Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke

  

Rating: Cleanest

Audience: Elementary school kids as young as third or even second grade would enjoy listening to this book, and anyone older can enjoy reading it themselves.  It is pretty long, but exciting and not too scary. Best part? Completely clean!

Audio book recommendation: Yes! When I hear the name "Bredan Fraser" I automatically think of George of the Jungle overdosing on coffee powder, but he is actually one of the best readers I've ever heard.

Plot:  The world's last remaining dragons have been living in a hidden valley for centuries, but when they learn that a group of humans is building a dam that will eventually flood their home, they choose to give up in despair rather than risk venturing out into the world.  One dragon, however, sets out on a quest to find the legendary "Rim of Heaven" where there is rumored to be another colony of dragons and where the humans cannot possibly follow.  With the help of a spunky brownie (magical creature, not delicious dessert) and a very unique human boy, the brave dragon might have a chance.  However, a dangerous creature known as "the Golden One" loves nothing more than hunting dragons and has patiently waited for them to come out of hiding...

What makes it great?

It's a great story with a lot of fun characters and humor, but its Fraser's narration that really sells this one for me.  Each character has a unique voice that fits their personality and even their species! My favorites are probably Gravelbeard (the mountain troll) and Lola Greytail (the rat pilot) but every voice is great.  If you are looking for an entertaining book for a long road-trip, this is the one I recommend.

Castle Waiting by Linda Medley

Rating: Cleaner

Audience:  Though it was shelved in the JF section of the library, I would say eighth grade and up. Lady Jane's husband (not present in the book) is physically abusive and she is pregnant with another man's child.  I also just think that a lot of the wit would be lost on younger children.

Premise: After Sleeping Beauty woke up and got married and lived happily ever after, her castle and kingdom sort of just went to rot.  Her three ladies in waiting still live in the castle as old women and invite anyone who is looking for a refuge from the world to come live there as well.

Plot: The book is made up of a bunch of anecdotes (I believe each story was originally published separately in comic book form) from the different characters that live in the castle.  There is a pregnant noblewoman on the run, a bird-faced castle steward, a handsome talking horse, and my favorite: a bearded nun with a host of great stories from her circus days.

What makes it great?

Medieval fantasy setting, wit and humor on every page, and great illustrations.  I recommend this collection to anyone who 1. likes graphic novels 2. wants to like graphic novels 3. enjoys humorous fairy tale adaptations 4. LOVES THE STRANGE AND BIZARRE.

There is also a second volume (Castle Waiting Vol. 2) which is also very entertaining, though I prefer the first volume.

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

Book #3 of the Heroes of Olympus series
Read #1 The Lost Hero
and #2 The Son of Neptune

Rating: Cleaner

Audience: Fourth grade and up. As always, it depends on the child.  There is a good dose of violence, and the complexity of the myths can be hard to follow.

Plot: Percy, Annabeth, Piper, Leo, Jason, Hazel, and Frank leave Camp Jupiter in a hurry after a happy reunion, an awkward banquet, and the accidental start of a civil war between the Greeks and Romans. (Only Rick Riordan can stick all of that in the first few chapters!) Their flying ship is damaged, and they know they have to figure out the rest of the prophecy before the two camps destroy each other.  The plot is super complex and I don't want to accidentally give any spoilers so I'm going to leave it at that for now...

Favorite parts:

1. Any moment between Annabeth and Percy, but especially their hilarious reunion scene

2. The chapter where they visit my home turf at the Great Salt Lake.

Warning: This book has a killer cliff-hanger ending, so be prepared to go out and buy book four as soon as you finish book three.  I'm so excited!!!

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Rating: Cleaner

Audience: Eighth grade and up. Some of the earliest versions of Little Red Riding Hood focused on the sensual, carnal nature of the Wolf and the danger of traveling alone with strange men, so it's no surprise that the romance in "Scarlet" is a bit more passionate than in "Cinder."  This book is also a bit more violent. However, there is no sex or nudity, so I still give it a double thumbs up!

Plot: Book two in Marissa Meyer's "Lunar Chronicles" is just as exciting as the first! The Story centers on Scarlet Benoit (a.k.a. Little Red Riding Hood), who is on a quest to find her abducted grandmother with a mysterious street-fighter called "Wolf."  Scarlet's story is it is intertwined with Cinder's where we left her last: breaking out of prison and starting a life on the run. Eventually, our two heroines meet in the middle of the war they have unknowingly been a part of, and they have to work together to survive.

What makes it great?

Scarlet is fiery, brave, opinionated, and just as admirable a heroine as Cinder. I really like Wolf too.  If you want a better understanding of Wolf's character/history, go read The Queen's Army, after you read Scarlet.  It is only a few chapters long and the e-book is free on Amazon. "Little Red Riding Hood" has never been one of my favorite stories, but I really liked the way Meyer worked the fairy tale allusions into the story.

My favorite part of this book, however, is that several of the chapters are told from Kai's perspective as he is trying to find Cinder.  I liked Kai in the first book, of course, but he really won me over in this one.

I am getting really excited for the third book, Cress,to be released this coming February and for book four, Winter, to come out in 2015.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Rating: Cleaner/Cleanest

Audience: Seventh/eighth grade and up.  Younger readers could definitely enjoy this book, but the target age is more middle school.  Cinder's romance with the prince is very clean and I don't remember seeing any sexual innuendos. (Book 2, Scarlet, is a little more mature.) Like all dystopian novels, there are some alarming societal problems: plague, violent discrimination, etc. Just something to be aware of.

