Review of Muddle Earth (Hardcover)

Poor Joe Jefferson. He has a noisy family, not enough time and an assignment to write an essay on "My Amazing Adventure." Given his boring life, he's not even sure what to write about --- but soon he'll have enough adventures to fill a whole book, not just a term paper.

Joe is about to be whisked away to the land of Muddle Earth by Randalf, a truly inept wizard who knows exactly one spell. Randalf and his sidekicks --- the ogre known as Norbert the Not-Very-Big and the bird named Veronica --- have summoned Joe (and his own sidekick, his dog Harry) to Muddle Earth in order to save the kingdom from the horrid ogre known as Engelbert the Enormous.

Joe is a reluctant warrior at best, and despite his new name of Joe the Barbarian, all he really wants is to fulfill his duties and get back home again. Before Joe can even approach the fearsome Engelbert, however, he has to be outfitted with the appropriate warrior garb: the Woolly Gloves of Determination, the Wellies of Power, the War-bonnet of Sarcasm and the Trident of Trickery (which, given Randalf's pitiful budget, are actually old gloves and boots, a saucepan and a toasting-fork).

Nevertheless, despite his apprehension, Joe turns out to be a most capable hero, even when confronted not only with fearsome ogres and trolls but even by dragons, rogue cutlery and the fiercest villain of all --- Doctor Cuddles of Giggle Glade, who vows to become Lord and Master of Muddle Earth. But will Randalf, whose only spell involves bringing questionable heroes to Muddle Earth, be able to return Joe to the place he wants to be most of all --- home?

Originally published in Great Britain in 2003 by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell, the duo responsible for the hugely successful Edge Chronicles series, MUDDLE EARTH is now available to American readers for the first time. It is probably obvious from the title that MUDDLE EARTH is, in many ways, a parody of J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. From its three-part structure to its detailed maps at the novel's opening to the names of its characters (Randalf = Gandalf, Joe = Frodo, Musty Mountains = Misty Mountains, etc.), it's clear that Stewart and Riddell are having a great deal of fun at the expense of Tolkien's enduringly popular series.

It is fortunate, however, that MUDDLE EARTH has much to recommend it beyond being simply a funny parody. Its humor will appeal to all fans of light-hearted, satirical fantasy, particularly those who enjoy the works of Terry Pratchett. The book manages to combine inventive storylines with tongue-in-cheek humor: "The following day dawned bright and early --- unlike the day before, when it had been an hour late, and the previous Wednesday when it hadn't dawned until one-twenty in the afternoon."

It's hard to say which aspect will hook readers first --- Joe's "Amazing Adventures" or the antics of Muddle Earth's achingly funny characters. Regardless, this is one fantasy destination that kids won't soon want to come home from.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl



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Review of 3-D Paint by Numbers: Dinosaurs (Hardcover)

My 5 1/2 year old son loved this set. He loves dinosaurs and he loved being able to paint and "create" his own dinosaur art.From the parents perspective: you have to mix your own colors most of the time and this gets annoying for the child and parent.Also the covers for the paints are ridiculously hard to open and the child can't do it at all.I practically ripped my thumb off opening the paints.Even so, my child really enjoyed the paintings and the book that accompanies the paints.

Product Description
Take a giant leap back in time - more than 200 million years ago - to the Mesozoic Era. Tour the Triassic, where you'll make tracks with the Grallator, the "stilt walker" dinosaur, dine with the plant-eating Plateosaurus and explore the super-continent of Pangaea! Journey through the Jurassic, where you'll meet a dinosaur with a crest above its eyes, fondly called Elvisaurus by paleontologists! And learn why dinosaurs vanished during the Late Cretaceous period. Young paleontologists will be fascinated by the amazing illustrations and facts about dinosaurs and their prehistoric world. And as they explore each period of the Mesozoic era, kids can follow step-by-step instructions for completing 5 different 3-D paint by numbers projects.


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Review of Raptor (Paperback)

Raptor is a great book about a boy named Zack whose dad found what appears to be an actual raptor egg. On his way out of the cave he was attacked by its mother. When they found him, they thaught there had been an avalanche. His son Zack went back with his friend Uta, a native Indian, and found the egg. They took it home and that's when the trouble started, the egg hatched. 
This book is filled with nothing but action. It's a real thriller and I recommend this book to anyone who likes an action packed adventure. I just have to give Paul Zindel 5 stars and say that this is some of his best work.



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Review of Hey, New Kid! (Puffin Chapters) (Paperback)

My 8 year old son and I really enjoyed this book.It is about Cody, a 3rd grade boy, who moves during the school year and has to go to a new school.He misses his friends and worries that the kids at the new school will not accept him so he makes up a few lies to make his life seem more interesting.One of the lies he tells, being a champion roller skater, caches up with him when he is invited to a roller skating party.Cody has a solution - he cuts lunch to go to the library to read about roller skating.His skills are put to the test during the party with disastrous results.

Betsy Duffey's book is very well written, entertaining and easy to read book with characters and a story line that a 3rd grader can relate to.Duffey also uses symbolism that is often overlooked in books for young readers.



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Review of The 39 Clues Book 2: One False Note (Hardcover)

It can't be unsaid that THE 39 CLUES has a pretty excellent marketing strategy going for it. What with having kids who read the series eager to collect the 6 cards that come with each installment and having their parental units buying up card packs to expand their collection as well. Then there's the idea of having different popular children's authors writing each book -- starting out with the very popular Rick Riordan (PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS) on book one, and now with book two, having Gordon Korman (ISLAND / DIVE series plus others) authoring. But with all that said, ONE FALSE NOTE continues the story and keeps things moving nicely, but still -- the series feels somewhat stunted.

I won't go into the plot much at all since so much of it rides on keeping the secret twists and things just that: a secret. The puzzles and clues that Dan and Amy encounter this time around are just about as baffling as in the first outing. One or two can be guessed pretty quickly, but there are others that really are a surprise. And more secrets of the Cahill family are uncovered, but nothing to really put everything together yet -- and that's probably how it should be since there are still eight books in the series to go.

ONE FALSE NOTE does have a few differences in style, which are to be expected from having a different author. Some of the word choicings seemed startling as they differed so much from THE MAZE OF BONES. But after about a chapter, it was easy to slide back into the Cahill world.

The whole time I was reading through, I keep thinking that this series could be so much more. It seems like there's a good idea being built upon, but sometimes things are a little too easy for the characters. Last book, I kept worrying that Amy and Dan wouldn't be able to get through something, but this time around things were a little easier for them it seemed.

All in all, ONE FALSE NOTE is good, and definitely keeps things rolling until the next installment. I just hope that the future authors really seize upon the ideas here and run with them.

Product Description
THIS JUST IN! Amy and Dan Cahill were spotted on a train, hot on the trail of one of 39 Clues hidden around the world. BUT WAIT! Police report a break-in at an elite hotel, and the suspects ALSO sound suspiciously like Amy and Dan. UPDATE! Amy and Dan have been seen in a car . . . no, in a speedboat chase . . . and HOLD EVERYTHING! They're being chased by an angry mob?!?

When there's a Clue on the line, anything can happen.

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