The Mercy Watson Series by Kate DiCamillo and Chris Van Dusen

     

      

 Kate DiCamillo is a crazy genius. Her beautiful lyrical junior fiction novels are nothing short of Amazing. The Tale of Desperaux, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, and The Magician's Elephant are all by far some of the best junior fiction out there.

But how could such a wordsmith create an early reader that stands along side such beautiful junior fiction?

Easy, she says, I'll just invent a porcine wonder: Mercy Watson!

Mr And Mrs Watson, own a pet pig, whom they love dearly. Her name is Mercy.

What does Mercy love? Toast with butter on it. A Good deal of butter. It is her diving force. It is what drives her to get help when the Watson's floor is falling in, it is what leads her to capture a thief in the middle of the night, it is what causes her to bring a whole community together.

She really is a porcine wonder, a dear, a darling.

And boy, does Mrs Watson love dealing out the toast with butter on it!

These books are great fun! They made me chuckle constantly and laugh out loud on many occasions. They work well as early chapter books because there is quite a lot of repetition, but that very repetition is half of the humour.

The fact that she is so clearly driven by her stomach, and her love of buttered toast, yet all her actions are misinterpreted as heroically motivated that it is very amusing to see the mismatch between her thoughts and how she is interpreted.

Yes, Kate DiCamillo is truly fantastic. I can't recommend any of her books highly enough!

Chris Van Dusen's illustrations are PERFECT for this series too. Bright, bubbly, slightly retro, fun, and capture the characters brilliantly! They are too good!

Mercy Watson is a porcine wonder. You should get to know her.

 

4.5 Gold Stars

Find them on Goodreads:

Mercy Watson to the Rescue

Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride

Mercy Watson Fights Crime

Mercy Watson: Princess In Disguise

Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig

Mercy Watson: Something Wonky This Way Comes

Blood Brothers (Dragonkeeper 4) by Carole Wilkinson

The Dragonkeeper series has a way of being engaging for such a wide readership. I talked about the first three books in a post here. Book four has a slightly different feel to it, while still being firmly a part of the world Carole Wilkinson has created.

We have moved forward in time from where book three finished, and Kai, our playful dragon character has grown up. He’s effectively a teenager, at the tender age of 465 years old and wants to find his place in the world, as many teenagers do.

It’s true, it is sad to have said goodbye to Ping, but as Carole says in the afterward, she deserved a quiet life after all she had been through. I think this works well in the structure of the series. The first three books work well as a trilogy, then book four begins a new adventure without disturbing the integrity of the first three. Well over 400 years have passed, so we have a whole new cast of human characters to meet.

Tao is a novice monk who loves the quiet monotony of life in the monastery. Do you think that will continue when Kai shows up? No. Thank goodness for us! For what kind of book would that make? Action, adventure, warring barbarian tribes, deceitful monks, enraged dragon opponents… the list goes on! Could Tao be Kai’s new dragonkeeper? But all the signs haven’t shown themselves. And what of his twin brother who has been bedridden since birth, unable to control the movements of his body?

If you’ve read the first three a while ago (book 3 come out in 2009) don’t worry if you feel like you can’t remember everything, it’s all history to this story anyway. If you haven’t read them, technically you could start with number four if you wanted, but you’d be missing such a rich back story! This series is just great! It's suitable for readers over 8 years old, but well written enough that anyone over 8 will enjoy it! I'm 20 years past the target age and it still hit a bulls-eye!

 

4 Gold Stars

Find it on Goodreads

 

Dragonkeeper series by Carole Wilkinson

 (New covers released May 2012)

Years ago, when I worked in the children's section of a large inner-city bookshop, one of the books that I could easily rely on to sell, and make a good recommendation, was Dragonkeeper and then its sequels as they came out. I had never read it, but I had heard they were good and parents were keen to give their children something that mixed a bit of history in with the fantasy that they craved.

I even saw an (adult) colleague consume them in rapid succession, which simply fueled my hand selling. Please don't mistake me for some casual staffer who knew nothing of the books they put in your hands, I was simply reading other series at the time and had heard enough good reports to confidently recommend this series. But I always planned on reading them.

