CCLP Reads: From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg (1967)

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is a genuinely fun read. It's also set in the year it was written, so 1967, which means that little things like cameras in museums probably just didn't exist at the time. Which is just brilliant. Thanks to an anonymous comment on my Reading Ideas post,

This is the last book I read for my Classic Children's Literature Party and I'm finally able to write about it! Work has been chaotic the last week.

Anyway, the story is about two children, Claudia and Jamie Kincaid, who decide to run away from home to New York City. Claudia, being the planner she is, doesn't want to just run away from something, but to something, so she plans for them to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And that's exactly what they do. While there, they undertake to solve a mystery of a new statue recently acquired by the museum, that may or may not be a Michelangelo. There adventure is full of twists and turns and random meals from the automat and the ability to live in New York City for almost two weeks on just around $24, most of it in change from Jamie's tendency to hoard his savings.

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KidLit: The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye

The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye

1980

My Rating

✯✯✯✯

My Synopsis & Thoughts

Princess Amy, although her name really is Amethyst Alexandra Augusta Araminta Adelaide Aurelia Anne, is as ordinary a girl as you could wish for thanks to a fairy blessing(?) at her christening, and she is ten times more a princess than most of the sparkling, bejeweled, pristine princesses we read about in so many fairy stories. Not to say those types of princesses don't have their place, but there is also a place for princesses like Amy.

Imagine being born as the youngest of 7 daughters and the only one to be ordinary in the sense that she cried as a baby, her hair isn't blonde and curled in perfect ringlets, and that she dislikes any sort of elegant accomplishment like piano or sewing and shudders at the idea of tossing a golden ball around like her sisters do. Neither is she mean-spirited. She bears a distinct fondness for her parents, despite their attempts to turn her perfect like their other daughters, nor does she dislike her sisters, although she probably has great cause. Instead she just wishes she could be herself.

When she makes her escape, she is already a teenager, probably around 15-years-old and her last sister has just been married and she is the only one left. She cannot bear the thought of being married to a drab, sycophant prince and so she runs away into the forest after having traded her fancy gown to a commoner who she found quite delightful. Dressed in rags, she lives in the forest for months, befriending a squirrel and a crow who she named Mr. Pemberthy and Peter Aurelious. But her dress grows more ragged and she realizes that she must replace it as some point and to do that she needs money and to have money she needs a job. A job that she finds at the castle of a kingdom that borders up to her own Phantasmorania.

Working as a kitchen maid in the castle, Amy will earn enough money within a year to buy a new gown and so she determines to stay that long and then flit back to the forest, taking Mr. Pemberthy and Peter Aurelious with her, for they live with her now in her shabby little attic room. During her time there, Amy befriends a man-of-all-work named Peregrin who is only just a bit older than herself and who happens to dislike royal customs as much as she does herself. Together they find more and more in common, as Perry joins her on her Thursday afternoons off in the forest and together they build a little hut out of beeches so they can still steal away to the forest during the colder months and be protected by the elements. Amy is so happy, but she cannot hide forever and she can only have her happily-ever-after she faces up to her challenges.

I grew up on fairy tales and so I'm always excited to find a new one, although I do believe children's fairy stories to be much more believable and with far less to prove than ones for teens or adults. Such is the case with The Ordinary Princess which is what makes its moral lessons all the more palatable . . . because the author isn't trying too hard.

Amy is a delightful character. While I do love princesses in all of the traditional fairy tales, I also love the Fairie Tale Theatre version of The Princess and the Pea with a very down-to-earth, laid back princess as the heroine. She's not perfect and she doesn't need to be and Amy reminds me of her. In fact, I almost wish that all princesses or heroines could be like Amy. She manages to be independent without being snide or rude, but best of all, she knows that true beauty isn't about the outside, but what's on the inside. 

The Ordinary Princess thoroughly enchanted me. It's a simple, easy read that is only about 100 pages and perfect whether you're a child or a grown-up. There is nothing questionable unless it concerns you that a child might rebel against their parents wishes. Except that Amy doesn't want to marry a prince of her parents choosing, and rightly so. In the long-run, Amy's more like Merida than Aurora, albeit more polite than Merida, and I must applaud M.M. Kaye for her creativity. This story apparently came to her in a blast of inspiration and she wrote it down in a whirlwind without having to change a thing. I've experienced that once before in my writing life and it was something amazing to behold. ❤

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Book Review: Percy Jackson - The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



So, we're back in the world of Percy Jackson for the 2nd installment of the series by Rick Riordan, a world where mythological creatures actually exist and, well, the ancient gods and goddesses still have kids out of wedlock. Why do I love these books so much, even knowing as much as I do about Zeus, Poseidon, and the rest? Search me!

