What 2 Read Wednesday: "None of you are going to die..." Book Review: The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

"None of you are going to die

and you're obviously not dead."

Holly Black and Cassandra Clare, The Iron Trial

Book #1 in the Magisterium series

Having recently reread the entire Harry Potter series with SC, I was slightly skeptical of how good another book about a boy who just finds out he is magic and goes off to a special school would actually be.  J.K. Rowling has set the bar pretty high.  However, other than a few similarities (which would probably be present in ANY book about magical kids going to magic school), this book is it's own story.  

Callum Hunt is a twelve-year-old boy with a physical disability who has to go through the "iron trial," an entrance exam of sorts to the school of magic called the Magisterium.  His father, who was a mage and went through the school, encourages Callum to do all that he can to fail, because he believes the Magisterium is a terrible place, fraught with death and war.  He points to the fact that Callum's mother died just after his birth, because of a war brought on by the mages, as proof of this idea.  Though Callum does his best to fail, he is still chosen to be an apprentice by the same master who taught his mother and father, along with an orphan boy, Aaron, and a girl, Tamara.  Callum's father fights to take him away before the mages can gather them to leave, but is hauled out of the building, and Callum is taken on to the school.

Black and Clare create their own world, with their own set of magical rules, and in some cases delve where Rowling does not dare, complicating the good vs. evil narrative in fascinating ways.  For example, one of my (and SC's) favorite parts of the story is when Callum finds a wolf puppy in the woods.  This is just after a huge battle with "chaos ridden" wolves, ones who have been infected (for lack of a better word) with chaos magic, the dark and potentially evil magic that "devours."  Callum cannot help himself in rescuing this potentially dangerous pup, because he knows what it is like to grow up without a mother, and the pup (later named Havoc) not only brings Callum and his fellow apprentices closer together, but shows them all that there may be more to the magical dark area than the simple dictate "chaos wants to devour."

All in all, this is the perfect series for us to follow up a reading of Harry Potter.  It is HP on steroids, and both SC and I are now firmly enveloped into the Magisterium world.  We cannot wait until the second book,  The Copper Gauntlet, comes out next September.

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What 2 Read Wednesday: "...to find the brightest wisdom one must pass through the darkest zones" Book Review: A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

"You see, to find the brightest wisdom one must pass through the darkest zones.  

And through the darkest zones there can be no guide.

No guide, that is, but courage."

Adam Gidwitz, A Tale Dark & Grimm

It should not come as a shock, dear reader, that SC is a huge fan of dark fantasy.  I believe I have also mentioned that it is not something I was interested in as a young reader, so it has been a learning journey as I attempt to find quality children's literature in that genre.  A few weeks ago, we stumbled across a Halloween-themed display at the bookstore, and having just finished the Elsewhere series and needing a new audiobook read-aloud, I told SC to take a look at the books on the display, read the back covers, and pick something a bit spooky.  Well, she did.  Not only is this book spooky, but creepy and grotesque as well.  And awesome and well written and wonderful.  

I was happily shocked by A Tale Dark & Grimm and Gidwitz's authorial style.  The novel is a retelling of a few of Grimm's fairytales, changed to interweave Hansel and Gretel as the main characters through each, juxtaposed with Gidwitz himself through authorial intrusion commenting on what is about to happen, or what has just happened, in the story he constantly reminds the reader he is retelling.  At first, this intrusion is comical, with Gidwitz warning the reader that the tales are "as violent and bloody as you can imagine" and stating that if that sort of thing bothers you "we should probably stop right now."  He also is constantly asking the reader to make sure there are no "little children" around because they will be scared and have nightmares.  To be sure, this book is scary, with blood and gore, death, untrustworthy and selfish kids and adults (including parents), and I would not recommend it for a child who scares easily or who might not be able to see through this to understand the intentional theme throughout.  

It is this intentional theme that eventually evolves from the comedy as the story progresses, and Gidwitz becomes a side-kick (not a guide, which he specifically points out would not bring about the desired result of wisdom and understanding), seeing the story with different eyes and bringing about the palpability of the theme.  For a children's book, there is an incredibly heavy theme, one that encompasses the brokenness of humanity, a recognition of that brokenness, purposeful change for the better, and finally a complete understanding of the brokenness in others, then forgiving and shouldering the burdens of said others in order to create a better world.  Halfway through the novel, having shown Hansel to be selfish in some of the worst ways, Gidwitz intrudes to explain:

"There is a certain kind of pain that can change you. Even the strongest sword, when placed in a raging fire, will soften and bend and change its form.  So it was with Hansel.  The fire of guilt and shame was just that hot. 

