Book 12: The Magician's Nephew

The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis is book 1 of the Chronicles of Narnia series.  Digory and Polly accidentally find themselves in the study of Digory's eccentric Uncle Andrew, who fancies himself a great magician.  He gives Polly a magic ring, and she instantly disappears.  Digory is horrified both at her disappearance and at the fact that Uncle Andrew had deliberately tricked her, but he sees no other option than to take another set of the rings and go after Polly.  They find themselves in a quiet wood, which contains many ponds that are gateways into different worlds, so they mark the pool that leads to their own world and try exploring another one.  The new world contains a very large, red sun and the ruins of an ancient city.  In one room, they come across a series of what appear to be wax figures and a table with a bell and hammer.  On striking the bell, Digory wakes up the tallest and fiercest looking female, a witch who had once been queen of the world but had destroyed every living thing rather than allow her sister to take the throne.  Digory and Polly try to get away, but the witch grabs onto Polly and returns with them back to London where she creates plenty of trouble despite the fact that her magic no longer works.  In trying to return the witch to her own world, Polly and Digory accidentally bring along Uncle Andrew, a cabby, and his horse but instead of ending up in Charn they find themselves in the land of Narnia at its moment of creation by the song of the lion Aslan.  Since Digory is responsible for bringing the evil witch into the land, Aslan sends him to fetch an apple from a very special tree that when planted will protect the land from the witch for many years to come.  On reaching the garden, Digory again encounters the witch, who tempts him to take the fruit back into his own world to heal his mother, who is dying. 

An excellent book that I would consider a must read classic for all ages.  It is written at a reading level of age 8 and up.  My library also has the books themselves on tape as well as dramatized radio versions of the series, which my kids have enjoyed from as young as 4 years old or so.

Book 11: The Children of Green Knowe

The Children of Green Knowe by Boston is an interesting children's book set in the English countryside.  Young Toseland is invited to spend his Christmas holidays with his maternal grandmother in her castle home called Green Knowe.  As most boys would naturally do, Toseland spends part of his time exploring the house, the stables, and the grounds of the property; but he is most interested in a portrait hanging in the main room of a grandmother, mother, and three children (two boys and a girl) who had lived in the home during the 17th century and died from the Black Plague.  During the evenings, his grandmother tells him stories about each of the children.  Tolly soon finds out that the children still love to come to Green Knowe as he hears their laughter, spies them in a mirror, and finds them surrounded by their animal friends once morning under a snow covered tree.

I read this one aloud to my 8yo DS.  To be honest neither of us cared much for the idea of the ghosts of the children still playing at Green Knowe.  The stories about the children are quite interesting and are probably the most interesting part of the book.  It was a nice story, but not a favorite at least for us.

Book 10 - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

It's been years since I'd read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Twain, so I decided I'd better give it a quick reread before discussing it with my 11yo DD.

Tom Sawyer is a mischievous boy being raised by his aunt in a Mississippi River town.  He's the typical rough and tumble adventurous type who would rather be in the woods than in school, can lick every boy in town, and is looked up to as a natural leader.  He convinces the neighborhood boys to part with their "treasures" in order to whitewash his aunt's fence for him and trades his gains for enough Sunday school tickets to earn a Bible without suffering the hassle of memorizing all the Scripture verses normally required.  After Becky, the girl he likes, gets angry with him, he decides to run away to a nearby island with two other boys to play pirates for a few days.  They return just in time for their own funeral.  Still Tom also has a more noble side with a strong conscious as well.  He takes the blame and the accompanying whipping from the schoolteacher in place of Becky after she accidentally rips a page in the teacher's book, and he saves the life of Muff Potter by taking the stand to explain that the murder he was accused of was actually committed by Injun Joe.  He and Huck Finn make their fortune finding a treasure chest that Injun Joe had discovered and taken from an abandoned house, and afterwards Tom convinces Huck that he should return to the widow's house to live where he is well taken care of in order to be part of Tom's gang of gentlemen robbers.

This is definitely a must read classic tale of fun for ages 10 and up (although I might wait an extra year or so for my mischievous boys so that they don't pick up any new ideas).

Book 9: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Fleming is the delightful tale of the adventures of the Pott family and their very unique car.  Commander Pott is an explorer and an inventor.  After creating a candy that can also act as a whistle, he and his family take the money and go hunting for an unique car with a license plate that reads gen ii.  They find finally come across the perfect car, and the commander closets himself in his workshop to restore the car and unveils the finished product to his family after a great deal of work.  They christen the car Chitty Chitty Bang Bang after the distinct sounds that is makes upon starting and head out one hot summer day toward the beach.  As expected the traffic is horrendous and the family despairs of reaching there destination when sending the words pull down light up for one of the many knobs that the commander has not yet identified.  Moments later with newly spread wings, the family is airborne.  Since the beaches are too crowded, they head out over the channel to picnic on a sandbar that lies uncovered during low tide.  As the tide approaches, the family piles back in the car where a new knob flashes, and they soon find themselves skimming over the surface of the English channel.  The commander announces that they are heading to France in search of adventure, but the strong current carries them to the cliffs of France.  After hunting along the shore, they discover a cave in the cliffs, which they follow and discover to be the secret weapons storehouse of the infamous criminal Joe the Monster, who is none to pleased to catch them blowing up his cave.  Joe kidnaps the children while their parents are asleep, and it is up to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to save them.

