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Monday, February 27, 2012

book review: Wildwood


There is nothing that more convinces the kids of my success than our getting of random shit in the mail. And don't get me wrong: I love free stuff. Sometimes it is simply excellent. Pomegranate juice, hummus, cookbooks, beautiful soap. Hooray for loot! And sometimes it isn't. "Consider sharing this full-sized bottle of Scrubb-o Shower Tile and Vagina Disinfectant with your readers!" Sometimes folks email first: "We'll send you 1 free sample-sized bottle of Kidz Kloroform after you tell your readers that Kidz Kloroform is how you get your own kids to sleep!!!" And sometimes the random shit shows up randomly to the exalted joy of the random-shit-loving children. 

But every now and then something truly wonderful arrives. Like an email from the lovely HarperCollins children's book publicist. Who was just wondering if we, you know, wanted any books. Which we did.

One of the books she sent us was Wildwood, which Birdy absolutely loved, in the way kids love books where every time you look at them, you see just the top of their rapt head peeking over the cover. I haven't read it myself, but it's a beautiful object: gorgeous cover, lovely paper, great heft. And I transcribed Birdy's review of it, in case there's anyone book-loving at your house. For reference, a few of the many other books Birdy has loved include The Little House series, Harry Potter, The Penderwicks series, and The Birchbark House.

by Colin Meloy
illustrated by Carson Ellis
reviewed by Birdy Newman, age 9 (on Saturday)

I thought it was a really, really good book. There was a lot of excitement. I like it because it doesn’t really keep the same. Unexpected things happen that you really wouldn’t have guessed. It’s about this girl who gets followed into some woods that she’s not really supposed to go into. She goes to get her baby brother because the crows take her baby brother into the forest. And then a classmate follows her. Most of the book happens in the forest, which is called Wildwood. It’s magical. The main character is a good person. She’s really brave and cares a lot about her brother.


It has a map, which is really fun to look at! And I like that there’s sort of a lot of different groups working together. The groups are sort of against each other, but then two pool together who weren’t really together before. Or maybe that gives too much away… Don't tell your kids that part. It’s really suspenseful, and so it’s hard to put it down. I think everyone should read it.
*
What are your kids reading and loving right now? What about you? I just finished and liked Michael Cunningham's By Nightfall. You are noting correctly that I didn't love, love, love it. But I liked it a lot. And there's just nobody who excavates a character's interiority quite like him. Also, dialogue to die for.

60 comments:

  1. Julie1:44 PM

    I want to thank you for your recommendation of State of Wonder. I reserved it from the library, waited 2 or 3 months, got it and enjoyed it thoroughly!!

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  2. Nothing makes me happier than seeing my kids engrossed in a book. Somehow I equate it to success as a mom! I always love suggestions. Thanks for these! I've added them to our list.

    My 9 yr old son and 7 yr old daughter are hooked on Harry Potter and the Little House series right now. Other favourites - A Series of Unfortunate Events and Clementine.

    I just finished "State of Wonder" (due to your accolades...LOVED it btw) and have started into "World Without End" and "The Paris Wife". Both are really good. My favourite of all time - "The Red Tent".

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  3. Anonymous2:18 PM

    I loved Wildwood too. And then I was amazed to find it was written by the lead singer of the Decemberists - which I love. On a related topic, thank you for turning me on to Brown Bird. They are coming to Michigan in April and I can't wait.

    Jena in northern Michigan

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  4. Jennifer2:27 PM

    My 11-year-old son is just finishing Wildwood and agrees with Birdy's review. He finds it very hard to put down. He also likes that the map is loosely based on the real Forest Park in Portland, Oregon which we live 70 miles south of. Other favorites of his include the Percy Jackson series and the Eragon series. My 8-year-old daughter can't get enough of the Little House books.
    I am reading The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It is very different from anything I've read. Very creative and hard to put down.
    I very much enjoyed Birdy's book review. I look forward to more!

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  5. I love all of Michael Cunningham's books! Flesh and Blood by him is my favorite. Wildwood sounds like a fun book for kids!

