Books for March

Kenny and the Dragon by Tony Diterlizzi

Review

When a dragon takes up residence on the hill near their home, Kenny's father is terrified. "We have to move!" he cries. "Or the dragon will eat us all!" But Kenny isn't so sure, and when he goes to see the dragon, he finds not a monster but a civilized, well-educated gentleman (or is gentle-dragon!). He and the dragon soon become great friends, and he invites him over for dinner. Eventually his father comes to understand, even though the dragon, whose name is Grahame, manages to accidentally scorch him a few times. Unfortunately, the rest of the townspeople aren't so accepting. As soon as the first whiff of the word "dragon" comes into town, the townspeople grab pitchforks and prepare to slay the foul beast. How can Kenny protect his new friend from the stupidity of his neighbors?

The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien

Review

If you have read The Hobbit, you will surely remember Gollum and his magic ring that could make you invisible, which Bilbo Baggins stole from him. If he had known the history of the ring, he might never have taken it. Anyway, the Lord of the Rings begins with Bilbo's elventy-first (if there is such a number) birthday, where Bilbo decides to disappear from the Shire, the home of the hobbits, and travel to the house of Elrond in Rivendell. His adopted son, Frodo, takes Bag End and continues to live there. But Gandalf the wizard has been visiting Frodo a lot, and many of the townsfolk worry that he will turn out like Bilbo, not normal. And Frodo isn't become a normal gentleman of the Shire. He has learned about the ring, and when foul men on black horses begin traveling through the countryside, looking for him, he knows that it is time to move. He sets off with his friends Sam, Merry and Pippin, on a magical and dangerous journey across the lands of Middle Earth. Along the way he meets many allies, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and of course Gandalf, along with a whole host of other characters; and enemies, Sauron, the Witch-King, Orcs and Uruk-hai, and you can't forget the horrible Saramun and his grovelling spy Wormtongue (no one with that name is going to be good, is he?). Massive battles occur, but not at the rate that I imagined from what other people had said. This book seems to focus more on the characters and their perceptions and journeys than on the details of the battles. Great deeds are done, and who could forget the greatest of them all: how Frodo carried the One Ring right under Sauron's watchful eye to Mount Doom, where he would cast into the fire and rid the world of it once and for all. The question is, when he gets there, does he have the willpower to stand against the allure of the Ring?

I Put a Spell on You by Adam Selzer

Review

When the school spelling bee begins, nobody knows what to expect. The Spelling Bees at Preston Middle School are always a bit chaotic. It is the only exciting event that happens in the community for a year, and is taken very seriously by the parents of the participating children. So seriously, in fact, that the father of one girl, Jennifer, tries to steal the words list for her to study! He is a really bad thief, and is caught entering the school. This act sparks a turf war between two families, and soon chaos ensues. However, the school reporter Chrissie worries that there might be other cheaters, up higher. Principal Floren, for one, seems to have a bit of something to lose this time around. And many of the students and teachers have their own agendas. There's a wild card, too: an until-recently home schooled kid named Mutual has joined the class specifically to do the spelling bee, and is doing way better than most of the other kids. With all this mixed together, how could the spelling bee fail to be a riot?

Airman by Eoin Colfer

Review

The king has been murdered by his most trusted official. His gun was used in the crime, and there is no way he could not have done it. So says Hugo Bonvillian, the leader of the Holy Cross Guard, and protector of the island. But one boy, Conor Broekhart, knows the truth. His father is a captain in the king's guard, and a loyal friend of the king. He saw Hugo Bonvillian shoot his king and the adviser with the adviser's gun. While attempting to stop Bonvillian, Conor was captured and was going to be killed when Bonvillian had a great idea. (Uh-oh!) He decided that he would fake the death of Conor Broekhart, then dress him up as a soldier and show him to his father, pretending that he was the soldier that killed his son. Declan Broekhart would be heartbroken, and Conor would believe his father hated him. It all unfolded as he had planned, and afterward Conor was shipped off to prison. There, Conor did not molder away as Bonvillian had hoped. Instead, he began sketching out a plan to get out of the jail. Slowly, he plotted his escape from the island prison and to escape the wrongs done to him. But how, and what happened afterward? You will have to read this excellent novel to find out.

The Artemis Fowl Files by Eoin Colfer

Review

The Artemis Fowl Files is a collect of two stories and a lot of information on the different characters in the series. The first story included does not, in fact, include Artemis Fowl at all. It is the story of Holly Short's initiation into the Lower Elements Police, when Commander Root's demoted, disgraced old brother, Turnball Root, comes back for a spot of revenge. Can Holly save her commander and stop Turnball, all the while avoiding stupid legal restrictions ("A fairy may not enter a human dwelling" comes to mind). After this, there are some interviews with different characters in the series, Artemis Fowl, Butler, Commander Root... etc. Lastly, there are some games and a story called the Seventh Dwarf, about how Artemis Fowl put the dwarf Mulch Diggums' skills to good use, and works to steal a valuable diamond needed for his experiments. It's a great book for anyone who has read and enjoyed the Artemis Fowl series.

Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett

Review

In the little sea side forest of Holly Wood, something has escaped. Something bright and wild and wonderful. A wild idea, too hyper to wait for its own time, it has been set free when the last of the monks guarding it have died. It quickly zooms off to Ankh-Morpork, city of one thousand surprises (most of them not very nice) and takes up residence in the one-track mind of the alchemist Thomas Silverfish, who quickly creates a device to show off his new invention, which he calls Moving Pictures. Aware that the wizards might not be too happy with him, as they would see something as wonderful as this as magic, he and the other alchemists set off to Holly Wood, a place that none of them knew about the day before. And many follow them there, to take part in the fabulous new Moving Pictures. One of these is Victor, an apprentice wizard whose uncle left him a lot of money not to be a wizard, who is excited to take part in a click, as they are called. But he becomes vaguely uneasy about the whole thing. Something seems to be acting through him most of the time. And when he finds one of the other actors, Ginger, sleepwalking and trying to open a Gothic door that has appeared in the hillside, he knows something is up. With the help of Ginger, Gaspode, the world's only talking dog, and a whole host of other characters, he attempts to set things right before reality begins leaking out of the world and other Things leak in. But will he get there in the nick of time to stop it? One thing's for sure. The show must go on.

-- JackW - 13 Mar 20099