How to use this Page

Book received at no charge to facilitate review

Edward rarely puts much effort into anything but he does make an effort to bring a rock to school for his assignment. A quick search in his aunt's garden yields what he thinks is a boring rock. The rock turns out to be a Fetch that begins to steal time after it is aroused.

Three of his classmates touch the Fetch and discover they are the only four people who can see time disappearing around them. As they try to make sense of the chaos around them, they lines between their world fade into a dimension of time terrifying and dangerous. They must escape the likes of ghastly witches and formidable panthers while they try to restore the Time Fetch and stop the clock against lost time.

While the four main characters are interesting, it is Edward's pagan aunt who inspires curiosity. Herrick's strong writing makes up for some plot holes and confusion about exactly how the Time Fetch came to be. A fun adventure, sometimes bogged down by lectures about time or references to myths about the Winter Solstice. A solid adventure sure to delight fantasy fans.




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Add a Comment

Add a Comment

I am happy to welcome middle-grade author Angela Shelton to my blog today for her book, The Adventures of Tilda Pinkerton (Book One: Crash-Landing on Ooleeoo). I am really excited about this book, which kind of reminds me of A Wrinkle in Time. If I was still teaching elementary school, I would choose this book as a read-aloud for sure! This would also be the perfect book for a parent/child book club or to read together before bedtime.

I have a copy to giveaway–print or e-copy–it’s the winner’s choice. To be entered to win, please leave a comment by December 23 at 8:00 pm CST. I will choose one winner using random.org.

Here is a short summary:

The Adventures of Tilda Pinkerton is a story of inter-galactic crisis with bionic bugs on a mission to capture the great Tilda Pinkerton and destroy her magical hats before she can spread her Light across the galaxy. Written in a wonderfully lyrical way that will appeal to fans of Dr. Seuss, Star Trek, Matilda Wormwood, and Harry Potter with every character’s name being a verbal play on their personalities. Quinn, for example, is Quinn Quisquilious, who works with rubbish to create new things. Belinda Balletomania is just that – obsessed with ballet. And of course Aaron Arachnophobia is the spider desperately afraid of himself.

Let’s join Angela and find out more about her book for middle-graders!

Margo: Welcome, Angela, and thanks for talking with us today! Tilda Pinkerton is a wonderful, lovely character, full of spunk, magic, and spirit! How did you create such a fantastical main character?

Angela: It’s me! Or at least the best me I could come up with. I wrote Tilda with all the aspects I would love to have more of: a vast vocabulary, magical powers, and direct contact with the light source!

Margo: Yes, we all need direct contact with the light source! What are some themes you are exploring in this first book?

Angela: I wanted to explore the theme of insecurity for one. It shows up in Tilda Pinkerton herself since she thinks she is deformed when in reality her deformity is her strength. It also shows up in little Maggie Mae who is mute since her mother disappeared and no longer sings or speaks. Turns out Maggie has a few tricks up her sleeve and more power than she realized, too.

Perception is the key word in Book One because I wanted to explore that what you think you know may not be true just because you were taught it–all your beliefs are based on your own perception. The book is also littered with many spiritual truths that I had fun sprinkling in and will show up more as the books progress.

Margo: I like that! “All your beliefs are based on your own perception.” So true! What led you to write a fantasy book?

Angela: I was a huge fantasy fanatic as a child and always had a dream to write fantasy. I love anything with magical trees and creating a book with trees you could ride like horses–I could not resist. But it all started with a meditation prayer asking what I should write next that would be great for kids and adults, and voilà–Tilda Pinkerton popped into my head.

Margo: How awesome is that! Who would you say is the perfect audience for your book? Whom do you envision reading it?

Angela: I originally wrote Tilda for 10-12 year old girls, the same age I was when I was reading the most fantasy; BUT lo and behold, the most people who are buying Tilda are women 50 and over. I was at a book signing yesterday, and it happened again, women 50 and over were the ones buying copies. So much for thinking I knew who I was writing for! Maybe Tilda is helping them connect with their 10-12 year old side again. Maybe they love clean, fun, and enlightening reads. I had a 12-year-old tell me that she really enjoyed Tilda and that it was very imaginative, but there was nothing inappropriate in it like there was in Twilight. I about fainted. The good news is that I wrote Tilda as a book I would want to read, whether I was 12 or 50: Who knew she would have such a wide audience? I did not!

