Post by Mark T. Locker.

Wildwood by Colin Meloy. Illustrations by Carson Ellis.

Portland has had a lot to murmur about these days. From IFC’s “Portlandia” show to the seemingly endless New York Times articles about how neat we are, Portland has had a lot of eyes trained on it the last few years. Now the darling of the Portland music scene, Colin Meloy, has graced us with Wildwood, a children’s novel set in Portland’s vast urban wilderness, Forest Park. There’s always a little hint of pleasure reading about places you know and love, especially when re-contextualized in a fantasy world.

12-year-old Prue McKeel lives a perfectly normal life in the St. Johns neighborhood of Portland. But one day as she is watching her baby brother, Mac, a murder of crows swoops out of the sky and carries her brother away. Prue furiously tries to keep up with the birds, but when they fly into the Impassible Wilderness, her heart sinks. But she realizes that even though no one EVER goes there, she has no choice but to go after them. Accompanied by her classmate Curtis, they plunge into the woods that no human has ever set foot in, dead-set on locating little Mac. What they never expected, however, was a whole world living inside the Impassible Wilderness including governors, owl princes, coyotes in uniform and, of course, bandits. Thus begins the adventure in this behemoth 500+-page novel. Illustrated by his wife (also illustrator for The Mysterious Benedict Society series and the Decemberists’ albums), this is a fun book, full of action, fantasy and humor. Meloy certainly does not attempt to talk down or simplify his language which will please advanced and adult readers, but may cause younger kids to stumble a bit. All the more reason to read it aloud to your child at bedtime. Ages 12 and up.

Tags: Bedtime, Books, Charles P. Rogers, Children, Colin Meloy, family, stories, Wildwood

Post by Mark T. Locker.

I Spy With My Little Eye by Edward Gibbs.
If your child is demanding book after book as you try to tuck the little bugger into bed, this is a short and fun one that may appeal. It’s one of those “hole in the page to give a clue as to what follows books”. Each page features an animal’s eye peering through a hole in the page. It is accompanied by some sort of fact about the animal. To be honest it’s not a terribly exciting book; the creatures cover the requisite colors of the rainbow and kids learn about animals and how to put pieces together to come up with a cohesive hole. There is not a lot more to the book than that. But at the end is a hole in the back cover through which your little one can look and play “I spy” with you. That’s my son’s favorite part of the book.

Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell.
This would be a great book to read to your niblet at night after a long day full of wonderful autumnal activities. It would be a great reflection of what, to my mind, the perfect autumn day would entail. Namely: picking bushels of apples in the morning and then going for a bunch of pumpkins afterward. When you get home, you bake a whole lot of wonderful things like pies, breads, crisps, and make butters. A few days later, you carve the Jack O’ Lanterns. What can I say? I’m a sucker for fall and all fall-related activities. Read it. It’s fun and it may give you some good ideas.

Tags: Anne Rockwell, Bedtime, Books, Charles P. Rogers, Children, family, stories

Post by Mark T. Locker.

Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol.

All Anya Borzakovskaya wants is to blend in with her high school classmates and will do whatever it takes to insure no one in her high school thinks she is “fobby” or fresh off the boat. In a world of waifish blonde girls, the Russian perspective that being fat means you are well-off simply won’t fly. But who would have guessed that tumbling down a well would lead her to her first friend, the ghost of a girl who fell down the same well a hundred years ago? That’s how she meets Emily Reilly whose skeleton (and ghost) have been in the well for decades. Having a ghost friend proves useful when it comes to snooping and peeking the the test answers. But as Emily’s past and her intentions become more clear, Anya has to decide what is most important to her.

This graphic novel, illustrated in bold black, white, and gray is reminiscent in style of Marjane Satrapi’s Persephone. The story, however, is part ghost story, part adolescent search for identity, and part immigrant tale. It is fantastically entertaining, thoughtful, and at times spooky. If you are easily scared, this may not be for you but I for one had no trouble reading this in bed. So long as my stuffed bear was readily accessible.

Ages 14 and up.

Tags: Anya's Ghost, Bedtime, Books, Charles P. Rogers, Children, family, stories, Vera Brosgol

I’m not a huge fan of science fiction and the extent of my interest usually begins and ends with The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I decided to try out Singing the Dogstar Blues just for fun. As far as sci-fi goes, it’s not too bad.  In a not-too-distant future, Joss Aaronson is about to turn eighteen and has also just been chosen to be among the elite new time-jumping recruits. Because she is always looking to skirt the rules and do things her own way, her teacher is keen to get her off the team. But when the new recruit Mavkel, the first alien recruit from Choria, selects Joss as its partner, there’s nothing the teacher can do. So begins Joss’s discovery of Mavkel, Chorians, and herself. Already looked down on by some because she’s a test tube baby, being paired with the still mysterious Chorian causes even more heads to turn. But Joss’s relationship with Mavkel will lead her to many new discoveries. As she uses her semi-illegal techniques to learn who her father is, who her mother really is and who she, as an almost adult, wants to become.

Through casual description from 18-year-old Joss’s point of view, the reader is introduced to a future which, despite its fancy holograms and time jumping, has not found a cure for teenage angst and social divisions. Sometimes the futuristic came off sounding a bit contrived (recycling is simply referred to as “recyc” ; holograms are “holos”) overall the narrative voice comes off perfectly as that of a surly but not unfeeling teenage girl. The pace is quick but not sloppy and the layers of mystery are tantalizing.  Just be prepared for a blah ending. Ages 12 and up.

Tags: Alison Goodman, Bedtime, Books, Charles P. Rogers, Children, family, stories

Post by Mark T. Locker

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey.

If you hurry, you may be able to grab a few last late-season blueberries for one last pie. Summer is winding down but this classic by Robert McCloskey (who won the 1942 Caldecott Medal for Make Way for Ducklings) is a good read all year round. A little girl and her mother are working their way up Blueberry Hill, gathering fruit to save for the winter. Like any small child she eats as many as she picks. Finally, she sits in a blueberry bush and begins to feast. On the other side of the hill a mother bear and her cub are eating as many blueberries as they can to get ready for winter. As neither child nor parents are paying close attention, it takes a while for the mothers to realize they are being followed by the wrong child! It’s a simple and entertaining book and the pictures, which are drawn in rich blue ink, are lovely to look at. Read well, and dream of blueberries. Ages 3 and up.

Ten Rowdy Ravens by Susan Ewing. Illustrated by Evon Zerbetz.

There are lots of books called “Ten___” and many are just as interesting as the others, which is not very. Perhaps I am overly biased towards ravens, but I think this book is better than most. Filled with bold linocut images, each page shows ten naughty ravens playing all kinds of raven games and causing all kinds of raven trouble. Naturally, on each page one get into some kind of jam and there is suddenly one less raven. Not to worry; at the end the last bird calls his friends all back to start the game again. Get it. Look at it. It’s pretty.

Tags: Bedtime, Books, Charles P. Rogers, Children, family, Robert McCloskey, stories, Susan Ewing