Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

This was the second book in the Little House series and almost just as lovely as the first.

I say 'almost' because there was one thing that really, really bothered me in it. The portrayal of American Indians as scary savages. I was not able to get past it AT ALL and each and every reference made me cringe. The father's attitude wasn't too bad, but the mother and the neighbors were horrible! I did like it when one of the small girls asked about the Indians, saying something like 'but if this is Indian Territory then won't the Indians be mad if we make them move somewhere else?'. Yes, they will.

I hope that this gets better in the next books and that they all realise that we're all people, etc. Otherwise how does one explain such an attitude to a child? I like the series and planned on keeping it for when my son is old enough to read it, but I guess I need to give an explanation for the Indian bashing. Sigh.

(As an aside, has anyone read Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown? I read about half of it and had to stop because it was too sad... I'd like to get through the whole thing at some point though.)

The Little House series has loads of good stuff too though - what I like most are the descriptions of their daily life, like of the father building the house. You can actually see him building it, log by log. Most of us don't really make things from scratch ourseelves anymore, so it's nice to read about how you can make things and use things and not produce any waste. That part's great for kids!

Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan and a Giveaway

Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse is the third book in this very entertaining series. I liked it just as much as the first two - it's light and fluffy with lots of cool adventures and obviously loads of mythological references. Most of which I probably don't get, but ok. Some of the dialogue has been pissing me off for sounding slightly unnatural, but I've been trying not to focus on that. It's totally worth reading for the entertainment value. I have one (or two, can't remember) left in this series, but apparently Rick Riordan has another one based on Egyptian Gods and if that's true then I will definitely be getting that next.

_____________________________

Darlene from Peeking Between the Pages is giving away Take a Chance On Me by Jill Mansell and it's open worldwide! I am most certainly partial to good chick lit and this books sounds perfect for a cold evening in. Maybe you want to try your luck too? Head on over to Darlene's!

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

I don't conside myself a huge Gaiman fan. I loved his American Gods, but found Coraline only ok. For the first half of The Graveyard Book, I put it in the 'only ok' category - but it seems that I was mistaken, because as soon as I read a bit of it each day, consistently, I got into it more and started to really love it.

The Graveyard Book is about Bod Owens, whose family is killed when he's just a baby and who ends up being brought up the ghosts of a graveyard close to what was his home. He is given certain special powers to be able to live in the graveyard comfortably and he does just that until he starts growing up and venturing out bit by bit. He of course gets himself in and out of all sorts of trouble... and basically has loads of adventures.

What I remember most from my reading experience is sitting on the couch, all snug and warm, and sipping my glass of wine while reading, immersed in Bod's world. When I allowed myself the luxury of reading it like that, I loved it. When I was reading snippets here and there while also reading other books, I didn't enjoy it at all. Does that ever happen to you?

It's definitely a 'mood' book, perfect for the R.I.P. Challenge if you need suggestions and also perfect for this Saturday's Read-a-Thon.

(Ooh, I can't wait for Saturday!)

I'm told that I would love Neverwhere, so I think that'll be my next Gaiman book!

Challenges: R.I.P. Challenge, 2010 Countdown Challenge, Four Month Challenge

The Tales of Beetle the Bard

What fun! :-) Reading this short book of stories by J.K. Rowling was just as pleasant and absorbing as reading the Harry Potter books was for me. As in I was totally inside the story world and didn't care about anything else. It's nice when books do that, isn't it?

There are five fairy tales in this collection, each followed by some notes and commentary by Albus Dumbledore. I enjoyed this analysis and 'historical' information just as much as I did the stories themselves.

I won't say more, as it's a short book and you should read it. Unless you hate Harry Potter, in which case it's probably not for you! :-)

Challenges: 2010 Countdown Challenge, 999 Challenge

The Little Prince

I read this (or re-read it actually) by accident, because I still didn't have anything read for the Celebrate the Author challenge and today, June 29, is the birthday of Antoine De Saint-Exupery. I read it online here and although I know that it's much nicer to read it in book format and probably also in the original French, it was still as delightful as I remembered it to be.

The Little Prince is one of those children's books with a simple story and a magical message that appeals to adults as well. If it doesn't appeal then you've left it too long between re-readings. :-)

Basically, a little prince ends up on Earth and encounters an airman whose plane has crashed in the desert. They start an unlikely friendship and the airman gets to hear about the little prince's adventures on his own planet and on the planets he visited on his way to Earth.

The messages about children and how much of the beauty of childhood we lose when we become adults are wonderful. Only children understand certain things, see certain things. As adults we forget to look with our hearts, for example. We forget what's really important.

I'm sure you've all read this at some point, but if you haven't then you must.

Oh and the illustrations are fantastic. Really a part of the story.

