Books

I did not intend to disappear for almost a month! Facilitator meeting months are extra busy and I've been working and tired. Three more weeks and things will settle down again.

For now, two books for the younger generation (preteen age, maybe a bit younger even) that I've been introduced to recently:

Beyond Mulberry Glen by Millie Florence

This was on a list somewhere! It's a lovely story, well-written and engaging. 

From the back: "Eleven-year-old Lydia Green doesn't want anything to change. She lives happily in Mulberry Glen with her mismatched family of a fairy guardian, a philosopher, and twin troublemakers known as the Zs."

Of course, something happens to cause Lydia to leave home and head off on an adventure to rescue the Zs and save her part of the world. The characters are real, the story flows, the danger is growing, and the ending is satisfactory.

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein

One of my homeschool students told me about this one; he loved it, so I thought I'd give it a try. It's a fun story about 12-year-old Kyle Keeley and a group of friends and/or classmates who are chosen for a lock-in at the new library. The next morning, they learn the the library is also an escape room and they're welcome to stay and try to find their way out.

Some of the characters seemed a bit one-dimensional, but most of them showed some growth through the adventure (others did not, but really, how much growth can you reasonable expect from someone over a 12 hour period?). The children face challenges that could only be solved in the library stacks and, eventually, by working together. It was fun, and full of little bits of book-related trivia.

Overall, I quite enjoyed the story, enough that I'm planning to try the sequel as well!