The Ballad of Sir Dinadan(Gerald Morris) Good again. This time a young noble who is fairly lousy at the fighting part of knighthood, but great at storytelling and playing the rebec. In spite of himself he develops the courage and nobility of knighthood.
Big Bang: the tongue-tickling tale of a speck that became spectacular (DeCristofano)
The Dark Hills Divide (Patrick Carman) Decent story about girl helping tear down the walls surrounding her tri-cities. Ignores effect on her of leaving walls for first time.
Diary of a Fairy Godmother(Esmé Codell) Fun play on fairy tales, a bit preachy (but in a niceish way) about being your own self. Young witch Hunky Dory turns out to have a knack for – gasp!—granting wishes.
Finders Keepers (Robert Arnett) Dopey, unfocussed proselytizing story about the author’s trip to India.
George and the Dragon: and other saintly stories (Richard Brassey) 1-3 page comics spreads point up the hilarity in the traditional tales of the peculiar saints.
Gregor and the Warmbloods (Suzanne Collins) Good 3rd in the series. Dark. Doesn’t sound over yet.
The Horse and his Boy (C.S. Lewis) Good. Aslan is working in mysterious ways—but so logical once you can see the backstory…
How to Be a Pirate, by Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III (Cressida Cowell) Another nice and funny adventure. This one, thankfully, has fewer fart jokes.
Kensuke’s Kingdom (Michael Morpurgo) Excellent story. “When Michael is swept off his family's yacht, he washes up on a desert island, where he struggles to survive--until he finds he is not alone.” Old Kensuke (who survived a Japanese shipwreck at the end of WWII) lives there with his family of orangutans.
The Last Battle (C.S. Lewis)
The Lioness and her Knight (Gerald Morris) “Headstrong sixteen-year-old Lady Luneta and her distant cousin, Sir Ywain, travel to Camelot and beyond finding more adventure than they hoped for until, with the help of a fool, Luneta discovers what she really wants from life.”
Little Book of Fables (retold by Verónica Uribe) Quite nice Aesop retellings, with lovely odd pictures by Constanza Bravo.
Orlando Bloom Has Ruined Everything (Bill Amend) An okay Fox Trot collection.
Otto and the Bird Charmers (Charlotte Haptie)
Parsifal’s Page(Gerald Morris) Another good one, this time Piers’ point of view as page to the wild man who wants to become a knight.
The Penderwicks(Birdsall) A perfectly solid story about 4 girls, 2 rabbits, and the son of the rich woman on whose estate they are summering (in the cottage). Garnered the National Book Award by judges nostalgic for the Ballet Shoes books. I like The Exiles better.
Permanent Rose(Hilary McKay)Another fabulous entry in the Casson family saga. In this one 8-year-old Rose is pining for friend Tom, who hasn’t written after returning to America; Caddy is worried about becoming trapped by her impending marriage; Indigo is calm; Saffron wonders who her real father is; and former bully David finally gets a few things right. I think McKay does an amazing job of portraying children realistically, respectfully, and appreciatively, in all their complexity and intelligence. She also is wonderful at showing the way members of a family are entirely themselves yet still very connected to one another, and showing the range of loving irritation and fundamental loyalty that bind them all. Plus her writing is damn hilarious. And so are her characters. There is just something so real about them. She just gets better and better.
PrincessAcademy (Shannon Hale) “While attending a strict academy for potential princesses with the other girls from her mountain village, fourteen-year-old Miri discovers unexpected talents and connections to her homeland.”
The Princess, the Crone, and the Dung-Cart Knight (Gerald Morris) Yet another good one: Sarah (13), bent on revenge against those who burned her innocent mother for a witch, falls in with a surprisingly talented woodcutter (Sir Lancelot) to save the kidnapped Sir Kai and Queen Guinevere.
The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf (Gerald Morris) Weaker than his other novels. Damsel character inconsistent and kind of twerpy.
The Silver Chair (C.S. Lewis) Okay; not the best one.
Sing a Song of Tuna Fish: hard-to-swallow stories from fifth grade (Esmé Codell) Really excellent (and funny!) stories of kid life in a loving but broke family in Chicago. Her brother playing air guitar: “He had a very original technique, making a crook in his arm and a stroking motion with his other hand, kind of like a robot comforting a baby.” (p. 47)
Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady (Selina Hastings)
Sixth-Grade Glommers, Norks, and Me (Lisa Papademetriou) Allie Kimball starts sixth grade—her best friend who ditches her for a mean trendy girl (this part is very true-to-life, painful and complex)—Allie gains confidence on the soccer team and discovers that she does have the strength to be herself. Funny, sweet, and true.
The Skull Talks Back (Zora Neal Hurston/Joyce Carol Thomas) Peculiar, short creepy tellable tales of a man who kills the devil and talking skulls and such.
So Yesterday (Scott Westerfeld) Mystery involving a teen “cool-hunter.” Had potential but fell flat.
The Squire, His Knight, and His Lady(Gerald Morris) Another excellent tale- this one Gawain (and Terence’s) quest to fight the Green Knight; also touches on the tragedy of Arthur and Guinevere.
The Tale of Despereaux (Kate DiCamillo) Mouse braves dungeon and rats to save princess. Clean writing, good characters, annoying addresses directly to “reader.” Newbery winner.
The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip (George Saunders) Very fun, weird, somewhat obnoxious parable with pix by Lane Smith. Anna loved it.
The Westing Game (Ellen Raskin) Reread. Still good.
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