More Books

More Books

Herewith some more notes on children's books, because I'm never going to be able to remember all this:

Dave Luckett

The Girl, the Dragon, and the Wild Magic

This book is OK, but the dragon doesn't make an appearance till the book is almost over.

Patricia C. Wrede

Dealing with Dragons
Searching for Dragons
Calling on Dragons

These books also sound more dragon-y than they really are. What they are, mostly, are the almost standard revisionist princess ("Embroidery is so BORING! Why can't I study fencing?") done really well. I enjoyed reading them quite a bit. It's kind of odd the way the dragons are definitely an essential part of each plot, yet remain so firmly in the background at almost all times.

Jenny Nimmo

Midnight for Charlie Bone
Charlie Bone and the Time Twister
Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy
Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors

The American publishers of these books want you to think that Charlie Bone is Harry Potter's doppelganger. In fact, these books are so much more. There is magic, there is an academy, there are evil relatives, there is (most suspiciously of all, in my mind) a big, bustling, red-haired (it's the red hair that seems a bit too much, to me anyway); there are many differences though. Definitely worth reading.

Maya Angelou

All God's Children Need Travelling Shoes
A Song Flung Up to Heaven

Time for a change.