The Six Crowns-New Fantasy Series for Younger Readers

Those of you that have been around Literate Lives know that I'm not a big fantasy guy. Since moving into the library 4 years ago I've read more fantasy than in my entire life. I'm always happy when I find one that I like because I know it will be accessible to kids who aren't fantasy lovers either. The Six Crowns: Trundle's Quest by Allan Jones with illustrations by Gary Chalk, looks like it will be a great addition not only for introducing kids to fantasy, but also for lower grade readers.

The series is called The Six Crowns which refers to the Badgers' Crowns, crystal, iron, flaming fire, ice, wood and carved stone, which were lost when the explosion occurred and the badger lands were broken into "space islands." Trundle is a simple little hedgehog, the lamplighter for his community a job that has passed down generation to generation in his family. He's happy with his life in Port Shiverstones where they grow cabbage. He looks forward to going home each night to a cup of cabbage tea, a bowl of cabbage soup, a warm fire and a good book. All of this is interrupted when he answers the door and finds Esmeralda, a Roamany Hedgehog.

The Roamany hedgehogs are known to possess magic and Esmeralda has used her magic to look into the future. What she sees is her being accompanied by a lamplighter to find the Six Badger Crowns. Trundle doesn't really see himself in the role of a hero on a quest, but when Esmeralda reveals that she is being chased by the Pirate Hogs led by Captain Grizzletusk, he is forced into action.

What follows is an exciting escape to another "space island" sailing on wind ships. They are captured and let go and captured and escape. They fight of pirates and slave masters and unscrupulous pub owners. They break windows to steal a sward, meet a minstrel squirrel and discover one of the six crowns. All of it adds up to a fun, suspenseful, can't put it down story that is told in 151 pages, the perfect length in my opinion. I'll be sharing this book with all of my kids and recommending to some good 2nd grade readers and everyone in grades 3rd through 5th.

Other Reviews:
Mundie Kids
Sacremento Book Review

Coming of Age With Savvy

I waited a long time to get Savvy by Ingrid Law from the library, and then it sat on my to read pile so long that I had to renew it. Finally I got around to reading it, and when I finished it took me a couple of weeks to realize how much I like it.

Savvy is a coming of age story with a really cool twist. The story revolves around Mibs Beaumont who is about to turn 13. Thirteen is tough enough for those of us that experience it in the normal, puberty, voice changing, pimple faced way, but for a Beaumont, turning 13 means that you get your "savvy."

For Mibs, one brother, Fish, can create storms, so they can't live near the ocean or hurricanes will blow. Another brother, Rocket, is filled with electrical charge which the family takes advantage of to start the car, but it also causes lights to explode and the power to go out in town. Her mother's savvy is to be perfect in all that she says and does, even if it means to be perfectly wrong, and her grandfather can literally move the ground under their feet. Another brother, Samson, is too young for a savvy, but seems to have a controlling effect on those with their powers.

Obviously, the Beaumont children have a tough time being at school after the age of 13 and are home schooled. Mibs has a hard time getting along with the other students and can't wait to turn thirteen so she can get her savvy and stay home with her mother. As in most coming of age, teen angst novels, girls are mean! Mibs puts up with the finger pointing and whispering about her unusual family. In order to keep the children socialized, the family attends church where the preacher's daughter, Roberta, torments Mibs while having a crush on her electrical brother. The preacher's son, Will Junior, has a crush on Mibs, and both of the preacher's kids suspect there is something really special about the Beaumont kids but they can't quite put their fingers on it.

The kids end up on an adventure together when Mibs runs away to visit her father in the hospital, convinced that her savvy will be able to cure him. Relationships develop on the big pink school bus and the preacher's kids come to understand that while the Beaumont children are special, under it all, they are just kids.

I really like the way Law deals with differences in the story. She uses fantastic, mystical powers to set the Beaumont kids apart, but it could just as easily be skin color, or economic class, or any number of things that make kids different from those around them. Ingrid Law allows the reader to see the world of growing up through both sides' eyes, and develops the characters so well that the reader forgets that we are dealing with the fantasy world. She has created the Beaumont children in such a way that their powers are believable.

As I said while I read the book I liked it, but as I thought about it over a few days, I realized just how powerful it is on many levels. I'm thinking this will make a great selection for our second Grand Discussion, and I am putting it on my Newbery short list. I like it a lot.

