children’s lit

“There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.”

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (The Chronicles of Narnia, #5) by C.S. Lewis

October 31, 2021 by narfna 2 Comments

I always liked this one as a kid, but it was never my favorite. It had an edge of This Is Too Real about it at the time, which looking back now is hilarious because there is nothing realistic about this book. But as a kid, I found the constant mentions of death and the afterlife (even if just a metaphorical afterlife) disturbing. Which is weird, because in other contexts, I didn’t mind reading about those things. There was just something strange to me, I […]

“My good Horse, you’ve lost nothing but your self-conceit.”

The Horse and His Boy (The Chronicles of Narnia, #3) by C.S. Lewis

August 3, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

This was always my least favorite book in this series. So far at least, it remains that way, but I think for different reasons. I’m not quite sure why I never really warmed to it when I was a kid. I’d like to think that my subconscious was responding to what my conscious mind is cringing at now, but I also think that a large part of it might be that this isn’t really a portal fantasy, like the rest of the books are (The […]

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia, #2) by C.S. Lewis

July 6, 2021 by narfna 2 Comments

**30 Books in 30 Days** Book 1/30 I don’t know why I decided that in June* I would read essentially a book a day, but I decided I wanted to see if I could do it. I have, of course, stacked the deck a little with shorter novels, romances, audiobooks, etc, but I have given myself space to read some chonkers as well. Let’s see if I can do it! *So behind in reviews :(((( My re-visitation of the Chronicles of Narnia opens this challenge. […]

This is not really a book review

Tales of A Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

June 30, 2021 by caragwapa 5 Comments

I read in the CBR update emails that Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing was up for discussion in the next Zoom call and I jumped into rereading it not only because I was behind on my CBR reading (and this was a sure quick read), but because I love this book! I was ultimately not able to join the discussion (time zones 🙁 ) but I’m so glad I read it again. I loved Are Your There God? when I was in Grade school […]

Stand Tall and Reach Deep

Wishtree by Katherine Applegate

March 10, 2021 by ElCicco 4 Comments

Wishtree is a lovely and charming story for children ages 8-12, but I’m 56 and adored it. I heard about this book from a friend whose little girl loves it and reads it repeatedly. I can totally understand why that is. Wishtree is about friendship, community, diversity, and acceptance of those who are new in our “messy garden.” It’s full of delightful characters, gorgeously detailed ink illustrations, and an important message about speaking up for your neighbors. The narrator of Wishtree is a 216-year-old red […]

“Because all the words I could think of—bullying, teasing, flirting—seemed too simple, too small, to hold all the hurt I was feeling.”

Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee

February 24, 2020 by cosbrarian 3 Comments

Mila used to love wearing her green fuzzy sweater. That is, until a group of boys at school started calling it lucky. It began at recess one day, when the boys joined into a group hug between her friends uninvited. Since then, they’ve narrowed their focus in on her. One day, a boy brushes her shoulder and she’s pretty sure it was intentional. Another, someone wants to touch her fuzzy sweater for luck in the basketball game. One day, a boy asks her for a […]

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