This was an assignment for my Essay Writing class.  We had to write about our top dozen “somethings.”  I chose to write about my favorite books.

12. The Shakespeare Stealer, Gary Blackwood

The Shakespeare Stealer takes place in England during the 1600s.  Blackwood, however, doesn’t just have the story take place during this time period; he makes it come alive with the English language and imagery.  He describes actual places in the real England, and the characters speak with authentic dialogue.  Widge, the protagonist, is an orphan who is sent to watch and copy Shakespearean plays.  When his notebook gets stolen, he must join the theater troupe to find his notes.  Widge is not without his flaws, which makes him even more likeable and relatable.

11. Bud, not Buddy, Christopher Paul Curtis

What I like most about this book is the language: “It’s funny how ideas are, in a lot of ways they’re just like seeds.  Both of them start real, real small and then… woop, zoop, sloop…before you can say Jack Robinson, they’ve gone and grown a lot bigger than you ever thought they could.”  Curtis artfully creates a ten-year-old boy protagonist who’s so vivid that you believe he’s real.  Seeing through a younger kid’s eyes is an entirely different reading experience, and is one that I like very much.  For example, Bud-not-Buddy encounters a blood donor and thinks he’s a vampire. 

10. Hoot, Carl Hiaasen

In Hoot, Roy discovers a mysterious boy who is sabotaging a construction site in order to prevent the destruction of a burrowing owl’s home.  Hiaasen creates humorous characters who interact in hilarious ways.  Mullet Fingers, the runaway protecting the owls, uses a wide variety of methods to prevent the building of another restaurant, including spray painting a police cruiser, pulling up surveying stakes, and placing alligators in the portable toilets.  These are just some of the many instances of humor in a story about the preservation of nature and the animals within it.

 

9. Ghost Boy, Iain Lawrence

This story explores the idea of what is to be considered normal.  The main character, Harold, is an albino, and is ridiculed by the townspeople .  Harold runs away and joins the circus where he learns to accept his unusual appearance.  The book is memorable in its quirkiness, especially when Harold becomes a member of the circus troupe.  His act involves training elephants playing baseball, a seemingly impossible task which he succeeds in completing. 

8. A Single Shard, Linda Sue Park

A Single Shard tells the story of twelve-year-old Tree-ear, an orphan who always watches potter Min make his pottery.  After accidentally breaking some of Min’s work, Tree-ear has to work for the potter.  A Single Shard explores themes like determination, courage, and loyalty though Tree-ear, making it possible for me to relate to him.  I like this book because it delves into the culture of twelfth-century Korea and the art of pottery making. 

7. Taggerung, Brian Jacques

Taggerung is the fourteenth book out of twenty in the Redwall series.  I have read all but one of the Redwall books, and enjoyed all of them immensely for their adventurous mood and engaging plots.  It was difficult to pick my favorite, but I ended up picking Taggerung because it was different from all the rest (in no other Redwall books do the vermin get so close to succeeding in corrupting an animal of Redwall Abbey).  An otter is captured by the vermin at birth, believed to be the next “Taggerung,” or unbeatable warrior.  Tagg, (short for Taggerung), however, refuses to give into the violence and eventually escapes and returns to his true home at Redwall.  The book is a classic adventure story between the forces of good and evil, with all characters as talking animals. 

6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J. K. Rowling

You know a book has to be good when it is the third best-selling non-religious, non-political work of fiction of all time.  This was the book that started the astronomically popular seven-part series about the spectacled, black-haired boy who would rise to become the world’s greatest wizard.  Rowling combined many popular genres, including adventure, fantasy, mystery, and the classic fairy tale, to create a book that has wide appeal.  Even with all of the mystical elements, it is possible for the average Muggle to relate to the characters because they go through experiences any teenager goes through, dealing with decisions and emotions.

5. Airborn, Kenneth Oppel

I have always been fascinated with airships and other flying contraptions, fictional or actual, that came before the airplane.  Airborn tells the tale of Matt Cruse, a boy aboard a luxury airship who is suddenly thrown into a full-blown adventure involving pirates, a secret island, and cloud cats.  In addition to being an action-packed story that nearly caused me to fail a math test because I couldn’t put it down, Airborn explores differences in social class between Matt and his new-found friend Kate.  As a result, the book pulls off both adventure and reflection.   

4. Peter and the Starcatchers, Ridley Pearson, Dave Barry

Peter and the Starcatchers takes the classic tale of Peter Pan and completely reworks it.  It provides an explanation for pretty much any question that one has about Peter Pan, including why Captain Hook is afraid of alligators (he is constantly chased by Mister Grin, the giant alligator that inhabits Neverland).  The book has witty humor on every page, and the plot is intricate, and yet not confusing.  Every aspect is there for a reason, and everything fits together to create a truly great read.

3. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer

The Artemis Fowl series combines super-advanced technology, the organic world of fairies, dwarves, and other mythical creatures, and a teenage criminal mastermind to create a truly fantastic fantasy experience.  Colfer writes using both a dark tone and also lots of humor.  What I like most about the book is that the characters are all vivid, unique, and memorable. 

2. The Time Travelers, Linda Buckley-Archer

This is new most recent book on the list, having been published in the US in 2006.  The Time Travelers, book one of the Gideon Trilogy, absolutely captivated me with its uniqueness.  Instead of traveling into the future and battling with space aliens, the protagonists Peter and Kate go back to the past and have to deal with the customs people of eighteenth century England after an accident with an anti-gravity machine.  I loved the interactions that took place between Peter and Kate and the people of the past, and the inclusion of the criminal world of London.  It was intriguing to read about the cutpurses, highwaymen, plumpers, anglers, and link boys, and how they were all controlled by the wealthy Lord Luxon. 

1. The Angel’s Command, Brian Jacques

It may seem a bit redundant to have two books by the same author on the list, but I enjoy Jacques’ books so much that I had to include two.  The Angel’s Command is based on the mythical tale of the Flying Dutchman, a ghost ship bound to sail the seas for eternity.  The main characters, Ben and his dog Ned, were the only people to escape the ship’s curse.  They were granted freedom by an angel, who gave them the ability to speak in any language, communicate with each other, and live forever.  The pair travels around the world, helping those in need.  The adventure in this book is non-stop, and the characters Ben and Ned meet along the way are described in great detail, making for what I consider an incredible book.