MargaretBolingMullin

* A solid read - I'm not itching to go buy a copy of my own, but probably will when a sequel is released. Also, just announced - books 3 & 4 in the series are now under contract.

A bit like other books:

 - The world feels a bit like that of The Hunger Games, with the amphitheater fighting.

 - Something in it made me think of the Lunar Chronicles.

The strong female protagonist is in the spirit of those from Tamora Pierce.

I appreciated the issues of race and equity raised in the plot.

If you've got a child who likes basketball, the New York Knicks, adventure, or quick reads, check out the Time Warp Trio. They are always good for a hearty laugh and some interesting historical tidbits. When I saw that there was a Time Warp Trio book about the ancient Maya, of course I had to read it!

I've been wondering how to incorporate aspects of Maya culture in my own writing for children, so I was interested in how Scieszka managed. I was impressed at how he included specific snippets without bogging down the story.

* A priest standing at the top of El Castillo/ The Temple of Kukulkan can be heard by people in the plaza below through a trick of acoustics. I have not been able to confirm this in informational reading, but I'm still looking. The World Book Mysteries of the Maya (Enigmas of History series) does mention that a person clapping at the base of the north stairs can produce an echo that sounds like the chirp of the quetzl bird.

* Through a trick of light and shadows, the serpent appears to be crawling down the side of the pyramid. This is true, though most noticeably on the Fall Equinox. 

I was also struck at how Scieszka handled blood sacrifice: One of the boys had a bloody nose that appeased the God; the boy was hailed as having mercy for his opponents by sparing their lives.

In my efforts to learn more about the Maya, this has been my favorite book so far. It is full of rich details about specific aspects of Maya culture, including three specific archaeological sites. There are also chapters on the ball game, science & math, the codices, and possible reasons for the decline of the civilization.

In multiple cases, including the outcomes of the ball games and the possible causes of the civilization's decline, the editorial staff presented several theories, explaining that historians disagree. However, this book continued to present the traditional three periods in Maya history, something that some archaeologists now contest (see Harris, Nathaniel; the National Geographic book Ancient Maya: Archaeology Unlocks the Secrets of the Maya's Past.)

A major flaw of this book is that World Book seems to only sell it as part of a set. I would like to own it, but anticipate difficulty locating an individual copy.

7/1/2015: 

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the various books in Scholastic's Branches line - books intended for "newly independent" readers.

Best page - p. 19 "When is a discovery not a discovery?" - Points out the fallacy of Europeans claiming to have "discovered" Maya ruins.

I also appreciated that this book, published in 2008, acknowledges how much of what researchers thought they knew about the Maya is now being called into question by new research.

This book attempts to put a face on the actual archaeologists currently working Maya sites. It balances a look at archaeological procedures with emerging information about Maya culture.

Help for my writing:

- colorful mural,

-cinnabar - red mineral used to paint body;

- jade masks - sign of royalty 

- trade for obsidian

- cacao - frothy chocolate drink

- what average person's home looked like

- quetzal - bird from jungle; sign of royalty

- canoe based trade to Tulum and Isla Cerritos (p. 48)

Dislikes:

- Too general; covers info I've learned from other sources; lacks the interesting details of the Maya culture that would make kids sit up and say, "WOW!"

For example, on p. 13, a sentence about carvings on buildings reads, "Others are images of gods, such as Kukulcan and the rain god Chaac. There are also carvings of jaguars and serpents." Tell me more about the jaguar - representative of a god; tell me more about Kukulcan!

- Author not credited on front cover.

- Error on number of sugar cubes needed on final activity; while this is not a tremendous problem, I have to wonder if it's indicative of other editing/accuracy issues in the meat of the book.

Likes:

Uses Spanish names, rather than English translations, i.e. Cenote Sagrado and sacbes

12/24/14 ** This book cam highly recommended by someone in my Facebook feed. She said the story would appeal to any fan of Tamora Pierce and strong female protagonists. I checked it out from the library and read the flyleaf. I instantly thought of Alanna's story by Pierce. Though the overall narrative seemed to be derivative, I thought perhaps the world-building would add something new to the genre.

I am currently a little over halfway through the book and am seriously hoping there's a payoff at the end - if I were rating the book right now, it would be a 2. I have to disagree with the unremembered advocate for the book. Alexa is nothing like Alana (Pierce) or Katsa (Cashore). While those young women struggled with maintaining their own identities of strength and resilience when faced with possible love, as soon as Alexa's secret (that she was masquerading as a man) was revealed, she seemed to become a twitterpated fool. There are too many scenes where she's noticing and admiring half-naked torsos and kissing both young men while trying to sort out her feelings of attraction.

I also struggled with the phrases "you're falling for him" and "do you like him?" While Larson did a reasonably good job with the world-building - helping me feel the overwhelming jungle landscape, these phrases jarred me back into a suburban high school. I was also struck that the other guards were referred to as men, but when Alexa's secret was revealed, she was a girl (not a woman). My worst reading moment was on p. 179 when Rylan told Alexa that he wanted to cherish her as all men should cherish a woman he loves. This seemed to imply that women must be protected and couldn't lookout for themselves.

