and I hope you will indulge me. Evalina is very concerned about what effects punctuation has on words. If something is italicized, she must read it with the proper emphasis. In parentheses? Same thing. It's really fantastic.
Of course, it doesn't hurt that she's got a bit of dramatic flair. *Ahem* No clue where that came from.
When I was very tired the other night, and we had already read two chapters of The Magician's Nephew, she really wanted to read a chapter in The Magic Schoolbus book we were reading (about electric storms). I told her that I just couldn't keep my eyes open after a few pages. "Ok, mommy," she said, "I'll read the last few pages of the chapter." And she did. I helped her out on a few words, but she read wonderfully.
I don't think there are many moments when my heart swells with more pride.
A couple of nights ago, Evalina read The Runaway Bunny to me. The night before, it was Would You Rather Be a Bullfrog. Last night, we were treated to Yertle the Turtle, with much gusto and feeling (and when she was done with Yertle, she carefully put her bookmark in the place where she left off, since there are two other stories).
I'm bragging a little here, and I hope you will indulge me. Evalina is very concerned about what effects punctuation has on words. If something is italicized, she must read it with the proper emphasis. In parentheses? Same thing. It's really fantastic.
Of course, it doesn't hurt that she's got a bit of dramatic flair. *Ahem* No clue where that came from.
When I was very tired the other night, and we had already read two chapters of The Magician's Nephew, she really wanted to read a chapter in The Magic Schoolbus book we were reading (about electric storms). I told her that I just couldn't keep my eyes open after a few pages. "Ok, mommy," she said, "I'll read the last few pages of the chapter." And she did. I helped her out on a few words, but she read wonderfully.
I don't think there are many moments when my heart swells with more pride.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Igraine the Brave
I have never read anything by Cornelia Funke before, but I know that Igraine the Brave won't be our last book by her. We read it in just over two weeks, while also reading Magic Schoolbus books alongside.
The Story: Igraine's family is full of magicians, and they live in Pimpernel Castle, and are guardians of the Singing Books of Magic. Igraine has no desire to be a magician. She wants to be a knight. She has just turned 12 years old, and she wants nothing more than a life of chivalry and knightly persuits. She gets her chance to prove herself when her parents have a magical mishap, and she and her (magic practicing) older brother must defend the castle, and the Books, against Osmund the Greedy and his dastardly knight, Rowan the Heartless. Igraine sets of on a quest, and has wonderful adventures with a giant, and an honorable knight, among others.
The Good: How great is it to have kids learning about chivalry? Igraine is a spunky, brave, and smart young girl, who is not afraid to face potentially frightening situations (unless spiders are involved). In this way, she is a very good heroine. The other characters are also very well described, from Igraine's parents, The Fair Melisande and Sir Lamorak the Wiley, to the chivalrous knight who helps her, The Sorrowful Knight of the Mount of Tears, to her clever brother, Albert and his magical mice, to her talking cat, the ever fish-hungry Sisyphus, right to the evil-doers, Osmund the Greedy and Rowan the Heartless.
The chapters are pretty short in general, so it's easily broken down if you are reading it in installments, and though I read this one aloud to Evalina and only had her reading the chapter titles, she was following along quite well. Amazon lists this book as good for ages 9-11, but she had no troubles with the story at 5 (almost 6).
The Bad: Igraine gets herself into trouble sometimes, and doesn't always listen to her parents or other authority figures. She is sometimes rash. Some of the writing may be a bit over the heads of younger kids, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It didn't seem to limit enjoyment.
The Verdict: We loved this book and looked forward to reading it every night. I can't wait to read more by Cornelia Funke! I wish we had the first in the Inkheart series (I inadvertantly bought the second one instead of the first one... oops). I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy, and Harry Potter fans would probably appreciate it. It is lighter than the Potter books, though, in style and story. More fairytale like.
Evalina's "Book Report": I'm going to start having her do this, as an exercise that will help her out in school eventually. I had her draw five of her favorite things in the story. Here they are (and interestingly, she didn't draw Igraine herself! I thought for sure the castle and Igraine would have made appearances)
This is the horse, Lancelot, enjoying a carrot (no idea why the horse has no mane)
The Sorrowful Knight of the Mount of Tears, who lost the ladies he was protecting.
Igraine's cat, Sisyphus, eating a Knight Fish.
Rowan Heartless, the evil Spiky Knight. (Doesn't he just look evil? That grin! Terror-inducing)
The magical stone lions that (happily, apparently) guard the gates of Pimpernel. Evalina was quick to point out their manes, and said they were roaring.
The Story: Igraine's family is full of magicians, and they live in Pimpernel Castle, and are guardians of the Singing Books of Magic. Igraine has no desire to be a magician. She wants to be a knight. She has just turned 12 years old, and she wants nothing more than a life of chivalry and knightly persuits. She gets her chance to prove herself when her parents have a magical mishap, and she and her (magic practicing) older brother must defend the castle, and the Books, against Osmund the Greedy and his dastardly knight, Rowan the Heartless. Igraine sets of on a quest, and has wonderful adventures with a giant, and an honorable knight, among others.
