Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy HarperCollins, 2007 392 pages On the whole, I'm not much of a fantasy fan. I think Tolkien ruined the genre for me back in middle school, when I first read Lord of the Rings. After Tolkien, run-of-the-mill fantasy novels seemed so, well, run-of-the-mill: dry and derivative. There have been several … Continue reading Skulduggery Pleasant
Precocious Princesses: Rapunzel
This is the fourth post in my "Precocious Princesses" series, reviews of inspiring alternatives to traditional princess fairy tales. Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale, ill. by Nathan Hale Bloomsbury, 2008 144 pages For a princess story, the tale of Rapunzel is fairly subversive. To begin with, she's not actually a princess, or even … Continue reading Precocious Princesses: Rapunzel
When Mindy Saved Hanukkah
When Mindy Saved Hanukkah by Eric A. Kimmel; ill. by Barbara McClintock Scholastic Press, 1998 32 pages Courage is a difficult, even counterintuitive, quality to cultivate in our children. By definition, it requires direct exposure to danger or adversity--the very kinds of circumstances from which we try to protect our kids. And when dealing with … Continue reading When Mindy Saved Hanukkah
Read Like a Girl 