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Possible to share a gist of THE CROCODILE HUNTER WILD ACTIVITY BOOK by Steve and Terri Irwin?

Asked by Mitana Mukhe in Books & Authors at 12:46 AM on February 06, 2009

myjunction's Answer

THE CROCODILE HUNTER WILD ACTIVITY BOOK
by Steve and Terri Irwin

Discovery Kids
ISBN: 0525467793
Ages 6-10

The Australian who has become famous for his TV adventures with crocodiles and other creatures on the Animal Planet channel lets you go wild in this cool activity book. You'll find puzzles games, jokes, riddles, stickers, a quiz on Australian slang, and --- oh yeah --- fun facts about animals that live in the Outback.

Answered at 12:47 AM on February 06, 2009

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I was looking for a review of the novel “CRISPIN: The Cross of Lead” by Avi?

Asked by Anne Frank in Books & Authors at 12:44 AM on February 06, 2009

myjunction's Answer

CRISPIN: The Cross of Lead
by Avi

Hyperion
ISBN: 0786808284
Ages 10-14
262 pages

He is a 13-year-old boy living in 14th century England, a time when life was hard for most people. He's less than a serf, working the land for people who are his betters and totally dependent upon them. He's really a nothing. He doesn't know why, but he and his mother have always been outcasts in their little village, and everybody seems to hate them. In fact, he is so despised that he doesn't even have a name --- he's just "Asta's son."

The village he lives in is owned entirely by Lord Furnival, who is always gone fighting wars for the king. So his steward, John Aycliffe, manages all Furnival's property, which includes the lives of everybody in the village. And Aycliffe seems to hate Asta's son even more than the villagers do. When Asta dies, her son's life becomes more unbearable than ever. Aycliffe declares that Asta's son must give his only ox to Lord Furnival's manor as a death tax for his mother. This means that the boy can't work the land for his meager livelihood. Then Aycliffe accuses Asta's son of stealing and declares him a wolf's head. This means that anybody who meets the boy may kill him on sight, since a wolf's head is not considered a human being. The boy's only friend is Father Quinel. He knows things about Asta's son that the boy, himself, doesn't know. For example, he knows about the boy's father, and he says that Asta's son was christened with the name Crispin, even though his mother had kept that a secret. Father Quinel gives Crispin the lead cross that belonged to Asta and promises that he will tell him all about his father. But when he tries to help Crispin escape from the village, things don't go quite as they planned. Crispin barely escapes, running for his life, with nothing but the cross and the knowledge that he has a real name. The cross has something written on it by Asta but Crispin can't read, and he's astonished to learn that his mother could. Does the writing somehow explain why his mother seemed to both love him and hate him? As Crispin flees his mind is filled with many questions about why he's been falsely accused by Aycliffe, why the people want him dead, and why he and his mother were so despised. Eventually Crispin meets a giant juggler and jester named Bear, who befriends him, but Crispin isn't really sure whether Bear is a friend or foe. He doesn't know if there's anyone that he can trust. Will Crispin ever become a free man? Read his exciting story and discover the secrets about the life of the boy named Crispin.

Answered at 12:45 AM on February 06, 2009

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What is the novel - CORYDON AND THE ISLAND OF MONSTERS by Tobias Druitt about?

Asked by Mitana Mukhe in Books & Authors at 12:39 AM on February 06, 2009

myjunction's Answer

CORYDON AND THE ISLAND OF MONSTERS
by Tobias Druitt

Yearling
ISBN-10: 044042173X
ISBN-13: 9780440421733
Ages 8-12
304 pages

Corydon is a pharmakos, a scapegoat and an outcast from his ancient Greek village. After years of being on the outskirts of village society, the deformed boy (whose leg looks like a goat's) is chased out of town by an angry mob (including his own mother), threatening him and calling him mormoluke --- demon. For years, Corydon lives alone, tending the sheep and goats he steals from the villagers.

Then, one day, Corydon is captured by a band of marauders, who take him away as part of their sideshow of monsters and freaks. The Minotaur, the Hydra, even the pregnant Gorgon Medusa are all enslaved, put on display for the delight and horror of ordinary citizens. That is, until Corydon obtains a mysterious magical staff and uses it to free his fellow prisoners. Soon enough, the island where they have been entrapped becomes their own, where they are free to live in peace and form their own families, of sorts. Soon enough, though, hero wannabe Perseus gets wind of the Island of Monsters. He's determined to make a name for himself, to finally get his father Zeus to remember his name in particular over the chief god's dozens of other sons. Using marketing strategies worthy of any Fortune 500 company, Perseus recruits a band of other B-List heroes to join him; he rejects Odysseus ("Full of cunning…Too fond of his wife and family") and Achilles ("Get his mother to stop spoiling him"). Backed with the powers of the Olympian gods, the heroes set off to earn their fame and fortune. Meanwhile, Corydon, Medusa and two other Gorgons, aware that an army is on the move, work to awaken the gods of the earth. These less renowned gods, who make their home in the earth or below it, include figures like Hades and Corydon's own father, whose identity he discovers early in the story. Corydon's voyage to the underworld, accompanied by the fiercely loyal Minotaur, is one of the most emotionally powerful elements of the story. Equally powerful is the depiction of Medusa, her tragic history and her dedication to her son, culminating in her ultimate sacrifice. Betrayed by his own mother, still longing for a perfect maternal love that doesn't exist, Corydon must learn to recognize true motherly love --- flawed but powerful --- in this most unlikely creature. Given the nature of its author, it's probably not surprising that CORYDON & THE ISLAND OF MONSTERS includes mother-child love as one of its major themes. Tobias Druitt is the pen name of a writing duo: a mother, who is on the faculty of Oxford University, and her young son, who is only nine. In addition to being emotionally powerful, the novel is firmly grounded in both ancient Greek mythology and in other works of classic literature --- allusions to poems and plays both ancient and modern will reward careful readers. A playful attitude combined with the elevated language and epic struggles of high fantasy will attract many readers, who will be hungry for subsequent adventures in this projected trilogy.

