Book Review: The First Book of Ore: The Foundry’s Edge by Cam Baity and Benny Zelkowicz

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The Foundry's Edge cover imageAs the daughter of one of the Foundry’s top executives, 12-year-old Phoebe Plumm lives a privileged life in her mansion at the top of the hill. Despite the gadgets and baubles that make life easier for her, she is lonely. But her life takes a turn when she and her dad are kidnapped and the two of them are separated. With the help of Micah, a boy who works on her estate, she escapes and avoids recapture as the two of them go on a quest through a strange land to rescue her father, discovering a terrible secret about the Foundry along the way.

The First Book of Ore: The Foundry’s Edge takes readers into a world where machines are alive and humans are the intruders. Before they left home, Phoebe and Micah were enemies, playing mean pranks on each other. Their new environment, however, is harsh, and they need to trust each other if they hope to survive.

The Foundry’s Edge creates an alien world where the evil leaders of a powerful corporation exploit locals. As Phoebe and Micah escape from one danger after another, they are horrified to find out the truth of what happened behind the scenes of their comfortable lives. When the inevitable confrontation occurs, they have to pull on all their strengths, and their budding friendship, to survive.

This first book in the series takes readers on an adventure with a conclusion that will leave them eager to read the next installment. I recommend The Foundry’s Edge for ages 9 to 13.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: The Nocturnals: The Mysterious Abductions by Tracey Hecht

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The Nocturnals cover imageAnimals are disappearing at night, and it’s up to the nocturnals, creatures who are normally awake at night, to solve the mystery. Banding together are a pangolin, a fox, and a sugar glider. Other animals getting in on the action include a wombat, a group of echo-location challenged bats, a band of coyotes and more.

The Nocturnals: The Mysterious Abductions by Tracey Hecht is the first in a series that aims to introduce readers to Australia’s mammals while leading them on an adventure. The animals have to use their strengths, rely on teamwork, and be a bit daring to solve the mystery. The answer to the disappearances is wholly unexpected, and it adds a new element to the story.

The Nocturnals is appropriate for readers aged 9 to 11 to read on their own, but it also works as a parent-child read aloud for kids as young as six. And while young readers have fun following the action, they’ll also be learning about traits of the animals featured in the book. It makes for a winning combination of facts and fiction that I expect will entice kids to seek out the next books in the series.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Parents Believe Reading Encourages Empathy in Children

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A poll by Amnesty International UK found that more than half of parents participating believe reading books encourages their children to empathize with others. Parents also listed books they believe help their children see things from a different perspective. Topping the list? Two very different books for two age groups (and some of my favorites): The BFG by Roald Dahl and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

I agree that books have the power to encourage empathy in all readers, not just children. When you can understand how a character feels, especially a character who is different than you are, then you are more likely to transmit that understanding to your personal relationships.

Read more about the poll and find out about other books parents chose at TheGuardian.com.

Book Review: Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo

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Flora and Ulysses cover imageFlora Belle Buckman knows all is not right in her world. Her parents are divorced, her mom writes romance novels even though there is no romance in her life, and she misses the time she spent reading about a superhero, the Amazing Incandesto. But life for Flora begins to change when she rescues a squirrel accidentally vacuumed up by a neighbor. Suddenly she’s caught up in an adventure with a squirrel superhero, his arch nemesis, a boy in need of a friend, her reliable dad, a philosopher, and a helpful neighbor.

Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo is a tender, sweet story about a girl and the amazing squirrel that helps her sort out the important things in life. Little bits of wisdom come from those all around her, and Flora ponders those as well as observations she reads in the books about Incandesto. She borrows from it all to solve her problems and expand the community of people she cares about.

Young readers aged 9 to 12 will fall in love with Ulysses, a squirrel who types poems and dreams of eating a giant doughnut, who is totally devoted to Flora. A few graphic novel-like sequences help readers feel as though they know all the quirky characters in this lovable story. I highly recommend it for mother-daughter book clubs to talk about issues of friendship, family dynamics, reaching out to others in time of loneliness, and more.

