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Books read 2008 #2
Feb. 20th, 2008 09:44 pmReading kids' books is like eating peanuts. I finish one, and instead of turning off the light and going to sleep like a sensible person, I reach for the next one in the pile. I'm still working my way through the bag of children's and YA books I got from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cakmpls.
Books I haven't read before get a number, rereads don't.
Caddie Woodlawn, by Carol Ryrie Brink. I read this one when I was in third grade or so, at my mother's behest. Still worth a reread. I read a bunch of other books by CRB (including the sequel to Caddie Woodlawn, Magical Melons, but none of them had the same magic.
9. Ace, the Very Important Pig, by Dick King-Smith. By the author of Babe, and in fact Ace is a descendant of Babe. An animal tale that actually deals with some of the ethical issues of talking animals, including the issue of sending them off to market. Rather slight, nevertheless. An okay read for the age intended.
10. Guests, by Michael Dorris. A story from the point of view of a native American boy who's not at all thrilled that his father has invited outsiders (Europeans, presumably) to their harvest festival. The story never really coheres for me, but there's a nice bit with a talking porcupine.
11. In the Face of Danger, by Joan Lowery Nixon. Book Three of the Orphan Train Quartet, a set of four books that follows six children sent out west in 1860 to live with foster families because their widowed mother couldn't support them. This book follows Megan, who believes she's a bad-luck penny because she was told so by a gypsy woman. Interesting historical material and characters. This one I'd probably reread.
12. A Place to Belong, by Joan Lowery Nixon. Book Four of the Orphan Train Quartet. In which Danny and Peg are adopted by a Scandinavian couple, but the wife dies, and Danny plots to bring his mother out to have him marry the widower. I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous one, but that's probably the setting -- this one was in town and that one ws set in the country. I may hunt up the first two books in the series.
13. Anastasia Krupnik, by Lois Lowry. Stories in the life of an intelligent 10-year-old New Yorker whose father is a professor (and poet) and whose mother is an artist (and pregnant). Lots of nice dialog from all the characters. I probably won't reread it, but I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Henry Huggins, by Beverly Cleary. Tales of a feckless third-grader in 1950 or so. Doesn't have the charm of Homer Price or Rupert Piper, but that may just be because I'm female -- I liked Cleary's female protagonists when I read them at the right age.
14. Skeeter, by K. Smith. This one was a YA rather than a children's book -- it's a coming-of-age story of two white boys who are mad for hunting and make friends with an old black man who teaches them. Deals unflinchingly with issues of race, both currently (book written in 1989) and historically. Recommended.
All-of-a-Kind Family, by Sydney Taylor. Zillionth rereading of a Jewish family of five girls and their parents in 1912 New York.
I also read just about all of Tamora Pierce's books, which was a reread for all but two:
15. Shatterglass, by Tamora Pierce. This is the fourth of The Circle Opens quartet, and follows the young mage Tris, and her mentor Niko. They're in a land rather like China, but there's a serial killer that's targeting entertainers. Probably my least favorite of the four books in this quartet, but an enjoyable read.
16. The Will of the Empress, by Tamora Pierce. Daja, Sandry, Briar, and Tris finally reunite after several years of traveling. They travel to Namorn, where Sandry is a countess through her (dead) mother. The Empress of Namorn wants her and the three companions to stay there, but Sandry has other ideas. Highly recommended, but only if you've read the previous books in the series.
cakmpls.Books I haven't read before get a number, rereads don't.
Caddie Woodlawn, by Carol Ryrie Brink. I read this one when I was in third grade or so, at my mother's behest. Still worth a reread. I read a bunch of other books by CRB (including the sequel to Caddie Woodlawn, Magical Melons, but none of them had the same magic.
9. Ace, the Very Important Pig, by Dick King-Smith. By the author of Babe, and in fact Ace is a descendant of Babe. An animal tale that actually deals with some of the ethical issues of talking animals, including the issue of sending them off to market. Rather slight, nevertheless. An okay read for the age intended.
10. Guests, by Michael Dorris. A story from the point of view of a native American boy who's not at all thrilled that his father has invited outsiders (Europeans, presumably) to their harvest festival. The story never really coheres for me, but there's a nice bit with a talking porcupine.
11. In the Face of Danger, by Joan Lowery Nixon. Book Three of the Orphan Train Quartet, a set of four books that follows six children sent out west in 1860 to live with foster families because their widowed mother couldn't support them. This book follows Megan, who believes she's a bad-luck penny because she was told so by a gypsy woman. Interesting historical material and characters. This one I'd probably reread.
12. A Place to Belong, by Joan Lowery Nixon. Book Four of the Orphan Train Quartet. In which Danny and Peg are adopted by a Scandinavian couple, but the wife dies, and Danny plots to bring his mother out to have him marry the widower. I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous one, but that's probably the setting -- this one was in town and that one ws set in the country. I may hunt up the first two books in the series.
13. Anastasia Krupnik, by Lois Lowry. Stories in the life of an intelligent 10-year-old New Yorker whose father is a professor (and poet) and whose mother is an artist (and pregnant). Lots of nice dialog from all the characters. I probably won't reread it, but I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Henry Huggins, by Beverly Cleary. Tales of a feckless third-grader in 1950 or so. Doesn't have the charm of Homer Price or Rupert Piper, but that may just be because I'm female -- I liked Cleary's female protagonists when I read them at the right age.
14. Skeeter, by K. Smith. This one was a YA rather than a children's book -- it's a coming-of-age story of two white boys who are mad for hunting and make friends with an old black man who teaches them. Deals unflinchingly with issues of race, both currently (book written in 1989) and historically. Recommended.
All-of-a-Kind Family, by Sydney Taylor. Zillionth rereading of a Jewish family of five girls and their parents in 1912 New York.
I also read just about all of Tamora Pierce's books, which was a reread for all but two:
15. Shatterglass, by Tamora Pierce. This is the fourth of The Circle Opens quartet, and follows the young mage Tris, and her mentor Niko. They're in a land rather like China, but there's a serial killer that's targeting entertainers. Probably my least favorite of the four books in this quartet, but an enjoyable read.
16. The Will of the Empress, by Tamora Pierce. Daja, Sandry, Briar, and Tris finally reunite after several years of traveling. They travel to Namorn, where Sandry is a countess through her (dead) mother. The Empress of Namorn wants her and the three companions to stay there, but Sandry has other ideas. Highly recommended, but only if you've read the previous books in the series.
