This week for Claire Helen types, The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: the Mysterious Howling, by Maryrose Wood, and for Simon types, The Witches, by the inimitable Roald Dahl.
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place
Fountas and Pinnell: not given
Lexile level: 1000L
Blurb:
Found running wild in the forest of Ashton Place, the Incorrigibles are no ordinary children: Alexander, age ten or thereabouts, keeps his siblings in line with gentle nips; Cassiopeia has a bark that's (usually) worse than her bite, and Beowulf, age somewhere-in-the-middle, is alarmingly adept at chasing squirrels.
Luckily Peneleope Lumley is no ordinary governess. Only fifteen years old and a recent graduate of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, Penelope embraces the challenge of her new position. Though she is eager to instruct the children in Latin verbs and the proper use of globes, first she must help them overcome their canine tendencies.
Phew!
I first noticed this book, oh, a year or two ago. It was
first published in hardback in 2010, so I suppose not as long ago as I imagine,
but perhaps it took up so much space in my mind that it feels like I've
known about it a long time. Claire Helen was going through a mildly gothic
phase; the main character's name is Penelope, and I have a soft spot for all
things British. It's a series now- 3 books I think- but it wasn't at the time.
I pitched it to Claire Helen (resounding no), then to our mother daughter book
club (preferred something with more anthropomorphic animals and fewer spikey
fences), before giving up for a while. Several months ago, we saw the whole
series at a friend's house, and the little girl was so breathless in her
enthusiasm that Claire Helen wanted to read it immediately.
It's good! Of course I think it's good. See above, re: main
character, goth, and Britishness. As the Amazon blurb says, Penelope Lumley
arrives at Ashton Place to be the new governess for three feral children who
have mysteriously appeared in Lord Ashton's care. Over the course of the book,
she helps the (very sweet and well intentioned) children transform from
childish puppies to puppy-ish children. Penelope is a great heroine- naively
righteous and strong willed, hopeful and clever.
We read this book partly aloud, and she read it partly to
herself. That lexile level is usually about right for her, but I think it might
be underestimated here. The language- especially the first 25 pages or so- is
very hard. There is a lot of context setting about the time and place (early
20th century England), and clues we are supposed to use to learn about the
characters' various classes and history which were too subtle for Claire Helen.
The plot and character outlines are very appropriate for precocious early
elementary readers, but the class commentary flew pretty straight over her
head. It was a very enjoyable readaloud, and I know Claire Helen really enjoyed
the parts she got, but it might be better suited to an older child with more
context for the satirical elements and maybe some more experience with the time
and place.
The Witches
http://www.amazon.com/The-Witches-Roald-Dahl/dp/014241011X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1332715513&sr=8-4
Blurb:
This Roald Dahl classic tells the scary, funny and
imaginative tale of a seven-year-old boy who has a run-in with some real-life
witches! "In fairy tales witches always wear silly black hats and black
cloaks and they ride on broomsticks. But this is not a fairy tale. This is
about REAL WITCHES. REAL WITCHES dress in ordinary clothes and look very much
like ordinary women. They live in ordinary houses and they work in ordinary
jobs. That is why they are so hard to catch." Witches, as our hero learns,
hate children. With the help of a friend and his somewhat-magical grandmother,
our hero tries to expose the witches before they dispose of him. Ages 7-12.
Fountas and Pinnell: R
Lexile level: 740L
Every time a child goes to kindergarten in this house, I
take them to California for a special trip. One of my favorite stops in their
town is a tiny little used book store called Toad Hall, which still takes only
cash, is at least half children's books, and the other half is mostly behind
glass, seemingly deemed "too special" by the owners, for sale. A true
labor of love. On this trip Simon finished the books we brought from home, I
needed to get him something to get us through our car and plane trip home.
Simon is a chatty sort of person, so hit the owner up for
suggestions pretty quickly. She pointed us toward a lot of great comic and
picture books, which I am sure he would have loved, but I needed something to
occupy him for the whole plane flight so I could do some work. He went back and
forth over Hardy Boys and the Fantastic Five series, but finally settled on the
Roald Dahl section. He ended up with the Witches, and I'm pleased to say it did
its job. He read it on the trip home, interspersed with periods of my reading
pages when it got "too scary," and then I read it myself after we got
home to see if Claire Helen might also like it (no).
Anyway. The review.
It's not like you don't know who Roald Dahl is- he is an
amazing storyteller, and this book is no exception. A young boy and his cigar
smoking, aphorism spouting grandmother go on vacation and discover that all the
witches in England are attending a convention at their hotel and are hatching a
plan to rid the world of children (who smell like poop to them) by using a
potion which turns children into mice. Most dastardly of all- they are putting
this potion in candy, as many of them are candy shop owners.
Roald Dahl stories are also very often gruesome, and this
one is as gruesome as the come. Our narrator (never given a name) is turned
into a mouse at one point, and it sounds like it hurts. The witches are
terrifying creatures. The narrator is an orphan (not that unusual in the world
of children's literature, but a flashpoint for many young readers). Some
children die in very horrifying, tragic sorts of ways. Simon is one of those
kids who is not really affected by scariness, and even he had me read bits to
him so he wouldn't have to read it himself. I would not give this book to
Claire Helen- the vivid descriptions of scary things would be too much for her.
Still, this was a really great book that he loved reading. Despite the scary
plot points, Dahl always manages to keep enough humor in the telling so that
it's enjoyable for the right kid. I love the way Dahl ends books, and I won't
spoil it for you, but it's the best kind of sigh. Not entirely happy, but not
what you could ever call sad, either.
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