Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

No Bones About It! There's a New Hero In Town!

Some books you just know will be fun to read. It can be the title, the cover, the plot description . . . something that just makes your fingers itch to crack the cover. This is one of those books. His name is Skulduggery Pleasant. He's a snazzy dresser with a cool car. He's an elemental master who never has to find trouble, because it finds him. He's also a walking, talking skeleton. But that hasn't stopped him from trying to save the world. Derek Landy makes his debut in children's fiction with this delightfully action-packed romp about a skeleton detective and his strong-minded 12 year old sidekick.

The book opens with twelve-year old Stephanie Edgley receiving an inheritance from her recently deceased uncle. That inheritance includes, among other things, a mansion, money and entry into a deadly and fascinating world of magic and mayhem. Like, Harry Potter, Stephanie's about to discover there's a secret society of sorcerers and mages that the ordinary world doesn't know about. Unlike Harry Potter, she's a stubborn, smart-talking gal who won't take `no' for an answer, even when she's in mortal danger. The forces of evil are looking for a key that her uncle had, and they think she has it. They'll do whatever it takes to get it. Skulduggery and Stephanie have their hands full trying to stop them, because if they find what they're looking for, it just may be the end of the world. It's a high action adventure that readers will tear through to find out what happens, enjoying the witty dialog and colorful characters along the way. Derek Landy's first book for children is enjoyable, entertaining and vivid. In fact, it would likely make a good movie or television series without too much effort.

It's no surprise that Mr. Landy's past work includes screenplay writing--this story springs off the page in full 3-D action and thrills. However while the plot charges forward, the narrative doesn't offer much in the way of internal character thought or character depth. We really know very little about our main protagonist, Stephanie, other than that she despises school, is quick with a retort and doesn't flinch when the chips are down. While she's certainly fun to read about, her wit and flagrant disregard for rules a change from the usual, she doesn't really reveal much about herself and what makes her tick. Also, Stephanie's age is problematic. At times, she acts much more mature than a twelve year old would be expected to--she seems more like she's fourteen or fifteen. At other times, her lack of knowledge about Skulduggery's chosen words makes her seem younger than twelve. The story, while told in a fresh and exciting manner, is not all that new, or surprising: forces of evil want an object that will end the world, forces of good must stop them. Mr. Landry's sorcerous world builds on well-known conventions: complete with name magic, vampires, magical books, tentacled monsters and maniacal violent bad guys. This doesn't make it bad, but it's fairly predictable. And I can't quite forgive the author for naming the villains `Serpine' and `Mavolent'. It makes my teeth hurt when the baddies are so painfully obvious.

What saves this book from being another clichéd contemporary fantasy for kids is the chemistry between Stephanie and Skulduggery. These two characters are made for one another--trading witticisms and retorts, disrespecting authority and watching each other's backs. Stephanie is a tough heroine who takes a licking and kicks evil in the shins. Skulduggery is a charming hero all the readers can cheer on. This is a fairly violent book with death and lethal threats at every turn for the protagonists. While this is handled well without becoming too dark, it may be a bit frightening for sensitive younger readers. For a quick read and a taste of action-adventure, this isn't a bad choice at all. There's no doubt that this is only the first story in a series of adventures featuring our cast of characters. With any luck, the author will explore his character in more depth while maintaining the excitement of this first book.

For readers 9-14 looking for some quick-moving enjoyable contemporary fantasy with a gothic twist, this will likely be just the thing. Readers who enjoy this book may also want to check out Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins and Changeling by Delia Sherman.

Happy Reading! ^_^ Shanshad

• Accelerated Reading level : 4.9
  
• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (April 3, 2007)
• ISBN-10: 0061231150
• ISBN-13: 978-0061231155
• (27 Regular folks) at Amazon rated this book 4.7 out of 5 stars

Never Give Up! by Michael Teitelbaum

What a wonderful treat. Scholastic Inc. has given us 32 pages of the most fantastic violence and mayhem your wee one would ever want or dream of. In this coloring and game book, we have "A Real American Hero," GI Joe battling the forces of darkness and evil; of course you know who I am talking about...COBRA! GI Joe and his buddies, Duke being the first, assure us that "Nothing will stop me from defeating COBRA!" Of course the next page the COBRA Commander, knives, guns, strange looking hooks, knives, evil masked face and all, assures us that "I will destroy G.I. Joe!" The dialog here is pretty challenging, so the reader must take great care not to miss subtle nuances as they occur or the story line and plot will be lost.

This edition of the famous G.I. Joe coloring books includes a number of full page drawings that can be colored with crayon or colored pencil. Each drawing is accompanied heroic statements by both sides (but we all know who will win in the end...maybe!) There are a number of games included in this edition including a word search game, a pick the good guy picture game, an enemy match up game and an obstacle course game.

Also included are some nice colored cut out cards of your favorite character and/or bad guy and you are told that "your mission" is to collect them all!

This is a nonstop action book and has our gallant hero's battling not only the evil forces of COBRA, but also sharks, a ninja or two here and there, and the normal every day hazards of mountains, jumping from jet aircraft, scuba fighting and somewhere that looks like the moon surface. Let me assure the concerned parent or teacher though, there are no flying body parts, no blood splatters, no shrieks of pain, and no weaponry beyond that of the normal action hero.

There is also a nifty half page of stickers that can be removed and stuck to other things which include bomb flashes, one picture of G.I. Joe and one picture of an evil COBRA person, a star, dog tags and various COBRA patches.

