Tuesday Storytime. Excellent Eggs

This was supposed to be the storytime for the Tuesday after Easter, but we had a slight technical difficulty and so it got used today. Example #three-million-and-one for why I do slightly off-note storytimes when I can for holidays or themed days; I can re-use general egg storytimes, but Easter storytimes are a little harder to explain three weeks after the fact. :)


An Egg is Quiet
Dianna Aston, illustrated by Sylvia Long
ISBN: 9780811844284
Beautiful nonfiction picture book showcasing the diversity and beauty of eggs. Really lovely and lyrical and fantastic; while being absolutely grounded in reality and information. Perfect layout to choose what age-group or complexity-level to engage with, which makes it a great school pick.

Egg
Kevin Henkes
ISBN: 9780062408723
Almost wordless picture book with comic-book framing on several pages (it's like a gentle version of a Mo Willems Pigeon book) tell the story of four eggs and their slightly diverging paths through life. The "mystery" got a lot of traction from my audience, and there were several exlaims of shock and interest. Always a great thing to get from a storybook.

The Egg
M. P. Robertson
ISBN: 0803725469
While I appreciate the mystery of the egg-hatching as much as anyone (especially when it makes an impact like it did today on an appreciative audience) I have to say that this particular book for some reason is THE HARDEST to find when you don't remember the author's name! Librarian Problems. Anyway. George (first clue) finds a GIANT egg under his mom's favorite chicken (love that detail) and proceeds to play mommy for the fantastic find. A really sweet and funny and beautifully illustrated fairy tale ensues, and one that's actually short enough to read during storytime! One of my all-time favorite picture books, even if I do forget the author's name all the time.

Juv Fantasy: Dragon Slippers, Jessica Day George

Dragon Slippers

Jessica Day George (Tuesdays at the Castle)

ISBN: 978159990575

Coming-of-age, betrayal and friendships, and very nice dragons, with a side order of creepy.

I really loved Tuesdays at the Castle, and I don't know why I assumed it was George's first book, but I just discovered the truly excellent Dragon Slippers, and I'm very glad I did.  Great storytelling, excellent characters (both good and bad) and a lovely take on dragon-kind and dragon hoards.

Creel's family is dead, so she and her brother are being raised by her aunt and uncle.  Sadly, no one really has any money, so auntie gets the bright idea to have Creel captured by the local dragon, rescued by the local lord's son, and carried off to a glorious life in the manor house (whereupon manorial favor (ie, money) will shower down upon the rest of the household (meaning auntie).  Creel, like most of us reading this devious plot, attempts to point out the many and manifest errors in logic, but auntie is firm, and Creel figures the old dragon is probably dead anyway, so she'll hang out for a bit, then come back home and her aunt will move on to a new wild scheme.

But the dragon is NOT dead, and Creel finds herself set off on an adventure that has her struggling to use her wits and her talents (embroidery and design) to support herself in a wide and wild world that doesn't particularly care about her.  

Creel is sharp and smart, clever and hard-working, and she's aided by (and hampered by) a well-written supporting cast (human and dragon).  She plans, she acts, and she is unafraid to speak up for herself (even when it doesn't necessarily work out well for her).  

The story gets a little dark and parts of it are downright creepy towards the end, but the overall tragic/terrible details are blurry and distant - think Prince Caspian, or the weirder parts of Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  Anyone who's more than one book into Harry Potter ought to be just fine as well.     

Graphic Novel: The Last Dragon, Jane Yolen, illustrated by Rebecca Guay

The Last Dragon
Jane Yolen, illustrated by Rebecca Guay
ISBN: 9781616558741
Read August 15, 2016


An introduction by Neil Gaiman is sweet, but unnecessary for this sweet and delightfully traditional dragon slaying fairy tale.

