Yay me! I have my Timeslip Tuesday act together this week, with Time Villains, by Victor Piñeiro (Sourcebooks, May, 2021). And it's an exciting one (as the title suggests)!
11/2/21
Time Villains, by Victor Piñeiro , for Timeslip Tuesday
Yay me! I have my Timeslip Tuesday act together this week, with Time Villains, by Victor Piñeiro (Sourcebooks, May, 2021). And it's an exciting one (as the title suggests)!
10/31/21
This week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and science fiction from around the blog (10/31/21)
Small Spaces series, by Katherine Arden, at Bookshelves of Doom, and Small Spaces and Dead Voices at Introverted Reader
Time Travel for Love and Profit, by Sarah Lariviere, at Time Travel Times TwoVashti Hardy (Crowfall) and Tom Huddleston (FloodWorld trilogy), at climate fiction writers league
Jessica Vitalis (The Wolf's Curse), at Smack Dab in the Middle
Ally Condie (The Darkdeep, coauthored with Brendan Reichs, at The Salt Lake Tribune
10/30/21
Archibald Finch and the Lost Witches, by Michel Guyon
Instead of his present, he finds an ancient globe, it surface covered not just with maps but with fantastical creatures. When, in a stroke of luck (?), he unlocks the globe so that it can spin again, he is drawn into it, and on into a world called Lemuria. It is a world of monsters--Marodors--who come in a slew of deadly, twisted shapes, and the only people living there are the girls dedicated to keeping themselves and their enclaves from falling prey to tooth and talon.
Though Archibald would be among the first to admit he's not much of a fighter, he has no choice but to join the girls who found him lost and confused in the monster infested wilderness. But Archibald, with his fresh perspective, see something in the monsters that the girls don't, and sees, as well, all the questions they aren't asking...
Hailee, back in the ordinary world, and traumatized by watching her brother disappear into the globe, is also faced with mysteries to unravel. Following a twisty path of clues, she too finds herself facing monsters...in human form.
500 years ago, girls were burned as witches. 500 years ago, an escape for them, to Lemuria, was crafted. But Lemuria was never a utopia; the evil that created the need for it warped it from the beginning, and is still very much alive and well...
I was not immediately hooked by this one. Archibald is not an appealing character; he's annoying, and anxious (the author himself says "To put it plainly, our hero is a bit of a wimp." And the story is told in the first person present, which isn't my favorite. But as the pages turned, I realized that I was reading one heck of a mystery. I also very much enjoyed the immersive look at the lives of the girl monster hunters, a world in which Archibald gets to grow into himself, becoming a character I enjoyed spending time with. I also liked Hailee very much, once she stopped being a unsympathetic big sister and became passionately determined to get her brother back. (I became resigned to the third person present, but never to the point of enjoying it....).
The book is generously illustrated with detailed, creepy black and white drawings, which I'm sure added value to people who are able to stop and look at pictures and appreciated them when they are reading (I have to force myself to do this, which I find jarring and uncomfortable, but I did go back and appreciate them after I was finished with the words).
But regardless, somewhat to my surprise, by the time I reached the end I was hooked, and I will happily (despite the choice of tense), continue on deeper into this maelstrom of magic and malevolence! Recommended in particular to young readers who love monster hunting; lots of really top-notch monster battling!)
disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher
10/24/21
This week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and science fiction from around the blogs (10/24/2021)
How to Save a Superhero, by Ruth Freeman, at The Bookwyrm's Den
The School for Good and Evil, by Soman Chainani (audiobook review), at proseandkahn
StormTide by Tom Huddleston, at |Library Lady and Library Girl and Book Boy
Time Villains, by Victor Piñeiro, at alibrarymamaThe Wild Huntsboys by Martin Stewart, at alibrarymama
Enter to Win the TOAST GHOST Poetry Contest, at Scope Notes
10/17/21
This week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and science fiction from around the blogs (10/17/21)
The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy, by Anne Ursu, at alibrarymama, Maria's Melange, The Neverending TBR, Charlotte's Library, and The Washington Post
What Lives in the Woods, by Lindsay Currie, at Silver Button Books10/14/21
my troubled mind
Some of the choices I make are good and sensible ones, others perhaps less so. Here's a list of choices I've made; the likelyhood I'll end up entirely happy is in doubt....
