The Tale of Despereaux

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Despereaux is so named by his mouse mother. Despereaux is very unmouse like. He has large ears, likes reading books instead of eating books, and he falls in love with a human. Despereaux quickly falls in love with the young Princess Pea after reading a fairy tale that inspires him to save a princess like a true knight. For revealing himself to humans, Despereaux is sentenced to the dungeon and sure death, by his father and the mouse council.

Despereaux saves himself by telling the jailer one of the stories he has read. What is has saved himself from is death by rat. Rats are disgusting creatures of darkness. One rat has contrived to ruin the life of Pea because she has made him feel a worthless creature of darkness, though he loves the light. The rat acquires the help of a young servant girl that wants desperately to become a princess herself and is deluded enough to think she can take Pea's place.

Despereaux learns of the treachery and finds his chance to become a fairytale knight. The love of Despereaux saves the kingdom from darkness.

Great story that my children also really loved. DiCamillo has a sweet wit that is fun to read even for adults.

Rating 4.5 Loved it but not enough for a 5. I'm not sure what was missing for me.
Rating G Clean. Great family read.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline

First off, fabulous illustrations!
Edward is a china rabbit that stands nearly three feet tall. He belongs to a child named Abilene Tulane. He has a wonderful wardrobe of expensive clothing. Abilene loves Edward. Edward however loves himself. His favorite time of year is winter, when the dark comes early. Edward likes to look at the window and instead of seeing outside, when it becomes dark he can see his own reflection. He thinks he is quite a sensational rabbit.
Abilene's grandmother Pellagrina sees through Edward. She knows he doesn't pay attention to anything except himself and his clothing. She knows he does not love Abilene back. One night just before Abilene is to set off on a ship with her parents, Pelligrina tells Edward and Abilene a warning fairytale.
Aboard ship Edward is accidentally thrown overboard. He sinks to the bottom of the sea. Nearly a year later he is washed to the surface and caught in a fishing net. Thus begins Edward's journey through the hands of many that will love him. As Edward is stripped of his fine clothing and comfort he comes to find that love is all he has left, and it is all that matters.
He lives with the fisherman and his old wife. He becomes a hobo and travels the country for years. Edward does brief time as a scarecrow. He is owned and loved by a sweet and dying four year old. Edward travels to a city with a small boy and becomes his puppet, helping him earn money for food. Edward is beaten and broken. He is given new life by a doll restorer and sits in a doll shop for many years. Finally the circle of life curves to meet itself and Edward is reunited with Abilene.
Edward witnesses love, loss, child abuse, death, evil hearts, heartless people, lost souls and comes to find he can feel love.
Rating 5 Heart wrenching! I cried just like I did the first time I read the Velveteen Rabbit when I was 8.
Rating G I say this is a clean read although there is an instance of child abuse (hitting). I still read this to my own children because I wanted them to understand the important message of the book.

Rules

Rules by Cynthia Lord

Catherine is a 12 year old girl with an eight year old autistic brother named David. Catherine has lots of rules for David to follow.............always knock, no toys in the fish tank, you can hug mom but not the guy at the video store, chew with your mouth closed, sometimes people laugh when they like you but sometimes they laugh to hurt you.
Catherine is struggling with wanting to protect and teach David and wanting David to be normal. Her parents' time revolves solely around David and his needs. Catherine is feeling left out and misunderstood.
As Catherine is in the waiting room of David's OT, she meets Jason. Jason is in a wheelchair and unable to speak. He uses word cards to have a conversation. Jason and Catherine become friends as she makes new word cards that are more applicable and useful to a teenage boy. Catherine loves art and hopes to become a breath taking artist one day. Her art and compassion help bridge the gap between Jason and the rest of the world.
By the end Jason is crushing on Catherine and she shows her human and immature side when she worries what others will think of her for being friends with him outside of the the OT waiting room.
I totally loved this quick read. By the end I was desperate for a sequel so I could find out more about Jason and David as they grew up. I like Catherine and felt like she was appropriate for her age.........although I wish she were a little older for the dancing/dating parts.
Rating 4.5
Rating G