Once upon a time there was an island that was plagued by dragons, who just adored eating people.  Apparently we taste good.  The folk banded together and slayed them all.  Now it's hundreds of years later, and dragons are a faded memory - all dead, all gone.  Until one final egg hatches, and a new dragon begins to grow up in the woods, all fire and hatred and appetite.

We join a healer's family and a pair of young boys searching for a hero, all desperate to save their town from this re-born threat from the past.

The art is beautiful, the characters are individualized as much as possible given the short length of the story, and a sweet little romance doesn't detract from the plot to destroy the dragon and save the townsfolk.

Tuesday Storytime and Summer Reading: Dragons!

The very best Fantastic creatures are dragons.  No question about it.  And there are getting to be some really good dragon books in the picture book world.

Storytime Lineup:
Me and My Dragon
The Crocodile Who Didn't Like Water
Dragons Love Tacos

Summer Reading Lineup:
Not Your Typical Dragon
When A Dragon Moves In
Dragons Love Tacos

Info and (short) Reviews:

Me and My Dragon
David Biedrzycki
ISBN: 9781580892780
A boy walks through the process of adopting a dragon like any other pet.

The Crocodile Who Didn't Like Water
Gemma Merino
ISBN: 9780735841635
Our croc isn't like his siblings, but he really wants to be around them - just not in the water.

Dragons Love Tacos
Adam Rubin, illustrated by Daniel Salmieri
ISBN: 9780803736801
Dragons love tacos, but watch out for that spicy salsa - it'll get you every time!

Not Your Typical Dragon
Dan Bar-el, illustrated by Tim Bowers
ISBN: 9780670014026
Crispin (best dragon name ever) doesn't breathe fire - he's just a bit different, but it'll all turn out ok.

When A Dragon Moves In
Jodi Moore, illustrated by Howard McWilliam
ISBN: 9780979974670
A boy at the beach gets into a little bit of trouble with his "dragon's" crazy antics.




 

Tuesday Storytime: Knights and Dragons

Yay!  I finally have enough good knights and dragons books to do a storytime!

The Bravest Knight
Mercer Mayer
ISBN: 9780803732063
Mayer's signature art style populates a young boy's vivid imagination of knights and battles.

If we're going for straight favorites, There's an Alligator Under My Bed is my absolute favorite.  However, for the knights and dragons angle, The Bravest Knight is so cute.  We start with a trash can lid-toting boy, as he elucidates the many reasons he would love to live "a thousand years ago" (exaggeration starts early) when there were knights and castles and dragons and trolls.  Until of course his imagination (and the fearsome troll) gets to be a leeeetle bit too much for him, and he's quite happy to be back in the safety of the present day.

King Jack and the Dragon
Peter Bently, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
ISBN: 9780803736986
New Arrival, reviewed here.

Short and sweet, and full of imaginative play and cooperation and all the knights and dragons and beasts any kid could wish for.  Perfect for storytime.

Me and My Dragon
David Biedrzycki
ISBN: 9781580892780
Technically no knights, but a sweet story about the logistics of pet dragons.

I've used this one before in pet-oriented storytimes, and it's so cute.  We walk through a boy's fond imaginings of how life would be with a pet dragon, from adoption and vet visits to obedience school and seasonal activities (kite flying probably not a hit, melting snow from neighbors' sidewalks super easy).  The dragon is bright red and expressive, with big eyes and a floppy rounded body, while everything else is drawn in a realistic style.  I also have to say that I'm really happy to see that our narrator is an indeterminate brownish color instead of being white.  A small touch, and never even mentioned, but it's gratifying to see.

Picture Book: King Jack and the Dragon, Peter Bently & Helen Oxenbury

King Jack and the Dragon
Peter Bently, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
ISBN: 9780803736986
Soft-edged drawings in watercolors show the power of friendship and imaginative play.

A trio of very young friends has medieval adventures in their great fort (made of sheets and a cardboard box).  Jack is king, Zack was a knight, and little Caspar was a page-boy.  They had great adventures fighting dragons and monsters and feasting in their fort.  Until the sun began to set, and Sir Zack was dragged off by a giant, and Caspar got snagged by another giant, and King Jack was left all alone in his fort at night.  Of course, all of the giants are parents, and the brave trio does have to go to bed after all.