I am the category organizer for the elementary/middle grade speculative fiction category for the Cybils Awards.
I try really hard to encourage people to nominate books they love, and feel awful for the books that don't make it.
I wait until the very end to use my own nomination, so that I can fill in a gap if I need to, or actually show love for a book I love if no one else has chosen it.
But in order to know what book I want to nominate, I have to read all the books first.
I have checked out a lot of library books that haven't ben nominated yet.
I am now reading at least the first 50 pages of them to see if one is a must nominate for me (about halfway done with this, but the public nomination period ends at midnight tomorrow....)
I want to finish all the ones I've started.
I am sharing my rather excessive book picture in the hopes that some of you might see one you want to show love for, which would take the pressure off me.....
the book shown in the picture are:
Darkwhispers
The Year I Flew Away
The Edge of Strange Hollow
Thornlight
The Last Windwitch
The Ship of Stolen Words
Last Gamer Standing
The Outlaws Scarlett and Brown
How to Save a Queendom
Pahua and the Soul Stealer
The Midnight Brigade
Escape to Witch City
Jane Doe and the Cradle of All Souls
The Robber Girl
sigh.
The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy, by Anne Ursu
I just finished The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy, by Anne Ursu, and I think it is her best book yet (which is saying a lot!)
It's the story of Marya, a girl growing up in the shadow of a brother who seems destined to become one of elite sorcerers who keep the country safe from a mysterious, magical, deadly plague of shadowy monsters. While he studies, she looks after the goats. She's girl who can't fit herself into the mold of "good girl," as expected by society, and her parents, who she is constantly disappointing. When the sorcerers show up to test her brother to see if he has the gift for magic, she reaches peak disappointing-ness (although to be fair, goats will be goats....).
Then soon after a letter arrives, summoning Marya to Dragomir Academy, a far off school for "troubled girls" and her mother can't get her out of the house fast enough
Dragomir Academy exists to shape troubled girls into useful, docile girls, many of whom find places doing useful work helping the sorcerers (all men). There are lots of rules, and Marya, not optimistic from the get go, is pretty certain that she doesn't have what it takes to fold herself into following them all. And though the girls get a good education, it's one that's not answering all Marya's questions.
The one true champion of her childhood was a neighbor, Madame Bandu, a master weaver who secretly taught Marya to read, and who also taught her to question and challenge.
"When you hear a story powerful people tell about themselves, and you're wondering if it's true," Madame said, "ask yourself, who does the story serve?" (page 76).
And Marya asks this about the stories at the heart of the Academy, and at the heart of the patriarchal magic of her country. The answers she finds upend everything....
This is a great book, especially if you like undaunted girls using brains and courage to smash magical patriarchies. It wasn't a very comfy book, though, because much of the story is about the school attempting to smash girls' brains, courage, and individuality. Though it's a girls boarding school story, this agenda means that there isn't a huge amount of comfy girl school friendship at Dragomir Academy. One of the things that bothered me most about the school wasn't the brainwashing, indoctrination, and shaming (though these were all troubling) but the rule that the girls weren't allowed to talk about their pasts. It's a rule designed to limit bonding, to limit individuality, to force the girls to fit the mold of their new life, and I hated it! (both as a person and a reader--many of the girls seemed like empty shells).
Despite the schools best efforts, though, there was one other girl in the school who shone so brightly she couldn't be diminished, and this girl becomes Maryu's friend and ally in mystery solving, and I loved her!
