Book Review Number 64: One False Note by Gordon Korman

One False Note has brought Dan, Amy, Nellie and Saladin to Austria in search of the next clue.  Rather than Wolfgang Amadeus Motzart, however, they are looking for something from his sister, Nannerl.  It turns out to be her diary, but when they arrive to take a look at it, they find that it has been stolen. Their search leads them next to Venice, Italy, where not only do they obtain the pages from the diary that they seek, but manage to do so from under the noses of the Janus, one of the branches of the Cahill family.  After a furious boat ride through the canals of Venice, they are soon on their way to the next clue.

As with the other books, One False Note gives a great jumping off point for learning some history.  This time, the story focuses (from a historical standpoint) on the Motzarts, primarily Nannerl.  She is someone that, had I not listened to this book, I wouldn't have known existed.  And she seems to be (from the limited reading I've been able to do) just as talented, if not more so, than her famous brother.  There's also information on Vienna and Venice, giving tidbits of geography and history as the stories go alone.

The series is keeping my excitement and curiosity as I go through it.  We finished listening to this as a family tonight and tomorrow (or Friday, depending on how Rich feels) we'll start the next audio book, The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis.

Book review Number 60: The 39 Clues, Book 1: The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

We have been listening to The 39 Clues series so we can enjoy it as a family.  All the posts regarding these books will be about the audio version, unless otherwise stated.

I mentioned a little of the set up regarding the 39 Clues in my previous post.  Brief overview for those who are reading my newer posts before my older posts, a brother and sister have been sent on a quest around the world to find 39 clues that their recently deceased grandmother has left for them and any other groups of the family willing to take on the challenge.  At the end of the clues is supposed to be something that will make the winner the most powerful person (or people) in the world.

The Maze of Bones is the first book in this series.  It's where we get to meet not only Amy and Dan Cahill, but many of the groups that will be vying for the clues over the next several books.  And very few of them are of the kind and gentle persuasion.  Through out this book, there are a couple of attempts on Amy and Dan's lives, including a fire that torches their beloved grandmother's mansion.

The first clue that everyone gets (in packets at the reading of the will) points the Cahill siblings toward Philadelphia and Ben Franklin.  And from there, to Mozart and Austria.  We get to see the ingenuity that the siblings call upon without any need for violence - even when violence heads in their direction.

It's a great start to the series, letting us meet all of the key players in the drama that will take place over the following nine books.    While some of them aren't quite as fleshed out as they will be in later books, that's understandable in a book of this type.  Of the books that I have read, the rest do have their time to shine.

Again, it's a great introduction to history.  As often happens when books tell of places that I know, I listened with rapt attention at  as they moved through Philadelphia.  I lived there for 3 years with my fiancé turned husband so I was pretty familiar with a lot of the landmarks. And I couldn't have been more pleased that to hear them talk about the Franklin Institute, which is a place Rich and I spent a fair amount of time at.  It's going to be a great starting place to for introducing Teddy to Philadelphia when we head up that way this summer.

Regarding the reader for both this book and the previous one that I reviewed, he is WONDERFUL.  I love to listen to him because he really gives each character their own individual voice.  You don't have to hear the words that someone had said a phrase to know that was who was speaking.  He puts a lot of energy and a lot of self into his reading.  It's one of the reasons I'm so glad to have the audio book collection checked out of the library for family listening.

Book Review Number 57: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling

As I pointed out in the review before this one, this reading of the book was an audio book that I'd taken out for our long drive to Philadelphia.  And, for all that I knew the story really well, this was almost like a first time read for me, because I got to hear it through the ears of my oldest son.

I'm pretty sure everyone out there knows the basic premise of this book. Harry Potter is the only one to ever survive the killing curse performed by the Dark Lord, Voldemort.  And he did this at the age of 1.  At that young age, with his parents dead, he is brought to live with his only remaining relations, the Dursley's.  The Dursley's are a horrid bunch that try to make Harry' life as miserable as possible.  It's only as his 11th birthday approaches that he finds out that he is so much more than the orphan child doomed to live the existence of a second class citizen under his family's roof.  He finds out he's a wizard.

The Sorcerer's Stone details Harry's first year at Hogwarts, including some very strange happenings that result in a large confrontation at the end of the book.  We also meet the people that are to become most important to Harry through out his years at Hogwarts and beyond: Ron Weasley, a boy in cast offs that becomes Harry's best friend; Ron's family, who become a surrogate family for Harry; Hermione Granger, the smartest witch of her generation and Harry's other best friend; Haggrid, the gentle giant of a man that is the gameskeeper at Hogwarts; Draco Malfoy, Harry's enemy at Hogwarts (because every hero should have one); Professor Snape, the potions teacher that also seems to have it out for Harry; Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster at Hogwarts that seems to know all but tell very little... the list could go on for hours.

As we listened to the story this time, Teddy was in the back seat, listening and asking questions as the story went along.  He wanted to know why some things happened, what the meaning of some of the words were... he was engaged.  And when we mentioned the possibility of getting the second book for our next travels, he was excited by it.