Too adorable for words, and ABOUT TIME there was another good knights and kingdoms book to match up with Mercer Mayer's The Bravest Knight.

Graphic Novel: Nimona, Noelle Stevenson

Nimona
Noelle Stevenson
ISBN: 9780062278234
Stylized people in a techno-mystic empire are faced with an enigmatic shapeshifter with awesome power.
Read June 2015

Love everything about this book.  The art is a little weird, and once you hear her admit that she does "dot eyes" because she doesn't do eyes well, you just can't not notice it, but the movement and shading and emotion are all simply brilliant.

Nimona is our title character, but in a very real way, our viewpoint character is the "supervillain" Lord Blackheart.  He's not really a very good villain tho, and a lot about the set-up made me think fondly of Megamind.

Nimona herself tho - she's an interesting little enigma.  The repressive kingdom that Blackheart faces off against wants to catch her and use her as a weapon, and she's got some deep psychic scars regarding that sort of idea.  She's also sweet, helpful, insightful, hostile, brittle, a-moral, and nearly entirely undamageable.  LOVE.

My final joy with this lovely quirky book was the relationship between Blackheart and his moral enemy and sworn foe, Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin (LOVE THESE NAMES) who works for the kingdom's military complex.  The two of them make a lovely throughline through the story, and I was quite happy with where they ended up.

  

Juv Fantasy Sequel: Stolen Magic, Gail Carson Levine

Stolen Magic
Gail Carson Levine
ISBN: 9780061706370
Sequel to A Tale of Two Castles, reviewed here. (much scrolling required)

Mansioner (actress) and Detective's Assistant Elodie is returning to her rural island home after the whirlwind events in the mainland capital in A Tale of Two Castles.  To her great pleasure, her boss, the gender-unspecified dragon Meenore, and the sweet but frightening ogre Count Jonty Um (and his dog) are coming with her to meet her parents and see where she grew up!

Unfortunately, they've barely landed on the island before they are detoured; first by a blizzard, and second by a crisis brewing at the island's central monastery.  A magical relic must remain in contact with it's resting place to perform the magic necessary to keep the island, formed of seven active volcanoes, from erupting and killing everyone.  Someone has stolen the relic, and now the nearest mountain will blow in just a few days, unless the thief is discovered and the relic returned.

Elodie and Meenore are on the case, and Elodie makes a new friend in the young ward of a rich visitor, sheltering from the blizzard.  The story obviously has to rid itself of both Count Jonty and of Meenore for Elodie's mansioning and detecting to shine, but I admire the natural and character-driven way that Levine accomplishes getting rid of the relevant adults to let the kids run with the case.

Despite being a magical environment, the story is down-to-earth with logic, observation, cleverness, and persistence as the traits celebrated and admired, both by readers and by the characters in the story.  The ending, where Elodie finally accomplishes her goal after much side-tracking, is a bit tacked-on, and there remains a mystery around Elodie's acting mentor; why is he working as a farm laborer, out on a rural, out of the way island community?

The ending sets up a potential for another installment, and if so, I'll be happy to read it also.

New Arrivals: Picture Book: Dragon's Extraordinary Egg, Debi Gliori

Too cute for words.

Dragon's Extraordinary Egg
Debi Gliori
ISBN: 9780802737595
First published in UK as "Dragon Loves Penguin"
Textural, close-up views, colorful drawn characters reminds strongly of Mo Willems' Pigeon books.

