The Poisons of Caux #1: The Hollow Bettle by Susannah Appelbaum

Read: 14 March, 2012

Apotheopathy - or healing - has been illegal in Caux since the deadly King Nightshade took the throne. Ivy Manx's uncle is one of the few apotheopaths still practising in secret. But when he goes missing, Ivy sets out on a adventure to find her lost uncle and to fulfil a mysterious and hidden prophecy about a Noble Child.

I picked The Hollow Bettle up on a whim. I'm trying to build a collection of good children's books to build my son's interest in reading, and this one has very appealing illustrations and seemed to have an interesting concept. Blind buying is always something of a gamble, and I'm generally so lucky that it stands to reason that I was about due for a dud.

Appelbaum's writing style aims for whimsy, but often opts for lyricism over sense. Her writing is littered with throwaway lines that sound lovely (if a little purple), but don't fit in with the text around them. For example, when Rowan tells Ivy to kick at the Outrider, we are told that "it was fortunate for Ivy that Rowan's advice was excellent." But what was excellent about it? Ivy kicks and it fails to free her from the Outrider.

I also noticed several occasions where Appelbaum chose the wrong words - often words that sound very similar to the right ones, or perhaps indicate a case of thesaurusitis (choosing a synonym without fully understanding the particular connotations of the new word). To be fair, the problem does lessen as the book goes on, perhaps as the author starts to find her groove, but it's enough of a problem that I would have considerable reservations giving The Hollow Bettle to children lest they build their vocabulary incorrectly.

The story itself suffered from similar problems. There's no question that the world Appelbaum constructs is interesting, but it seems that she was more interested in showcasing that world than in actually telling her story. As a result, each adventure adds little to the story or to the reader's understanding of the characters. Rather, the episodes feel disjointed, and Ivy moves from one to the next in fits and starts.

The illustrations are beautiful, and filled with details and life that are so lacking in the narrative.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Read: 11 January, 2011

Much of what we think we know about pirates today actually comes from Stevenson's fictional narrative, Treasure Island. The plot is well-known: A pirate stays in an inn and, when the town is attacked by pirates, the proprietor's son, Jim Hawkins, is left in possession of a treasure map. I grew up watching the story told and retold in cartoons, plays, and even as a puppet show! So it was very interesting for me to read the original book.

I went in expecting it to be heavy on the Victorianities, a good story but rather wordy. What I found was a very pleasant surprise. Treasure Island is fast-paced and exciting, with adventure and suspense and humour. I couldn't read through fast enough and felt genuinely sad when the story ended.

I'm greatly looking forward to reading it again when my son graduates from his board books!

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Read: 5 August, 2010

The Book Thief has many of the common elements of a World War II narrative. There are children trying to grow up, to learn, to form friendships against the backdrop of hate and cruelty. There's a Jew hiding in the basement. There's the inevitable violent end of the Nazi regime, followed by confusion and guilt. But this story is told from the perspective of Death as he encounters, again and again, a little girl by the name of Liesel Meminger.

I've noticed that books written for young adults seem to be, on average, so much better than books written for adults. They tend to be more imaginative, better written, and far more thought-provoking. The Book Thief is no exception.

Like most books written about World War II, there was no lack of horror. There were times when I had to read through tears. There were also times when I laughed out loud. I found the characters to be very compelling and I truly cared about what happened to them. The writing style was fantastic and the gimmick of having Death be the narrator, which could so easily have become absurd silliness, was actually well pulled off.

I highly recommend this book for the young adult crowd, and I think that us old fogeys would do well to read it too.

Watership Down by Richard Adams

Read: 8 June, 2009

When Fiver senses that a great danger is coming to the warren, only his brother and a few others believe him. Unable to convince the other rabbits, this small band leaves on a journey in search of safety that takes them through farmyards, across roads and rivers, and into warrens with very different cultures.

