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The Half Dozen Best TV Series I’ve Watched in 2011

Dec19

I’m not sure I’ve watched 12 TV series in 2011, but we’ll see how it goes.

Downton Abbey. Wow. This British period drama began in 1912 with the sinking of the Titanic and ended with the outbreak of World War I, and it was a great ride. I laughed, I cried. I’m looking forward to the second season of Downton Abbey which is supposed to air in the U.S. in January. Anyone know when and where? On PBS? More thoughts on Downton Abbey here.

Lark Rise to Candleford. I could only get this series on DVD from Netflix, and I quit Netflix when they did the whole split thing. So I didn’t get to watch all of the episodes from the fourth and final season of the series. However, what the girls and I did watch was excellent, uplifting, and thoughtful. More Semicolon thoughts on Lark Rise to Candleford here.

Friday Night Lights. I wish this series had done more with the religious (Christian) themes that were so inherent in many of the characters’ actions and that forms such a big part of the culture in West Texas. However, what was featured was sacrifice for the good of others, teamwork, and redemption, and I found the entire series riveting. More Semicolon thoughts on Friday Night Lights here.

Once Upon a Time. This is a new show from the producers of LOST, and so far I’m enjoying it. It’s about fairytale characters trapped in our world by an evil curse. The characters have no memory of who they really are, and it’s up to Snow White’s and Prince Charming’s daughter, Emma, to free them from the curse.

House. House ended last season with a Big Mess, bigger than any chaotic predicament the brilliant but nearly psychopathic Doctor House has managed to get himself into in past seasons. Season eight begins with House in prison, and I’m relishing the ethical dilemmas and the character development as much as I have in past seasons. Adults only, and use the fast forward when necessary.

Psych. This series about a “psychic detective” is pure froth, and sometimes it’s a little over the top. But, hey, it’s fun, and I can mostly watch it with the kids, after I warn them that lying and deception are funny in a TV show, but not so much in real life.

Nope, there are only six. So is this a half best post of 2011 favorites?

Giving Books: Mystery Series for Young Readers

Dec7

The Milo and Jazz Mysteries by Lewis B. Montgomery.
The Case of the Stinky Socks.
The Case of the Poisoned Pig.
The Case of the Haunted Haunted House.
The Case of the Amazing Zelda.
The Case of the July 4th Jinx.
The Case of the Missing Moose.
The Case of the Purple Pool.
I read the seventh and most recently published book in the series, The Case of the Purple Pool, because it was one of the books nominated for the Cybils in the Early Chapter Books category. Milo and Jazz are detectives-in-training, but even with the benefit of their lessons from Dash Marlowe, Super Sleuth, the two youngsters are stumped when someone turns the neighborhood swimming pool water purple. How? Why? And will it happen again? I figured out the solution to the mystery within pages, but young readers might just have to exercise their brains to solve this one. I think mystery fans ages 6-10 will enjoy this series.

The First Kids Mysteries by Martha Freeman.
The Case of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Dog.
The Case of the Diamond Dog Collar.
10-year old Cammie and 7-year old Tessa have a very important mom and a very lively dog. Hooligan, the dog, lives up to his name and creates havoc wherever he goes. And Mom, well, Mom is the President of the United States. So Cammie and Tessa and Hooligan live in the White House with their mom and dad and Hooligan and Granny and Aunt Jen and her son, Nate, and Granny’s canary who doesn’t have a name—yet. In the Case of the Diamond Dog Collar, Hooligan receives a gift from the president’s dog in a neighboring country, and one of the twelve fake diamonds on the collar goes missing. Cammie and Tessa must put on their detective hats and go to work to find out where the (fake) diamond could be. This series is a little more challenging for readers, so I’d suggest it for ages 9-12, especially if those mystery fans are still prefer shorter books.