A penguin is telling her young chick a bedtime story.  This story is epic and filled with mystery and fantasy - a clan of dragons lives on top of a frozen volcano, while penguins live down below on the ice.  An eggless dragon spies an abandoned egg on the ice, adopts it, raises it, and teaches the very undragon-like creature (spoilers: its a penguin) how to live happily among dragons, until one day when the penguin notices a certain change in the temperature that the thicker-scaled siblings and friends don't notice.  At the end, a character returns in a surprise cameo, revealing a much closer relationship between the current happily-listening chick and the amazing story (or history) being told.

A bit on the long side for storytime, sadly.  It's hard to get adoption-friendly stories that aren't polemics or utterly treacly (sorry, I Love You Like Crazy Cakes, but the shoe fits) or really specific.  This one is just cute and outre enough to be enjoyable for most kids, but with a special pop of meaning for anyone adopted (or really, anyone who feels like they just don't fit in with their family).

Juvenile Fantasy: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making, Catherynne Valente

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making
Catherynne Valente
ISBN: 9780312649616
Re-Read, finished September 24, 2014


This book, y'all.

I first read this book back in 2012, when I wasn't keeping as scrupulous a review record of what I was reading.  I didn't review it then, because I couldn't ever think of anything to say other than how much I liked it.  Strangely enough, the more a book has touched me, or the more I feel like it fits, the less I find I can coherently say about it directly.  It's a challenge.

This book is a beautiful and illusion-shattering psychology manual on the topics of humanity and growing up, dolled up in a fancy-dress-party disguise as a romp through Fairyland by a little human girl named September, and the friends and enemies she makes as she quests.

It is amazing.  It made me cry, and made my heart ache, and made me wish that I had even a clock with my name on it.  I want a library to be my ancestor, and for a trio of married witches to tell my future in moldy soup, but I also want to scoop just about all the characters up into a great big neverending hug and lie through my teeth that everything will be all right, and not to worry about such big terrible things as life and betrayal and fairness.

I discovered recently that there were a couple of sequels: The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There, and The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two.  I hate reading sequels after there's been a long break between reading the first, so naturally I had to go back to this one, and oh god, it hurts just as badly as it did on the first read.  It's painfully beautiful and true and wild and good.

I will leave you with a much more excellent (although not much more on-topic) review of this book from one of my favorite authors and people; Patrick Rothfuss, from over on Goodreads.

Picture Book C&C: The Reluctant Dragon, and The Reluctant Dragon (abridged)

The original Reluctant Dragon first showed up as a chapter in Dream Days, by Kenneth Grahame (of Wind in the Willows fame) and was subsequently adapted by just about everyone, in just about every format imaginable.  The one I read as a child was illustrated by Michael Hague (who remains my favorite illustrator of that particular story), and was first published in the 1960s.  I've compared it to a more recent edition that was abridged by Inga Moore (Six-Dinner Sid) from 2004.  I was trying to find a version short enough to use for my toddler-level storytime, but even her abridgment was way too long for my needs.  (For the curious, I ended up with Tomie DePaola's The Knight and the Dragon which covers very nearly the same territory.)

The Reluctant Dragon

Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Michael Hague

ISBN: 9780030640315

Holt, Rinehart, & Winston 1983, hardcover, 42 pages.

The Reluctant Dragon (abridged)

Kenneth Grahame, abridged by Inga Moore, illustrated by Inga Moore

ISBN: 0763621994

Candlewick, 2004, hardcover, 52 pages. 

(page count is higher due to greater number and size of illustrations)

Short verdict:  Classic wins, but not by much.

Longer verdict: 

Illustrations - I like the bright crisp colors and the almost Kate Greenaway romantic childhood English feel of Inga Moore's version, but despite the appeal of a bright sky-blue dragon cavorting in flowery meadows under the sun, I still prefer the super-detailed and slightly more "realistic" drawings of Michael Hague.  Classic wins out for me, but for people preferring brighter colors or slightly more cartoonish presentation, Moore's is lovely.  Finally, Moore's is unquestionably the more richly illustrated - nearly all the pages are illustrated, and there are many full spreads.  