As a lover of textiles in fantasy, I also very much appreciated the role that women's art of sewing and weaving played in the mystery and its solving. As a lover of libraries and archives, I liked exploring those of the school along with Maryu. And as someone who loves many men and boys, I liked that Maryu's brother staged his own rebellion against the expectation of family and society, and came back into her life as an ally (it is not an anti-male book).
Towards the end of the book, I was very strongly reminded of how Ursula Le Guin, realizing she had created a magical patriarchy in her Earthsea books, set about writing new ones to smash it to pieces. At the book's virtual launch last night, I asked Anne Ursu if Le Guin had been in her thoughts at all. Turns out another author (William Alexander) had recommended Tales from Earthsea to her during the writing of this book.....and so I was not wrong in hearing echoes that made me appreciate this new story even more!
Short answer--read the book! Ask yourself "who does the story serve?" and smash the patriarchy, magical or otherwise!
and go read Anne's essay, "On Monsters," at Nerdy Book Club!
Books that came out in the UK/Ireland that are eligible for this year's Elementary/Middle Grade Cybils Awards
For the first time, the panel of first round readers for the Cybils Awards includes someone from the other side of the pond--Valinora Troy, a writer from Ireland (it's great to have you, Valinora!). Now that most of the review copies publishers send us panelists are ebooks, the books are more accessible even if they aren't out over there yet.
That being said, there are plenty of books that released in the UK/Ireland almost simultaneously, or before coming out here in the US/Canada! For readers there, here are some that haven't been nominated yet, that might be books you love and want to champion by nominating them! A great way to warm an author's heart, and to help books find new readers!
You have until the end of October 15 to nominate, and here's where you go to do so!
These are the ones I know about (feel free to add more in the comments!)
The Monsters of Rookhaven, by Pádraig Kenny
The Strangeworlds Travel Agency, by L.D. Lapinski
The Hatmakers, by Tamzin Merchant
The Raven Heir, by Stephanie Burgis
Darkwhispers, by Vashti Hardy
The Storm Keeper's Battle, by Catherine Doyle
A Discovery of Dragons (Darwin's Dragons in the UK), by Lindsay Galvin
10/12/21
The Retake, by Jen Calonita, for Timeslip Tuesday
Yay me! I have read a timeslip book in time for this week's Tuesday! Travel back to middle school, with all its social pain, in The Retake, by Jen Calonita (February, 2021, Delacorte)
Zoe's phone is full of pictures of her and her best friend, Laura. Except this summer she had to go on a trip with her family, and Laura was busy sharing pictures of herself having fun with a new group of girls. And Zoe, desperate to re-establish their friendship in time for the start of 7th grade, is faced with a best friend who isn't interested in her anymore. The first day of 7th grade is a disaster for an already unhappy Zoe. One thing after another goes wrong. But that night she finds a strange app has appeared on her phone (while it was confiscated in the principal's office), one that offers a chance to "retake."
Using the app, she opens a picture of herself at a sleepover three months ago with Laura, the night she first felt like an outsider in her friend's world. Zoe thinks she'll be able to change things for the better this time around....but instead she makes things even worse. And so it goes, with Zoe using the app on one picture after another.
Nothing she does in the past (giving up on things she likes that Laura thinks are childish, trying to come between Laura and her new Queen Bea type friends, and other small differences) makes her friendship with Laura what she wants it to be, and mostly she makes it worse. But her trips to the past do end up with Zoe finding value in other girls she'd previously dismissed because of her fixation on Laura, and when she finds herself with the app burned out, back on the second day of seventh grade, she's able to pick up the piece of herself and live more fully in the present.
If you like middle school friendship drama, on repeat, this is a book you will love. I myself was ready to give up on Laura much sooner than Zoe was, although I did appreciate Zoe's journey towards self-awareness. It's a useful and hopeful lesson in accepting that you will grow apart from some friends, and grow towards others. And I'm sure many middle school girls will relate to Zoe's realistically described experiences with great intensity!