The Prince of the Pond

The Prince of the Pond by Donna Jo Napoli, illustrated by Judith Byron Schachner

This is a retelling of The Frog Prince. Napoli has many other enchanting fairytale retellings, so I thought this was worth a try.
De Fawg Pin (The Frog Prince..........has a severe speech disorder since he isn't used to talking with such a huge froggy tongue) is found by a girl frog, just after he has been turned into a frog by the hag.
The story is told by the girl frog (eventually named Jade). She is a rather smart frog and takes Pin under her wing (frog leg) since he seems not to know anything about being a frog. She teaches him to hop, swim and eat! Pin also learns that frogs usually don't help each other. They are a happy species but not helpful. Things begin to change when Jade realizes that she really likes Pin. They make a ton of tadpoles, which Pin convinces Jade they need to care for........highly unusual for a frog to do..........once you are fertilized, you're on your own. They raise up 50 of their tadpoles in a well. One decides to stay with them..........Jimmy, named after Pin's father. Jade never figures out Pin is a prince and she thinks he is lying about having a family and remembering his father........and eating beef.
Eventually the hag returns and captures Jimmy. Now that Jade and Pin love their tadpoles, they can't let the hag eat him. They save Jimmy and return to their mating hole..........the well. Upon arrival they see a princess. She picks Jimmy up and is about to kiss him. Jade thinks the princess is going to eat her baby and emplores Pin to save their son. Pin jumps in the way and smooch!! He gets the kiss. The Fawg Pin disappears never to be seen again and in his place, a naked prince. The poor frog family and frog wife are left behind. Sad ending.
This is a great family read. It's cute and short (I read most of it while taking a bath after beddy bye). It also has great illustrations. Good lesson on family.
Rating 3.5 This is a good book, just not Napoli's best...........and honestly, I like happy endings.
Rating 5 Clean enough to read out loud to your little ones.

Bunnicula

Bunnicula by James Howe and Deborah Howe

This tale is told by the family dog Harold. The Monroe family find a suspicious little bunny. He is abandoned at the movie theater. After bringing him home and struggling over a name, they decide to keep him and name him Bunnicula.........since the movie they were watching was Dracula. Quickly enough strange happenings! The vegetables are turning white. Is it a blight? Mrs. Monroe thinks so. Or is Bunnicula a vampire? Chester the cat is convinced. He and Harold come up with a plan to rid the family of the blood sucking (veggie juice really) little bunny.

I have to admit that when I read this book when I was little...........I was the itty bitty bittest convinced that this was a real story written by the dog. I was also a little afraid. The book is cute and not at all scary these days. It has a little vampire lore but not enough to freak anyone out. The animals are funny and the family is a nice sweet family all functioning fairly well in society............well except for the mom is a lawyer.

Since we read this as a family I will let my eight year old be the one to rate it.
Rating 5 She liked the vegetables turning white, the antics of the cat (frequently freaked out), and the dog trying to save the bunny.

Rating G

Fablehaven Rise of the Evening Star

Fablehaven Rise Of The Evening Star by Brandon Mull

This is the second by of Fablehaven. I think that we may have enjoyed this one even more than the first. The characters (Kendra and Seth) seemed better developed. Kendra didn't seem as flat to me. She was more mature. The opening of the book was something my kids and I both enjoyed. We felt like it was a much better intro. The book does follow the same pattern at the last, where there is a big 'OH NO!' sort of moment and then the children are left to once again rescue Fablehaven. The satyrs are still funny characters. The supporting cast is better. The magic and fantasy are better. The ending is a total set up for book 3.
I will give this book a 4. It was a great book but I'm not head over heels in love with it.
Also I still think it's a G. There are some scary moments but they didn't bother my three year old.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
A National Book Award Finalist