Language: For the very young, the abridgment elides many of the adult or unpleasant asides, but I feel like some of the interest and peculiarity of the original language is lost along the way.  For parents or teachers looking for a version with fewer objectionable elements, the abridgment is likely to be much preferred: the drunken dragon at the end is made simply tired, many of the double-entendre asides by the adults or the dragon are removed or rephrased to alter their meaning, and most interestingly, the villagers baiting the badger for sport (and the creature's subsequent rescue by Sir George) is entirely removed from the story.

So - either one is delightful, but I remain firmly on the side of my own childhood favorite (most likely because it IS my childhood favorite) despite a beautiful presentation by Inga Moore.

 

Tuesday Storytime: Dragons!

This is my last free storytime before the Summer Reading Program starts.  I decided last year that I was going to have my storytimes for the little kids match up with the programs for the big kids in the Summer Reading Program, and I don't regret that - I love all the books and crafts that I've chosen - but I do feel a twinge that it will be AUGUST before I get to choose another personal, only at this library storytime theme (and before you ask, yes, I have already chosen them and picked out the books: swimming, going to the beach, and back to school).

So for the last storytime before we get to exult in science: Dragons!

(As a bonus, ALL THREE of the books I read this time got taken home by patrons - I LOVE when that happens!)

Me and My Dragon
David Biedrzycki
ISBN: 9781580892780
Bright red comically-exaggerated non-threatening dragon, and a mundane kid and environment

Some kids want puppies, some goldfish, but this kid - he wants a dragon!  He adopts a nice fire-breathing red variety from the pet store, gives it a place to sleep (a cardboard castle with a drawbridge) and teaches it how to fly (pushing it off a cliff) and takes it to obedience school, settling down to enjoy life together.  This could also very easily go into a Pet Ownership theme with Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy and Shirley Hughes' Dogger.

Waking Dragons
Jane Yolen, illustrated by Derek Anderson
ISBN: 9781416990321
Soft-edged pudgy oversized dragons are woken up and taken through their morning routine by a diminutive knight.

So little text to this story, but it's very sweet, and lots of fun.  The only weird issue I have with it is that in my accent, "syrup" and "cheer up" are nowhere close to a rhyme, and that always makes my brain hurt a little bit.  This is like the platonic ideal of a middle of storytime read - interesting pictures, minimal text, short or no plot, and no big drama.

Hiding Hoover
Elise Broach, illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith
ISBN: 9780803727069
Thin, spiky, exaggeratedly elongated characters in a brightly colored world.

Daddy says "No pets!" so when the duo finds Hoover (a thin, spiky, elongated, green flappy dragon) in the back yard, they know they're going to have to get creative in order to keep him.  Hoover is hidden in bed, in the closet, tries on their clothes, ends up as a coat-rack, a stepladder, a chandelier, a vacuum, an armchair, and an umbrella, each time fooling poor Daddy, who never notices a thing.  Until the end, when there's a fairly big hint that maybe Daddy has noticed Hoover after all.

Memoirs of Lady Trent series, Marie Brennan (aka, a lady naturalist discovers dragons around the world)

I finished a writing project, so I took a bit of a mental health break and got some reading done.  It's such a nice feeling to finish something and be proud of it, but it's even better to turn off my brain and just sink into a story for a while.

In other news, there's still 5 days left to exercise your own creative side and submit an invented type of dragon to become part of Marie Brennan's Memoirs of Lady Trent series.

That said, it shouldn't be a surprise that this review is of that series.

A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent
Marie Brennan
ISBN: 9780765331960

The Tropic of Serpents: A Memoir by Lady Trent
Marie Brennan
ISBN: 9780765331977

Both read sometime in the last two weeks.

I originally read and reviewed A Natural History of Dragons last summer and of course loved it immensely.  I was not disappointed in it the second time through, and actually felt that the pacing wasn't as much of a complaint this time around - as I knew what was coming, I was more prepared for it.