My 8 year old and I both enjoyed this book as a read aloud.  I would recommend it for ages 7 and up.

Book 8 - Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist by Dickens is the classic tale of the ever changing fortunes of a young orphan in Victorian England.  Young Oliver is born in a poor house.  His mother dies shortly after his birth and his father is unknown.  The only clues to his identity, a locket and a ring, are stolen from his mother by the woman who acted as midwife.  He is sent to a poor home for orphans where food is scarce and neglect is the norm with the money that is supposed to be used to feed the young orphans being largely pocketed by the woman in charge.  Oliver manages to survive and is taken to another home for older boys where he is nominated to take his supper bowl up and ask for seconds.  This scandalous behavior gets him branded as a troublemaker, and he is eventually apprenticed to a coffin maker to keep the other boys from being harmed by his bad influence.  He runs away to London and is taken in by a devious Jew, who is involved in numerous criminal pursuits.  He is wrongly accused of pickpocketing and is taken in and cared for by an older gentleman named Brownlow, who is astonished by his resemblance to the picture of a young woman that hands in his housekeeper's quarters.  Unfortunately the Jew contrives to have Oliver kidnapped and then sends him out with a man named Sikes to assist in burglarizing a house.  Oliver determines to warn the inhabitants, but before he has a chance is shot by the butler and eventually abandoned in a ditch by Sikes and his accomplice.  Oliver manages to return to the house where he is taken in and care for by the two ladies who live there.  Eventually he is reunited with Brownlow, who is endeavouring to uncover his true identity by apprehending the mysterious man named Monks who is at the same time attempting to locate and destroy all evidence to Oliver's identity. 

I have to confess that the book is extremely depressing up to the point at which Oliver is shot and taken in, but if you can persevere to that point, the tale becomes far less depressing and much more engrossing.  In the end, I actually enjoyed the story overall and will probably reread it again at some point in the future.  I would recommend the book for ages 13 at least and over.  It's probably more of a high school or adult level book.

Book 7 - The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan attempts to merge ancient Greek mythology with the modern world.  Young Percy (Perseus) Jackson has never really fit in anywhere and has bounced around from school to school.  One day at 12, he was sure that his math teacher turned into a monster which he slayed with a pen given to him by his Latin teacher that turned into a sword when uncapped; however, nobody else seemed to believe.  When his mom finds out about the teacher and the three strange old ladies he saw by a fruit stand (the Fates), they jump into the car with his friend Grover, the satyr, and try to get to Camp Half Blood before being overtaken by the minotaur.  They almost make it, but Percy's mom is lost in a flash of gold and an infuriated Percy turns on the minotaur and destroys him.  Once in camp, Percy learns that he is a half-blood, a demigod, whose father turns out to be Poseidon, god of the sea.  The wacky weather that has been plaguing New York is the result of Zeus' anger over the theft of his master bolt, which he is sure that Percy stole for his father Poseidon.  Percy and his two friends have ten days to journey to the Underworld where bolt is believed to be and return it to its rightful owner without getting themselves killed by all of the monsters that will come after them along the way.

I have mixed feeling about this particular book.  I love the concept because I love Greek mythology.  The book is certainly packed with action (some of which is a little predictable) but still enjoyable.  However, I honestly hate the author's choice of narrator.  Having Percy narrating the story in the first person nearly made me give up after the first couple of chapters.  It makes the descriptions sparse and lacking and results in a writing style that is juvenile and annoying at times.  The plot reads more like an action movie jumping from one problem to the next.  As pure entertainment, if you can get past its narration style, it's a fun way to pass an afternoon or two.  I enjoyed it enough to place a hold on the next book in the series, but I'm holding off on passing it on to my kids at this point until I see how the main character develops over the next few books.

Book 6 - Children of the New Forest

In the days when Oliver Cromwell defeated the king of England, the Beverley children are living at their late father's home with only an elderly aunt and a few servants.  Then after the king escapes, a group of Roundheads decided to burn their home to the ground to see if the king is hidden there.  An old woodsman named Jacob, who was a loyal servant of their father, takes the children to his forest home in order to keep his promise to protect them.  There they must learn to hunt, farm, cook, and do all the other basic tasks to take care of each other.  Eventually Edward joins the brief, unsuccessful attempt by the king to regain power and makes friends with a pair of Cavaliers, one of whom suggests that his sisters would be better off being raised by his aunts in a way that better fits their status.  This frees Edward to join the king in France, while his industrious brother Humphrey stays behind to manage the farm and keep an eye on their old property as they must patiently wait for the restoration of the king to power before they can regain their status once more.

I thoroughly enjoyed Children of the New Forest by Marryat and would heartily recommend it for ages 10 and up.  The characters are well developed.  The plot is full of twists and turns of fate, and for those reading with children, it is brimming with topics for discussion.  It is available for Kindle download free from Amazon.