Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy

Hans Christian Anderson's fable The Snow Queen is currently experiencing quite a popular culture revival between the overwhelming popularity of Disney's Frozen and the release of Karen Foxlee's delectable middle reader Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy.

Foxlee's interpretation of Anderson's timeless 1844 fairy tale is utterly enchanting, just as it should be for an audience of six to twelve year-old children forty two year old moms and compulsive bibliophiles. Enchanting, in fact, before the actual story even begins, when we are treated to this letter:

Ophelia Jane Worthington-Whittard's mother has died. Floundering in grief and shock, Ophelia's father - the world's foremost sword expert - decides to take a mysterious museum job in a foreign city where it never stops snowing, believing that the change of scenery might help Ophelia and her sister Alice begin to heal.

What Ophelia finds while exploring this strangest of museums will change her life forever. Because, you see, Ophelia doesn't believe in magic. Not one little bit. She doesn't believe in wizards or magical swords or boys with no names or the One Other. So when she discovers a boy locked in a forgotten room, Ophelia simply cannot believe he is being held captive by the Snow Queen and only she can help.

To convince our scientific-minded Ophelia, the Marvelous Boy must tell her his story. Thus, we have a tale within a tale.

Foxlee deftly weaves past and present together until a tapestry emerges: how the evil Snow Queen currently reigns over the city and the evil she is about to unleash. As for Ophelia, she must learn to listen to the memories of her mother if she is to confront and conquer this evil, saving the Marvelous Boy, her family, and humanity.

There is a richness to this story that evokes the warmth and comfort of a story read out loud to children on cozy nights. And it is that, I suppose, that makes it so appealing to those of us who know a good book when we see it. Highly recommended for the children in your life - nieces, nephews, grandchildren, godchildren, etc. for all occasions. You just can't go wrong with this one.

Title: Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy

Author: Karen Foxlee

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Date: January 28, 2014

Pages: 240

Source: Publisher

Cuteness Aside, You Still Need a Plot....

Title: Adventures of a Cat-Whiskered Girl

Author: Daniel Pinkwater

Genre: Young Adult/Middle Reader

ISBN: 978-0-547-22324-7 

Book Source: Amazon Vine Program

Grade:  C

A Reader's Respite got suckered in by another cute cover, damn it.  We can't help it....we're cover whores.  Adventures of a Cat-Whiskered Girl is being touted as a companion book to two previous Pinkwater books:

Although we haven't read Pinkwater's two related books, we felt fairly confident that a companion book could be read as a stand-alone.  Wrong.

As it turns out, companion book is actually publisher-speak for this book has no real plot and is just skating along on some cute characters, a few lines of witty dialog and the laurels of the author's previous two books. 

In other words: cute, but sucky.

There are plenty of fun little characters, including our protagonist Audrey, the title-mentioned Cat-Whiskered girl ("I do not have a problem with my appearance - I am a nice-looking girl with lovely whiskers") who comes from a different plane of existence to Poughkeepsie, New York, where she meets an insane college professor, a new friend named Molly, a wise-woman named Chicken Nancy, the giant Harold and what appears to be a horrible monster, The Wolluf.

Despite being a Young Adult/Middle Reader book, there are plenty of references only adults will understand:

Professor Tag appeared from around the corner of the building.  He was wearing a woman's dress, sort of - it looked like he had made it out of a big window curtain....

"Hello, Professor," I said.  "Yes, I came to see you."

"Thank you," Professor Tag said.  "As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again."

As compelling as the characters and dialog was, however, A Reader's Respite never did find a plot.  At one point, it seemed the characters might be searching for aliens.  There were several references to flying saucers (and their drivers, who apparently enjoy the apple fritters we serve up here on Earth), but in the end that came to nothing. 

We also thought for a while that the plot might be Audrey's quest to find out about her long-lost parents, but that, too, came to nothing.

In the end, we were left with a patchwork novel....plenty of great pieces that didn't come together.  Perhaps if we had read Pinkwater's previous novels (which were very well received, both critically and popularly), we would have found more enjoyment.

Review: The Tales of Beedle the Bard

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, by J.K. Rowling





The Quick Synopsis
The Tales of Beedle the Bard, mentioned in the final Harry Potter novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is a collection of five stories for young magical children, much like the fairy tales we Muggles tell our own children. Translated by Hermione Granger, The Tales also include commentary and notations by Albus Dumbledore, which were found among his effects after his untimely death.