Young Cam Jansen Mysteries by David Adler.
Young Cam Jansen and the Dinosaur Game.
Young Cam Jansen and the Missing Cookie.
Young Cam Jansen and the Lost Tooth.
Young Cam Jansen and the Ice Skate Mystery.
Young Cam Jansen and the Baseball Mystery.
Young Cam Jansen and the Pizza Shop Mystery.
Young Cam Jansen and the Library Mystery.
Cam Jansen has a photographic memory, and that’s one of the things that makes her such a good detective. Some people nicknamed her “The Camera” because she remembers things just like a camera, and then they just called her “Cam.” These books are beginning, level two readers for very young readers. If your reader finishes these and wants more Cam Jansen, there are a slew of Cam Jansen mysteries that are in the “Early Chapter Books” category, second to fourth grade reading level.

Then, there are these classic series that still hold the attention of young readers:

The Boxcar Children series.
Encyclopedia Brown series.
Nate the Great series.

The Greatest Sheep in History by Frances Watts

Nov25

Cybils nominee: Early Chapter Books. Nominated by Anita Eerdmans.

Superhero trainees Extraordinary Ernie and and his sidekick, Marvelous Maud the sheep, are headed for the National Superheroes Conference to meet with superheroes from all over the country. However, when super villain Chicken George disrupts the conference by stealing President Stupendous Sue’s speech right out of her hands, the superheroes are all shocked and “more stupefied than stupendous.”

Marvelous Maud has her own worries in addition to Chicken George’s villainy. No one can name even one heroic sheep from history, and Maud isn’t sure anymore that sheep can be heroes. (Can you name a sheep hero?)

How will the superheroes stop Chicken George?

Can a sheep be a hero?

What will Extraordinary Ernie write about for his school research project on heroes?

Will Super Whiz be able to make his speech for the convention without interruptions?

will Extraordinary Ernie be able to meet his favorite superhero, The Daring Dynamo?

Read The Greatest Sheep in History (Ernie and Maud) to find out the answers to these and many more superhero questions, such as Ideal Cape Length, Below the Knee or Above the Knee?

I thought this third book in the series was a good lesson on the meaning of true heroism encapsulated in a fun story. The first two books in this series from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers are:

Extraordinary Ernie and Marvelous Maud. Ernie wins a superhero contest but discovers, to his dismay, that his sidekick is a sheep.
The Middle Sheep. Ernie and Maud learn the value of teamwork when Ernie must deal with an unusually grumpy Maud.

*This book is nominated for a Cybils Award, and I am a judge for the first round thereof. However, no one paid me any money, and nobody knows which books will get to be finalists or which ones will get the awards. In other words, this review reflects my opinion and Z-baby’s and nothing else.

Giving Books: Series for 10 Year Old Girls

Nov25

I happen to have a 10 year old, Z-baby, and she’s also a reluctant reader. I would suggest the following series for the 8, 9, and 10 year olds in your life, especially for the baby of the family, the reader who needs a little “push”, or the precocious six or seven year old.

Clementine books by Sara Pennypacker. I love Clementine, and there’s a new book in the series, Clementine and the Family Meeting. In this fifth book in the series, Clementine’s family is experiencing some changes. But according to Clementine’s Awesome Dad, who reminds me a little bit of Engineer Husband, “It will be fine, we’ll adapt. Because this how we roll, Clementine, this is how we roll.” (I’m going to start using that phrase with my urchins and see how they like it.)
Semicolon review of Clementine’s Letter.

Dyamonde Daniel books by Nikki Grimes. Semicolon review of the third book in the series, Almost Zero. Dyamonde is growing up in a lower middle class single parent family in the city, and she’s learning how to appreciate what she has and share with others. This series is the perfect antidote to Christmas (or anytime) greed and consumerism.

Ruby Lu books by Lenore Look. Semicolon review of Ruby Lu, Star of the Show. Ruby Lu is a star—a Chinese American, Spanish-learning, Haiku Heroine, dog training, hair cutting, hard working, list making, washing machine wearing, self-sacrificing center of attention and activity.

