Category Archives: Children’s Fiction

Elatsoe

Posted on 5 February 2021 by Barbara Howe

As Ellie Bride’s cousin Trevor lies in hospital, dying of injuries from an automobile crash, he appears to her in a dream, saying he has been murdered and begging her to protect his family: wife Lenore and baby Gregory. The … Continue reading →

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Trixie Belden

Posted on 7 November 2020 by Barbara Howe

With all of my psychic energy tied up in the U.S. election for the past few weeks, I just haven’t had the time or attention for anything new or challenging. I’m going on a nostalgia trip today; hope you don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Fiction, Mysteries | 4 Comments

Banned Book Week 2020

Posted on 26 September 2020 by Barbara Howe

I was not thrilled when I realised that this year’s Banned Books Week (September 27 – October 3) was coming up. I have been making annual forays into the arena of banned or challenged books since I started this blog, but I … Continue reading →

Posted in A Writer's Life, Children's Fiction | 2 Comments

The Clockill and the Thief

Posted on 21 August 2020 by Barbara Howe

Sin, street urchin turned trainee spy, is back in Gareth Ward’s YA novel, The Clockill and the Thief, the sequel to The Traitor and the Thief. Both books won New Zealand’s Sir Julius Vogel award for Best Youth Novel in their … Continue reading →

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Deltora Quest

Posted on 25 April 2020 by Barbara Howe

Most of the children’s books I’ve blogged about are ones I read to my daughter. The Deltora Quest series, by Australian author Emily Rodda, is an outlier. My daughter discovered it for herself and read the entire series as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Noblebright Fantasy | 2 Comments

Rose in Bloom

Posted on 17 January 2020 by Barbara Howe

The flurry of news articles about the latest movie adaptation of Luisa May Alcott’s Little Women prompted me to pull one of her less well-known novels off my bookshelf. I’ve read Little Women and its sequels, Little Men and Jo’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Chick Lit, Children's Fiction | 2 Comments

The 13 Clocks

Posted on 4 May 2019 by Barbara Howe

I have tales to make a hangman weep, and tales to bring a tear of sorrow to a monster’s eye. I have tales that would disturb a dragon’s sleep, and even make the Todal sigh. I don’t remember exactly when … Continue reading →

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The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

Posted on 24 March 2019 by Barbara Howe

Most of the books I review on this blog are ones that I can endorse, ranging from lightweight, pleasant entertainment to hefty tomes worth the effort for the emotional or intellectual impact. That has been a deliberate choice; I’d rather … Continue reading →

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George

Posted on 22 September 2018 by Barbara Howe

In most ways, Melissa is a typical fourth-grade girl: she likes to wear pink, she cries when upset, she has a BFF, and she loves Charlotte’s Web. She loves the character of Charlotte so much that she’s devastated when she … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Fiction | 3 Comments

Drama

Posted on 30 September 2017 by Barbara Howe

Audience: middle school and up Apparently I’ve had it wrong all my adult life. I thought explicit sex involved, well, contact or at least display of private body parts. You know, actual sex. But I’ve just discovered that a simple … Continue reading →

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