The Good: How great is it to have kids learning about chivalry? Igraine is a spunky, brave, and smart young girl, who is not afraid to face potentially frightening situations (unless spiders are involved). In this way, she is a very good heroine. The other characters are also very well described, from Igraine's parents, The Fair Melisande and Sir Lamorak the Wiley, to the chivalrous knight who helps her, The Sorrowful Knight of the Mount of Tears, to her clever brother, Albert and his magical mice, to her talking cat, the ever fish-hungry Sisyphus, right to the evil-doers, Osmund the Greedy and Rowan the Heartless.
The chapters are pretty short in general, so it's easily broken down if you are reading it in installments, and though I read this one aloud to Evalina and only had her reading the chapter titles, she was following along quite well. Amazon lists this book as good for ages 9-11, but she had no troubles with the story at 5 (almost 6).
The Bad: Igraine gets herself into trouble sometimes, and doesn't always listen to her parents or other authority figures. She is sometimes rash. Some of the writing may be a bit over the heads of younger kids, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It didn't seem to limit enjoyment.
The Verdict: We loved this book and looked forward to reading it every night. I can't wait to read more by Cornelia Funke! I wish we had the first in the Inkheart series (I inadvertantly bought the second one instead of the first one... oops). I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy, and Harry Potter fans would probably appreciate it. It is lighter than the Potter books, though, in style and story. More fairytale like.
Evalina's "Book Report": I'm going to start having her do this, as an exercise that will help her out in school eventually. I had her draw five of her favorite things in the story. Here they are (and interestingly, she didn't draw Igraine herself! I thought for sure the castle and Igraine would have made appearances)
This is the horse, Lancelot, enjoying a carrot (no idea why the horse has no mane)
The Sorrowful Knight of the Mount of Tears, who lost the ladies he was protecting.
Igraine's cat, Sisyphus, eating a Knight Fish.
Rowan Heartless, the evil Spiky Knight. (Doesn't he just look evil? That grin! Terror-inducing)
The magical stone lions that (happily, apparently) guard the gates of Pimpernel. Evalina was quick to point out their manes, and said they were roaring.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Pippi Longstocking
When Evalina was younger, my cousin Agnes visited from Sweden, and brought a plethora of Pippi related items (because it was the 60th Anniversary of Pippi). Among these was a set of Pippi stories on CD (in Swedish), a bunch of Pippi clothing (so cute, and bought in various sizes so that she is still wearing them), and a Pippi storybook (in Swedish - Pippi in the South Seas). Later, we were also given the Swedish TV movies on DVD - which we have not watched yet.
Evalina listened to the cds many many times, not really understanding any of it. She listened to me read the Swedish storybook to her, which I dutifully translated, and the Pippi clothes are among her favorites.
For Christmas, she was given the first book of the series, Pippi Longstocking, in English. The novelty.
The Story: Pippi lives all alone in Villa Villekulla, with only her monkey, Mr. Nilsson, and her horse to keep her company. Her father was lost at sea (and Pippi is sure he has become the king of a tribe of cannibals), and her mother "is an angel," so there is no one to live with her. This is not to say that she is incapable of caring for herself. She happens to be the strongest girl in the world, and is resourceful and irrepressible as any girl could possibly be. She makes friends with the children next door, Tommy and Annika, and they are sure to never have another dull day. They try to get her to go to school (it doesn't work out), invite her to their mother's coffee party (which was a foolish idea), and have many other adventures with this amazing girl.
The Good: Pippi is joyful and silly, that's for sure. She isn't afraid of anything or anybody. The joy of being Pippi is enough to get her through, along with the big chest full of gold she's got... and her incredibly strong muscles and personality.
The Bad: Pippi lies. Incessantly. And it's really funny when she does, so it doesn't exactly teach that lying is wrong. Pippi also gives pistols to Tommy and Annika as toys. And shoots bullets through her ceiling. And dashes into burning buildings. All in all, we had quite a few "Isn't Pippi funny? Never do what Pippi does," conversations.
The Verdict: The kids got a kick out of the fact that Pippi is written by a Astrid, and mommy's name is Astrid. Evalina loved the book (Philip liked looking at the pages and picking out where he saw the word "Pippi" over and over again). I think, as long as you can explain that Pippi's behavior is not ok for real life children, the book is wonderful fun. I look forward to reading the others in the series, and watching the Swedish movies, and hopefully locating the books in Swedish and reading them in their native language!
Evalina listened to the cds many many times, not really understanding any of it. She listened to me read the Swedish storybook to her, which I dutifully translated, and the Pippi clothes are among her favorites.
For Christmas, she was given the first book of the series, Pippi Longstocking, in English. The novelty.
