Magyk by Angie Sage This is LB’s current favorite series – alas, poor Magic Tree House! Magyk is the first book in the Septimus Heap series, which immediately makes the listener (or reader) somewhat suspicious, as Septimus Heap, the seventh son of a seventh son, dies in the introduction. His father is Silas Heap, an Ordinary Wizard in the castle, and as Septimus is born, the Queen and the ExtraOrdinary Wizard are both assassinated. As Silas is wandering in the woods looking for the herbs that the midwife has said that his wife Sarah needs to help with the childbirth, he finds a baby, wrapped in a blanket under a tree. And as the midwife rushes away with their Septimus, Silas and Sarah adopt the new baby, Jenna, and raise her as their own. All this (much simplified on my part), from the introduction. Fast forward ten years, to Jenna’s tenth birthday. The current ExtraOrdinary Wizard, Marcia Overstrand, as well as the kindly ghost of the former ExtraOrdinary Wizard, come to tell Jenna that she is in fact the Princess. Her hiding place has been discovered (helped by her being a violet-eyed, dark-eyed girl in a house full of green-eyed blonds.) The Supreme Custodian, who arranged for Jenna’s mother to be dispatched, is sending the Hunter for Jenna. Now, Jenna, next-oldest Nicko, father Silas, Marcia Overstrand, and a refugee from the Young Army, Boy 412, along with the Heap family dog, are on the run. Will Jenna escape? And who is Boy 412?
The book is set in a fantasy world that oddly combines the modern and the medieval. The city is the Castle, and the royal residence within the Castle is the Palace – this feels more authentically medieval than many fantasy books. Everyone dresses in tunics, often color-coded by job, also medieval-feeling. The Heap family lives in the neighborhood of small apartments known as the Rambling, which feels more modern, as does the school that the children attend. The language is also quite modern, and later books travel back in time to a period that feels more medieval yet. One of the things that I’m loving about the series is the number of minor characters and details that show up as color in one book and then later turn out to be significant. Not surprisingly for a book about the magic of a seventh son of a seventh son, the series is projected to have seven books, though as of this writing, only five have been published. Each book seems to have its own goal, however, without the overarching plot that one comes to expect of fantasy series, especially those that start out by announcing the number of books in the series. That’s not necessarily bad – it certainly makes for less pressure when listening to the series with a six-year-old, as I am. And I could be wrong – Sage could be pulling something stealthy on me. There is some death (though most of the dead come back as ghosts), and some fairly scary villains. No worse than early Harry Potter, though, and nothing that has bothered the boy. At any rate, this is proving satisfying listening for both parent and child. A question for another day is why I’m choosing to start LB on modern fantasy like this and Inkheart rather than the fantasy classics I was raised on.
Crossposted to http://sapphireone.livejournal.com and http://library-mama.dreamwidth.org .
100 Easy-to-Grow Native Plants for American Gardens in Temperate Zones by Lorraine Johnson So here is the truth: Intellectually, I am all about planting native plants in my garden. The benefits include plants that are easy to care for and that attract native birds and butterflies, among others. The difficulty is that no one is sending glossy catalogs of beautiful native plants complete with garden kits and expert-designed garden plans to my door. Even though the end result would certainly be easier to care for, tracking down the native plants in the first place is difficult, involving either a trip to the crowded Farmer’s Market half an hour away or a drive to a nursery over an hour away. Then there is the difficulty of me, not really a good gardener but just someone who wants some pretty flowers by her house, coming up with a design that won’t make the neighbors think we just didn’t get around to weeding. While finding the plants might still be somewhat difficult, this book steps in to fill a large part of the gap. It has entries with beautiful full-color pictures for the 100 plants mentioned, most of them flowers but some grasses. Entries include cheerful and friendly discussion of the merits and drawbacks of each plant. Each includes not only the best growing environment, but also plants that it looks good with and related plants. There are also full-page photos of native gardens in different styles, from wild to more traditional. I was thrilled by the indices (I may never get to use that phrase again!), which presented lists of plants for different environments – eastern woodland, prairie, and northwest, among others – and each plant in the list shown with a full-color thumbnail, so you don’t have to flip back to the main entry to see what it looks like. This should make planning that easy-care yet beautiful garden so much easier.
The Iron Duke by Meljean BrooksThis is going further into my exploration of the steampunk genre. Once again, we are in quasi-Victorian England. However, no Queen Victoria, but a young king. England (and the rest of Europe) was, some time ago, taken over by the Mongol Horde, who used radio-controlled nanoagents to control the population. England is now free, however, due to the actions of former pirate and now Duke Rhys Trahaern. In the present time, the nanoagents are necessary for survival, as they clean the pollutants from the lungs in the heavily coal-operated country. Society is now divided into “buggers” and “bounders” – those with nanoagents and those who fled during the occupation and returned afterwards, sans nanoagents. Once again, my explanation might make it seem as if there is no action, but anything but. Our heroine, Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth, is in a somewhat precarious position as the daughter of nobility, but obviously born of a Horde-induced Frenzy, and thus subject to open hostility in the streets. As the story opens, she is called away from a ball to investigate a frozen body that has landed seemingly from nowhere on the front steps of Duke Trahaern. There is of course instant attraction followed quite some time later by Hawt Sex and novel description of steampunk-style personal pleasure devices. There is action and adventure involving chasing down airships and escaping from zombies. There is political intrigue and some reflection on how mores and the roles of women would be changed by generations growing up under the Horde Occupation. It is a darker steampunk world than usual – certainly lacking the lightheartedness of Soulless – but still absorbing, with enough action to satisfy those frustrated by pure romance and enough romance for those looking for that. 
