The Magicians Elephant

The Magician’s Elephant

Reviewed by: Griffin H.

This unusual little tale begins in the French town of Baltese, where a young boy named Peter Duchene lives with an old soldier. His mother, father and sister are all dead. Or so he thought. One day when the boy was sent to the market to get some food, a mysterious fortune teller appears. She states that an elephant will lead him to his long lost sibling, Adele. A little while later, an elephant crashes through the roof of an opera house during a magic show. There then begins a most peculiar adventure, involving a police officer, a homeless man with an amazing voice, a blind dog, a man that is bent sideways and cannot control his humor, a noblewoman, a manservant, and most important of all, an elephant. Filled with unusual dreams, what seems to the public eye as insanity, joy, sadness, magic, wonderful news, and loneliness, this is a great book for most ages 10 and under.

Great book if intending to read with family, no violent themes, and many interesting people, back stories, and details that all great writers would include makes this book worth reading for most. A short, simple story if you can spare 5 minutes.

The Incorrigble Children of Ashton Place

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place- book 1 The Mysterious Howling

Reviewed by M.P.

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place (book 1 the mysterious howling) by Maryrose Wood is a very good book about strange children that were raised by wolves. Found on a hunting expedition in the huge woods of Ashton Place are three children (later named Alexander, Beowulf, and Cassiopeia) that seem to have been raised by wolves. They are not wearing any clothes and do not speak English, instead they speak in barks, howls, and yaps. Clearly they need a governess. Fifteen-year-old Miss Penelope Lumley, recent graduate of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, answers the call of Lord and Lady Ashton. Miss Lumley is a great governess and the children love her, but will she be able to civilize them in time for Lady Ashton’s Christmas ball? Should she even try?

I would say this book is good for grades 2 or 3 and up. It is not violent or anything, but younger children might not understand it. This book is for anyone who likes good stories, or if you are a fan of books like A Series of Unfortunate Events (the Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place isn’t nearly as dark though). This book is part of a series of 5 I think but I am not completely sure. I am reading the 2^nd one now and it is also really good. The first book is available at the Seabury Library and I am not sure about the others. If this book sounds good to you, you should definitely read it.

The Emerald Atlas

The Emerald Atlas

^{by Logan W.}

The Emerald Atlas is a good book with a great action story inside. The book mixes time travel and fantasy, so it can get very confusing too.  The unordinary mix of time and place, along with many un-needed characters who go back and forth throughout space-time creates some turmoil.

The story starts out with three siblings, Kate, Emma and Michael, who were left by their parents when they were young. The children went to numerous orphanages but never stayed in one place for very long. All three children had messed up their adoption interviews and were soon moving to an orphanage in Cambridge Falls, NY. They discovered the town was mysterious with a very bad past. The orphanage also was mysterious, all the rooms were abandoned and they were the only children there.

After a couple of days at the orphanage, the three find a secret room and a book with a worn green cover. The book that they found was probably a photo album. They also found an image. The siblings put the photograph in the book and discovered the Emerald Atlas.

The team used this book as a time traveling device. A child would put in the image and would go to the destination that the image was taken at. Trapped through time, the children soon learned that only they could harness the power of the book and use it to stop evil.

The Countess, a greedy witch that was hoping the Atlas could be hers, used her magic to try to take the book out of the children’s possession. As Kate, Michael and Emma meet various figures throughout the book they fight bookbook to keep it out of the wrong hands. The book is an action packed sequence of time travel that will really tempt 3^rd-7^th Graders to read the Emerald Atlas.

The Emerald Atlas is a good book that shows a lot of humor and fantasy, with a little bit of history and backstories that really explain the characters. The reader will find it very interesting. The book is available at the Tacoma Public Library, Seabury Library, King County Library, and Amazon. 

Prince Caspian

Prince Caspian

The 4^th book in The Chronicles of Narnia series

Reviewed by Sawyer H.

Sitting on a train station bench were the siblings Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. It was a sleepy morning. The train station was almost deserted. All of a sudden, Lucy said, “Ow!” Edmund was about to ask Lucy what was wrong, when he too said, “Ow!” “Susan let go!” said Peter. “I’m not touching you,” said Susan “someone is pulling me.” “This is magic I can feel it" said Edmund.

Then the bench, the luggage, and the platform disappeared. Then they were in a thick wood so thick that you could hardly see a yard in front of you. "Peter do you think we could be back in Narnia?" said Lucy excitedly. "We could be anywhere." said Peter. “Let’s try to get out to the open… if there is any."

With some difficulty, a few nettle stings, and thorn pricks, the children stumbled upon a beach. There was no land in sight or clouds in the sky. The sun was where it should be at 11:00 in the morning. Five minutes later, everybody was barefoot and wading in the water.

"This is better than being on a stuffy train on the way back to Latin, French and Algebra." said Edmund. Then for quite a long time, there was no more talking, just splashing and looking for shrimps and crabs. “All the same,” said Susan “I suppose we’ll have to make some plans. We shall want something to eat before long.”

“We’ve got the sandwiches Mother gave us for the journey,” said Edmund. “At least I’ve got mine.” “Not me,” said Lucy. “Mine were in my little bag.” “So were mine,” said Susan. “Mine are in my coat-pocket, there on the beach.” said Peter. “That’ll be two lunches among four. This isn’t going to be such fun.”