Answered at 12:39 AM on February 06, 2009

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Gist of COUNT KARLSTEIN by Philip Pullman?

Asked by Mitana Mukhe in Books & Authors at 12:40 AM on February 06, 2009

myjunction's Answer

COUNT KARLSTEIN
by Philip Pullman and illustrated by Diana Bryan

Knopf
ISBN: 0375803483

The author of THE GOLDEN COMPASS delivers a story brimming with thrills and chills. Count Karlstein has sold his soul to the Demon Huntsman in exchange for money and riches. But when the Huntsman comes to collect the soul on All Souls' Eve, the count plans to offer him his two nieces, Charlotte and Lucy, instead.

Answered at 12:41 AM on February 06, 2009

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Pls share a synopsis of the novel - COVER-UP: Mystery at the Super Bowl by John Feinstein?

Asked by Anne Frank in Books & Authors at 12:41 AM on February 06, 2009

myjunction's Answer

COVER-UP: Mystery at the Super Bowl by John Feinstein

Yearling/Random House
Hardcover: 0375842470
Paperback: 9780440422051
Ages 10-up
272 pages

Fourteen-year-old sports reporters Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson can’t cover a major sporting event without stumbling upon a mystery. Set at the Super Bowl, COVER-UP proves to hold their most baffling whodunit yet.

After solving the U.S. Open mystery, Stevie and Susan Carol are offered their own television show aimed at teen sports lovers on USTV. When some market surveys indicate that he isn’t as popular an anchor as Susan Carol, Stevie gets fired and is replaced with a good-looking former boy band member who knows nothing about sports. Susan Carol is devastated and threatens to quit, though her contract won’t allow her to make this dramatic gesture. She can’t imagine going to the Super Bowl without Stevie. But as luck would have it, Stevie is asked by his mentor and friend Bobby Kelleher to help write articles for the Baltimore Herald. Both Stevie and Susan Carol will be at the Super Bowl after all.

When Susan Carol is at a network party, the doctor of one of the teams, the California Dreams, revels drunkenly that the entire offensive line failed their drug tests and shouldn’t even be playing. Plus, to make matters worse, the team owner is fully aware of the situation and is covering up the truth. Susan Carol immediately informs Stevie that there is a scandal to be solved. But how can they prove what they’ve learned, especially when nobody wants to talk?

John Feinstein --- a regular commentator for National Public Radio and Sporting News Radio --- has written many bestselling sports-related books, including LAST SHOT, an Edgar Award winner. Like his previous efforts, COVER-UP provides an almost nonfiction-like behind-the-scenes look into another aspect of the sports world, this time football.

If you liked Stevie and Susan Carol the first and second times around, then you’ll enjoy watching them in their most mature and challenging mystery yet.

Answered at 12:42 AM on February 06, 2009

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What is the gist of CRACKERJACK HALFBACK by Matt Christopher?

Asked by Anne Frank in Books & Authors at 12:43 AM on February 06, 2009

myjunction's Answer

CRACKERJACK HALFBACK
by Matt Christopher

Little Brown
ISBN: 0316142433
Age Level: 8-12

Freddie is one of the best players on the football team. He does a fine job in the halfback position, running with the ball. But in order to be a great player, you have to be good at lots of things. Unfortunately, Freddie is afraid to make tackles. Find out if Freddie overcomes his fear, or if he ends up sitting on the bench, watching someone else take his place.

Answered at 12:44 AM on February 06, 2009

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What all adaptations have been done of the fairy tale - "The Emperor's New Clothes"?