I purchased a copy of this book to review.

Mother-Daughter Book Club Idea—Go on a Field Trip

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Hooray for field trips! Everybody loves field trips, and you don’t have to let the fun be limited to classrooms. Scheduling one or two events each year for your mother-daughter book club, or even any mother-daughter pair, lets you find different ways to connect. And here’s another plus for planning your own field trip: you don’t have to ride a school bus to get there.

Here are a few ideas for places to go and things to do that can deepen your appreciation for a book and each other.

  • See a new-release film version of a book you read.
  • Visit an ethnic restaurant related to food featured in a book.
  • Attend a play adapted from a book.
  • Look for a museum in your area related to something you read. Who knows what quirky thing you’ll find?
  • Travel to a historical site from the time featured in a story.
  • Go see an author appearing at your local library or bookstore.

Once you start talking about possibilities, you’ll probably come up with lots more ideas of your own.

Book Review: You Made Me a Mother by Laurenne Sala and Robin Preiss Glasser

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You Made Me a Mother cover imageYou Made Me a Mother by Laurenne Sala is a celebration of motherhood, from pregnancy through the stages of childhood. In the beginning the mom says, “I felt you. You were a pea. Then a lemon. Then an eggplant.” She walks with other moms and reads pregnancy books, puts up baby furniture with dad.

Once the baby arrives I believe she captures the joy that many moms feel when she says, “I realized that I would spend my life doing things to make you happy.” And this is a happy book, a portrayal that shows that even when motherhood is trying, mothers still love their children.

Illustrator Preiss Glasser captures the happy family (including an expressive dog) at home, on a carousel, in a backyard wading pool, and on a rainy walk. The pastel colors convey the look and feel of soothing watercolors.

You Made Me a Mother is a book moms will want to read to their young children again and again as another way to strengthen the bond between them.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Put A Poem In Your Child’s Pocket

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Funny poems for kids are a great way to get kids reading. Because they’re often short and include a punch line, it’s easy for kids to keep turning pages. Also, they usually sneak in words that help young readers gain more language skills. Check out this piece of a poem by Jack Prelutsky:

I Made a Noise This Morning

I made a noise this morning

That I didn’t mean to make,

It truly was an accident,

An error, a mistake.

I don’t know how it happened,

But it suddenly was there,

Filled with great reverberations

That resounded in the air.

Even if kids don’t know the words “reverberations” and “resounded” they can probably figure out what they mean based on the rest of the poem. The poem also teaches synonyms, with words like “accident,” “error,” and “mistake.”

Check out poems by authors Jack Prelutsky, Kenn Nesbitt, Shel Silverstein, and others who write especially for children. Copy down something you think your child will like and slip it into a pocket or lunch box. As the topics of kids’ poems are likely to be about the things they experience every day—school worries, sibling conflicts, and more—they may even laugh over the poems with friends.

Book Review: The Map to Everywhere by Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis

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The Map to Everywhere cover imageMarrill is looking for adventure when she spies an old-style wooden ship sailing in the parking lot near her home in the desert. Going aboard, she meets a wizard and is swept off into the pirate stream, a magical body of water that touches many worlds. She despairs of ever finding her way home until the wizard tells her about the Map to Everywhere, which can show her where she wants to go.

Fin is a forgettable boy left in an orphanage years before. He longs to find his mom, and he believes the map will help him. When Marrill and Fin meet they become friends and decide to find the map together. The race is on as an oracle, a wizard clad in iron, and a ship full of pirates are determined to get the map first.

In The Map to Everywhere, authors Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis have created a world that is both inventive and entertaining. The details of the pirate stream and the worlds it touches are original and captivating. Marrill and Fin move from one adventure to another on their quest, and readers get a wild ride along the way.

This first book in the series is fun, and it ends in a way that is satisfying yet compelling enough to get young readers eager to read the next book.

My (college-age) daughter recommended I read and review her copy of this book. She loved it and so did I. When more than one generation of readers like a book, I believe that makes it a great book for mother-daughter book clubs. I recommend it for groups with girls aged 8 to 13.

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