Bad news for children's book lovers

The New Book Banning

This is a grief to children and all book lovers.

UPDATED:
Email your congressmen about this bad law:
Go here for House emails, here for Senate.

Lots more from Overlawyered, here.

Are your kids 'reluctant readers'?

We've linked to Max Eliot Anderson's blog before. Check out his article below.

Confessions of a Reluctant Reader

Gideon the Cutpurse

by Linda Buckley-Archer

The first part in a time-travel trilogy set in London in the 18th and 21st centuries.

EagerReaders is leery of contemporary books because of their political correctness and modern values. This book isn't without these elements, but overall it passes the smell test.

What I like the most about this book:

• The emphasis on the importance of family relationships. Every important character is influenced by his parents and siblings, or the lack of them.
• The theme of redemption. The three best characters are men who have committed some serious wrongs. Yet they aren't portrayed as cartoon villains, but rather as human beings with weaknesses, strengths, and consciences. These are, for me, the most compelling characters in the book.
• The evocation of 18th century London, with a heavy emphasis on the smell. Manners, clothes, and criminal justice also explored. We meet Johnson and Boswell and a few other historical figures.

What I didn't like:

• The main characters, two 12 year-old children from the 21st century, aren't very interesting, and their ill-mannered sniping at each other through much of the book is tedious. Perhaps they'll improve in the next book.
  
• The age of the children seems off. There is nothing like teen romance in this book, but it seems just a little out of place when an 18th century young man is attracted to 12 year-old Kate. It would have made more sense for her to be a couple of years older. I suppose the author wanted to start them off young so she could age them through the forthcoming books.
  

Warning: being part one of a trilogy, this volume doesn't finish the story.

I've only read the first volume but I'll probably read more.

Creative writing competition for students

We received this notice from Arx Publishing. We aren't affiliated with them in any way, but wanted to pass this on to those who might be interested.

Dear Reader,

The official rules for the 2009 Tarpeian Rock Young Writers Short Story
Contest have now been posted. As in previous years, the winning writer will
receive $50.00 and the story will be published in the 2009 issue of the
Tarpeian Rock literary magazine!

The contest is open to all young writers ages 12 through 18 and makes a
great project for homeschooling families or any creative, motivated young
person who loves to write.

The deadline is February 15, 2009 and the rules for submission may be found
here:

http://www.arxpub.com/TarpeianRock/TR_2009_Contest.html

Please feel free to pass this information along to others you think may be
interested!

Best wishes and happy writing,

Tony Schiavo
Arx Publishing, LLC
Merchantville, New Jersey

Visit the Homeschoolers' Bookshelf:
http://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/Index.html

Readers invited to write book reviews for our blog

Would you like to write a short review of an EagerReaders book that you've read and enjoyed? Children as well as parents are invited to do so.

Send us your thoughts on a title you found interesting. If we like your review, we'll publish it here in our blog. Future readers will benefit from your observations.

Guidelines:

• The book must be one that's on our list.
• The review shouldn't be too long; two to five paragraphs will probably give you enough space to say what you want to say. If you've written a book report for a school assignment, you may send that.
  
• The review doesn't have to be 100% positive, but please don't trash the book. Be specific about what you liked and did not like. If you include short quotes, please provide the page number.
  
• Try to avoid giving important plot spoilers.
• Please include the year of publication and the number of pages.
• Your name is optional. We will identify you by your first name or a nickname that you provide. A city, or just a state, would be nice. If you provide your age, we'll post that, too. Examples: A Little Princess, reviewed by by Sarah, age 12, Oshkosh, WI; Little Britches, reviewed by Bookworm, age 10, Florida. You get the idea.
  

We won't edit your review, except to clean it up (typos, etc.) if necessary.

Email your reviews to us at
readerreviews@eagerreaders.com

Hi Lo Books for Boys

Books and Boys

Interesting blog by Max Elliot Anderson, an author of books for boys. We haven't read any of his books yet. Let us know if you have, and what you think.

Excerpt:

When I began writing action-adventures and mysteries for kids, I was particularly interested in making sure that my books would reach boys…especially reluctant readers.

There is a category in literature called Hi Lo Reading Level. My books have been identified as fitting the description of Hi Lo.

About Hi Lo books, from About.com:

Finding the right reading material for children with learning disabilities in basic reading, reading comprehension, or dyslexia is a challenge. This is especially true for "tweenaged" boys ages eight through twelve. For this group, books must include content kids of this age can relate to and be written at a lower grade level. These books are referred to as high interest, low reading level books.

Our list is predicated on the principle of high interest. We encourage parents to match the book to their children's tastes. This will make reading worth their while, which is critically important when they are still learning and aren't yet reading with ease. Though a parent may prefer historical fiction, for example, it may not capture the child's imagination. Keep a child going with something that truly appeals to him.

At some point we hope to go through the list and identify books that fit the "Hi Lo" criteria.

Book suggestions for very sensitive little readers

A reader wrote in with this problem: her very bright child had taught herself to read at age 3, and now at age 5, wants to read fiction, but her parents are having a hard time finding books that don't make her anxious or frightened. The little girl has not been exposed to rudeness or meanness, yet, so her mom is trying to avoid that kind of content. too.

This is a real challenge. My children and I brain-stormed through the ER list and tried to recall what elements they might contain that would be scary for a 5-year-old. Humor seemed to offer the most possibilities.

We told the mom that she would have to screen all of these first. (So much for having a great list to go by! But her child is especially sensitive. At least most of the books are quick reads.)

Here's what we came up with:

Carolyn Haywood:
Betsy books
Eddie books, but NOT Eddie's Menagerie (a kitten dies)
Here's a Penny
Robert Rows the River

Little Bear (just picture books, which won't be very satisfying for the little girl in question.)

Cam Jansen by David Adler: does feature thievery, etc. Very easily screened by parents, though.

Enid Blyton: Wishing Chair, Faraway Tree

Peggy Parish: Amelia Bedelia

Richard Atwater: Mr. Popper's Penguins

Michael Bond: Paddington books

Walter Brooks: Freddy series

Henry Reed books by Keith Robertson

Thornton Burgess books: Old Mother West Wind, and many many others (there is hunting in these). For some reason Burgess is not on our list. Note to webmaster: let's add some of those titles.

Forget about traditional fairy tales. Some of them scare me.