Personal note--I moved to the US from the Bahamas to start seventh grade, so my problems were totally different from Zoe's. I didn't have friendship drama, but I did have the horror of leaving my friends with whom I was still happily being a kid and finding my self plunged into a world where the girls in my class had crushes on the Bee Gees. Nightmarish for innocent little me, and no amount of time travel would have helped.
10/11/21
Three middle grade fantasy books by Native authors for Indigenous Peoples Day
I'm writing this in the Narragansett Nation, just up the street from the Woonasquatucket River that connects Providence, where the Narragansett people congregated for thousands of years before Roger Williams arrived, to the important Narragansett places in the landscape of interior RI. This being Indigenous Peoples Day, and me being me, I'm think about middle grade fantasy books by Native authors.
There are more this year than I think there have ever been in the past (which is not hard)--3! Though the number is still awfully small, it is a lot better than none (and possibly I am missing some? if so, please let me know in the comments!)
They are:
Healer of the Water Monster, by Brian Young, Diné (Navajo). (May 11th 2021, Heartdrum)It wasn't Nathan's choice to spend the summer on the Navajo reservation with his grandmother, Nali. Her mobile summer home lacks many of the creature comforts he would have had if he'd spent the summer with his dad, but the thought of sharing his dad with his girlfriend was intolerable. He loves his grandma, and takes some interest in a science project growing Native corn, but it is still boring. Until it isn't.
One night out in the desert, Nathan finds a Water Monster, a Holy Being from the Navajo Creation Story, who has been poisoned by mistreatment of the earth (parts of the Navajo reservation are radioactive today from uranium mining), and who will die without his help. Saving the Water Monster requires him to make a perilous journey to the world of the Holy Beings, full of dangers and wonders. And in the real world, his uncle Jet, a veteran with PTSD, is struggling with depression, and Nali and Nathan are determined to set him on the path of helping himself with a traditional N'dáá, or Enemy Way, ceremony.
The story fits right into the Rick Riordan model of an ordinary kid being caught up in a world of mythical beings, though in this case, as the author explains, the religion and culture are not fantasy, but part of real life. It is a vividly told story, one that will resonate powerfully with environmentalists kids, and the mix of real world and other world problems makes for great reading! It's also a great introduction to day to day life in summer on the reservation, as well as to Navajo religion and culture, for kids who aren't familiar with it.
If you think Peter Pan as a character is a bit of an ass, Wendy a doormat and Tiger Lily no more than an offensive caricature, you are not alone! But now Cynthia Leitich Smith offers us a way back into the Neverland in a new imagining of the Peter Pan story, in which two stepsisters, Native American Lily and English Wendy, and the shared little brother they both adore, are trapped in Neverland, and must navigate its enchantments and dangers (not least of which is Peter Pan himself, whose egotistical, unstable rule over the island is turning into a nightmare).
Neverland is still a place of wonders, but here it's also shown to be a place of misogyny, racism, and colonialist-infused rapaciousness. The whole business of the Lost Boys is shaken out into something much more troubling--kidnapping and Stockholm Syndrome. But it's not at all heavy handed; it still manage to be lots of fun! And a large part of the story's heart is the relationship between the two sisters, strained by circumstance in both the real world and Neverland, but rock solid at its core.
(The third book just came out, and I haven't read it yet, so all I can offer is the publisher's blurb, and a few thoughts on the first book)
The Great Bear (Misewa Saga #2), by David Alexander Robinson, Norway House Cree Nation (September 28th 2021 by Puffin Books)The first book is a magnificent portal fantasy, and though it's been a year since I read it, I vividly remember the cold and the hunger of the kids' journey across the barren lands, and how the animal persons they met there taught them traditional ways to be in the world. I'm looking forward to reading their second adventure!
