gardens – Page 2 – Mom Read It

Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

It’s a Fairy Tale Summer: Girl in the Tower

Posted on June 5, 2016June 4, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Girl in the Tower, by Lisa Schroeder/Illustrated by Nicoletta Ceccoli, (March 2016, Henry Holt & Co.), $16.99, ISBN: 9780805095135

Recommended for ages 8-12

In true fairy tale fashion, we have an evil queen, a magic spell, and a hidden princess. Young Violet has never known life outside of the castle tower: the evil Queen Bogdana imprisoned her mother shortly after Violet was born, believing that Violet’s beauty will allow her to create a spell that will make her just as beautiful. Bogdana enchanted Violet’s father, sending him away with no memories of his wife or new baby. Mother and daughter pass their days making up stories for one another, alone in their small cell. Thankfully, the palace staff looks after the two, even creating a beautiful garden to sneak the young girl out to once in a while, where she plays with the hummingbirds that live in the garden. As Violet nears the age where the queen can work her spell, she takes Violet, telling her she will become a princess and be adopted by Bogdana and the king, but can never see her mother again. Violet’s mother makes the sacrifice for her daughter’s sake, but Violet is far too smart for Bogdana – she knows something is strange in the castle, and she’s going to find out and reunite her family.

This is a wonderfully modern fairy tale that retains the sense of wonder and magic from classic tales. Violet is a spunky, smart young princess in training, the Bogdana is a perfectly evil queen with a deep-seated self-esteem complex. Ms. Schroeder may humanize Bogdana by letting us in on her motivation, but it doesn’t change the fact that she’s done horrible things to people for the most insipid purposes, and Violet – a naturally lovely and kind foil to Bogdana’s darkness – is going to set the balance right. It’s a great book with strong heroines – her mother is pretty outstanding, herself – and I can’t wait to get this onto my shelves and into my booktalks. I love my fairy tales – the kids here all know it – so I’ll be chattering this up alongside Imelda and the Goblin King for a nice discussion on smart heroines. The black and white illustrations by Nicoletta Ceccoli add beautiful depth to the story.

Add this one to your middle grade fairy tale collections, and take a look at some more of the artwork here:

Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate, Middle Grade

LEGO Chapter Books are here! Join the LEGO Elves in the Quest for the Keys!

Posted on September 10, 2015September 10, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Quest for the Keys (LEGO Elves Chapter Book #1), by Stacia Deutsch (Aug. 2015, Scholastic), $5.99, ISBN: 9780545852807

Recommended for ages 7-10

LEGO’s got chapter books now! This new series, tied in with the LEGO Elves toy line, introduces us to Emily Jones, a young girl mourning her grandmother’s passing. As she walks through her garden, where she and her grandmother spent many happy days, she crosses a secret portal into the world of Elvendale… and she can’t find a way out! Four elemental elves befriend her and undertake a quest to get Emily home, but there are riddles and magic to unravel along the way – and Emily will learn secrets about her grandmother that she could never have imagined!

This is a perfect book for burgeoning readers that are ready to make the move from Easy Reader to early chapter books. There’s just enough magic and mystery to introduce readers to fantasy, and cheerful teal illustrations, along with pages decorated with garden ivy, to give readers a fun, enchanted experience. I think this one will fly off my shelves. Quest for the Keys will be a great funtime reading to bring new fantasy fans into the fold, and keep them waiting for more.

Author Stacia Deutsch has written over 100 novels for kids and young adults, including the upcoming tie-in to Hotel Transylvania 2 and the Rotten Apples series book, Mean Ghouls. Find out more about her books at her author website.

Preschool

Butterfly Park by Elly MacKay is a gorgeous book about new beginnings and friendship!

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Butterfly Park, by Elly MacKay (2015, Running Press), $16.95, ISBN: 978-0762453399

Recommended for ages 3-8

A young girl moves from her home, surrounded by green and butterflies, to a new house, where she hears horns and sirens, and everything looks the same. Until she finds the gates to a park next door, that read “Butterfly Park”. Thrilled, she drops in – but there are no butterflies to be found in the park! She sets to work with her neighbors to create a place that the butterflies will return to again and again.

This book delivers such positive messages in a beautiful setting. Created with collage and diorama, the art seemingly takes on an extra dimension, inviting the reader to join in the quest to bring the butterflies to Butterfly Park. The characters, known only as The Girl and The Boy, facilitate this by easily allowing any child reading the book to become The Girl or The Boy, chasing butterflies and planting flowers with nectar that the butterflies will love. The entire neighborhood comes together to help The Girl create the garden, illustrating the value and the fun in teamwork. The girl’s determination to make the best of her move and her new surroundings will resonate with anyone who’s had to move and start over.

The book’s cover folds out into a poster featuring plants that attract butterflies, and the final pages fold out into a beautiful panorama of a community butterfly garden. Kids will likely want to get some seeds and tools and plant their own gardens after reading this book – and they should! It’s springtime! Show kids they can create a garden anywhere – container gardens and houseplants are just as much fun to work with as outdoor gardens.

Join #TheButterflyTrail at Running Press’ Butterfly Park site and learn more about the book and the author.