Late last year I listened to the Dragonkeeper (book 1) audio book on one of my away trips for work. It was thoroughly entertaining. one of those delightful blends between facts taken from history and fantasy generously layered on top, you find yourself asking, why haven't there been more reports of dragon bones/fossils coming out of China?

So, recently when I knew I would be meeting Carole Wilkinson, I made the time to read the 2nd and 3rd books in the series. They were just as good. They are perfectly paced; excitement, action and adventure unfold equally with character development. They playful nature of the dragons makes you lament their disappearance from the world (for surely they once existed!). But the dragons, their keeper, Ping, and others we meet along the journey become your friends.

It's not hard to see why this series has won so many awards. But what makes them even better for me, is that an eight year old could pick these up (and they do) and love them, just as much as a teenager could, or a 28 year old (yes, I mean me). Good writing transcends target age groups.

Now I'm very excited to read the fourth book in the series, Blood Brothers, which will be out in May, but I can't wait for it!

4 Gold Star

Find them on Goodreads:

Book 1, Book 2, Book 3

Usborne Puzzle Adventure Series Celebration!

This blog post is a little celebration that will expose me (further) as a giant nerd (crazy person). 

I have completed my collection of the
Usborne Puzzle Adventure Series!!

When I was in primary school, I was obsessed with the Usborne Puzzle Adventure Series. They are awesome! (note the use of ‘are’, their awesomeness has not faded with the years).

In primary school I borrowed a large number (not sure exactly 10-14 or so) of them from my best friend.  He then went to a different high school, and we lost touch for a number of years. In year 12, we were re-united and I realised that I still had them so I asked if he wanted them back. No-longer being in primary school, he said no, I could keep them. *SCORE!*

So a few years later I started trying to collect all the missing titles. This proved to be more difficult than I first thought. Then over the last year or so it kind of slipped from my mind. You can see one of my very early blog entries where I tried to read and review all the ones I had.

Last week, that same friend and his lovely wife (the mutual friend that facilitated our reunion in high school as she had kept contact with him, then went on to marry him) came over for dinner. Nostalgia had him browsing this series on my shelf and he asked if I had the complete set. I checked and saw I had only one left to collect. They both offered to check their local second hand bookshops. The next day, he sent me a text saying that the one I needed was on Amazon. I looked into it, and it would have cost me $16-$20 all up including postage. I figured I should check ebay while I was at it and there was a copy for $6 with free postage! *WIN!*

So this is a little celebration of my childhood (adulthood) nerd-dom (craziness). I even threw together a video to mark the event!

It’s true, I panicked for a moment when I looked on Wikipedia and saw that did have ‘Agent Arthur’s Mountain Mission’. But thankfully there is always someone crazier in the world and I found *this website* that told me once and for all that it never existed. I kind of wish my Agent Arthur's Island Adventure had a matching cover, but beggars can't be choosers.

It is also true that I don’t have all the other series either. I do have the 3 Advance level ones, but not all of the other series. I am missing:

Science series # 2 – The Time Warp Vrius

Whodunnits # 2 – Murder Unlimited

Spinechillers # 1 – Midnight Ghosts

Spinechillers # 2 – House of Shadows

Spinechillers # 6 – Nightmare at Mystery Mansion

Spinechillers  - Clock of Doom

Then of the Young Series, the only one I do have us # 7.

But a win is a win and I've got the whole original series now! I'm so happy! If only my Emily Rodda Teen Power Inc series were as complete (I'm missing 4 of those)

Anyway, I’ll wrap it up there, those of you who are collectors can celebrate with me and the others, well, you can think what you will. It won’t change how I feel about it! J

5 Gold Stars

The Flaxfield Quartet Volume 3: Doubleborn by Toby Forward

In my running series of reviews of the Flaxfield Quartet, as they’ve been released, returning readers will know how much I adored both Dragonborn and Fireborn.

What, you might ask, could I possibly say about the next book in the series that I haven’t stressed in the first two reviews?

Well, there is one word, that I have already used twice, that will be the focus of this review.

Series.

With Volume 3 came the confirmation that Toby Forward knew what he was doing from the start. The entire story, the entire world, in other words, the entire quartet is so fully realised and interconnected that it is clear that this was not one of those series where book one is written and then they tack on a few more just to ride out the success. As I said before, at the end of Dragonborn, we do not have all the answers, but we want them. Desperately.