This is an absolutely fantastic book. The adventure story alone is well worth the read, but the amateur mythicist in me was especially impressed with the construction of an entire rabbit culture and religious system, language included. Especially impressive is how familiar and, yet, distinctly alien the rabbit culture is. This rarely felt like a book about people that happens to be set in a rabbit setting. Rather, this was a book about rabbits, only slightly anthropomorphism. The characters and their culture retain a great deal of what can only be called 'rabbitiness.'

Most books get at least one aspect right. Some get a few things right. When this happens, the book may be called masterful, or great. But Watership Down is one of the very few books that tempt me to use the word 'perfection.' This is a masterpiece and I think that anyone who hasn't read it yet is somewhat impoverished. There's something about it that just touches the Jungian collective subconscious. This is the hero with a thousand faces pulled off in a way that feels natural.

Though marketed as a children's book (although perhaps a little too gruesome/frightening for younger kids), Watership Down is a must read for adults as well.

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle

Read: 24 November, 2010

When we found out we were having a son, I started reviewing my planned reading lists for gender-interest. That's when I realized that my knowledge of "boy books" is woefully inadequate. I have oodles of "strong willed girl finds her place in society as she transitions into womanhood" books - more than enough to fill any childhood. I certainly want my son to be exposed to these kinds of books, but I realized that I was going to have to expand my repertoire to include at least some books that aren't about girls getting their first periods if I was going to make a life-long reader out of this kid.

I decided to start with the classics of boy's literature, and that's how I ended up reading Robin Hood.

It was fantastic! Even though there was a serious lack of menstruation, there was more than enough exciting adventure to compensate.

The book is told as a series of short stories that build on each other only very loosely. Each one is an adventure involving Robin Hood and his companions; many of them tell how a particular individual came to join Robin Hood's gang.

The stories are exciting and full of action (and more than a little violence). They are also full of witty arguments, which are often very clever and funny. I found myself laughing out loud more than a few times!

Robin Hood is a sort of trickster figure, often seen playing pranks on others that sometimes backfire.

It's a great book! I'll definitely be recommending it to my son once he's at least put diapers behind him. It's a children's book, but it's certainly worth the reading for adults too!

PS: Given what I knew already of the Robin Hood legends, I was surprised to find out that Maid Marian is such a non-character - at least in this rendition. She's mentioned a few times as Robin's girlfriend, but that's the extent of it. I don't think she even makes an appearance in the story, and we certainly never learn any biographical details about her!

Icarus at the Edge of Time by Brian Greene

Read: 8 April, 2009

Icarus is the classic story of the boy who flew too high for his own good. The twist here is that the titular hero lives in the future, grew up on a space ship, and flies into a black hole rather than the sun. Icarus is also a rather large board book, illustrated with beautiful images taken by the Hubble space telescope.

POSITIVE: Icarus offers an interesting blend of classical mythology and modern science. It's a great introduction to black holes and the relativity of time. Finally, the stunning images can only feed a young mind's interest in science.

NEGATIVE: I don't know what Icarus was trying to be. Board books are normally associated with younger children, but the diction seems too advanced. I'm all for books that challenge kids, but I think that this would only serve to frustrate. The book is also far too large to be comfortably read to a young audience that wants to see the pictures too. If, on the other hand, Icarus was intended for a slightly older set, I think that kids would find the story too simplistic.

Another major flaw was the choice in representation of the black hole. This is shown as a black dot (literally a 'black hole' in the middle of the page) that progressively takes over the entire page and then shrinks back down. I can understand an appreciate that this is supposed to allow the reader to "approach" the black hole as Icarus does, but it's just plain black and it obscures the beautiful background images (almost completely for several of the middle pages). It's both distracting and frustrating.

The greatest flaw this book has is its apparent lack of direction. Perhaps the author wanted it to be too many things at once. Who can blame him? The niche for storybooks that also teach science is severely under-filled - but one book alone cannot hope to fill all of it. The result is literary schizophrenia.

This, coupled with the unfortunate design choice, makes this book somewhat of a disappointment. It's still worth getting, though, if only because of how sparse the genre is.