Moxy Maxwell books by Peggy Gifford. Semicolon review of Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little.

Ramona books by Beverly Cleary. These stories still hold up quite well after, what, 30 years? You can get The Complete Ramona Collection, beginning with Beezus and Ramona, for $23.78 at Amazon.

The Boxcar Children books by Gertrude Chandler Warner. Not the new books added to the series, but the old ones that Ms. Warner wrote more than thirty years ago. The idea of children living on their own and solving mysteries by themselves is irresistible to a certain type of child.

Sammy Squirrel and Rodney Raccoon to the Rescue by Duane Lawrence

Nov24

Cybils nominee: Early Chapter Books. Nominated by author Duane Lawrence.

This second book in the series Stanley Park Tales comes from Canada and takes place in Vancouver. Sammy and Rodney leave the safety of their home in the park to brave the dangers of the big city, all for the sake of a friend. Judy Crow has been crow-napped, and Rodney and Sammy feel they must try to rescue her, no matter how unqualified they might feel for the task.

The animals in the story all have alliterative names, and each has his or her own special personality characteristics. Rodney is always hungry. Sammy is a reader and user of big words like “serendipity.” Judy Crow, who prefers to be called Judith Raven, is a bit uppity and proud, but as Sammy says, “No one’s perfect” and ‘Isn’t it important for an animal to stand up for a friend and do the right thing?” And so they do.

The drawings that illustrate this simple story of friendship are lovely, as you can see from the cover illustration. Illustrator Gordon Clover certainly deserves some of the credit for making this book work as a gentle tale of woodland wonder. It won’t be right for everyone; the pace and plot are not movie-style exciting. But for those children, and adults, who enjoy a slower pace, meandering through the woods rather than rushing breathlessly through non-stop adventures, Sammy Squirrel and Rodney Raccoon will be a welcome breath of fresh Canadian air.

*This book is nominated for a Cybils Award, and I am a judge for the first round thereof. However, no one paid me any money, and nobody knows which books will get to be finalists or which ones will get the awards. In other words, this review reflects my opinion and Z-baby’s and nothing else.

Almost Zero by Nikki Grimes

Nov9

Almost Zero: A Dyamonde Daniel Book by Nikki Grimes. Cybils nominee: Early Chapter Books.

I’ve now read three books by prolific author Nikki Grimes, and I’m becoming a fan. In Almost Zero, Ms. Grimes creates a character who’s lovable, fallible, and redeemable. Dyamonde wants a pair of red (her favorite color), high-top sneakers, and she wants them NOW! Acting on bad advice from a schoolmate, Dyamonde tells her mother, “I need red ones, and you have to get them for me.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re my mother, and mothers have to take care of their children, and you have to get them for me. It’s your job!”

Dyamonde’s mother responds with an interesting ploy, and the lesson begins. Yes, there is a lesson in this book, but the moral never overwhelms the story. Dyamonde is an engaging character with a basically compassionate nature, but it takes a reasoned response from mom and a tragedy with a classmate to get Dyamonde to see what’s really more important in life than red high-topped sneakers.

Among Nikki Grimes award-winning books, I have read The Road to Paris and A Girl Called Mister, both for older middle grade and young adult readers, and now this third book in the Dyamonde Daniel series. Ms. Grimes has also written a biography, Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope, multiple picture books, verse novels, and books of poetry.

Other books in this series:
Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel.
Rich: A Dyamonde Daniel Book.

*This book is nominated for a Cybils Award, and I am a judge for the first round thereof. However, no one paid me any money, and nobody knows which books will get to be finalists or which ones will get the awards. In other words, this review reflects my opinion and Z-baby’s and nothing else.

Dave at Night by Gail Carson Levine

Nov9

My daughter picked up this book and said, “This book sure doesn’t look like a book by my favorite author of Ella Enchanted and The Two Princesses of Bammarre.”

