_The Dark_ by Lemony Snicket

I made the mistake of picking up Lemony Snicket's first book in that unfortunate series, but I plugged through it till the end. At our latest library outing, one of the books I grabbed from a display happened to be a picture book for children by the same author. Before reading it, I was perfectly prepared to write a bad review.

However, Lemony Snicket surprised me with The Dark. Certainly with a title like The Dark there was more than a possibility that this book would be depressing, and, well, dark. Instead it was delightful. with illustrations by Jon Klassen which are anything but frightening and complemented the theme of the book nicely.

Young Lazlo is frightened of the dark. He soon discovers that the dark is not out to get him. In fact, the dark leads him to an enlightening ending.

Illustrations by Jon Klassen are not frightening and complement the theme of the book nicely.

I would recommend this for any age child, but I would think that it would especially be a good fear-fighting tool in the arsenal of a parent of a child frightened of the dark.

_The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp_ by Kathi Appelt

My son picked this one out. When I perused the cover and blurps on the cover, I thought, "Great. Another book about an environmental agenda."

When I got around to reading it, it started slowly. The point-of-view jumps around. It puts me in mind of Holes (if you've ever read that) with the shifts in point-of-view and setting (including time). It's a little hard to follow at first. 

Luckily the language of the swamp, dripping with voice and beauty and nature's humor, kept me reading. Then I was hooked into the broken narrative that began spiraling together to form the meat and fun of this book.

The raccoon scouts of Sugar Man Swamp have been watching for decades, even if they never were quite sure what they were looking for and, if they found it, who to report to, unless it was the great Sugar Man himself, a giant of a Big Foot-type character. But where to find him amongst all the rattlesnakes? And 12-year-old Chap tries desperately to save his home and his family's business after his beloved grandfather dies. Then there's the bad guy, the selfish and mean capitalist without a heart, the guy you love to hate. Somehow Kathi Appelt ties all of these characters (plus some) together to form a cohesive and delightful story.

Did this book have an agenda? Yes and no. It was the kind of agenda I'm okay with. It wasn't overpowering. I mean, the characters were trying to save the swamp from wild boars and from being totally concreted over. It worked because the story wasn't only about that.

And the writing was good and intelligent.

My 10-year-old liked the book, and I don't recall anything objectionable (I admit I read it at least a month ago.).

My recommendation is to read it. You may need to start reading it out loud at first to help if you think your reader might struggle tying the broken plot together. It will take a few chapters, but then you both should be hooked.

_The Luck Uglies_ by Paul Durham

Luck Uglies, Bog Noblins, Harmless, Mud Puddle Lane, River Drowning. With names like that, why wouldn't you want to read this new book by Paul Durham? This fantasy book follows 11-year-old Rye O'Chanter as she learns about her family and the world around her while fighting evil in the form of Bog Noblins and Earl Longchance.

While both my son and I struggled a bit at the beginning with getting into the world of The Luck Uglies, we soon fell head over heels. He immediately asked for the next in the series (which isn't supposed to come out until 2015), and I simply enjoyed turning the fun names and phrases over in my mind (because I'm odd that way). My 10-year-old son is now reading it a second time, but only after my 8-year-old finished his first time through.

I picked The Luck Uglies randomly off the library bookshelf, and I was more than pleasantly surprised. This may not be a great "literary" masterpiece, but I would say it's a pretty good book. With good models for friendship and characters with character (despite the fact that some of the good guys are outlaws), it meets my moral standards. With excellent descriptions, cool characters, and a well-developed plot, it gets my English-teacher stamp of approval.

Now is the time for the parts that some parents may find objectionable. There is a part in which characters give their opinions about what happens after death. It isn't religious. It doesn't acknowledge God. There are parts that hint at a bit of pagan/mystical or something-or-other. But, hey, this is fantasy. It really wasn't pushing a world view.

Another head's up. If you're child has no idea about where babies come from, this might possibly prompt questions because Rye's father is out of the picture. Nobody knows who her sister's father is. The mystery is solved eventually, but it does allude to the fact that little sister came about because of a visit from Dad. There's nothing sexual or anything at all my prudish mind might find risque. Just a warning if your kid is in the dark and curious about what it all means because none of us want to be surprised by the "where do babies come from" question.

I sort of hated writing those last two paragraphs because I really don't think this book should be avoided. With all the crappy kids' "literature" out there, well, this one isn't. If my comments scared you off, please read it yourself before nixing this as an option for your children.

_John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads_ by John Denver

In honor of West Virginia Day (June 20th), I offer up this picture book review.

It rocks. The illustrations by Christopher Canyon are beautiful, especially if you like quilts. But even if you don't like quilts, the pictures are so detailed and gorgeous. It comes with a CD of the song, and the boys love listening and turning the pages and watching Mommy cry at the end. Every time.

Buy it as a gift. It's worth it.

_Marley: A Dog Like No Other_ by John Grogan

I saw the commercials on television for Marley & Me when it first came out, and I thought it looked hilarious. It wasn't until just this past year that I finally saw it on television, and it was better than I had expected. In January I read the memoir that the movie was based on (as recommended by a friend a few years ago), and it was even better than the movie. I laughed out loud and cried. I wanted to read it to my children, but there were just too many adult themes.

*Spoiler Alert* If you don't want to know what happens, then don't continue reading. Of course, that means you won't know my opinion of the book, so proceed with caution.

Then a few weeks ago I spotted Marley: A Dog Like No Other by John Grogan on the library shelves. The front cover claims it is a "special adaptation for young readers," so I had to check it out. After reading it as quickly as possible, and laughing and crying out loud again, I knew I wanted to read it to my older two boys. 