At about a quarter of the way in, the prince was clearly making advances to "Alex," and I hoped for an unexpected twist - that he was looking for a male companion. This would definitely have added to the genre. Instead, it became increasingly clear that he knew "Alex" was a "girl." The rest of the book was a simple love triangle, rather than a quest for personal identity in a male-dominated world. The final chapter nudged me to move from a 2 star to a 3 star rating because of the way the love triangle was resolved. I hadn't quite expected the conclusion.

11/30/14 ** Definitely take time to read the illustrations too - the dog and cat are hilarious.

A re-imagining of the traditional Clement "Twas the Night Before Christmas" poem. Several words in each stanza are in Spanish. A glossary at the back provides the definitions of the Spanish words, though I wish it also gave pronunciations also.

11/29/2014 ** I first heard of Iqbal, a boy who dared to speak out against child slave labor in the carpet weaving industry, several years ago. Jeanette Winter, known for picture books about critical issues, has written a moving picture book about Iqbal and Malala - two Pakistani children daring to speak for their own rights.

The most moving image is the center spread in which Winter links to two stories with the ghost of Iqbal and Malala's images flying kites toward each other.

11/28/2014 ** Life is about the journey. The company you keep is important. Pay attention to your companions' hints. More questions after I read it than before I started.

11/9/2014 ** Absolutely stunning - both the story and the illustrations.

Share what you have, because you don't know when it will be gone.

11/18/14 ** Okay, I know that the Magic Tree House books are wildly popular. I can generally count on them to engage kids who otherwise claims that they don't read. However, why do some publishers continue to think that the quality of writing doesn't matter for young children?

I was annoyed with the book from the start.

Writing/illustrations: The dialogue was stilted.Some of the illustrations were inconsistent - life vests on the character in some images but not others.

Characterization: I wasn't able to identify ways the characters changed over time.

Gender roles: The younger sister stood by while her brother solved all the problems. She whined and commanded her brother to come up with a spell but didn't do so herself.

Positives: There was a clear message to avoid killing animals in the interests of science.

There are better choices.

11/9/14 ** Time for confessions: I became aware of the book at an Indiana SCBWI event, looked at it in the conference book store, and decided to check it out from the library. After hearing the author speak, I decided to buy it, and I'm glad I did.

Yes, it's long. But I found the story very interesting. Set in England at a time I wasn't especially familiar with - the Edwardian period - the main character wants to be an artist, but she's constrained by the upward social aspirations of her parents. She has to marry well to further her father's business interests.

It seems that the author wanted readers to learn more about the suffrage movement, but she didn't beat us over the head. I cheered for the main character, I wanted to shake her as she made mistakes - thinking inside her parents' box and moving out of her privileged live, and I breathed sighs of relief as she matured in her choices. I was thoroughly involved in the story, and also learned more about art, London, and the British suffrage movement.

Thank you Sharon Waller Biggs.

11/8/14 ** I wanted to love this book - I really did. I did thoroughly enjoy the illustrations, made more interesting by listening to the illustrator talk about her inspirations and research process.

The illustrations were detailed and helped me enter Paris' world of haute couture.

Unfortunately, Danielle Steel needs to do more work on her picture book style - every word does count in the picture book genre. Also, I wanted some conflict, some passion, I wanted a reason to care for the characters.

10/30/14 ** Sheinkin has done it again - produced an eminently readable nonfiction text about a little known historical event. Because I know and love Sheinkin's work, I purchased a FIRST PRINTING (!!!) of this book in March. I'm feeling prescient now that the book is on the short list for the National Book Award this year.

This book is the tale of the segregated work of African-American naval seamen at Port Chicago,California who were responsible for loading munitions aboard naval craft heading for the Pacific Theater during WWII Port Chicago. After a massive explosion, a group of men refused to continue loading unless the work conditions and training improved. These men were convicted of mutiny (a conviction which stands today).

As I've come to expect, Sheinkin meticulously researched the events, wove primary quotes into a compelling narrative, and provided historical context to an early civil rights battle. In terms of expanding my own knowledge of early Civil Rights efforts, this book was a good companion to Tanya Lee Stone's account of the Triple Nickles (the first AA fighter squadron) and Tonatiuh's Separate is Never Equal (the tale of the family of Sylvia Mendez to integrate Hispanics into California schools, a fight in which Thurgood Marshall played a role).

I will be watching the National Book Award announcements and the ALA awards with great interest. I believe Sheinkin has another winner.

11/1/14 ** Scudder, working as an "unofficial" private investigator, who does "favors" for people is drawn into the murder of a young woman who appears to be a prostitute. I enjoyed the story - it was a solid detective story. I did feel the title gave too much away, so I had a pretty good idea about the murderer when I was only a third of the way through the book.

If you enjoy Jack Reacher books (by Lee Child), these would be a good next step.