Archive for August, 2009

Tentacles

Friday, August 28th, 2009

Roland Smith is author to the IQ series and Peak which was selected for the International Reading Association’s 2009 Young Adults’ Choice booklist.  He was also one of the highlighted authors in the 2009 fall scholastic book fair with his latest book Tentacles, the sequel to Cryptid Hunters.

I did not read the first book and so had to play a little catch up in the opening chapters of the story.  Thankfully, Smith did an excellent job providing a description of all the main characters before the book even begins.  He also referred back and made mention of key situations and conclusions from the first book that allowed a reader like myself to be able to start fresh with book 2.

Marty and Grace are cousins who once believed they were twins but in book one discovered that Dr. Travis Wolfe (Their uncle) is actually Grace’s father.  When Marty’s parents disappear while on assignment for a nature magazine, the kids leave their prep school to live with their Uncle and search for them. Wolfe is a scientist fascinated by cryptids–creatures that appear in myths but haven’t been proven to exist, such as the Loch Ness Monster.

When Tentacles opens, Wolfe is planning an expedition to New Zealand to track a giant squid. He has rented a huge (and possibly haunted) freighter for the trip and someone on board is determined to sabotage their mission!  There are also two secret dinosaur eggs to protect and high tech gadgets the government wants to get their hands on.

The villain is Noah Blackwood.  His daughter was married to Wolfe and he is Grace’s grandfather.  He also is in direct competition with Travis Wolf both in business and personal matters but viewed by the public as a wealthy humanitarian.  He is willing to kill to get to Grace and the dinosaur eggs.

The novel is full of smart kids and implausible plots that keep you in its grasp till the very last chapter.  It is obvious there are still a lot of plot explanations to discover in future sequels.  The reader can expect a cliff-hanger ending. 

Author, Roland Smith, first worked with animals at the Portland Zoo, and he has been involved in animal rescues and conservation work around the world for more than twenty years.

GENRE: Fantasy/Suspense

 Visit Roland Smith’s website here

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Monuments That Tell Stories of Paris

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

There are many educational benefits to traveling over seas and specifically, having children experience different cultures abroad.  On one occasion, I found myself in Paris without my husband and children but wanted to bring the sights home with me.  In a gift shop, I found a great book that I would recommend for parents preparing their children to visit Paris, or those in a similar situation as I and wanting to share the historical significance of famous Paris landmarks. 

parisThe book is called, Monuments That Tell Stories of Paris: from the Roman Arena to the Grande Arche at la Defense, by Jean Daly and illustrated by Olivier Audy. This Paris guide for children is filled with beautiful line drawings and descriptions of the city’s architectural highlights. It takes young readers inside its historical landmarks and narrates the history of life in the times in which they came to be.

Daly, in his forward, exclaims that, “monuments are not mere decorations; they give the city its character and force.”  Readers will experience the ancient Roman Arena, the medieval Cluny Museum, Notre Dame, and the Paris Opera.  The various landmark columns such as the obelisk, the astrology column and the column on Place Vendome are compared and contrasted. And even some of the more modern architecture such as the City of Science and Industry building is exhibited in this not to miss book.

Although all the descriptions are brief, they are accompanied by color illustrations and will spring board young readers to investigate on their own, places of interest.

This book also makes a beautiful coffee table book.

GENRE: Juvenile Non Fiction

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H.I.V.E Higher Institute of Villaineous Education

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

hiveH.I.V.E: Higher Institute of Villainous Education by Mark Walden, a former game designer turned author, is a high-tech, high action read.

The book is about Otto Malpense, a boy who is abnormally smart. He is an orphan, and has figured out ways to both run the orphanage he lives in and hypnotize and control the Prime Minister of England.

At this point Otto is kidnapped and awakes to find himself strapped into a helicopter flying over the ocean. Upon landing he is introduced to the strange island world of H.I.V.E., the Higher Institute of Villainous Education, which is an exclusive school for turning out world-class villains. Subjects such as Tactical Education, Stealth and Evasion, Villainy Studies, and many other classes (meant for other students, such as Henchmen) are taught to the next generation of “bad guys”.

The school is located on a volcanic island where there is no communication with the outside world and there seems to be only one way in and the children cannot leave until training is complete, six years later.

In an attempt to escape the island, Otto, and his friends Wing (a martial arts fighter), Shelby (a jewelry store sleuth), and Laura (a technological genius) must defeat the all-seeing computer system, an assassin in black, and a giant carnivorous plant.

HIVE and it’s sequel, HIVE: the Overlord Protocol are extremely well-written and funny books, following a group of the world’s most intelligent thirteen year-olds through ‘forceful enrollment’ in a school that teaches them applied villainy.  I loved them both!  And students (boys and girls) after reading the first book will beg you to go to the bookstore and buy them the second in the series.

Experince HIVE technology (for kids) at the following link

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