The Story: Pippi lives all alone in Villa Villekulla, with only her monkey, Mr. Nilsson, and her horse to keep her company. Her father was lost at sea (and Pippi is sure he has become the king of a tribe of cannibals), and her mother "is an angel," so there is no one to live with her. This is not to say that she is incapable of caring for herself. She happens to be the strongest girl in the world, and is resourceful and irrepressible as any girl could possibly be. She makes friends with the children next door, Tommy and Annika, and they are sure to never have another dull day. They try to get her to go to school (it doesn't work out), invite her to their mother's coffee party (which was a foolish idea), and have many other adventures with this amazing girl.
The Good: Pippi is joyful and silly, that's for sure. She isn't afraid of anything or anybody. The joy of being Pippi is enough to get her through, along with the big chest full of gold she's got... and her incredibly strong muscles and personality.
The Bad: Pippi lies. Incessantly. And it's really funny when she does, so it doesn't exactly teach that lying is wrong. Pippi also gives pistols to Tommy and Annika as toys. And shoots bullets through her ceiling. And dashes into burning buildings. All in all, we had quite a few "Isn't Pippi funny? Never do what Pippi does," conversations.
The Verdict: The kids got a kick out of the fact that Pippi is written by a Astrid, and mommy's name is Astrid. Evalina loved the book (Philip liked looking at the pages and picking out where he saw the word "Pippi" over and over again). I think, as long as you can explain that Pippi's behavior is not ok for real life children, the book is wonderful fun. I look forward to reading the others in the series, and watching the Swedish movies, and hopefully locating the books in Swedish and reading them in their native language!
The Tale of Despereux
So, I also snagged The Tale of Despereux at the Scholastic Warehouse Sale. Little did I know that it is the junior novelization (which is basically like reading the screenplay) and not the original book. After reading some reviews for the original book, and going to see the movie, I tend to think that this version is better suited to Evalina's age.
The Story: Despereux is a brave mouse, which makes him an outcast in mouse society. He befriends a human Princess, which gets him banished to the dungeons, where the rats live. Through a misunderstanding, a rat named Roscuro killed the Queen, which got soup and rats banned from the kingdom (read it, it will make sense), but Roscuro becomes the only friend Despereaux has in the rats, all the rest of whom would just as soon eat him. When the Princess is unwilling to see past the fact that Roscuro is a rat, when he tries to apologize for killing the Queen (again, long story), Roscuro turns on his better nature, and goes bad. He encourages a jealous servant girl to kidnap the Princess, and only Despereux can save her.
The Good: Due to the fact it is the junior novelization of the movie, the descriptions are fantastic. The characters are full and lively, and Evalina enjoyed it very much, as did I. There are a few fun dialects to play with, and the message of courage and bravery is a good one. We went to see the movie, and it was a very good one - beautiful animation!
The Bad: Even in the Disneyfied version, there are quite a few scary moments. The servant girl is portrayed as really quite stupid, though if reviews are to be believed, she is worse in the original story. The abrupt death of the Queen caught me off guard.
The Verdict: Loved the movie, and was glad to have read the book first, even if it isn't the original story. It made me want to make a big pot of soup. (Again, read the book or watch the movie, and you'll understand). I will be more careful to look at the cover of a book before I buy it in the future, because I'd rather be getting the authentic story. Still, as mentioned, I think that the Disneyfied version is fine for a child of Evalina's age.
The Story: Despereux is a brave mouse, which makes him an outcast in mouse society. He befriends a human Princess, which gets him banished to the dungeons, where the rats live. Through a misunderstanding, a rat named Roscuro killed the Queen, which got soup and rats banned from the kingdom (read it, it will make sense), but Roscuro becomes the only friend Despereaux has in the rats, all the rest of whom would just as soon eat him. When the Princess is unwilling to see past the fact that Roscuro is a rat, when he tries to apologize for killing the Queen (again, long story), Roscuro turns on his better nature, and goes bad. He encourages a jealous servant girl to kidnap the Princess, and only Despereux can save her.
The Good: Due to the fact it is the junior novelization of the movie, the descriptions are fantastic. The characters are full and lively, and Evalina enjoyed it very much, as did I. There are a few fun dialects to play with, and the message of courage and bravery is a good one. We went to see the movie, and it was a very good one - beautiful animation!
The Bad: Even in the Disneyfied version, there are quite a few scary moments. The servant girl is portrayed as really quite stupid, though if reviews are to be believed, she is worse in the original story. The abrupt death of the Queen caught me off guard.
The Verdict: Loved the movie, and was glad to have read the book first, even if it isn't the original story. It made me want to make a big pot of soup. (Again, read the book or watch the movie, and you'll understand). I will be more careful to look at the cover of a book before I buy it in the future, because I'd rather be getting the authentic story. Still, as mentioned, I think that the Disneyfied version is fine for a child of Evalina's age.
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