If you’re looking for more reworked fairy tales, the genre in which Ms. Levine has become famous, don’t look at Dave at Night. Nevertheless, it is a story about an orphan boy who has adventures, meets a “princess”, and frees his buddies from an evil “giant.” So, maybe it is a reworked fairy tale, set in 1920’s Harlem.

Dave Caros is Jewish, and when his beloved papa dies after falling off the roof of a house he was helping to build, Dave is left with his (evil) stepmother Ida who either can’t or doesn’t want to take care of him. So, he is sent to the HHB, Hebrew Home for Boys. Unfortunately, the HHB has a lot of other names, made up by the boys who live there: The Hell Hole for Brats, Happy House of Bullies, Hopeless House of Beggars, Hollow Home for Boys—you get the idea.

Other than the fairy tale parallels, one interesting thing about the book that it’s told in first person from Dave’s point of view; however, at least as an adult, it was always obvious to me that Dave might not be entirely accurate in his depiction of the HHB as a hellhole and his family as uncaring and mean. Yes, Mr. Doom, the orphanage administrator and the villain of the piece, is a paskudnyak, as one of the characters in the book calls hims, a real blackguard. But maybe the HHB isn’t quite as bad as Dave makes out. And maybe there are compensations for the suffering, deprivation, and abuse that the boys go through: buddies, art classes, a chance to live in relative safety.

Dave is a wonderful narrator. Everything for him is simple, as a child would think it should be. And the story paints a vivid picture of Harlem in the 1920’s as Dave escapes from the orphanage during the night and goes to rent parties and mixes in high society with the goniff, Solly. Dave and Solly meet and tell fortunes for bootleggers, business people, and 1920’s guys and dolls. And, of course, everything ends happily, just as it should in a fairy tale with a boy hero like Dave.

Recommended for aficionados of hero tales, 1920’s Harlem, Jewish cultural history, orphan stories, and just good middle grade fiction. Ms. Levine says it may be her favorite of all of her books.

By the way, I like the cover art by Loren Long on my library copy of the book much better than I like the above cover, but the picture above was what was at Amazon. My cover is the one that’s pictured at Ms.Levine’s site, and I think it’s a lovely work of art.

Small Acts of Amazing Courage by Gloria Whelan

Nov4

Cybils nominee: Middle Grade Fiction. Nominated by Rebecca Herman.

Small Acts of Amazing Courage takes place in a river town in southeastern India. It is 1919 and World War I has been over for six months. During the war, more than a million Indian men fought alongside the British. Rosalind’s father led a battalion of Indian soldiers, the Gurkha Rifles. Now that the war is over, the British in India have returned to their comfortable lives of servants and clubs. ~Author’s Note by Gloria Whelan

Rosalind is a well-written character. She’s fifteen years old and just independent enough to get into trouble, which of course is necessary for a good story, and yet she still respects her parents and wants to please them. Rosalind has ideas and adventures and, well, spunk.

The setting of the book, India, is almost another character in the story. India is portrayed as the anti-Britain: colorful, messy, dangerous, and full of life, while England is drab, gray, safe, and lifeless. Rosalind’s older brother died in England when he was sent there to go to school, but India is the place where Rosalind’s aunt begins to come alive for the first time in her repressed and circumscribed life.

From my reading of history, Ms. Whelan over-simplifies the politics and cultural encounters of the time period. Gandhi and his followers are, of course, the good guys, and anyone who questions the wisdom of Indian independence is a patronizing colonialist, overbearing and/or willfully ignorant. Rosalind’s father falls into this category, as do most of the British residents of the Raj, the British mandate in India.

And Hinduism is, as a matter of course, presented as an interesting and colorful set of stories and beliefs that enrich the lives of the Indian people and of those British people who are open-minded enough to listen. Multicultural PC aboundeth. Christianity is not mentioned, but it is implied that India is the best place, has the longest and wisest history, and worships the best gods of all. If only we could all just get along as they do in India! The only differences between Hindus and Muslims that are mentioned are related to dietary practice, and surely what we eat can’t be a huge obstacle to peace in an independent India.