I ask you...what more could you want?

This edition is geared for ages Baby through Preschool. Amazing! I guess our droll little fuzzy haired singing friend was right:

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

Sigh, I miss my Donald Duck coloring books.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

Down By the Station by Will Hillenbrand

Two Reviews from the staff this time. New Mom and Old Mom both love this one. Toot! Toot!

"Did you ever wonder who rides the train early in the morning, before the zoo opens?"
[from flyleaf]

#1 (Pam) Well the answer is a variety of fun baby animals who carry on in the silliest way. And this nice little book captures it all. With warm, colorful art and a catchy rhyme, it can't help but draw in young children by showing them how every day the train comes and picks up all the baby animals to get them into place before the kids arrive at the zoo.

The first on the little train is the lady zookeeper with her pet monkey and bird (we are pretty sure it's a penguin). After that the train proceeds to pickup a variety of baby animals: elephant, flamingo, panda, tiger, seal, and kangaroo.

And all the time that the zoo train is picking up the animal babies, a school bus is bringing human babies to the zoo. In fact, the last pages show the children and the animals playing together. The zookeeper and the teacher are holding a jump rope while a girl and a joey are jumping.

Great fun. I like that they label each animal baby appropriately as cub, pup, or joey, etc. There is lots for parents and children to look at, and it is a good opportunity to use the repetitive text for a little memory practice.

The Accelerated Reading (wikipedia entry) designation for Down by the Station is 2.1 which means that the vocabulary and syntax is appropriate for children reading at an early second grade level.

#2 (Shan) Anyone whose read books to children knows the power of a catchy song melody to interest and involve a child in the story. I've always loved reading aloud books that feature song lyrics for precisely this reason-- it allows me to get the maximum interest without the effort that can go into a more text-driven read. Many people will already be familiar with some version of Down By the Station. It's a catchy and simple tune that shouldn't be too hard to pick up, even for parents without much of a singing voice.

Some of Will Hillenbrand's wordings may differ from the version you know, but the book itself is a charming romp through the zoo as the conductor picks up baby animals from all over the grounds and brings them ultimately to the petting zoo at the end of the story, where the children all enter in to play with them. Older kids will be able to name the animals before you sing the names. As the list of sounds increases, I tend to add some kind of hand motion for each sound, so as to increase audience participation. So for instance, "puff, puff" gets clenched hands opening up like a small puff of air being released, and "toot, toot" gets the action a hand pulling on a chain for the horn. You can make up your own motions for each sound, or not as you choose.

The artwork is bright and colorful and cartoon-style, though the images themselves have a softness to them that allows this to also work well for a baby book. The amount of detail in these pictures will probably make the illustrations harder for a group to see, and may not interest a younger toddler as much, but the song lyrics and the fact that this is a train book usually make up for that. At the back of the book, the song lyrics and musical score is provided for those who would require or are interested in the melody of the tune. I'd recommend this book for 0-5 year olds and have yet to find a child that doesn't enjoy the book. The library copies are all well loved and need frequent replacing. Mr. Hillenbrand is a master of children's books and many of his creations are available for puchase!

For those who enjoy this story, you may want to also try out books like The Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort, and Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow--two song books that are also favorites of mine!

Happy Reading! ^_^ Shanshad

Fisher-Price Hoppy Days Bouncer

With the arrival of Shan's brand new baby it seems a perfect time to add some useful product information to our pages. Here's a product, Shan and her hubby rated 5-Stars:


With a month old child in the house, I can tell you with certainty what items from my registry were worthwhile and which aren't used much, or aren't used yet. This bouncer is among the most used items we own for our son. This lightweight, easy to put together bouncer with an option for vibration and dangling toys is something I'd likely get for any mom-to-be. Especially one living in a small apartment with limited space.

The bouncer is a soft green color, with machine washable covering (important!). It's a nice neutral fit for the non-gender specific shower. The entire thing is easily put together out of the box, even for this all-thumbs parent. Once put together, it is sturdy, but lightweight enough to be easily carried from room to room or lifted up and transported. While the wider base can be a bit tricky to navigate at times, it's much smaller than a baby swing and fits an apartment lifestyle where space is at a premium. The build of the bouncer allows it to bounce when the baby moves, or when an adult gently "bounces" it. It also has a battery operated vibrator that takes one D battery. The vibrations may be a bit strong for some newborns, but our son seems to enjoy them. The dangling toys include two soft toy animals attached with velcro and a plastic frog with a handle. When this is pulled, it plays some rather tinny music which I don't care for all that much, but can overlook.

The bouncer is equiped with a safety belt to keep a child in place (given that our little guy is a squirmer, this is fundamental!) And a baby can sit and watch the world around them, or sleep securely. Our son prefers to snooze in his bouncer than to sleep in his bassinet and often ends up spending the night tucked into the bouncer close to hand so that if he fusses, a quick nudge or two will send it moving and hopefully help lull him back to sleep. The dangling toys don't interest him much yet, but may in a few more weeks, for now they mostly get in the way when we're trying to get him out or put him in. But this is a minor quibble and the two soft toys can be removed, as can the whole toy arch. The vibration on the chair is the only battery operated part, and this can be ignored if batteries aren't available or run out.

I highly recommend the Hoppy Days Bouncer to anyone who is debating about a swing or bouncer for their first child, and it's a great shower gift. If you're looking for other essentials, you might want to check out baby travel systems (strollers with car seats) and a good changing table pad.

Happy parenting! ^_^ Shanshad