IA Reads

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Wildwood (Wildwood Chronicles, #1)Wildwood by Colin Meloy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Review​: This is an interesting book given that the author is also the lead singer of the

Decemberists. I think fans would have definitely bought this book. In the story, Pru and her friend

Curtis set off to find Pru’s missing baby brother. They are two 7th graders on an adventure through

a magical, fantasy world. This world parallels Portland, OR and the adventure takes place in the

Impassable Wilderness the locals call Wildwood. Pru and Mac were “gifted” to their parents by

some black magic. As a result, Mac is supposed to be the sacrifice. Pru is a precocious 12 year

old who vows to bring back her brother. Alliances have to be forged and battles need to be won.

Readers will look forward to the pivotal moment when the sacrifice is about to occur.

This book is 541 pages long, which is quite lengthy for a middle school book. Some of the

vocabulary is better suited to high school students. Pru is very stereotypically Portland. I think that

most middle school readers would not see the connection. I think those details are for YA and adult

readers. There are definitely many elements of traditional folk tales in this story. The setting is

Portland, OR in an alternate world. The illustrations are fun and whimsical and will appeal to

readers of all ages. This story is geared to readers who like fantasy. The plot drags a little bit and

the motifs are a little overplayed. I think that middle school readers may give up if this is not their

favorite genre. I think it might do better in a high school/YA library based on reading level. There is

nothing controversial in the story that would need a specific maturity. There are not really any

curriculum tie-­ins besides suggesting it to individual readers. This book has been compared to

Tolkien and Narnia and I think that is accurate. This is the first book of a planned trilogy.

View all my reviews

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Library Grits: The Trusty Sidekick

Library Grits: The Trusty Sidekick: Last week I presented at the IB Asia Pacific Conference to an audience that was quite different to the audience I usually present to. T...

TASL Talks: Legislative and Advocacy for YOU: Why a Master’s Degree for Librarians?

TASL Talks: Legislative and Advocacy for YOU: Why a Master’s Degree for Librarians?: By Dorcas Hand with help from TLC Special thanks to Terri Stamm, SHSU student; Barbara Paciotti, retired, Barbara Bush Middle School, Ca...