The Dark Frigate by Charles Boardman Hawes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Swashbuckling that fits the bill for those too young to jump into Moby-Dick, or those who read Moby-Dick and want more fierce adventure on the high seas.

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This book leads to:
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Kari, thanks for making me read this.

Persuasion by Jane Austen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What could I add? I just feel glad that Captain Wentworth appreciated Anne to a depth that her family did not.


This book leads to:
What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew by Daniel Pool

Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I did like that Vande Velde found a way to "turn" the handsome virtual prince into real flesh and blood.

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So far I've loved every version of Tam Lin I've run into, including this one...

Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Suspenseful and involving retelling of the ballad of Tam Lin.

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This book leads to:
Tam Lin by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Charles Mikolaycak (picture book)
Tam Lin by Pamela Dean (novel)
"Thomas the Rhymer" (ballad)
"Tam Lin" (traditional Scottish border ballad)

How the Borrowers were taken captive

The Borrowers Aloft by Mary Norton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Second book I've read this year involving hot-air ballooning--I liked this one rather better than The Twenty-One Balloons.

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For fans of The Wind in the Willows and Rabbit Hill

The Little Grey Men: A Story For The Young In Heart by B.B.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The author also wrote nonfiction titles for adults about the natural world--you can tell in the loving, detailed descriptions of flora and fauna. Adventure, humor, excitement, and rich writing.

This book leads to:
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
Bambi by Felix Salten

One Year in Coal Harbor by Polly Horvath
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

True to the characters from Everything on a Waffle? Yep! Fresh and original despite being a sequel? You bet! Publishes this fall.


This book leads to:
Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath
The Trolls by Polly Horvath

Good Night, Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Willie didn't know life should be any other way than full of pain and abuse, until he left his mother. I appreciated that Mr. Tom explained to Willie that his mother was mentally ill; I hadn't seen it in that clear light until then. It makes sense of things--wouldn't one have to be ill to do what she did?

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This book leads to:
A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer

The Well-Wishers by Edward Eager
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Like Magic or Not?, this one hinges on friendship and doing good turns rather than the time-travel-and-exotic-locale adventures that comprise other Edward Eager books, and is better for it.

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The Time Garden by Edward Eager
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Run-of-the-mill. At end of story, the plan to go to school together in London was too convenient, and unnecessary besides.

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An Enemy at Green Knowe by Lucy M. Boston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fascinating ingredients: a dusty book lost for generations, incantations in Latin, a code language, and magic as ancient as Moses and Pharoah.



This book leads to:
The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O'Shea

A Stranger at Green Knowe by Lucy M. Boston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very sympathetic to animals' dignity and freedom. First 37 pages take place among wild gorillas in Africa.

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