Month: March 2018

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Flora and Ulysses The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo

Scriblerians.com

As a fan of Kate DiCamillo, I’m delighted to report that Flora and Ulysses The Illuminated Adventures does not disappoint. In fact, it may have just become my favorite book of hers. This 2014 Newbery Medal winner is mostly a standard text, but it’s sprinkled with scenes like a graphic novel thanks to illustrator K.G. Campbell. While Flora and Ulysses is perfect for readers eight to ten years old, the story appeals to every age.

Synopsis

Listen. Do not hope. Instead, observe. Ten-year-old Flora is a natural born cynic. She depends on her comic book, The Illuminated Adventures of the Amazing Incandesto!, to help her survive if terrible things should happen to her. (It has a handy-dandy bonus section titled, TERRIBLE THINGS CAN HAPPEN TO YOU!).  Flora is hanging in there after her parents’ divorce, but Mom pays more attention to her writing career than to her daughter. And Dad only gets to visit.

Flora rescues a squirrel that was accidentally vacuumed up by her neighbor. Once she has resuscitated him, she names him Ulysses and discovers he has acquired extraordinary powers as a result of his near-death experience. He can read, he can type, he is super-strong. And he can fly.

As you can see, Flora and Ulysses pops the reader into a rollicking story from the get-go. But as the novel develops, sadness underlies many characters’ lives. While Flora holds fiercely to her cynical persona, she gains compassion for Ulysses, her dad, William Spiver from next door, and finally, for her mom. Flora learns to love and be loved.

Pros

  1. Every chapter entertains. It even has chapters from the squirrel’s point of view!
  2. This book could be very helpful to children whose parents are divorced. While there is hope for reconciliation between Flora’s mom and dad, Andrew Spiver doesn’t have that hope, but he does have friends to help him cope.

Cons

  1. …
  2. I can’t think of any negatives.

Discussion Questions

  1. How did Ulysses get his superpowers?
  2. Why was Flora jealous of a lamp?
  3. Why does Ulysses love Flora?
  4. Who was your favorite character and why?

Conclusion

Read it.

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Fawkes by Nadine Brandes

Fawkes is a stand-alone YA historical fantasy. 

Synopsis

Thomas Fawkes is turning to stone, and the only cure to the Stone Plague is to join his father’s plot to assassinate the king of England.

Silent wars leave the most carnage. The wars that are never declared, but are carried out in dark alleys with masks and hidden knives. Wars where color power alters the natural rhythm of 17th century London. And when the king calls for peace, no one listens until he finally calls for death.

But what if death finds him first?

Keepers think the Igniters caused the plague. Igniters think the Keepers did it. But all Thomas knows is that the Stone Plague infecting his eye is spreading. And if he doesn’t do something soon, he’ll be a lifeless statue. So when his Keeper father, Guy Fawkes, invites him to join the Gunpowder Plot—claiming it will put an end to the plague—Thomas is in.

The plan: use 36 barrels of gunpowder to blow up the Igniter King.

The problem: Doing so will destroy the family of the girl Thomas loves. But backing out of the plot will send his father and the other plotters to the gallows. To save one, Thomas will lose the other.

No matter Thomas’s choice, one thing is clear: once the decision is made and the color masks have been put on, there’s no turning back.

Pros

  • A fresh spin on history. As a homeschool parent, I could see assigning this story when studying this period of history and then challenging students to write a report comparing the story’s events against the historical record.
  • The author uses magic (color power) as an allegory to represent the different ways historical English religions (Catholic and Reformed Protestant) interacted with God. I love the way her character, Thomas, searches for truth and ultimately learns that God desires a relationship with us first and foremost.
  • I enjoyed the mystery behind the Stone Plague. It added more complexity to the plot and was a clever concept.

Cons

  • It took me a long time to warm up to the main character (Thomas Fawkes). I almost stopped reading the book because I didn’t like him or identify with him. That would have been a mistake, because I loved him by the end of the book. But be warned – it might take you a bit to like him too.

Final Word

Worth Reading.

