Book Review: The Password to Larkspur Lane by Carolyn Keene (1933)

Published in 1933, The Password to Larkspur Lane is the tenth book in the original Nancy Drew series, and the third and final book written by ghostwriter Walter Karig. When Nancy's housekeeper, Hannah, takes a fall, Nancy takes her to see the local physician, Dr. Spires, who has just been involved in something very unusual. Strangers blindfolded him, and dragged him into their car, then drove him to an unfamiliar location where they had him treat an elderly woman's injury. After treating the woman, as he was taken from this unknown place, Spires snatched the woman's bracelet in the hopes that he would be able to find out who she is and whether she is in danger. Dr. Spires, knowing that Nancy has a reputation as a good sleuth, and a father also known for helping people out of difficult situations, gives the bracelet to Nancy and asks her to investigate. As Nancy follows the clues with the help of her friend Helen Corning, it becomes clear that there is something sinister happening at a nearby nursing home which endangers not only many elderly patients, but also those, like Nancy, who want to uncover the truth.

I have never been a die-hard Nancy Drew fan, but I have enjoyed various volumes from the original series and its many spin-offs over the years, including The Bungalow Mystery, which I reviewed six years ago. Though I have certainly noticed Nancy's uncanny ability to do pretty much everything exceedingly well, it seemed much more prevalent in this book. It seemed like every time I turned the page, someone else was telling Nancy how amazing and brilliant she is, and Nancy was humbly dismissing their comment as though it was not deserved. Helen, in particular, is insufferably impressed with Nancy's every move in a way that is very grating and very distracting. (Then again, if I had a friend who was a talented detective and also knew how to identify and treat a sprained ankle, as well as climb out of a cistern, I might react similarly. It is ridiculous that Nancy is good at so many different difficult things!)

Still, despite Nancy's irritating perfection, this is a solid mystery story and I was definitely invested in finding out what was happening and how Nancy would bring the evildoers to justice. I can't imagine a children's book about a mystery involving a nursing home being published today, which just makes me appreciate the charm of this vintage book that much more. Also charming are the references to the culture and style of the 1930s:  roadsters, rumble seats, sanatoriums, frocks, a yacht club dance, etc. I didn't notice as much slang in this book as I found in the 1927 Hardy Boys book I read last year, but there is still an old-fashioned sensibility to the book that was enjoyable. I'm not in a big hurry to read another Nancy Drew book, but this was a fun little cozy mystery to ease into the new year, and much better than any of the modern-day Nancy Drew books.

Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge: January 2018 Link-Up

This is the official Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge link-up post for January! In comments, please share your reviews and posts about any "old school" books you have read this month. (Even if you're not officially signed up for the challenge you're welcome to participate with anything you've posted about a book published in the decade of your birth or before.)

I am planning to read 52 old school books this year. I used to review one a week, and fell out of that habit last year, so I want to try to get back into it. This month, I reviewed these three titles:

• Amahl and the Night Visitors adapted by Frances Frost, illustrated by Roger Duvoisin (1952)
• The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper (1973)
• The Box of Delights by John Masefield (1935)

What did you read? How are you doing with the challenge so far? 

I Can't Believe I Read the Whole Thing! Books I Should Not Have Finished

Up until last year, I did not have a DNF shelf on Goodreads. If I started a book, no matter how terrible it was, I pretty much always finished it. This has resulted in me finishing a number of books I really didn't like because I felt obligated to do so. Today, I'm sharing ten books that I really can't believe I finished reading, and I'll be linking up with Top Ten Tuesday for this week's topic, Books I Can’t Believe I Read.

Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata 

In library school, my children's literature course was focused entirely on Newbery Medal and honor books. As Kira-Kira was the winner that year, we were all required to buy and read a copy. It was a miserable experience - I didn't like the plot, the characters, the writing style, anything - and to this day, I don't know a child who has read and enjoyed this book. (I find it kind of funny that I actually read this book when so many books I was assigned as an undergraduate went unread...)

Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt 

I read this book in library school as well, and when I was finished I likened the reading experience itself to walking very slowly up a road. I usually like coming-of-age stories, but this one was just depressing and uncomfortable.

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer 

I still re-read my scathing Goodreads review of this book from time to time. When it came out, I was working as a teen librarian so I basically had to read it in order to be able to discuss it with my teen patrons, but it was not my usual genre to begin with and I felt like the series really jumped the shark with some of the happenings of the book. (Reneesme, especially, made me want to throw things.)

Castration Celebration by Jake Wizner 

The title of this book alone would turn me off today, but when I was in my 20s and working with teens, I wasn't quite as sensitive to vulgar humor as I am now. I still maintain that the author, Jake Wizner, is a talented writer, but I would never in a million years pick up this book today.

