Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

Title: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie Bucket #1)
Author: Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake (illustrator)
Pages: 155
Published: 2007 (first published 1964)
Challenges: Classics Club, I Love Library
Genre: Children's, Classics, Fantasy
Edition: Paperback
Source: Library

Description: Willy Wonka's famous chocolate factory is opening at last!

But only five lucky children will be allowed inside. And the winners are: Augustus Gloop, an enormously fat boy whose hobby is eating; Veruca Salt, a spoiled-rotten brat whose parents are wrapped around her little finger; Violet Beauregarde, a dim-witted gum-chewer with the fastest jaws around; Mike Teavee, a toy pistol-toting gangster-in-training who is obsessed with television; and Charlie Bucket, Our Hero, a boy who is honest and kind, brave and true, and good and ready for the wildest time of his life!

Thoughts: I got this book because I hadn't read this book for quite sometime and also due to the controversial cover that was released in early August, 2014.

Personally, I thought that the book was okay, but what I liked about the book is that the messages that Roald Dahl put into the book are very timely and relevant even today's culture.

The message that spoke the most clearly to me was about Mike TeaVee and his addiction to TV, as he seem to find his creativity from something that doesn't allow for too much creativity.  The book is definitely quirky, but it is well-written and has a strong message to say for its readers.

Bottom line: While the book didn't move me as an adult, I can definitely see where children between Grades 3 and 5 can get something more out of the book; well, I suppose one hope that they do.  Highly Recommended.

Rating: 4.25/5

Pages for 2014: 24,172  

The Winter Of Red Snow - Kristiana Gregory

Title: The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777
Author: Kristiana Gregory
Pages: 192
Published: 2010 (originally published 1996)
Challenges: Historical Fiction, War Through the Generations
Genre: Historical Fiction, Children's literature
Edition: Hardcover
Source: Library

Description: Eleven-year-old Abigail Jane Stewart's fictionalized diary about her life, family, friends, and neighbors, and the sides they have to choose in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, during the height of the Revolutionary War, renders a vivid portrayal of one of the most memorable and crucial winters in American history.

Abby's life with her family is quickly upended when they are awakened by the unfamiliar sound of drums. General George Washington is leading the Continental soldiers into their winter encampment at Valley Forge, PA. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: For myself as an adult, this was a book that I got through during the course of an evening, but for a younger reader probably around 9 or 10 years of age, this book probably would take a bit longer to read, but if they are good readers, they will probably enjoy them. 

I like how the author put enough facts into the book to make the reader intrigued to further research, if they are interested in such a thing, but also put enough fiction so that the reader can actually enjoy the story.  It also is fairly clean enough, with the exception of a few scenes in which there are some amputations, etc, but nothing too graphic, to parents not worry about the content of this particular series.

Bottom line: I would recommend this book and possibly the other books in this series to those readers that are the middle grades, probably starting around grade 3 or 4, depending on the reader, and those that may have an interest in historical fiction. Recommended.

Rating: 4/5

Pages for 2013: 19, 455

Blizzard of Glass: The Halifax Explosion of 1917 - Sally M. Walker

Title: Blizzard of Glass: the Halifax Explosion of 1917
Author: Sally M. Walker
Pages: 160
Published: 2011
Genre: Children's Literature, Canadian History
Challenges: None
Edition: Hardcover
Source: Library

Description: December 6, 1917, started like any other day in Halifax.  Women made breakfast, men went to work, children got ready for school.  But everything stopped shortly before nine o'clock that morning, when two ships collided in Halifax Harbour.  One of the ships was loaded with munitions for the troops fighting in Europe; the other was preparing to collet medical supplies for the war's victims.

The resulting disaster was the largest man-made explosion until the detonation of the atomic bomb in 1945.  The blast flattened large areas of Halifax and the town across the harbor, Dartmouth.  It killed nearly two thousand people. As if that wasn't devastating enough, a blizzard hit the next day on the area and slowing much-needed relief efforts.

This harrowing story of tragedy and recovery reveals the extraordinary strength and determination of a community in one of its darkest hours. (via inside flap of book)

Thoughts:  For the past 20 years, I have had an interest in the Halifax Explosion after visiting an exhibit there at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic (I think I also saw some artifacts from the Titanic on display) and immediately gained an interest on the topic and when Heritage Canada put out a series of minutes that included the Halifax Explosion, my interest was piqued and everytime I see something in regards to the Halifax explosion.  While the contribution that was made by American doctors and nurses is the most notable, these contributions were also significant:

• the state of Maine sent 5 train cars filled with supplies and 10,000 wool blankets
• the Massachusetts Automobile Club sent ten trucks
• schoolchildren in St. John, N.B. donated 10,000 pieces of children's clothing
• a Red Cross train from New York carried mattresses, blankets, food, and clothes
• one shipment of clothing from the United States contained a small surprise in the pocket of every outfit
• the USS Old Colony was prepared as a temporary hospital in Halifax Harbour

I liked that it focused on five different families that lived in the area and who were all affected by the explosion.  And its nice to note that every year since 1971 Boston lights a Christmas tree in Boston Common that is a gift of thanks from Nova Scotia to the people of Massachusetts.

Bottom line:  This is a good introductory book to the Halifax Explosion for anybody who wishes to learn more about this particular event.  Recommended for those kids who are in grades 5-8 and have an interest in learning more about Canadian history or for those that want to be introduced to the topic.

Rating:  4/5

Pages for 2013: 160

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

Title: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
Author: Lewis Carroll
Pages: 108
Published: 2005 (first published 1865)
Genre: Children's Literature, Classics
Challenges: The Classics Club
Edition: Paperback
Source: Purchased

Description: Contained in this volume are the two classics by Lewis Carroll, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass." We are first introduced to Alice in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" where we find Alice idly passing away the time next to a river when she sees a white rabbit pass by in a waistcoat. She follows the rabbit down the rabbit hole and ends up in the fantasy world of Wonderland. Alice's adventures are continued in "Through the Looking Glass" when Alice passes through a mirror to find herself in yet another magical place. (via Goodreads.com)

Thoughts: This is a book that I have wanted to read for quite sometime and since I read Alice I Have Been, the taste of reading this particular book kinda soured in my mouth a bit.  Its not that I didn't want to read the book, its just that after finding out what type of person Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll) was reported to be, it made it a little more difficult for me to get to read the book.  And if you are wondering, I purchased Alice's Adventures in Wonderland prior to reading Alice I Have Been.

It took me awhile to get through the book, despite the fact that it is a relatively short book and I blame that on trying to get books done from the library and wanting to read other things.  Overall, I thought that the book was okay and the reason is that it clearly is meant for a child to read or for one that has an active imagination.  While I was reading it, I found the first book to be far more enjoyable than that of the second book, which I found to be tiresome and not really coherent nor as fun.  I found that the second book felt like it was just thrown together for the sake of it and there was really no thought put into the stories.

I also partially read this on my ereaders (yes, I have two; one has e-ink and one is more like a smartphone).

Bottom line: Feel that the book is good for readers that are bridging from children's books to more adult type books or for those that have a really active imagination.  Its also the perfect book for a bedtime story for parents to read to their kids.

Rating: 3/5

Pages for 2012: 15923