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I don’t normally try to read a bunch of books anytime but during summer vacation, but for some reason I got on a roll during Christmas break and had time to read a few. Here are my thoughts on them.

Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury

I remember when my brother rented the movie Napoleon Dynamite for a few of us to watch, he warned me “don’t expect any plot in this movie, just enjoy each scene as its own.” And that is what this book is like.

It is the literary equivalent of Napoleon Dynamite.

Put another way: it is a collection of short stories related to human travels to Mars. Many of the stories are related or share certain characters, but others don’t.

It was a fairly quick read, or maybe it just seemed that way because I could stop reading and restart whenever I wanted because there is no flow to the whole book.

I didn’t get this book with my kids in mind; I just wanted to grab a book for myself. But, in case you are wondering about kid-appropriateness, I would certainly let a high-schooler read it, but not my elementary-schoolers.

And I don’t know that I would recommend the book to anyone. I’m not recommending against it, just that there are better books out there. Unless you’re a fan of short stories set on Mars.

Seven Wonders – The Colossus Rises, by Peter Lerangis

This book seems like it is trying to capitalize on the popularity of other books involving the historic supernatural (I’m looking at you, Percy Jackson).

The book was fine. If you want to know what the book is about, there are plenty of recaps available elsewhere. My review is going to stick to the reason I was reading the book – to see if my kids would like it.

They might.

The imagery and situations were less intense than the Percy Jackson series, plus there’s no romance, so it is appropriate for a younger audience than Percy Jackson is. I’d say 3rd grade and up for this series, but 6th grade and up for the Olympians. But I read only the first book of this series, so I can’t say for sure that all of them are like this.

Warriors – Into the Wild, by Erin Hunter

We were staying at a friend’s house, and they had this whole series, which they offered to let us borrow. We said yes, and then I read the first book (Into the Wild) after we got home.

The story was more compelling than I had expected. It is about life in a cat clan. There are descriptions of cats fighting, nothing graphic, but if your child doesn’t like animals being harmed or killed, then pass on this series. A 1st grader might enjoy these books, but I’ll go with a recommendation of 2nd grade on up.

Frazz, by Jef Mallet

Great book. A collection of Frazz comic strips. Fun for all ages – almost. There were a couple of instances of something you wouldn’t want your pre-schooler to say. The only one I can remember right now is one of the more famous quotes from Macbeth.

Fallout, by Todd Strasser

Interesting premise, but I stopped partway through. Once I discovered that the book was not appropriate for grade-schoolers, there was no need to keep reading.

The premise is there is only one family on the block who built a bomb shelter, and a nuclear bomb does go off. The book is centered around this Lifeboat scenario (Steve Taylor reference) as more people get into the shelter than it is meant to support, but the also delves into other lessons on racism and other social issues. My main objection has to do with some of the lessons that the neighbor boy teaches the main character, also a young boy. The protagonist is young and therefore naive, and he learns some things. The things he learns from the neighbor are not things I want other people putting into my child’s head.

Note: there are several books with the title of Fallout. If you are writing or thinking about a book, please choose a different title.

Iron Giant, by Ted Hughes

We watched this movie (animated, from the 1990s) for the first time last month. Everyone liked it so much, we thought we would read the book.

Don’t.

If you liked the movie, leave it at that. The book is nothing like the movie. The movie is exciting. The book is simple. It reads like a See Spot Run book.

I guess it hinges on your expectations. If you read the book to kids at a young enough age, they might enjoy it. If you see the movie first though, they probably won’t.

Rush Revere, by Rush Limbaugh

A stylized account of William Bradford’s settling of the Pilgrims in 1620. Alpha got this for Christmas from his grandparents. Since I trust his grandparents not to corrupt him with inappropriate media, I wasn’t going to check or read this book. But I noticed him laughing at a few parts of the book, so I got curious.

The book was both entertaining and informative. It is, at its heart, a history lesson, albeit enhanced with additional characters so that kids will want to read it.

Nothing objectionable.

Sidekicks, by Dan Santat

My 2nd grader picked this out of the library. I wasn’t planning on reading it, but one afternoon my pre-schooler picked it as the book he wanted me to read to him.

It’s a fun little comic book, or short graphic novel if you will, about an aging superhero and his pets. Those pets happen to be his sidekicks, hence the title.

I’d have no problem letting any of my kids read this one.