Posted on by TracyC

Who Stole Kathy Young?

KathyYoungWho Stole Kathy Young? by Margaret Goff Clark, 1980.

Kathy Young has had her share of problems.  Her mother died a year and a half ago, and now, her father has a housekeeper with a sour personality.  A couple of months after her mother’s death, Kathy was seriously ill, and her illness caused her to lose most of her hearing.  She now depends on a hearing aid and her improving lip-reading and sign language abilities.

This summer, Kathy’s best friend, Meg, is staying with her while her parents are on a trip to Switzerland.  Meg was of great help to Kathy when she was trying to adjust to her hearing loss, practicing sign language with her during her special lessons.  Kathy’s dream is to become an artist, but Meg now wants to be a teacher for the deaf, like the teacher who taught Kathy.  Kathy is still very unsure of her abilities to cope with her deafness.  She had the opportunity to attend a special art workshop over the summer but passed it up because she was worried about whether she would be able to communicate with and understand her teacher and the other students, and she knew Meg couldn’t attend to help her.

Kathy has been enjoying Meg’s summer visit, but the girls have noticed something odd.  It seems like a couple of strangers, a man and a woman, have been hanging around everywhere they go.  Meg is worried about it, but Kathy doesn’t want to worry her father.  She thinks that they’re probably tourists, like the housekeeper said.  They nickname the strangers Heron and Toad because of their appearances.

One day, Kathy is kidnapped!  Some men in a van stop to ask her directions and when she tries to explain where they have to go, they pull her inside and drug her!  Meg witnesses the kidnapping, but is standing too far away to help Kathy.

When Kathy wakes up from being drugged, she finds herself on a boat.  Her abductors have cut her hair and changed her shirt to disguise her from anyone who might spot her.  They’ve also taken her hearing aid, hoping to render her helpless and keep her from finding out their plans because she can’t hear them.  However, Kathy isn’t as helpless as they think.  She can still read lips, and she can still think.

Kathy learns to rely on herself and her own wits as she tries to gather as much information as she can about her kidnappers and to figure out how she can save herself.  Through this experience, she develops more self-confidence, realizing that she can do more and handle more than she had thought was possible.

While Kathy is struggling in captivity and her father is dealing with the police and the ransom demand, her friend Meg is trying desperately to find her.  The story alternates viewpoints between the two girls as Meg aids the investigation into Kathy’s disappearance and puts together clues that Kathy leaves for her as her abductors move her from place to place.  The mastermind behind the kidnapping plot is closer to home than they think.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

Posted on by TracyC

Angelo the Naughty One

AngeloNaughtyAngelo the Naughty One by Helen Garrett, pictures by Leo Politi, 1944.

The title is a little misleading.  Angelo isn’t so much naughty as he is afraid, although Angelo could be considered naughty because his fear causes him to misbehave.

Angelo Silva hates to take baths because he is afraid of water.  Instead, he loves to play in the dirt with his toy soldiers.  He dreams of one day being a soldier himself, and he imagines that, as a tough soldier, no one would be able to tell him what to do, especially take a bath!  Angelo is in for a surprise.

When his family tries to make him take a bath so he will be clean for his older sister’s wedding, he runs away.

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Eventually, he ends up at the fort outside of town, and he is caught by a group of soldiers, comrades of his sister’s fiance, who is also a soldier. Angelo is unable to admit his fear in front of these brave soldiers because he is ashamed that these brave men would think of him as a coward, although he cries and tries to fight his way out of it when they decide to give him a bath, declaring that they won’t know who he is until they get all the dirt off of him.  In the end, he is unable to resist their efforts to resist their efforts to clean him up.

Once Angelo is clean, the soldier who is going to marry his sister recognizes him.  The soldiers borrow some nice boys’ clothes for Angelo to wear and help him dress up nicely for the wedding.  With Angelo looking much better, Angelo’s brother-in-law to be says that Angelo can ride with him to the wedding on his horse.

Before they leave the fort, the soldier says, “Brother soldiers, sitting behind me on my horse is Angelo Silva, the younger brother of my bride, Maria Rosa.  After the wedding he will be younger brother to a soldier and I am sure he will be proud and happy to take baths so he won’t disgrace the army.”  Like a true soldier, Angelo has been given an order!

AngeloNaughtyWedding

Besides getting the warning about not behaving disgracefully, Angelo realizes that he is now free to enjoy the wedding and all the good food, so getting cleaned up has some benefits.  He also likes the attention he receives from others as they marvel at his sudden transformation from a dirty little boy into a clean young man.

