Book Review: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

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A reader from Massachusetts sent in this review of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

My 8 year old daughter Rowan read The Secret Garden and LOVED it. It was the first book that she really enjoyed and couldn’t put down. She was an avid reader, but this was the first book with enough depth to pull her into the story. Each day she would tell me which part she was on and we would discuss it. Finally she finished the book and we celebrated by watching the film adaptation. Rowan enjoyed seeing how the director changed the book a bit and liked imagining how she might have portrayed the characters herself.

We came to this website looking for some books we could read together for the summer. Thank you for the website! — Rebecca G., Eldersburg, Maryland

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Book Review: The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards

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Two readers wrote in to recommend The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards.

A Daughter’s Review

I loooooved this book! I was sooo fun and full of magic. I just got this feeling of happiness, anxiety and fear while reading this book. Sometimes I got so caught up in the story I couldn’t turn the page I was so scared of what would happen next like maybe one of the creatures would hop out of the book. I’m not a big fantasy reader, but this book had a way of mixing some of my least favorite genres (mystery, scary/adventure) and making a whole new one that I very much enjoyed.

I really liked how the author described everything in such detail that I felt like I had been to Whangdoodle Land after reading this book. I also loved the creatures concepts and inventions in the book – they were so creative. For example – the Whangdoodle’s boat and soda machine really tickled me. The boat is called the Jolly Boat, and to start it you have to tell jokes so it laughs, which makes it go. Then on the lower deck there is a special soda machine that you ask for any kind of food with anything on it and it makes it for you on the spot. —  Franny S., Portland, Oregon

A Mother’s Review

I’d like to recommend a book for the 2nd-3rd grade level, though it’s good up to 5th or 6th grade. The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards. Yes, the author is the same of Sound of Music fame. This is one of two novels she has written (Mandy, about an orphan girl, is also an excellent choice for this age.  It is reminiscent of The Secret Garden). Whangdoodles is the adventure of three children (a girl, age 7 or 8, and 2 boys, ages 11 and 13) and a professor specializing in DNA/cloning research. Using their senses and child-like belief in the unbelievable, they travel to a land which has forever been closed to human kind.

Whangdoodleland is the place where all creatures in whom people have stopped believing have gone to live. It is ruled by the Whangdoodle who is, sadly, the last of his kind. This book is reminiscent of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. It is a lovely adventure with many morals, and absolutely no objectionable words for the 6-8 year old set. (Note from reviewer: 2008 is an anniversary year for the book and it has been republished with a special anniversary edition cover.) — Sarah T., Castro Valley, California

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Invite an Expert to Your Mother-Daughter Book Club Meeting

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Have you ever thought of inviting someone other than the author of the book you read to your book club meeting? When you think about the topics covered in your book and who may be able to give you more information about them, you open up a world of possibilities for guests to invite. For instance, when the members of a mother-daughter book club near Chicago read the book Hoot by Carl Hiaasen, they invited a naturalist from a nearby forest preserve to attend their discussion. He brought a real, live owl, and was able to talk about owl habits and habitats.

Why would you want to bring in an expert? One reason is to learn more about a topic you found interesting when reading your book. It’s also a way to liven up your normal routine every now and then as well as keep your book club meetings dynamic. And there are typically many more experts to be found who can address a topic from your book than there are authors you can get in touch with.

A club in Arizona found that to be true when they read The New York Stories of Edith Wharton. Wharton died in 1937, but her words continue to inspire readers in many ways. The book club moms and girls took a topic from the book, formal manners popular in the late 1800s, and turned it into an opportunity to invite someone to their meeting who was an expert on manners. At their group meeting the girls and moms organized a formal tea party, and their guest had them play games that helped them learn manners, including how to set a formal table and how to introduce one another properly. Everyone in the group loved the meeting, and it brought more depth to the stories they had read.

Here are a few ideas for other book/expert match ups to help you get started on your own brainstorming exercise:

  • Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce—the curator of a local art museum
  • Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George—someone who can teach wilderness survival skills
  • Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang—a history teacher who can talk about China’s Cultural Revolution

More ideas for how to find experts and invite them to your meetings can be found in Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs.

Cindy Hudson, author of Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs

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Book Review: The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

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My daughter wrote this review after we read The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer for our mother-daughter book club.

