Science Fiction Fantasy Books

When I heard that my favorite dark elf was back, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the book. To my great dissappointment, this is not the crew I fell in love with. The characters are devoid of the passion, excitement and heroism of the past and these new... stand-ins seem more like political manipulators than adventurers. I miss the band the old band of heroes.

This one book is better than the whole Hunter's Blades trilogy, which I found to be a little boring. It's all about misunderstood cultures and racism, both of which can lead to war. Drizzt is there in the middle of it all, trying to regulate as best he can. If you like this series of books, you'll really love this one.

Once again, Drizzt is back and just as kicka@$$ as ever. Great book and i had been waiting for it for a long time now, and it did not disappoint, recommended to anyone who likes Drizzt(who doesnt?) or the Forgotten Realms world in general.

I must say that even though I love this series, the past few trilogies have been repetitive, very repetitive and somewhat bland. The Orc King is different than those others: it reshapes virtually everything we have come to know in Salvatore's world.

For example (without spoiling):

-Boundaries are shaped.
-Revelations are made
-A character's plot is finished or at least halted
-A character comes to look at battle in a whole new light (and I must say I love this little turn and have been wondering why a character didn't turn this way previously)

Read this book! It will not disappoint.

(Spoiler Free Review)

This book begins with a Prelude that spoils parts of the book. But it really has nothing to do with the actual events in the story, so you should SKIP IT! I wish someone told me to SKIP THE PRELUDE. I would have enjoyed the book a lot more. If you really want, you can read the Prelude after you finish the book.

Chapter 1 picks up, right where The Hunter's Blades Trilogy ended. Obould is camped right outside of Mithril Hall. Tensions are high as Buenor, Drizzt, and Company search for answers in the ancient city of Gauntlgrym. The dark elf Tos'un Armgo is still on the loose. The story progresses from there.

I have to admit, the last trilogy felt repetitive. Part of me actually started rooting for the orcs to kill one of the heroes to shake things up a bit. Well, this book shakes things up... quite a bit. The characters develop more in this book than any of the preceeding books; and it's a great change of pace.

I'm really looking forward to the next book, Pirate King.

The action ranges from overly complex to very good in this book. By overly complex, R.A. Salvatore describes some of the attacks in too much detail and it bogs down the action. In other parts, the action is what you'd come to expect in a Drizzt Novel: Very Good.

The book is well written and well paced. I'd say it's one of the better Drizzt novels. If you're a fan of Drizzt and you've been keeping up, then you'll really like this book. If you stopped reading Drizzt a while back, this book is a good reason to catch up again.

I've enjoyed all of the 19 Drizzt Books and I've got to say that R.A. Salvatore hasn't written a bad one yet. Some are better than others, but none of them are bad. That's pretty amazing.

The book picks up a few months where Night Life left off. Luna has a few life-surprises fall on her. She is paired up with a partner who would be equated to her polar opposite. Slowly they both start realizing how much they have in common (mainly a crappy childhood). Luna is also surprised and a little relieved to understand why magic affects her the way it does. And that she does have some magical abilities. Fate also has a cruel joke/surprise waiting for Luna when she runs into the one person who is her worst nightmare, literally. Unfortunately, Dmitri also has an awful surprise for Luna but I won't give too much away. Needless to say if you are a Luna and Dmitri fan than you will love the ending of the book. I can honestly say that I didn't want to put this book down and was sorry when it was over. It was so good I wanted it to keep going. This book has no useless page fillers and excessive self-berating. Instead is packed with wild action, witch craft, blood-witches, caster-witches, demons, weres sex and tons of sexual tension.

others books I enjoy: Kim Harrison- Rachel Morgan series, Jenna Black-Morgan Kingsley series, Larissa Ione- Demonica series, Ilona Andrews- Kate Daniels series, Richelle Mead- Georgina Kinkaid series, Audra and Stella Price- Eververse series, Yasmine Galenorn- Sisters of the Moon, Rachel Caine- Weather Warden series

4.75/5 Hearts from Leslee at Night Owl Romance

This is the second book in the Nocturne City series. It takes up three months after the events in Night Life.

