I’ve been waiting to read this book since hearing about it. It didn’t quite live up to my expectations, but it has a sequel, so I’m hoping the story will improve now that much of the backstory is out of the way. Maybe there was too much anticipation, since I already knew a little about the elusive Flamel and his wife. After reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, my son searched for information about the real Flamel. His story is begging to be told, but no one really knows it.

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I’ve just finished the 3rd book of the series. It is an excellent series for the 4th-7th grades. Also for reluctant readers. It’s full of action and humor and is a fun twist on mythology. Also one to note especially for boys.

REVIEW OF SERIES

This is an impressive biography of someone I never would have known about and in an industry I would not have been likely to research. Dinosaurs are not particularly interesting to me, but what is fascinating is the way archaeologists go about finding evidence. I wanted to keep reading for the fantastic photos alone, and the content is compelling in its uniqueness.

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Today is RSS Awareness Day. An event organized to help spread the word about a useful technology used widely among bloggers, web designers, and other web-addicted people, yet largely unknown to the masses.

RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, allows you to see whether your favorite sites have been updated, and see what was added, much quicker. You can tell at a glance which sites have been updated and read the new content right there. Instead of going to all the sites every day, the sites come to you.

This video (3 minutes, 43 seconds) will explain everything:

Give RSS a try. It will make your life easier.

This month’s book is sure to be controversial as it has mature content. A Swift Pure Cry by Siobhan Dowd deals with the subject of teen pregnancy. It addresses lack of knowledge, secrecy, and a lack of support while the community points fingers. Religion also plays a part in this passionate, tear-wrenching story.

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Yikes. April’s almost over and I’m only halfway through my April pick-the first book of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, The Eye of the World. It seems that all of this has been leading up to the point of the series. It’s good, but long. My two older sons really liked it. I like the concept, but sense there will be more violence/war than I care for. It will be interesting to see how the ideas of  legends being actual history and history repeating itself play out through the series.

David Wiesner’s art was one of the first things that inspired me to start noting the illustrators’ names as I read picture books. It sounds so obvious that we should, because in many books the illustrations are equal or more important to the appeal of the books. A few names have stood out along the way, but I have now started searching for books by illustrator. It is a new concept to me, and it has been a surprisingly delightful adventure. I’m finding that I’m getting a greater variety of stories as a result. While many of the books have a similar look, the stories reflect the authors’ interests, and the pictures reflect the authors’ content. I am also finding books listed that I know and love, but did not know the author’s name.

J K Rowling is making an appearance in court this week in a case against Steve Vander Ark of the website HP Lexicon. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t feel this is something to post about, but I think it is a bad move on her part, and it will have a far-reaching impact on all websites and blogs discussing literature, as well as others. If Warner Brothers and JKR win the lawsuit, it will trash the fair use practices.

When I first heard about the situation, I thought that they had a fair case, but that it wasn’t really necessary. I believe Warner Brothers has the biggest beef with him, but since they also are making money off something they didn’t create (the Harry Potter name) it seems a bit ridiculous. The book Vander Ark wants to publish will not really impact sales of JKR’s encyclopedia and amounts to literary analysis, basically. Literary analysis is not illegal and should be encouraged since it usually increases sales not detracts from them. His website has in fact encouraged intelligent discussion, increasing the buzz about the series, and therefore, arguably, increasing sales. I thought before that he had a large number of quotes that he was using, but have since heard that is not so. The case is about his using names without permission, in other words branding, which is a huge can of worms that doesn’t need to be opened within the literary field. How can you do any literary analysis without using names?

Also, JKR has approved his website and met him personally. I do believe Vander Ark should have discussed the matter before signing a book deal, but it seems to me she could also have settled the matter out of court.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the Harry Potter books and movies. It doesn’t matter to me that she is making tons of money as is Warner Brothers. The publicity also doesn’t bother me, because mostly her interaction with her fans has been positive. But I think copyright claims are out of control and often petty. I think this reflects badly on her, and she may lose fans over it. I also think she was convinced by someone to go along with it, and I think she has the clout to say no and should have.

Well, I’ve had some problems with this post this month. The book I thought I wanted to use was not in at the library, and then I found I’ve picked it before and forgot. LOL.

So, my selection this month is one that I rediscovered while working on the Selznick post. Walt Whitman: Words for America by Barbara Kerley is so impressive I believe it deserves special attention. The most memorable part to me is not what everyone else focuses. It is much more personal.

REVIEW

I recently found this old book at the library while volunteering.  I think it is a great resource for introducing children to art and drawing. I plan to do some projects with my 3rd grader when I find time to cut out circles. We will probably also try some of the extra suggestions in the book. Maybe paint with different textures before cutting. I think it will be fun, maybe this summer.

REVIEW