Love: Poems by Danielle Steel

I'd totally forgotten that I read this until I started scrolling through my Goodreads looking for books for this post. What made me borrow it from the library I have no idea, considering I've never even read a Danielle Steel novel, but (shocking, I know) it was evidently only a two-star read despite the fact that my review mentions I would have loved it as a fourteen-year-old.

What She Saw... by Lucinda Rosenfeld

This may be the worst novel I have ever read, and it would have been a definite candidate for a DNF shelf if I'd had one back in 2009. My one-star review says it all.

Summer Sisters by Judy Blume

I turned 16 the year this book came out, and had probably only read 2 or 3 adult novels ever, but for some reason I bought this one in hardcover.  With its adult content, including frank discussions of sexuality, this book was very disturbing to me as a teen, and I can't believe that a) my parents allowed it in our house and b) I actually made it to the end of the book. (My experience with this book is also a big reason I don't think kids should just read whatever they want. I know the going theory is that kids self-censor, but I definitely felt uncomfortable and read the book anyway and never talked about the things that bothered me with anyone.)

Savvy by Ingrid Law

A couple of years ago, I challenged myself to read 25 fantasy novels in a year, and because this was a Newbery Honor book, I put it on my list. Had it not been a Newbery honor book, and had I not been focusing on reading fantasy, I would not have made it more than a couple of chapters. As is clear from my review, I thought it was bland and boring, and that the story had nothing at all to say.

Saving Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea 

When the ARC of this book was available on NetGalley back in 2015, I had never read any of the series. I read the first two quickly so that I could review this one before it was published. By the end of the second book, I already hated the series, but I felt an obligation to finish it and get feedback to the publisher. If I hadn't downloaded the ARC, I would have abandoned the book after the first chapter.

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett

I know lots of people love this book, but I am just not a fan. I think I made it worse for myself, too, by listening to the audiobook, as the narrator had a very grating voice, and failed to pronounce one of main character's names correctly about half the time. I did like the writing style, but could not stand all the coincidences that figured into the plot. It just didn't feel believable to me. Had I not been riding in the car and listening with my husband, I wouldn't have bothered to finish. My review is on Goodreads.

What are some books you would skip if you had it to do over?

The RAHM Report for 1/29/18

What My Kids Are Reading

Winter picture books and nonfiction titles about history and evolution are featured in this week's Read-at-Home Kids Report.

What I Finished Reading

• Bookman Dead Style by Paige Shelton
  I didn't like this book quite as much as the first of the series, but I did enjoy the involvement of Hollywood actors in the plot, and the subplot involving The Rescued Word itself. My review is on Goodreads.
• Devil Bones by Kathy Reichs
  This wasn't bad, but it is my least favorite of the Temperance Brennan books so far. I wasn't that interested in the plot, and Tempe did a few things that seemed out-of-character. I mentined these issues in my Goodreads review.
• Witness by Karen Hesse
  I usually like novels in verse and Karen Hesse's writing, but this book about the KKK infiltrating a Vermont town in 1924 just didn't work for me. My 2-star review on Goodreads explains why.
• A Girl Called Al by Constance C. Greene
  I remember seeing this book in the public library a lot as a kid, but for some reason I never read it. I enjoyed quirky Al and her friendship with the unnamed narrator, even if some events of the story were a bit predictable. 

Did Not Finish

• Check Me Out by Becca Wilhite
  Though I did not finish this book, I wrote an extensive review on Goodreads explaining what it gets wrong about working in libraries (which is, sadly, nearly everything.)
• The Journey of Little Charlie by Christopher Paul Curtis
  After reading one chapter of this book, I determined that the dialect was too much for me. I'm going to wait for an audiobook edition and try again. 

What I'm Currently Reading

• The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick
  Last week, I thought I'd finish this book in a day or two, but it's proven to be a lot more complex than I was expecting. The teens in this story have so many problems that reading about them actually feels a bit stressful. I have to finish the book by Friday because that's when my library ebook expires, but I'm rationing it so that I don't have to spend long stretches of time dwelling on the characters' problems. 
• Does Anybody Care About Lou Emma Miller? by Alberta Wilson Constant
  I received a signed copy of this hard-to-find book from my husband for Christmas. It's the third book of a series, and I've only read the first book, but it seems to stand on its own pretty well so far. I have no doubt I will finish this one quickly.
• Advent of Dying by Sister Carol Anne O'Marie
  I was having trouble deciding on a mystery to read next, and it has been a while since I started this series so I decided to come back to it. So far, I'm finding it even more engaging than the first book. 