I feel all young and innocent now! :-)

Challenges: 999 Challenge, Celebrate the Author, Classics Challenge, Orbis Terrarum

Coraline

Hmmm.... I hope this isn't for kids! :-) Neil Gaiman wrote a pretty freaky story here and I would be scared for ages if I'd read this as a child! :-)

Reading Coraline was like reading a Tim Burton film. If you see what I mean. The one that readily comes to mind is The Corpse Bride, I guess that's how I imagined the characters.

Coraline is the child in the center of this story - she goes through a door she's not supposed to go through in her new house and ends up in a parallel world where someone really, really wants her to stay. It's a twist on the Alice stories, but spooky rather than silly.

I suppose what makes Coraline good (as well as scary) is how normal the strangeness is. There are no fantastic creatures or monsters, it's all bizarre but in a natural way. That makes no sense when I re-read it, but I can't think of a way to explain it better.

I guess you should just read it yourself and see!

Challenges: 999 Challenge, Dewey's Books, Once Upon a Time III

Through the Looking Glass

When I read Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland earlier this year, I already knew that I wanted to read Through the Looking Glass as well. So when I saw that it was on The Literature Network and could be read online, I went for it.

Through the Looking Glass was just as charming as the first Alice book. In this one, Alice ends up in the world on the other side of the glass in the mirror - a world where nursery rhyme characters exist, where chess pieces are real people and where everything is done backwards or in the wrong order. Alice's adventures and the people she met in this world were great. Simply great.

I am once again amazed by Lewis Carroll's imagination. Seriously, how can you come up with stuff like this??

Some of my favorite quotes:

However, this was anything but a regular bee: in fact it was an elephant.

and

Alice laughed. 'There's no use trying,' she said: 'one CAN'T believe impossible things.'
'I daresay you haven't had much practice,' said the Queen. 'When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.

and

'I didn't say there was nothing BETTER,' the King replied. 'I said there was nothing LIKE it.'

Ha ha. If you need some cheering up, these are the books for you! :-)

Challenges: 2nds Challenge, 999 Challenge, Decades Challenge

Karlson on the Roof

Astrid Lindgren is best known for the Pippi Longstocking character, but a friend of mine raved about Karlson so I wanted to check him out.

I wasn't blown away or anything, but then I'm not 7 and the main characters of this book are. Smidge is an ordinary boy with an ordinary life - except that he becomes friends with Karlson, a strange little man who lives on the roof of his building. Karlson can fly and he's the best at everything he tries, so makes for a very exciting playmate. I''m sure it's enchanting when you're in the right age group - or if you're re-reading it is an adult rather than reading it for the first time!

It was pleasant to read and exactly what I wanted for a couple of pages of light reading here and there in between more serious stuff.

Challenges: A-Z Challenge, 1st in a series, Lost in Translation, Themed Reading Challenge

Little House in the Big Woods

Charming little book! Even if I never watched the tv show... I'm actually surprised that I learned a couple of things about life back then as well. Bonus!

Laura Ingalls Wilder describes growing up in one of the first pioneer families in Wisconsin in the late 1800s. She didn't actually write the books until the 1930s and they're all autobiographical. I think that's amazing.

Laura Ingalls Wilder was born on 7 February 1867 so I'm using this book for the Celebrate the Author challenge. Visit Wikipedia ro read more about her life.

Even more amazing is the fact that this is a children's book and it describes so many details of life in the 1860s - including how Ma churned butter and how Pa made bullets. It's a great book for kids to read - childhood today is so very different, after all.

There's plenty for adults too, though. What really struck me was how hard everyone had to work all the time and how they didn't let anything go to waste. Nothing was wasted. Wow, compared to today? I wonder what those people would say if they saw today's world...

Anyway, I loved this book and will certainly be getting the next ones in the series.

Challenges: 1st in a series, 999 Challenge, A-Z Challenge, Casual Classics, Celebrate the Author, Decades 2009, In Their Shoes, New Authors, What's in a Name

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

I loved this story as a child, although reading it as an adult I'm not quite sure that I actually read the whole thing. I vaguely recall having a beautifully illustrated edition so perhaps I skimmed and mostly looked at the pictures.

In any case, I kind of knew the story of course, but I didn't realise how differently I would take it now. Lewis Carroll's imagination is increadible - he creates a wondrous world for Alice to visit, with interesting creatures and cards to are alive and the ability to change one's size. I love the way this little book is written, almost in a stream-of-consciousness way, as if the author just wrote about whatever the previous section reminded him of.

I also loved the word plays - I laughed out loud many times.

A charming book. I'd like to read Through the Looking Glass too, which I'm sure I've never read. If you're interested, the stories about Carroll and the really Alice are very interesting too. Although the bios I found make no mention of the hallucogenics that he must have been on to create this story!

Challenges: 999 Challenge, A-Z Challenge, Casual Classics, Celebrate the Author (Carroll's birthday is on January 27), Childhood Favorites, Decades 2009