The Black Cauldron

Do you remember those books—one of the earliest fantasy series for kids?

Written by Lloyd Alexander, they are excellent. So, so, so good. Shames just devoured all series. The High King was his favorite, followed by the Black Cauldron. We're going to feed them to Shaemus next. They're so well written, I wouldn't object to the girls reading them for school either.

Do your kids love Harry Potter? Read the Book of Three aloud to them so they're hooked (or get the audio version—it's very good), then hand them the Black Cauldron, and you've got a new series to hook them on! There's even a Black Cauldron movie as a reward (though it's pretty terrible!!!)

Centerburg Tales, Dear Homer

This is a little shout out to some classic books you may have forgotten about:

Shaemus just read these, and, holy cow, he loved them. There is no real plot, just stories about a real boy doing crazy things, living in a town with crazy people. McCloskey's Centerburg is not exactly believable, and yet it perfectly is. 

Wonderful!

Ages 8 and up. 

Justin Case: School, Drool, and Other Daily Disasters

Perfect book for your reluctant reader. Perfect book for your not so reluctant reader. And the sequels are just as delightful (and slightly pathetic).

Don't miss Justin Case!

Ages 8 and up.

It’s the start of the school year, and nothing feels right to Justin. He didn’t get the teacher he wanted, he’s not in the same class as his best friend, and his little sister, Elizabeth, is starting kindergarten at his school. Elizabeth doesn’t seem nervous at all. Justin is very nervous about third grade. And to top it off, he’s lost his favorite stuffed animal, but he can’t tell anyone, because technically he’s too old to still have stuffed animals. Right?

 

Here is third grade in all its complicated glory—the friendships, the fears, and the advanced math. Acclaimed author Rachel Vail captures third grade with a perfect pitch, and Matthew Cordell’s line art is both humorous and touching. As Justin bravely tries to step out of his shell, he will step into readers’ hearts.

 

Justin Case is a 2011 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

The Grimm Conclusion (on tape)

These books are not for the faint of heart. But they are well-written, interesting, full of fairytales and funny.

We love the audio books of these stories. I cannot tell you how many times I've come downstairs to find my kids sitting around the computer, listening to this book on tape and laughing hysterically all together. The narrator is brilliant. Perfect for long car rides!

Ages 8 and up.

Once upon a time, fairy tales were grim.

Cinderella’s stepsisters got their eyes pecked out by birds.

Rumpelstiltskin ripped himself in half.

And in a tale called “The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage,” a mouse, a bird, and a sausage all talk to each other. Yes, the sausage talks. (Okay, I guess that one’s not that grim…)

Those are the real fairy tales.

But they have nothing on the story I’m about to tell.

This is the darkest fairy tale of all. Also, it is the weirdest. And the bloodiest.

It is the grimmest tale I have ever heard.

And I am sharing it with you.

Two children venture through forests, flee kingdoms, face ogres and demons and monsters, and, ultimately, find their way home. Oh yes, and they may die. Just once or twice.

That’s right. Fairy tales
Are
Awesome.   

Thicker Than Water

So this is book two in a series. I didn't know this when I checked it out from the library for Shaemus. He didn't realize it until he was nearly done with it and he immediately asked I find book one for him.

He's loving it.

Here's his quote:

"It's about spies. They're trying to get this mind-control thingy before this spy company called Lotus, and the people in the S.P.I.E.S. thing are teenage kids. They're orphans at Merry Sunshine Orphanage. The main character is called Max and he has a friend called Wyatt and it's really exciting. Whoever steals it first wins. You should check it out."

Ages 8 and up.

Just when Max Segredo learned that his father is still alive, he also learned that Simon Segredo was working for LOTUS, an evil spy operation that wants to take down the Merry Sunshine Orphanage (a.k.a. the School for S.P.I.E.S.) and take over the world. Now Simon is on the run from LOTUS, and Max's surrogate family at the orphange is being threatened from without and within. LOTUS is trying to drive the school out of business, while the Ministry of Health is investigating an anonymous complaint about the orphanage.To top it all off, the trainee spies are riddled by fear and squabbling among themselves.

