Middle Grades Pick: In Search of Goliathus Hercules

In Search of Goliathus Hercules
by Jennifer Angus
Albert Whiteman & Company
2013
350 pages

for more, visit the author's website

Smart, satisfying and sensational, In Search of Goliathus Hercules is an adventure story with real bite (pun intended). When ten year old Henri Bell is shipped off to Woodland Farm in the United States to live with his ninety year old Great Aunt Georgie, he is crestfallen. Henri discovers he has a  strange  gift--he can hear and understand insects. His first bugg-y friend is a housefly named Dom.

Henri's mother writes that she is going in search of his missing father who was last heard from in British Malaya. Henri spends his days playing outside, staying out of Great Aunt Georgie's way  and avoiding his scary neighbor Mrs. Black--who seems to be studying him each time he sees her. Henri visits the circus and takes a job as a flea trainer, leaving behind Woodland Farm and Great Aunt Georgie.

Traveling with the circus and making new  friends excites Henri; he is going in search of Goliathus Hercules, a rare insect that Dom insists is real. Henri is not the only one interested in the rare beast. Someone else is looking for Goliathus and this is someone who  has evil intentions--both for the beast and the boy. Henri's quest will take him to foreign lands as he searches for Goliathus and any news about his father's whereabouts. The more Henri communicates with insects, the stranger he begins to feel.

Readers are in for a real treat. In Search of Goliathus Hercules is that rare book where a boy (or girl) can talk to animals (Charlotte's Web, Gregor the Overlander) and travel  on a long quest or journey (Gregor the Overlander, The Oracle of Delphi Keep). The ending of this novel will delight, excite and amaze. Beautiful illustrations of insects are done by the author and they are simply brilliant!

Highly, highly recommended grade 4-up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Non-Fiction Pick: The Giant and How He Humbugged America

The Giant and How He Humbugged America
by Jim Murphy
Scholastic Press
2012
112 pages

Available October 1, 2012

In 1869, a New York farmer uncovers a petrified giant man when digging a well on his property. Word soon spreads about this ten foot discovery. Could the giant be a member of the Onondaga tribe? Why is he buried here? Was he a victim of a murder?
Within hours, the farm is overrun with people clamoring for a gander at the local wonder. As the news begins to spread, thousands of thrill seekers show up and even scientists travel to see if this discovery is real? Or could it be an elaborate hoax?

Pretty soon, even P.T. Barnum ( of circus fame) is interested in making money from this discovery. Slick men with even slicker motives begin to make money off the Cardiff giant. Believers come forward and swear the giant is real. Pretty soon, the story begins to unravel and accusations begin to fly.

Recommended for readers who love strange and bizarre historical events. This book gives readers a glimpse into the news and media of the 1800s—when a few people could dream up a money making hoax and make it last for a little while. Although they were found out, they go down in history for dreaming up a truly authentic scam.
Middle grades and up.

Almost Overlooked: Hidden Gem: The Prince of Mist

The Prince of Mist
by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Little Brown and Company
first published in Spanish 1993
2011 U.S. paperback edition
214 pages with Questions and Answers

I almost overlooked this little gem. Shopping at the Scholastic warehouse, I was drawn to the cover--the spooky figure coming out of the mist, the lonely lighthouse, the water beyond and the text on the cover, "A mysterious house harbors an unimaginable secret..." But what really made up my mind: when I saw the author was Carlos Ruiz Zafon--I was hooked. Zafon wrote my favorite book in the entire world--the mesmerizing The Shadow of the Wind--It is my #1 book of all time--so beautiful and poetic. I wish I read Spanish, so that I could enjoy his prose in his native tongue. The Shadow of the Wind is beautifully written in its English translation; it sings itself off the page; I can only imagine how beautiful it must be in Ruiz's native language.

The Prince of Mist is one of Zafon's earlier works when he was writing for children and young adults. The writing is just as beautiful as his adult prose. My favorite passage from the book is right before Roland falls asleep, he's remembering swimming with Alicia, "That night, Roland fell asleep in the arms of a vision that would stay with him for the rest of his life: Alicia, draped in moonlight, dipping her white skin into a sea of silver." Zafon, a masterful and gifted storyteller, writes prose that is poetic and enduring.

Max and his family move into a creepy old beachhouse near the shore far away from the winds of war (World War II). Mr. Carver is a watchmaker (shades of steampunk) and inventor who tinkers with anything mechanical. Max makes friends with an older boy Roland and soon Max, his older sister Alicia and Roland become beach buddies. Roland and Alicia become much more in a short time.

Weird noises and things that go bump in the night occur; Max finds a creepy, old, overgrown garden of circus statues. The ringleader is an evil grimacing clown that Max swears moves each time he looks away from it.

Roland and Max dive near the Orpheus, a wrecked ship, and Max swears he sees the clown underwater. He nearly drowns but manages to swims to shore. He tells Roland what he saw and Roland shares a secret: his grandfather is the only passenger to survive that shipwreck and now he's the lighthouse keeper.

Younger sister Irina falls down the stairs after having the fright of her life and she's rushed to the hospital by the ambulance with her parents. This leaves Max and Alicia alone in the creepy house with an evil presence.

As the mystery unfolds, the reader hears the tale of The Prince of Mist from Roland's grandfather who first met him as a boy. The evil being seems to follow his grandfather and the boys believe the Prince is about to make another appearance.

Any reader who loves a mystery, a shadowy and creepy setting, well-drawn characters, and a fabulous story will love The Prince of Mist.

Highly, highly recommended grades 7-up. No language. Only kissing.