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  6. i so wanted to love Wildwood. i love Carson Ellis, have sort of a love/hate thing with the Decemberists, love books with maps, love kick-ass female protagonists, love Portland -- but i've had it since it came out, and am stuck (STUCK STUCK STUCK) in the middle. i keep picking it up and trying again. and picking up something else and finishing that instead (most recently, the brilliant-but-somehow-exhausting WHY WE BROKE UP by Daniel Handler and illustrated by soul sistah Maira Kalman). i'll try again and power through, Birdy! i promise!
    love,
    Stacey (age 43)

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  7. oh and i read Selznick's Wonderstruck the LAST time I put Wildwood down. AY-MAY-ZINGGGGGGGGGG. It's possible I loved it more than The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Which says a lot, I think. Okay, back to Wildwood. (siiigh)

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  8. Anonymous3:04 PM

    You had me at the cover, really. And the map. A little advanced for my 7yo to read by himself, but I will save the idea for later, or maybe read it out loud to them. We (7 and 5) are deep into reading Little House out loud, having taken a short break for Pippi Longstocking. Too many wonderful picture books to pick one, mixed with random books about Barbie and Disney princesses (ack). And MUCH nonfiction about the Revolutionary War, pirates, the Crusades, early American settlers, and medieval dungeons. (The American history series by the Maestros is really fantastic and beautifully illustrated, and I'm learning a lot. Ask me about my Fort Ticonderoga birthday cake. :)

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    1. My 7yo is reading pippi and has since insisted on sleeping in his bed upside down! Ha!

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  9. Anonymous3:05 PM

    Oh, and I'm 2/3 of the way through The Book Thief and trying to love it. Not quite feeling it.

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    1. Don't give up. It's worth it by the end.

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  10. I had to ask a friend to read State of Wonder so I had someone to discuss it with. For me there was an unanswered question at the end...but after a few hours I had an 'OH MY GOODNESS!" moment when I figured it out. My friend who read it didn't pick up on it...

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  11. We, meaning me as I read it to the kids, loved The Last of the Really Great Wangdoodles by Julie Andrews. Yes, that Julie Andrews. I read it to my kids, 6 and 5 last summer and it was a book that had them begging me to read all day, every day. Which I wanted to love, because they were begging me to READ for goodness sakes, but actually got quite annoying...oh well. Be careful what you wish for!

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    1. Julie Andrews also has a lovely collection of poetry for children that she edited and wrote with her daughter Erin. We haven't been able to put it down!

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  12. Anonymous4:07 PM

    My 8 y/o son loves the My Weird School Daze series (Mrs. Jafee is Daffy, etc) by Dan Gutman. Loves them so much, I have to go through the prospector system for the remaining 5 that he hasn't read yet as our local library district doesn't have them. My 10 y/o is reading Grisham - Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer (something like that). Seems to enjoy as much as I did The Firm, etc.

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  13. Birdy: fabulous, thorough review!

    I'm reading "My Side of The Mountain" to my kids, which they love. My son told me recently, "I wouldn't mind running away for a year because I don't really like people." Oh-kay.
    I just finished "The Year of Living Biblically," which was gimmicky and fun and made me sort of wish I was a religious Jew instead of just a Jew who loves latkahs.

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  14. Oh, that sounds excellent. I am a sucker for any book with maps on the endpapers.

    Right now, I'm reading Mistress Masham's Repose to my 8yo. Birdy would like it. It too has map endpapers.

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  15. MaOdiLeo -Francine7:37 PM

    The last book I liked very much was Bird Cloud by Annie Proulx, where she recalls, beautifully and strongly, the construction of her house. Strangely, it had the same powerful effect on me as when I was reading Simone de Beauvoir's memoirs 25 years ago.

    Our before sleep readings were interrupted for months (years?) while the children preferred to read by themselves. Now, we are looking forward to, maybe, read together Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot.

    Birdy, thank you for the review. My daughter Odile, 11, likes to read a lot, too, and she receives books from a French publisher to write her reviews. I think I am more excited by the Paris packages than she is, though. The last one she read and liked was Enquête au Collège : Sa majesté P.-P. 1er (my approximate translation would be: College Investigation : His Majesty P.-P. the First).

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  16. Dear Birdy,
    Thank you for your review! My son (who turns 9 in two short weeks) says he can't wait to read Wildwood now, so we ordered him a copy. He liked a lot of the same books you did so he's pretty sure it will be a good choice :) He is currently reading the Last Dragon Chronicles by Chris D'Lacey, and also the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. We love books here . . .

    I hope you have a very happy birthday on Saturday -- which just happens to be mine, too! I'm turning older-than-9.

    Sincerely,
    BeeMama

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  17. I am putting together a summer book club for my daughter, who is going to be eight, and some of her friends. Wildwood was on my mind as a selection but Birdy's review may have sealed the deal!

    Today, because the above-mentioned almost eight year old was home sick from school, I sat and read Patti Smith's "Just Kids" in one long, lazy session. It was beautifully written.

