The London Eye Mystery

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd, Narrated by Paul Chequer, BBC Audiobooks Ltd, p2008. Audiobook downloaded from the public library

This is a splendid YA mystery that I picked because it was on the Texas Library Association, 2009 Texas Lonestar Reading list. This list continues, year after year, to present the most entertaining page-turners out there.

Ted and his older sister, Kat, wait in line with their cousin, Salim to ride the London Eye. A stranger approaches them and offers them a free ticket for the ride. As Salim is the visitor, they urge him to take it and go ahead without them. They watch the glass capsule make the 30 minute circuit, carefully following its progress. As the sealed car empties at the end of the ride, Kat and Ted realize that Salim is not among the passengers. He went up the Eye, locked in a transparent, glass pod but did not return.

What happened to Salim?

This is a very interesting and multi-layered mystery. The most fascinating aspect to the story is the character of Ted who, apparently, has Asperger’s Syndrome. He is fascinated with weather. He has encyclopedic knowledge of clouds and all weather phenomena. Listening to Ted's point of view, I was struck by how he uses something, as seemingly, unpredictable, as weather to help him relate in his own way to his family and the world around him.

In this story, Ted can handle and accept that there are variables to weather. An understanding of the many variables which impact the weather is soothing to him. If he can interpret the variables he can predict the weather. He cannot as easily interpret the swirling emotions of his family and the trauma and horror of a missing child. Of course it is his detached, out of the box thinking, that will solve the mystery of Salim's disappearance.

This is a terrific story and underscores to me AGAIN, how fiction--the genre--can shed light and insight and provide a new perspective.

It brought The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon to mind.

Alas, Dowd died in 2007, what a tragedy. Must check out her other novels.

The Siobhan Dowd Trust

Fuse #8 Books to GREAT Movies!

Fuse#8 hits it out of the park, grand slam, bases loaded, with her take on "Best Children's Book to Film Adaptations."

Brave Little Toaster fans of the world, UNITE!

But, seriously, I bow and make obeisance to her all knowing librarian's skills to have found this Psych homage to Holes and ...keep watching...

Princess Pig

Princess Pig by Eileen Spinelli, illustrated by Tim Bowers, Random House, 2009 -- publisher supplied review copy

A commoner, who suddenly finds herself bedecked with the trappings of royalty, discovers that it is not easy being a princess. This is not The Princess Diaries, nor Just Ella. Instead, Spinelli has cleverly translated this familiar theme to "down on the farm" for little guys.

Pig eagerly assumes the title of "Princess" when when a gust of wind drapes her with a sash from a nearby country fair beauty pageant à la Miss America. She acquires a crown ( a broken teacup) and gold necklace (flowers) and basks in "publicity." It is lonely at the top though and she realizes a being a princess may not what it is cracked up to be.

This traditional story takes wings and soars thanks to Tim Bowers imaginative, cuddle-up-close-let's-savor-the pictures illustrations. His farm animals faces are comic and expressive. His rich shadings and hues give the pages warmth and a slightly (to this reader) nostalgic feel that harkened me back to the Eulalie (Eulalie Banks) illustrations from the Platt & Munk books of my childhood.

Look at Pig's face when she first puts the "crown" on her head. Her pleasure is a thing to behold as is the dismay of the other animals. I've enjoyed Bowers's other work but Princess Pig is a treasure.

Airborn in Space

How very appropriate! Hoorah for Kenneth Oppel!

Oppel's take is at his blog, Kenneth Oppel!


From the Quill & Quire:

According to a press release from the Canada Council for the Arts, astronaut Robert Thirsk, currently aboard the International Space Station with fellow Canadian Julie Payette, has brought with him two books by Canadian authors – Airborn by Kenneth Oppel and Deux pas vers les étoiles by Jean-Rock Gaudreault.

From CBC:

Oppel, who is probably best known for his Silverwing trilogy, was thrilled to learn that his novel was chosen for this journey. "I'm so honoured that Robert Thirsk chose to take my novel Airborn with him on his six-month mission," he said.

Airborn is the story of a 15-year-old cabin boy who sets out to find a mysterious flying creature.

"It's completely thrilling to think of it in orbit aboard the International Space Station," Oppel said in a release from the Canada Council for the Arts.

"I'm very proud of Canada's involvement in the ISS and the astronauts really do exemplify the best of human co-operation, learning and enterprise. I'm delighted that my book is in such stellar company."

This and that

Movie: The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson introduces the first trailer for The Lovely Bones.



Fanfiction
Do read "When Harry Met Bella: Fanfiction is all the rage. But is it Plagiarism?" by Elizabeth Burns and Carlie Webber -- School Library Journal, 8/1/2009



Yum!
Ben & Jerry's "library" ice cream? Li-berry Pie icecream?

The Truth about Horses, Friends, & My Life as a Coward

The Truth about Horses, Friends, & My Life as a Coward by Sarah P. Gibson, illustrations by Glin Dibley, Marshall Cavendish, 2008 -- publisher supplied review copy

This is the kind of book I want to link arms with and go walk around the mall with while we text people we know.