Luna has just returned to her job as a homicide detective. Her first night back she catches a case of a body found in an alley. It appears to be an OD, overdose, but the ME discovers signs that the victim was deprived of oxygen. Several people at the scene allude to Luna's other nature and she is almost killed by another junkie fleeing the area. Then she arrives at the precinct to discover her new boss, Captain Matilda Morgan, would love to find a reason to fire her. Just another wonderful day in the life of an Insoli were. To top it off, she gets a partner dumped on her. Barbie doll looks and a perky package sum up the first impression of Shelby O'Halloran. When things don't add up on the tox report for the body in the alley and Luna stumbles upon another victim, it looks like they have a full blown case on their hands. Will Luna be able to forget Dmitri and focus on working with her partner to solve the case instead of planning Shelby's demise?

What an incredible follow up to Night Life! Caitin Kittredge is a talent on the rise! The mystery kept me guessing and I was taken by surprise by several events. We learn more about Luna and what makes her tick. The depth of emotion that bled onto the page when she thought about Dmitri was intense. The fight scenes were raw and a couple of times I was flinching in my seat with the damage being done. Ms. Kittredge writes so well that you are literally right there feeling the blows. I can't imagine what is in store for us in Second Skin coming March 2009 but I will be waiting with bated breath!

Leslee of Night Owl Romance - [...]© Night Owl Romance 2008

Usually I like to listen to Jayne Ann Krentz books but this narrator's nasal quality,slow pace and unbeleivable rendition of the characters put me to sleep and I had to turn off the audio book
Hopefully other narrators on future books of Ms. Krentz books will deliver her words with clarity and the intention of the author.

I love this book. Shipped when and received as promised. Will order again.

Jayne Ann Krentz has become a must buy author. I usually by the Quick historicals and the Jayne Castle paranormals because normally I don't like contemporaries but the Krentz novels have whetted my appetite for contemporary reads.

Ms. Krentz allows her quirky sense of humor to come alive in whatever genre she is writing. Her characters are always multilayered and complex. Her storylines are innovative and enthralling.

I read this a month ago and I vaguely remember it now. I've had it sitting on my desk reminding myself to do a review. I can't remember it being that bad that I was ready to chuck it, but then again it couldn't be that good that I made a note to buy the rest of the books in the same series.

Ehhhh....

Raine Tallentyre knew little about the Arcane Society. It wasn't that it was a secret society, but it was secretive. What she did know came from her Aunt Vella. She knew it had been in existence for hundreds of years and all of its members were psychic. They had two purposes, help their members fit into mainstream society, and to advance the research on psychic powers.

As a clairvoyant, Raine could have used their help. Hearing the voices of someone evil when she inadvertently touched something after them, was literally driving her crazy. But the resources and help offered by the Arcane Society was beyond her reach. Her father had been a member of the Society, but when he started doing unauthorized research, his lab was destroyed. With his death the Tallentyre family name was removed from the Arcane Society rosters.

While settling her aunt's estate, Raine felt the tremors of evil once again. Her aunt's house was supposed to be vacant. Vella spent the last year of her life in a mental institution, but the thread of evil was unmistakable. Raine followed the thread to the basement and discovered a beaten and battered woman locked in the closet. It was the work of a serial killer, and now his attention was focused on Raine.

Zachary Jones was a private investigator for Jones and Jones, a private detective agency staffed and funded by the Arcane Society. Their primary purpose was to guard the Founder's Formula and squelch any efforts to further the research on it. The Founder's Formula enhanced one's psychic abilities but it had adverse side affects.

Throughout the history of the Arcane Society there were factions looking for ultimate power and saw the Founder's Formula as a means of getting it. Judson Tallentyre, Raine's father was one of them. J & J tracked down his lab and burned it to the ground when Raine was six. Unfortunately Judson Tallentyre's work on the Founder's Formula didn't burn in the fire as J & J once thought. They needed to locate the research and destroy it before the latest faction managed to find it and put it to use. Zach needed Raine's help.

Raine didn't trust anyone from Jones and Jones. They destroyed her father's work, and she suspected that they caused the accident that took his life, but the need to know the truth took precedence. Raine and Zach form an uneasy alliance. She would not let the attraction she felt for Zach get in the way of the investigation. Agents from Jones and Jones could not be trusted.

Sizzle and Burn is Jayne Ann Krentz's latest addition to her Arcane Society series. It is full of action, intrigue, and romance. Krentz offers a fascinating look at the inner workings of the Arcane Society and a dose of its history as well. It is a fast paced thriller with a touching romantic twist. It can easily be classified as a paranormal romance, suspense or mystery. Whatever the genre, it's a great read and deserves a five star rating.

The story is seems a little bit awkward. The characters are not well developed. And some elements of the story are just like parachutes: they just drop down on it. But overall is a good story, not great. You will be forgetting it in a short time.

