Historical Fiction: Terror in the Harbour (Penelope)

McKay, S.E. (2001). Terror in the Harbour: Penelope. Toronto : Penguin Books.

To be honest I picked this book because it satisfied my criteria for:
a) Historical fiction
b) Canadian
c) For girls
I had not picked this book because it appealed to me itself. With this in mind I am happy to say that it was an absorbing read. The story quickly hooked me and the descriptions took me to Halifax in 1917 with ease. Whether other books in the Our Canadian Girl series, or even if the three other books in Penelope's series would interest boys is uncertain, but this one definitely did. This is due to the narrative covering several of the categories Jon Scieszka laid down on his website Guys Read. There is at least one explosion (the biggest man made one EVER), war, blood, swearing, and the knocking over of a chamber pot. What else could a guy ask for in a book marketed as written for girls?

Series Fiction: A Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons

Cowell, C. (2008). A Hero’s Guide to Deadly Dragons. London: Hatchet Children’s Books.

Each novel contains several small adventures and while they do progress in a chronological fashion I am happy to say I wasn’t hindered by skipping ahead to the sixth of Cowell’s eight books, a good thing to keep in mind given the availability of these books in the library as the movies come out. One facet of this series that has impressed me is the uniqueness of the published product. It is of unique value that on any given page there can be up to three distinct font settings, depending on the intensity of the description, or when someone is speaking Dragonese. I really liked how Cowell presented the issues of literacy and cognition in this book. Viking culture forbids fastidious thinking and reading, thus compelling the reader to do so via reverse psychology, and that all the books are guarded in a dark, creepy castle by the Hairy Scary Librarian makes any library seem a haven in comparison.

Series Fiction: How to be a Pirate

Cowell, C. (2004). How to be a Pirate. London: Hachette Children’s Books.

This is the second book in Cowell’s series that follows the exploits of the meek, but potentially mighty Hiccup Horredndous Haddock III. In this volume Hiccup not only solidifies his claim as heir to the ruling family of Vikings, but also overcomes his horrendous (as in pathetic and wholly unviking) sword fighting skills by discovering that he is actually left-handed… one more weird trait from an already pretty weird kid. What I really liked about this volume was that it seems that tense moments often happen at the end of a page, forcing the reader to continue another page. I also noticed that the accompanying illustrations were larger and appeared more frequently at the start of the novel than at the end, dissipating only after my interest in the story had been cemented. Cowell writes with the flair of Roald Dahl and after a child had finished with Hiccup’s adventures I would send them directly to Dahl.