Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Emily's Fortune by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor


I was up late last night finishing Emily's Fortune--it is that kind of book!  A rip roaring adventure with lots of historical detail, twists, turns, and chuckles.

Emily is 10 years old when her mother dies, leaving her with just two living a relatives: Aunt Hilda, who Emily remembers as having a kind face and lots of hugs, and Uncle Victor, who took her mother's money and made her cry.  Not much of a decision for Emily, but since Uncle Victor is a blood relative and Aunt Hilda is not, it is not clear if Emily will be allowed to go to Hilda, even though Hilda writes to say she will  be happy to take Emily. Emily's neighbors, Miss Ready, Miss Aim, and Miss Fire (yes, it is that kind of book too), decide to take the bull by the horns and pack Emily off on her way to Aunt Hilda in Redbud.

Emily, accompanied only by her adored pet turtle, Rufus, starts out on the train, then switches to the stage coach, all the while being pursued by the Catchum Child-Catching Services, who get a "super-duper-dinger-zinger bonus" for every orphan they place with a blood relative. Soon Emily meets up with Jackson, a more-experienced orphan who takes her under his wing.With his help she avoids the child-catching service, but soon the trouble multiplies in spades when Uncle Victor appears looking for Emily. It turns out Emily has inherited ten million dollars from her mother's employer (hence the book's title).

It would be hard to find a darker villain than Uncle Victor.  Emily has no illusions about why he is pursuing her--he either wants to get his hands on her and her money, or do away with her entirely since then he would inherit the millions!  Jackson, always quick-thinking, derives a plan in which Emily dresses as a boy and pretend to be his mute, half-witted brother, Eli.  Thus attired, Emily is forced to ride for days in the stagecoach with a suspicious Uncle Victor, being bounced, jostled, stuck in mud, mired in sand, and many other uncomfortable situations.

I won't tell any more, but suffice it to say that Emily is a great character who finds courage and fortitude when she needs to.  The book has wonderful language, and every chapter ends with a bold question such as "WHAT IN SHOOTIN' SHIVERS WOULD EMILY DO NOW?"  Emily's Fortune would make a superb read aloud and would be enjoyed by any kid with half a dose of sense, for Pete's sake! So read it!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Edgar Allan's Official Crime Investigation Notebook by Mary Amato

Yep, Mary Amato continues her tradition of writing funny books that kids will love with this one.  Fifth grade Edgar is a regular old kid-too regular!  He can't measure up to his older brother and can't think of a single thing he is good at.  When Edgar arrives at school one day to find that a thief has stolen his class goldfish AND left behind a poem as a clue he decides that this will be his moment of glory--Edgar will find the thief and everyone will think he is the greatest thing ever! There are a couple of problems with this plan: 1. His goody-two-shoes classmate Patrick is also trying to solve the crime, and seems to be making more progress than Edgar. 2. Every "lead" Edgar follows turns out to be a dead end.

The story is told in excerpts from Edgar's "crime investigation" notebook, hence the title.  More mysterious thefts complicate the investigation, along with more cryptic poems left by the thief.  As Edgar begins to look more closely at his teachers and classmates as suspects, he comes to discover other things about them that he never noticed before.  Destiny, a quiet girl he never talks to, no longer hangs out with her former best friend and seems to be withdrawn and sad.  Taz, the obnoxious class clown, spends an unusual amount of time talking about dogs and also seems a little sad.  One of his teachers seems to be in love with the school custodian.  Patrick is watching Edgar all the time and trying to steal his leads in order to crack the case first. The more Patrick learns about the people around him the more he begins to care about them, and ultimately this winds up being more important than whodunit.

Interwoven with the story are many lessons about poetry.  All the thief's poems are in fact based on famous poems.  It is fun to read the poems and try to figure out where Amato got them from.  This book presents a great opportunity to learn about poetry, and is also a darn fun read!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Switching on the Moon: a Very First Book of Bedtime Poems

It is so unfortunate that the publishers (or whoever) made the decision to subtitle this book "A very first book of Bedtime Poems."  This gives the impression that the book is for toddlers.  Does this strike you as toddler fare?: When the bat's on the wing and the bird's in the tree,
Comes the old Starlighter, whom none may see,
First in the West, where the low hills are,
He touches his wand to the evening star,
Then swiftly he runs on his rounds on high
Till he's lit every lamp in the dark blue sky.
This is The Starlighter by Arthur Guiterman.  Isn't it lovely?  Of course, there are some sillier poems included as well, such as:
My bed is like a little boat
Floating out to sea.
And now it's like an island
with a coconut tree.
That is from My Bed by Tony Mitton. This poem will certainly be appreciated by toddlers and preschoolers, but every bit as much by 5, 6, 7, and 40-year-olds!  This is such a super collection of night poems--I love every one--selected by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters.  Some are silly, some are wistful, some short, some longer.  It is just the right book for settling into bed at the end of the day. 

And I must mention the pictures, for me the BEST part of all!  In my opinion G. Brian Karas should have won the Caldecott Medal for this book.  Using his characteristic scribbly pencil drawings with plenty of color  Karas has created an absolutely magical world inside these pages.  I am going to start my Caldecott campaign for G. Brian Karas.  I have loved him ever since I first saw Muncha Muncha Muncha and Like Butter on Pancakes. Let me know if you agree!

Anyhow, you should check out Switching on the Moon, whether you are 2 or 100.  It is one of my favorite poetry books of all time, and that's saying something!