I am hooked on this one..not that I am a comic fan, but the story line, the intrigues...have me wanting for more.

In the 80's John Ostrander's Suicide Squad was on of the best dark superhero books around. In the 90's his horror superhero book 'The Spectre' was one of the strongest takes on the character yet.

So it's no surprise that in the 00's his dark take on the future of the Star Wars universe would be so good.

He continues to show his skill at developing memorable characters in a short amount of time and keeping multiple storylines going. In this volume the corruption of Cade Skywalker continues and we learn more about the villain of the book. The art remains as good as ever with aliens and humans coming to life.

This series works for both casual fans of Star Wars and for the obsessive fans who know every supporting character from every expanded universe book. That really shows Ostrander's skill at explaining and developing stories.

I'm hungry for the next volume.

There was a slight crease in the binding, and it was supposed to be a brand new copy. Other than that, it was great! Received it promptly and was otherwise pleased.

I was too late to catch the Legacy series issue by issue, so I've been buying the graphic novels as they come out. This latest installment will not disappoint fans. The storytelling is fast-paced and exciting, and the artwork is nothing short of extraordinary. Highly recommended for Star Wars fans who are looking to see more of the universe.

There aren't any jaw dropping revelations or cliffhangers in this volume but the writing and the storyline reaches a higher level of sophistication. Several of the back-stories are also fleshed out.

This trade paperback collects issues #43-48 of the excellent DC Comics series. Co-creator Pia Guerra pencils the four-issue "Kimono Dragons" story arc. Yorick, 355, Dr. Mann and Rose travel to Japan in search of Yorick's monkey Ampersand who may hold the cure for the plague that wiped out all other male mammals. The group encounters a bizarre remnant of the Yakuza while Dr. Mann searches for her mother's lab. The remaining two issues that were penciled by Goran Sudzuka are respective one-shots that provide backstory on Dr. Mann and Alter, the Israeli soldier that has been pursuing Yorick.

As with most recent "Y: The Last Man" collections, this consists of a story arc and a few one-shots. The main arc has Yorick finally catching up with Ampersand, but there are many things--including a Canadian pop star with militant Japanese groupies--standing in his way. The first one-shot covers Dr. Mann's past (in a similar way to how they dealt with 355's in the previous volume. The second one-shot, which is the last issue in the book, is also a flashback, though this one gives us the history of Alter, the main villain of the series.

Again like the previous volume, these comics are very entertaining and tell great stories, but they seem to be leading up to something bigger and better. So, as the title says, the quality of this book is consistently good. Vaughan hasn't missed a beat since Volume Four. Only thing is, there hasn't been anything that's totally amazed me since Volume Five, so I'm waiting for that. Knowing Vaughan, though, and knowing that there are only two volumes left in this series, I have no doubt that I'm about to be wowed.

8/10

I'm not sure that I could tell you what Y's core values are, but I feel like they stray from them a bit as the series progresses (parhaps redefined). Moot point though, this is well worth a read. Get them all. I made a decision to own them after I read a friend's first issue....

Good story. Too bad this series really doesn't contain that much of an actual story in the books.

I have really enjoyed the Argeneau family saga! I was looking forward to reading Bastien's story. Unfortunately - it was a big disappointment. Not going getting into the meat of the storyline as a lot of reviewers have described the plot (or rather lack thereof) rather well.

Other than the instant and powerful attraction between Terri and Bastien, the book had no oomph and it was terribly flat. As one reviewer aptly mentions, the only half hearted attempts at humor come from Vincent's biting Bastien's housekeeper and Chris - Kate's editor, whose constant bad luck gets him into "a series of unfortunate events" and constant whining make him a royal pain in the arse.

TALL DARK AND HUNGRY - seems to have been written by a completely different author. The book lacks the usual intensity in Sand's previous novels and it's a long and tedious narration (mostly nonsense) about Bastien and Terri dealing with a bunch of snafus pertaining to his brother's upcoming nuptials. Trivial and mundane details are given unnecessary importance and there is a lot of yammering and blathering about menial and mundane stuff that frankly you don't even want to read about!

SPOILER!!! To add to the disappointment - we have to read the YAWN YAWN "terrible misunderstanding" Terri and Bastian have. Yes, we could have done without that too.