The story doesn’t state it directly, but it’s partly about self-confidence and growing up. Angelo admires the grown men who are brave soldiers and would like to be like them, but he can’t until he faces his fears and realizes that what he was afraid of was not as bad as he believed it was.  Soldiers must do brave things, following orders and fulfilling their duty even when they’re afraid, and so must Angelo.  Angelo’s new pride in his appearance and diligence in keeping himself clean is part of his new self-confidence.  He isn’t just proud of how he looks but of his new achievement in getting over his fear, and he likes it that others are proud of him, too.  In the end, his nickname is changed from Angelo the Naughty One to Angelo the Brave One, which is what his father calls him because he has conquered his fear.

This picture book belonged to my mother when she was young.  The pictures are all done in shades of only four colors: black, white, red, and green.  The colors reflect the colors of the Mexican flag.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

Posted on by TracyC

Totally Useless Skills

uselessskills

Totally Useless Skills by Rick Davis, 1994.

The name of this book is intentionally deceptive, but only partly.  What I mean by that is that the little tricks and stunts in the book may not have much of a practical application except for just having fun and amusing your friends, but the techniques for learning them can be applied to learning just about anything.

This book describes how to do fun tricks that don’t require any special equipment and are mostly based upon knowing things work, like the blind spot in the human eye (such as using the blind spot in your eye to make it look like your teacher’s head has vanished) and where your center of balance is (used in the trick showing how a girl can pick up a chair when a boy can’t). The tricks include making it look like your arms are lengthening or shrinking, making it look like you’ve broken your nose, how to hang a spoon from your nose, how to jump through a single sheet of paper, how to make a pencil float, how to make your leg disappear, and how to pronounce the longest word in the English language.

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Kids will enjoy learning these little tricks to entertain their friends. However, the book also contains useful tips for learning these skills that can be used to learn anything you want to learn. The author emphasizes the importance of trying new things, practicing what you’ve learned, going slowly and dividing big tasks into smaller ones when trying to master something difficult, and making tasks interesting so they will be easier to learn. Aside from the fun of learning these little tricks, the book’s main purpose seems to be helping kids to develop self-confidence and new learning skills.

The book is currently available online through Internet Archive.

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Posted on by TracyC

The Twenty-Four Hour Lipstick Mystery

24hrlipstickmysThe Twenty-Four-Hour Lipstick Mystery by Bonnie Pryor, 1989.

Cassie Adams, who is eleven years old, has never been happy with her looks, and now that her friends are starting to shave their legs and get interested in boys, she feels plainer than ever. One day, she sees an ad for Mrs. DuPrey’s School of Beauty and Charm and thinks that it might help her improve her appearance and develop confidence. The only problem is that she doesn’t have the money for it, and her parents won’t give her any. She decides that she needs to look for odd jobs in the neighborhood to help raise the money that she needs.

By coincidence, old Mr. Murdock’s granddaughter has recently moved into the old family house, which is huge and reputed to be haunted. In spite of the creepiness of the old place, Cassie finds a job there, helping Miss Murdock with cleaning and unpacking. Miss Murdock’s father made his money in cosmetics, and Miss Murdock employs a secretary named Victoria Presser, who used to be a model. Cassie admires Vicky for her beauty and elegance and looks forward to picking up some beauty tips from her. She also makes friends with Jason, a new boy in town, who also works for Miss Murdock, helping the gardener fix up the grounds. However, it isn’t long before Cassie, Jason, and Cassie’s younger brother, Danny, begin noticing that there is something odd about the old Murdock house.

lipstickmysterypicDanny is the first to notice that there is an octagonal window in the wall of the house, but none of the rooms has a window in that shape. Sometimes, lights can be seen through this window at night. Also, Cassie finds what looks like lab equipment among Miss Murdock’s boxes. Is Miss Murdock involved in something illegal? Does it have something to do with the burglaries that have been occurring around town? Why is the grumpy old gardener sneaking around? Just what is in that hidden room?

The book is currently available online through Internet Archive.

My Reaction

This is a good mystery for tween and early teen girls, who can identify with Cassie’s worries about being beautiful and popular. The moral of the story is that appearances are deceiving, and in the end, Cassie reconsiders what beauty really is and develops more confidence by appreciating the good qualities she already has and developing new interests.  While some of the other girls try to show how grown-up they are by looking grown-up, Cassie really grows up by taking responsibility for her life and the direction she wants it to go, making decisions about what she wants and who her real friends are.

Posted on by TracyC · 1 Comment

The Battle for the Castle

battlecastleThe Battle for the Castle by Elizabeth Winthrop, 1994.

This is the sequel to The Castle in the Attic.

William is growing up.  As William’s twelfth birthday approaches, he feels like he and his best friend, Jason, are growing apart. Actually, what he fears is that Jason is out-growing him. Jason has grown taller than William and much more muscular, thanks to his off-road bike training sessions with his father. William, on the other hand, is still short and feels like a shrimp next to Jason.

