Bloggin 'Bout Books Blog

The Dragons of Blueland by Ruth Stiles Gannett  is the last book in the My Father's Dragon trilogy. This book follows the newly released baby dragon home where he finds that his parents and siblings have been backed into a cave by some human hunters. Boris (YES THE BABY DRAGON'S NAME IS BORIS. I might have squealed a little bit by how cute that was when I read it) returns to his friend Elmer to get help in releasing his family. I loved this series. It's quick but delightful. Elmer is inventive and caring and a great role model for kids. I can definitely see myself reading this to any future children in my own life. I'm keeping my entire set of the series. Middle Grade March Count: 19 Prequels and Sequel challenge: +2 and +10 for completing a series = 32 points total! Who was Ferdinand Magellan by Sydelle Kramer  is an excellent middle grade biography. It follows Ferdinand Magellan's life from birth to death, although it primarily focuses on hi...

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren is an adventure from beginning to end. Pippi might be an orphan with no respect for proper civilization, but I think she's a fantastic role model. The book follows Pippi and her next-door neighbor and friends Tommy and Annika through Pippi moving in, trying to attend school, an visiting the circus amongst other events. Pippi was raised on a ship with her father, but after he was blown overboard during a storm she goes to Villa Villekulla (the house her father had bought for them) to wait for her father's return. She's convinced that he managed to find an island and become king of the cannibals that live there. As soon as he has built a ship, he'll come home. Pippi is perpetually optimistic. She just wants to have fun. And the adults and children around her don't always understand that. But really when you're an orphan, there seems to be two ways you can go. Either you become optimistic and look at life as an adventur...

Hello Lovelies! I got really ridiculously behind on my reviews and since my reviews have been fairly short this month (can't make the review longer than the book!! :D ), I decided I wanted to just review the five that I'm behind on in one big swoop. I might also be a little ( teensy ) bit lazy, and it's way easier to format this way. So here goes! The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo  is the story of a boy filled with sadness and a girl filled with anger. It's the story of a freedom plot and a rebellion. It's a moving story packed into just 116 pages. I can definitely understand why it was a National Book Award Finalist. I just continue to love and be moved by DiCamillo's writing. She wrings emotions out of the sparsest phrases. I really think this was her most compact novel, I've read so far, even though it's aimed at the higher end of middle grade (honestly more toward the young adult level but it says ages 10 and up). The simplicity is astou...

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo is a heart-wrenching tale of love and mistakes and regret camouflaged as a middle grade novel. I loved DiCamillo's Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and I loved Tale of Despereaux. They're both clearly by the same author but Despereaux is written a bit differently as the whole story is directed to the Reader. I really appreciated this technique as it gave the whole novel a Jane Austenian flare. From the outside the story sounds incredibly silly: a mouse falls in love with a human and is sent to his death but instead escapes to rescue the human? Silly. Appropriate only for those who still believe in miracles and mysterious creatures who bring presents to your house. But DiCamillo's anthropomorphism of animals is incredible. Despereaux becomes real. Even though he's clearly still written as a mouse, it's possible to suspend disbelief and really believe that all mice can talk and think and feel as clearly as humans do. A...

The Apothecary by Maile Meloy is a great historical fiction for middle grade readers. I was originally intrigued by The Apothecary because Maile Meloy is somewhat local to me. However, The Apothecary is a truly entertaining read. Janie Scott is the protagonist of the series: a fourteen year old girl who's just been forced to move from Los Angeles to London by her parents who have been accused of being communists. The story is set in 1952 so being accused of Communism is a huge deal. Janie tries to adjust to life in London, but almost right away, she's drawn into a plot surrounding spies and alchemy. The romance subplot seems sort of unnecessary. It seems like the romance is only there to give a reason behind Janie's actions which could have been explained through simple curiosity almost just as easily. Overall, The Apothecary is well-worth the read. And I'll keep my eye out for the sequel. Favorite Quote: To be a kid is to be invisible and to listen, and to i...