When In Rome

If you've got the travel itch, it's high time to join Dodsworth on some of his adventures. With escapades in hot spots New York City, Paris, and London, Dodsworth and the duck - certainly an unusual companion to jaunt around Europe with - take Italia by storm in Tim Egan's latest, Dodsworth in Rome.

As Dodsworth marvels over the Roman aesthetics, the duck indulges his taste buds - proving that Rome has something spectacular to offer everyone. It wouldn't be a true Roman Holiday without sightseeing on a vespa, licking gelato by the Trevi Fountain, and feasting the eyes on the Sistine Chapel (even if the duck has some minor critiques to offer Michelangelo). And the way that duck throws pizzas has one wondering if he's of Italian descent...

As with most grand adventures, trouble isn't too far behind. Egan keeps readers on their toes with surprises on every page, reminding us that travel abroad is a mixed bag of splendid experiences and unforeseen setbacks. The way Egan depicts his characters in both words and illustrations, you can tell he is quite fond of conscientious Dodsworth and the mischievous duck. After reading Dodsworth in Rome, I am too.

Incorrigible...And Proud Of It!

This book should come with a warning. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling claims it's for children ages 8-12. What it should say is, "intended for children ages 8-12 but equally as captivating for readers older by, say, 10 years."  

Maryrose Wood resurrects Dickensian England as the setting for her story starring Miss Penelope Lumley, a 15-year-old graduate from the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females who sets out into the secluded countryside to begin her new position as governess for the children of Ashton Place. With dreams of teaching Latin and geography, it is much to Miss Lumley's surprise to discover three unkempt, tangle-haired children in the stables, howling like wolves and rolling about in the hay. It will take all of her knowledge, resourcefulness, and patience to domesticate the three Incorrigibles, especially in time for Lady Constance's extravagant, all-frills Christmas Party. Will Alexander, Beowulf, and Cassiopeia learn to stop chasing squirrels and start declining verbs?  

If you enjoy Jane Eyre, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, and other such charming stories about governesses in the remote English countryside, The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place is right up your alley. The lovable wolf-children, fast-paced adventures in governessing, and sharp, smart-as-a-whip narration à la Lemony Snickett will bind you to your seat, eyes wide and fingers flipping. 

I can't wait to read the sequel, The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Hidden Gallery!

Angelina Tumbelrina? Wait A Sec...

On this gorgeous afternoon in April, I was really craving a little Angelina Ballerina action. Finally - the sun is out, birds are chirping, and tulips are gracing us with their presence. My favorite bit is how colorful everything looks, such a welcome change from the flat, gray tones that unfortunately accompany New England winters. This is exactly how it feels reading the Angelina Ballerina series (written by Katharine Holabird and illustrated by Helen Craig). The stories are lovely, the characters are charming, and the illustrations are detailed and bursting with color. It's a quintessential spring day in a book. Just as beautiful and light as can be.

If you can't already tell, Angelina is an avid dancer. She is delicate, graceful, and always seems to be twirling from place to place. Just as adorable as Angelina is her sweet friend Alice, whom we meet for the first time in Angelina and Alice. Angelina and Alice enjoy the same pursuits - dancing and gymnastics - and become fast friends in the schoolyard. These two mice get along famously as they hang from trapeze bars and swing sky-high in the air. When it comes to handstands, however, things get a bit, well, shaky. Alice's is perfect and "Angelina Ballerina" becomes "Angelina Tumbelrina". So not fair.

How Angelina and Alice regain their friendship is a truly special part of the story, culminating in a spectacle of a happy ending. It's amazing what can be achieved with a little bit of teamwork and a lot of heart. You won't know what to love more - the precious story or the enchanting illustrations. They are simply made for each other and I can't imagine one piece without the other - the mark of an outstanding children's book.

Do You Believe In Magic?

This week, I finally got around to reading the enchanting tale The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo. Having completely adored The Tale of Despereaux, I was very much looking forward to her newest book.

The Magician's Elephant is a story of wonder, hope, and believing in the impossible. When orphan Peter Augustus Duchene espies a fortuneteller's tent in the middle of the Baltese market square, he has little idea that life as he knows it will change forever. To find his long-lost sister, the fortuneteller says, Peter must track down the missing piece of the puzzle, a great elephant. Dejected, the little boy walks home. After all, an elephant in the city is like water in the desert - a wonderful thought, but not going to happen.

By some lucky stroke of fate, an act of sheer impossibility occurs that night, undermining all rational thought and confirming Peter's wildest hope. A magician performs his greatest trick yet, conjuring an elephant who comes crashing through the theater ceiling to the audience's dismay. Suddenly, Peter knows the truth. His sister, believed to be dead, is alive. From that moment on, a sequence of events occur in a dreamlike guise - so simple, yet so deftly interconnected. DiCamillo writes a beautiful story with an extraordinary ending, illustrating how life is comprised of tiny moments and magic happens when these moments sync together in perfect harmony.

