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On another note…
Trying to find books we think our kids will love, and that will consequently turn them on to reading, can be really hard. After all, there are so many books out there. One of the advantages for my boys was that I was steeped in children's publishing and following the market closely while they were young readers, so I often had a bird's eye view of books they might be interested in.
Even though they are well past the kid books stage, I am not and still read many, many books. It occured to me it might be helpful to post short reviews of those books that really worked for me and that I would put into a child's hand, thus Reading Recommendations was born.
However, just a cautionary note: These are books I would be comfortable putting into a kid's hands, but your mileage may vary. I realize caregivers have all sorts of different ideas of what's appropriate for kids. For my own kids, I tend never to censor anything they want to read as I think it can be a great catalyst for really important discussions AND I think often when kids read about things they are able to experience them vicariously and therefore don't feel the need to experience them first hand.
So grain of salt, that's all I'm saying. However, I WILL try to make a note if I think there might be anything parents might object to in any given book, just be aware that what blips on your radar might not blip on mine.
So without further a-do...
I just finished a terrific book that I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys fantasy. It’s called RANGER’S APPRENTICE by John Flanagan. It was an older MG fantasy and it really worked for me. In fact, I’d give it five stars. I would especially recommend it for boy readers 10-13. While it resonated faintly of Tolkein’s rangers, the book did a great job of really developing the idea into it’s own story. There was great characterization—a wonderful arc between two boys that had a contentious relationship and were able to solve it, and a hugely satisfying twist at the end. Just loved it. Sat down and read the whole thing in a day, which I RARELY do. So if you or your kids are looking for a great read, I’d highly recommend this.
3 comments:
Thanks. It's now on my list, and I'll pick itup when I hit the store for YOUR book tomorrow!
BTW, we have all of the contest entries on one blog. If you get the chance, pop over and let us know what you think. Have to say that even though we didn't get a lot of entries, that book blog got over 400 hits in one week. That's more than it's gotten in all of the other weeks combined, so I know people saw stuff. Just wanted to share that with you, as I thought it was pretty exciting. Charity did an awesome job getting the word out and reminding people.
Off to the store now. Have 3 extra faces to feed this week, so I must go buy more food. I LOVE MY LIFE... ;>)
You know, it occured to me as I read your comment that perhaps posting a book recommendation--a competing book recommendation--the day before my book comes out wasn't the smartest move.
Can we say "promotionally challenged?"
You know, I read your comment and then laughed. It's EXACTLY something I would expect from you, because that's just the type of person you are. I mean, YES, your book is released tomorrow, and YES, you want people to go out and buy YOUR book. But really, you also want people to buy ANY book that their kids might enjoy, even if it might not be yours. Of course, the people that would pick another book over yours are just silly people, but still... yep, it didn't surprise me at all that you would do something like that. It's part of what makes you YOU!
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