"Back at home after their first adventure in the Barren Grounds, Eli and Morgan each struggle with personal issues: Eli is being bullied at school, and tries to hide it from Morgan, while Morgan has to make an important decision about her birth mother. They turn to the place where they know they can learn the most, and make the journey to Misewa to visit their animal friends. This time they travel back in time and meet a young fisher that might just be their lost friend. But they discover that the village is once again in peril, and they must dig deep within themselves to find the strength to protect their beloved friends. Can they carry this strength back home to face their own challenges?"
All three of these books are eligible for the Cybils Awards, and although Sisters of the Neversea has been nominated, as has Healer of the Water Monster; The Great Bear is still waiting. Please can someone who loves it go here to the Cybils nominating page and do it?
10/10/21
this week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and science fiction from around the blogs (10/10/21)
Good morning all! Here's what I gleaned in my on-line reading this week; please let me know if I missed your post!
*Curse of the Phoenix, by Aimee Carter, at YA Book Nerd
*Kyle Lukoff, “Too Bright to See”
Kekla Magoon, “Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People”
Amber McBride, “Me (Moth)”
Spooky books that aren't yet nominated for the Cybils
If are looking for seasonally appropriate reading, here are some spooky (which is to say, they have ghosts, witches, and monsters) middle grade books that are great reads (and haven't been nominated for the Cybils yet! so if you love one of these books, show your love by nominated it by October 15!). I'm sure I've missed some, so please feel free to add others in the comments! Here's where you go to nominate!
To Bright to See, by Kyle Lukoff
The Ghost of Midnight Lake, by Lucy StrangeBridge of Souls (Cassidy Blake #3) by Victoria Schwab
The Nightmare Thief by Nicole Lesperance
The In-Between by Rebecca Ansari
The Monsters of Rookhaven (The Monsters of Rookhaven #1) by Pádraig Kenny
10/9/21
Stowaway, by John David Anderson
"They" are Leo and his older brother, Gareth, and they are on a small ship, the Beagle, in space with their scientist father and a fairly small crew. There is a war going on between two powerful alien civilizations, and Earth, with its rich supply "ventasium," (the element that powers space travel), has become a pawn in the conflict. When the Avkari arrived on Earth, they brought wonderous technology and promises of peace, in exchange for the ventasium. But they also brought war; Earth was attacked by other aliens, the Djarik, and one of the many casualties was Leo's mother.
Leo's father's work on venasium technology required journeying into space, and three rather boring years have passed since they left Earth. But when the Djarik attack their ship, and kidnap Leo's dad, life becomes all to exciting. The Beagle is left drifting, unable to call for help. It is a sitting duck for the pirates who find them, but when the pirates leave again, without finding much to pilfer, Leo is on board their ship, thanks to his brother's tricking him into becoming a stowaway.
And in the next few hectic days, the pirates become almost a found family to Leo as they commit to helping him find his father, a hectic journey that takes them to the heart of Djarik territory. In the course of the various adventures, Leo comes to realize that there might not actually be a "good side" in the war....
The story of Leo's adventures is interspersed with his memories of his life on Earth. Though these interludes slow the helter-skelter pace of events, full of action, strange aliens, and future tech, they gives context and poignancy to his present day experiences, and push forward his inner journey to a more nuanced understanding of what's happening in the galaxy. Nothing is resolved here in the first book, and in fact the stakes get raised tremendously right at the end, leaving the reader (me) wondering how on earth things can be resolved. The reader (me again) is also left very invested in Leo and the crew of the pirate ship, and anxious to see how their story plays out.
I have lots of reasons to recommend this one--family, both biological and found, at the heart of the plot, excellent sci-fi shenanigans, disability rep., and solid and vividly detailed story telling, for instance. But here's my main reason for recommending the book enthusiastically--reading is a great way to gently nudge kids towards a deeper understanding of the real world. I'm not sure that the ten-year-old reader will think, as I did, "Wow. The Avkari are a clear parallel to European imperialists." But perhaps that young reader will, when they learn of the attempted genocide and exploitation of native peoples here at home, make the connection and more critically reflect on our own past in the same way that Leo has to rethink his future Earth's recent history.