While this book reminds me of the book that got me started on the series
my personal favorite of the series Single white vampire it is more of a
repeat but without the laughs. Bastien and Terri fall in love during the
week before Lucern wedding, Chirs Keys is there cause a toliet fell on him through the bathroom ceiling of the apartment. Thomas cause he is acting in a musical. While it introduced more family memebers it was more or the same story line come on two family members already met during wedding perparations both Lissi's Ettiene with Rachel she attended Lissi's wedding shower, and Kate with Lucern she arrived just in time to attend Lissi's wedding with Lucern while pestering him about
publicity stuff. While wedding are surpose to be romanic it would have
been nice to have more change in how they met. Same trying to be humorous by having Keyes react to Bastien being naked before him as Lucern was in single white vampire, same happy ending. Read when you feel like a light read.

Well, Sands didn't disappoint. When I am in the mood for some hot and steamy romance, I go grab my Argeneau series from my bookshelf. This is the story about one of the Argeneau brothers, Bastien.

The story was funny and you find yourself laughing out loud every now and then as a new scene unfolds.

Can't wait to read Argeneau books number 10 and 11. Sands, in her website, mentioned that book 10 will be out late this year while book 11 will come right after.

All of the Argeneau Vampire series books are a hoot to read and, for those single women out there, these men leave you panting for a Vampire as your LifeMate. I know I do!!!

Debra
Tampa, FL

If you are reading the entire Argeneau series, you can't miss this one, because it provides some important back story to some of the later novels. Unfortunately, I found it to be the slowest paced of the entire series. I rated it a 3 because it's important to read it, or some of the later stories will not make any sense, but you may have to hold your eyes open if you're reading it before bed.

angel experiment was really@good: it is filled with adventure from the future like half men have wolves and aviation humans like max. ilove this series . read it.....

This book is a THRILL RIDE! I couldn't put it down. I read every time I got the chance. This is a fast paced science fiction/fantasy novel. It kept me haning on until the very end. I am going to start the second book. I can't wait to see what happens!

it was amazing and i am looking forward to reading the other books of his and this seires

Meet Maximum Ride, also known as Max. She, along with her companions-Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman and Angel-are mostly normal. Except for the fact that they're ninety-eight percent human and two percent bird! All six children have wings and can fly! They grew up in a lab that they call "The School" and were broken out a few years before by an employee named Jeb, who has since disappeared. All six children live on their own in a secluded cabin until the day that the Erasers show up. Erasers are wicked wolf-like creatures that also grew up in the lab and were created to keep the children corralled. The children defeat the Erasers, but not before they take off with the youngest, six-year-old Angel. Angel is Max's favorite and she is determined to get her back!

The story really "takes off" when they travel from Death Valley, California to the bowels of the New York City subway system. All the while, Max has started hearing a voice in her head that is giving her advice and telling her what to do. Who is this voice? Does it have to do with the chip she's found in her arm? Or is she just going crazy?

I was excited to listen to an audio book by one of my favorite Authors, James Patterson. I was wondering how he would pull off a Young Adult novel! Need not worry! He not only pulled it off beautifully, but created a story that any age will love! Mr. Patterson blends the normal world with science fiction and Fantasy that will have readers young and old begging him to continue the series.

Evan Rachel Wood did an excellent job narrating the book. The emotion and personalities of the characters really showed through her telling of the story. There were times during the reading that I almost jumped in my seat with the sound effects and music that were included in the presentation. Over all this was a very well-paced and fun book to listen to!

I look forward to listening to the next installment in this captivating series!

Armchair Interviews says: A 5-star listen for Young Adult.

Well the title of the series, "Maximum Ride," basically sums up the book for you: the main character's name is Maximum Ride, and her life is a maximum ride.
Maximum Ride and her 'siblings' are 98% human, 2% bird. Half-human, half-wolf creaures called Erasers' life's work is to hunt them down.
This book defines "action-packed."
You may think that this is a long read because of its number of pages, four-hundred and something I think, but the short chapters make it a fast read. I myself am a very slow reader, but I read this surprisingly fast.
If you don't feel like clipping your nails, I'm warning you, they'll be shorter before you know it from reading this book.
I don't think that there was one part in this book that bored me.
I haven't read book two of Maximum Ride, but I can't wait!!!!!!
If the rest of this series is as good as the first book, this will be an amazing series.
READ THIS BOOK. JUST READ IT. Thank me later.

This is a good book. Very simple read. I love anything Shannon Hale.

