Treasure Chest for Tweens

The Accidental Detective Series by Sigmund Brouwer

2011-12-27T17:39:00.000-08:00

I want to say it’s a cute series, but that might not do it justice. These are well-told mystery stories.

Summer brings together some cousins who get a chance to visit, work a farm, get away from home, and incidentally, solve a mystery.

Outline: the mystery I read involves a woman bank robber who was ill-used by a bank owner who receives his just comeuppance.

This is published by a protestant book company. The book is not what I would call deep, and that makes it just-right. The references to God, miracles, and prayer is natural and normal, so we can just absorb the positive message that correspond with the life experience of so many without needing to address the differences that still separate Christian brethren.

SAFETY RATING: 3 Flags

Peak by Roland Smith

2011-12-19T19:43:00.000-08:00

This was a Pretty Exceptional book And better than most Kinds I’ve been reading lately.

Peak (as in mountain) first lands in trouble from his stunt climbing a skyscraper. It wasn’t the first building he left his tag on, but it was the first one he forgot to check and see what was going on inside that day. The mayor’s visit set Peak up to be snagged by the cops at top and filmed by a TV crew.

The notoriety brings forth Peak’s absent dad who offers to whisk him out of the country until the media uproar dies down.

En route to the Asian city where Peak’s dad enrolled him in school, they make a detour to base camp at Mount Everest, where Peak’s father offers the chance for him to summit the peak as the youngest person yet with the happy consequence of also boosting the fame and fortune of his father’s flagging mountain-climbing company.
There is then the convergence of the perfect storm of conflict against the backdrop of Peak’s mature grappling with the past and continuous neglect of his famous but single-minded father… a hopeless “rock rat.”

The self-sacrifice, courage, and tension between pursuing a passion and balancing relationships is a fabulous read along with a fabulous non-preachy message. There is much to like and all of it engaging.

I’m sorry not to give it full safety rating though it came close. I’d note for parents that Peak’s mom was not married when he was “conceived in a tent.” It is something worth discussing with your tween, especially older ones… note that she was eager to leave her own family of origin (no details given), but it was significant for her. Part of the theme of the book is the effect dealing with his father’s absence and disinterest had on Peak. Also of note is how admirable a mom Peak has. Pregnancy cut short her climbing career, but she never looked back. It was because she could not but focus on her new baby that she lost her competitive edge. She built a loving family with a man who proved to be a good stepfather to Peak. Her advice to Peak upon his embarking on the summit experience is a remarkable speech. No surprise she has a remarkable son.

SAFETY RATING: 2 Flags

See: Pre-Marital Sex: Lessons from Reason, Scripture

Eager by Helen Fox

2011-12-08T15:32:00.000-08:00

I thought this started like a cool episode of The Twilight Zone: robots and humans. What happens when robots act and look like humans?

In the novel’s future-time robots complete all the menial work. The world has run out of adequate amounts of oil and an imperfect compromise is achieved by having people live in three classes: the technocrats, the professionals, and the city-dwellers. Only the technocrats can travel freely (or afford the latest technology). Though we don't see much of how the urban dwellers live, the professionals use a lot of virtual simulation to experience traveling the world. Going to your local school requires a robot- escort to keep you safe.

Houses are practically alive with all the work being done by central computers and robots who cook, clean and babysit. Fleur and her brother, Gavin, are the children of professionals who become wary of the newest line of robots who act remarkably human... and seem to be able to bypass the prime robot rule: never harm a human.
These newest robots are made by the dominate corporation: LifeCorp. Fleur and Gavin's family take in a robot that was independently made and is able to learn which makes him unlike any robot yet on the market.

When the newest robots start taking human hostages, everything comes to a head. Not that I would describe it as a thriller; it’s more an unsatisfying science fiction.
Disappointing du to the potential to engage deeper questions never coming to fruition. In fact, when Socrates shows up as a computer hologram, he actually sweats and avoids the questions about humanity and robots that are posed to him. The conversations alluding to these intriguing questions is unacceptable unclear when the house computer tells Gavin that the two of them have already figured out that animals have rights. An error is made when the robot Eager presents his FEELINGS as the reason he KNOWS he's alive. Feelings are the measure of truth?

The uniqueness of a human soul created in the image of God by a transcendent being is never even broached. Rights as stemming from the transcendence of God… nada. Amazing for such a topic. Socrates is presented as unable to understand the concept of robots and willing to speak of free-will but keep slaves. (Where is Peter Kreeft when you need him?) I don't know enough to speak to the slave part, but I believe Socrates
could understand robots, and I suspect he grasped the transcendence in relation to the human soul. In fact, I think it was his reasoning of a God that got him killed.

Best as I can tell, we are supposed to believe that these robots are comparable to human slaves. And the robot, Eager, is supposed to be taken as human not merely human-like.

One more parental caution was a a depiction of one of the character's mom falling in love with a virtual personal trainer to the point she encourages her husband to wear the same leotards. It's funny (for adults). The question is: does this respect and model the commitment to love your spouse to heaven that we teach our children?

It all comes clear (well, sort of) in the end. We’re presented with the idea that since the world evolved from nothing in which nothing mysteriously becomes conscious, humans beings might just as mysteriously create a conscious being. And since Eager the robot is made of all the same particles that create the universe…he is part of the Earth, so he IS. In response to Eager's "enlightenment," the book hits a transcendental note with a comment of "om" and a blossom falling.

It would have been better as a cool, short, open-ended questioning Twilight Zone episode.

SAFETY RATING: 1.5 Flags

See: Catechism of the Catholic Church

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer Holm

2011-11-17T18:01:00.000-08:00

I like so much about this book:
It has a sense of humor that sets a tone as appealing as the Key West scenery where it takes place.
The protagonist is sharp, independent, and more appealing than the scenery.

I like the story:Turtle's mom is a cleaning lady who has to send her daughter back home to live with her sister while she works for a family who won't allow children. Turtle has to squeeze in with her lively cousins in a chaotic, kid-centered, small-town atmosphere where she endears herself to the local residents with her unique personality.

I like the adventure:buried treasure; hurricanes; a brief stint stranded on an island and a barefoot summer.

I like the history:pictures at the end tie in the real-life inspiration for characters, events, and setting of the Key West during the Great Depression.

I like the lessons:
Turtle sometimes complains, in a rather tongue-in-cheek manner about the poor behavior of kids and comments cynically on the nature of adults until her transformed opinion is revealed toward the end with this comment on her aunt's house: "...it doesn't seem quite so small or shabby to me anymore. I can see past the rickety porch and the tin roof and know it's built just like its people, to sway in a storm and not break."

