A blog of my running thoughts while reading. *Warning: Spoilers*
It’s a little weird that Mary Pope Osborne put herself in this book. The story is pretty good, but I’m not convinced about the “writing to lend”. It was given to them, not lent. I like the reporter, she was a nice touch, even if she doesn’t seem to be doing that much reporting.
This was a good story but I have to wonder why Osborne felt the need to move the scroll library to Pompeii. Why couldn’t the story have taken place in Herculaneum? That would have fit well with the story that they were trying to retrieve! Oh well. I guess it works. It just seems strange.
This was a cute story. I didn’t like the all-knowing adult who has the answers but refuses to help despite having no reason to know why the question was asked. The story set in the old west did that too and I was hoping that it wouldn’t repeat. I found it more obnoxious in this book, but very annoying in both. And the clothes thing is still and issue. When is that going to change? It’s all very weird!
This was a fun book and the story was cute. The kids having to find appropriate clothing was an interesting element. I wonder why their clothes change in later books but not in this one? Is Morgan going to adjust the spell for them? That would be good! I look forward to the end of this story arc!
Well, she still doesn’t have a pet, but at least Babymouse learned how to take care of one. The dog was cute and I liked how the problem of training the dog was approached. Babymouse’s fantasies about training focused entirely on having a spectacularly trained dog, not on the training process itself! The reality proved to be much different. It was quite well done!
“The Bowl” was a pretty powerful story. I was impressed by how much the bowl experienced, how it was part of nearly every aspect of the community’s life. It was sad to see that all so underestimated by the historians of the museum! The “fifty years retrospective” about the book was funny, but also rather interesting. I enjoyed this book a great deal!
Babymouse is so enthusiastic, but also a little clueless. I love the runaway pets all partying with the discoball under the bed! The Charlotte’s Web sequence was awesome. It had the charm of Babymouse and nostalgia of the classic story with a “typical” twist! This is definitely fun so far! The brief references to famous comic book (and other medium) owner/pet combos was great!
This is a really fun twist on a Christmas story. The illustrations are busy and do a great job of portraying a weariness for all things Christmas. The little girl’s face is consistently great. I also love how the family gets so excited by what we consider normalcy. This is a really good, unique Christmas book!
The story about the circus detective was good. It didn’t really answer all of its own questions, but the story made enough sense that it didn’t really matter. I liked the art in “Wings”, but there wasn’t a whole lot of coherent plot. It really felt like more of an art piece than a short story, which I guess is ok, it just isn’t what I was expecting.
I really didn’t understand those first two stories. The one about the girl falling or jumping had a confusing ending and I just wasn’t sure what to make of “Dummy Brother”. What happened? Was there a story? I was just confused!!! I loved “The Maiden and the River Spirit”, though! It was awesome!