Books for December

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling

Review

When I picked up Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone off a library bookshelf, I wasn't sure how good it was going to be. I hadn't read it in a while and didn't remember a lot of it. But when I began reading it, I remembered how good it was and grabbed it. Although Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone isn't JK Rowling's most polished book (well, it is her first, after all!), it has a certain charm to it, that defines it as one of her quirkiest, funniest ones. By the third book, the second one even, the plot has advanced far enough that there isn't as much room for scenes of magical wonder. And as Harry is new to the magical world, JK Rowling describes the castle and magic within wonderfully through his eyes. All the elements of this book tie together wonderfully to create a magical whole. I really enjoyed it.

Charlotte's Web by EB White

Review

In Charlotte's Web, poor Wilbur the pig, who was rescued from being killed by a little girl named Fern, feels that he needs a friend. None of the other animals want to associate with him. The goose has her eggs to take care of. The lambs are too snooty. The rat who comes to the barn really has no idea of what friends are. But he finds a friend in Charlotte, the spider who lives in a web in the barn where Wilbur lives. Although they are quite different, they soon become good friends. But when Wilbur becomes aware that the farmer may be thinking of butchering him, he is understandably distraught. He doesn't want to be someone's dinner! And so Charlotte, the cool and clever spider, comes up with a plan to prevent Wilbur from getting the chop and get him to win the hearts of the community.

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

Review

When Mother Paula's Pancake House buys some land in Florida to build yet another Mother Paula Pancake House clone, no one thinks twice about it. But at the building site, a mysterious vandal is doing his best to stop work on the establishment. Why? That's what Chuck Muckle, the eternally angry public representative for Mother Paula's Pancake House, wants to know. There are only a few days left until they have to have their grand opening, and the site isn't even built on yet! Meanwhile, Roy Eberhardt has just moved to Florida from Montana. As the new kid in school, he is constantly under attack by the local school bully, Dana Matherson. But if Dana hadn't been smashing his face against the bus window, Roy would never seen the running boy. And he would never have decided to follow him. When he does, he is launched into a dangerous world full of poisonous snakes, sinister plots, and some very cute burrowing owls who will soon die if the land owned by Mother Paula's Pancake House is developed! Hoot.

The Chaos Code by Justin Richards

Review

Matt Stribling was looking forward to a nice vacation from school at his mother's house, but as she is heading for a job in another country, Matt has to stay with his scatterbrained Archeologist father. When he arrives at his father's house, however, he finds it empty and wrecked. Wondering whether his father is getting worse on hygiene, he heads upstairs. There he is ambushed by a strange intruder, which grabs him and knocks him out, but then leaves him lying there. Wondering whether to go to the police, Matt gets a letter from his father, which has clues that lead to a website where his father has written him a message. A harmless enough message, but one that Matt discovers has a secret code written into it. It tells him to go to Aunt Jane, and to seek the help of a man called Julius Venture. Matt quickly departs for his aunt's house, and discovers her employer's name is Julius Venture. As he grows more and more accustomed to living at his Aunt's, someone arrives that shatters his illusions of security, and leaves him with the fact that his father has been kidnapped. But by who? And why? Matt seeks to help Julius Venture, and his daughter Robin Venture, to unravel an ancient mystery, and in the process discovers his father. But just as he does, Matt must help to stop a madman whose plan would lead to the end of the world as we know it!

Science Fair by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Review

In Science Fair, Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson spin a fantastic tale of a middle school science fair gone horribly wrong. It features a levitating frog, a shady collector who dresses as Darth Vader, and a small European country known as Krpshtskan, which has decided to destroy the United States for the embarrassment of their leader's son being kicked out of an American singing competition. How will they do this? Through the most destructive force ever known to mankind. Which would be spoiled rich kids.

Toby Harbinger knows he has no chance of winning the Hubble Middle School science fair, as the ME Kids (the mansion estate kids) win every time, regardless of whether they understand their projects or not. But this time, Toby has a lot more to worry about than what he is going to base his science project on. A crazy collector in a Darth Vader suit and his hairy sidekick, the Wookiee, has been chasing him, wanting to steal his parent's enormous Star Wars collection. He is nearly killed by a robotic attack owl, is arrested by the fed after he accidentally intercepts an illegal package, and is held in a secure location until the fed decide to release him. Meanwhile, the president of Krpshtskan continues with his evil plan of destruction, and only Toby and his friends can stop him!

The Never Ending Story by Michael Ende

Review

When Bastian steals The Never Ending Story from a bookshop, he doesn't know what to do. He wanted that book so badly, but he knows that now he can't go home. So he finds a hidden nook in the attic of the building where he goes to school, and begins to read. As he does, he is drawn into the story, both in his imagination and in reality. He learns about the Childlike Empress, who is close to death because she needs a new name. And a human is the only one who can give her that name. When Bastion is transported into the Never Ending Story, he discovers the world of Fantastica, and meets all the characters he has read about. In Fantastica, Bastion can make wishes come true, has a magical sword and the protection of the mysteriously missing Childlike Empress. But there is a dark side to Fantastica, as Bastion soon learns. For every wish Bastion grants, he loses a bit of himself. If he doesn't leave Fantastica soon, he won't be able to remember what he was like. Will the temptation to stay and be the all-powerful emperor override his wish to go home and be with his father?

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J K Rowling

Review

In this wizard's storybook, J K Rowling spins tales of hopping pots, cackling stumps, and a mean and (literally) heartless Warlock. The stories themselves are very entertaining, but even more entertaining are the notes from Albus Dumbledore in between the stories. He shares all sorts of interesting Hogwarts and wizard history, and had me in stitches a few times. There is, just so you know, one Brothers Grim-esque tale in here, the Warlock and his Hairy Heart, which is not too creepy but is slightly strange. All in all, this is a wonderful collection of stories, although it was over far too quickly!

- JackW - 04 Dec 2008