Tag: Morality

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Fables and Fairy Tales from Henry Herz

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

I fell in love with author Henry Herz’s book, Mabel and the Queen of Dreams, back in 2016. It was a wonderful way to introduce some magic to bedtime, and a nod to The Bard himself. Mr. Herz has two more books coming out this September; one is a fun fable about a selfish squid, and the other, another nod to magic, this time, courtesy of a little girl named Alice.

How the Squid Got Two Long Arms, by Henry Herz/Illustrated by Luke Graber, (Sept. 2018, Pelican Publishing), $16.99, ISBN: 9781455623884

Ages 3-7

Once upon a time, a squid had a splendid silvery scarf knitted for him by his mother, but he was still cold. Rather than go home and bundle up, our little cephalopod decides to steal an octopus’ sweater and a fiddler crab’s mitten; when he tries to snatch an eel’s hat, though, he discovers that taking things without asking can only end one way: trouble! The eel grabbed one of the squid’s 10 arms, and the octopus and crab catch up to get hold of his other arm and get their clothes back! When all is said and done, the squid is still cold, and now he has two really long arms: and a sneaky fish sneaking up to steal his scarf! The straightforward story is a gentle way to reinforce that taking things that aren’t yours is wrong; a nice morality tale set in the friendly ocean. The artwork brings a dose of fun to the story, with wide-eyed marine life and exaggerated expressions (and an eel in a hunter’s cap is pretty fantastic). An author’s note provides a photo and a little bit of background on squid.

My little guy thoroughly enjoyed this story; he had a big-eyed laugh when the squid got his comeuppance, and pointed out all the animals we’d seen at the aquarium a couple of weeks before. It’s a nice add to your shelves, and a fun add to fables, stories about empathy, and books with marine life.  And here are some squid coloring sheets, to enhance the storytime!

 

Alice’s Magic Garden, by Henry Herz/Illustrated by Natalie Hoopes, (Sept. 2018, Familius), $16.99, ISBN: 9781641700320

Ages 5+

Alice in Wonderland fans, get ready: the subtitle here, “Before the rabbit hole”, lets you know what’s going on. Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Alice, who went to the dreariest school in all of England. While escaping her awful headmistress and cruel classmates, Alice happens upon a small, walled garden, and begins tending it, caring for a few of the inhabitants: a caterpillar and a lory bird; she even chases a smiling cat away from a rabbit. Her kindness is paid back at school, when her benefactors leave her tasty treats and take care of those bullies, telling Alice that they are friends “now and forever”. There are wonderful references to the classic tale throughout the story, and readers will fall in love with the magical realism of the garden. The artwork is colorful and calming, delightful for fairy tale fans, and the story itself is all about the power of paying it forward. This one is great storytime reading, and may nudge Mabel aside as my favorite Henry Herz book. Print out some Alice in Wonderland coloring sheets, have a mad tea party, and read this one to your littles.

Posted in Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Pilfer Academy: A School So Bad, It’s Criminal

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

pilferacademyPilfer Academy, by Lauren Magaziner (Feb. 2016, Dial Books), $16.99, ISBN: 978-0803739192

Recommended for ages 9-12

Out of the 6 kids in his family, George is the naughty one. He sneaks around the house and liberally helps himself to his sibings’ possessions: money, diaries, you name it. What George doesn’t realize is that he’s gotten himself in the sights of Pilfer Academy, a school for criminals. Everything in the school is stolen: even the students! George is kidnapped by two laughably bad criminals who double as teachers at Pilfer Academy, and he finds himself missing home as he tries to fit in among the newest class of thieves, all competing to be the best at being the worst.

After making a friend in Tabitha – the school’s top student – George gradually begins absorbing himself in his schoolwork and excelling in his classes, which include safe-cracking, disguise, and Thieving Theory. But when George takes his midterm on breaking and entering, he realizes that being a thief isn’t as glamorous as he thought it would be. But he can’t back out, lest he face the Dean’s dreaded punishment. Will George have to surrender himself to becoming the thief he doesn’t want to be, or can he and Tabitha put their heads together and figure out a way to escape Pilfer Academy?

Pilfer Academy is a hilarious middle grade comedy with a strong moral message. It’s a big joke when the kids are learning how to be cunning, top criminals, but when faced with the moral consequences of his actions, George realizes a great deal about himself and the people around him. I love the characters in this story. George is an obnoxious middle child that needs a bit of a wake-up call; Tabitha is a girl who wants to excel at any challenge she’s given – and when she doesn’t feel like she’s learning anything new, she’s done. It’s not that she wanted to be a career criminal, she was put into the situation and wasn’t backing down from a challenge.

The teachers are kind of like Hogwarts faculty gone hilariously wrong. They’re a ragtag bunch of supposedly successful criminals that can’t seem to get it together enough to tie their shoes, but there they are, teaching classes and getting students to listen to them. Mostly.

Fans of Spy School and the N.E.R.D.S. series will get a kick out of Pilfer Academy, and it’s a good addition to your middle grade fiction collection for kids who need a quick read that will keep them interested. So yes, give this to your reluctant readers, and give it to your book groups – there’s a lot of fun you can have with this book during a book talk, and there are enough spy crafts on the web to make a fun program out of this book.