I do not like: having to point out the need to be cautious about ?'s mom's weakness in relationships with men. It's an uphill battle in this culture to help our children grow and internalize God's plan for love and marriage. Role models in books or movies are important. Turtle's mom isn't particularly helpful. An adult can understand this character and her motivations, but I'd be cautious assuming tweens will have mature judgement.

Mom left Key West pregnant, ran through a few relationships with irresponsible men, and fell for another con artist in the end. She's susceptible because she's needy. Her relationship with her own mom was damaging (resolved in the end). I cringed when Turtle had a couple conversations which alluded to one of the men on Key West being her father although she was unaware at the time that there was innuedo in her flippant comments.

Turtle's level-headed maturity is a remarkable testament in her circumstances. As an adult, you can understand that she is the adult in the relationship because she has to be. Unlike the other lessons learned, though, there is not much evidence from the story to redeem this as a life lesson. Mom doesn't seem to mature and neither she nor Turtle seem to wrestle with the ill-effects of this behavior. In fact, Turtle seems to sail rather smoothly right through it. That's a hopeful but not realistic effect of being fatherless.

SAFETY RATING: 1 Flag

Free Baseball by Sue Corbett

2011-11-15T19:07:00.000-08:00

coops. foul ball. Felix, playing on his baseball team, shakes his bottom at his teammates who are razzing him (a visual swear word).

foul ball two. Felix tells his coach a "white lie" that he feels a "little sorry" for.

foul ball three. Felix's mother can't take him to the ball park when he wins tickets from the local radio show to a local farm team's game. She is a hard-working, single mom and can't get time off work, so she sends him with the babysitter. A number of circumstances, fueled by his understandable resentment, lead to his hitching a ride in the luggage section of the team bus and taking over for the team's ball boy who did not show up for work. It was not qutie a strike but a definite foul that he stowed away when his mother was coming to pick him up! The circumstances of the book explain much better how this could happen.

I can't help but be inclined to give the benefit of the doubt to a book that slips in a phrase describing Felix's math class as "dragging on exponetially." :)

Now the story slides into a homerun after these bumpy hits as Felix, who lives and breathes baseball, gets to care for the team's laundry, toss some balls with the manager, mingle with the players and play with the team's smart, mascot dog.

Felix’s mom eventually catches up with him at the end of a baseball-filled day in which Felix endears himself to the team. She tells Felix a wrenching story about his father, a famous and talented Cuban baseball player. The family tried to escape Cuba together, and his father selflessly gave up his spot on an overcrowded boat to give Felix and his mom a chance. He thought he might have a chance to join them later since he was a well-known ball player.

Instead, he was forced for political reasons to denounce them, and for political-protection reasons, he formally divorced Felix's mom. After it became clear that he would not be able to leave the country, he remarried. It’s an exceptional case. Felix comes from a Catholic background, but it’s barely alluded to, and isn’t part of this discussion with his mom. Such an exceptional case would be an interesting discussion...

SAFETY RATING: 2.5 Flags

Lady Macbeth's Daughter by Lisa Klein

2011-11-08T19:06:00.000-08:00

This tale, inspired from Shakespeare’s MacBeth, is remarkable enough to have drawn in my husband, a Shakespeare fan. To my surprise, he read it to the end.

It’s told at times from the point of view of MacBeth’s wife and generally from the point-of-view of her daughter, Albia. Albia was born with a lame foot, and MacBeth condemned her to death. Instead of this fate, she is whisked away by Macbeth’s lady-in-waiting, and raised by the Wyrd sisters (the witches from Macbeth.)

Later, she is adopted as a foster daughter to Banquo when he loses his own daughter. She falls for his son, Fleance, and in the end both seek revenge on Macbeth for his foul deeds.

It’s a remarkable re-take on Shakespeare. It is quite its own story while in keeping with the general details of Macbeth. I found it an engaging perspective with reservation for the tween audience.

I’d be cautious about handing it to a tween. One of Macbeth’s foul deeds is an attempted rape of his own daughter. The details were not lurid, and he was not successful. He also was brought up short by the realization of what he was doing as he did not know at that point that his daughter had lived, let alone that his would-be victim was related. It’s intense and so is the young age and arranged marriage of Lady Macbeth at the beginning.

The witches, no surprise, engage in herbology mixed with pagan practices and invocations to pagan gods.

The book reads through a modern feminist lens and the feminist perspective reminds me of paganism itself.

That is:
parts of it hold some truth:

…women should not be the possession of men
…you can prophesy strife and trouble for they are certain, but the other prophesies are double-talk meant to twist Macbeth’s reason not foretell the future.

some parts miss the mark:

…the strong woman character picks up arms and learns to fight like a man (I don’t mind the sword-training, but I object to the hint that it somehow balances the inequalities women experienced. Recognition of being made in the image of God is what slowly righted the balance. That didn’t come from the barbarian or pagan culture.)

some parts are a dangerous mix with the occult presented as good or neutral:

invoking the gods with spells and potions; using the “magic” of trees to promote healing, for example

I thought the rehabilitation of Lady Macbeth as a bit of a victim of arranged marriage at a young age, and the witches’ rehabilitation as pro-life, spritual ladies interesting but not real plausible. Catherine of Aragon, for example, I think had a better case than Lady Macbeth for murder, but she managed to remain noble up to her beheading. If the novel were non-fiction, the pro-life role would land firmly where it did historically: with the Christian minority.

Lady Macbeth’s portrayal disturbed me when she gave birth to a son whom she never bonded with or loved and subsequently to a daughter whom she loved deeply and lost. I thought it in keeping with a negative slant on the patriarchal system that was a bit exaggerated, although not much by today's standards.

Albia’s friend, Colum’s effort to make sense of the term, justice reflects his non-Christian upbringing. He tries to define it separate from a God who is Justice and tries this out: “ Justice comes from wanting what is good. Not for yourself alone but for others.” I think this limps toward Truth but falls short because it defines good apart from God and His revelation. Time and again, such disconnect leads to certain groups excluded from this field of justice….good intentions nonwithstanding.

I liked it a bit better for an adult and educated audience than younger tweens…

SAFETY RATING: 1 Flag

See: Catechism of the Catholic Church Justice: 1807

When the Sargeant Came Marching Home by Don Lemna

2011-10-25T19:47:00.000-07:00

First… the story. Donald, his brother and mother live happily in small-town Wistola where Donald collects bottles with his friends to recycle and pay for the weekly movie theater. Life is good with the friends, shows, and indoor plumbing.

