BOOKS FOR CHILDREN: How do you know what's good?

While there are many places (especially on the internet) where you can read book reviews, how do you really know if it's a good book or not when a single book might receive anywhere from one to five stars?
The answer: read the reviews of a book-addicted teacher librarian.


NOTE:
** The age recommendations are guidelines only; whether or not a certain book is suitable for a particular child depends on multiple factors, including their maturity, reading level, interests, and in some cases their experiences.
** While the ratings are largely based on my own personal appreciation/enjoyment of the book, they are also influenced by my experiences as a teacher and the potential attraction for the target-aged child (acknowledging that what one child may love, another may find exceptionally boring). A rating of 5 indicates the book is likely to be popular with the majority.


Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Series: The Midnight Library (Fic)

AUTHOR: Nick Shadow (UK)
PUBLISHED: 2004
SERIES: The Midnight Library

PLOT: for example: "The Whisperer" contains three short stories. "The Whisperer" is about a "haunted" computer which writes for the user and predicts the future, eventually predicting the user's death (which comes to pass). "Gabriel" is a demon in disguise as a teenager. A girl (who has a crush on him) suspects he is a vampire, but she discovers the truth when he 'eats' her soul. "Fast Forward" is perhaps more predictable. A tween boy sees a fortune teller at a fair. After he wishes he were old, he travels through a haunted train ride. When he emerges he is indeed an old man and dies of a heart attack.

REVIEW: Each book contains two or more short stories in the Goosebumps vein, although in some ways, they are a little more sophisticated. Both series contain similar horror themes: haunted/possessed items/houses, fantasy horror (vampires, zombies), religious horror (voodoo, demons, etc). Similar to the Anthony Horowitz Horror series.

AGES: 10+. This, of course, depends on the individual child. If a child currently enjoys Goosebumps (without being overly frightened by them), you could recommend this series.
As always with horror, knowledge of the child is important. Some children are more imaginative (some may call it 'sensitive') than others and reading horror fiction may lead to nightmares.

GENRE: Horror, Thriller.
RATING: 4 1/2 stars.

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