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    1. Erin K.6:07 PM

      I LOVED 'Just Kids' she's an amazing writer and generally awesome. A Summer book club for 8 year olds is a great idea..

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    2. Thanks Erin!
      My idea is to pick three books, one new (Wildwood?), one classic and one "boy" book that the girls might otherwise overlook and have lunch and discussion! Wish me luck.

      And, I am not a big fan of Smith's music but found her writing amazing.

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  18. We JUST checked Wildwood out from library, so it is good to hear that Birdy liked it. You all simply must read Oddfellow's Orphanage by Emily Martin. We are sort of obsessed with it.

    As far as my own reading goes, I just read Special Topics in Calamity Physics (liked) and The Glass Castle (loved). You know, I have to tell you that I didn't LOVE State of Wonder. The ending kind of made me mad. Am I the only one?

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    1. Anonymous8:28 PM

      No! I, too, did NOT love the ending of State of Wonder. Unable to put it down until that point, and then felt completely unsatisfied and annoyed by the ending. Thought it was just me.

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    2. Glad I'm not alone! I really wanted a book club or something because I wondered about my reaction. Surely if CATHERINE NEWMAN loved it, it must be good? :) I did like most of it, like you say, but the ending was disturbing and abrubt I thought.

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    3. Now you have me wracking my brain to remember what happened at the end! I don't want to give it away for those who have not read the book (because I loved it as much as Catherine and really recommend it too)...but I don't remember being that disappointed. I guess the old Las Vegas adage applies?? Actually now that I think of it, I was only disappointed that I was finished the book!

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  19. My kids aren't at this stage of the reading game quite yet, but definitely something to look forward to!
    I just started Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by J.S.Foer- so far really good. Other recent good reads were Mudbound, Room and West with the Night.

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  20. Funny, I just wrapped Wildwood for my niece in Brattleboro while I am here in Portland where Wildwood is placed (our Forest Park). I also have a copy for my daughter's birthday in a couple of weeks and am happy to hear Birdy liked it so much since they are similar in reading habits (and age). Come take a hike in the real Wildwood -- the map is quite accurate! :)

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  21. I'm reading my kid Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which is so much better and racy than I remember.

    I'm also finishing up The Bookseller of Kabul- it's good in the so thankful I am who I am kinda way...

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  22. Tina G10:05 AM

    I love Birdy's review and will share that with Gabrielle- another kid's perspective is always enticing : ) She just finished -The magic Half by Annie Barrows, and I am in the midst of a Kindle book entitled -No Hormones, No Fear: A Natural Journey Through Menopause by Trisha Posner. Fun!

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  23. My Aly and your Birdy have the same tastes in adventurous and not-too-confrontational books. I'm sure she will love Wildwood. Al just finished a book called Troll-something... I don't know, she reads a lot, it was about a dragon hatchling, and has moved on to Secret Garden. I am reading the second collection of Sherlock Holmes, and am LOVING it. I love how Sherlock is so casual about shooting up cocaine and having target practice in his house when bored. Ha!!

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  24. We loved the Little House series here (7, 6 and 4 although the 4 loses steam quick). Can't wait to try some of the others, although we might be a year or two away from some. Right now the current hit is Beverly Cleary - sort of sweet and easy and they all think they are hysterical and its sweet for me as I remember reading them under the covers w a flashlight when I was 7.

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    1. 7, 6 and 4 years old, not book series numbers!

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  25. Okay, first of all, it is IMPOSSIBLE, not improbable, but IMPOSSIBLE that Birdy is 9. Yes, I know Ben is/was 11, and is/was 12. And yes, I know that I began reading when my 9 yr old boy was born, and yes yes yes logical time continuum, etc.... but..... WHAT??!! wait, WHAT??!! I somehow, even with reading every single blog post of yours, I somehow missed that she is 9. Birdy. Your little baby birdy. Is it because my own daughter is 7? Is it because, I like you, pine for those baby cheeks??!! Oh my. 9. Birdy is 9. The same age as my oldest.

    Wow.

    Time flies.

    And I smile. I adore your family. (when, which will eventually without a doubt happen, we Catherine-ites loyal readers create our own club tshirt, it will say, I'm pretty sure "but not in a creepy stalker way", right??!!! hee hee)

    from 2kidslife, Liz, now living in MA

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  26. Anonymous12:59 PM

    I love Birdy's review! My nine year old twin girls love reading as well. We visited a local bookstore that had a wonderful woman who recommended some great books that my girls have loved. They are "Out of my Mind" and "Wonder" (by the same author I think), and "11 Birthdays" and "12 Gifts". I am going to check out "Wildwood" for my girls now. Thanks, Birdy!