That being said, DiCamillo has a way of making her characters speak in riddles through repetition and vague statements. I don't believe this to be an accidental move on her part. The story is remarkable as most dreams are remarkable and the dialogue lends itself decidedly to the hazy landscape of a dream rather than reality. Both the dialogue and narration, fairly poetic in tone, create the impression that the characters all have parts to play and are waiting for the pieces to fall together, certainly adding to its overall magic.

Secrets, Secrets, Are SO Fun

There's nothing I love more than reading about a crumbling old mansion containing secrets within its walls. You get the eerie feeling that they've witnessed more than you could ever know. And, if you wait around long enough, all will be revealed in due time.

It's one thing to read about decaying houses. It's another thing entirely to live in one. Olive Dunwoody has always had a vivid imagination - one that her parents, both absentminded mathematicians, don't really understand. When they move to their new home, a sinister-looking mansion, Olive knows there's something not quite right... How do you explain the fact that cats, patrolling the residence like sentries, can speak? And why do the creepy paintings, permanently mounted on the walls, give Olive the feeling like they're hiding something?

"The painting looks scared.  It's like the houses are trying to pretend they're asleep and stay quiet...like something bad is coming."

In The Shadows: The Books of Elsewhere, Jacqueline West fashions a world with portals that take Olive on a terrifying quest for survival - all within the confines of the house. As she travels inside the dark and dangerous paintings with the help of antique spectacles, she comes closer to unlocking the truth about the mansion's history. Lurking in the shadows, someone wants Olive gone for good. And it's up to a girl afraid of the dark and her unusual allies - an insolent boy with a temper, talking house-cats, and a pair of spectacles - to piece together the mystery and reclaim the house.

This book was exactly what I was hoping for and so much more. Delightfully haunting and deliciously secretive. After reading this book, you'll start wondering about paintings. And whether their insides are really as beautiful as they seem from the outside.

Let's Pretend...I Work At An Ad Agency

When you were young, didn't you ever want to go to work with your mom or dad? As a kid, the grown-up world is an exciting place where you could be whatever you want to be. I know I was fascinated when I saw my mom's beautifully-upholstered office with bridal magazines neatly splayed out on the coffee table (she was an event and wedding planner). I loved "helping out" by sharpening pencils and dog-earing the pages with my favorite wedding gowns.

Well, this is precisely what Lyle the Crocodile does in Lyle at the Office by Bernard Waber. One day Mr. Primm brings Lyle along to visit his office and meet all the people he works with. Lyle is so eager to be of assistance and make new friends. He does important jobs, like delivering memos and making photocopies. He plays with the children in the day-care center. He even sits in on an important meeting. Lyle is a huge hit at the advertising agency!

Before he knows it, this enjoyable jaunt to the office becomes more than just a day of "seeing what Dad does." Lyle makes such a good impression on Mr. Primm's boss, Mr. Bigg, that he gets an offer that people all over New York City - let alone crocodiles - would die for. Will Lyle take the offer and compromise his values or turn down the offer and put Mr. Primm's job in jeopardy?

The story keeps you guessing and the pictures keep you smiling! Although it's impossible not to smile when you're reading about the beloved crocodile who lives on East Eighty-Eighth Street... If you love playing "let's pretend" like I did, you'll get a kick out of this story.

Kickin' It Old School

One of my favorite series growing up was The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids. I used to take these books out of the library all the time! It was exciting to think there could be fantastical creatures walking secretly among us, disguised as unassuming characters, such as school teachers or camp counselors. Adults, of course, wouldn't suspect a thing - even if strange things were happening. It's kids that are the most perceptive, especially Liza, Howie, Melody, and Eddie, our fierce mythical creature detection team. Now whether these grown-ups are actually monsters or not is never truly disclosed. Readers have to decide that for themselves!

In Witches Don't Do Backflips, the Bailey School Kids sign up for gymnastics lessons at the new gym in town (which is kind of creepy). To make things complicated, their gymnastics teacher Miss Brewbaker flips like she can fly, recites rhymes that could be spells, and has a broom that seems to move about on its own. Plus she HATES dogs. The fact that Eddie's dalmatian Prince Diamond enjoys terrorizing her black cat Merlin is not lost on Miss Brewbaker and she might just decide to do something, er, witchy about it.

Fascinating read the whole way through! Perfect mysteries for young readers who like spooky things and believe that sometimes the weirdest explanation is the most logical one.