Curse of a Winter Moon by Mary Casanova

Read: 20 March, 2009

Twelve-year-old Marius has been burdened with the care of his little brother, Jean-Pierre, ever since their mother died in childbirth. But Jean-Pierre was born on Christmas Eve and the villagers believe that he carries the mark of the loup garou - the werewolf. With the longest night of the year approaching and the villagers thirsting for heretic blood, will Marius be able to protect his little brother from the clutches of the Catholic Church?

POSITIVE: The story is short and reasonably entertaining. It's obviously written for children in the 10-14 age range and makes for a great introduction to the Inquisition and schism between the Catholic and Protestant Churches. I could definitely see quite a few teachable moments scattered throughout the novel.

NEGATIVE: However, there just didn't seem to be that much of a point to the story. I never felt swept into the story, or even that I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. There just wasn't much enthusiasm in the narrative. Admittedly, it could just be a subjective conflict with the narrative style, but I usually get swept into stories - even poorly-written ones. The ending fellt a little arbitrary as well.

Overall, I really can't say that anything was bad about the story, it just didn't take my interest. It's a shame because the subject matter is definitely up my alley. As I said above, it's worth reading if only for the teachable moments. It's short enough that it doesn't really need more of an argument than that for its usefulness.

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Read: 6 March, 2009

Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert have decided, in their old age, to adopt a young orphan boy of about eleven years old to help take of the farm. When a miscommunication leaves them with little red-headed Anne Shirley, they must decide whether to keep this fiery-tempered and talkative girl, who is decidedly not what they had in mind.

POSITIVE: The writing style is superb and truly carried the narrative. Even when the plot dulled, the narrative voice kept me chained to my rocking chair, eagerly turning the page. The characters are often quite funny, especially Mrs. Lynde, and even Anne - who could get really annoying in her self-centredness - grew on me.

NEGATIVE: Some may feel that the plodding and episodic plot is a bit much, though I felt that this made for a very pleasant and unchallenging read. As I mentioned above, Anne could be infuriatingly self-absorbed, even near the end when she had supposedly outgrown her selfishness. This is a very minor point, though.

All in all, I found this to be a very relaxing and pleasant read. It is funny at times, sad at others, and always interesting. I would definitely be open to reading the next in the series.

Thank you, Pat, for this great gift. Does this mean I get to be a Canadian now?

Six Micmac Stories by Ruth Holmes Whitehead

I've recently started some research into fairytales and, while my focus has been on European myths, I have also been looking into other cultures.

I found this book to be very interesting. There are only six short stories, but they are well selected to cover a number of cultural aspects. I also enjoyed the short commentary provided after each story. It explained a bit about the symbolic significance of aspects of the story, as well as some cultural background necessary to appreciate the narrative.

Overall, it's a a very short read, essentially a quick dip into Micmac storytelling. It's by no means authoritative. The stories mostly have positive messages and, with the exception of a few scary moments, would be appropriate for kids.

His Dark Materials #3: The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman

Read: 27 December, 2008

Lyra has definitely become more passive since Will entered the story. It's a shame. I had really enjoyed having a strong female main character in book 1. Still, though, there's no lack of strong female characters overall and the story was amazing. The pace throughout the series has been just right to captivate my attention while still presenting many interesting ideas.

The ending worried me. For the longest time, it seemed to be going in the direction of the standard "and then all the loose ends were neatly wrapped up and the children who fell in love would live happily ever after together!" But then the story veered off into a completely satisfying, albeit sad, ending. I was so relieved!

I've really enjoyed this series. It can be a little violent at times, which I do understand some people having issues with. But it's a brilliant story that doesn't treat its young adults like idiots - but rather challenges its readership with "cosmic" ideas. I will definitely be recommending the series.

