Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, John Tenniel (Illustrator) REVIEW

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I didn’t really appreciate this book. It was weird nonsense to me that never delivered anything exceptional.

I did like the writing and the way Alice never took any of it very seriously. Alice gave the reader a pass to just enjoy. If she could roll with the punches, so could you, as the reader. I felt in on the joke, but it went on too long. Each chapter had some interesting aspect to it, but at the end of each chapter, I didn’t care. I knew that nothing would end up meaning anything.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has appealed to generations of children. My son told me that, when he read it as a child, he loved it. It is a whacky adventure that I think most kids would enjoy, but it was a miss for me personally.


View all my reviews

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowlings Review

Is Harry Potter a classic?  I don't know.  The subject has been debated:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/college-inc/post/is-harry-potter-classic-childrens-literature/2011/07/16/gIQA0RS1HI_blog.html

I'm going with yes, based on its influence as the most successful children's series of all time.


Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What insight can be shared about a book with over forty-five thousand reviews? Probably nothing that hasn't been said before, so I will keep this one short. This first installment of Harry Potter is good kid's fiction. I read it with my own two kids, and they loved it. As for my own enjoyment, I liked it, but the writing isn't stellar. This is one of the few situations that I think that the movie is, probably, better than the book.

View all my reviews

The Secret Garden by Burnett Review

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett


This is a great book for kids and adults. It gave me exactly what I would expect from a kid's classic. It has a dual nature. Kids can appreciate it at its face value--an interesting story with intriguing characters. Adults can take in the deeper message, Burnett's attack on English classism.

I enjoyed this book a great deal. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone. I read The Secret Garden for the PrettyBooks’s Classics Challenge. The requirements of the challenge are to read one classic a month, review the book and answer specific questions. My Challenge blog is: http://linda2015classicschallenge.blo...


View all my reviews

WHEN I Discovered This Classic

I discovered this classic a few months ago.  I wanted to read a children’s classic, so I did some research on the internet to find a title.  This one was available at the library, so I chose it.

WHAT Makes It A Classic

This book is wonderful for kids.  It has an interesting storyline and intriguing characters, but it also has something to say to adults about the class, religion, nature and healing. 

WHY I Chose to Read It

I wanted to read something that I could read with my kids.  I have one child who loves gardening, so I thought he might like this one.

WILL It Stay A Classic

My son confirms that it is still interesting to kids.

WHO I’d Recommend It To

I would recommend it to any child and adults who have an interest in children’s literature.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

I'm reading two classics right now. The first is The Secret Garden by Hodgson Burnett.  It is beloved children's classic.  I missed this one as a child.  I read a lot, but nothing of very high quality.  Most of the children's classics that I have read, I discovered reading them to my own kids.  My kids are a bit too old for this one, but I think I can still get my 12 year old to read it.  I'm going to hook him in with the gardening theme.