Then Sargeant (aka “Dad) returns from the war and relocates the family to a farm where they are now able to savor the joys of outhouses and pig pens.

This doesn’t go over well with Donald. The joys of rural seclusion, chicken poop, and outdoor plumbing eludes him. In fact, he passionately hates it and vows to move to California as soon as he’s saved $10.00.

The book is chock-full of boy-appealing adventure and humor. I thought it ended strongly not only with funny vignettes but significant ones that taught important lessons in an utterly real way. When Donald seeks retribution on his younger brother because his brother gave into the same temptation Donald barely avoided, (spending some of the Christmas money on himself instead of all of it on his sibling), Donald’s parents call him out on his self-righteousness. Nursing his resentment and the resulting process of forgiveness is easy to empathize with. It’s made sweeter by the fact that the Christmas season helped him break his barriers.

Though the book came close to a 3-flag waving treat, I had some reservation. The conflict between Donald and his dad is natural enough, but I cringed when Donald stated that he “hated” him (not to his face). (We consider hate a 4 letter word in relationships when spoken in anger aloud.) The dad and mom at first appear to be dangerously at odds in terms of being on the same parenting page.. The dad comes back drunk from a confrontation with a squatter (it plays more for humor than a lack of Dad’s dignity). And Donald and his brother go looking for a friend one day and find a beer-guzzling neighbor (score for the movie money!) who lets them play with his gun while he sleeps. The parents don’t find out that they were playing with the gun… it’s a natural curiosity that turns out OK, but it’s well worth pointing out that it might well have not turned out safely.

SAFETY RATING: 2 Flags (boy-friendly)

Nick of Time by Ted Bell

2011-10-10T09:00:00.001-07:00

Is it an adventure story? Historical fiction? Science fiction? It’s super-story, transcending genres with a a single bound.

Nick McIver lives in a lighthouse on an English island. It’s the perfect location from which to track the movement of German subs right before the war. Nick’s father helps the war effort in this nascent stage of battle, and it inevitably involves Nick.

This isn’t even the beginning of the adventure. Nick runs into an evil pirate who wants the time-travel device that has “fallen” into Nick’s hands.

By the time of the rising action, Nick’s back in time fighting for his life on an English ship up against Captain Blood who has kidnapped women and children, terrorized parents and sailors, and is after the time machine invented by Leonardo and held by Nick and friends. Back in our present time, his sister, cared for by the top security officer of England, is being involuntarily “hosted” by Nazis on their top-secret submarine and about to be executed. Nick dodges bullets, rescues children, tosses dueling adults his weapon, all in the nick of time back in time while his sister simultaneously outwits the Nazis with excellent acting and help from sharks, electric fences and her dear friend, Hobbes.

Are you breathless yet?

What drew me in was the character. How not to like Nick? He is a boy who wants to be brave and learns that comes with mastering fear. He puts his little sister’s safety first even when it interferes with his adventures. He’s an admirable little role-model. Pirates and knives and time travel and Nazis make him an appealing one.

Despite my admiration for the story and characters, I found that I sometimes had to push myself to get through the book as opposed to consistently being caught up in the story. I hope you will find this to be more a flaw of mine than the book’s.

The menace of the bad guys should not pose a problem for all but the most sensitive readers. It’s more blood than guts and all appropriate to battle. While it is light on the violence, it’s not without death. The shot between the eyes of a bad guy in the water, for example, was self-defense but might indicate an audience of older tweens.

SAFETY RATING: 3 Flags

The Night Fairy by Laura Schlitz

2011-10-05T17:13:00.001-07:00

I wasn’t sure book on fairies could interest me much. Yawn. How many times (after Artemis Fowl anyway) can fairy characters be refreshed?

You can do it at least once more if you’re a storyteller. Laura Schlitz is.

Flory, a night fairy, becomes a day fairy by choice after a bat mistakes her for a meal and crushes her wings before spitting her out. She takes up residence in a wren house hung in a “giant’s” garden. Flory copes with her loss by getting a squirrel, hummingbird, and finally a bat to carry her.

This is one of those winning stories that educates while entertaining. Fairies do not have parental training. They are on their own only 3 days after birth. Flory learns her important moral lessons from her interaction with the other creatures in the garden. There are a number of ethical battles fought here, but one of my favorites is how Flory must deal with her fear and anger toward bats after almost being eaten by one:

“If a person—whether she is human or fairy—spends most of her time thinking of ways to sting, it is bound to show. In the weeks that followed, Flory practiced her stinging spell so often that she began to have rather a prickly look. Her nose and chin grew more pointed, as did the tips of her ears.”

Too true. But you’ll like how Flory learns and grows in conscience. The loss of her wings turns out temporary, but the virtuous gains in her soul are for life.

Our copy of the book was enhanced by beautiful pictured illustrated by Angela Barrett. Look for that version if you want to give it as a gift.

It might make a lovely read-aloud for multiple ages…

SAFETY RATING: 3 Flags

Take Me to the River by Will Hobbs

2011-09-14T19:46:00.000-07:00

Remember those articles in Reader’s Digest that were called “Drama in Real Life?” This is such a story in novel form, and it has the same excitement appeal.

Two teen boy cousins meet up in Texas to run the Rio river with the first teen’s dad. Plans run aground when Rio, the Texas cousin, fails to tell Dylan, the Carolina cousin, that his dad had to go to Alaska to guide a river expedition.

The boys decide to run some of the river alone. Unexpectedly, U.S. military helicopters fly over them at the outset, and this foreshadows more ominous events: getting stuck in a hurricane, flooding river, and an encounter with one of Mexico’s 10 most wanted who happens to have kidnapped a little boy.

It’s a good man vs. nature story and age-appropriate.

My first caution would be for younger or sensitive tweens. I don’t think a threatening man brandishing a gun is too much excitement, but it might disturb some tweens that a newspaper article the boys read before the trip refers to 3 men beheaded in Mexico due to the drug cartels. There is also a reference to the bandit they run into and how he and his cohorts shot a couple judges and their clerks in the mountains. It wasn’t graphic. The judge who was the boy’s father survived, which was a good outcome for this age reader.

