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Book Reviews August 2002

Book Reviews by S. Chris Saad, Ph.D

As kids get ready for summer, they look for books to take to camp with them. The ideal summer camp book is an inexpensive paperback that is long enough to keep a reader busy for a few days.
The books reviewed below were recently released in paperback. All are fun and engrossing and long enough to last past the first day at camp.

Shakespeare’s Scribe
Gary Blackwood
Ages 9-14
Set in Elizabethan England, this is the story of Widge, a teenage boy who acts in Shakespeare’s troupe. Because the plague drives the company from London, the players visit a series of small towns hoping to perform. When William Shakespeare becomes injured, Widge acts as his scribe, transcribing the plays as Shakespeare dictates them. Shakespeare’s Scribe is the sequel to The Shakespeare Stealer, but it stands on its own as an engrossing adventure novel.
Puffin, 2002 (published in hardcover in 2000)
$5.99
265 pages

Fire Bringer
David Clement-Davies
Ages 10 and up
Imagine a cross between Watership Down and Animal Farm with deer as protagonists, and you’ve got Fire Bringer. This is a suspenseful epic fantasy about a herd of deer. When a tyrannical new Lord of the Herd takes over, life seems pretty bleak until the hero Rannoch embarks on a journey in search of freedom for the herd. Fantasy lovers won’t be able to put this one down!
Firebird, 2002 (published in hardcover in 1999)
$6.99
498 pages

Bud, Not Buddy
Christopher Paul Curtis
Ages 9-12
It is 1936 in Flint, Michigan, and Bud has run away from an abusive foster home. He decides to search for his father, and the result is this humorous and thought-provoking adventure story. Bud’s “Rules and things for having a funner life and making a better liar out of yourself” are sprinkled throughout this novel and are both funny and poignant, as is Bud’s search for his roots. Bud, Not Buddy received a Newbery Medal and a Coretta Scott King Award.
Yearling, 2002 (published in hardcover in 1999)
$5.99
245 pages

Sport
Louise Fitzhugh
Ages 10 and up
Harriet the Spy fans will remember Harriet’s good friend Sport. Now back in print, this is the story of Sport’s desperate escape when his estranged mother kidnaps him. Anyone who loved Harriet is sure to enjoy Sport’s zany adventures.
Yearling, 2002 (originally published in 1979)
$5.99
216 pages

Night Flying
Rita Murphy
Ages 10 and up
Who has never dreamed about flying? Georgia, like all the women in her family, can fly. As Georgia approaches the time when she will be able to fly on her own, she navigates the complicated relationships between the women in her family. This spellbinding coming-of-age story is a pleasure to read.
Dell Laurel Leaf, 2002
(originally published in hardcover in 2000)
$4.99
129 pages

S. Chris Saad, Ph.D. owns Chris’ Corner: Books for Kids and Teens, an independent children’s bookstore located at 1940 Pine Street in Philadelphia. Chris’ Corner can be reached at 215-790-1727, or at chrisc@pond.com. All the books reviewed above are available at Chris’ Corner and other independent bookstores.