The Book Review Club (June 2020)
Welcome to the June 2020 edition of The Book Review Club. Let's take a deep breath...inhale... and think . . . exhale . . . books. And maybe think "chocolate," too. That can never hurt. :) We have some terrific reviews of terrific books. Time to stock up for summer and dive into reading!
Also, Stonehenge is live-streaming its summer solstice celebration on Sunday, June 21! Here's the link for more info.
CORN MAZE AND HOW
IT SAVED A DRAGON
by Henry Clark (middle grade, fantasy)
WHAT WE FOUND IN THE CORN MAZE AND HOW IT SAVED A DRAGON is a Junior Library Guild selection, an Amazon Best Book of the Month, got a starred review from Booklist and a handful other accolades. Oh, it's also a Washington Post's KidsPost Summer Bookclub pick. So, when I suggest you steer your 8-12 year old kids/students in the direction of this book, I'm in good company. :)
In a Nutshell: Twelve-year-old Cal (Calvin) Sapling and his friends use magic spells found in a mysterious notebook to save Cal's family's farm. AND they save an alternate world whose magic is leaking out and whose climate is getting colder. AND they save dragons from extinction. Yes, those kids are busy! The magic only works during certain minutes of the day. And it takes some thinking to make spells like "walk on stilts" help your cause. Yes, those kids are busy and ingenious!
What I Loved: Fun stuff like peanut-butter-chicken soup (blech!) and a governing council called the Weegee Board. A town called Dire where there are three levels of magic: Everybody, Somebody and Very Few. So much humor. The smart stuff like a dragon called Phlogiston. (18th century chemists believed phlogiston was a fire element.) Looking for names of vegetables hidden in the computer code in chapter 21. And popcorn...you'll have to read the book to understand that reference. This is a crazy, inventive action-packed story about friendship and self-esteem and using wits and magic to save a family farm, an alternate universe, and dragons. It doesn't get much better!
Reading WHAT WE FOUND IN THE CORN MAZE made me happy!
A Request to the Publisher: Please make an audio version!
(Dear FCC: bought for Kindle)
And now....onto the rest of our reviews. Please click through. You won't want to miss a single one!
MIDDLE GRADE FICTION BOOK REVIEWS
Jody Feldman: THE WATER BEARS by Kim Baker (contemporary)
Phyllis Wheeler: ORBITING JUPITER by Gary D. Schmidt (contemporary)
ADULT FICTION BOOK REVIEWS
Jenn Jilks of Cottage Country:ONE TUESDAY MORNING by Karen Kingsbury (Christian contemp)
Linda McLaughlin: THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK
by Kim Michele Richardson (historical)
Margy Lutz: FIRE, FOG AND WATER by Mike Martin (mystery)
Ray Potthoff: PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Jane Austen (classic)
Sarah Laurence: IN THE TIME OF THE BUTTERFLIES by Julia Alvarez (historical)
NONFICTION REVIEWS
Patti Abbott: HIDDEN VALLEY ROAD by Robert Kolker (biography, mental illness)
Note to Reviewers: Any errors (broken link, missed review, etc), just shoot me an email or leave a comment. Thank you so much for your reviews!
Posts
That sounds like a delightfully fun book for kids and a good distraction from pandemic worries. Thanks for the review and for hosting. The new blog design looks great and so marvelous to see Emily H. hitting the screens of Apple TV. I'd watch if we subscribed but I loved the book. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteSarah, you could subscribe to Apple TV+ for free for a bit (a week?). Otherwise it's $5/month. I want you to see the Emily H episodes ((#8, 9, 10)! :) Yes, this is definitely the perfect book for these times.
DeleteBarrie, this sounds like a very fun book to read. I'll put it on my list. Now, if the library would only open up!
ReplyDeleteyou'll like it!
DeletePhyllis, you'd love this book. It's totally up your alley!
DeleteI NEED this book. (Actually, from the review, I'm already mad I didn't write this book. Not that I could have.)
ReplyDeleteYou'll love this book, Jody. And collaborating with you on the Your Story Soup blog, I'd have to say you have quite a talent for writing fantasy! In case anyone's interested in taking a peek at: https://yourstorysoup.blogspot.com
DeleteSounds like a really fun read, Barrie. Tweeted and shared on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info about Stonehenge. Unfortunately, I have a feeling their live feed will be in the middle of the night here.
Thank you for amplifying, Linda. It really is a terrific read. Kids will love it. And re Stonehenge: we may have to get up in the middle of the night....or record. :)
DeleteSorry I'm a bit late here! We've been busy with grandies. Two kids on two computers...
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting.
Ha! I'm just getting around to some of the reviews today. :) Thanks for reviewing, btw!
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