I would discuss the issue of lying. The boys had opportunities to tell the truth and know that they should have checked with their parents, but decide to go river running alone anyway. To their credit, they own up to their choice, admit that silence can be a lie, and pay some consequences. And they take it like men. I would note, though, that the excitement of the rescue of the little boy seemed to outshine the serious consequences of lying. I don’t think that was the intended message of the author, as I pointed out to my tweens: how else would the author have gotten the boys alone on the river in a hurricane? We couldn’t think of anything believable. Still, it’s worthy of discussing how lies break relationship: with people and more importantly, with God. You could argue that that point was a little “whitewashed” by the events of the story. Events, which were, incidentally, a fun ride.

SAFETY RATING: 2 Flags

See: Catechism of the Catholic Church: 2485 2483

The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker

2011-09-09T14:12:00.000-07:00

I got a kick out of this frog story. (Sorry. I couldn’t help it.) It’s figuratively true.

Princess Emeralda visits the swamp by the castle while avoiding an unsuitable suitor and kisses a frog. Something goes wrong with the spell, and she ends up a frog as well. Prince Eadric,aka Prince Eadric the frog, and she are off on an adventure. Besides learning how to be a frog, Emma and Eadric have to evade predators, trust ssssuspicious snakes, and make their way back to Emma’s castle where her witch, literally, of an aunt can help them.

It’s a fun adventure from a fresh perspective.

Generally, witches in fairy tales don’t pose a problem to me. Emma’s aunt is a good witch more analogous to Glenda in Oz than a proselytizing case for Wiccans. Spells take the form of rhymes that are somewhat silly in nature.

However, I like my witches to stay in their designated roles, and I get a bit cautious when magic’s portrayed as a skill anyone can be born with an aptitude for. Emma apparently has a “flair” for. It might be more a problem that we live in a time where genuine witchcraft and magic is being sold to our kids rather than this particular book. I’ve certainly seen proselytizing for Wicca in more and more books, so I give you this to consider.

Having said that, two of my favorite scenes were the description of Glassina’s room: with the detailed tapestry of a town which you don’t want to touch since the lion in it took a nip of Emma’s finger. And the witches in retirement get to choose some interesting cottages: like the one with chicken feet that can walk.

What bothered me most about the book wasn’t even the book. Ours was a new copy that came with advertising in the back that I didn’t like much: “Calling all Goddesses.” (uhhh, thanks, but we’re having enough trouble becoming saints.)…

SAFETY RATING: 2 Flags (well-catechized tweens should be fine)

See: Catechism of the Catholic Church: 2117

Hitch by Jeanette Ingold

2011-08-31T08:06:00.000-07:00

Double whammy.

Good book. Good boy book.

Mind you, I know it’s a good book because my tween girls both read it and gave it the thumbs up. I am especially appreciative when I come across books that have strong male characters who are worthy of learning with as you follow their story .

This is set in the Depression and we see it through the eyes of Moss, a young man who joins Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps. Moss stumbles upon the Corps while looking for his father who has left his family ostensibly looking for work but ending up drinking his pay and walking out on his job. Pride seems to get in the way of more than a few weak men Moss knows, and he faces far-reaching choices about which role models he will follow and whose advice he takes.

It’s a coming-of-age novel worthy of your time. Moss becomes a man of character who perseveres in doing what’s right even when it is not recognized or rewarded. The two girls he has an interest in are also upright and worthy of emulating. The story is engaging and believable, and I learned a lot about the CCC.

It is, in fact, hard NOT to cheer for the CCC and the work the men did to help the country while receiving food and money vital for their families. Still, I have questions about the role of government involvement in economic recovery, and while that was not an issue addressed in this book, it’s worth exploring. We found the book a springboard for such research and discussion.

Good storytelling; good history lessons; good moral lessons. You stand a good chance of liking this one!

SAFETY RATING: 3 Flags

Historical Fiction: Great Depression; 1930's

Tango by Eileen Beha

2011-08-29T18:41:00.000-07:00

I like the names the mother dog came up with for her puppies:

Esperanza (hope rising), Theresa (for giving generously to those in need), and Dulcinea, (a beauty referred to in Quixote). The fourth puppy wasn’t named him before the owner yanked him from the kennel to sell. He ends up with a silly name(Tango) but a loving owner from Manhattan who pours lavish amounts of money and attention upon the little Yorkshire Terrier.

From kennel, to posh Manhattan, Tango next is swept off a sailboat and washes up on Prince Edward Island. Several story lines intersect here. A foster child/runaway named McKenna is making candles with the help of a retired teacher named Augusta. Augusta has taken in Tango. McKenna is trailed wherever she goes by a fox, Beau, who dragged her to human help when she was an abandoned infant. A gang of cruel cats live in an abandoned lighthouse in the area and impact the lives of Tango, Beau, and their human friends.

These unloved animals symbolize some of the worse traits of human nature: deciding to force weaker animals to fight for their entertainment. They are a contrast to themes of perseverance, community, and love that characterize the interactions of the main characters.

As for Tango, he has to contend with finding his owner, fending off mean cats, and figuring out his feelings toward his new caretaker.

A couple of cautions are in order. Mckenna calls the candles she makes “enchanted.” Augusta, her adult friend, was concerned and Mckenna explains that she doesn’t know if they actually make dreams come true. She does know that clarifying your dreams can help make them come true. She provided an example that was positive: she prayed for a dollhouse and retreated to the attic when she didn’t get it; there she found a Bible that she did use. The line is a little blurry when Tango sees a vision in the candle (it helps him come to terms with which owner to stay with). Anthropomorphizing of the animals in this story worked in part to illustrate good vs. evil in the human heart. I found the line a bit blurry between human and animal souls when the fox was visualizing his mate and reuniting with her when the “Great Spirit in the Sky” took him. Is this symbolizing humanity or reflecting no distinction between humans/animal souls? These were worthy topics of discussion for us, and it wasn't hard to clarify things, but it's worth reading yourself to see how the topics are handled.

I liked the general themes and overall story line. I didn’t quite get pulled into it, though. One of my tweens liked it, another didn’t finish it. It is more likely to appeal to the younger animal lover.

SAFETY RATING: 2 Flags

See: Catechism of the Catholic Church: 2138 357

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

2011-08-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

Two of my favorite tweens (one being mine) read this the same time I did, and it received our unanimous approval of three.

The conflict in the book is a sober topic: a school shooting. Rare is the tween who is unaware of such tragic events in our day. This book can make a positive contribution to the dialogue surrounding such an event.

