Review: Bone #3 Eyes of the Storm

In Brief:

Bone #3 picks up the story and the excitement again that was left in Bone # 1. We have some exciting plot twists and strong subplots that develop the characters of Thorn and Gran'ma Ben. There are also a few laugh out loud moments.

Areas of Contention:

-Showy pictures of Thorn: Her dress is sometimes has trouble covering her completely, at the beginning too low at the top, later, so short that it is more of a shirt. Fone Bone tries to write her a love poem and wants to find something to rhyme with "smooth brown thighs."

-Scenes in the bar: depictions of drinking, no characters get drunk.

-Inappropriate Language: Lucius says "You two better not crap around like this th' whole way to Barrelhaven"

Review of "Because of Winn-Dixie"

This is a heart-warming read with short, quick chapters. Each of the  mini-chapters holds a small episode so that the story moves along quickly and enjoyably with every sitting.

Opal, the main character, is an endearing protagonist who asks honest questions about life's difficult situations. Her mother is an alcoholic who has abandoned her and her father, who is a preacher. Though this story is about loss and "letting go"--it is exactly this "letting go" that leads the characters to acceptance and to rediscovering hope.

The other characters are sketched as tongue-in-cheek caricatures: for example her father "the preacher" is often referred to as a "turtle" who "likes to hide in his shell." These characterizations reflect young Opal's impressions of people: "pinched-face Amanda" soon becomes "less pinch-faced" as Opal comes to sympathize with her.

With the help of the dog Winn-Dixie, Opal makes friends with secluded people and draws other characters, who once appeared snobbish or bullied her, into her circle of friends. It's a lesson about people's first impressions as much as it is about finding compassion for them once we get to know them.

There are so many things that I liked about this story, but the main reason why it touched me was that it shows that happiness and sadness can live together. They can be all mixed together and tasting sweet, just like a Littmus Lozenge.

Children will enjoy the caricature-characters, the silly Winn-Dixie, the quick pace of the plot, and of course, the ending.

This book would appeal to readers aged 9-13 for girls, and 9-11 for boys, especially if it is read out loud.

Kate DiCamillo is also the author of The Tale of Desperaux and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.

Review of Bone # 2 : "The Great Cow Race"

The first book of this series, Out From Boneville, which I reviewed recently, was a fast-paced, exciting read with lots of action and intriguing plot lines. In comparison, "The Great Cow Race" runs at a turtle's pace and allows little plot surprise.

The story is good enough for mild entertainment, and keeps readers interested in continuing the series, which I certainly was. I think my students approach it like another episode in a TV series, it just moves the whole plot forward, slightly.

As for plot content:

- Phoney Bone tricks all the villagers into placing a false bet on a "mystery cow" so that he can make great wins at the town cow race. He gets his due reward by losing heavily and being kicked out of the town.

-Fone Bone continues to be in love with Thorn, and begins writing her love poetry.

Mature aspects:

-Thorn flirts with a young man who is more interested in showing off his muscles than wearing a shirt. He eventually brushes Thorn aside for another girl. The scenes are very mild, and meant to be slightly humorous. (Fone Bone is compared to the young, muscular man).

-Other parents have complained that some characters are smoking in the story (the dragon smokes a cigar), that some scenes occur in a bar, and that characters engage in gambling. My response is that the main characters, Fone and Thorn, do not engage in these activities. In some ways, the dragon "smoking" is meant to be an off-hand joke. The scenes that occur in the bar are contextual; there are no restaurants in Boneville, and the main characters--Fone and Thorn--are shown eating and drinking tea. Phoney Bone's gambling always proves itself disastrous, so its presence is more moral than than condoning.

My only true complaint with the series so far are the subtle sexual innuendos, the suggestion of Thorn being attractive because of her sexual appeal. I think the flashes of too much skin takes away from her strength of character and demeans her. It would be better if (boys) reading the story could admire her for her.
  

Review Bone # 1 : Out From Boneville

"Bone: Out From Boneville" was a quick and easy read that had an amusing plot line and great graphics.

This series is extremely popular with my elementary aged students, especially G. 2-7 boys,  some girls are also interested in the series. Its popularity stands next to the Amulet series, which has more female followers.

I liked all the characters, especially the moral "Fone Bone", who is the main character. He plays foil to his friends Smiley Bone and Phoney Bone, who are often up to no good.

What is he? That was also a question I had in mind. Jeff Smith originally drew his characters with a telephone receiver as reference. These eventually developed into the
"bones" we see today. Though exactly what they are is not really relevant.

My main hesitation with the story is Fone Bone's romantic interest in Thorn, a human girl. There are several showy images of her legs, and one a slight show of her breasts, as her clothes are titillatingly ripped off by rat creatures. At another moment, she invites Fone Bone to go bathing with her and it's implied that she is naked, but he willingly jumps into the pond with her and swallows the soap. It's a little bit weird, but it's meant to come off as funny because he is well, a small strange creature, and she is a regular human being. There is one image that is too showy, though, in my opinion, and it almost makes me hesitate to recommend the book to young boys because of the focus on Thorn's body.  

