Tag Archives: book recommendation

Favorite Friday: Most Underrated Fantasy Series

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Nothing can hold a candle to what I think of as the Fantasy Trifecta throughout our Gracepoint ministries: can you guess what they are? Of course I’m talking about The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, and the Harry Potter series.

chronicles of narniaLTR Harry-Potter-the-Complete-Series-Paperback-721150e1-d7d0-4582-ad0b-de4cd3d2b5a5_320An aside: whenever I’d post a “wanted” listing for book donations for my classroom library, these are the books I would mostly get. So much so that my students wondered if my friends only read those books. To which I would answer…”Um…by the looks of it, that could very well be the case!” But then I would defend you all (thank you for your donations, by the way) by saying, “What can I say? My friends have good taste in books!”

If you’re a parent, you know that there are a bajillion fantasy series out there. And the little reviews always say, “Like Harry Potter meets The Hunger Games meets Enders Game!” or something of the sort. I love me a good fantasy series myself (better yet if it’s a dystopian fantasy sci-fi mix), but man, are there some subpar* ones out there. It seems all you have to do is sell the rights for a movie, and ta-da, you’ve got yourself a multi-million dollar franchise!

But enough of my negativity, on this Favorite Friday, I want to share with you my favorite underrated (no pun intended) fantasy series. It’s The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins. Yes, that’s right, she of The Hunger Games** fame. In fact, I find this series to be far superior to The Hunger Games in terms of her writing, thematic exploration, and world-building, even though she wrote The Underland Chronicles first.

This series is a middle grade series, targeting 8-12 year olds. It seems to be a hit with middle schoolers, but I’ve also recommended it to 3rd graders who are avid readers, as well as 9th graders who want a fast fantasy series to enjoy. Last year I had a 7th grader who was deemed a “non-reader” (no one is a non-reader!) by his previous teacher, and he worked through the entire series and not-so-secretly liked it. I also know some people in their late 30s who have enjoyed it too. 🙂

underland-chronicles1I thought I was going to hate the series, because it involves an Underland where anthropomorphic rats, cockroaches, and other lovely creatures have been awaiting the one who will fulfill THE PROPHECY. But I was able to get over the anti-vermin feelings pretty quickly and get into the story. In the first book, Gregor is 11 years old. His family has been going through some hard times ever since his father went missing. So it’s just his mom, his 2-year-old sister Boots, and him. He and Boots are doing laundry in the laundry room of their apartment complex when Boots accidentally slips down the grate. Being a good older brother, he naturally follows her into the grate to find her. Gregor falls…and falls…and falls…until he reaches — YES, the Underland. And then the adventures begin.

You’re thinking this is predictable. Trite even. Let me tell you though, Collins develops her characters so well that you get sucked in pretty quickly. You want things to start going well for Gregor, who just misses his dad so much, wants to do right by his hard-working mom, and isn’t too cool to show how fiercely loyal he is to his younger sister. I won’t tell you much more than this, but one funny part is that the cockroaches think Boots is a queen…because of her full diaper. (OK, I thought that was funny anyway!)

These books have great themes for conversations with your kids: courage in the face of fear, sacrifice, trust and betrayal, loyalty, and more.

An added bonus: the audiobooks for this series are GREAT! Perfect for road trips with your family.

 

 

*Can we agree that Subpar, while punny, is a rather subpar name name for a mini-golf place? (I get it, subpar is a good thing in golf. But…)

**Many people ask my opinion on The Hunger Games. I’ve got some, but I shall leave them for a future post.

 

 

 

 

Throwback Thursday: Drive by Daniel Pink

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TBTBefore I start, a little shout out to my library elf who designed the new Throwback Thursday logo!

DriveCover

While I realize 2011 isn’t so long ago, I figure throwing back to four years ago is better than no post at all. Daniel Pink’s Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us is sometimes classified under Business Culture and Management or Health & Psychology. I found out about this book through a professional development class I took at a Literacy Institute, where the topic was on motivating our students to read and write.

Rather than write a long review about the book, I want to show you a video. It’s in sketch note form, so it’s super engaging. And all you have to do is to think about the real-world implications of these principles in your own context. Easy as pie! While you’re watching, I’m sure you’ll see the implications in areas of your life, such as in ministry, work, from when you were a student, or in some kind of avocation or passion you have. But try also to consider the implications as a parent who is trying to motivate your child to read, write, study, or practice piano/soccer/taekwondo. If you don’t have children, you can just think of it for yourself, for people you are trying to raise up, or your future children.

I hope you were able to catch the three driving (pardon the pun) principles: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. What implications do you see in terms of the topics we discuss here on this blog, such as fostering genuine love of reading?

Throwback Thursday: Reading Memories

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TBTThrowback Thursdays will feature posts that are a “Blast From the Past” in one way or the other. The age of the author of the post will determine how far back the blast is coming from. As for today, I’m the author, so the blast is coming from the 80’s, y’all. (1980’s, not 1880’s.)

charlotteswebMrs. Trujillo was my 3rd grade teacher at Cerritos Elementary School, and she read us Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White, which was already a classic, having been published in 1952. I don’t remember as much about the book as I do about the whole experience. Every day after lunch, we knew it was reading time when Mrs. Trujillo pulled the brown wooden rocking chair to the edge of the circle rug at the front of the classroom. We would rush to be able to sit on the rug, and to be as close to her as possible so that we could see the pictures. I remember learning “salutations” and “runt” as vocabulary words.

I moved to a new school for 4th grade, and I chose to re-read Charlotte’s Web on my own. Part of the reason I was drawn to the book was because it reminded me of home, which in my mind, was still in Southern California. It was a familiar old friend anchoring me in a new place. Years later, I took a bunch of kiddos from Gracepoint Berkeley church to watch the 2006 movie version, and I cried like a baby during that one part (I won’t spoil it for those of you haven’t read the book yet.). Each encounter with the story left a powerful memory in me that makes me nostalgic every time I hear mention of the title.

So when I recommend the book to kids and parents today, I realize I’m recommending so much more than the story of Charlotte, Wilbur and Fern, though the story is wonderful in its own right. It’s a book I love for many reasons, and when I recommend parents and kids read it together, I’m thinking about how this is one of those books that just might help them create a powerful, lasting reading memory together. The kinds of memories that are integral to fostering book love that lives on beyond childhood and into adulthood.

Do you have a favorite reading memory? What book evokes a reading memory for you?