Margo: I think it’s great, and actually as a children’s writer, sometimes I prefer reading books written for children. Us children’s writers are a talented bunch! While reading this book, I see a lot of ways that it can be “used.” One of the ways is the new vocabulary words you introduce and define on several of the book’s pages. What led you to do this?

Angela: Dinosaurs lead me to Tilda’s vocabulary! I play “Safe Side Superchick” in the Safe Side Series created by Baby Einstein’s Julie Clark, and I get recognized by kids all the time. I started being invited to their classrooms; and whenever I was around a group of kids, I would ask what they were loving to learn at the moment. The most common thing was dinosaurs. What struck me the most about it was how they knew exactly how to spell, pronounce, and explain each type of dinosaur. When I would try to get into the conversation and was incorrect about something to do with dinosaurs, I got the eye roll and the sigh–I just did not understand I was talking to experts! Seeing how well-versed the kids were in dinosaur speak, I wondered if they would be the same with large vocabulary. That is what brought the rare and sometimes difficult words into Tilda. But I know kids can handle it! (and 50+ women, too.)

Margo: Great, and I didn’t know that you were a Safe Side Series star, too. (smiles) On the front cover, it says, BOOK ONE! This means, readers are in luck–you are planning a series! What’s next for Tilda?

Angela: Someone kidnapped Tilda Pinkerton and she spends Book Two fighting to get away from her kidnappers and back to Ooleeoo to save Gladys, meanwhile discovering something horrible about Earth.

Margo: Poor Tilda–she can’t catch a break, huh? (laughs) Anything else you’d like to share about you, your books, or your writing world?

Angela: Buddy Balletomania is alive. That’s all I’m going to say. I am having so much fun creating Tilda and all of her friends. I learn as much vocabulary as Tilda shares, too; and though the general story is mapped out for 3 to 5 books, Tilda always surprises me, too.

Margo: As an author, those are the best kind of surprises. Congrats on your success, Angela. And readers, remember to leave a comment TO WIN COPY!

Add a Comment

*Middle-grade, contemporary fantasy
*Angel and elementary-school aged girl as main characters
*Rating: I fell in love with The Unfinished Angel by Sharon Creech. Listening to the audio book in the car made drives enjoyable and fun! Sometimes, I was laughing out loud at the angel!

Short, short summary: One angel (neither a he or a she) lives in the ancient stone tower of the Casa Rosa, in a tiny village high in the Swiss Alps. Life has been the same as long as the angel can remember. The angel says: “Peoples are strange! The things they are doing and saying–sometimes they make no sense. Did their brains fall out of their heads?” The angel’s life is going along just fine, although she doesn’t really know her purpose and is often confused, until Zola moves in. Zola is a young girl who wears three skirts all at once and can see and talk to the angel. Zola is often telling the angel she needs to do something about the “hungry childrens” and neighbors who have been long time enemies. As the book cover states: “Zola is a girl with a mission. And our angel has been without one–till now. This hilarious and endearing novel by Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech reminds us that magic is found in the most ordinary acts of kindness.” And I totally agree with this book jacket copy writer!

So, what do I do with this book?

1. The Unfinished Angel is a perfect book for studying voice, one of the 6 +1 traits of writing. This book has an unusual, but delightful and captivating, voice. Once you have read a section out loud to students, ask them to give you examples of how the angel’s voice is unique. What are some of her speech patterns? What are some of the ways she makes words plural that don’t need to be: peoples and childrens? How does the angel’s personality come out in the narration? The answers to these questions will help students understand what VOICE is and how to write with a unique voice.

2. Where are the Swiss Alps? What is Casa Rosa? What are some of the different nationalities and languages people are speaking in this book? Throughout this book, questions such as these will arise when children are reading. You can ask students to do some research on the Internet or in the library to answer these questions and deepen their comprehension of the story. Children can share what they’ve learned about this culture with each other.

3. The village as a whole is a character in this book (just like in some books the setting can be a character). Many times, we study how characters change throughout a book and why. In The Unfinished Angel, students can discuss how the angel and the villagers as a whole change throughout the story and why. What makes them change? How do they change? Is it for the better? Students can answer questions like these in reading response journals and then discuss them in small groups or as a class.

I highly recommend this book! It would also be a great book club book choice for parent-child book clubs.

Add a Comment