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  27. Thank you, Birdy, for the review! We will add Wildwood to our reading list. Our kids are currently reading the Encyclopedia Brown stories together before bed (Dad always reads while I make lunches for the next day). Elliott, 11, just re-read The Hunger Games; Annie, 9, is reading the Wayside School series by Louis Sachar; and Julia, 7, is plowing through Magic Treehouse books at the rate of about one a day.

    I love Michael Cunningham, but like you, Catherine, just liked By Nightfall. But when my husband and I were visiting Seattle last year he was reading at the Elliott Bay Bookstore (one of my favorite locales in all the world) and we attended. I was starstruck! I just finished Stephen King's newest, 11/22/63. If you are a SK fan, read it right away! If you aren't, just know that this is not a horror book but is a wonderful, unsettling story. I also recently read The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach and loved it. Baseball, literature, inappropriate love affairs . . . it has it all.

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  28. Anonymous3:18 PM

    Since there is nothing I enjoy as much as a good childrens book, I will definitely give Wildwood a try! And please, have Ben and Birdy try any of the Eva Ibbotson Childrens Books. The secret of platform 13 is still one of my favourite books. Most of them are for ages 8 and up and they can really be enjoyed by adults too, I think (at least thats what I've been doing).

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  29. My 8 year old girl loved "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin. It's a modern Chinese fairytale starring a little girl who meets mythological Chinese creatures. The illustrations are gorgeous too.

    http://www.amazon.com/Where-Mountain-Meets-Moon-Grace/dp/0316038636/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

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  30. Leena4:21 PM

    Have any of you read "The Apothecary" by Colin Meloy's sister, Maile? It's on my bookshelf now - not sure if it's too sophisticated for my almost-8 year old. I LOVED her short story collections (for adults) - "Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It" and "Half in Love."

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  31. Erin K.6:01 PM

    Interesting...I may have to give it another try - I bought wildwood at the book fair because it looked great but none of us could get into it - my almost eight year old told me that it had 'too many details without really saying anything' which I thought was harsh, but possibly true. He IS on the other hand obsessed with Vicky from The Austin Family Chronicles - even though I stopped part way through the 4th(? - the one that starts with the funeral)book thinking he wouldn't be so interested in her age specific boy dramas but he's asked to go back to it again when we finish the hobbit. :)

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    1. i totally agree with your son!!!!

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  32. The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis. So so great (for grownups!).

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  33. Anonymous9:22 PM

    Just finished Downton Abbey and loved it! Oh wait. That's a TV show. Well, it feels a bit like a book, doesn't it?

    Anyway, my 8 year old son is reading Percy Jackson and the Warriors series and the Invention of Huge Cabret. I'll have to get him Wonderstruck now. I wish we could get him interested in the Little House books, but no dice so far. Maybe when my daughter is a bit older.

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    1. You should see if he would like Farmer Boy. My son is 7 and liked that one a lot since it is about Almonzo, Laura Ingalls' husband as a child.

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  34. Anonymous9:52 PM

    My kids loved the Adventures of Tin Tin (series of 7 books)which we ordered after the movie. They are also into the How to Train your Dragon series and the Goddess Girl series. I agree with earlier posts about Where the Mountain Meets the Moon----it's lovely. And Out of My Mind is soooooo good. Loved Wonderstruck also.
    The Strange Case of Origami Yoda cracked me up---hilariously weird and so middle school.
    Mockingbird does a good job showing you how a girl with Asperger's copes with her world and tragedy.
    Really enjoyed Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes (creeped out at the beginning when his eyes are plucked out by a crow, but it makes sense later!) I haven't read this year's Newbery winner Dead End in Norvelt, but I've heard it's funny.
    I love it when you have posts about good reads for kids!

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  35. I highly recommend the book Scrawl by Mark Shulman. Shulman has written tons of kids books - but this one is for a little older audience. officially I believe grade 7+. It should be equally interesting for kids and adults. And a great stepping off for discussions about bullying and not judging by appearance. (Could work for the previously mentioned book club) Personally it was my favorite book of 2010.