Challenge Progress

• Both Bookman Dead Style and Devil Bones count for the Cloak and Dagger Challenge and for the Writing Reviews challenge. Bookman Dead Style also counts toward Craving for Cozies, the Family Tree Reading Challenge (for the year 2017, when my youngest was born), and the Linz the Bookworm Reading Challenge (for the cozy mystery category). Devil Bones also fulfills letter D for the Alphabet Soup Challenge. 
• Witness and A Girl Called Al both fulfill letters for the A to Z Challenge. Witness also counts for the Linz the Bookworm Reading Challenge (for book with a one-word title) and the Writing Reviews Challenge, while A Girl Called Al counts toward Old School Kidlit. My review of Box of Delights was also published this week, which adds it to my list of books reviewed for the Writing Reviews Challenge.

I'll be linking up today with Unleashing Readers/Teach Mentor Texts and Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

The RAHK Report for 1/28/18

Our week in reading included some lovely experiences with each of the following books:

• The Wonderful Farm by Marcel Aymé, illustrated by Maurice Sendak
  I'm loving this book more and more as we get further into it. This week, we finished the third chapter, The Mean Gander, and the fourth chapter, The Pig and the Peacock. As we go, some of the lessons learned by the two girls in the stories seem to become less and less obvious to Miss Muffet (4 years, 2 months) and Bo Peep (2 years, 4 months), but both of them still look forward to hearing the book every day at lunch. We may finish it this week. 
• Life Story by Virginia Lee Burton
  This is the most beautifully written and most beautifully illustrated book about evolution for kids that I have ever seen. I read it aloud to Miss Muffet over the course of several days this week, and I know it's a book we'll return to again and again. I have a review of the book scheduled for next month, so I'll save the rest of my comments until then, but truly, I can't recommend it highly enough. 
• History Can Be Fun by Munro Leaf
  Miss Muffet has been slowly reading this aloud, but she had taken a break from it for a while. This week, we brought it back into her repertoire and she enjoyed reading a few passages. Sometimes I question whether she comprehends what she reads in a book like this, but then she'll make a connection to another book, or a video, or to something else we're discussing, and she'll yell out, "That's my history!" The title of the book definitely rings true for her. 
• Lullaby and Good Night: Songs for Sweet Dreams by Julie Downing
  This is the most popular book in this household. The older two fight over who gets to read it, and they both use it to sing to the baby. The way they love it, though, we may need a replacement copy by the time the baby is old enough to want to read it.
  
  
• The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
  Miss Muffet has always been a big Ezra Jack Keats fan, but Bo Peep is only just showing interest in his books. We read The Snowy Day together a few times this week, and just yesterday, she picked up the book and began retelling it to herself. She has also given Peter the nickname of "Pete." 
• Little Penguins by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Christian Robinson
  Bo Peep liked this book last winter after I used it in story time, and it has made a comeback with a vengeance this week. I try to use it as an opportunity to talk about colors with her, but mostly she just likes the mittens and the mommy. 
• Click, Clack Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin
  We watched the Weston Woods video of this story a couple of times this week. Miss Muffet and Bo Peep have always liked the book just fine, but they love the film, and it is always their top request when I offer to play something from Bookflix.
• Dot the Fire Dog by Lisa Desimini
  We have never read the physical book, but I showed the Weston Woods film to Miss Muffet once on a whim, and now it's also in our regular video rotation. Personally, I was completely terrified of fires as a kid and would never have been able to handle a book like this - I guess it's good that my kids are less worried about bad things happening. Watching the video also led to a game of fighting fires in the cardboard box "cave" we currently have in our living room. 

Fumbling Through Fantasy: The Box of Delights by John Masefield (1935)

At the train station on his way home from school for the Christmas holiday, Kay Harker, the main character of The Box of Delights, encounters a mysterious Punch and Judy man named Cole Hawlings. The two hit if off so well that when Hawlings needs someone to hide and guard his box of delights  he entrusts it to Kay. As Kay enjoys the powers given to him by the box - to move swiftly, to shrink, to travel through time - he also becomes aware of a strange series of disappearances around town. Not only have several local clergyman been "scrobbled" but some of Kay's houseguests, Kay's guardian Caroline Louisa, and Cole Hawlings himself have gone missing as well. Kay realizes all of these kidnappings must be attempts to gain access to the box of delights and in trying to protect it, he has a variety of thrilling adventures.