The Great Brain

Shaemus has discovered the Great Brain series and has gone quite nuts over them. Perfect for kids eight and up or younger for read-alouds. These sorts of funny adventures cannot be beat!

Cold Fusion

That's right, you read the title right. Cold Fusion. This is a completely absurd fact book about Cold Fusion written by the fabulous team at The Haggis-On-Whey World of Unbelievable Brilliance. This book makes no sense. There is a timeline of the history of cold fusion followed by a timeline of timelines.

Read the description below and you'll get a good idea of exactly what this book is about. Sort of.

Ages 8 and up.  (Forgive the terrible picture—check this out for yourself on Amazon)

From Amazon:

For many years the scientific and educational communities have wondered and worried about the possibility that semi-sane scholar-pretenders would find the means to publish a series of reference books aimed at children but filled with ludicrous misinformation. These books would be distributed through respectable channels and would inevitably find their way into the hands and households of well-meaning families, who would go to them for facts but instead find bizarre untruths. The books would look normal enough but would read as if written by people who should not have written them. Sadly, that day is upon us. The fourth book in the HOW series, Cold Fusion, is to be feared. Like its predecessors, Giraffes? Giraffes! and Animals of the Ocean, Cold Fusion must also be kept far from the young people in your life. This book reveals the secrets of cold fusion, one of the most controversial scientific pursuits that can be conducted in a bathtub.

Far Flung Adventures of Fergus Crane

I will just say that Calvin devoured this book. Devoured. Loved it. Excellent adventure. Fabulous pictures. Get it!!!

(I wish you could see this picture closer so you could really get a good look at these awesome illustrations...)

Ages 8 and up.

From Amazon:

Fergus Crane has an almost ordinary life—attending school on the ship Betty Jeanne and helping his mother in the bakery. But then a winged mechanical horse appears and whisks Fergus off to meet his long-lost uncle. Not only that, he finds out that his teachers are not what they seem—they're actually pirates! Can Fergus save his schoolmates from the far-off Fire Island? Perfect for 8- to 12-year-old readers, this is a deliciously accessible story.

"Part Dickensian comedy, part pirate adventure."--Publishers Weekly

Infinity and Me

Have you ever thought about infinity? I just watched this (rather confusing but very interesting) TED talk about language acquisition. It was awesome. In order to acquire anything, we need to have whatever is being taught brought down to our level (not below, just to the right level!). This concept—infinity—is brought to my level and to the level of most children in this awesome picture book! 

Ages 8 and up.

When I looked up, I shivered. How many stars were in the sky? A million? A billion? Maybe the number was as big as infinity. I started to feel very, very small. How could I even think about something as big as infinity? Uma can't help feeling small when she peers up at the night sky. She begins to wonder about infinity. Is infinity a number that grows forever? Is it an endless racetrack? Could infinity be in an ice cream cone? Uma soon finds that the ways to think about this big idea may just be . . . infinite.

The Six Crowns

Whew, do my boys (both of them!) love these books.

But I think they cross gender lines if you have a daughter that loves fantasy and animals. 

Definitely worth trying—even for reluctant readers. Heavily illustrated, these novels are short, easy reads that some kids will devour in a week. Maybe even in one long rainy-day sitting!

Ages 8 and up.

From Amazon:

Hedgehogs Trundle Boldoak and Princess Esmerelda and squirrel Jack Nimble continue their quest in Sargasso Skies, the fifth book in the series. To find the Crown of Wood, they’ll have to navigate a treacherous skyreef. And they’ll have to elude Captain Grizzlewald, a hog who leads a band of bloodthirsty pirates and is desperate to find the crowns of the Badger Lords himself.

The Six Crowns books, a funny fantasy-adventure series for tweens, will appeal to fans of the Geronimo Stilton and the Kingdom of Fantasy books.

The Constellation Orion: The Story of the Hunter

I found this new series at the library. Love it. The stories of the constellations!!! Check these books out and go outside and stargaze with your kids. You can sound intelligent (if they don't know you read these books first), or you can teach them the beauty of non-fiction—learning things and putting that learning to use!