The author chooses an engaging perspective to convey the message of the importance of understanding others: he tells the story from the point-of-view of a girl with Asperger’s. Her brother, one person who tried to understand her, was killed in a school shooting. The book tells the story from her point of view.

I did find one part a bit cheesy. It was where the girl, a first-grader she befriended whose mother , a teacher who died in the shooting, and Josh, cousin of the shooter, are embroiled in a confrontation with other students who chime in, angry at Josh. In an effort to make a point about compassion, I thought the characters became a bit less believable. One tween reader agreed with me; the other didn’t know what I was talking about. We all agreed it didn’t detract from the main story and the interest we had in learning about how a person with Asperger’s thinks, feels, and struggles to integrate.

Closure: a word that Caitlin struggled with. The thing she helped her community and father move toward. The satisfaction felt turning the last page of this book.

SAFETY RATING: 3 Flags (older tweens, due to serious topic)

Saint Andre Bessette by Patricia Jabionski, FSP

2011-08-04T10:31:00.000-07:00

You can, hypothetically anyway, have too much chocolate. But can you have too many books on the saints? Hypothetically, no. We haven’t reached saturation point yet,anyway.

Saint Andre Bessett is one of a set of chapter books designed for younger tweens.
What I like about this series from the Paulines is that it fills a gap between the many beautiful picture books of saints’ lives for young children and the biographical stories of the Vision series for older ages. I also like them better than the short excerpts of Saint-a-Day books. With those books, my kids pick up valuable lessons but don’t hang onto much of the details of the saints’ lives. The longer books give a solid background that they tend to remember better.

For homeschooling parents, especially those of us who like literature-based curriculum, the series is perfect. You can match the lives of saints to the historical period that you’re studying. It’s a rich addition to a Catholic curriculum and a necessity if you are using anything secular or protestant. (I think for users of Sonlight Curriculum, this is just right).

For parents whose children attend non-Catholic schools, I think these are fabulous because you’re in the same position as parents using secular or Protestant curriculum. The only Catholic they are certain to meet in their studies is Galileo. Saturating your children with the stories of saints is just what you (actually, they) need.

I think it would be harder if these books were not part of a curriculum. My children didn’t naturally gravitate to this one; I had to read it aloud. They found it interesting but not riveting. So we took it in small doses which is pretty easy to do with these shorter chapters. It isn’t written in a complicated style.

If there are other books like this that bridge the gap for this age, please let me know!

SAFETY RATING: 3 Flags

This review was written as part of the Catholic Book Reviewer program from The Catholic Company. To find more information on Saint Andre Bessette visit The Catholic Company.

The Catholic Review Program offers Catholic bloggers a chance to receive books in exchange for their frank opinion of the book being posted in a blog review.

Briar Rose by Jane Yolen

2011-08-03T20:24:00.001-07:00

Jane's book left me so dismayed,
She's certainly drunk the Kool-Aid.
The bias is clear,
The agenda is dear,
To the heart of a liberal Crusade.

SAFETY RATING: DaVinci Pile

(I added this text after people sent comments. I am clarifiying the chronology for those who posted comments before I further clarified my perspective.)

I suppose one snarky comment deserves another (addressing one comment received).

I think it’s because I disagree with a couple of popular of ideas that are often simplistically presented to children.

One of these ideas is that the sin of anti-Semitism, undoubtedly evident within certain Christian circles, was responsible (perhaps even entirely responsible) for the rise of the Nazi party or the motivation to support the Nazi’s genocidal campaigns. While anti-Semitism is a grave sin that must be acknowledged, opposed and repudiated, I don’t believe that the Nazi’s ideology and quest for power is rooted solely or primarily in the mistreatment of Jews by any one or more indviduals acting in accord with the moral precepts of Christianity or any other religious group for that matter.

The second idea that I disagree with is that to treat homosexuals with dignity and compassion it is necessary to believe that acts of sodomy are, at the very least, morally neutral and preferably even “healthy”.

I know that opposing these two fashionable ideas will not be appreciated by many, perhaps even the occasional reader of this blog. It’s an interesting time we live in. It’s OK to influence other people’s young children with your view of human sexuality, but when parents balk, they are “deniers of the holocaust.”

How ironic. The story starts with what I call caricatures of characters. The girl who writes for the alternative newspaper is the epitome of kindness and compassion. She’s even understanding of her shallow, mean sisters who are disapproving of her. Don’t people who like the book want to imitate her? Or are we only supposed to imitate the way she thinks?

Having said this, justice requires that I give credit where it is due, Briar Rose is a beautiful story in many ways and well-told. Unfortunately, it also contains a tendentious point-of-view that I found to be as unpleasant as it is erroneous.

For example, can someone can someone please point me to where the Catholic Church taught that it is forbidden for a Catholic to attend Jewish synagogues? Spare the obligatory references to St. John Chrysostom, his anti-Semitic rants have never been considered representative of the Catholic Church’s teaching.

Considering that the book’s first introduction to Polish Catholics describes them as nervousness to be attending a (gasp!) Jewish funeral, speaks volumes. Unfortunately, this portrayal suggests the utterly false notion that the Catholic Church was at least part of an anti-Semitic bias, where else would the Polish Catholics learn this bigotry? While the author might be entitled to her own opinion (however misinformed) she may not be entitled to her own facts.

Fortunately, the truth re the Catholic Church in Poland, Germany and through-out the world during the reign of the Nazis has been thoroughly documented. Contrary to what is suggested in the book, the Church was a courageous defender of the Jews as evidenced by the many sons and daughters who were killed while protecting both Jews and other persecuted minorities (including large numbers of Catholics) during the Nazi’s reign of terror.

The authoritative voice of the Church at the time was Pope Pius. He saved more Jews than Oscar Schindler hoped to by far, clearly taught anti-Semitism as a sin, and was praised, rightly and widely by the Jews of his day. The modern world generally spills ink only to vilify, lie and slander this man. I can only grasp their disrespect to the opinion of the Jews of his time, whose voice they flatly refuse to listen to, as a biased hatred. It is ironic considering the topic of the book.

Look at this lady - Let us never forget!
The world hasn't just become wicked...it' s always been wicked. The prize doesn't always go to the most deserving.

Irena Sendler

There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena.

During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist.

She had an 'ulterior motive'.

She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews (being German).

Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids).

She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto.

The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.

During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants.

She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely.

Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard.

After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family.

Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted.

Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize.

She was not selected.
President Obama won one year before becoming President for his work as a community organizer for ACORN
and
Al Gore won also --- for a slide show on Global Warming.

