From the seventh grade until high school graduation, I spent my weekends working in Oz, and I’m happy to say that I never grew out of the children’s books I was selling. Now, coming back to Lemuria after a year away at school, I feel like a kid in a candy shop because I’m surrounded by so many incredible new books that I can delve into this summer.

The first one that I’ve gotten my hands on is Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and it has definitely started my summer off right. It takes place far into the future when the vast nation of Panem rules the ruins of what once was North America. Every year, the cruel capitol demands a tribute of one boy and one girl from each of its twelve outlying districts to be locked in a huge arena where they must battle each other to the death on live television for the entertainment of the Capitol.

Hunger Games follows the story of Katniss, a 16-year-old girl who is selected to represent her district in the games. It’s imaginative, engagingly written, and so far proving difficult to put down. Katniss is bold and adventurous–the kind of girl you want to root for from the very beginning. This books is defintely worth checking out, a perfect read for the summer.

Hook by Ed Young, a Caldecott Medal winner, is a children’s nonfiction storybook about an abandoned egg getting adopted, via human hands, by an ordinary, nurturing hen.  Turns out, the hatchling is an eaglet no less and Hook is his name because of his hook-like beak!

I tell you, my blog reader, the story in words, but this book tells its story through blended charcoal drawings that are just phenomenally mesmerizing.  Each page consists of a charcoal drawing that lures you into the narrative of this young eagle that has to find its own way in the world, with the help, again, of  a young boy and a homely hen.  The writing is sparse, another feature that draws your eye to the picture.  Now, the story itself, I found, was winsome in its ability to point to the kindness of strangers and the importance of perseverance (“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!”).

Another winning quality to this book is its length.  With few words, it flies by and is able to hold the short attention span of very young readers, ages two and half and up!  It’s a unique find, our wonderful Yvonne Rogers saw the beauty of, and it is literature of the natural world at its zenith.  Like the eagle it fondly speaks of, this book soars and it soars with bold elegance.

It was getting about time for me to go home Tuesday afternoon and I heard that there was a children’s book author who had just stopped by to sign her books. Well, I thought, I’d better go see who that is. It was Ms. Deborah Wiles! The author of one of my favorite children’s books Freedom Summer.

Freedom Summer was important in helping me understand Mississippi’s past. Although I am from Tennessee, I had a lot to learn about the Deep South. Rereading her book this morning, I remembered that we have a lot to be thankful for. The many civil rights leaders and fighters have given us a true ‘freedom summer’ every summer. It’s only up to us to look into our hearts and connect with all of those around us. Because of the civil rights era and the brave work done in Mississippi, we have the opportunity to see that just because people may have different skin colors, different cultures and religious beliefs, there is that essential human nature and feeling which binds us together.

I have also read The Aurora County All-Stars, which is now just out in paperback. Ms. Wiles’ story telling ability is so wonderful that I did not even care that this book was for kids! She also has two other books for middle readers: Each Little Bird That Sings and Love, Ruby Lavender. If you have never had the pleasure of reading her books, this summer would be a great time to read these with your kids.

Ms. Wiles is in the middle of her Aurora County Shoe String Tour. All the dates can be found on her blog. Here you can also find out what a Shoestring Tour is all about!

I also learned on her blog that she is a writing teacher, specializing in the craft of personal narratives. Now that is something near and dear to my heart! And she also loves to grow Zinnias! Sigh . . . what a talented lady!

It is graduation time and we in Oz have gathered some titles for you to look at as you select that perfect gift for a special graduate.

Of course, we have the familiar Oh, The Places You’ll Go!, but we also have other titles for your consideration. The North Star by Peter Reynolds encourages you to diverge from the well-worn path to follow your dreams. I Knew You Could: The Little Engine That Could celebrates all of the stops in your life as you rise to new heights. Dream Big stars the beloved character Olivia. My favorite this year is Stonecutter by Jon J. Muth. This story is an adaptation of a Chinese folktale about accepting who you are. The peaceful, uncluttered paintings are exquisite and were originally published in a limitied, fine art edition which has been long out of print.