10/3/21
This week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (10/3/21)
The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Sophie Blackall, at books4yourkids, Cracking the Cover, Waking Brain Cells, and Children's Books Heal
The False Prince, by Jennifer A. Nielsen, at Pages Unbound
10/1/21
City of Thieves (Battle Dragons #1), by Alex London
City of Thieves (Battle Dragons #1), by Alex London (Scholastic, September 2021), is a rip-roaring start to a new middle grade fantasy/sci fi series that is sure to be a hit with young readers (and enjoyed by less young ones too).
Alec's home, and the only place he's ever lived, let alone visited, is Drakoplis, a futuristic city of skyscrappers, tech, and....dragons. The dragons are an essential part of the city--the many species of dragons have been harnessed to work as transport and in industry. The dragons are also central to the gang life of the city, and the dragon duels between the gangs are the stuff of legend.
Alec's family is not doing great--though his big brother Silas is a member of the Dragon Riders (the police/protectors/enforcers of Drakopolis), his father has a chronic debilitating condition (scaly lung) and his mother's job in a dragon food plant doesn't bring much in. His sister Lina works at a cafe to bring in a little bit for the family. Alec has failed the entrance exam to the Dragon Rider Academy (to his secret relief--heights aren't his thing) and isn't at all sure what he will do with his life; in the meantime, there's school, and hanging out with his best friend Roa (who's nonbinary) and reading dragon-filled comic books.
But the book starts with none of this background. Instead, we start with Lina creeping home Ninja style, just before the trash incinerating dragons set the night on fire, with a message that will get Alec into more trouble than he could have ever dreamt of. Turns out Lina is a member of one of the clans of dragon gangsters, and she has stolen a dragon from a rival clan. Now she's on the run. Alec and Roa find the stolen dragon, Karak, a magnificent Sunrise Reaper, and it bonds with him. Now that he's the one who can ride it, he's thrown into the middle of the dragon underworld and its web of extortion and violence. His whole family, and his own future, are in danger, and in order to regain some sort of control over his life, he must figure out where his own loyalties lie--family (but who in his family is still loyal to him)? friends (if he can figure out who they are)? city (which the reader increasingly realizes is a dystopia)? or even the dragons themselves (and who knows where their loyalties lie, if they have any)?--while he still has the chance.
There is just tons of action and adventure and layers of danger and intrigue here! Vivid descriptions and great characterization and a nice dollop of relatable adolescent angst and relatable comic book reading make it tremendously easy to imagine the target audience just eating it up.
And on top of that, though there no hammering home of a Message, there's lots here that will appeal to social justice conscious Gen Z kids, especially the situation of the dragons. It becomes clear that the dragons are enslaved, and some of the language used about them in the stories Alec's heard bears a really disquieting resemblance to the language used to justify slavery in our own past--"Dragons must be given purpose, the stories said, so they don't fall to warring again. They must be given jobs and kept busy serving humanity, the stories said, for their own safety.) (page 112 of the ARC). And here's one justification offered for the battles, in which the dragons have no choice about fighting each other, and are often badly injured or even killed--"These battles give them a chance to be themselves." (page 128 of the ARC). The ending/beginning point Alec reaches, in which he rejects this dogma, will lift the hearts of these young readers, and leave them (and again, many older reader) desperately anxious for the next book.
(Younger readers are more likely, though, to snicker a bit about the fact that one of the clans is named the "Wind Breakers"....older readers will probably default to light-weigh jackets....)
disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher
NB-City of Thieves has been nominated already for this year's Cybils Awards in Elementary/Middle Grade speculative fiction, but there are literally hundreds of great books that haven't been! Here's where you can go to show Cybils love for your favorite books of the past year (Oct 16, 2020-Oct 15, 2021)
9/29/21
Finn and the Time-Travelling Pajamas, by Michael Buckley, for this week's Timeslip "Tuesday"
So Finn and the Time-Travelling Pajamas is the sequel to Finn and the Intergalactic Lunchbox, in which Finn travels through lunch-box created wormholes out into a dangerous galaxy. He gets home safely, with help from two other kids who are now his best friends--Lincoln (former bully) and Julep (super smart girl), and from his little sister, Katy, and saves the earth from an alien invasion in the process.