But I nitpick, probably because I’ve been reading a lot about the time period. The book tells a good story in which personal freedom and national freedom are paralleled. If the narrative features political changes that are taking place in India at the time without including some of the problems that were inherent in those political changes, well, the book isn’t about the conflict between Hindus and Muslims. Nor is it about the poverty in India that is a direct result of some of the religious practices and beliefs of Hinduism. The story does include an episode that demonstrates the evils of the caste system and its effect on the Dalits of the time. And that little episode is left, without preaching, to speak for itself.

So, I leave the book to speak for itself. I enjoyed the story, but I also knew that there was more to be known and written about India and its culture and its independence movement than could be contained in this small book.

Ruby Lu, Star of the Show by Lenore Look

Nov4

Cybils nominee: Early chapter books. Nominated by Jeff Barger at NC Teacher Stuff.

I always think of Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary when I think of a dad-loses-his-job kind of book for primary age children. Ruby Lu, Star of the Show is a new entry in that particular category, for 21st century hard times, and it lives up to the high standard set by Ms. Cleary’s books of the 1970’s variety.

Ruby Lu is in third grade, and she’s a pistol. Whether she’s writing haiku (about her dog, Elvis) or worrying about Elvis being lonely at home or helping her dad in his job-hunting efforts, Ruby Lu is a star—a Chinese American, Spanish-learning, Haiku Heroine, dog training, hair cutting, hard working, list making, washing machine wearing, self-sacrificing center of attention and activity. Lenore Look has another (Alvin Ho is my hero!) winning character in Ruby Lu.

Here’s a Ruby Lu exclusive list on How to Survive Hard Times:

    How to Survive Hard Times

1. Go to the library.
2. Check out books on dog training.
3. Do it yourself.
4. Start a business.
5. Sell something!
6. Make some money.
7. Scan some twenty-dollar bills.
8. Cut carefully.
9. Think positively.
10. Look alive.
11. Keep your head up.
12. Eat chocolate cake.
13. Listen to happy music.

I think #12 in particular is a great piece of advice for any times, although I take my chocolate straight, no chaser.

I tried to find some other parent unemployed books to recommend along with this one, but Ramona and Her Father plus books set during the Great Depression (Meet Kit An American Girl by Valerie Tripp, Blue Willow by Doris Gates, Nothing to Fear by Jackie French Koller) were all that I could come up with. Suggestions, anyone?

No Room for Dessert by Hallie Durand

Oct17

Cybils nominee: Early Chapter Books. Nominated by Jama Rattigan. And here’s Jama’s interview with author Hallie Durand about her Dessert trilogy.

Dessert Schneider, the most important and firstborn child in the Schneider family, feels as if she’s been forgotten as her younger sister and two younger brothers get the lion’s share of the attention. But if Dessert can win the Thomas Edison Contest in her class at school for the invention that will improve people’s lives the most, she’s sure to get the attention that she craves.

Dessert is self-centered, attention-seeking, and highly competitive. She’s also funny, inventive, and real. Typical eight year old. I liked Dessert, even when I cringed a little at her grandiose plans and thoughts and her cockiness about winning the contest. Lack of self-confidence is NOT Dessert’s problem, until . . .

Z-baby’s going to love this one, and after she reads it, I’m planning to have her make a notebook of her own inventions. After all, as Mrs. Howdy Doody, Dessert’s teacher, says, “Thomas Edison filled three thousand five hundred notebooks with his ideas! Let your minds dance! Let your minds go crazy! Let your minds fly to the moon and back!”

*This book is nominated for a Cybils Award, and I am a judge for the first round thereof. However, no one paid me any money, and nobody knows which books will get to be finalists or which ones will get the awards. In other words, this review reflects my opinion and Z-baby’s and nothing else.