Saints by Ruth Sanderson

The text was awful. It was written in a very point-by-point fashion that is barely interesting to an adult with a passion for religious tradition - I can imagine how dull it would be for a child who has a smaller tolerance for dullness. Take this sentence from the biography of Saint Lawrence for example, "Valerian hoped that if the flock of Christians had no shepherds, they would hopefully scatter" (emphasis mine).

That being said, the illustrations were beautiful - significantly raising my rating of the book. It's worth it if we intend to use it as a picture book, or if parents fill in their own stories based on the text rather than just reading it out.

Kashtanka by Anton Chekhov

This is a children's book illustrated by Gennady Spirin. The ISBN is 0-15-200539-0. The reason I mention this is that I want to talk about the presentation of the book - something that is obviously very important in a children's book.

Spirin's illustrations are absolutely beautiful. The are detailed and have a great amount of depth and character. Unfortunately, they are also very dark. This wouldn't be a bad thing except that the pages are very glossy, meaning that I had to struggle and essentially read in the dark just so that I could see them at all. It was such a shame and obviously a huge downside if this book is to be shared with kids.

The other big issue I took with the presentation of the book is that the text boxes looked too simplistic. There was no relationship between the illustrations at the text. Rather, half the page would just be white with text or, at best, there would be a thin and undecorated yellow border.

The story itself was so-so. As far as Russian classical authors go, I might be least familiar with with Chekhov. Because of this, it's rather difficult to judge what the story might have been like in the original language. That being said, I think it would have taken more than just changing the choice of wording to save the story. It was just very superficial. For example, when Kashtanka's masters find her again, the man who had taken her in is never mentioned again - despite the fact that he had spent a lot of energy to train her, may well have grown to like her, and would be left without an act once the dog left. In that sense, the story is very much incomplete.

I wouldn't bother buying this book.

His Dark Materials #2: The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

Read: 16 December, 2008

Awesome book - a complete page-turner. My only issue would be that Lyra seems much more passive than she did in The Golden Compass. She seems to just follow Will around rather than acting for herself. I can understand the idea that she is sacrificing her own desires to help Will accomplish his destiny, but it just seemed a shame to have the female character acting in such a way to a male character.

Reading some of the reviews on Shelfari, I have to agree that this book was more of a page-turner than the first one, but had less substance. Certainly, the action moved along quite quickly and a great deal of information was given out about the subtle knife and the Authority, but I guess that because we already know most of the characters, less time was needed to establish them. The result was a more plot-driven book than the first had been.

Also, Pullman used variations of the word "wary" far too much in the first dozen or so pages. Other than that, it was a fabulous book and I can't wait to read the third instalment!

Lady of Ch'iao Kuo by Laurence Yep

Read: 12 December, 2008

This book is part of Scholastic's Royal Diaries series. I picked this book up at a second-hand sale my University was hosting. Having never heard of the author or the series, I was sold entirely by the cover art (which is absolutely beautiful and quite possibly the best part of the book - maybe I can just frame it?).

Overall, I found it to be an interesting read. The concepts of being forced to grow up and being responsible for many people despite having no experience kept me turning the pages. Unfortunately, they weren't really fleshed out. I also noticed a few continuity errors - for example, Redbird's father decides that she will act as the translator when they talk to the Chinese, but then he goes to the Chinese without taking her along. This seems to happen for no reason other than to be able to kill off the father without having to hurt Redbird (or have her experience battle before the climax).

There were also some descriptions that may have been anachronistic, such as referring to the army as a "machine." I'm sure they had machines of some sort or another back then, but would she have seen them? More importantly, would she have had enough exposure to machines to think of such a description? It's a small detail, one that I might easily have passed over without noticing. It's just that the book is so full with these little things that it bogs the story down.

Finally, I just felt that the author wasn't very good at writing in the diary style. We're never told why she starts writing the diary (something that modern little girls living in an age where paper and ink are both cheap and plentiful might not need a reason for). And then there's the way she describes things... The narrative just feels very objective and detail-oriented, while perhaps missing some of the details that would have been important to her. It didn't feel like a diary, but rather a third person narrative crammed into a first person diary format.