There is no fluff. That’s how I see it now. So many things that I took as simple scene setting, or folklore, or lessons from wizen wizards are not background to story: they are story. The subtle brilliance of the writing hides everything you need to know in plain sight.

I kind of wonder why I’m still writing this review… No. It’s more that I wonder why you are still reading it? Why haven’t you left your seat to go and find a copy of whichever book in this series you are up to? If you haven’t yet started this series, amend that travesty immediately!

      

4.5 Gold Stars

Find it on Goodreads

Tilly and Friends by Polly Dunbar

“Tilly and her friends all live together in a little yellow house…”

I don’t know about you but knowing I’m reading a book by Polly Dunbar, that preface already has me excited!

For those of you that haven’t yet met Tilly and her friends, I thought I’d take the time to introduce you to the brilliance that Polly Dunbar has created.

In ‘Hello Tilly’, Tilly is sitting quietly, reading her favourite story. Then one by one her five friends join her as they play, dance and eat together. I cannot wipe the smile off my face as I read this. It is a simple, joyous celebration of being with friends, where each one brings something different to the mix; the perfect way to meet the residents of the little yellow house.

“Doodle woke up feeling Bitey!” Oh no! As adults we can see where this will most likely end up… and you would be right. Sometimes when playing with friends it’s easy to get carried away and occasionally someone gets bitten. Then there’s usually some retaliation! Luckily Tilly and Pru are around to bandage everyone up and Pru kisses everyone better. It’s good to know that apologising to each other is part of the healing process too. 

I’ve been giggling like a child and I’m only two books down!

Tiptoe (possibly the cutest rabbit you’ve ever seen) isn’t sleepy. Any parent will probably know how it feels when a child just doesn’t want to go to sleep! When Tilly is singing a lovely lullaby, Tiptoe joins in on his drum. Tilly gets him settled again until he appears demanding a story a short while later. Then, just as Tilly gets herself ready for bed, she wonders aloud “Who’s going to tuck me in? Who’s going to kiss me goodnight?” Can you guess? I laughed so hard when I turned the page.

Hector is very happy sitting on Tilly’s lap. He doesn’t want to share Tilly with Tiptoe when he wants to play with her. So Tiptoe joins Hector on Tilly’s lap… and then so does everyone else! He is now the unhappiest he has ever been, and no, he doesn’t want the others to play with him, especially not Tumpty to sit in his lap! But then a kind gesture from Tilly clears the air and Hector is the happiest happiest he has ever been. He even lets Tiptoe paint his nose blue.

Are you beginning to see how amazingly brilliant these books are? Not only are they just too much fun, there’s a little message about friendship in each one.

Tumpty, the elephant, tries many different ways to hide. But in a little yellow house, it’s a little more difficult than he might think; closing his eyes just isn’t quite enough. And when his friends laugh and laugh at his efforts to hide, he wanders off with a “Humph.” His friends then look for him everywhere and think they upset him so much he ran away! Tiptoe looked for him in the biscuit tin with no success and so they all drown their sorrows in biscuits, wondering if Tumpty has gone forever. But, whose trunk is that reaching for the biscuit tin?

And finally, I think Pretty Pru is my favourite of the 6 books. Mainly for one particular image that had me literally rolling on the floor with laughter when I first saw it. But we’ll get to that soon.

When Pru won’t share her make-up, Tumpty takes it without permission to share with his other friends. Meanwhile, Pru asks Tilly to help her look for her lost handbag. So they ask Hector:

My goodness that page never fails to make me laugh! But by the time the handbag is found (on top of Tumpty’s head!) Pru is not laughing. It’s not nice to take people things without asking. But then Pru decides to share her lipstick and they all have great fun!

I wanted to keep this short, but when talking about six books in one review, I wanted you to know that they are all fantastic stories on their own, but make the most perfect set ever!

As the back of each of the books says: “Everyone wants to be Tilly’s Friend” and it’s true! I know I do, and you should too!

Got kids? Get these books! (For yourself, if not for them). Everyone should know the work of Polly Dunbar!