All I do know is that Riordan knows how to spin one heck of a fascinating story! One reviewer mentioned how they disliked the lack of parental influence in the kid's lives. This is true, but it doesn't really bother me because these stories in no way, shape, or form resemble reality. Percy's mom sends him off to Camp Half-Blood every summer and then he goes on a quest and nearly gets killed by mythological monsters. How does that reflect reality? So, yeah, parents not really involved, and I don't mind a bit. Moving on.

In this 2nd installment to the series, Camp Half Blood is in trouble, and we're talking majorly serious trouble. Their magical borders are collapsing and the tree who was once Thalia, daughter of Zeus, is dying. The only thing that could possibly save both the camp and the tree is the Golden Fleece with its magical healing properties. It turns any land that owns it, lush and green and prosperous, so yeah, that would work. Except it means a quest and this time Percy and Annabeth are not the chosen favorites of the camp, ever since Chiron was accused of poisoning Thalia's tree and replaced by the irascible Tantalus who hasn't eaten in 3,000 years.

Still, the kids manage to find a way to be included, even if it means accepting advice and gifts from Hermes, who not only runs the postal service but is also the god of thieves. Percy, Annabeth, and Percy's half-brother Tyson who happens to be a Cyclopes (that's what happens when gods mate with nature spirits, really, Poseidon, come on dude, show some class) race off to not only find the fleece, but also rescue Percy's satyr friend, Grover, a character from the 1st book. Grover's quest to find Pan, the nature god (I think), isn't going so well, or at least that's what Percy's dreams imply. So not only does he have to find that Golden Fleece, but his best friend too, all while avoiding flying so Zeus doesn't blast him out of the sky. Fun times!

Bits of The Sea of Monsters felt repetitive, like going to summer camp and going on a quest. But there were still moments I didn't see coming and that ending is a humdinger. Should be fun in the movie! What can I say, this is a great read. I love the spunky thought processes that Riordan gave to Percy, aptly accomplished in the first person writing style. The kid is likeable and fun, and yes, crazy too. Not to mention the positive outlook that Riordan places on western civilization. The gods only exist while the west exists, and they cause western civilization to thrive. I love that. The west is an awesome place to live and it's terrific reading a series that appreciates America, even though it is a bit strange having the entrance to Olympus being on top of the Empire State Building. Cool though. I can hardly wait to start reading the 3rd installment because Kronos, the big baddie, is cooking up something nasty and must be stopped at all costs!



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Book Review: Percy Jackson - The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I have little memory of The Lightning Thief that hit theaters some odd years ago. Maybe it was because I went on Valentine's Day with my two bff's and discovered families with literally nothing else to do on that day packing the theater out so we couldn't sit together. But, for whatever reason, it irked me, so I really didn't enjoy myself. Which is a shame because, having just finished the book for the first time, I LOVE the story!

I struggle with first person writers a lot of the time. Some books take you too deeply into the character's psyche and others don't give you enough. I'd say Rick Riordan gave the audience just enough with his development of Percy Jackson, demi-god. Percy is a mischievous, personable character from the very beginning. He sticks his neck out to defend others which immediately places him in the hero category which, duh, only makes sense since he is a demi-god and they're sort of known as heroes.

In this first book of Riordan's series, the reader follows Percy through his realization that he is a demi-god, to his training at Camp Half-Blood and then through his quest to recover the master bolt that has been stolen from his Uncle Zeus. The adventure is a blast from start to finish. Riordan incorporates classic mythological characters into the modern setting, and he does it flawlessly. Because the book is from Percy's perspective, his quirky sense of humor permeates every word, making Percy's discoveries all that more fun and engaging for the readership.

Now, I haven't been a kid in, oh, quite a long while, although not as long as some. But I still couldn't put the book down! When I had to do something else, like go to work or fix supper, it was killing me to not know what was happening to Percy and his friends. It's a fun read, more fun than I expected, and kids who have already been introduced to magic through the wonderful world of Harry Potter are going to LOVE the stories of Percy Jackson. I'm about ankle-deep in the sequel, The Sea of Monsters and huffed just a little because I had to put it down so I could write this review. Ah, the trials of a ravenous book reader!



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