Trust me on this one. I know this from personal experience. I hope that you never will, but, since you're a person, and therefore prone to making horrible, soul-splitting mistakes, you probably will one day know what this kind of guilt and shame feels like. And when that time comes, I hope you have the strength, as Hansel had, to take advantage of the fire and reshape your own sword."

 Again, for a children's book, this is deep.  Gidwitz also writes in a way that there is no denying his intentions with his theme.  One cannot read this book and not come away with an understanding that people are broken, but people can rise above that brokenness, and that others should both forgive and help shoulder the burdens of brokenness out of love, no matter what.  He even creates a running conversation of this concept throughout the novel, breaking apart the term "understanding" and fashioning it into the concept of "under-standing...standing beneath them.  Supporting them.  Bearing their troubles and their pains on my shoulders."  It appears over and over, this concept of under-standing, and examples of what that looks like in various situations.

In the end, in spite of the gore, blood and disgust at a very accurate portrayal of humanity, this book is worth reading because of the message Gidwitz  successfully imparts.  As I said above, if your child is sensitive to these things, I would wait until he/she is a bit older, but I would definitely add this to a long list of to-be-read books for the future.  There are two other books in the series, and I have high hopes that they are just as excellent in terms of writing and intentionality.

   

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What 2 Read Wednesday: "...those people who seem the most 'normal' ..." Book Review: The Books of Elsewhere series by Jacqueline West

“It's been my experience 

that those people who seem the most 'normal' 

are in fact the most dangerous.” 

Jacqueline West, The Second Spy

Once SC and I finished the listening to the audiobooks of the entire Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, after contemplating starting the Lord of the Rings series but decided not yet, I stumbled upon the first book in The Books of Elsewhere series by Jacqueline West.  This is another series that has a touch of magic and fantasy, and some horror-lite akin to Coraline by Neil Gaiman, which is SC's favorite genre.  We decided to give the audiobook a try, and I was not only not disappointed, but hugely impressed with the quality of writing in these stories.  After some research, I discovered that West has won awards for her poetry, which makes sense.  She utilizes words in the Elsewhere books in a way that I have not seen/read in most contemporary children's novels.  She is a true wordsmith.

The story of the Elsewhere series is about Olive Dunwoody, an eleven-year-old girl who, along with her math professor parents, moves into an historical home whose previous owner, Ms. McMartin, has recently deceased.  Quickly after moving in, Olive notices that things in the house, which they purchased fully furnished with all of old Ms. McMartin's stuff, is a little off.  For example, when the family attempts to move some of the paintings on the wall, it is found that the paintings are oddly stuck.  Then, Olive begins to think that the painting she can see from her bedroom is moving.  After an afternoon exploring the house, where Olive discovers an intriguing pair of spectacles, and learns that not only are the paintings moving, but while wearing the spectacles she can travel into the paintings to a place called Elsewhere.  However, Elsewhere isn't the quiet place it seems to be, and Olive realizes that something, or someone, is not pleased that her family has taken ownership of the McMartin house.  Each book in the series builds on Olive uncovering secrets of the house, and the McMartin family, as she tries to outwit and defeat an evil that has prevailed for too long on Linden Street. 

I would recommend these novels to older elementary children who are not easily spooked.  However, if purchasing the audiobooks read by Lexi Fridell, she has such a sweet voice that I think some of the spook is lost by her reading it, and a younger elementary child who has a firm grip on fantasy vs. reality would love it.

       
  

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"Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times ..."

Over the past school year, we have really gotten into listening to audiobooks.  I am horrible at reading aloud, especially books that have more than one main character, who all need to sound different.  In fact, I struggle with this issue even when reading silently to myself.  (On a side note - I have found that watching a tv/film version of said book helps immensely by giving me the voices in my head, though of course I cannot reproduce them aloud.)

Enter: audiobooks!  The first audiobook we listened to, about a year and a half ago, was The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, narrated by Rob Inglis, and from then both SC and I were hooked on having a professional read to us.  As SC's reading skills began to develop, she even began to follow along with her own copy of the book, which exposed her to more words (and what they look like) than just listening alone would have.  Over this past year, she has gotten to where she can follow along without getting exhausted (which frequently happened when we started out), and we have found some great books that we love.