St. George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges. Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. I am writing up this old favorite because, after several attempts at finding the perfect book, this is the one that Lightening Bolt settled on for doing his big Book Project on at school. Trina Schart Hyman is one of my favorite illustrators of all time, and this book is a fine example of her work. These are glorious full-page pictures (watercolor and ink if I am not mistaken), with borders and marginalia around the facing page of text. It’s a long picture book for older readers (LB was disappointed not to be able to read it to his class) and the text is beautifully written. Every time that LB asks for it at bedtime on an already late night, I look for a way to abridge the text to make it a more manageable length. Every time I end up just reading the whole thing, because the words are just right, with strong metaphors and alliterations adding to the medieval feel of the book. And for kids too old for little-kid picture books and not quite ready for all chapter books, this is a book detailed and exciting enough to capture. 
Hiro Dragon Warrior by Bobbie JG Weiss and David Cody Weis. Pictures by Robbie Short. It might not be perfect for every child, or even every little boy, but here is a book that is, according to my son, exactly perfect for him. It is an easy reader, comic-book style, featuring young dragons learning martial arts and using them to rescue stolen treasure. There are two volumes out right now; alas, just old enough that it doesn’t look like more will be published. Still, easy readers in this particular category – high interest for boys without media tie-ins – are hard to come by. This was enough of a find for us to buy both the books, rather than just borrowing from the library as we usually do.
Stitch ‘n Bitch Superstar Knitting by Debbie Stoller Stoller returns with her fifth Stitch ‘n Bitch book, this time featuring advanced techniques. The whole first half of the book delves into advanced techniques, including what they are and tips for making them look better and how to fix mistakes. Techniques covered include intarsia, stranded color work, cables, lace, short rows, beads, embroidery and steeks, as well as how to design your own sweater. All of these topics are covered with Stoller’s typical clear writing and funky sense of humor, accompanied with line drawings (and hands wearing the familiar scuffed black nail polish.) The second half features the fashion-forward knitting patterns that Stitch ‘n Bitch books are known for, modeled on a multi-ethnic crew. The patterns are divided up by technique, and make me mourn again the extremely limited knitting time I have at present – though there are no difficulty ratings, adding in all of that colorwork, cables, and beading adds time on to knitting. Most of the patterns are for women’s garments, with a few bags and kids’ sweaters thrown in. Some of my favorites include the famous Gretel tam, the leaf-bordered Leafy Lace cardigan, the squirrely mittens (yay 
The Birthday Ball by Lois Lowry. Illustrations by Jules Feiffer. This is a sweet little book from heavy hitter and Newbury-award winning author Lowry. The Princess Patricia Priscilla is about to turn 16 and is bored with everything. Bored with her life, bored with the idea of the ball in honor of her birthday, bored with the thought of having to choose a husband. After talking with her maid, she decides to borrow her maid’s clothes and attend the local village school just for something fun to do. There, she gets educated in what life is like for the peasantry and falls for the handsome young school teacher. Breaks from this story introduce the princess’s would-be suitors, all odious men from places with names like Dyspepsia. It’s a light tale for younger chapter book readers, with modern elements mixed into the setting adding to this feel, as well – one of the suitors, for example dresses in spandex, and the maid, trapped in the princess’s suite waiting for the return of her dress, reads Alice in Wonderland. The scribbly illustrations are by Jules Feiffer, whose work I recognized from my childhood reading of The Phantom Tollbooth. Will Patricia find a way out of having to choose from the odious suitors? I would have found this book just a bit better if the choice weren’t quite so clear, but it’s still a fun story for princess-obsessed girls. Pair it with The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye or Patricia Wrede’s slightly meatier Dealing with Dragons.
Soulless by Gail Carriger Here is a nice genre-busting book, first in a series: in an alternate England, the success of the empire is due to their reliance on help from vampires and werewolves. Our heroine is Alexia Tarabotti, a soulless spinster, whose early quest for treacle tart at a ball is interrupted by the sad necessity of having to kill a very rude vampire. The BUR, the agency for the regulation of supernatural beings, of course investigates. This is headed by an irritating if attractive werewolf by the name of Lord Maccon. To the fantasy, we may add comedy of manners with romance a la Jane Austen (if a bit spicier). Miss Tarabotti’s spectacular parasol weapon and the overt presence of dirigibles add a steampunk twist. From a library reader’s advisory standpoint, this book has something for anyone willing to read speculative fiction: appealing characters, a fast-moving plot (where are all these uneducated and poorly dressed vampires coming from?), an intriguing and well-detailed setting, and witty writing. This comes recommended not only by me, but by my love and the famous 
Sneaky Fitness by Missy Chase Lapine and Laryssa Didio Everyone knows that kids need exercise, and that the only thing more certain to make a wiggle-worm hold still is to tell him or her that they need to get some exercise to be healthy. Lapine of 
Library Wars by Kiiro Yumi. In the Japan of a not-too-distant future, libraries are at war. The central government-run Media Betterment Committee has been fighting for control of library collections, which are protected from their censorship by the Library Defense Force. As a young teen, Iku Kasahara had a longed-for book taken out of her hands at a bookstore by the Media Betterment Committee, then returned to her by an LDF agent. Now she’s joined the LDF as the first female agent. Does her supervising officer’s gruff exterior conceal a soft heart, or is he really just a jerk? Will she make it in the Defense Force? Who was her mysterious hero, and can Iku ever find him? This is written as a shojo, or girl’s manga, so romantic concerns take up most of the space for the first book and a half, with the censorship plot slowly gaining importance. Book 4 is due out in March 2011. The art is on the realistic side for manga. This is a fun and frothy read, with underpinnings of serious issues. 
alibrarymama 