VVMBookBlog

Bert and Will are the twin sons of the baron of Ambercrest, born many years after the events surrounding the Snow White and Seven Dwarfs story.  The two boys get into trouble often, usually because of Bert who is the braver and more mischievous of the twins.  When their antics become too much for their father, the baron, he decides to separate them for the summer and send Will off to his Uncle Hugh at The Crags, a more rustic castle in the north.

Bert knows this move will be hard on the more timid Will, so the two boys switch identities and Bert soon finds himself exploring the mysteries of The Crags, leaving Will back at home.  One of these mysteries is a secret passage leading from his room to an enchanted mirror (remember Snow White?) that is ready to satisfy all his wishes.  Or is it?

Read The Mirror’s Tale, a 2008 Maud Hart Lovelace book, to find out the story about this magical mirror and what happened to the Seven Dwarfs, called Dwergh in this story, in the years after Snow White is rescued.

I wasn’t sure about this book because I thought it was going to be like Goose Girl, also by this author, and Goose Girl just got a little long for me.  But, it’s very different!  It’s based on a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm called Maid Maleen, but the story is placed in a setting like today’s Mongolia, a central Asian country located in the mountains and steppes between Russia and China.

Lady Saren, a young girl from a wealthy family, is in love with Khan Tegus from another realm, but her father has promised her to evil Lord Khasar in a marriage for his political gain.  When Lady Saren refuses go with Lord Khasar, her father condemns her to 7 years locked inside a brick tower.  Fortunately for Lady Saren, shortly before being sentenced to the tower, orphaned “mucker” Dashti has come into the village seeking employment and ends up as Lady Saren’s maid.  So they go to the tower together, along with 7 years of food and water.

Of course, things don’t go well in the tower.  Lady Saren gets depressed (who wouldn’t?), the food starts to rot, and then the rats come!  Their only access to the outside world is a 6-inch square through which fresh milk and “waste products” can be passed in and out.  And…visitors can communicate with them, including both Lord Khasar and Khan Tegus.  But what do they have to say and who does the talking back to them–Lady Saren or Dashti?

Without telling too much of the story, I’ll say that they do get out of the tower before the 7 years are up, but that’s when another whole story begins–and I had to read it to the end!  Animals with special powers, people with weird powers, kingdoms at war, and of course, a fairy tale romance.  Great story!!

I know, what took me so long?? I should have read this LONG ago. But, I didn’t and now I did and I can see why lots of students like it…and all the books that come after it. And, it’s one of the 12 books on the new 2008 Maud Hart Lovelace list!

Percy Jackson (Perseus?) is in 6th grade and has always had trouble in school. He’s dyslexic and has ADHD, and his behavior problems have caused him to be bounced around 6 different schools in 6 years. But then something happens on a field trip to an art museum in New York City. An incident there leads to him being expelled and ultimately finding out that some of his teachers weren’t human at all but other-worldly beings that, up to now, he only knew as mythological beings.

It’s finally at Half Blood Camp, after escaping the minotaur in a battle that might mean the end of his beloved mother, that Percy learns who he really is, who his father is, and gets the details of his upcoming quest. The quest is to do something that will save the world, except he and his 2 friends, have to accomplish this task by the summer solstice, June 21st, which is in 10 days time. Now get ready for a wild ride!

This is a great story because it’s funny, contains lots of social comment if the reader is paying attention, and is entertaining. Maybe it’s even better because it really makes mythology come alive…literally! As different mythological beings were mentioned in the story, I was wishing I knew or remembered more about them. Classic Greek poet Homer wrote two epic poems, The Odyssey and The Iliad, that were mentioned in the course of the story. The reading challenge would be greater but it might be fun to find the same Lightning Thief characters in a work done in 8th century BC.

Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee (Ani) is the Crown Princess of Kildenree. This basically means she is the next in line to the thrown. Her mother has taken great care to train her for this position, but Ani may not be quite up for the task. Although Ani does do as she’s asked, she’s more comfortable spending time with birds and other animals. Things go terribly wrong, and Ani’s brother is set to take over the thrown while Ani is sent to another kingdom. Once again things go terribly wrong, and Ani becomes a peasant and needs to beg people in order to get a job and food. She becomes the “goose girl” in charge of the king’s geese. In an extraordinary series of events Ani has the chance to stop a war and meet some wonderful (and not so wonderful) people. This book as a fighting, survival, romance, and adventure. Goose Girl is for those who love books about princes and princesses with a lots of action. Although I thought it was a bit difficult to get started with the story, I really liked the book in the end.

Interworld by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves

Joey is on a school project when he disappears. Actually he gets lost which is not unusual for him. The problem is he gets lost in another world (dimension) by merely walking into it. When he gets into this other dimension, he views a struggle between good and evil and trys to help. Of course he’s the same boy that got lost on a school assignment, and his first assignment in this new dimension doesn’t go well either. Finally Joey is given a chance to go back to his old world. Actually he is forced to go back to his old world, but in this fast paced book things change. Interworld is full of adventure and colorful characters. If you like science fiction or fantasy, you will certainly like this book. It also may be a book for those wanting to try science fiction.