All that being said, I still finished it and I did still enjoy reading it. I just feel disappointed because the story deserved a much better treatment than it received.

Marguerite Makes a Book by Bruce Robertson (illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt)

Read: 29 November, 2008

I picked up this book because the concept struck me as such a wonderful idea that I didn't want to pass up the chance and risk not being able to find it (or of forgetting about it) when I have someone age-appropriate in the house to share it with. I'm really glad I did!

The book is superb, from cover to cover. The art is gorgeous. For some reason, a lot of children's books have awful squiggly line art, as though kids wanted to see drawings that were apartment made by people at their artistic level. Maybe that's true for some children, but I never appreciated being talked down to - even artistically. In this book, the illustrations (mostly watercolour, with some shiny gold detailing) are absolutely enchanting. They feature plenty of pictures detailing the process of making a book in the Middle Ages, as well as city streets and even maps of Medieval Paris.

The story itself is quite good, though fairly standard. Marguerite's father makes books, but he's getting too old. The deadline for a new book is coming up, but he's broken his glasses, so Marguerite has to finish the book on her own. She walks around Paris shopping for the ingredients and then goes home to work on the book. The deadline comes and she's finished it and the book is very beautiful and everyone is happy and proud of her.

The book is quite educational: going through several Medieval trades (including tanner and herbalist) and explaining in fairly good detail what goes into making a book. There's an explanation of how each colour is made, how the actual painting is done, what the "paper" is made out of, etc. And then there's all the added information contained in the pictures themselves, such as what a Medieval street might have looked like, how people dressed (depending on class), and so forth.

If I had to pick something negative to say about the book, it would be Marguerite's treatment of the tanner. It only lasts a page, but she just comes off as being rather rude. I suppose it's historically accurate, but it just isn't very nice. Then again, that just opens up a nice time to talk to kids about treating everyone with respect, even if their job makes them very stinky.

Wild Animals in Captivity by Rob Laidlaw

Read: 17 September, 2008

I read this recently as part of my job and I must say that it was really quite interesting. It's a quick read with lots of good pictures (some cute, some heartbreaking) and I feel that I did learn quite a bit reading it.

Wild Animals is written with a young (tween to early teen) audience in mind. Unlike most reference book authors for that age bracket, Laidlaw never comes off as condescending and certainly never minimizes the role children have to play in animal welfare. Quite the opposite, he challenges young readers to examine zoos for themselves and determine whether they are animal-friendly or not. If not, he provides a list of steps even the youngest animal welfare advocate can take to fix the situation, which includes such "grown-up" things as writing to their local newspapers.

I think my favourite part of the book comes near the end where he juxtaposes good conditions with bad ones. Rather than just say that zoos are bad or complain about everything that can go wrong, he actually cites examples where zoos (or parks) have had the right idea and improved conditions.

Because the book avoids talking down to the reader, it is certainly appropriate for adults. I recommend it for anyone, of any age, with a budding interest in animal welfare issues.

The Foretelling by Alice Hoffman

Read: 25 September, 2008

I bought this book on a whim. I had never heard of it or of the author, but Chapters was selling it for pennies, so I figured it was worth the risk.

I'm glad I took the chance. It's a great book. It breaks several of the cardinal rules of writing (telling instead of showing, for an obvious example), but it does it well. The story is interesting and fast-paced, making it a quick read. It would have had to have been hundreds of pages long had Hoffman tried to cover the same amount of ground by "showing," and I do believe that she made the right choice.

This is obviously a Young Adult novel, but it deals with several mature themes such as sex (both consensual and non-) and war. However, Hoffman treats these subjects as "facts," without dwelling on them graphically as some authors do. These are just part of Rain's world. This is not to mention the tough concepts of love, responsibility, compassion, being one's self, feminism/patriarchy, etc. that are brought up. They are handled in a way that would be acceptable for a young teen or tween to read, while also serving the purpose of opening discourse on such subjects.