It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended.

This is in memory of the six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned, starved and humiliated!

Now, more than ever, with Iran , and others, claiming the HOLOCAUST to be 'a myth'.

It's imperative to make sure the world never forgets, because there are others who would like to do it again.

Someone (else) should forward this to Jane Yolen. She could do justice to the story if so inspired...

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

2011-08-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

Age-appropriate
Intense
Reading
Beyond
Ordinary
Run-of-the-mill
Novels

Picture a world of floating Titanics. Kenneth Oppel puts the character, Matt, on-board a magnificent airship, the Aurora, as a cabin boy. Thanks to a gas called hydrium, air travel is the standard at bustling (air)ports in a time reminiscent of early 1900’s.

Matt meets Kate as when her pilot navigates a tricky landing on his airship so that this first-class passenger and her chaperone can fly across the Pacificus in style.

Kate turns out to be the granddaughter of the mysterious, dying balloonist drifting near the Aurora that Matt had just risked his life to help pull aboard. Kate is interested in her grandfather’s journey, Matt finds out, because she takes seriously his sightings of a magnificent, unknown species of cat-like flying creatures he claimed to spot from his balloon. He had spoken of them to Matt just before he died. Matt was inclined to think the old man was hallucinating.

Just when finding these creatures becomes the central action of the novel, pirates enter the scene. Fending off pirate attacks, surviving crash landings and pirate-napping, daring desperate flights, and rescuing ship and crew all take precedence. Amongst which the strange creatures make their mysterious and magnificent appearance.

At the end of these adventures, Matt and Kate meet for a toast:

We clinked teacups.

“To us ,” Kate said. “We’re fabulous.”

Indeed. A fabulous adventure.

The pirates shoot a couple characters, and 2 die. While sad, it is not gratuitous but in keeping with the characters.

SAFETY RATING: 3 Flags

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

2011-08-02T11:37:00.000-07:00

"Now wife," Ba said, "stories cost us nothing."
"And gain us nothing as well," Ma said.
There was a stony silence as Ba looked sadly into his rice bowl. Minli
tugged at his sleeve.
"Please, Ba?" she said.
Ma shook her head and sighed, but said nothing. So Ba began...

Ba tells another story to his daughter through which they pass time in a world that Ma cannot appreciate since she is so taken up with the struggles of this world. The lessons and the entertainment of the tales help Minli and her father see beyond their drab and brown life of sustenance-living in their small village.

Minli's love of her father's stories comes to fruition when she buys a goldfish from a passing merchant and releases him into the river after her mother's sorrowful complaint that they cannot feed even a fish. Upon release, the fish speaks to Minli. He tells her where to find the Man of the Moon who appears in her father's stories.

The story now becomes a folk-tale within folk-tales as Minli sets off on a pursuit of The Man of the Moon and a change of fortune… encountering dragons, kings, and trials in her quest. Each character she meets tells a story and these are woven seamlessly into the main story.

”Stories are not foolish, “ Ba said again, in his quiet way.
“Says you!” Ma said….Making her believe she could change our miserable
fortune with an impossible story! Ridiculous!"
"Yes," Ba said sadly, "It is impossible. But it is not ridiculous."

As good folk tales do, we’re taught about the foibles of man and the virtues that help overcome them. The brave and bold Minli makes her way to the Man of the Moon with help from fellow men and animals.

Visually speaking, the colors and pictures drew me to the story. The book cover is beautiful Asian art in vivid blue and red. The chapters have small pictures above them and are in colored ink (though the text of the story is standard black-and-white). Throughout, there are full-page colored illustrations in Asian-style art. I’ll read on a Kindle, but I do love the feel and look of books, and this was particularly satisfying.

At the end, the author Grace Lin explains a bit about her experience as an Asian-American, and how her mother left Chinese fairy/folk tale books around, knowing her daughter would pick them up and learn something of the Asian culture which she had not embraced as an American child. She writes, “It is a fantasy inspired by the Chinese folktales that enchanted me in my youth and the land and culture that fascinates me in my adulthood. I hope there is magic in it for you as well…"

There was. And I hope there is in here for you as well.

“Oh, nothing,” Ba said. “It’s just a story.”
The wind blew gently, like the calming touch of a healer. “I wouldn’t mind
hearing it, " Ma said...
Ba looked at her, surprised, and then nodded with a small smile...

SAFETY RATING: 3 Flags

Silent to the Bone by E.L. Konigsburg

2011-07-31T15:56:00.000-07:00

The transcript of a 9-1-1 call is effective at pulling you in on the first page of the book.

It’s a 9-1-1 call involving a baby who is not breathing right.

My 9 yr. old found it intriguing, and I’m glad I got through the book before she read further.

It’s not for tweens. As the story unfolds, the au pair had harmed the baby and then put her to bed and gone into the back bedroom with her boyfriend. It’s clear from the context what they are doing in the bedroom. The brother comes home and finds the baby “breathing funny,” and a 9-1-1 call is made. The rest of the story unfolds as his best friend, Connor, breaks through Branwell’s trauma-induced silence and reveals what happened. The baby girl does make it.

The au pair uses her sexuality manipulatively and the details are too graphic. I caught a review on-line that made this point, then seemed to suggest talking about it with your tween was the solution. I don’t think talking is the answer here. Skipping it was our solution.

I also thought the review I read missed a salient detail. Both Connor and Branwell’s parents are divorced and remarried. In Branwell’s case, his mother died. In Connor’s case, the father cheated on the wife and divorced her to marry the paramour. When Connor’s older half-sister discussed the situation… she actually came home one day and immediately figured out what was going on with her dad and the new woman, she makes a comparison with her situation and Branwell’s as both being sad, life-changing events. The serious nature of the sin of the father, the adultery, the breaking of his vow, and the broken family is apples and oranges compared to the death of parent where no free-will decision or sin was involved. This is entirely overlooked. Now, that was a topic worthy of discussion.

SAFETY RATING: DaVinci Pile

Revision for Every Soul a Star

2011-07-30T10:18:00.000-07:00

I have to add a revision to this book. When I read it, I noticed the character, Jack, learned something from his stepfather called “lucid dreaming.” It’s where he tries to control his dreams while still in a sleep-awake state so that he can experience “flying.” It struck me as a bit odd, but I attributed it to being aware of that sleep-awake state that we all experience and didn’t know what else to make of it.

