For his autumnal yet incandescent family tragicomedy, The Royal Tenenbaums, Wes Anderson drew inspiration from a handful of literary works remarkably possessed of whimsy and insightful wit. Chief among these is the late J. D. Salinger’s short but utterly perceptive book, Franny and Zooey, whose t...
OK. I'm rewriting this because the first one didn't save! Incidentally, while reading I didn't notice that it's the same author as one of my absolute favorite books as a kid, The Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler!Overall I liked this book. The characters are vivid and mostly believab...
In a new world of blended families where parents sometimes die, sometimes divorce, sometimes remarry and worst of all sometimes have new babies, where does the older child fit?Branwell Zamborska and Connor Kane have been best friends for a very long time. They have a lot in common; they are both ...
Currently using this book with some fifth grades who struggle with the act of inferring. Many situations lead the reader to question the characters actions. When the grey Plymouth on the side of the road is accused of suspiciously housing possible bad guys, why doesn't the good church woman think...
This is the second E.L. Konigsburg book I've read, and there's something very peculiar about her writing style. I can't put my finger on it. There's a real 80s-ish feel to it all, which sounds strange, but there's a real sense of children's books that were written in the late 70s to the early 90s...
Captive Queen led me to re-read A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver by E.L. Konigsburg for the umpteenth time. It still holds up. And the historical detail dovetails perfectly with the scholarly effort of Alison Weir. This book may have been written for older children, but I enjoy it every ...
The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place was an interesting book at the time I read it. At a glance Margaret Rose Kane is like any other protagonist in a story, only to grow as the story continues. From a very basic summary Margaret is sent to a summer camp while her parents supposedly neglect her in fa...
A question was posed recently on the Horn Book blog run by Roger Sutton about what it would be like if reviewers never knew the names of the authors of the books they read and critique. It's an interesting idea. No human being is a blank slate, after all. You can't help but acquire little prejudi...