-Yvonne

Being an avid young adult fantasy reader, when I stumble across a true “find,” I feel compelled to relate it to others!  So, here is an overview of a series I have absolutely fallen in love with.

The Naming, Book One of Pellinor in Alison Croggon’s fantasy quartet, sheds light on the epic story of Maerad, a young woman born into a desperate time of war and treachery in the complex and vast world of Edil-Amarandh.  Now sixteen, she lives as a slave to spiteful masters, destined for a life of demeaning servitude.  But, alas, one extraordinary day, the Bard of Lirigon, Cadvan, mysteriously appears in the settlement.  He, as Bard, can see the awesome gifts lying dormant within Maerad.  For, in Edil-Amarandh, Bards are humans with special gifts and Maerad is discovered to unknowingly possess gifts so powerful that she may be the One to save Edil-Amarandh from its present and terrifying evil darkness.  Together, they flee the cruel world of Maerad’s childhood, only to embark on a more dangerous quest than either has ever known, coming face to face with otherworldly hatred, evil, and malice.

Told as the translation of a newly retrieved text, The Naming epitomizes the fantasy genre characteristics.  Croggon lays a rich and evocative foundation of quest-making; intensely mesmerizing otherworldly characters; and the warmth of human relationships that redeems dark times even as the night blots out the day.  Suspense, action, deception, uncertainty, and beauty fill the pages of this debut fantasy novel.

The Riddle, Book Two of Pellinor in Alison Croggon’s fantasy quartet, immediately begins where The Naming ended.  Cadvan and Maerad escape with their lives from the treacherous city of Norloch to flee over sea to the island of Thorold.  There, they launch a search for the meaning to The Riddle of the Treesong, a cryptic text which potentially has the clues to defeating their enemy, The Nameless One.  The quest for answers takes Cadvan and Maerad back into the mainland area of the Kingdom of Annar, rife with seething enemies and tumultuous chaos.  Journeying north into the icy realms of the Winterking, an otherworldy being, known as an Elidhu, who aided the Nameless One in his last victory over Edil-Amarandh, Cadvan and Maerad are separated.  Maerad must then tread alone upon her quest to unlock The Riddle of the Treesong.  But she herself becomes prisoner to the Winterking himself, trapped in his glacial palace.  Yet surprises await, not the least of which is Maerad’s fascination with her captor.  Torn between desire to stay with the Winterking and her duty to Edil-Amarandh, Maerad must make a desperate and agonizing choice, as she did before, between continuied captivity and the beauty of freedom.

In her sequel to The Naming, Alison Croggon has again produced another triumph of fantasy literature.  This time, readers get swept away into the heat and noise of Busk, the Bardic city of Thorold, all the way into the white silence of Arkan-da, the Winterking’s stronghold in the far, cold north.  The geography of the story plays a salient role, another striking characteristic of the fantasy genre, one which Croggon successfully wields.

The Crow, Book Three of Pellinor in Alison Croggon’s epic fantasy quartet, tells the tale of Hem, Maerad’s long-lost younger brother.  Separated in childhood, Cai (Hem’s birth name) also possesses Bardic capabilities, ones that are masterfully explored in Croggon’s third book.  At the end of The Naming, Book One of Pellinor, having been unexpectedly reunited with his older sister Maerad, Hem travels off with his new-found tutor Saliman to the southern city of Turbansk.  There, the people must keep at bay the forces of the Nameless One, battles in which the Bard Saliman does his part.  Fianlly, when the vibrant city cannot hold out any longer against the black tide bearing down on it, Saliman, Hem, and others escape into an underground city.  It is here that Hem’s uniqueness as a Bard and as Maerad’s brother come into the forefront, as an Elidhu speaks with Hem.  Elidhus are as beautiful as they are otherworldly, strange, and more powerful even than the Nameless One.  Along the way, Hem’s ability to speak with birds enables him to befriend a white crow.  The one lonely crow has its part to play , a part that unknowingly unlocks The Riddle of the Treesong, the cryptic text Maerad seeks to unravel in The Riddle, Book Two of Pellinor.

Now, all that remains is for sister and brother to meet and join forces in The Singing.  It’s out and Lemuria has it.  Read this fourth and final installment of such praiseworthy fantasy literature today!