“At present,” said Lucy, “I want something to drink more than something to eat.” Everyone else now felt thirsty, as one usually is after wading in salt water under a hot sun. “It’s like being shipwrecked,” remarked Edmund, “In the books they always find springs of clear, fresh water on the island. We’d better go and look for them.”

“Does that mean that we have to go back into all that thick wood?” said Susan “Not a bit of it,” said Peter, “If there are streams they are bound to come down to the sea, and if we walk along the beach we’re bound to come to them.”

This book makes me feel adventurous, exited, happy, and always on the edge of my seat. This is not the first time they have been to Narnia, but Narnia has changed. In Narnia you can stay for years and years and when you leave almost no time at all has passed.

 When you are here, time in Narnia seems to speed up. For example, if you were here for a year it would be thousands of years in Narnia. That is the case of Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy

These siblings are going to "Aslan's How", a cracked stone table with ancient writing on it with a maze of tunnels under it. (The Stone Table, you will know what this is if you've read the other Chronicles of Narnia series.) It sits atop a lush green hill in the land of Narnia, with a forest to one side and on the other side an ocean.

  In the book, they encounter the three Bulgy Bears, Prince Caspian, Trufflehunter the badger, Trumpkin the dwarf and three Centaurs. They have to work together to defeat the evil. Because so much time has passed in Narnia it is a very different experience for Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy.

The Candymakers

The Candymakers

By: Wendy Mass

Reviewed by: Madeline S.

The book The Candymakers by Wendy Mass is unique because there are five different sections in the book, each one told by a different main character. The first four sections are actually the same events but as seen from the perspective of each character. As you read farther into the book you learn more about each character and what really happened to them. I think that Mass’s style brings you close to the story because she tells it through an all-knowing narrator that can see into all of the main characters’ thoughts in turn. I personally think that this book is good for anyone 6+ who likes a book that keeps you on your toes and who likes a good mystery. The plot will keep you guessing and wanting to read more.

This book opens with a boy waking up to the smell of sweet cotton candy. His name is Logan Sweet. He is the son of a famous candymaker who runs a factory called Life Is Sweet. Logan has been accepted to compete in the Annual New Candy Contest, which is only for 12 year olds. The contestants have to make a candy, the judges then taste the candy and read what ingredients were used. The judges decide which candy is the best; that candy will be sold all over the country in lots of candy stores. Logan is very excited to compete but also nervous because his grandfather and father previously won. He feels like he has to prove that he can also be a great candy maker by winning the contest. This year his dad’s factory, Life is Sweet, is hosting some of the contestants; their names are Miles O’Leary, Philip Ransford III, and Daisy Carpenter. On the first day, Logan greets the others at the door, and then Max, one of the workers, gives them a tour of the factory. Daisy is super cheerful and awed by the factory, Miles is very quiet and his favorite part is the factory library, but Philip wants to start making candy right away and is very rude when they don’t. Finally they are introduced to the candy lab where they will be making their candy for the contest. The contest is just two days away. Will they all make good candies? Who will win? Will it be one of them or one of the other 28 contestants?

I really enjoyed the mystery that is present throughout the book. There are some surprising twists and turns in the plot that keep you guessing what is coming next. Mass makes this story fun to read because she tells the same events through each character’s eyes — it is amazing how much more you learn about the same event when you see it through every character’s point of view!

Equal Rites

Equal Rites

A book review by Daniel S.

Equal Rites is another book of the Discworld series, following Rincewind the Wizzard and Mort. Just as the previous books in the series, this book is great. This one is a bit different from the others so far, in ways that you will find out only by reading it. I also recommend the Discworld series to Harry Potter fans. The book is an excellent way of just letting your mind wander, and will be very enjoyable if you like the books with fast paced plot, scene shifts, and originality, you will most certainly like this book.

All wizards on the Discworld are male, but always we portray wizards as male. All wizards are, indeed, male. Until now, in this story. This is the story of a female wizard, which on the Discworld, is 101% different from a witch. Witches just use herbs, and borrow creatures minds (more of a gentle steering than possessing, rather, you are inside the creature’s mind, and it does not work with humans).  Wizards on the other hand… they are very powerful. You think they hurl fireballs, send lightning, and create huge tidal waves. No, those are sorcerers, the most magical creature on earth. A wizard is an old, tattered man, and looks as if he has seen too much. They in fact, have seen too much.

The female wizard’s name was Eskarina Smith. Her staff, was hidden until she was eight years old. Then her magic began to emerge, very suddenly. But she thought logically, completely baffling any wizard. Or anyone, in fact. She knew how magic worked. This was crazy! No one could possibly know, because it doesn’t. and female wizards were against the lore. There could not be one, it was impossible.

All in all, the rating I give is a 8/8 for ingenuity, originality, comedy, and intensity. The only problem with this, you cannot find a good place to stop. No book could have even been close to similar. Nothing can reflect why anything in the world is as it is, but this does for wizards being male, because wizards don’t exist.

Kitten's First Fill Moon

Kitten’s First Full Moon

By Maxine P.

The book Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes is very cute and funny. It has very unique artwork that fits the story perfectly. In the story, Kitten sees the little bowl of milk in the sky. And she wants it. She chases it and chases it and lunges at it and jumps at it but never seems to get close. Poor Kitten! In the end she returns home where there is a big bowl of milk waiting for her, and she drinks it all and then curls up and goes to sleep.

It is a picture book, so for young people. Older people may enjoy it too. It is very cute and also amusing, it is worth reading. It is available in the Seabury library.