The Indigo King

The Indigo King. James A. Owen. 2008. Simon & Schuster. 375 pages.

The third adventure in the series mainly features Jack and John...Charles being conveniently away when this unexpected challenge/adventure finds them. Hugo Dyson, a friend, is introduced to readers, when he is thrown into the adventure. He may not know where he is or why he's there, but, he is perhaps *safer* than Jack and John...at least temporarily. For after Hugo disappears through the mystery-door-that-appears-out-of-nowhere, and that mystery door is shut by some well-meaning animals from the Archipelago of Dreams, their whole world changes...for the worse. The "real world" is dark and dangerous and ruled by the Winter King. The two aren't without some hope, they discover their good friend, Bert, who has been waiting and waiting for them. And he gives them hope, a time machine of Jules Verne and a mystery box. These friends, these caretakers, will have to journey through time--observing things very carefully--and have to use some wisdom and discretion on what to change and what not to change. Can they "fix" time and save the world? While the second adventure used Peter Pan and Jason and Medea for inspiration, this one uses King Arthur and Odysseus and the Trojan War. It also is the novel that introduces the young woman, Rose, and a young man Hank Morgan.

I really do LOVE this series!!! It is so fun to visit with these characters, and it's always interesting to meet new characters and see where they are going to take the story! This is a very significant book in the series, for it reveals the identity of the cartographer 'stuck' in the Keep of Time AND it reveals the identity of the Winter King.

This is also the book in the series that utilizes time travel most.

Read The Indigo King

• If you're a fan of fantasy, mythology, classic literature
• If you enjoy time travel; the more you LOVE time travel, the more you may appreciate this one!
• If you enjoy mystery and adventure mixed in with your fantasy
• If you've enjoyed the previous books in the series: Here There Be Dragons, The Search for the Red Dragon.

© 2012 Book of Just News To You

The Search for the Red Dragon

The Search for the Red Dragon. James A. Owen. Simon & Schuster. 384 pages.

I am so excited to be rereading this series. I think I will enjoy the new books in the series so much more after I reread these first books again. In this second adventure, Jack, Charles, and John are called to the Archipelago of Dreams by Laura Glue, a little girl with wings who shows up looking for the caretaker. The caretaker she means is an enemy of her grandfather. It is not Jack, Charles or John she is looking for, but a man named Jamie. But her need for help is very great...someone is kidnapping the children from the Archipelago of Dreams. Even the royal prince has been taken. Even some of the 'lost boys' are gone. Can these three caretakers solve a mystery? This one relies not only upon Peter Pan, but Greek mythology as well. Readers also learn that all is not well with time, and that their adventures in the Keep of Time has had an effect on both worlds and an old enemy has returned...

I enjoyed meeting Laura Glue, and her grandfather; I also enjoyed catching up with some of the other characters.

This is a fun series that is easy to recommend.

Read The Search for the Red Dragon

• IF you enjoy fantasy, mythology, classic literature
• If you enjoy fantasy-adventure quests
• If you read and enjoyed the first in the series, Here There Be Dragons
• If you have enjoyed the works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, James Barrie, etc.

© 2012 Book of Just News To You

Here There Be Dragons

Here There Be Dragons. James A. Owen. 2006. Simon & Schuster. 326 pages.

I was a little nervous to reread Here There Be Dragons by James A. Owen. I remember just loving it when I read it the first time. Would I still enjoy it? Still find the characters enjoyable? The plot twists clever? I was not disappointed. In this first adventure, readers meet Jack, Charles, and John, the three caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica. They meet Bert, a former caretaker as well. Readers are introduced to a few other key characters as well: Tummler, Aven, Bug, Samaranth, the Cartographer, the Winter King, Magwitch, etc. (Just to name a few.) Many stories, tales, and myths are hinted at in this one. But. Mainly this book serves as a fun introduction into a brand new fantasy series. Readers are introduced to the 'real' world (England 1917 or 1918) and the 'imaginary' world of the Archipelago of Dreams, a world where there are dragons and dragon ships, elves, trolls, and talking animals. Readers also learn about the Keep of Time, which is central to the series....

I loved this one! I thought the storytelling was great!

Read Here There Be Dragons

• If you enjoy fantasy and/or mythology
• If you like dragons and other 'imaginary' creatures
• If you have enjoyed the works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, etc.
• If you love to read; this series draws richly from literature

© 2012 Book of Just News To You

Who Gets the Drumstick?

Who Gets the Drumstick? Helen Beardsley. 1965. Random House. 215 pages.