When I first found out that we were going to read this book, every instinct told me not to. I had heard that it was a very scary book about cloning. Once we had read it though, I loved it. It is a story about a kid named Matt who is a clone of a famous drug dealer. At first, everybody thinks that he is just a filthy, old clone, so they lock him into a cell. When the drug dealer finds out about this, he immediately lets Matt out. Everybody still tries to avoid him. He grows up and eventually finds out that the man he’s cloned from is becoming too old and needs a new heart. Matt escapes only to find himself in a harsh, uncaring world. In the end, he learns that the only difference between a regular person and a clone, is that there is no difference. This story is about love, and a future that is harsh. – Catherine H., Portland, Oregon

Book Review: The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

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The Adoration of Jenna Fox cover imageAfter our mother-daughter book club discussed The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson, one of the girls wrote this review.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox is an interesting book with a plot that makes you want to read to the end. It covers many difficult topics with a very real and human perspective, mainly how far would you go to save someone you love. It also addresses what could happen in the medical world if we continue on the path we’re on. Though the book had some rough writing style issues the plot is intriguing enough to make you go on and finish it. The Adoration of Jenna Fox is a good book that not only makes you think about what’s going on in our world today and how that will affect tomorrow, but also about finding your true identity. — Franny S., Portland, Oregon

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Book Review: Still Life with Chickens by Catherine Goldhammer

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Author Christina Hamlett sent in this review for one of her favorite books:

There are numerous self-help books on the market that enable people to cope with major life transitions—divorce, the death of a spouse, the move to a new neighborhood, the onset of empty-nest syndrome. Nothing attacks life changes better, though, than the wit and mirth of Catherine Goldhammer’s Still Life with Chickens: Starting Over in a House by the Sea. Her conversational style is hilarious and reads as if she is sitting across the table from you over coffee and talking about her move to a fixer-upper house by the sea with a daughter who is most defiantly her own person. My favorite paragraph is the mother’s observation about the simplicity of life as seen through the eyes of their brood of fluffy chicks: “The chickens went about their little chicken lives, eating and drinking and pecking. When I picked them up, they settled into the hammock I made of my shirt and went to sleep. Their beady little eyes drooped and they leaned their little heads against my thumb. Chickens are masters at living in the moment. I should stop worrying about them, I told myself. I should bow to their greater wisdom.”

It’s a wonderful lesson about resiliency (and comfort) from which we all can learn.  —  Christina H., Pasadena, California

Book Review: Songs for a Teenage Nomad by Kim Culbertson

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These reviews for Songs for a Teenage Nomad by Kim Culbertson were sent in by readers.

A Mother’s Review

Calle Smith never lives in one place long enough to call it home. While her mother runs from relationships, lonely Calle finds solace in music, creating a song journal as a way to cope with her uprooted life. Kim Culbertson’s intelligent writing provides insight into the longings of this fourteen-year old with heartrending emotion. Not only a must-read for teens, this book presents topics and ideas that make it essential for parents as well. The themes of growth, love and loss pave clear inroads to discussion topics for mothers and daughters. Keeping a song journal is something that can be shared by both generations as a way to more easily understand one another. A high school educator for over ten years and a parent herself, it is easy to see that Culbertson has an affinity for both young adults and parents. She lends encouragement for each of us to find our unique literary voice through the keeping of a song journal. I love her tag line: “What is the soundtrack of your life?” Songs for a Teenage Nomad introduces ideas to explore together through this inspirational story. – Ann F., Salem, Oregon

A Mother’s and Daughter’s Review

Both music and words flow beautifully throughout Songs for a Teenage Nomad, written by Kim Culbertson. The songs lead the reader into the story linking the past to the present and in so doing, build a fragile connection between a mother and a daughter. A secret creates a barrier between them, but as their stories unfold both mother and daughter experience their own rite of passage. Culbertson leans into the complexities of relationships in a brilliant way, and tackles the inner world of a teenage girl with a refreshing respect for the wisdom that lies there. I’m fourteen and my Mom is thirty-nine and we both loved it! We can’t wait for her next book! – Alice and Jaime Y., Nevada County, California

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Book Review: Screenwriting for Teens by Christina Hamlett

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Reader Marci W. from Maui, Hawaii sent in this review:

Screenwriting for Teens, The 100 Principles of Screenwriting Every Budding Writer Must Know, is an in-depth, yet easy to read book for writers of all ages. Author Christina Hamlett motivates any promising screenwriter, with her humorous writing style and detailed, informative understanding of the craft. To call the book a complete how-to manual would be a vast understatement. At the end of each chapter, a section called Brainstorming, provides writing exercises to reinforce the core concepts introduced in the chapter. Also included, is a Look and Learn section that references films, television shows, books and websites that highlight the focal points contained in the chapter.

Offering more than just helpful hints for those with the dreaded “writer’s block,” Screenwriting for Teens is a comprehensive guidebook that covers all genres. Whether writing a Drama, Comedy, Action Adventure or Sci-Fi Film, this is the book to begin or develop your skills. It will be first on my recommended reading list for the Screenwriting Program that I will be offering at my local community college. Thanks a million, Ms. Hamlett, for your brilliance and encouragement, supporting all those with the courage and vision to put their pens to paper, move forward and to not give up!

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