The Chronicles of Narnia: All 7 of Them

Yes, it's been almost 3 months since my last review, but I have a good excuse.

I'm not the fastest reader, so it takes time to get through 7 books, even if each one isn't as long as The Fellowship of the Ring.

I just now finished reading all 7 books of The Chronicles of Narnia, in order.

1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
2. Prince Caspian
3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
4. The Silver Chair
5. The Horse and His Boy
6. The Magician's Nephew
7. The Last Battle

Captain Awesome Is...Awesome

According to Simon & Schuster, "Stan Kirby tied a beach towel around his neck and became Super Commander Beach Boy when he was six years old."

I figured it was either that or that he had a son with an awesome imagination.

The Captain Awesome books are about a young boy's imagination. Eugene is Captain Awesome. His friend, Charlie, is Nacho Cheese Man. Together they keep Sunnyview safe for humanity.

There are 19 books in this series. I first read book #1, Captain Awesome to the Rescue. It was so awesome that I checked two more out of the library to see if they were just as awesome. They are. So I have also now read Captain Awesome and the New Kid (#3) and Captain Awesome Takes a Dive (#4).

Calvin Coconut: Silly Name, Okay Book?

Calvin Coconut: Trouble Magnet is the first in a series by Graham Salisbury.

"Why would anyone (even in a kids' book) be named Coconut?" you might ask.

The answer is quite contrived, but fortunately it's not a major concern in the book. Calvin's father is a performer who wasn't satisfied with his real name. Fine. Many performers have stage names. But Calvin's father legally changed the whole family's last name to Coconut.

Hm.

Other subtitles in the series include the following.

Bunnicula: Much Cuter Than You'd Expect

Well, that was quick.

I just finished reviewing Hatchet 2 days ago, and now here I am writing Bunnicula's review already.

To be fair or honest or whatever, Bunnicula is a very short book. I'm definitely not a fast reader.

Like Hatchet, Bunnicula is a book that I had heard of many years ago (published in 1979) but had never had an interest in reading. I thought this book was going to be much too hokey and cartoonish.

I was wrong.

Hatchet - Nice Job

Photo credit

Hatchet is part of Gary Paulsen's series called Brian's Saga, though almost nobody talks about anything but Hatchet.

The photo you usually see for this book is shown at the right.

It's a ridiculous picture.

The picture below is the one that was on the cover of the copy that I actually read.

It's a little better.

That's pretty much the worst thing I have to say about this book.

Boys vs Girls: Battle of the Ages?

From the author of Shiloh, Phyllis Naylor, comes the Boy/Girl Battle Series, a collection of 12 books about a family of boys and a family of girls who live in the same neighborhood and who just can't get along with each other.

In the first book, The Boys Start the War, we learn that the 4 Hatford brothers - Jake, Josh (twins, but that doesn't matter much), Wally, and Peter - are upset because their best friends have just moved out of state to Ohio.

In their place arrives the Malloy family who have 3 girls - Caroline, Beth, and Eddie (Edith). Their father has taken a job, that may only last a year (and it does), it the small town of Buckman, West Virginia.

Trouble ensues.

Ember: Worth Remembering Ember?

I forgot to take a pic of book 1

The Book of Ember series is an easy and interesting read. I'm just not sure whom it was written for.

Here's the problem.

The story starts out mysteriously which leads you to want to keep reading, but the whole thing is about the "post-Disaster" time on Earth. Most people would call this post-apocalyptic. So it sounds like there has been the equivalent of a nuclear holocaust about 100 years ago, and this story is about the survivors.