I am happy to report that The Tropic of Serpents was a bang-up read as well, and in some ways, even better than the first.  I loved the political and ethnographic asides, the commentary of a much older and wiser woman looking back on youthful indulgences and indiscretions, and I really feel they complemented the story so very well.

I also felt that the action and pacing was a bit more stable in this installment.  I loved the swamps, I loved the people, I loved the "reckless pragmatism" of Lady Trent, and I'm happy to see her gain friends and mature through challenges.  It was a shame about the pocketknife.

The next one on the docket is Voyage of the Basilisk, with an ARC release late this year, so probably an early Spring 2015 publication date.  So excited!

The Ghost Bride, Yangsze Choo

The Ghost Bride
Yangsze Choo
ISBN: 9780062227324
Read March 10, 2014

Historical Malaysian Fantasy, Chinese afterlife.

I've had this book on my pile for at least three months now, probably closer to four months, and while the cover and title drew me in initially, I just never felt like reaching out and grabbing it.  The blurb on the flaps was interesting enough to keep it ON the pile as I purged it and changed it each month, but not enough to get me started on it.  My mind is weird that way sometimes.

I also read a blogposting recently by a fantasy author who was bemoaning the fact that she's burned out on stereotypical fantasy - the vague European setting, the men in billowing cloaks, the assassins and mage apprentices and wealthy disaffected daughters of the nobility.  I was nodding along through the whole rant, because I've been feeling it too.  In fact, I haven't read much fantasy recently, exactly because of that.

So, here's this lovely, sweet, easily-paced, dreamlike gem of a book with a Chinese-afterlife-inspired fantasy world set in Malaysia.  Sitting on my desk for months.  I need to read something.  Perfect timing.

So I finally read it yesterday.

It's really good.

I love the slightly bemused tone set by the narrator (the protagonist, looking back in time and recalling the story) even though usually those sorts of narrators kill the urgency, because you know, of course they aren't dead - they're narrating the book!  However, with this set-up, where hungry ghosts haunt the living and revered ancestors hang out for centuries in the plains of the dead (avoiding their just punishments through donations and bribes to the corrupt gatekeepers) there's no real way to know if our pensive narrator is in fact among the dead.

Even the love triangle (quadrangle?) wasn't bad - it isn't my favorite plot device to have people mooning over each other and being indecisive, but it was actually central to the plot and to how life and marriage arrangements worked in that time and place.

Loved Er Lang, loved Chendana the wooden horse, and loved the final complication set before the protagonist.

I also enjoyed that the protagonist started off sheltered and innocent, but was always willful and ready to take matters into her own hands to decide her fate.  Despite being confused by love and desire and duty (always a tangled mess anyway) she wasn't passive or indifferent, which is a nice precedent to set.

I find myself thinking that this book is what I had hoped 8 Million Gods would be.

I very much hope Choo writes another one, perhaps even a sequel!  

Three Tales of My Father's Dragon, Ruth Stiles Gannet

Three Tales of My Father's Dragon (50th anniversary hardcover edition)
Ruth Stiles Gannet, illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannet
ISBN: 0679887116
Re-Read: December 30, 2013 - January 3, 2014.

Juv: illustrated trio of stories about Elmer Elevator and his adventures with Boris the blue-and-yellow striped baby dragon.  The first was written and illustrated as a family project, and published in 1948 to instant acclaim.

I remember these so fondly from childhood.  The tangerines, the sticks of chewing gum, the very carefully crafted lists of everything from knapsack provisions to hidden treasure contents.  And of course the elderly stray cat, the baby dragon, and Elmer himself, totally willing to rise to any occasion as long as he's had a bit of time to think through a plan.

The first story is the classic, the one most people will remember, where Elmer ventures to Wild Island and braves everything from boars to rhinos to crocodiles with wit, chewing gum, toothpaste, and lollipops, on his mission to rescue a mistreated baby dragon who is chained to a river crossing.