Puddlejumpers: More Good Fantasy

So it seems like fantasy is the genre of the year to me, maybe because I've just started paying attention to it, but all of my reading lists are heavy with fantasy. Since I've read so much of it lately, I've come to figure out what characteristics I like in the fantasy books I read. First, I like stories that mix the real world with the fantasy world, and the characters cross back and forth easily. Second, I like fantasy without a lot of weird creatures that I have to remember what they are and if they are good or evil. Third, I like fantasy with character names that are not too out there and hard to pronounce. OK, so I'm not a hardcore fantasy reader, but I have come to appreciate the genre more in the last year. I've moved beyond my Harry Potter phase and have found some good stuff. My latest read is a perfect example.

Puddlejumpers by Mark Jean and Christopher C. Carlson meets all of the above criteria for me to call it good fantasy. In addition to all of that, it has good mystery, great suspense, and exciting battle action! What more could you ask for.

The story begins with the birth of a baby that is identified by Puddlejumper prophesy as "The Rainmaker" who has been sent to save their people. The Puddlejumpers are elf like creatures with webbed feet that move between the underneath world and the above world through puddles. They depend on water for their entire survival. The boy's mother dies during child birth and two Puddlejumpers, Root and Runnel are sent to help raise the Rainmaker until they can safely kidnap him.

The Puddlejumpers are opposed by an evil tribe of beings called Troggs. Troggs are big, hairy, ugly things that smell through a nose on the end of their long tails. Gross, right? In an exciting chase scene, the Troggs chase the Rainmaker through the snow and ice and eventually they all get separated. The Rainmaker who has been named Shawn by his father is found by a trucker who takes him to a boys' home in Chicago where he spends his first 13 years going by the name Ernie Banks and being abused by the caretaker.

Through a totally believable set of circumstances Ernie ends up back on the farm where he was born through a program that gets troubled boys out of the city for the summer. The Rainmaker/Shawn/Ernie is reunited with his father. The family farm and the small community surrounding it are all failing due to a lack of rain. Shawn/Ernie begins to investigate with the neighbor girl Joey and they stumble upon the underground and Shawn/Ernie's ability to puddlejump.

From this point the book gets too exciting to put down, I had to stay up to finish it. It involves undercover Troggs, a sheriff on the take, Shawn/Ernie shrinking to the size of a Puddlejumper, and an epic battle between the Troggs and the Puddlejumpers led by The Rainmaker!

The writing and language are superbly done and hard to put down. The authors' description of autumn life on the farm before Shawn is kidnapped is perfect!

He took a deep breath. There was a sweet crispness in the air that promised winter but remembered summer.


This is a book for better readers, probably upper elementary, but it hooked me from the first chapter and held me to the end. I'm pretty sure the kids will feel the same. This definitely qualifies as one of my favorites of the year!

The Bronze Pen is a Fun Fantasy

As I have said before, my job as librarian has really stretched me in the genres I now read. Before, I stuck to historical or realistic fiction with an occasional mystery thrown in for good measure. I read a lot of non fiction, in particular, biographies. My fantasy list was pretty much the Harry Potter series, which I loved all the way to book seven.

Since moving to the library, I have enjoyed Dragon Slippers, one of my dark horses for the Newbery last year. I recommended Dragon's Egg to my students and colleagues, and recently loved The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas, which Karen reviewed here.

The Bronze Pen by Zilpha Keatley Snyder is another fantasy that I think kids will enjoy. The story takes place in California in 1973. Audrey Abbot is a 12 year old that dreams of being an author. She has plenty of life stories to draw upon, a father diagnosed with serious heart disease at a young age, a mother who was voted "most beautiful eyes" in high school that others are still jealous of, a mysterious cave within walking distance to her house, and two great animals an irish wolf-hound, and parrot that swears.

When a large white duck entices Audrey to visit the forbidden cave once more, she encounters an old woman who gives her a bronze pen, hence the title! The pen has mysterious powers that Audrey and her new friend Lizzie begin to experiment with. I'm not giving anything away as far as the powers, but I will say that I think kids will really enjoy the events that transpire due to the pen.

At one point Audrey can communicate with her pets, gets tied up by pirates, and helps her mom with a grumpy boss. All very fun adventures and will keep the kids turning the pages. I was a little disappointed with the ending, it seemed a little quick and neat to me, but kids tend to like stories with a clear finish better than adults so they will probably think its just fine.

I like this book for kids who may be just getting into the fantasy genre. The story moves along and there aren't a lot of magical creatures to make it confusing. Most third and all fourth and fifth graders can read this book.

Zilpha Keatley Snyder is also the author of three Newbery Honor books, The Egypt Game, The Headless Cupid, and The Witches of Worm.