It's a Secret! by John Burningham

It's a Secret! (2009), written and illustrated by John Burningham, is an excellent picture book. It's about a cat whose name is Malcolm. Usually he slept during the day, and every night he went out. One day, Marie Elaine, Malcolm's owner, wanted a drink of water in the night. So she went down stairs and found that her cat was dressed in handsome clothes! He was going to a party, and he invited Marie Elaine to come. She became small enough to fit through the cat flap, and off they went. Then Norman, a little boy in the neighborhood, saw them, and came along to the party too!

But, to get the party, they had to make it past the mean old dogs...and they did! And that's all I'm going to tell you, because I don't want to spoil the story!

It's silly and magical and fun! Nothing is explained...which room for a lot of imagination!

I like the story better than the illustrations--the illustrations look too much like a kid's drawings for me.

THE mostly TRUE ADVENTURES of HOMER P. FIGG

THE mostly TRUE ADVENTURES of HOMER P. FIGG, by Rodman Philbrick (The Blue Sky Press, 2009)

Told in the first person, from Homer's point of view (but not a diary).

Homer and Harold Figg--two orphans, living with their mean old uncle, Squinton Leach, who hates everything, thinks people are better when they're gloomy, and keeps the boys in the barn, likes animals. While Homer and Harold are feeding the pigs, Homer decides to take a piece of the stale crust for himself. When Leach sees this, he goes into a fury. Harold stands up for his little brother, and tells Leach that he feeds the hogs better then them.

So Harold gets sold to the Union Army illegally, and is sent off to fight in the Civil War. Homer runs away to find his brother, and on that adventure he faces slave hunters, guardian fail, even more guardian fail, a medicine show full of treachery and deceit, and the War itself!

This is a great book if you want a bit of action combined with history. If Homer was in my school, I'd automatically want him to be my friend--he's someone who gets things done the right way, but sometimes he has no idea where the train will turn...

This was one of my summer reading books, and I'm making a power point about. Great read! I suggest that everyone read it, because it might well become a classic (and in fact it was a Newbery Honor book).

My brand new wii!

On Monday I got a brand new Nintendo wii for my birthday, and ever since we've got it, the amount of time spent playing on the computer and watching tv has plummeted! I like a lot better because it is a lot more active, and everyone in the family likes. So it's a good thing to have.

I also got books, and an egg drop kit--I've read them all (reviews coming some). Even though I was playing the wii...Time these days. It seems to have loose ends...

(I haven't had a chance to build the egg protector yet. Perhaps tomorrow).

Ragtag, by Karl Wolf-Morgenlander

Ragtag, by Karl Wolf-Morgenlander (2010, Clarion, 226 pages)

Ragtag is a swallow who lives in Boston. He's one of the members of a group of birds called the Feathered Alliance. I won't tell you much about the Alliance, because I don't want to spoil the book. But I'll tell you a little--the Alliance is a group of non-predatory birds, led at first by the great owl Hoogol (even though he's a carnivore, he doesn't eat other birds).

The Talon Empire (raptors) is attacking Boston! The other clans of birds are trying desperately to defend themselves. Ragtag goes from an outsider to the leader of the Feathered Alliance, and using his quick wit, stubborn personality, and a few tricks (in the form of eagles!), helps his friends win the war.

I loved this book because of Ragtag's personality (he reminds of my little brother--he's very stubborn, and even annoying). It's a great book for anyone eight and up. High quality action.

I can't quite visualize what the human residents of Boston made of the whole thing--some were good, some were bad, and they all posed problems to the birds. But more to the Talon Empire....

A Nest for Celeste, by Henry Cole

A Nest for Celeste, by Henry Cole (2010, HarperCollins) is about a mouse looking for a home.

Celeste is a mouse; to be precise, a basket-maker mouse. She lives in a hole in the side of the dinning room wall. Her only company is the big black cat (who wants to eat her!) and two rat bullies--not much company there! Then one day when she is out foraging, she is chased up the stairs by the cat, into a room, and under the bed....there she finds a boot in which to make a home, and she makes it comfortable with a sock and some leaves.


That morning a man named Joseph finds her there, and makes her his pet. As Celeste finds out, Joseph is a very good friend. Joseph paints birds, but instead of doing it the way his master does (he takes dead birds and pins them up), Joseph likes to paint from real life.

In her adventures with Joseph, Celeste meets a bird called Cornelius, an osprey named Lafayette, and she goes through floods, death-defying chases, and another nasty encounter with the rats. Her basket making skills come in useful....

And in the end, Celeste has a home (a lovely one!). And that is what she wanted.

This is one of my all time favorite books. It is really moving. I cared a lot about Celeste. The illustations were great too. If you have ever read The Invention of Hugo Cabret, it is sort of like that, because it is both pictures taking up whole pages, and also a lot of writing.

Guess who Joesph's teacher is! (he's the most famous bird painter in America....he has a society named after him...and his name starts with "a").

Tollins: Explosive Tales for Children

Tollins: Explosive Tales for Children, by Conn Iggulden, is imaginative, strange in a silly way, and takes explosion to a high art. In this thrilling collection of three stories, we met the Tollins. Here's what Tollins aren't:

"Tollins are not fairies. Though they both have wings, fairies are delicate creatures and much smaller. When he was young, Sparkler [a Tollin] accidentally broke one and had to shove it behind a bush before its friends noticed.

In addition, fairies cannot sing B-sharp. They can manage a very nice B-flat, in a quite sweet voice, but B-sharp comes out like a frog being run over by a bicycle. Tollins regard fairies as fluttery show-offs and occasionally use them to wipe out the insides of cups." (page 15)

They aren't like us, either. They are small, and have wings. Unfortunately, because they weigh so much, they can only use their wings for short hops over the ground.

In these stories, a young Tollin named Sparkler and his friends and family survive all the world can throw at them--being fired up in rockets by greedy fireworks makers, thrown into jail, and encounters with mysterious Dark Tollins from up north (note--although most of the other Tollins were used in fireworks, Sparkler was the only one who got thrown in jail).

The episodes include:

1. How to Blow up Tollins
2. Sparkler and the Purple Death
3. Windbags and Dark Tollins

I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys either small mystical creatures or things that go boom. Or people looking for a good book to read.

Age: Any. It was pretty easy to read, and there were lots of illustrations.

Iggulden also wrote The Dangerous Book for Boys.

The Legend of Hong Kil Dong

The Legend of Hong Kil Dong: The Robin Hood of Korea, by Anne Sibley O'Brien, is about courage, strength, and determination. It is about a boy who lived in Korea long ago. He was born into a wealthy family, and was favored by his father, even though his mother was a maid servant. Before Kil Dong's birth, his father had seen clouds, lightning, even a dragon! It was a good omen for the child. And he had a birth mark on his leg, proving that he was like no other.


But Kil Dong could not address his father as "father," and his brother would inherit everything (even though Kil Dong was smarter) so he went to train with the monks, where he could seek greater knowledge. Eventually he met an old sage (a mountain spirit?) who taught him magic and martial arts. Then he found the camp of bandits...and that is all I'm going tell you.

Begining a graphic novel, I could see what emotions went through Hong Kil Dong. This brought the story alive. I've read this book many times, and enjoy it in some deep way.