Prehistoric Park

Prehistoric Park. Freemantle Media Enterprises : Impossible Pictures, 2007.

Plot: "Something is missing from planet Earth; the animals time has left behind..." but what if extinction no longer lasted forever? The series follows Nigel Marven has he travels back in time to rescue vulnerable, ancient animals from becoming extinct. He and Prehistoric Park's staff discover the wonder, unexpected, and danger brought by bringing creatures from the past into the world of the present.

Genre: Mockumentry? Or just Unlabelable?

Reading Level: Unrated, but some action sequences and blood may cause adults to be caution around younger viewers.

Similar Titles: Walking with Dinosaurs, Primeval, Chased by Dinosaurs

Personal Thoughts: Another (and, in my opinion, one of the best) series produced by Impossible Pictures. In essence, the one-season series displays the possibilities of a successful Jurassic-Park like structure. While some of the show is a bit campy, the overall acting, storylines, and animal behavior is convincing enough for an hour-long show.

Side note: I never had any dinosaur figurines before I started this blog...

The Chinese Siamese Cat

Tan, Amy. The Chinese Siamese Cat. New York : Maxwell Macmillan International, 1994.

Plot: When a mischievous white kitten attempts to help her parents change an unjust law, her actions manage to transform the district, the magistrate, and the appearance of her descendants forever. 

Genre: Fiction, Picture Book

Reading Level: Ages 4-8, but the illustrations are attractive to all ages

Similar Titles: The Moon Lady, Tops and Bottoms, Just So Stories

Personal Thoughts: A clever and pretty book, the story manages to attract attention while reflecting on abilities, justice, kindness, and cleverness. The popularity of the book lead to an animated series based on the title. It ran on PBS for two seasons (2001-2002).

School Rumble

Kobayashi, Jin. School Rumble. New York : Ballantine Books.

Plot: The plot focuses on a classic, boy loves girl, girl loves other boy story. However, when the loving boy is a biker, the clueless girl is a klutz, and the loved boy is...hungry, things take a turn for the humorous. As the teens attempt to gain the attention of their attraction, the disaster stakes steadily rise to the braking point.

Genre: Manga

Reading Level: The books are rated T

Similar Titles: Azumanga Daioh, Spice and Wolf

Personal Thoughts: The first five books are so offer an extremely good reading experience. Around book six, though, subplots and side characters start to take over. An occasional additional story aspect adds to a graphic novel, but too many distracts from the characters. Yet, the first book in the series is one of my favorite mangas.

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn (Prima Official Game Guide)

Stratton, Stephen. Golden Sun: Dark Dawn (Prima Official Game Guide). Roseville, CA : Prima Games, 2010.

Plot: A game guide for Golden Sun: Dark Dawn for the Nintendo DS. The book provides maps, insights, and tips for the widely-anticipated game (the previous incarnation was published about seven years ago).

Genre: Video Game Guides

Reading Level: The game is rated E10+

Similar Titles: The Prima game guide collection

Personal Thoughts: The guide is useful, but has room for improvements. The maps clearly note locations of important items and offer much-needed guidance through the complex dungeons of the game. However, the guide also consists of many spoilers (excessive notes about the plot) and notes on all encyclopedia entries. While the entries are useful, particularly to series newcomers, they do not assist with game completion. Notes on move availability or class statistics would be much more beneficial. So, while it provides useful guidance, it could offer more.

Life of Pi

Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. New York : Harcourt, 2001.

Plot: Pi, a bookish and religious boy, suddenly finds himself trapped in a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. While such a situation daunts everyone, he discovers he must adjust to an additional problem. He has a shipmate. Richard Parker, the only other survivor of the shipwreck, is a young adult Bengal tiger. Pi must survive the harshness of the ocean while keeping the wildcat at bay. Yet, strangely, Richard Parker, the greatest threat to his life, may prove to be the only thing saving him.

Genre: Fiction, Animals

Reading Level: Aimed at young adults; some of the religious arguments and gory scenes may be unsuitable for younger readers.

Similar Titles: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time; Beatrice and Virgil: A Novel 

Personal Thoughts: The book falls squarely in the trendy-dramatic category popular with book clubs, both in libraries and on talk shows. Still, it presents a good story, even if the religious arguments smack of political correctness.

As a side note, many schools now use this as required reading. I think this is a terrible thing to do with this type of novel. If a reader chooses to read it, it will be tolerable and even enjoyable (like I mentioned once, it is one of my favorite novels). However, its charm quickly disintegrates if forced on readers, particularly due to its complex and controversial side-topics (religion and animal-keeping).

Japanese Tales (Pantheon Fairy Tale & Folklore Library)

Tyler, Royall. Japanese Tales (Pantheon Fairy Tale & Folktale Library). New York : Pantheon Books, 1987.

Plot: With over 180 folk and fairy tales from early Japan, the book offers a good overview of Japanese monsters, heroes, proverbs, and fables. Some stories tap into popular concepts, such as dragons' gifts, tengu tricks, and heroic deeds. Others reflect lesser-known ideas, such as cleansing rituals and Shinto rites. To assist newcomers to Japanese concepts, Royall includes a introduction offering insight into ancient Japanese culture.

Genre: Folktales, Fairy Tales

Reading Level: Aimed at adults; many stories contain graphic or sexual descriptions, so be cautious about suggesting it to younger readers.

Similar Titles: Pandemonium and Parade: Japanese Monsters and the Culture of Yokai, Tales of Old Japan: Folklore, Fairy Tales, Ghost Stories and Legends of the Samurai

Personal Thoughts: Japanese folktales are intense. Then again, so are "un-Disneyed" European folktales. I do not know when people decided such stories are suitable for children, but a quick read of unedited folktales reveals stories with more gore, sexual innuendos, and tragedy than most R rated films. That said, I like the book. It does reveal common themes in Japanese stories and, for anime and manga fans, offers insight to some popular Japanese concepts. Just do not read it out loud at the next preschool story hour.

New Challenger!!!

Actually, it's a new plushie. His name is Jerome and he is a mosasaur. Not a crocodile. A mosasaur. I got his pattern from here. So go! Fill the world with extinct reptile toys!