I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this memoir by Helen Beardsley. Growing up, I enjoyed watching the classic film "Yours, Mine, and Ours." What I didn't know until I was an adult was that it was based very, very, very loosely on a book. I have read the book at least twice since then and have just continued to love it more each time. The book is told through Helen's perspective, and it begins with the death of her first husband. It chronicles her family's move, her settling down, her first "introduction" to the man who would become her second husband. As she's enrolling her children in school, she meets a woman with a brother who has just recently lost his wife. He has a very, very large family. As this woman is relating the story to Helen, she feels led to send him a poem that comforted her after the death of her husband. And so the two meet first by correspondence. Not that they stay in touch, but, eventually these two begin to correspond with one another and exchange pictures. After getting to know one another, they decide to start seeing one another, just to enjoy each other's company, just to have someone who understands, never imagining that God is giving them both a second chance at love and a happily ever after. But. God is writing their love story. And these two families will become one very, very big family in their own way and at just the right time. Half the book takes place after their marriage. Their are chapters that capture the every day, little, ordinary moments of family life: preparing meals, family arrangements (bedrooms, bathrooms, laundry, chores, etc.), shopping (grocery, clothes, shoes, etc.), holidays and birthdays. Oh, and learning to get along with siblings new and old. The book builds up to the big decision to adopt one another's children.

The book is sweet, tender, genuine, and faith-friendly.

The book is so very different than the movie, in a way. The movie adds a LOT of drama and comedic sketches. And very little of the courtship from the book is related in the movie--not that the movie gets it wrong exactly, but they're going for a different picture or idea. Especially when it comes to Helen meeting his children. Let's just say the movie is about as far away from the book as possible.

I would definitely recommend this one. It's a tender, loving family story.  

Read Who Gets The Drumstick?

• If you enjoy reading biographies and memoirs
• If you have always been curious about large families
• If you enjoy true love stories
• If you have seen Yours, Mine, and Ours and want to know the 'real story' behind the movie

© 2012 Book of Just News To You

Board Books

 Fa La La. Leslie Patricelli. 2012. Candlewick. 26 pages.

It's almost Christmas. I LOVE Christmas! We go to pick a tree. This one? This one! We put on the lights. Look at ME! I'm a Christmas tree! We decorate a gingerbread house. BOOM!

I really LOVE all of Leslie Patricelli's board books. Fa La La is no exception. If you've enjoyed other titles starring this little baby--books like Yummy Yucky, Tubby, Potty, No No Yes Yes, Baby Happy Baby Sad, Higher Higher, or Faster Faster--you should definitely read this one! It is almost Christmas, and this family is preparing for the big day: picking out a tree, decorating the tree, making cookies, making and wrapping presents, visiting Santa, and going caroling. It's a fun little book.

Huggy Kissy. Leslie Patricelli. 2012. Candlewick. 26 pages.

Tuggy, tuggy. 
Huggy, huggy?
Squeeze, squeeze.
Don't stop please!
Mommy kisses all my toesies.
Daddy kisses on my tummy.
They both want to eat me up.
I'm so yummy, yummy!

I really do love Leslie Patricelli. I love this little baby!!! I do. In this adventure, he wants a lot of affection and attention. It starts with a tug on Daddy's pant legs and a baby's uplifted arms...and it just gets better from there. Who does this little one want to hug and kiss? Mom and Dad, obviously, but also a friend, the cat, the dog, the fish in his bowl, Grandma and Grandpa, aunt and uncle,  etc. It's another fun book.

Mine. Shutta Crum. Illustrated by Patrice Barton. 2011. Random House. 32 pages.

I have a difficult time reviewing wordless picture books. This one isn't technically wordless, it does feature two words: mine and woof. But. All of the story is communicated through the illustrations alone. The illustrations let readers know the tone for the word 'mine.' (And there are plenty of pages that are wordless.) In this book, a toddler and a baby are given an opportunity to play together. Readers see the mothers place the two together in a room full of toys. There's also a puppy...and a water bowl. The illustrations are so expressive making it easy to follow the story. I definitely liked this one.

© 2012 Book of Just News To You

Sunday Salon: Watching Yours, Mine, and Ours

Yours, Mine, and Ours is a fun movie. One that I've enjoyed for many years now.  It is the story of what happens when Helen North,  a widow with eight children, falls in love with Frank Beardsley, a widower with ten children. The movie is definitely a comedy. It stars Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, and Van Johnson. The movie, at first, treats their relationship as ridiculous, an insane impossibility. But the two can't deny that they are in fact in love with each other, so they decide to marry. And so their lives become interesting...

The movie has some wonderfully memorable lines. And there are some great scenes in this one! Including the grocery-store scene.

As a purely fictional movie, it works really well. If you are looking to classify it as a based-on-a-true-story movie, it doesn't work that well. For all the drama and comedy have been added in to entertain viewers.

© 2012 Book of Just News To You

Library Loot: First Trip in December

New Loot:

• Penny and Her Doll by Kevin Henkes
• God Loves You by David Jeremiah

Leftover Loot:

• Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card 
• A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan
• The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan   
• Ruins by Orson Scott Card 

   Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.    

© 2012 Book of Just News To You