In their town, it is traditional for boys to “jump the trains” when they turn twelve. It involves grabbing hold of a ladder on the side of one of the cars as the train reaches a point on the track when it slows down, climbing over the top of the car, and jumping off the other side. It’s a dangerous trick to pull, and parents try to keep the kids from doing it. Still, the boys who don’t do it are considered to be wimps by the others. When Jason and William try, Jason makes it, but William gives up when his hand starts to slip. William is not hurt, but he is embarrassed at his failure.

To show Jason that he’s not just a wimp, William decides to let him in on the secret of the castle in the attic. Mrs. Phillips decided not to drop the magic token into the sea along with Alastor as she said she would (see previous book), and she sends it to William as a birthday present. After William explains to Jason how the token works, he convinces him to become small with him and visit Sir Simon and William’s other friends. When the boys arrive, they are welcomed by Sir Simon, who is about to leave for a tournament. William and Jason agree to help look after Sir Simon’s castle until he returns, along with his friend Dick, Dick’s son Tolliver, and Dick’s niece Gudrin. Sir Simon’s old nurse, Callendar, has died, but before her death, she made a prophecy of death and danger. Almost everyone believes that she was just raving, but Gudrin knows that danger is approaching. A strange ship of skeletons has been seen approaching the town, and bones have been floating down the river. Sir Simon had the ship towed out to see again, and Dick thinks there’s nothing more to fear. However, the ship has returned, and the boys and Gudrin know that something must be done in order to keep Callendar’s prophecy from coming true.

There is an army of rats aboard the ship, led by a giant rat that walks on its back legs like a human. The boys and Gudrin attempt to burn the ship, but the rats escape and begin attacking people across the countryside. When one of these people makes it to the castle to warn everyone, Dick finally believes them that something needs to be done. Most of the people are sent away from the castle, Tolliver is sent to bring Sir Simon back to help, and the others stay to wait out the siege. Although William is scared, he manages to keep his head and come up with a plan that defeats the rats once and for all.

In the end, when the boys return to their own world, William declares that he will never jump the trains because he thinks it’s a crazy stunt. Jason doesn’t mind because, as he says, “there’s more than one way to jump the trains.” William doesn’t need to prove that he’s grown up by performing a crazy stunt because he’s already behaved with courage and maturity while facing real problems and saving the lives of other people.

Posted on by TracyC

The Ghost on the Hill

ghosthillThe Ghost on the Hill by Grace Maccarone, 1990.

This is the last book in the Third Grade Ghosthunters series.

The kids take another field trip, this time to a state park. Native Americans used to live on that land, but most of the tribe died from disease many years ago. There are stories about spirits that live in the hills and the forest. Young boys from the tribe used to perform a ritual where they would dance with the Great Spirit in order to become men.

The third graders have been studying Native American history and customs to prepare for the field trip.  Norma wrote a report about Native American names, which tended to describe some significant characteristic of the person.  Their teacher tells the students that they should think of names for themselves which describe something significant about themselves.  Most of the kids think it sounds like a fun idea, but Joey doesn’t.  He’s just one kid in a family with a dozen other kids, and he’s never felt like there was anything particularly special about him.  That’s why he makes up tall tales about himself that all the other kids find weird and annoying.

ghosthillpicWhen they reach the state park, Dennis Ten Foot Bridge, who is the last of his tribe, tells the students about his tribe, teaches them wilderness skills, and leads them in group activities.  One evening, Joey goes out to practice some rowing on the lake by himself, and he sees what looks like a large ghost at the top of a hill  However, everyone knows that Joey lies about a lot of things, so at first, no one believes him.  At least, no one except Adam.

Adam agrees to help Joey investigate the mysterious spirit. Eventually, all of the members of the ghosthunting group decide to go up on the hill together to see the ghost for themselves.  There, Joey finds the courage to face the spirit directly, and everyone sees the truth. Together, Joey and his friends end up repeating the ancient coming-of-age ritual that the tribe that used to live there would perform.

The solution to the mystery is a little strange, but the book is great for the characters alone. This final book in the Third Grade Ghosthunters series is a coming-of-age story. The other books in the series addressed personal issues and personality quirks in the characters as side-plots, such worrying about not being as smart others, worries about making and keeping friends, and the trouble with teasing. This one focuses on Joey and his sense of identity. He’s always felt that there is nothing special about him compared to his brothers and sisters. In this story, he develops his own character more and gains new confidence. In the process, he ends up becoming more comfortable with his role as a kid in a family with many children as well as appreciating his own uniqueness.  He also finds a name for himself that expresses his new sense of identity.

Posted on by TracyC · 3 Comments

The Castle in the Attic

CastleAtticThe Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop, 1985.

