23. Inkspell

Inkspell
By Cornelia Funke
Scholastic Inc., 2005
Narrated by Brendan Fraser

Genre
Low-Fantasy

Awards

• Best Sense Book of the Year: Children's Literature (2006)

Review

Meggie and Dustfinger's apprentence, Farid travel into the book Inkheart to find Dustfinger and warn him that Basta, a villainous man who loves to use knives and hates Dustfinger, had returned to Inkheart not long after Dustfinger himself.  A few days after Meggie disappeared into the book, her parents, Mo and Risa, were still heart-broken and thinking they've lost her forever.  They walk into their house only to find more old enemies that came from the pages of Inkheart.  Basta (who hadn’t returned yet), Mortola, and Orpheus had broken in, looking for Mo, Risa, and Meggie to exact revenge on for killing their old leader (also Mortola's son), Capricorn.  When Meggie is nowhere to be found, Mortola has Orpheus read all of them back into Inkheart where Mortola promptly shoots Mo with a gun brought with them from Mo's world.  Meanwhile, after warning Dustfinger, Meggie searches for the book's author, Fenolgio, who had come to live in the book himself, but soon discovers her parents were captured and are in the book and Mo is gravely wounded.  The rest of the story finds the small family trying to finally be reunited outside of captivity, and follows Farid as he tries to keep Dustfinger alive.  Fenolgio tries along the way to write beautiful words for Meggie to read and help him "fix" his story, but everything seemed to turn against his intentions, like a wish made to a genie that wasn't specific enough.  Funke did a wonderful job of trying to include readers whose first experience of the Inkworld is Inkspell by including character synopses at the beginning.  There is also a map for readers to follow the characters as they travel the vast and magical Inkworld, and small illustrations scattered throughout the book, presenting the characters and making the book itself seem as magical as the words in it.

Opinion

This is a great continuation to Inkheart, the first book in the series, but it can't quite stand on its own.  Many events are referenced from the first book, and not all of them are explained enough for those new to the series to be fully aware of the whole story.  A fairly easy read despite its thickness, Inkspell would be a great option for tweens who enjoy the adventure and magic often found in fantasy.

Ideas

Since this book was originally written in German and translated, this may be a good book for a display about popular books originating for foreign countries.  Many of the descriptions in the books are detailed enough to suggest that readers choose their favorite scene and attempt to illustrate it, like an illuminator would do in the book.

16. When You Are Happy

When You Are Happy
By Eileen Spinelli
Illustrated by Geraldo Valério
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2006

Genre
Poetry, Picture Book

Awards
None Known

Review
This book follow a child through all the feelings she might have, with presumably a parent or loved one speaking to her about how they will always cheer her up when she is sad, care for her when she is sick, finder her when she is lost, and laugh with her when she is happy.  The wonderful illustrations show the girl and her family members, as well as a doll (who also has a doll of its own!).  They beautifully depict the words of the poem and are spread over one or two pages for each section of the poem.  Spinelli's warm poem mixed with Valério unique illustrations provide a comforting feeling to the reader throughout the book that lasts long after closing the cover.

Opinion
I loved this book! I wanted to purchase a copy for myself because of how cute it was and the warm, fuzzy feeling you had when you were done reading it.  The copy I had checked out from the library showed it was "much loved" and heavily read.  I think this could be one of those books that is a "comfort" book that younger children keep as they grow up to just read and reread.

Ideas
A great poetry book, definitely geared toward the younger end of tweens or younger, but with more words per page than some picture books I've seen.  The repetition makes it easy to read with a "When you are... I will..." pattern for much of the poem.  Much of the imagery in Spinelli's poem can be enjoyed by older readers as well (like "When you are cold, I will weave you a blanket from leftover sun."), but they may feel the book is childish with the type of illustrations done by Valério.

11. The Lego Movie

The Lego Movie
Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Warner Bros. Pictures, 2014

Genre
Adventure, Comedy

Honors
None known

Review
Vitruvius, a wizard in the Lego universe tries to stop the evil President Business from getting his hands on a weapon that could freeze the world as they knew it in place forever, the Kragle.  When he fails, he tells President Business of a prophecy, that one day, someone called "the Special" would find the Piece of Resistance and stop him from using the Kragle.  The Special would be "the most talented, most interesting, and most extraordinary person in the world".  Years later, Emmet is introduced. He is just your average construction worker in the Lego universe; he love all the popular things, loved to follow directions, and thought President Business was awesome! One night at his construction site, he falls down a hole and finds the Piece of Resistance, but passes out after seeing a vision of "the man upstairs".  When he wakes up, he doesn't remember what happened.  He is told by Bad Cop/Good Cop what happened and is then promptly rescued by WyldStyle, a girl who was looking for the Piece of Resistance.  When she realizes how ordinary Emmet is, she is dissappointed, but still takes him to see Vitruvius to see how they can save the world.  This unlikely hero changes the minds of everyone he groups up with (including Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, President Lincoln, the Green Lantern, a pirate made of junk named Metal Beard, Princess Unikitty, and Benny the astronaut), showing them that ordinary people can be "the Special" sometimes.

Opinion
I thought this was a cute movie with a sweet premise.  Younger tweens will love the super heroes and Legos while older tweens and adults will understand the interaction between the father and son later in the movie and enjoy the humor of Batman and how things are named.  The writers cleverly created a colorful and imaginative Lego universe on a table in a family's basement.

Ideas
This is a wonderful movie for all ages.  Parents are shown the creativity of their children may sometimes trump their preferred orderliness and routine.  Tweens are shown that everyone can be special sometimes.  They are also shown that there is a time for being creative and independant and a time for following directions to work together.