I've loved Harry Potter from the beginning.  I bought the first 4 books through a book club and they came at a time when I was laid up because of back trouble.  I read through these books like the pages would burn if I didn't get to them fast enough.  And once I finished The Goblet of Fire, I picked The Sorcerer's Stone back up again. I can't say exactly what it is that appeals to me about this series.  The first book is written to a much younger audience than my own 37 years.  But it comes alive within the covers.  Many of us have wanted to have that magical thing happen to take us out of our every day life and give us something spectacular. And Harry gets that.  We get to go on his journey as he explores that spectacular world.  We get to learn along side him about Quidditch and Butter Beer and charms and spells and potions.  

Yet, for all that this world is fantastical, there's still a quality to it that kids will relate to.  There's bullying.  There's teasing.  There's friends and enemies.  There's teachers that they love and teachers that they hate.  It's a wonderful combination of easy to relate to and fantastical enough to take us out of our own world.  I think that's part of what's so endearing about the series.

I look forward to letting Teddy read the rest of these as he gets older.  Because I really think that he'll enjoy it.

Book Review number 56: The 39 Clues, Book 5: Black Circle by Patrick Carman

I learned about the 39 Clues series around the time I first finished Percy Jackson and the Olympians.  It's not really a surprise, since Rick Riordan wrote the first book and the children's librarian at our favorite branch loves to share new series that she thinks we'll enjoy with us.

I'd read the first couple in the series but hadn't gotten around to reading the rest.  Then came the unexpected trip to Philadelphia.  I knew from past experience that Rich and I would go nuts if we were forced to listen to the same music over and over again for all 14 hours of the drive (split over 2 days, of course).  For the sake of our sanity, I made a stop at the local library to find something to listen to along the way.  I walked out with two audio books - The 39 Clues, Book 5: The Black Circle by Patrick Carman and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling.  We already knew the world of the 39 clues from our reads of the previous books and we were both very familiar with Harry Potter, me having read it multiple times.

While listening to both of these books on the road, something I never expected to happen did.  Teddy PAID ATTENTION.  Usually if we have a book in, he wants us to change it to listen to his music.  But this time, he excitedly asked for the next disc.  We're now trying to listen, as a family, to all the 39 Clues books.

Back to my review of this book.  First, a little background for those not familiar with the series.  Amy Cahill is a 14 year old orphan, and Dan is her 11 year old younger brother.  They live "with" their great aunt (read: she lives in an apartment across town and hires an au pair to live with the children and take care of them), but often go to their grandmother's grand estate for visits.  They both love their grandmother greatly and are saddened to hear of her death.

At her funeral, which is attended by hundreds of people, mostly family, they find that they have been invited to a special reading of the will.  They, along with many other members of the family, are given a choice - either take a substantial sum of money or choose to seek out the 39 clues, which will lead them to the greatest power in the world.  If they chose getting the clues, they'd never be able to go back and claim the money.  Against their great aunt's demanding to take the money, they decide to go on what will become an adventure of a life time.

In The Black Circle, Dan and Amy start out in Egypt.  They are still on the hunt for the 39 Clues, having been close to getting some, having gotten others and had their lives put in danger more than once.  They have two companions on their journey. Nellie Gomez is the au pair that their great aunt had hired before they skipped town to track down the clues, and she has become a valuable partner.  She speaks several languages, plus she's an adult, which helps keep the authorities away by seeing two kids alone.  The other is their grandmother's cat, Saladin.  While he doesn't help so much with finding the clues (thus far, anyway), he's important to Amy and Dan because he's a link to their grandmother.

Through most of the book, Nellie and Saladin are still in Egypt, while Amy and Dan head to Russia.  While there, following clues given to them by the mysterious NRR.  Because of the nature of the clues that they need to follow from this shadowy person, they know that there is no way they can do it alone.  They make an alliance with one of the other teams, one they can't be certain won't blow up in their faces.  But as they learn through this alliance, sometimes people can surprise you.

What I love the most about this series of books is the fact that it introduces kids (and some adults) to history in a very enjoyable way.  In this particular book, we learn about the Romanov's, the Summer Palace, the mystery surrounding Anastasia, Rasputin... so many things in and around the Russian Revolution.  Granted, it's not the same as if you were to read a text book on the subject, but it gives kids a great jumping off point if they find something in particular that interests them.

Book Review Number 39: Amazing Cows: Udder Absurdity for Children by Sandra Boynton

Amazing Cows: Udder Absurdity for Children by Sandra Boynton

Sandra Boynton is my hero. She has the most amazing, most fantastically funny mind of any kids author out there. I was first introduced to her by a friend of mine who had her Philadelphia Chickens CD. And that's when I was hooked. I've loved every board book and every CD that I've been able to find by her. So when I saw that she had a new one out called Amazing Cows!: Udder Absurdity, I knew I had to borrow it from the library. And I don't regret it in the least. There's a little something for every fan of cow-related humor - knock knock jokes, short stories, fashion tips and, my favorite, a comic. Being the sci-fi fan of old as I am, the title also amused me greatly, being a spoof of Amazing Stories.