I had a difficult time reading this book. While I could appreciate the appeal of its atmospheric setting, fanciful use of magic, and adventurous spirit, I spent much of the story feeling like I had no idea what was going on. I found it confusing that the characters never seemed surprised by anything that happened to them, and that they took in stride everything from shrinking to the size of a rodent to witnessing kidnappings. I was also frustrated by the lack of character development. There are quite a few characters, but very little in the way of details about personalities, looks, or interests. It is always hard for me to get into fantasy novels, but it is especially hard without a strong character to latch onto, and I didn't really find Kay to be that strong, well-developed protagonist. I also didn't like that the magic of the box of delights didn't have very many limits and that magic often saved the day in a very deus ex machina kind of way.

Because I was reading them simultaneously, I couldn't resist making numerous comparisons between The Box of Delights and The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. In many ways, the books are similar, right down to the involvement of folk hero Herne the Hunter in both stories, and the midwinter setting. But I felt much more comfortable in the world of The Dark is Rising. Even when I didn't fully understand an allusion, I still knew exactly what was happening and how each event contributed to the overall story arc. There were times in The Box of Delights when I had to re-read passages to be sure I had even a vague sense of what was going on, and in general, it just felt very slow to me, even though lots of things were happening.

The Box of Delights is a sequel to a book I have not read, The Midnight Folk (1927), in which Kay Harker is apparently also the main character. There don't seem to be any direct references in the second book to the events of the first, but I do wonder if Kays's matter-of-factness in the face of supernatural happenings might have made more sense if I'd read the books in order. I'm not sure I personally enjoyed this book enough to want to read the first book any time soon, but I won't rule it out. I do think The Box of Delights is worth reading, however, even if I struggled to enjoy it, and I'll gladly have my girls read it during the Christmas season in some future year.

Five Favorite Picture Books About Winter

Today, in response to Blog All About It's January prompt of Winter, I'm sharing five of my all-time favorite wintry picture books.

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, illustrated by John Schoenherr

Owl Moon is not just one of my favorite winter picture books; I think it one of the most perfect picture books ever written. It's a quiet story, which at first glance seems like it might not engage most kids, but I have read this book to preschoolers and preteens alike and it always bring an awestruck hush to even the most active and easily distracted audience. The story is very simple: a young girl and her dad walk in the woods looking for an owl. The descriptions of this special event, however, combined with Schoenherr's Caldecott-winning illustrations, draw readers into the story, making them practically feel the cold air on their own faces, giving them the same feelings of excitement that the little girl experiences. The audiobook and Weston Woods video adaptation of the story are also excellent. The author is the narrator of both.

It's Snowing by Olivier Dunrea

In this sweet picture book by the creator of the Gossie books, a mother and baby wrapped in furs step out of their arctic home to enjoy the child's first snowstorm on a "dark, dark, cold, cold night." The mother jubilantly encourages the baby to experience the snow with his senses, and to enjoy such activities as building a snow troll, sledding down a hill, and riding on an ice bear. When the baby gets sleepy, his mother brings him back inside their cozy home and tucks him into bed.  I am not really a winter person myself, but this book makes me understand how it might feel to love snow as much as the family in the story. We don't yet own this book (and the copy on OpenLibrary was scanned incorrectly), but it is at the top of my wish list.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost, illustrated by Susan Jeffers

Susan Jeffers lends her signature illustration style to this famous Robert Frost poem adapted for the picture book format. The speaker of the poem bears a resemblance to Santa Claus as he, his horse, and a sleigh full of packages make their way through the snowy woods. My favorite illustration shows this character cheerily dropping down into the snow to make a snow angel while birds and other small animals flee in surprise. Jeffers makes great use of color to highlight people and animals in the pictures while everything else remains covered in blankets of white and gray snow. She really captures the mood of Frost's original words.

Something is Going to Happen by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by Catherine Stock

This gentle book takes place in the morning as a family of four - mother, father, son, and daughter - and their dog wake up to begin the day. Each one has the sense that something is about to happen, but they go about the business of getting dressed, having breakfast, and packing up for work and school before opening the door to discover that it's snowing. There is a great sense of anticipation in this book that reminds me of lying in bed as a kid waiting to hear whether school would be canceled for a snow day. The imagery throughout the book is really beautiful - Zolotow had such a talent for describing ordinary moments in extraordinary ways.

Cold Snap by Eileen Spinelli, illustrated by Marjorie Priceman

In this book, a cold snap has reached the town of Toby Mills, and as the icicle on the statue of the town's founder grows longer and longer, the temperature drops closer and closer to zero. As the cold weather continues throughout the week, the reader is given little peeks into the lives of certain town residents, watching as they prevent illness, knit mittens, drink hot chocolate, and attend a community bonfire. We had about a week this month already where temperatures were in the single digits and wind chills were in the negatives. Reading this book was a fun way to teach my kids about the extreme cold we were experiencing and it kept us all busy while we were stuck inside.

Have you read these books? Which other winter picture books do you love?