The second story chronicles Elmer and the Baby Dragon's journey to bring Elmer back home in time for his father's birthday, with their stopover at the Island of Escaped Canaries, where King Can the XI, and all the other canaries,  are dying (albeit very slowly) of curiousity because the King won't tell his deep family secret about a long-hidden treasure.

Third story has Boris (the baby dragon now has a name) returning home to the Blueland Mountains after schlepping Elmer back home.  Unfortunately, Boris arrives just in time to see his whole family (all 15 of them: 6 sisters, 7 brothers, and parents) besieged inside their cave home, trapped by a group of explorers determined to capture them and sell them off to zoos.  Back to Elmer for assistance, and the two children sneakily and cleverly defeat the bad guys, leaving no one the wiser.

Delightful memories, delightful stories, and the illustrations are just quirky and sweet enough to fit perfectly.    

The Different Dragon, Jennifer Bryan, illustrated by Danamarie Hosler

The Different Dragon

Jennifer Bryan, illus by Danamarie Hosler, ISBN: 9780967446868

August 1, 2013

 

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did.  A lesbian-led family, a sweet little boy, a dragon who doesn't want to be "fierce" anymore - but sadly it wasn't as good as I hoped.

 

It has all the hallmarks of a "vanity press" book.  Slightly naive illustrations that too perfectly echo the text, the over-descriptive and wordy writing of someone who isn't an actual children's picture-book author...

 

Which is sad, really, because the bones are excellent.  If it's ever considered for re-publication, I would like to see the "two mommies" played down a bit more so it really is just a part of the background like the pet cats or the little sister.  I would like to see more in the illustrations and have less in the text - leave some things to context or discovery when perusing the illustrations.  I would like the writing to smooth out in flow and lighten up in volume.  

 

I would also like for there to be more actual large-press picture books that deal with alternative family arrangements, so that children in these families can see beautiful quality artwork and craftmanlike stories that ring true to their own lives and situations.  In the meantime, this one isn't bad, just not as good as it could have been.

Soonie and the Dragon, Shirley Rosseau Murphy

Soonie and the Dragon
Shirley Rosseau Murphy
Published 1979
Hardcover "Weekly Reader" book
ISBN: 978-0689307201

Goodwill find!

This is a sweet collection of three tales featuring the intrepid Soonie, orphaned and left all alone at the start with a broken-down cart, and old hound, and an even older mare.  Despite only knowing how to sing and dance and tell stories, she manages to fix and paint the cart in a day, (saving enough time to sing for her supper, of course) and then she's off to adventures!

In the first installment (which I imagine would be what most people remember) Soonie travels to the big city, and tries to sing for her supper, but she's rudely told to stop it, and informed that singing is outlawed, because the Princess of the city was taken and eaten by a dragon.  On to the next city then!  There, she tries dancing, but the reception is similarly chilly for a similar reason.  Onwards again, to a city square where telling tales is verboten; you guessed it - their Princess is gone too.

Thinking about how to avoid being eaten by this apparently talent-seeking dragon, Soonie soon succumbs to curiousity (and the knowledge of the hundreds of gold coins, head of cattle, herds of horses, and acreage of land that comprise the reward) and follows the sounds of singing, dancing, and tale-telling to the dragon's cave, where she rescues the princesses with perfect trickster form.

Rewards acquired, she's onward again to her next adventure.  An ancient crone warns her of the dangers of menfolk to come (and isn't that an allegory in a fairy-tale book for young girls there) and sure enough, the first is an ogre in disguise wishing to eat her, the second a phouka wishing to drown her in the sea, and the third an ancient and cruel Fae king who wishes her to become his bride and loose her immortal soul for eternal life with him.  This one was actually a bit creepy, as the Fae don't play fair, and Soonie is quite obviously out of her depth.  The crone returns, the Fae are vanquished satisfyingly, and Soonie again sets out.

