BOOK REVIEW

by Papa

Title: Peter and the Secret of Rundoon

Authors: Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Recommended Age: 8+

Pages: 482

Read-Aloud Time: 6 weeks

Rating: 7/10

This is the last book in the Peter Pan series.  Mollusk Island is under attack and Peter is trying to help the Mollusk tribe defend themselves.  At the same time, Lord Ombra is back and he's working with King Zarboff the Third of Rundoon.  They decide that Peter is important for their plans and they want to bring him to Rundoon.  Lord Aster, Molly, and George also return to help Peter and thwart the Others once again.

Peter and the Secret of Rundoon is a good addition to the series.  It finishes up all the loose ends that it had to lead to the original Peter Pan story.  I thought it tied up all the loose ends a little to tightly, actually.  Anyway, it's an action-packed adventure with a few different conflicts in a few different settings.  There's some weirdness, I thought, with the addition of certain technologies and with the Scorpion tribe being so brutal.

Favorite Thing: I really liked the name of King Zarboff's snake, Kundalini.

Least Favorite Thing: I think the book could have done without the attack on Mollusk Island.  The chapters that transported me back to the island from Rundoon seemed like a distraction.

Questionable Material for Kids:  The Scorpion tribe is not a nice tribe.  They attack the Mollusks and they do bad things to them - things that are realistic, but are probably not suitable for anyone under 8.  Also, Kundalini is a hungry snake.  That's all I'll say about that.

BOOK REVIEW

by Papa

Title: Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest

Author: Ann McGovern

Recommended Age: 8+

Pages: 128

Read-Aloud Time: 2 weeks

Rating: 6/10

This version of Robin Hood contains ten stories featuring Robin and his merry men.  The first few stories are how Robin started out a few are about recruiting his men such as Little John and Friar Tuck.  There's also the tale of how he gets on the bad side of the Sheriff of Nottingham.  Even though the stories can be told all individually, they all flow together quite nicely if you're reading it from one to the next.  It does get a little tiring hearing of just how awesome Robin is at everything.  

Favorite Thing: You can't really go wrong with Robin Hood, but I always like the way that he outwits his foes rather than just taking them by brute force.

Least Favorite Thing: The cover of the book has a nice image of Robin and some of the merry men.  The inside, however, has some sketches that don't match.

Questionable Material for Kids:  There's nothing that's not suitable, but the language is old English so it can be confusing for kids to listen to.

BOOK REVIEW

by Papa

Title: The Winter Room

Author: Gary Paulsen

Recommended Age: 10-12

Pages: 103

Read-Aloud Time: 2 weeks

Rating: 4/10

Eldon and his brother Wayne are growing up on a farm in the Midwest.  Their family is pretty self-sufficient but they have two "Uncles" who stay with them.  One of their uncles is Uncle David.  He's very old and every night, in the living room (which they call the Winter Room) he tells stories to entertain the family.  The book takes place over the course of a year going through the regular ins and outs of the farm.  In the end, Uncle David reveals something in a story that the brothers won't ever forget. 

Favorite Thing: Nothing really stood out for me in this book.  The stories that Uncle David told were okay, but they certainly wouldn't have kept me entertained at a young age.

Least Favorite Thing: Nothing stood out as particularly unfavorable either.  The book just kind of meandered around and documented what life on a farm is like.

Questionable Material for Kids:  The chapter called "Fall" is a bit graphic.  Life on a farm includes dealing with the livestock and this chapter goes into it with many details that might be questionable for kids.