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  36. Catherine, have you read The True Meaning of Smekday? It's the story of a very brave girl who saves the world after an alien invasion, with the help of the most hilarious alien in all literature. I read it with my son, 8, last year, but if Birdy's reading Wildwood, she's ready for it. We laughed so hard sometimes that we got to that point where we couldn't really stop. And I just read (and loved) The Paris Wife, a story of Hemingway and his first wife's marriage in Paris in the '20s, of drinking and affairs, skiing in the Alps, bullfighting in Spain. I'm feeling a little lost in the 21st Century after being immersed in that world.

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  37. Finn received Wildwood from his aunt the English professor at Christmas. He's enjoying it. I bought a copy for our niece's birthday, and recommended it to someone putting together a reading gift basket for our school auction.

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  38. My daughter just came home yesterday and asked to go to a website recommended by her 2nd grade teacher: Spaghetti Book Club (easy enough to google). It's book reviews written by kids, often complete with their own illustrations. The book choices are mostly for the 8 and under crowd, or so it seems to me, but it's a charming site, and my daughter enjoyed comparing her views with other kids'.

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  39. idream0f2:39 PM

    Thank you so much for recommending the Penderwicks. My 11 yr old and I are in an adolescent book club at the library and we finally got them so read the 1st book and they loved it. I didn't see these recommendations so I will add The BFG by Roald Dahl and Peter and the Starcatchers series by Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry (yes the columnist!) These both will appeal to boys as well as girls.

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  40. Anonymous4:33 PM

    My 8yo is reading Captain Underpants. It is very difficult to admit this.

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    1. Tina G9:14 PM

      My husband used to read only comic books as a young kid...and his mama was so worried he'd never truly find the magic of a (real)good book. But fear not- reading is reading as they say and youngster's love of literature is fed by the occasional "junk food" binge as well. He went on to read all the greats, many, many more than I can ever claim to have picked up- and wouldn't you know it we met in the book store where I worked! As long as your child willingly reads and enjoys a book, I'd say things are moving in the right direction. Coaxing him to other titles comes with patience and luck.

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    2. My son only read graphic novels and Captain Underpants as a 5-7 year old. Now, at 9, he has read all the Harry Potter books, the Hunger Games series, etc. I do actually think that these graphic novels help early readers develop a love of reading, so take heart!

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    3. Anonymous9:34 PM

      Three cheers for Captain Underpants. Dav Pilkey is brilliant.

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  41. libramom100810:53 PM

    My 6 year old and I are reading The Magic Treehouse series and love it. Highly recommend for kids this age and a little older.

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    1. My daughter has read all the books in this series, and now she's been checking out all the "research guides" that go with them--more nonfiction background on the history and science mentioned in each book. She currently has 6 of them out from the library.

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  42. Anonymous11:59 PM

    My son can't read yet (he's 4) but he loves to "help". As in, I will read a story to him and let him guess the last word of each sentence. It helps him remember how the story goes, gets him familiar with words, and it makes storytime a lot more fun. He is currently infatuated with volcanoes, so every time we go to the library he has to find a book about them, preferably the one with the most pictures. By the time he's school-age, he'll know so much about them that he'll blow his science teacher away!

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  43. BTW, I can't even tell you how much I love these book posts and comments. Food, kids, books--you are absolutely my favorite blogger, Catherine! (And one of my favorite writers of all time--wish you would write another full length book!)

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  44. Anonymous3:39 AM

    Great post! I've been needing fresh authors/books for my going-on-7-year-old. She is in a reading frenzy lately. Woke up this morning at 6am so she could read before school. I picked up a huge stack of library books today. This week it's: Ramona the Brave, The BFG, and How to Eat Fried Worms. Plus a bunch of picture books because she still loves them. She's a fan of Jan Brett, William Steig, Janell Cannon. She's wrapping up On the Shores of Silver Lake but wants to take a break from the Little House series for awhile. (It depresses her that Laura has to be a teacher when she wants to be wild and free and she's dreading watching her grow up). And she enjoys the Ivy and Bean series, too. I love the top of the head sticking out of the book and (for Z) the finger in the mouth. Beautiful thing. :)

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  45. I am reading Wildwood out loud to my daughter and she loves it, but the vocabulary is really challenging! It doesn't help that we live in a French and English, so have a bit less exposure to less-used vocabulary. The book is really wordy! I am impressed that Birdy read it all alone.

    My daughter likes Mr. Popper's Penguins and the Flat Stanley series. Other greats: Because of Winn-Dixie, Walk Two Moons.

    A young adult book that will make you laugh very hard is Alice, I Think by Susan Juby. It is a trilogy. She is a teenager trying to recover from being homeschooled (which happened because her parents let her go to kindergarten thinking she was a hobbit).

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