Now, don't get me wrong...this is not a bad book at all. I was actually referred Hale's book by a friend, and only found out that it was "teen fiction" once it showed up at the hold desk at the library. And I, make no mistake, am not a teen. I still gave it a chance, though, and found it a very enjoyable but still predictable story about a teen girl locked in a tower with her royal lady. Hale writes with an informal, breezy style that make it easy to relate to the title character and to root for her success. But the ending was very predictable and at no time did I really wonder what was going to happen in the end. Still, it's an enjoyable read for what it is. I don't regret my time with it, and I don't think you will, either.

Hale has mastered these other kingdoms so unlike our own, yet so familiar. Book of a Thousand Days brings to life a little known Grimm's tale (not for the Disney-hearted) and a way of life from long ago, far away. However, the book resonates with teens who are beginning to question social order, traditions, and justice. The story links an orphaned maid, a princess, a yak, a chamber pot, magicians, ankles, and a cat (along with many other things) into a romance-courtroom drama-growing up-suspense novel with numerous humorous moments. I actually wanted it enough to pay for a hardcover based on the cover notes and the author's other work. Having read it, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I started reading this book with high hopes; everyone seems to really like it. But I found I had to force myself to finish. It certainly wasn't worth the effort. The plot is boring, the characters are one-dimensional and hard to understand, and the prose itself is awkward and doesn't flow well. I suppose you could argue that since the book is supposed to be a diary written by a young woman who has only recently learned to write, the poor quality of the text could be intentional. If that's so, it's a bad choice on the part of the author, and it doesn't explain why the 18 year old protagonist seems more like an 8 year old.

The book does pick up a bit at the end, and I actually enjoyed a few pages at that point. Nevertheless, this book doesn't deserve all the praise it's been getting. People searching for young adult fantasy books with strong female protagonists might want to try someone like Robin Mckinley instead of Shannon Hale.

I enjoyed reading this book. This is a clean book. There is no bad language which is unusual especially for a young adult book; so I appreciated that. I would love to hear the rest of the story; meaning what happens next in the life of the mucker maid, honored lady, Dashati. Any thoughts, Ms. Hale??

I just finished reading this amazing book and I have chills on my arms, it is so good. Run and buy this book for you are a woman of any age- Mom or daughter you will love it.

The cast of characters- Paula, Duarte and Stoyan are amazing. I had not previously read Wildwood Dancing, but I had no trouble getting immersed in this story.

Action, adventure, fantasy and most of all a wonderful romance, this book has it all. Paula grows and mature through the course of the story and she has to choose between two very different men. The dashing, erudite and handsome pirate, and the scarred, illiterate farmboy/bodyguard.

OMG, this book defines romance- the growing together of two people through love and trust and of course physical attraction. Straight romance novels focus so much on the physical aspect that true love gets lost by the wayside. This book was so romantic and tender, and set in a wonderfully exotic location of Istanbul.

Please buy it, I promise you won't regret it, even if you are way beyond the YA age group, as I am! I hope we get more books set in this world by this wonderful author.

Paula couldn't be more excited to be arriving in Istanbul with her merchant father, where she'll be assisting him in obtaining a valuable and mysterious artifact of the ancient goddess Cybele. If all goes well, she may finally be able to pursue her dream of starting a book-trading enterprise.

To her dismay, trouble awaits them the moment they disembark. Her father's trusted trading adviser has been murdered, and the secrecy surrounding the artifact has grown even more difficult to penetrate. If Paula's suspicions are correct, the glimpses she's caught of her sister, who vanished into the Other Kingdom several years ago, mean the folk of magic and myth have their own stake in the unfolding events.

Complicating matters are a dashing ex-pirate with an intense interest in Paula, who may or may not be as ruthless as he is charming, and the powerful yet gentle bodyguard Paula's father hires to watch over her, whom Paula cannot help feeling drawn to despite knowing they are worlds apart. As Paula struggles to make sense of the signs her sister sends her and to help her father obtain Cybele's Gift, the three are pulled into a quest more dangerous than any of them could have imagined.

Not all friends can be trusted; not all enemies are what they seem; and the folk of the Other Kingdom don't often give second chances. It's up to Paula to get her companions through this adventure alive, and to find the right path for her own heart.

Fans of Marillier's WILDWOOD DANCING will enjoy catching up with the family via Jena's younger sister, and happily devour this new tale of the Other Kingdom. Though somewhat slower-paced than WILDWOOD DANCING, CYBELE'S SECRET doesn't skimp on adventure or romance. Paula is a strong and resourceful heroine, who admits her mistakes when she makes them and doesn't let her fears stand in her way. The settings are so vivid readers will feel as if they're traveling through Istanbul and the Other Kingdom with them.