The problem is, as you know if you've seen the movie or read the grown-up version or understand that dogs don't live as long as people, that the lovable, furry, and stupidly boisterous main character dies in the end. I wasn't sure one of my boys could handle that part of the story. I decided to just ask him if he wanted to listen, making sure that both boys realized ahead of time that in the end, Marley would die and that it would be sad. 

He chose not to listen. Except he forgot to leave the room once. After that, he wanted to listen to the whole thing. Except when it became clear that the end was near. Then he didn't listen. Instead, he read the rest of the book on his own and skipped any parts that were just too intense for him. 

In the end, both of my boys absolutely loved the book. They rolled on the floor laughing. Apart from the whole sad part (which really is one of those sads that makes you happy), the book is stinking hilarious.

Now. There are parts some parents may not want their children reading. First--poop. If you have a problem with your children reading about poop, especially dog poop and sometimes vomit and gas, then don't bring this book home.  Second, the death thing. If you think you child can't handle it, preview it first before you let him read it. Third, if your family rejects anything that isn't doctrinally sound, this one mentions doggie heaven in the context of a father trying to comfort his children. 

The fourth thing is that some of the language is. . . hmmm. . . well, not "bad words" exactly, but phrases I mostly don't want my children using or phrases I wasn't ready to explain. These are the only parts I felt strongly enough about to leave out while I read aloud. The wife in the book jokingly shouts to her husband (when the dog plows him over and is on top of him) something about "when you two are done making out." Also, once when Marley was in a movie, a child actress screamed that Marley's "thing" was out.  One phrase I wasn't certain about but read anyway because I wasn't paying close enough attention was about Marley "in pursuit of hot poodle butt-sniffing action." Again, these phrases may be fine for you and yours, but my prudish self cringed a bit when thinking of reading them to my 8-9 year old boys.

That's it. I recommend this book heartily if you are cool with the issues I highlighted. It's not just funny; it's also good writing. Grogan has a way with words. His writing style isn't just humorous; it's also beautiful. 

_Little Joe_ by Sandra Neil Wallace

A few weeks ago, I brought Little Joe home from the library. My oldest saw it and exclaimed, "Little Joe! That was the best book I read last year!" I agree with him. 

My other reader was not convinced. In fact, he decided to go "green beans" on me about Little Joe. No matter how much I tried to convince him that if he tried it he'd like it, he insisted he did not want to read it. So, as I make him eat at least a few green beans, I made him read the first few chapters of Little Joe. He still would't admit that he liked it, but I could tell he did (just like with green beans).  Not wanting to read or like the book became part of his identity, but when I watched him reading it, I could tell by his face that he enjoyed it. 

Eventually, after he was finished reading the book, I was able to get him to admit that he did really like it. When I asked him why, he replied, "I like Little Joe because it's so real."

Me, too. Sandra Neil Wallace's story about a young boy, Eli, raising his first calf, Little Joe, is real. The relationships of the characters are real; especially central to the plot is the relationship between Eli and his father. The descriptions of nature are real. The farm life is real. This book captures the beauty of real, everyday living.

Boys who enjoy outdoors and animals should enjoy this book. Parents who enjoy their sons reading well-written, non-obnoxious, and detail-rich (but not overwhelming) books should put this in their hands. Eli is also a great (real) role model for boys; he's a young boy (9 years old) who is a hard worker, doesn't complain all the time, and is respectful and kind. Don't miss this one!

The Golden Name Day by Jennie D. Lindquist

If you've ever read this book, published in 1955, you are almost certainly questioning why in the world I am including a review for it on this blog. With female main characters, lots of tea parties (even if they're not tea parties technically), tons of flowers and dresses, a few kitties, dolls and such, this is about the girliest book I've ever read.

Illustrated by Garth Williams, it has a similar feel to a more popular series he illustrated--the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Due to her mother's (unnamed) illness and prolonged hospitalization, young Nancy must leave the city and go and live with Grandma and Grandpa (who are not her real grandparents, but more like "adopted" grandparents) in the country. Grandma and her family endeavor to keep Nancy busy so that she does not become too sad about being away from home and her own family.

The grandparents are of Swedish decent, and we are introduced to many of their customs. The one that most fascinates Nancy is name day. The Swedish almanac has a chart which assigns to each name a special day on which everybody with that name celebrates his or her name day with a party and much fun. Nancy's name, because it is American, is not in the almanac, and she spends the book searching for a way to have a name day all her own.

Truthfully, there is not much action to this book. But it is beautiful with such poetic details of nature as to fascinate any nature-lover. This book was pure and true to life and non-offensive in every way I can imagine. And I was reminded of how my own grandmother used to keep me busy with so many little projects and fun activities when I used to stay with her so far away from home and my parents.

But what about the boys!?  Well, the reason I am reviewing this book at all is my oldest son loved it. He was the one who found the second book of the trilogy on the library book shelf and asked me to find this one (through ILL) since it is out of print. At first, he was interested because Garth Williams illustrated it, and my boys were really into the Laura Ingalls books. Then he read it and insisted I read it.

Why did he like it?  Well, my son is one who stops to smell the roses. He struggles to buckle down and complete some assignments because he is so easily distracted by little joys. He relishes his little sister's giggles, the bird on the patio, and the way the glass of ice water collects condensation. In this book, he liked the apple blossoms at night and every other little portrait of nature. So, if your boy is like this, perhaps he, too, would delight in this book.