However, I just listened to Matthew Arnold talk on the New Age Movement. (another great CD from Lighthouse Media, BTW). This kind of dreaming now sounds like it could be what Matthew describes as a New-Age practice called “Vivid Dreaming” which comes to us from the problematic Jungian psychology.

I think it worth a caution for Catholic parents who are rightly worried about the New-Age movement.

Also, I recommend Matthew’s CD for all Catholic parents… Sharon Lee Giganti introduced me to the New-Age movement amd Matthew’s CD concurred with all she said. These are both excellent speakers; I'm grateful for their work.

SAFETY RATING: 2 FlAGS

Every Soul a Star by Wendy Maas

2011-07-24T18:44:00.000-07:00

I was drawn into the soft charm of this book before even the first chapter. Several appealing quotes set the stage with the theme before introducing the three main characters.

Chapter 1 starts with Ally. She lives in a remote camping area with her parents and brother. Her parents have prepared years in advance for a lunar eclipse by buying and running a campground will bring a flood of campers to their location for a prime viewing of the eclipse.. Unlless it rains.

Chapter 2 introduces Bree. She’s an outstandingly beautiful girl who cultivates her looks and popularity. Shallow as that sounds, she’s not a “mean” girl.

Chapter 3 is written from Jack’s point of view: he’s a slightly overweight loner who’s on a field trip in order to avoid summer school.

If you’re not intrigued yet with the characters, it’s only because of my writing, not the author’s.

Ally, Bree, and Jack’s lives converge at the campground, Moon Shadow. Here, Ally and her parents have prepared for the campers who will arrive en masse on the day of the eclipse. Ally’s parents have not prepared Ally for the fact that her family will leave the campground in the care of Bree’s family. Ally and Bree are equally dismayed over the leaving/arriving. Ally is content in her homeschooled, camp-living life and dreads leaving as much as Bree hates the idea of giving up her popular, texting, model-career-pursuing lifestyle. They band together to first convince their parents to stay/go and have to accept that they will have to accept the inevitable change. They end up giving each other advice on how-to-thrive in their respective new lives. In the end, Bree feels her inner-geek surfacing, Ally starts paying attention to the state of her clothes, and Jack starts losing some weight. It’s not because of peer-pressure but peer help (and maybe the subtle realization that every soul is a star?)

How do I like thee, book? Let me count the ways:
1. Safe content
2. Appealing characters
3. Well-developed theme
4. Terrific introduction to astronomy for the uninitiated and under-appreciative.

1)Content: Jack has had several stepdads, but why there have been several is a mystery. They seem to have made positive contributions to his life. One of my favorite moral lessons was when an adult acted like a complete jerk and the children responded in a way the Church teaches: see the best in everyone. The tweens could have trashed him…but they chose instead to offer a reason for his behavior that put him in the best light… and moved on.

2) Characters: I lliked the characters and the supporting characters. It was believable and well-told. No Jekyll-and-Hyde turn-arounds but realistic growth for each character.

3) Theme: Every soul is a star. Every star shines. And every piece of the universe is a fascinating, interconnected mystery… appreciated by souls made in the image of God (OK: I added the part about God’s image.)

4) Astronomy: Prior to this book, astronomy was a class that we covered. My 2 tweens and I are more interested in the topic for the sheer joy of learning about it than we were before we read this.

I found it interesting that an Islamic character and a shrine to ancient Chinese astronomers make an appearance in the book. Yet, the Catholic Church which gave birth to the modern field of astronomy gets not even a cameo! Think about it. The book is a wonderful tribute to the mystery and lovely intricacies of space, and the Church that indisputably contributed so much data and effort to the modern study of astronomy gets… not a mention.

At the end, the author includes lists of internet sites and books to check out on astronomy! Guy Consomalgno, the chief astronomer of the Vatican, has a book mentioned in the bibliography: Turn Left at Orion. (see The Heavens Proclaim review on Treasure Chest). We’re checking that out first. Partly, because we’re already fans of Guy Consolmagno, and also because we’re a bit miffed over the lack of mention of the Church’s outstanding contributions. And last because it has excellent reviews on Amazon and looks to be an excellent beginner's book. Thank you, Guy and Wendy. We're going on an Astronomy tour. Just for fun.

Otherwise: I liked it! And so does Nancy…. !

SAFETY RATING: 3 Flags

Leaving the Bellweathers by Kristin Clark Venuti

2011-07-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

The humor in this goofy story derives from the absurd situations and eccentric characters. Benway , the Bellweather family’s butler, doesn’t find the antics of the crazy family he serves amusing.

The Bellweather's inventor-father hates to be disturbed and throws things from the window at guests who interrupt him. The mother is an artist… sort of. She likes paint. She spends her days re-painting the rooms of their lighthouse. Ninda is obsessed with workers’ rights: a family of immigrant circus workers gives her a grand distraction as she hides them in her room. Spider collects dangerous animals. And who else but the Bellweather triplets would show their affection for Benway by giving him the original Mona Lisa to hang on his wall?

He hasn’t yet walked away from the idiosyncrasies of the family members because he has 8 weeks left of the 200 year’s of service promised to the Bellweather descendants by Benway’s ancestor. Two hundred years ago, Benway’s ancestor was saved from a sure drowning by a Bellweather. In gratitude, he signed over his life and his descendants for 200 years to the service of Bellweathers. Of course, it is not a legal contract, but while Benway may find the family utterly chaotic and unappreciative of his travails in serving them, he is too honorable to walk away before the term of service is up.

Which is not to say that he is not counting down. In fact, his journal, found at the end of each chapter, chronicles his planned escape to peace and quiet and a tell-all book that he plans to write the very day, down to the second, when the 200 year old oath will be complete.

His journal hints that he might be a bit more attached to the Bellweathers than he realizes.

My older tween commented, accurately I think, that this book must be British (not true) because it has that surreal tone to it.

The family’s behavior technically poses a number of moral problem: the father’s temper, the triplets' intentional flooding of the basement of the church (to create a habitat for their endangered albino alligator), for example. Other examples: they try to steal the Mona Lisa. Ninda keeps an oppressed family captive in her room because she wants to teach them to unionize and liberate themselves. However, the absurdity of the situations render the situations harmless enough because it's using hyperbole for comic effect. Tweens are at an age to understand this.

It is entertaining for the age group and amusing reading. I prefer Cheaper by the Dozen (not the movie; the original book), which this book reminds me of; they are both humorous, but the humor in Cheaper by the Dozen is more my style. But plenty of tweens might prefer The Bellweathers. The family antics in Cheaper by The Dozen don't pose any moral problems, hyperbolically or not.