If you loved WILDWOOD DANCING, don't hesitate to snatch this one up!

Reviewed by: Lynn Crow

I loved "Wildwood Dancing", so I was thrilled when I saw that Juliet Marillier was writing a sequel (or companion) to it. The main character this time is Paula. We don't see too much of the other sisters (Jena, Iulia, or Stela), as Paula leaves them behind to travel with their merchant father to Istanbul as his assistant.

Paula and her father, Teodor, are hoping to purchase a legendary artifact related to the ancient cult of Cybele. The artifact has an air of The Holy Grail to it: nobody is exactly sure what it is, but everybody wants it. They aren't the only merchants in the running, however, and some are not above violence and murder.

Paula, ever the scholar, tries to learn more about Cybele and the mysterious artifact. In Istanbul, where women are hardly allowed out in public, to say nothing of their educations, Paula finds an intellectual sanctuary in the home of Irene of Volos, an influential as well as a respected woman of intellect. It is in Irene's library that Paula receives clues to discovering Cybele's Secret, and the quest she needs to embark upon in order to succeed in her search. Paula finds herself back in the Other Kingdom, where she thought never to return, in a quest filled with eerie dangers and hairbreadth escapes.

As a whole, I really enjoyed "Cybele's Secret". The characters are well-developed, and Paula particularly, is marvelously written. I liked the fact that she wasn't perfect, and didn't try to convince the reader otherwise.

BUT, there is an extremely fine line between brilliant and ridiculous, and Juliet Marillier definitely wavered along it in some parts of this book. Towards the end, things started feeling a little rushed and haphazard. I felt that "Cybele's Secret" lacked some of the quality of Juliet Marillier's previous works (all of which I have read and loved). There are some important parts that lack a good explanation. The plot was also a trifle predictable.

Despite the various "buts", I have no regrets in purchasing "Cybele's Secret". Juliet Marillier has a knack for characterization and relationships: familial and romantic. And who can help but fall in love with the gorgeous Kinuko Y. Craft cover? "Cybele's Secret" gets a hearty recommendation from me. There is originality and better-than-your-average-fantasy-novel here.

As an adult, this has become my favorite children's book. My children loved this story on the DVD that Scholastic offers featuring Maurice Sendak stories. I think viewing this DVD, makes this book better since it lends a sing-song read to it afterwards. My kids & I love to quote the book when baking, singing "milk in the batter! milk in the batter! stir it! scrape it! make it! bake it!"

loved the book but the dust jacket and hard cover were both cut with a box cutter - probably when opening a warehouse shipment. Too bad.

This is a wonderful book, especially for little boys. Both my children (male and female) loved it years ago and I give the book to new moms for their babies to enjoy.

In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak was one of the books that we read over and over and over again to our children. All of us can quote much of it by heart. My son (now 30) was a daredevil from day one and he especially identified with this book. This copy was purchased for our newest granddaughter's 1st birthday, who is already a climber and looks like she might become another Mickey aficionado.

As a mother and a teacher, I am always looking for quality books to read to my fourth graders as well as my 3 year old daughter. Although I would never be able to read In the Night Kitchen to my class (parent complaints and such), it didn't take long for my little girl to fall in love with this book.
Sadly, many children today are lacking a tremendous amount of imagination, getting caught up in video games and the newest electronics. This is the primary reason why I knew I would expose her to Maurice Sendak. She's loved Where the Wild Things Are since she was a baby. I just checked out this book in the public library last week.
In my Children's Lit class in college many years ago, our teacher lectured us about the Freudian undertones of this children's book. Being young and impressionable, I vowed to myself to NEVER expose my future child to a book like this. Well, what can I say? I've learned quite a bit since then.
I'm a firm believer that nothing is a big deal unless you MAKE it a big deal. Sure, the book is certainly different from any other children's book you normally see. However, Sendak wrote this in 1970 and wanted it to be a nostalgic piece and he brought it into his illustrations. He was brought up reading comics of the 1940s, which is clearly seen in the story.
It's a whimsical, mystical story showing a journey through the imagination of a little boy. My daughter adores it and I often hear her quoting, "Quiet Down There!" and "Good bless me." I'm sure I will have a difficult time bringing this one back to the library, so I plan on purchasing it for her very soon. Thank goodness she has the Scholastic Video Collection that includes "Where the Wild Things Are" as well as "In the Night Kitchen."