Lauren Magaziner’s author website offers links to her social media, an event schedule, and information on her books.

Posted in Animal Fiction, Fantasy, Teen, Tween Reads

Not Your Ordinary Circus: Kate Ormand’s The Wanderers

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

9781634502016_a39a9The Wanderers, by Kate Ormand (Sept. 2015, Sky Pony Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9781634502016

Recommended for ages 12+

Sixteen year-old Flo lives with a traveling circus group. She’s getting ready for her first performance- a performance she’s a little nervous about – when she realizes she’s being watched. Her circus is being watched, and she’s terrified The Hunters have caught up with them at last.

You see, this is no ordinary circus, and Flo’s no ordinary girl. This is a circus of shape-shifters, and The Hunters are tracking them, and anyone like them. When The Hunters finally make their move, Flo and a small group of friends find themselves on the run, relying on contacts their elders have made over the years. They’ll learn about the  secrets and lies they’ve been raised to believe, and worse, they’ll learn that they may have had a traitor among them all along.

When I first started The Wanderers, I wasn’t really sure where this was going to go. I thought I was going to get a shape-shifting teen angsty romance with some conflict from supporting characters, which isn’t really my wheelhouse. I’m very happy to say that wasn’t the case. The overall story is established fairly quickly, and when the action hits, there’s no slowing down. I was trying to figure things out, but Ms. Ormand is three steps ahead – let the story take you there. There’s a morality play deftly woven into the storyline that will break your heart as you strip away the layers of deceit, with a strong pathos for this ragtag group of refugees that can’t seem to find sanctuary. The ending leaves the possibility of a sequel open – I’m interested to see if we’ll meet these characters, or their shadowy nemeses, again. Teens and tweens interested in speculative fiction, adventure, and romance will enjoy this one.

Posted in Fiction, Humor, Teen, Uncategorized

Hellhole shows you why dealing with demons is BAD.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

cover46129-mediumHellhole, by Gina Damico (2015, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), $17.99 ISBN: 9780544307100

Recommended for ages 14+

Max Kilgore is a nice guy. He’s working double and triple shifts at his thankless job so he can help support his chronically ill mother. He’s honest. Squeaky clean, even. Except for that time when he accidentally unearthed a demon named Burg. Who’s now living with him. He’s gross, he makes a mess, he doesn’t like wearing pants, and Max finds himself entangled in a series of bad situations and deals that puts him at Burg’s mercy, because Burg knows exactly how to get to him. It’s up to Max to beat Burg at his own game, but can he? With the help of a schoolmate who may just have a little inside information of her own, he’s got everything to lose.

Hellhole is a heck of a book. I went into it, thinking I’d be getting a light, funny story about a demon who shows up on a kid’s couch, but found myself reading a pretty deep book on morality, evil, where the line falls, and is that line crooked or straight? There’s a lot going on in this story. We’ve got a pretty likable character in Max, a guy we want to root for, and a straight-up despicable jerk in Burg, but it’s not that black and white. You know that old saying, “the road to Hell is paved with good intentions”? Keep that in mind as you read this book.

Teens who enjoy a good satire will love this novel. This would be a great book to booktalk in a library or classroom setting, especially with Summer Reading approaching.

Posted in Realistic Fiction, Teen, Uncategorized

Press Play probes morality and the consequences of our choices

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

press playPress Play, by Eric Devine (October 2014, Running Press), $9.95, ISBN: 9780762455126

Recommended for ages 14+

Greg Dunsmore – known as “Dun the Ton” – wants to get the hell out of his town, and knows film school is his ticket. He’s working on a documentary about his own weight loss journey, hoping it will get him in. While he’s recording his workouts one day, he also captures a brutal instance of hazing by the upper classmen of the school lacrosse team. Now, he’s committed to exposing the truth – but as he discovers how high the conspiracy to cover the abuse up goes, the hazing continues, and he and his friends find themselves in the team’s crosshairs. Is there a point where the truth is less important than your own safety?

This is Chris Crutcher meets Robert Cormier, with moral dilemmas coming at the characters – and therefore, the readers – right and left. Greg is on a personal journey when he discovers the hazing, but he struggles multiple times with what action to take – the guys on the team are jerks – does he have personal responsibility to them? Why? He has no personal investment in this, and has so much to lose. Does he want to expose the abuse for his personal gain? And if he does, does that make him a bad person? Does it matter, as long as the story is told?

This is a brutal book. There are language and content issues that some readers may not be able to handle, but this book WILL keep you up at night, waiting to get to that next page, chapter, section, ending. Greg and his friends grow as characters and people throughout this book, but there are no black and white good guys or bad guys. And that may be both the most difficult thing to handle AND the best part of this book. Does a culture of abuse excuse the abusers, if they were once the abused? Ask yourself this as you read.

Bottom line – get this book on the shelves in your local libraries and bookstores, especially in school districts with popular sports teams. There are kids out there who need to be reading and talking about this book, whether or not they’ve ever held a baseball bat, a football, or a lacrosse stick.

Press Play is one of those game-changing books that will forever alter the way you look at things. Make sure this book is accessible to teens, and get them talking about it.

Eric Devine’s author site has links to his other books, along with a schedule for his book tour. There’s also a link to the Press Play book trailer, which I’m also featuring here.