Ten-year-old William’s life is being turned upside down.  Mrs. Phillips, his nanny, is leaving for good!  Mrs. Phillips has lived with William’s family and helped to take care of William ever since he was born. Both of his parents work, so William spends most of his time with Mrs. Phillips after school. She fixes him his snacks, takes him to his gymnastics lessons, spots for him as he practices his routine, and reads stories about King Arthur with him. However, now that William is ten years old, Mrs. Phillips thinks that she would like to go live with her brother in England, which is where she is from. William is upset because he can’t imagine life without Mrs. Phillips. Mrs. Phillips tells him that he will be fine without her and that his parents will start spending more time with him after she leaves. William tries everything he can think of to get her to stay, but she is determined that it’s time for her to go.

As a leaving present, Mrs. Phillips gives him a toy castle that has been in her family for generations, along with a little lead figure known as the Silver Knight. Still, William is determined to find a way to keep Mrs. Phillips from leaving.  Then, he discovers that the toy castle is magic! When the little knight comes to life and gives him a magic token that can make people small, William thinks he’s found the way he’s been looking for. With Mrs. Phillip’s impending departure and his fears of losing her, William suddenly realizes that he can use the magic coin to keep Mrs. Phillips with him.  Before she can leave, he shrinks her and puts her in the castle with the knight.

Of course, turning his nanny small and keeping her inside the toy castle was unethical, as Mrs. Phillips and the knight point out, but William’s mistake proves to be only the beginning of a fantastic journey that will fulfill a legend, free the knight’s kingdom from the reign of an evil wizard, and give William the confidence he’s been looking for.

Over the drawbridge of the castle is a poem about the beginning of a quest. Mrs. Phillips had said that there was a legend about the little knight, and when he comes alive, he tells William that his name is Sir Simon and that he was turned to lead by an evil wizard who has taken over his kingdom. The poem is the key to defeating the wizard, and the little token is really only half of one that the wizard was wearing around his neck. When William turns Mrs. Phillips small, he cannot reverse the spell because he lacks the other half of the amulet. To get it, he must become small himself and fulfill the poem by crossing the drawbridge as Sir Simon’s squire.  The two of them set out together to defeat the wizard and retrieve the other half of the token. Along the way, they become separated, and William must continue on to the wizard’s castle and finish the quest by himself. William has an inner strength that he doesn’t fully appreciate at first, and he can use it to defeat the evil wizard!

There is a sequel to this book called The Battle for the Castle.

My Reaction

I liked this story when I was a kid, and it’s a good coming-of-age story.  The sequel is also a coming-of-age story, but in a different way.  This book is about William coming to a better understanding of what kind of person he is and what he’s really capable of doing.  He can do more and handle more than he thinks he can.  In the end, although William is still a little sad at saying goodbye to Mrs. Philips when she leaves, he feels a little better about her going because he knows that he can take care of himself now, thanks to his magical adventures. Mrs. Phillips tells him that he always had what he needed inside himself but that he just didn’t believe it before.

The next book focuses on what it really means to be a man instead of a boy.  As William and his best friend grow up and are under social pressure from other boys to do a certain stunt in order to prove that they’re really grown-up, William and his friend set out on a magical adventure that teaches them that there are more ways of becoming a man than one.

Posted on by TracyC

The Dragon Charmer

DragonCharmerThe Dragon Charmer by Douglas Hill, 1997.

This is a great fantasy story about a girl who learns to face her fears and persevere in spite of them. It has a good moral and is encouraging to anyone who failed at something but wanted to try again.

Elynne Danneby is afraid of dragons, which is a shame because her family makes its living by dragon charming. Every year, the dragons stop by her family’s farm on their migratory path, and Elynne’s father puts on a show for people who come to see the dragons. By playing a special tune on his pipes, Dan Danneby can put the dragons into a trance and safely walk among them. Only certain people have the ability to charm dragons. Elynne possesses that talent, but she has been unable to use it since she made a mistake while trying to charm dragons when she was a small child. They tried to attack her, and her father had to save her from them. Ever since, the dragons have terrified Elynne, but she is still fascinated by them and desperately wants to conquer her fear in order to charm them like her father does.

DragonCharmerPicThen, one day, a rare crimson dragon comes to the farm and lays an egg. It is extremely uncommon to see a dragon’s nest or a baby dragon, and Dan is excited about trying to charm the baby after the egg hatches. However, Dan’s assistant is greedy and decides to steal the egg and sell it. Elynne overheard him talk about his plans before the egg was stolen, but because she wasn’t sure of what she heard, she didn’t tell anyone. Elynne feels guilty about not preventing the theft of the egg, and in spite of her fear, she is determined to get it back. In the process, she not only conquers her fear but learns about a talent that she never realized she had.

The book is full of black-and-white drawings in a sort of cross-hatch style.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.