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3 days ago
The Double Cousins and the Mystery of the Missing Watch by Miriam Jones Bradley Reading Level: Ages 9 - 12 Reviewed by Wayne S. Walker If you had a long lost relative, what do you think would be the best way to go about trying to find him? Ten-year-old double cousins Max Rawson and Carly Johnson, along with Max’s younger brother Chad and Carly’s older sister Dorie and younger sister Molly, all arrive for their annual summer visit to their grandparents’ ranch. To help them pass the time away, Grandpa suggests that they try to uncover the mystery surrounding his grandfather’s twin brother Zachary who left home at the age of eighteen to seek his fortune in the West more than 100 years ago and was never heard from again. The only clue is Grandpa’s pocket watch which is an exact match to the one Zachary carried. Their search is complicated by the arrival of a new ranch hand named Slim, a young man who left his family and has been homeless but has a watch that appears similar ...3 days ago
Brisingr by Christopher Paolini Reading Level: 16 and up Reviewed by Wayne S. Walker Well, we read Eragon and Eldest. So I guess that we had to read Brisingr to learn about the further adventures of Eragon and Saphira. Brisingr was to have been the third book of the Inheritance Trilogy, but Paolini said, “Because of its complexity, Brisingr ended up much larger than I anticipated—so much larger, in fact, that I had to expand the series from three books to four. Thus, the Inheritance Trilogy became the Inheritance Cycle.” This is a disappointment. I noted some problems with Eragon and also Eldest which I hoped would be resolved for the better in Brisingr, but I try to approach each book with an open mind. My good friend Ed Smith related the following. "Please be warned that this book opens with a dark scene of self-mutilations and blood rites....For those young people with vivid imaginations, it could fuel a fascination for things that should be ...11 days ago
National Velvet by Enid Bagnold Reading Level: Ages 13 - 18 Reviewed by Wayne S. Walker Next to dogs, horses are about the most popular animals for young people’s stories. Marguerite Henry has written many good horse books, and Walter Farley has a whole set of “Black Stallion” books. But when I was in high school and worked in the library, the “big three” horse books that were so popular with the girls who rode horses were Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, My Friend Flicka by Mary O’Hara, and National Velvet by Enid Bagnold, which is about a fourteen year old English girl who runs a horse that she won in a raffle in the Grand National jumping race and wins but was disqualified because only men were allowed to ride the horses. To be honest, National Velvet did not hold my attention as well, especially early in the book. Much of the conversation was in British colloquial dialogue which was sometimes hard to follow and often had nothing to do with the plot ...11 days ago
Journey to Nowhere by Mary Jane Auch Reading Level: Ages 9-12 Reviewed by Kathy Davis We moved to a new home this year. Compared to what moving was like 2 centuries ago, ours was painless. We had tons of help from friends and had professional movers take care of the big stuff. Plus it helped that we didn't need use an oxen and a covered wagon to take us to our new homestead! Imagine life in the early 18th century – it was no easy task to move. In Journey to Nowhere, the Nye Family picks up and moves not across town but from Connecticut to the fertile farmland of the Genesee Country of New York State. They start by weeding out through their possessions and packing up a load that can be handled. Then comes the perilous journey itself – bad roads, stormy weather, a fall in the river, and even a lost child delays their trip. But, they endure with perseverance, keeping the goal of a beautiful piece of parcel to build their new home ever before them. This is a great read, ...11 days ago
Eldest by Christopher Paolini Reading Level: Ages 16+ Reviewed by Wayne S. Walker In this long awaited sequel to Eragon, young Eragon Shadeslayer, having lost his mentor Brom but rescued the lovely elven princess Arya, watches helplessly as his friend Murtagh is carred off by Urgals and then leaves his new found allies of the Varden to go to Ellesmera so that he might study with master Oromis and develop his abilities in using Gramarye (magic) with the hope that he can help defeat the evil emperor Galbatorix. Even noting some problems with it, I liked Eragon. I was not as thrilled with Eldest. First, Eragon was about 500 pages; Eldest is 668. The plot is not as tightly woven and tends to sag at times. There is some bad language, including a vulgar British slang term for the backside. Not enough cursing is used to say that the book is filled with it, but some is present nonetheless. There are a lot, and I mean a lot, of references to drinking alcohol--on one ...
