Nikki and I hope you’ll join us today for Story Time with Literary Escapism, a bi-weekly feature where we showcase various children books that fall directly in the fantasy & science fiction genres, as well as books we’re enjoying with our young children. We’re talking boardbooks, picture books, those books labeled as beginner or newly independent readers, and middle grade – anything of interest to those readers who are not quite ready for the young adult genre. So we hope you’ll join us on the carpet as we share the stories that have captured our little ones imaginations.
I’ve been taking the boys to the library every Friday (more or less) and as they’re doing their own browsing, I’ve been going through the beginner readers section, trying to find anything with a fantasy or science fiction feel to it. Obviously I’m finding your Star Wars: Clone Wars and Superhero books, but I’ve been looking for books that weren’t based off of already popular television series. Surprisingly, I’ve come across a couple.
The first one is Wizard and Wart by Janice Lee Smith and Paul Meisel (Age Range: 4+ | Series: I Can Read Book 2).
Tragic magic! When a blundering Wizard and his dog, Wart, try to help a lovesick snake win over a cute rabbit, they end up brewing more trouble than they ever imagined. A curse and worse! The snake loves the rabbit, but the rabbit loves a cat; what’s a Wizard to do? Hocus-pocus! Only a nifty spell leaves everyone happy and in love.
At first glance, it may seem a little thicker than most level 2 I Can Read books, but with the story separated into four sections, Wizard and Wart is a pretty easy read. I have to say, I really like the fact that the story uses directional words in different ways to show out the Wizard interacts with his customers. The story itself is cute and the artwork is pretty standard for a children’s book, but I have to say I’m not left with a lot of feeling about Wizard and Wart. It’s one of those books that was cute the first time, but I’m glad I got it from the library.
Now the second book I found, that one I loved. Good Night, Good Knight by Shelley Moore Thomas and Jennifer Plecas (Age Range: 5 – 8 years | Series: Penguin Young Readers, L2) was such a cute story and had some pretty fabulous artwork that went along with it.
The Good Knight is on his watch when he hears a sound. Roar! Is it a dragon? A great big dragon? He searches the woods and finds a surprise. Three very little dragons are almost ready for bed. But who will read to them, tuck them in, and kiss them good night? Is this a job for the Good Knight?
I have to say, it was the artwork on the cover that caught my eye initially. Yes it looks like you’re typically children illustration, but the level of detail in the pictures is what I love. They weren’t just all blocked pictures either; the artwork was varied, going from full colored pages to tiny bubbles of imagery that helped drive the story. Good Night, Good Knight is a really good bedtime story, especially considering the dragons are pretty much stalling at bedtime. While the dragons did stall, once they got their requests fulfilled, they went to sleep without any other issues. If children learned that, yes it’s okay to ask for a glass of water or a story before bed, but they go to sleep once they get it, I’m okay with that. *grin* Good Night, Good Knight is also a bit longer than a typical beginner book, but don’t let that deter any new readers. Yes it’s longer, but it’s still an easy read with lots of repetition and rhyming to help move the story along. If I was still collecting children’s books for the boys shelves, this is one I would add to their collection.
The third book I came across seemed like it could be science fiction, but The High and the Flighty by Jon Scieszka, Catherine Hapka and Lisa Rao (Age Range: 4 – 8 years | Series: I Can Read Book 3) is slightly more than that too.
Freddi, Jodie, and Samantha have warped back to the 1930s to visit the famous pilot Amelia Earhart. But can they hang onto The Book long enough to solve the mystery of her final flight?
The High and the Flighty is part of the Time Warp Trio series and is a really fast paced book that not only involves a science fiction angle (the girls are from the 22nd Century), but uses time travel as a way of exploring history – in a way. I have not read any of the other books in the series, and I didn’t know this was based on a television series, but while the three girls do time travel back to see a significant event in history, I kind of wish Scieszka used it more than just a backdrop for the story. This may just be the case for The High and the Flighty since the historical event is Amelia Earhart, and her plane the Electra, and not a lot is known; but the event is really only mentioned once while the girls spend the rest of the time trying to find their book and on why she was never found. I can see how that might make it a little harder to focus a story around, but I really like the concept and I’m interested enough to check out another book to see if more of the history is involved. I also have to say, I like that the three time travelers are girls and they weren’t there as a status quo requirement. That’s not something you see in a lot of adult science fiction.
The last book I have for you today is The Magic Rocket by Steven Kroll and Will Hillenbrand (Age Range: 6 and up) and is much more of a science fiction book than I expected.
Felix enjoys playing with his new toy rocket, but when his dog is captured by aliens, he discovers that he can actually fly it as well and sets out on a rescue mission.
For someone who didn’t read a lot of science fiction back in the early 90s, The Magic Rocket does seem a little clichéd with the appearance of the alien and his space craft, but I am amused that it takes the reader into a high speed chase with a flying saucer. Sadly though, I have to admit that the actual story didn’t really hold my attention. I was able to skim through the pages and get what was going one just by looking at the pictures. Yes it’s a childrens book, but that doesn’t mean the story shouldn’t be engaging the story, driving them to read more. Especially considering this is targeted for early readers. The previous three books were easily able to hold my attention, but this forth one didn’t really keep my interest.
So that’s it for me this month. I still have The Witch of Clatteringshaws by Joan Aiken and Goblin Secrets by William Alexander in my TBR stack, but as they’re more chapter books in length than quick picture/beginner book reads, they’ve been moved from the top of my pile. And I’m still hoping to get the Monkey interested in starting his first chapter book with The Machine of Doom by Cavan Scott.
BUT I have come across two chapter books series that have seriously intrigued me. The Poison Apple (The Dead End by Mimi McCoy) and Rotten Apple (Mean Ghouls by Stacia Deutsch) are two series that seem to have brought all the elements of the Urban Fantasy genre – kickass heroines, zombies, vampires, werewolves – to early readers. The covers even give that depiction that “hey, I have vampires/zombies here”.
Rotten Apple Books: Unexpected. Unforgettable. Undead. Get bitten!
If Megan thought life at her new boarding school was going to be easy, she was dead wrong. All the students have the same mysterious virus–one that’s slowly turning them all into zombies. The teachers at Zombie Academy are lifeless and the food stinks. Literally. And worst of all, the clique of popular mean girls who rule the school have already decided that Megan’s dead to them. All Megan wants is to get back to her old school and her old friends. But until a cure is found, she’ll have to figure out how to survive middle school.