Whether there was ever a washerwoman who was able to transform into a rabbit is open to doubt; however, some magical historians have suggested that Beedle modeled Babbitty on the famous French sorceress Lisette de Lapin, who was convicted of witchcraft in Paris in 1422. To the astonishment of her Muggle guards, who were later tried for helping the witch to escape, Lisette vanished from her prison cell the night before she was due to be excuted. Although it has never been proven that Lisette was an Animagus who managed to squeeze throught the bars of her cell window, a large white rabbit was subsequently seen crossing the English Channel in a cauldron with a sail fitted to it, and a similar rabbit later became a trusted advisor at the court of King Henry VI.*
*This may have contributed to that Muggle King's reputation for mental instability.
Albus Dumbledore commentary on "Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump."
from The Tales of Beedle the Bard, by J.K. Rowling

The Literary Criticism
Let's be honest: what is there to criticize? It's another piece of the Harry Potter phenomenon that will appeal to any fan of the series. Children who are Harry Potter fans will likely enjoy the Beedle Bard's tales, while adults will find Dumbledore's notations more interesting.

The Recommendation
For anyone who has collected the Harry Potter series, I would recommend this volume if for no other reason than to round out your collection.

If you're not a collector of the books, this little "extra" is not going to enhance the series or provide any additional insight into Harry.

If you've never read the Harry Potter series (is there anyone left out there?), then I honestly cannot think of any reason you might want to pick up this book.

A photo of the original Tales of the Beedle Bard, handwritten by
J.K. Rowling. Sold at auction for a cool $4 million.
No, really. I'm not making this up.

*A Note Regarding the Publisher: The Tales of Beedle the Bard is published by the Children's High Level Group, which is a registered charity. All net proceeds from the sale of this novel will be donated to The Children's Voice campaign, which champions children's rights across Europe.

Title: The Tales of Beedle the Bard
Author: J.K. Rowling
ISBN-13: 978-0545128285
107 pages
Publisher: Children's High Level Group
Date: December 4, 2008


Other Reviews from Blogland:

Dark Lord Center
Out of the Blue
Temporary Worlds
Bryan's Book Blog
The Book Lady's Blog
Pipe Dreams and Professions
Wrighty's Reads

Review: I, Lorelei

I, Lorelei, by Yeardley Smith
You may recognize the name of this first-time author. She's quite famous in the entertainment world. She's worked in feature films, on Broadway and in television. (And in her spare time she knits, which is really cool in my book.) Here's a hint:


Yeardley Smith is perhaps best known for her work on television's The Simpsons, providing the voice of young Lisa Simpson. But now Yeardley can add something new to her resume: completely awesome author of a young adult novel called I, Lorelei.

A Quick Synopsis
Lorelei Lee Connelly is 11 and 1/4 years old and has decided to keep a diary so that when she becomes a famous writer/actress/chef someday, she'll remember the important things that happened to her when she was eleven. She's addressing this diary to her best friend who's now in heaven: Mud, the family cat and best listener around. Irritating brothers, a school yard bully, parents who can't get along and a middle school production of Peter Pan provide ample fodder for Lorelei and her strong moral compass provides creative solutions to her pre-teen problems are heartfelt and gratifying.

The Literary Criticism
I honestly cannot think of one single thing that I'd improve with this book. Lorelei is precocious, intelligent, insecure, and vulnerable. In short, everything a normal eleven year old should be. Ms. Smith has almost alarming insight into the mind of pre-teen girls because at no point does she belittle or negate the importance of Lorelei's problems, yet she does so without melodrama. It's perfect. The story doesn't have a fairy-tale ending and thank goodness because that might have ruined it. Instead, the satisfying conclusion involves Lorelei's realization that we cannot control the world around us and it is up to each of us to make our own happiness. (Okay, so she doesn't make it sound as preachy as I just did, but that's why she's the author and makes the big bucks while I just write reviews.)

Dear Mud,
How does it feel to be dead? Surely by now you've reached Heaven, which means you probably don't feel like a twenty-year-old cat with arthritis and kidney problems anymore. You probably feel great. All thawed out and everything.
About that: I'm sorry Mom put your body in the freezer! She was terribly upset when she found you dead in the yard. It was late, and she thought we should wait until morning to have your funeral. It was my idea to wrap you in a blanket, at least.
I, Lorelei, by Yeardley Smith

Recommendation
It's a simple one this time, folks.....buy this book. Buy a copy for every 9-12 year old girl you know and snag a copy for yourself. It's a wonderful story and I hope Ms. Smith continues to write. She is a true talent!

And now I'm going to go squirrel away my copy in the closet for my daughter to read someday (if I don't wear the pages out reading it again and again!).

Five Stars!

*Note: apologies for the lack of cover art with this review! The publisher has yet to release their official cover at this point. But the book is, nonetheless, available for pre-order at Amazon.


Release Date: January 27, 2009
Title: I, Lorelei
Author: Yeardley Smith
352 pages
Publisher: Laura Geringer (Harper Collins Children's)


Other reviews out in BlogLand:
The Bluestocking Society