Discussion Questions

 
  1. The Gunpowder Plot is a real historic event. Do a little research and see how the author changed the events to fit the story.
  2. Emma Areben and Guy Fawkes both refused to be seen without their masks, but both for different reasons. Have you ever wished you could hide behind a mask? Who do you allow to see the real you?
  3. The Igniters and Keepers had different views of the White Light. Which viewpoint was correct? Or was the answer somewhere in between?
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Refugee by Alan Gratz

 

Refugee is a book about three families searching for a new home. It is appropriate for older teens as it has mature themes.

Synopsis

Three kids travel to find refuge…

JOSEF is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. After his father is released from a concentration camp his family must board a ship to flee to the other side of the world…

ISABEL is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety in America . . .

MAHMOUD is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe . . .

They all face terror and death but they believe that there is something better out there. A place where they can live in peace. And although these children are separated by continents and time their stories of hope are bound together.

Pros:

  • amazing stories that show the humanity behind the word “refugee”.
  • well paced, riveting book that kept me turning the pages.
  • had many historical details in it which is good for students to discuss.
  • each one of the three voices are unique.

Cons:

  • traumatic experiences are had by all the children and may be hard for the more sensitive reader.
  • the story jumps between three points of view which some people may find annoying.

Conclusion:

Honestly, I would recommend this book to everyone. It really helped me see past the generic term “refugee” and acknowledge the people/victims behind this very real crisis. Although this is a piece of fiction the author has remained true to the historical catalysts that set each of the great voyages in motion. Although at some points in time it is hard to read it is a story of hope and it really blessed me.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Did this book change your idea about what a refugee is? Why or why not?
  2. Many people in both the Canada and the US have refugees in their family tree. Talk to your family/friend and find out more about their trip to find a new home.
  3. Brainstorm some ways that we can help refugees as they travel and when they arrive to their new homes.
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The Grey King by Susan Cooper

 

The Grey King had been recommended to me some time ago by a lover of high fantasy. Since it’s a Newbery Medal winner, I was willing to try it out, and if I liked it, I’d read the whole series: The Dark Is Rising Sequence.

My fellow Scriblerian, Tim, will not be happy with me.  And no, he was not the one who recommended that I read the series.

I can see why it won the Newbery back in the Seventies, but as a Christian, I had trouble with it. A disturbing trinity of Lords most definitely does NOT represent the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as I would expect Christian-based fantasy to symbolize. I found the concept of “Old Ones” confusing –in this case, a young boy who truly has been born into a family, but his soul is “old”—it smacks of reincarnation. So if I found it confusing, what goes on in the minds of young readers as they take in this world of  fantastical spirit mixed with humanity?

Synopsis

Of course, the setting is Wales, with lots of unintelligible spellings, swirling mists, and magical doors. Thank goodness the main characters have simple names like Will, Bran, and John. It is up to young Will, the last born of the Old Ones, to save the world from the forces of evil led by the Grey Wolf. To succeed, Will must wake up Six Sleepers with a magical golden harp. The humans are unaware of the danger except for Bran, a boy close to Will’s age who was transported through time by another of the Old Ones.

Pros

  1. Loads of action for boys’ tastes. (Have you ever noticed that girls are happy to read action stories, but boys rarely peruse a sweet romance?)
  2. Susan Cooper spends a good deal of time teaching her readers how to pronounce Welsh words. I’ve never understood Welsh phonics, so I had a great time sounding out words as I learned the rules.
  3. Spoiler: the good guys win. On to the next book of the series, Silver on the Tree.

Cons

  1. If you are a parent wanting easily identifiable, Christian symbolism for your child to understand, you won’t get it here.
  2. With forty-plus years of high fantasy novels following The Dark Is Rising Sequence, the plot may seem trite to twenty-first century readers.

Conclusion

The vocabulary is geared toward the more capable reading ability, and definitely not for anyone under the age of nine. Because the writing is so good, I won’t pan the series, but if my sons had read the book, I would’ve wanted to discuss it chapter by chapter.