Showing posts with label orphans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label orphans. Show all posts

4/07/2013

Flight of the Phoenix (Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, Book I) Review

Flight of the Phoenix (Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, Book I)
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This book is adorable! Nate Fludd is a good kid, but not a goody-goody kid; he's likable and rather quiet. However, he is catapulted into a wild adventure with his cousin Phil, and nothing will ever be the same. The sense of adventure mixed with the matter-of-fact tone of this delightful story reminds me of the old Miss Pickerel books that I loved when I was young. Nate discovers, of course, that he has inner resources and unexpected skills, and he finds amazing friends on the way.
This is clearly the first book in a series, and I'm glad. The story was concluded nicely, but we are set now for plenty of beastological excursions with Nate and Phil, and I wouldn't miss it for the world.
Of course, I intend to read it aloud to every child I can persuade to sit still long enough, and to give copies to the bigger ones, and I suggest that you do the same. I can picture this book as one that might introduce a young reader (maybe 10 years old) to the joys of reading for fun, and I strongly approve of that!

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11/09/2012

The Emerald Atlas (Books of Beginning) Review

The Emerald Atlas (Books of Beginning)
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This is the kind of book that will have the reader glued to its pages until the exciting conclusion. I would equate this book to The Golden Compass, though easier to understand, Harry Potter, and The Hobbit. John Stephens, a television writer, really knows how to keeps his audience's attention. I swear, I could not stop reading this book, finishing all 400-plus pages in just over two days. I can't remember the last time I was so enthralled with a book.
The story is about the love of family, faith, and magic. The three main characters are siblings who have been taken from their parents ten years ago, forced to grow up in one orphanage after another, until finally ending up in an old mansion owned by a mysterious old man. Before they meet the old man, the children explore the house until they come upon a door that magically appears, leading fourteen Kate, and her twelve year old brother Michael, along with feisty eleven year old Emma, into a laboratory of sorts. There they find a mysterious green leather book with filled with blank pages. When Michael, who chronicles their lives in his journal, drops a picture onto one of the blank pages, the children are transported through time, finding themselves watching in horror as a beautiful witch threatens to drop a child into a lake.
I loved the back-story of how magic left the land, along with some real history thrown in for good measure. Stephens does a great job of adding depth to the story and for making believable and unforgettable characters.
Set in modern times yet full of magic, the Emerald Atlas is non-stop action with lessons of loyalty, love and the importance of family woven masterfully into a tale that kids of all ages will find hard to put down. Like Harry Potter, the Emerald Atlas can be read by children and adults alike. There is nothing in the book that you couldn't read to a young child and still find enjoyable yourself.
Stephens' triology starts off with such promise. I will be eagerly awaiting book two. I hope he writes quickly.

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