Howl's Moving Castle

Jones, Diana Wynne. Howl’s Moving Castle. New York: Harper Collins, 1986.
ISBN: 9780061478789 pbk.$6.99


Reader’s Annotation:
Sophie is under a horrible spell that has made her into an old woman, yet it is as an old woman that Sophie has her grandest adventure.
Booktalk:
Sophie is the eldest of three sisters, a very unlucky position in life; what is it about a wicked witch, a moving castle, a lecherous wizard, and a talking fire demon that will change that? Read Howl’s Moving Castle and find out.

-Fantasy for girls
-Coming of Age
-Elements of romance, fantasy, and horror
-Combines different times and places
-Familiar motifs wicked witch, scarecrow, mistaken identity
-Academy Award-nominated movie tie-ins with Anime
-Lighthearted fantasy with a happy ending
-Destiny versus determining your own fate

Awards:
Boston Globe-Horn Honor Book
ALA Notable Book
ALA Best of the Best in YA
Booklist Starred Review

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The Faerie Path

Jones, Frewin. The Faerie Path. New York: Harper Collins, 2007.
ISBN: 9780060871048 pbk.
$8.99

Reader’s Annotation:
The story of a girl that finds out she is real live fairy princess.

Booktalk:
It’s Tania’s birthday and her boyfriend has a big surprise for her. Tania really hopes that her boyfriend is going to say those three magic little words, “I love you”. The surprise starts with a romantic boat ride, just Tania and her boyfriend Evan. But everything is spoiled by a surprise visitor that makes the boat crash.

When Tania wakes up Evan is gone and she’s quite sure she’s going crazy. Tania dreams of flying. She dreams of a mysterious man that urges her to leave the hospital. She receives a mysterious book that tells a wonderful fairy tale story.

But what if Tania isn’t going crazy? What if her wings were real? What if the story in the mysterious book was her story? Dare she follow the mysterious man? Dare she follow The Faerie Path?

Awards/Reviews:
VOYA reviewed April 1, 2007
School Library Journal reviewed March 1, 2007
Booklist reviewed January 1, 2007

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A Wrinkle In Time

L’Engle, Madeline. A Wrinkle in Time. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1962.
ISBN: 0374386137
211 pp.
$21.00

Reader’s Annotation:
This story chronicles the adventures of three children that travel through space and time to save their father.

Booktalk:
Margaret Murray is a misfit. Her parents are gorgeous and smart. Twin brothers Sandy and Denny are liked by everyone. Charles Wallace, Meg’s little brother, is a child prodigy waiting to happen. Calvin, Meg’s new friend, is popular and fits in with everyone. For Meg nothing goes right. Meg Murray does everything wrong. She was dropped down to the lowest section in her grade. She is ridiculed by her classmates. She gets into fights with boys. Meg is convinced that she’s a delinquent.

On top of all this Meg’s dad has been missing for a long time. When he will get back and from where is a big question. No one including Meg’s mom knows where her dad went. Teachers at school are both curious and snide about her dad’s disapperance. Meg’s little brother, Charles Wallace, barely remembers their dad. The only clue to what happened is one word, tesseract.
No one will tell Meg what a tesseract is. She only knows that if there is a hope of saving her dad it will come from this strange unfamiliar word. Three little old women Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which all know about this word. A simple funny sounding word that is about to release a mountain of possibilities and cause a world of trouble. But what if this word has the power to bring Meg’s father back? Will Meg have the courage to learn everything about a tesseract? Where is Meg’s father, is it possible that he is just A Wrinkle in Time away?


Awards:
Flicker Tale Children's Book Award Nominee 1987
Sequoyah Book Award 1965
Newberry Award Winner 1962
Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
Hans Christian Andersen Award Runner-up

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