Sophie's family owns three horses. Sophie does not like horses. Sophie fears horses (with good reason) yet cannot escape them.

They do not know much about horses when they begin -- inadvertently -- to collect them. Her mother and sister are romantics but Sophie has learned the hard way that horses are dangerous. A loner, she is reluctant to use the the animals as "friend bait." In fact, she uses them as a wedge against the disappointment that would-be-friends are only interested in her because of her horses. Sophie is wary of people and the horses.

Horse lovers should appreciate this realistic look at what it is like to have horses in your life. This is not King of the Wind. There is no "Marguerite Henry" glow to these equines. These horses have matted manes and hang out near manure piles. Really is a (really) mean pony who bites everyone, Sweetheart is a swayback Arabian who craftily sheds her riders against tree branches and Fancy Free is a horse-and-a-half in size but missing some major horse sense. Each horse has a lesson to teach Sophie though.

As a mother and a teacher, I've seen it. Second semester, fourth grade, the hormones kick in and the social re-ordering begins. Friendships are broken and new alliances are formed when small groups at recess morph into cliques that are open to some while others are excluded. Just finding a group to sit with at lunch time is an emotionally charged experience in junior high. Sophie has lived this which is why her comment, "I never had a best friend until Melissa Maloney moved in up the street " hits with poignancy and hope. Readers from grades 4-8 will identify.

While all that sounds very serious, Gibson's humor is very sly, very clever, very witty and causes so many audible chuckles, snorts and guffaws that family members will look at you expectantly as you read, hoping you will share. The story unfolds in a series of vignettes with titles like, "How Not to Buy a Pony or Danger in a Small Package."

I love this book.
I think it is time to cruise by the pretzel place now and then we'll go check out the earrings at The Icing and Claire's.

Movie: The Lightening Thief

Oh happy, happy, happy, happy day!!! How fun!! It is a teaser!

Source FirstShowing.net for full wide screen.

Sharp-eyed entling no. 3 found it! Clever entling.

Must tweak my blog to accomodate this new wide screen world

Have your cake

from: Source via Source

<-- These are my favorite

So, weeks ago, entling no. 1 started to alert me and her sister to the newly released pics from New Moon--the movie but she stopped as she remembered, "oh, snap, they don't care."

It is really so sad, a house divided. Twilight fans/Not Twilight fans. (entling no. 2 has not weighed in, yet.)

entling no. 3 and I rejoice in the success, fandom and enthusiasm for the Twilight books. I adore them for their contribution to my "it is never too late to become a reader" mantra.

entling no. 3 actually liked the movie and uttered the equivalent of heresy in this house, "I think I will just see the movies and not read the books." Alas.

We tried, REALLY tried to be part of the party BUT it turned out that both of us got to the "sparkle in the forest clearing" part and had to stop reading. I did eventually finish the book but the entling couldn't push her eyeballs one page further.

From unscientific data, gleaned from random conversations, it would appear that, the "sparkle" scene is a make-or-break point for readers. If you sail through that scene you will be a Twilight fan. If not, not.

Reading Meg Cabot's arch take on Publix birthday cakes and her ponders about Twilight cakes sent me a-googling.

For all the fans who got through the sparkle, have your cake...here and here.

Necropolis

Necropolis by Anthony Horowitz, Scholastic, 2009 -- Library download

The title, Necropolis, evokes an image of a dead city so it is no surprise that this book spins the Power of Five (aka Gatekeepers) saga into even darker territory. There are no happy-clappy moments in this story.

In the previous three books, the identities of four young gatekeepers were revealed. Thousands of years ago, it was the combined power of five young people that saved the world from destruction at the hands of the Old Ones.

Now, Matt, Pedro, Jamie and Scott have identified the fifth and final member of their group, a girl named Scarlet. Matt and Jamie set off to alert her to her role and rescue her from the Old Ones who are getting ready to open a giant can of "End Times" on the planet. The boys' search takes them to Hong Kong where Scarlet has been lured into the hands of the nefarious Nightrise Corporation. Nightrise is preparing the way for the Old Ones' return.

Before you can say,"Midsomer Murders," the bad guys are killing innocent bystanders and each other, left and right. The body count reaches stratospheric levels. This is Evil Incarnate after all. The Old Ones and their henchmen are mass murderers.

As a screen writer, Horowitz vividly captures dozens of fine details about the city of Hong Kong. He also supplies horror elements with hordes of flies, animated dead bodies, shape shifters and "Old Ones" versions of Tolkien's Nazgul. This is truly a creepy story.

Although the ultimate end to the tale is probably not in doubt, Horowitz supplies this installment with plenty of action and fight scenes along with a cliff hanger ending. He also infuses his storytelling with a whiff of current events and political themes.

This is by far the best book in the series. I did not know what to expect when I started listening to these but I am utterly hooked now.

Simon Prebbles is the voice of Anthony Horowitz, Inc. for Recorded Books. He provides a solid and highly entertaining performance here.

Food & Books

Two blogs focused on my two favorite topics -- books and food.

Pinot and Prose
by Laura Lutz

Sweet Reads
by Rawley