39 Clues Wrap-Up

Finished the series! Wohoo! And I really love the way they ended. Yeah, maybe I was able to predict some of the ending (like 6 books ago) but there were a few good surprises. And naturally it sets up a whole other series at the end. I think this is a fun series and I love that the ending brought it to England and had a lot to do with Shakespeare. I think these books are so educational and my kids will definitely be reading them, although not for a few years. They can get pretty intense, so I'd say upper elementary school/middle school ages would like it best, but of course, always depending on the individual child.

It was a fun journey, and it was a nice change to have 10 books come out in such a short amount of time. The author switches were well done, so in some books a style difference wasn't even detectable. I wish they'd all been written by Rick Riordan, but he's a busy guy. His new book The Lost Hero is coming out next week (new Camp Half-Blood series! Hooray for Greek Mythology!!!) and I'm looking forward to that.

The Egypt Game

I remember this book very fondly from my childhood, so it was fun to revisit it. I love it for two big reasons:

1. I love Egyptian culture.

2. I spent a great deal of my childhood playing imaginary games.

This book has a good mix of real-life childhood emotions, comedy, mystery, and fun. It's superb.

When You Reach Me

This book just won the Newbery, and for very good reason. It is amazing! I love the plot. It belongs next to other classic children's New York lit, like Harriet the Spy and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Also, if you're a fan of A Wrinkle in Time you will LOVE this book. It's just so fantastic! Some of the other recent Newbery winners (like The Graveyard Book) have been censured for being too scary or inappropriate (personally, I love them as an adult, but I can see objecting to them for certain ages and types of children), but When You Reach Me is just good literature that no one can object to. Go read it!

A Place Where the Sea Remembers

I read this book for my lit class, and it gets high marks for its beautiful writing, plot, and use of symbolism. It has been one of those books that has really helped me stretch out of my reading comfort zone and try new things. I still wouldn't say I love, love, loved it, though. I dislike reading about awful things happening to people, no matter how well written.

Harriet the Spy

This book is solely responsible for my going through a phase where I only wanted to eat tomato sandwiches for lunch as a child. It also got me started on keeping writing notebooks. I love it, and it's no wonder that when I had to think of a modern realism book to share with my children's lit class this was the first and only option I considered. Harriet is wonderful, and if you've ever read this book, you know why.

Bridge to Terabithia

I read this book as a child and refused to read it ever again. I hated it. It is such a sad book! I ended up breaking that vow for my Children's Lit class. It wasn't quite as bad to read it as an adult, but I still don't like sad books. I do think that this would be good book for older children (probably no younger than high school, actually) who are dealing with the death of a loved one.

Troubling a Star

I loved this book when I was a child and recently found it at a used bookstore and had to buy it. I ended up using it in my Children's Lit class, too. I have to admit, it wasn't nearly as impressive to me as an adult as it was when I was young. I did still love the whole Antarctica aspect of this story and imagining what it would be like to take a trip there. At the moment, though, I'm feeling very cold in Idaho Falls, so I think I need to go find a warmer book to write about.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Most of the books I've read for Children's Lit have been familiar to me, but I'd never heard of this book before. It's just too bad, really. I would have loved it as a child. I loved it as an adult. I got some seriously good belly laughs out of it. Basically, it's the story of the Herdmans (described in the first page of the book as being "absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world") and how they take over the local church's Christmas pageant and teach everyone a little bit about the true meaning of Christmas in the process. It's a short book (practically a short story) and completely worth it if you've never read it before.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

I'm am so glad that I'm taking Children's Lit this semester! I haven't read this book in ages and it was a big favorite when I was a child. After reading it, I desperately wanted to run away and live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art too. Good thing it was too far away for me to consider. I don't think my adventures would have gone nearly as well as Claudia and Jamie's. Love this book!

A Company of Swans

Coming of age plus ballet plus gorgeous south american setting all set this book up as a very original and very classic YA novel. I can't believe it's taken me this long to read it! Loved it.