SAFETY RATING: 2.5 Flags

Numbers 2: The Chaos by Rachel Ward

2011-07-18T12:26:00.000-07:00

This is part of a popular trilogy marketed to tween/teen readers.

That reminds me of a Scripture verse:

…and Jesus wept.

This is not a book for tweens. It’s proof we live in a pornified culture willing to take the children down with us. That such details are now considered acceptable adolescent fodder and, sadly, don’t shock many of them, is a reason to mourn our loss of innocence and modesty. Conversely, adults willing to shock innocent tweens with such content is a lack of prudence…at best.

The premise: Adam looks into peoples’ eyes and sees the dates of their deaths. The year is 2027 and the world is chaotic: coastal lands are flooding, natural disasters have increased, and Adam and his grandma move to London to escape the flooding seacoast. His mother and father died, but his mother passed on her gift of reading peoples’ numbers to Adam . She warned him not to tell anyone since you can imagine the general reaction. But Adam feels compelled to tell the world when he notices the same death date in so many peoples’ eyes. Clearly, an apocalyptic disaster is heading for London.

Sarah is the love interest in the story for the 15 yr. old Adam. She is a fellow student who is terrified when she first meets him because she has had nightmares where she and her daughter are caught in flames and Adam emerges through them and takes her baby, Mia, and runs back into the conflagration.

The language is coarse. The F-word features prominently; thankfully, even though no one is calling on God, at least His name was only used in vain once. Adam has a serious anger issues and throws nasty rebellious tantrums toward his grandmother. He calls her a silly cow when he’s not even having a fit. The love in their relationship is shown as well, but his behavior is disturbingly disrespectful.

He meets up with Sarah at school and from that attraction we get to hear about the ache in his balls and experience his masturbation in his kitchen while he thinks about her in the upstairs bathroom. They get in bed together, which, of course, is quick, explicitly graphic in detail, and not remotely related to courtship or marriage. When grandma notices 15 yr. old Adam emerging from Sarah's room, she fails to act as a real grandma should.

We are spared a description of the consummation. That’s because Sarah panics due to the fact that she was raped by her father. Her baby is his. When she ran away from the incest, she was first recruited by a girl who gives her shelter but clearly prostitution will be the cost. She is rescued by a man named Vince. He gives her shelter in his home amongst addicts; he is a dealer. He treats her well and acts as a brother to her. She finds safety of a sort in the home.

I’m an agnostic skeptic of the global-warming hysteria that has the world flooding and quaking its way to destruction by 2027, but I do find the vision of the overall setting in the book believable. Europe has continued to detach itself from its Christian moorings and is now a violent police-state with chaotic environment. Sarah summarizes in her reflections on the lives of the drug dealers: reality is so bad, who can blame people for making it better with a bottle or a pinprick? The take-away message is that the important thing is not to judge… so Sarah also offers a shallow comment about not being judgmental.

Around Christmas, you see a brief flicker of transcendence as there is still a semblance of celebration in the land: gift-giving and Christmas lights make a showing. Jesus is only referred to as a prophet. How safe. Muslims grant him that. Europeans should know better. Not much of a reason to celebrate and few do.

This is not so say that the plot is not compelling, and it is a taut story that would appeal to reluctant readers. Probably, the ALA and NEA will endorse it heartily. Beware.

SAFETY RATING: Da Vinci Pile

See: Catechism of the Catholic Church: 2353

Flight of the Tiger Moth by Mary Woodbury

2011-07-14T20:12:00.003-07:00

This is a likable story. I know that's not the highest praise, but it is true that I didn’t find it riveting. However, while it’s not likely to attract reluctant readers, I found it a worthwhile story.

Like all good historical fiction, it taught me interesting details from its setting which were painlessly assimilated through storytelling.

The Who, Where, and What: Jack is a young teen who lives in Canada at the advent of World War II. His small town hosts a new air force training base where Jack has landed a part-time job. He gets a chance to practice flying a couple of times when his sister’s fiancée and one of the trainees take him up.

Jack’s life over the course of the summer is the focus of the story. Lots of little conflicts combine to make up the rhythm of his summer. He finds a dog whose mother has been shot in the head. His mother won’t let him keep the puppy, but he keeps close to it by having the pilots take care of it. One of these pilots dies in a crash which happened frequently at the time. His sister’s fiancé goes missing in action and his sister is injured after her work as a battlefield nurse.

In the meantime, Jack has his first real crush, lands a plane in an emergency, deals with an over-protective mom, and finally gets his dog (but not the girl).

My favorite detail amongst all this is the development of the Tiger Moth airplane. Jack wants to design a better, safer plane rather than become a pilot.

Safe and solid storytelling.

SAFETY RATING: 3 Flags

Brixton Brothers: The Case of the Caose of Mistaken Identity by Mac Barnett

2011-07-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

This is for young tweens who like over-the-top, goofy action.

It’s a detective book that, alas, does not recreate the wit of an Encyclopedia Brown or a Great Brain: it’s more an updated version of the Hardy Boys.

Its charm lies in its silliness: the villains are librarians and the action starts with a SWAT-team-like invasion of the library triggered the instant that Steve checks out a book. Of course, it was not just any book and librarians are not just librarians: they are a network of secret agents.

Fortunately, Steve has read and re-read his favorite detective series so many times, he is prepared for emergencies like how to jump out a window and roll, what to do when a kidnapper is tying you up, or how to escape when trapped in a room. Much like an old Nancy Drew novel, each chapter ends with a cliffhanger, albeit slightly less believable than those old novels. (Or maybe that’s my perception in older age.)
It’s a challenge to teach our children to live in a fallen world, recognize it, treat themselves and others with compassion while striving for personal holiness and social justice. Considering that, my criteria for books are that when dealing with heavy topics, the characters acknowledge them, show honest growth toward the good, and keep it age-appropriate.

This story doesn’t measure up. Steve’s dad is out of the picture, and that’s a heavy topic. It’s not dealt with at all. We don’t know why his father is gone. Matter-of-factly, his mom has a boyfriend: Rick. Steve hates Rick and refers to him several times as a jerk. And he is. When Rick describes a mystery he is dealing with as a policeman, Steve offers an intelligent answer and Rick is derisively dismissive of it. The mom then reproaches Steve. The story itself is shallow, and that’s the best you can say about how this topic is dealt with.

SAFETY RATING: 0 Flags