This isn't to say that the book was perfect. There are times when I would have liked certain areas to be explored more deeply. The ending, for example, tells of several important and life-altering events taking place without, I felt, giving them due consideration. The book works, but I feel that it might have been improved a little by slowing down the narrative pace at certain moments and describing certain events in more detail. I also would have liked a context: as the novel is written in the first person, it would have been nice to know who Rain is telling her story to.

Still, these are very minor complaints to a book that, overall, was a very enjoyable rainy-afternoon read with an uplifting message.

His Dark Materials #1: The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Read: 3 August, 2008

Absolutely fantastic book! While I do think it would be fabulous for children to read (I don't think it would be appropriate for anyone younger than 10, though), it has more than enough content for adults as well. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I found it more complex and "intellectual" (quotes used because I hate that word) than most grown-up books I've read. And now for a lengthy list of some of the things I especially liked:

Lyra feels like a real kid. I've read many kids' books where we are told that the main character is a tomboy and so forth, but then the character never acts like that once the introduction of the story is over with. Lyra, on the other hand, wants to play and be a child throughout the story. She also thinks like a child. While most stories with children will pay some lip service to the idea of childhood, Lyra actually feels genuine. She is also afraid, she doubts herself, she moans and wishes that it could all be happening to someone else instead. She has real character flaws, not just insignificant details tacked on as an afterthought to make the main character seem like less of a super-human.

That level of characterization doesn't end with the main character. The other important characters were ambiguous. They had motives of their own that went far beyond "I'm, like, totally evil! MUAHAHA!" Right from the beginning, we think the master of Jordan College is evil because he's trying to poison Lord Asriel only to find out a few pages later that he was only doing so because he was trying to protect Lyra. This continues on throughout the story so that the characters feel real and can never really be pegged as either "good" or "evil."

Often, when I read children's novels, there will be bits that make me uncomfortable. A perfect example that comes from a grown-up novel is Lucky You by Carl Hiaason. The main characters are obviously supposed to be Good and they do their whole speech about how murder is wrong, then they leave the main Evil character to die on the island without any guilt whatsoever. Had an Evil character done something like that, it would be thought of as horrible - but because a Good character did it, it's no big deal. These sorts of things make me feel very uncomfortable when found in any novel, but most especially in a kid's book. I hate the thought of exposing my own hypothetical children to that sort of corrupt value system. The Golden Compass had no such moments. There were times when Lyra had to do things that, under ordinary circumstances, I would consider bad, but she always feels guilt about them. They are always acknowledged as being bad, though necessary. At no point did this novel offend my personal morality, and that's saying a whole lot.

I also liked all the positive lessons of the story - the triumph of Iorek among the bears tells kids that it's better to be yourself than to weaken yourself trying to be something else; Lyra is afraid, but she masters herself and perseveres anyway, showing kids that it's okay and legitimate to feel afraid, but that they, too, can master their fears. Lyra is also a very active protagonist. She initiates much of the plot in a way that is woefully rare for characters, female ones especially.

And finally, Pullman writes with a perfect balance of ideas and action, allowing me to enjoy my reading of the book immensely (I must say, I found myself holding my breath several times while reading) while also giving me plenty to think about once I put the book down. This is an all-over fantastic book that I can't possibly praise enough. I've now ordered the next two books in the series and here's hoping they come soon!

Harry Potter #3: The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Read: 2005

The Prisoner of Azkaban is the third instalment of the Harry Potter series. The story opens on Harry's thirteenth birthday. He is staying with his abusive aunt and uncle (muggles, or non-magical persons) for the summer. What follows is a story of his third year at Hogwarts, a boarding school for young wizards, and his discovery of his long-dead father.

Before I begin, I would like to make it very clear that I will only be discussing The Prisoner of Azkaban in this review. I haven't read any of the other books in the series, so I really can't comment on how this particular book fits in. Now that that's out of the way…

I absolutely loved the way The Prisoner of Azkaban brought mythology to life in a modern and relevant way. It's not Tristan or Siddhartha Gautama anymore, this is just Harry. I have seen many attempts to revitalize myths for children, but this is the first time I have seen it done quite so successfully (at least since The Hobbit and The Chronicles of Narnia).