Ages 8 and up.

From Amazon:
These volumes provide both astronomy and mythology lessons in one very attractive package and are sure to be popular with young stargazers. Each of the books discusses a major constellation's origin and mythology story, compares its presence in other cultures around the world, and explains how to locate it in the night sky. Sidebars provided additional facts (e.g., "The largest star that astronomers know of is VY Can Majoris"). Using crisp images and a pleasing combination of accent colors, this set is sure to attract student researchers as well as educators and parents looking for engaging read-aloud nonfiction. 

Fortunately, the Milk

This book is really, really, really funny. The pictures are really, really, really awesome. Everyone should read this book because it is really, really, really short, and why not. 

We all loved it. 

Ages eight and up.

From Amazon:
A little boy and his little sister awake one morning, milkless. Their mother is away on business, their father is buried in the paper, and their Toastios are dry. What are young siblings to do? They impress upon their father that his tea is also without milk and sit back to watch their plan take effect. But something goes amiss, and their father doesn’t return and doesn’t return some more. When he does, finally, he has a story to tell, a story involving aliens; pirates; ponies; wumpires (not the handsome, brooding kind); and a stegosaurus professor who pilots a Floaty-Ball-Person-Carrier (which looks suspiciously like a hot-air balloon). There is time travel, treachery, and ample adventure, and, fortunately, the milk he has procured is rescued at every turn. Gaiman’s oversize, tongue-in-cheek narrative twists about like the impromptu nonsense it is, with quick turns, speed bumps, and one go-for-broke dairy deus ex machina. Young fills the pages with sketchy, highly stylized images, stretched and pointy, bringing the crazed imaginations to life with irrepressible energy. Children will devour this one, with or without milk.

Seven Wild Sisters: A Modern Fairy Tale

This book is strange. It's full of wisdom and mythology and fairies. The illustrations are so gorgeous, they're worth getting the book for alone, but the story had me hooked, as did the beautiful writing. Plus I love the story of the six swans, which this book is based on.

If you have a child who loves fantasy or fairies or just unusual stories, pick this one up.

Ages 8 and up.

From Amazon:

When it comes to fairies, Sarah Jane Dillard must be careful what she wishes for. She may have thought she wanted to meet the fairies of the Tanglewood Forest, but that was before she knew the truth about them. When Sarah Jane discovers a tiny man wounded by a cluster of miniature poison arrows, she brings him to the reclusive Aunt Lillian for help. But the two quickly find themselves ensnared in a longtime war between rival fairy clans, and Sarah Jane's six sisters have been kidnapped to use as ransom. Her only choice is to go after them, and with the help of several mythical friends--from the Apple Tree Man to a cat called Li'l Pater--she'll have to find a way to untangle herself from the fairy feud before she and her sisters are trapped in their world forever.

Girls Rule! and Boys Rock!

My kids love these books. They're old, and probably forgotten by many, so I thought I'd remind you all that these are great books for kids Grade 2 and up. I'll even catch my sixth-grader whipping one of these out when she's low on time and wants something to read. (Okay, when she's going to the bathroom.)

It's Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Boy/Girl Battle series. Good for both boys and girls. I promise. And I don't mean to imply anything by the larger Boys Rock picture. It's how Amazon gave it to me, so blame Amazon (I certainly do because they just started charging sales tax in North Carolina as of February 1st!).

Jinx's Magic

In just a few days the sequel to my favorite book of 2013 comes out.

I got to read it ahead of time! And the sequel is better than the first. Okay, maybe not better, but just as good. I can't really compare. But read it. Read it!!!

The second book in the highly acclaimed fantasy adventure series set in a mysterious forest starring Jinx, a daring new hero.

"Readers will thrill to journey with Jinx" (Jinx, SLJ, starred review), a wizard's apprentice, as he travels to an unfamiliar new land in search of the ancient magic that might help him unite the Urwald and defeat the threats that come from the kingdoms on all sides.

This humorous and smart tween fantasy adventure is perfect for fans of Septimus Heap, the Sisters Grimm, and Fablehaven.

Ages 8 and up.