The evil rat creatures are frightening looking, but their funny dialogue off-sets their grotesque appearance, making them seem mostly ridiculous.

All in all, I enjoyed it. It's unfortunate for the one image, or else I would wholeheartedly recommend it.

Review: Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief

I just finished reading my first book from the Percy Jackson series. Entertaining at times, predictable at most (from an adult's perspective), but it's definitely an accessible read for G.5-9 readers.

Great issues dealt with: ADHD, dyslexia. The main character has these disabilities, and although they do provide some difficulty for him in succeeding with his mission, they don't impede him, or let him feel like he is not good enough to complete the task.

Not so great issues dealt with: marital problems. Although I can imagine a G. 5-9 reader would skip over this part, Percy's mother's relationship with "Smelly Gabe" is dysfunctional and unconvincing. The argument is that she must live with "Smelly Gabe" in order to protect Percy from being detected by monsters. But I think the real reason is entertainment value; Gabe is basically a comical relief punching bag. Percy's mother "kills" him in the end, though a close reader might miss this (she petrifies him by showing him Medusa's head). Problematic on some levels.

Writing Style is quick, focused, witty, and fast-paced. The plot was forgivingly predictable because I was not bored as I was reading, even though I knew what was going to happen. The characters are well-developed and Percy is so well-shaped I felt like I could meet him.

Thematic issues: to present the Greek gods as gods, Riordan had to come up with some clever ways of incorporating them into our Western culture, while remaining politically correct. The Greek religion is presented as something "older" than Christianity (he compares the Greek sign to the sign of the cross). The Greek religion does, however, supersede Christianity since Percy prays only to his father-greek god for help.

When the main characters arrive in the underworld, Percy expects to find the pearly gates, but the underworld looks more like "a cross between airport security and the Jersey Turnpike." As a Christian reader, I always hesitate about any re-interpretation of the Greek underworld. Objectively, it is simply not heaven, and cannot be since it is ruled by Hades, who is generally described as evil, and not God, who is good. So it is difficult to attempt to compromise, as Riordan does, the two world views. But he manages to find a way:

"But if he's a preacher," I said, "and he believes in a dif-ferent hell... ."
 Grover shrugged. "Who says he's seeing this place the way we're seeing it? Humans see what they want to see. You're very stubborn—er, persistent, that way."

The answer is that some humans "see" a different heaven or hell according to their beliefs. In this way, Riordan accommodates all worldviews of the underworld. All, except, those who disagree with relativism (which is everyone who has a belief).

My feelings about the book are mixed, but I will keep it on the shelf. It's a fun adventure that is engaging, imaginative, and fun to read. It doesn't offer much more than that in terms of life lessons or virtues.


Favourite quote:

"The River Styx," Annabeth murmured. "It's so ..."
 "Polluted," Charon said. "For thousands of years, you humans have been throwing in everything as you come across—hopes, dreams, wishes that never came true. Irresponsible waste management, if you ask me."

Storybooks about Art and Artists

Laurence Anholt's picture book series, "Anholt Artists," tells the stories of art and artists from a child's perspective. In his "The Magical Garden of Claude Monet", we follow Julie as she visits Monet's enchanting garden. The story is based off a real Julie who frequently visited with her dog, "Louie." 

Julie was the daughter of great impressionist Berthe Morisot, and niece of Edouard Manet. And her pet dog was a gift from another famous impressionist, Renoir.

The illustrations of the book mix interpretations of scences from Monet's life, with real presentations of his paintings. There is one spectacular fold-out centre-piece that depicts Monet's lily pond--it garnered a real wow from the students!

Check out the other books in the series:

Leonardo Da Vinci

Edgar Degas

Pablo Picasso

Vincent Van Gogh

Anholt Artists website: http://www.anholt.co.uk/anholts-artists/

Books for Easter

A recent article in Maclean's confirmed for me the need to read religious and spiritual books to children. In "The Science is in: God is the Answer" Brian Bethune and Genna Buck cite a study that claims children (whether atheist or religious) feel a need to belong to something larger than themselves. A spiritual connection helps children through the tougher times of life, that is, adolescence! They claim adolescent teens are more at risk for depression than other demographics.

Long story short: if you are Christian, take advantage of Easter to read some Christian texts. Kids love bible stories. 

Here are some favourites:

K-2 Reading level

These are simple, quick bible stories that are written in an engaging way.

There is dialogue and lots of action!

Boys really like stories about the Old Testament. They couldn't believe the story about Daniel in the Lions' Den and were eager to take out the book.

This is a great Easter fable that follows the story of Simon of Cyrene.

G. 1-3

This one is not specifically Christian, but it has a great message of stewardship and generosity.

Also, beautiful images by Patricia Polacco!

G. 3-4