This second book in Finn's saga starts with Finn and Lincoln, now old men, battling a horrible monster called Paradox, who wants to destroy creation in order to rebuild it. They have been fighting Paradox while travelling through time, gathering future tech and continually hatching new plans, but nothing has worked. So they decide to involve their younger selves in the battle...and so young Finn, young Lincoln, and young Julep get drawn into a time travelling, chaotic, dangerous, mad-cap swirl of adventure.
It is all a bit dizzying, and I'm not entirely sure everything makes sense; that being said, sense is not the point. The point is more the excitement of it all, underlain by friendship and loyalty. Whimsical harum-scarum time travel isn't my favorite, but Buckley does have a wild imagination, that leads to both interesting and sometimes thought-provoking situations at several points in the story. Sometimes I grinned, and I'm sure many kids might even chuckle out loud.
There is time travel back the past (including the Revolutionary War, Ice Age, and the 1980s), and time travel to the future (interesting possibilities). They don't stay all that long in any other time, but they do stay long enough for many of their stops to be more than just kaleidoscopic vignettes.
It wasn't quite to my personal taste, although I did become invested enough to care how things turned out, and one future stop was so clearly and interestingly described it will stick in my mind for ages. It's easy to imagine many kids (9-10 year olds) loving it.
nb: This book is eligible for the Cybils Awards this year; nominations open Oct 1st!
9/26/21
This Week's Round-up of Middle Grade Fantasy and Science Fiction from around the blogs (9/26/2021)
The Mermaid Queen (The Witches of Orkney, 4), by Alane Adams, at Log Cabin Library
9/21/21
Parsifal Rides the Time Wave, by Nell Chenault, for Timeslip Tuesday
Parsifal is a Poddley, a magical creature who travels to world helping children in need. He's so good at the job he's part of the Poddley Emergency Squad, who take on the toughest cases. And when he arrives at a hospital to see a boy making no effort to get well again, he knows he'll have to be on top of his magical game. And so he un-invisibles himself, and starts to get the bottom of Colin's troubles.
It's a sad story. Colin chased a ball into the street, and didn't see the truck coming. His old collie, Lad, his best friend forever, found the strength to force his old bones to run, and knocked Colin mostly out of harms way. Colin ended up in the hospital, with no reason not to make a full recovery, but Lad was killed. And now Colin is sunk in a pit of self-blame and sadness, and refuses to eat or try to get better.
So Parsifal sets to work to rekindle Colin's interest in life. And what better way to do that than to time travel to medieval Scotland, to meet Robert the Bruce!
Parsifal, being magical, makes time travel easy--Colin arrives appropriately clad and speaking Gaelic. And he saves Robert the Bruce from a treacherous attack, with the help of Robert's own dog, Ban. And sadly, like Lad, Ban is killed saving his master. To thank Colin, Robert gives him as special gift--Ban's son, a lovable puppy.
The puppy can't travel through time, but when Colin gets home he finds his parents have gotten him a puppy just like little Ban Jr. And he is happy again.
It's a sweet and pleasant story despite the sadness of dog death. The time travel is fun and exciting, and although I worried that I might find the whole Poddley thing too twee to stomach, I was perfectly fine with it. Though it's an old book it's not particularly dated in feel, and I'd happily give it to an early chapter book reader who loves both dogs and all things medieval.
Thanks Sherry, at Semicolon, for reviewing the book and putting it on my radar! And thanks, fate, for leading me to a used bookstore in Maine where I found a cheap copy!