Final adventure has Soonie administering some tough love to a 5-headed griffon and the useless sons of the nearby village alike.  The griffon complains too much, and the sons don't give their parents the respect and help they should.  A mysterious figure with curious changeable animals makes an appearance, and Soonie finds herself a man after her own heart. 

Not bad for a quarter!  :)

A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir of Lady Trent, Marie Brennan

A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir of Lady Trent
Marie Brennan
978-0765331960
Alternate-Europe Fantasy of Manners/Exploration

This was an amazing book.  I sincerely hope that "Lady Trent" continues to document her adventures in the pursuit of scientific advances on the subject of dragons (and that she does NOT continue to suffer the same losses *sniffle* in said pursuit).

Absolutely pitch perfect.  The sparklings, the early adventures, the strictures of society, the culture shock, the descriptions and events, the DRAGONS... marvelous.

The ONLY slight objection I have is that the pace picks up ALARMINGLY in the last 5th, moving nearly instantly from businesslike mystery investigation to a disturbingly brisk "chase/resolution/flash-forward/sequel teaser/THE-END" *pant-pant.*  Considering the important events occuring in said time-period, I felt a bit at a loss to absorb and process each event before being rushed along to the next.   

Dragon Run, Patrick Matthews

Dragon Run
Author: Patrick Matthews
Pubdata: Scholastic Press, March 1, 2013
ISBN: 9780545450683
Juv Fantasy:  Medieval western fantasy world where multiple sentient races (human, earthfolk, "windwalkers," merpeople) believe they were created by dragons as servants.  At age 12, the population are divided into 7 classes which indicate their ability to be of use - from the low caste 1 (considered untouchable) to the rare 7 who is fated to work directly for the dragon gods.  Our protagonist is about to discover that 1 isn't the lowest caste. 

I have a hard time with juvenile fantasy.  So often I get bummed out about the lack of depth in the worldbuilding, which detracts from an otherwise nifty plotline.  I did feel the lack of depth here also, but the story was quick and interesting enough that it was more of an after-the-read pensiveness, rather than a during-the-read confusion or disinterest.

First things first:  We have lovely "fantasy" names throughout.  Nice inventive names like Bird and Wisp and Trillia and Lord Archovar... and our hero?  His name is Al.  Not short for anything, no frills - just Al.  Dragged me right out of the story every single time it came up.  (What really got my goat is that at one point he needs an alias, and came out with Ul.  While still abrupt, at least that's interesting.  Nope - dropped like a rock after a page.) 

I can't tell if the author left gaps to provide openings for future installments, or if they are just left hanging.  They're nice minor things that can be left unsolved without driving readers crazy, but do offer interesting tangents into further stories if they're picked up.  That's a hard skill to master (judging by all the failures out there) and so I have to give credit there.

I am a little perplexed by the unevenness of the worldbuilding explanations.  There's a whole sunken district near our hero's childhood home that is shrouded in mystery - to the characters and to the reader.  A fantastical magical college town exists to be a plot device.  Likewise the plot McGuffin is totally unexplained (to character or readers) as to provenance or methodology, yet it's still used effectively despite no instruction on usage.

I liked Bird, and his people seem very interesting.  I would have liked him more if there were any sort of character growth in his storyline.  The sidekicks (and the bartender) were very nicely realized, and had their own problems with family and friends and adventuring which I appreciated. 

The interactions with the Magister were a little too easily laid out and solved, despite every indication that lingering suspicion should be an issue.  Again, I'm mostly blaming this on writing for the audience, but it could have been a little more fraught than it actually was.

Likewise the solution to the dragons.  That was... very easy.  Also seems like it should have been something that was guarded against a bit more effectively. 

Finally, the resolution is left ambiguous - what do the "ranks" mean now?  How is the political and economic (especially the magical economic) situation going to work out?  What about the other peoples?

Because this one is relatively new, and seems likely to be popular, I've done my best to avoid overt spoilage.  I may revisit to harp on specific plot/character details at a later date.