The plot is undeniably interesting. Many common child issues are brought up and dealt with in quite a nice pedagogical way. Everything from friendships to coping with fears to bullying to dealing with the loss of a loved one. These are all issues that every child faces, and children can learn a lot about how to deal with fear, for example, in the episode with the boggart (just find a way to make the fear look silly, laugh it to death!).

My major qualm with the book was the way that the plot developed. Rather than a subtle movement or clues for the reader to piece together, the plot moves very slowly, takes a huge leap, moves slowly again, etc. Sometimes, an explanation character is thrown in. These characters have no being of their own, no personalities, no relevance to the story. Rather, they are there just to act as Harry's (and our) surrogate ears. A good example of this would be Rosmerta at the Three Broomsticks pub. The story hasn't been told in twelve years, and suddenly they are telling Rosmerta every single detail. Of course, it just happens to be right in front of Harry.

The ending pretty much plays itself out in this same way. In a typical Nick and Nora style, all the relevant characters are gathered together and three chapters are spent revealing the truth. A lot of new information is added, sudden leaps are taken so that the reader could not have guessed the outcome for him/herself, and several instances are still left unexplained (for example, why, if Sirius Black is so good, did he break Ron's leg? One explanation someone has given me is that he's gone a little crazy with his desire for revenge. Why, then, did he not just kill Scabbers once he had him in the Shrieking Shack? Why did he wait in a dark corner until Harry and Hermione appeared and waited for Ron to shout out that it's a trap?).

The only other trouble I had with the book was the fact that everything plot critical was repeated several times. So you would have a main character explain something, then someone would ask an idiotic question that pretty much requires that main character to repeat what he just said. I suppose this is technically a children's book, so it makes sense that it would not require quite so much memory, attention, and piecing together as what I normally read. But as an adult, this was quite frustrating to read. And I feel that, somehow, it's short-changing children, too. From what I've noticed, kids tend to be a whole lot more perceptive than they are typically given credit for.

The use of names in The Prisoner of Azkaban is really interesting and entertaining. The names are whimsical, but also very descriptive of the character. Take "Snape" for example. This man is a jealous, petty, conniving man, one of those bullies in books that the reader just loves to hate. His name sounds exactly like that. "Snape" firstly sounds a lot like "snake," but it also conjures images of the petty and the low. Then you have "Remus Lupine," the werewolf. Remus, of course, taken from the Roman myth of Romulus and Remus, the twins who were raised by a she-wolf. And "Lupine" from the Latin word "lupus" which means "wolf." Playing around with pronunciations and possible meanings of the names is almost more entertaining that the novel itself.

All in all, I did enjoy it. I think Ms. Rowling is certainly an extremely intelligent woman and she puts a lot of that intellect into her work. Getting kids to read on such a large scale is certainly an amazing feat. However, the plot development style does not help anyone. If this is a children's book, I would like to see more clues throughout the novel so that it is possible (note: not 'easy') to figure out the ending. I think it's not just important that children read, but also what they read. Giving them something that has room for guesswork would do far more to improve their critical and observational skills than just having a couple little stories and then having a complete gear shift for an ending that pulls strings out of thin air with which to tie loose ends. As an adult reader, it would make the novel more worth-while.

Medieval Games by John Marshall Carter

Read: 20 October, 2007

Discuss the role of games in Medieval society, including its role in gender and class barriers and the way in which games reflected a society that was organized for war (Carter discusses the three estates as being formed around war). The book also touches on the cult of reputation (identified as a remnant of the Greco-Roman tradition) nurtured by sportspeople.

The purpose of this book is to argue rather than inform. If you would just like to read about the types of games people played, what they looked like, what the rules were, etc... this is not the book for you.