Many of the books we were able to find on audible.com, which is a monthly subscription service.  Each month we get 1 credit toward the purchase of any digital audiobook (they have larger packages), and considering the 1 credit costs only $16, and most of the audiobooks are $20-$30, it is a great savings.  We have also been able to find some at the public library (like the Harry Potter books), because they are not available digitally.

So, in reverse order of listening, here are our "read-alouds" for this past school year.

1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by J.K. Rowling, narrated by Jim Dale(currently listening)

2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling, narrated by Jim Dale

3. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling, narrated by Jim Dale

4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J.K. Rowling, narrated by Jim Dale

5. The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart, narrated by Del Roy

6. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, narrated by Anne Hathaway

7. Coraline, by Neil Gaiman, narrated by the author

8. A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L'Engle, narrated by Hope Davis

9. Zorgamazoo by Robert Paul Weston, narrated by Alan Cumming

10. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, narrated by Jill Clayburgh

11. The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo, narrated by Juliet Stevenson

I should note, SC is very interested in fantasy/sci-fi stories, especially the darker ones.  In fact, the book from the list she liked least was From the Mixed-Up Files.  While these books are appropriate for her (and we spend quite a bit of time discussing them), they may not be appropriate for all 5 year olds.


*Are you making a list of the books you have "read aloud" this year?  Join me, as I will be adding this list to the "List it Tuesday" link-up here:

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"Here is our poetry, for we have pulled down the stars to our will." New York City in Picture Books

And New York is the most beautiful city in the world? 

It is not far from it. No urban night is like the night there.... 

Squares after squares of flame, set up and cut into the aether. 

Here is our poetry, for we have pulled down the stars to our will. 

--Ezra Pound, "Patria Mia," New Age, September 18, 1912

When SC and I travelled to New York City, we prepared by gathering a stack of library books to read. There were a couple duds (which I have not included here), but I wanted to gather together a list for anyone who might be interested in learning about NYC through some good books.  Here is the list of those we read, grouped by category:

Fiction:
The Other Side of Town by Jon Agee



Another Night at the Museum by Milan Trenc



12 Days of New York by Tonya Bolden-Ford



Non-Fiction:
New York, New York! The Big Apple from A to Z by Laura Krauss Melmed



Bea on Broadway: A Story About New York by Karen Latchana Kenney



America the Beautiful: New York City by Dan Liebman, Ed.



Historical:
The New York Colony by Kevin Cunningham



Seeds of a Nation: New York by Stuart A. Kallen and P.M. Boekhoff



One Times Square by Joe McKendry



Joe and the Skyscraper by Dietrich Neumann, Trans. Anne Heritage



Empire State Building by Elizabeth Mann

We also read From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L. Konigsburg, together as a read-aloud.  Check out my review on What 2 Read Wednesday.  You can read more about what we did in New York City here.

Do you have a favorite New York City book, be it a picture book, children's book or otherwise?  Leave a comment below and let me know!

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Top Ten Tuesday: "Happiness is excitement that has found a settling down place..."

“Happiness is excitement that has found a settling down place, 

but there is always a little corner that keeps flapping around.” 

― E.L. Konigsburg, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

This past year I had high hopes for read-alouds, but because I am just not very good at it, we really only read a couple of longer books.  Now that I have found that both SC and I do better for long read-alouds when we are both listening (i.e., audiobooks), the list for us to listen to for next year is getting long.  The books are, literally, piling up!  So, for Top Ten Tuesday, here are ten books already on our list of read-alouds for next year (in no particular order).

1. Zorgamazoo by Robert Paul Weston

2. Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

3. Coraline by Neil Gaiman

4. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

5. Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

6. The Apothecary by Maile Meloy

7. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konisburg

8. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

9. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle

10.  The Borrowers by Mary Norton

You may notice there are three books from author Neil Gaiman on the list, and that is because I got to hear a little of Fortunately, the Milk when I saw/heard Gaiman last week and it sounded incredible.  Coraline is one of SC's "favorite" (this is a right-now type statement for her) movies, and The Graveyard Book won the Newbery Award.  I don't think including three books from Gaiman waters down the list in any way.

Also, we are currently planning a trip to New York City (another tag-along with AC while he works), so we may try to read/listen to The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler before that trip at the end of July since the setting is the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and SC and I will be visiting it while we are there.  It is also one of my favorite childhood books and I cannot wait to share it with her!

Have you started your read-aloud list for next year yet?  Leave a comment with what's already on it, and then check out some more Top Ten Tuesday posts here