Audio book recommendation: Maybe. I stopped listening to the audio book after thirty seconds because I didn't like the readers voice.  However, when I was living in China and didn't have any English reading materials, I went back to listening to it on my iPod.  I got so sucked into the story that I didn't care about the narrators voice anymore and even came to like it, but I still would recommend reading instead of listening to this one.

The Plot: As you can probably tell from the cover and title, it's a fairy tale adaptation (my favorite), but it's set in the future after World War IV in the city of New Beijing.  The heroine, Cinder, is a cyborg.  Her metal hand and leg automatically make her a lesser citizen, but she holds her own by being sassy, sarcastic, and the best mechanic in the city.  The world is experiencing a horrible plague, to which the emperor himself falls ill, and the emperor's son, Prince Kai, is trying desperately to save his people while avoiding a diplomatic marriage with the manipulative Lunar Queen.  In the middle of it all is a teenage cyborg mechanic who is more important to the fate of the world than she could have ever guessed.

What makes it great?

This book is just fresh! We get a lot of dystopian America books, but dystopian China is new. The characters are great as well. Cinder is tough and spunky.  Kai is loveable. Iko, Cinder's android best friend, is adorable . . .

This is a great book for taking on vacation, reading at home or on the go--the plot is full of interesting twists but isn't so deep that you have to strain your brain to understand.  It is just a fun, exciting read and I think it will be a great series.

Mysteries in Our National Parks

 

Rating: Cleanest

Audience: As young as second grade if your kids are gutsy. If not, maybe fourth grade.  A few of the books (especially Valley of Death and Over the Edge) are pretty scary.  I still have an irrational fear of flash floods from Over the Edge ha ha. But the good news is that there is no sexual content or foul language (as far as I remember).

Plot:   Jack and Ashley Landon travel to various national parks with their veterinarian mother and wildlife photographer father. Each book features a new national park and Jack and Ashley learn about the park while solving some mystery the adults can't seem to figure out. The Landons are also a foster family and each book features a new temporary foster child whose rough past adds to the drama of the plot.

What makes them great?

These books are both entertaining and educational.  When we read them as kids, my siblings and I learned all sorts of things about the national parks, wildlife conservation, and political controversy, all while hanging on the edge of our seats ( . . . or the side of the bunk bed in this case) to see how the mystery would be solved.  I also liked how each new foster child brought in the perspectives of a different lifestyle or culture into the Landon family.  It's a pretty good idea.  These books are a great series to read aloud to kids, especially in preparation for trips to various national parks.

Where to find them?

We got them through a National Geographic subscription, which I imagine wouldn't work anymore.  However, I have seen them at libraries and in national park bookstores and I am sure they are on Amazon somewhere.

Here is a list of all the titles and where they take place:

#1 Woolf Stalker (Yellowstone National Park)
#2 Rage of Fire (Hawaii Volcanoes National Park)
#3 Cliff Hanger (Mesa Verde National Park)
#4 Deadly Waters  (Everglades National Park)
#5 The Hunted (Glacier National Park)
#6 Ghost Horses (Zion National Park)
#7 Over the Edge (Grand Canyon National Park)
#8 Valley of Death (Death Valley)
#9 Escape from Fear (Virgin Islands National Park)
#10 Out of the Deep (Acadia National Park)
#11 Running Scared (Carlsbad Caverns National Park)
# 12 Buried Alive (Denali National Park)
#13 Night of the Black Bear (Great Smoky Mountains National Park)

Savvy by Ingrid Law

  

Rating: Cleanest

Audience: Third grade is the beginning of the target audience, but I don't remember any red flags that would make this inappropriate for younger children (especially if read aloud).

Plot: I'm just going to quote the book jacket for the summary here because why try to rewrite what someone's already worked to perfection?

"Mibs Beaumont is about to Become a teenager. As if that prospect weren't scary enough, thirteen is when a Beaumont's savvy strikes--and with one brother who causes hurricanes and another who creates electricity, it promises to be outrageous...and positively thrilling.  But just before her big day, Poppa is in a terrible accident.  Suddenly, Mibs's dreams of X-ray vision disappear like a flash of her brother's lightning:  All she wants now is a savvy that will save Poppa.  In fact, Mibs is so sure she'll get that powerful savvy that she sneaks a ride to the hospital on a rickety bus, with her siblings and the preacher's kids in tow.  But when the bus starts heading in the wrong direction only one thing is certain: After this extraordinary adventure, not a soul on board will ever be the same.  Reading the fantastical tale of the Beaumont family will leave you as changed as if you'd just discovered your own savvy--and who's to say you won't, once you've learned how to look?" 

What makes it great?

I was hooked from the very first page by both the voice of the narrator, Mibs, and by the premise of an ordinary family with extraordinary powers which they must try to both control and accept as important parts of themselves.

This is not a superhero story.  In fact, take out the powers and the heart of the book would still be intact.   It is like a mix between the supernatural of the Charlie Bone books (a lot of the family powers are very similar to those of the Children of the Red King--read about them here: Charlie Bone--Children of the Red King) and the bittersweet, coming-of-age books of Sharon Creech (if you like this book, I highly recommend The Wanderer).

I love what the jacket says about finding your savvy. Everyone really does have a bit of "know-how" that is unique to each of us, and I love that Mibs is able to use her unusual savvy to discover the hidden savvys in others.  

(Apparently, there is a companion book called "Scumble" about Mibs' cousin, so I'll have to check it out.  Happy Reading!)