A very unique work of children's fiction. The book appears huge (533 pages) for children's lit. Once you open the book you realize nearly half of the book is dedicated to 284 pages of original drawing by the author. Also, many of the printed pages are not full pages so don't feel daunted.
The book is about an orphan, clock keeper turned theif out of necessity. Hugo (the child) lives in in Paris in the walls of a train station. He lost both of his parents and has been taken in by a drunken uncle. The uncle is the clock keeper for the train station. The uncle disappears one night, never to return. In an attempt to not be taken away and put in an orphanage Hugo begins tending the clocks so that the station inspector doesn't know that the uncle has gone missing. His father was a clock maker and between the uncle and father, Hugo is able to fix and keep the clocks running. Hugo's one passion is an automaton. A small man filled with tiny gears that is able to write or draw, once wound up. Hugo's father first found the automaton in the museum where he worked. The museum burned down, along with Mr. Cabret. Hugo recovered the automaton from the ashes of the museum. His only connection to his father and his previous life. His desperate attempt to fix the automaton and keep his father alive in memory leads Hugo on an amazing adventure.
A quote that I really liked from the book...."I like to imagine that the world is one big machine You know, machines never have any extra parts. They have the exact number and type of parts they need. So I figure if the entire world is a big machine, I have to be here for some reason. And that means you have to be here for some reason, too." Hugo is and his friend are wondering what their place in the world could be.
I am not a huge adventure fan. The drawings were wonderful and I am glad they took up so much of the book because I just wasn't into it. My 8 year old on the other hand......loved the book. It is a good book and I don't want to disuade anyone from picking it up. It is a great family book and a great book for young readers with a lot of illistrations to keep their interest piqued. The book has won awards and received great reviews. I have to say that part of that may be because of the amazing amount of pictures for a novel. I'm not sure what it was that made me not love it.
I rate the book a 3.5
Also the book is G

The Mysterious Benedict Society

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

This book makes it cool to be smart, Yay!! First off I want to say I had to be coerced a bit to read this book. I wanted to read it. It just wasn't an urgent want. So it took required reading (book club) to finally convince me to put aside everything else and pick this one up. Sounding a little lack luster, isn't it?
Reynie, Kate, Sticky and Constance are all orphans in some manner, that are brought together by answering a strange add in the newspaper. The add asks for gifted children looking for special opportunities. Each child is shear genius in one way or another. They come together and form the Mysterious Benedict Society. They have a secret mission, which as you journey on with them, you can also try to solve the puzzles put forth to the children. This was really fun. I have only read the very beginning to my kids and so far they love it. The characters become endearing rather quickly. The book is paced quickly enough and quirky enough to keep everyone's attention. It is a great read for a family, for 9 year olds and up (on their own) and for any adult.
I rate this book a 4. I wasn't in love with it. I didn't cry and didn't mull it over for very long after I finished it. There were some surprising moments and fun brainy puzzles. It is out of the ordinary and fun. I would surely give it a G also. Incredibly clean with no parts you will have to worry about for kids reading it on their own and no parts you will have to edit if reading aloud.

Fablehaven

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

This is a young adult/juvenile fiction book. I read it out loud to my four children (ages 8,6,3, baby......but he didn't listen, he just bit me until I paid attention to him)
The story is about a secret preserve which houses fairytale creatures. Awesome premise. The caretaker's grandchildren come to visit and eventually find out the secret. The grandchildren are Kendra and Seth. Kendra seemed a bit flat and Seth drove me nuts. He was the catalyst for most of the events, so I see that it was necessary that he was irritating and extremely disobedient. I felt like the book moved slowly at the beginning. This could have been because it did or because I was reading aloud and therefore could not read at my normal pace. Once it gets moving though, the book is truly magical. The children take part in fun, scary, wonderful, empowering experiences. There are fairies, magic milk, demons and other outrageous creatures.
I can see how the kids can really get into this. The story shows how powerful and brave one child (person) can be. This is a definite recommend for anyone. It is a fairly good read aloud book also.
I will rate Fabelhaven a 4. It was great at parts, and slow at the beginning. It is a definite G for language and such. Neither I or my children found it scary.........although for the tender and faint of heart, there is a festival night where scary things happen.