Asked by Mitana Mukhe in Books & Authors at 12:35 AM on February 06, 2009

myjunction's Answer

Adaptations "The Emperor's New Clothes"
The story has been parodied numerous times, including one story in the animated television series Alftales where Alf plays a frustrated tailor of comfortable casual clothes who pulls the trick on the uninterested emperor who refused his usual goods. At the end, when the emperor's pretension is exposed by a girl who makes some sarcastic comments about his state of undress, Alf's character supplies the ruler some of his usual wares which the emperor finds agreeable. However, the story ends with the emperor making the best of his humiliation by indulging in his one opportunity to go streaking, and then announces to his subjects that he is giving away all his unwanted clothes to charity. The Emperor's New Clothes is the title of a fanciful 2001 film starring Ian Holm as Napoleon, and a 1996 play by playwright Eric Coble. The 1990 song "The Emperor's New Clothes" by recording artist Sinéad O'Connor has the same general message as the original fairytale. The song ends with the lines, "through their own words / they will be exposed / they've got a severe case of / the emperor's new clothes." In the 1952 film musical Hans Christian Andersen based on the life of the Danish poet and story-teller Hans Christian Andersen, starring Danny Kaye, the story of The Emperor's New Clothes is told in The King's New Clothes as one of the film's eight songs.
In addition, Danny Kaye would also interpret the story in a 1972 animated half-hour special from Rankin-Bass productions entitled, The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes. Roald Dahl wrote a short story in line with Revolting Rhymes, in which he tells the story of an emperor who was so cruel his tailors plot against him. They fool him in believing they have a cloth which keeps the wearer incredibly warm, but is invisible to fools. He then goes skiing without any clothes on, freezing to death. An animated interpretation was one of the Timeless Tales series on videocassette in 1990, and another, featuring the voice of Regis Philbin as the emperor, was an episode of Long Ago and Far Away on PBS in 1991. A happier ending is found in Seriously Silly Stories by Laurence Anholt and Arthur Robins. The Emperor's Underwear is a reversal of the usual tale, the tailors providing real underwear that everyone pretends not to see. In The Romans, a 1965 episode of Doctor Who, the Doctor convinces Emperor Nero that he can play the lyre by announcing before his performance that "the music is so soft, so delicate, that only those with keen, perceptive hearing will be able to distinguish this melodious charm of music". He then pretends to play, making no actual sound, and at the end of his performance he receives cheers and applause from the other guests at the banquet. He later boasts to one of his companions that he gave the idea to Hans Christian Andersen. The tale itself was adapted as an episode of the 2008 series Fairy Tales. An episode in the fourth series of the British TV show Hustle, A Designer's Paradise, bases a confidence trick around the story of The Emperor's New Clothes. The Emperor's New Mind by Roger Penrose is a book about physics and complexity theory. Penrose concludes that computers, although they appear to think, cannot think as we experience it. He attempts to prove this hypothesis by examining all physics as we know it in a small amount of detail. The novel Naked Empire by Terry Goodkind makes an allusion to the tale with its title and the book deals with similar themes. Another book that alludes to the tale is "The Empire's Old Clothes: What the Lone Ranger, Babar, and Other Innocent Heroes Do to Our Minds," by Ariel Dorfman, the Chilean novelist, playwright, essayist, academic, and human rights activist. The Chinese novelist Ye Shengtao continued the story which Andersen had left off; it is also titled, The Emperor's New Clothes. The PBS series Sagwa also aired an a

Answered at 12:37 AM on February 06, 2009

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Looking for a detailed review of CORYDON AND THE FALL OF ATLANTIS by Tobias Druitt?

Asked by Anne Frank in Books & Authors at 12:37 AM on February 06, 2009

myjunction's Answer

CORYDON AND THE FALL OF ATLANTIS by Tobias Druitt

Knopf
ISBN-10: 0375833838
ISBN-13: 9780375833830
Ages 8-12
352 pages

In his first novel about Corydon, the outcast boy with the goat's leg who becomes a reluctant hero, Tobias Druitt devised a rich, imaginative reworking of Greek mythology, turning old stories on their heads, making monsters into heroes and heroes into buffoons. Now, in the second volume, CORYDON AND THE FALL OF ATLANTIS, Druitt further broadens the story's scope, resulting in a delightful romp through myth and legend that will delight fans of the old Greek tales --- and introduce those classics to many new readers.

Following his adventures in CORYDON AND THE ISLAND OF MONSTERS, all young Corydon wants is a return to a quiet, safe, anonymous life, tending his sheep and goats and making cheeses from their milk. But this is ancient Greece, after all, where heroes and monsters roam the land. Corydon should know that his life won't ever be quite the same again. For one thing, he has Gorgos, the troublesome young son of his sorely-missed friend Medusa, to look after. Impetuous and impatient, with a tendency to befriend wolves and other predators, Gorgos can be tolerated but simply not trusted.

Corydon's problems really erupt, however, when his gentle friend, the Minotaur, disappears. At first Corydon and his fellow "monsters" suspect the heroes who caused them so many problems before. Soon, though, thanks to some vague clues from the Sphinx, the friends' eyes turn toward the sea --- specifically toward Atlantis. Corydon has no choice but to accept the challenge to rescue his friend --- he's really the only one who can fulfill the quest. Getting to the island is half the battle, as Corydon, Gorgos and the Snake-Girl must set sail across Poseidon's unfriendly seas as they make for Atlantis. But once they get there, they discover that rescuing the Minotaur is only part of the story. Can they learn to get by in this intellectual but hostile environment, and maybe even save it from a certain fate? Written by a mother and her son (Diane Purkiss teaches classical literature at Oxford and Michael Dowling studies ancient Greek), the trilogy centered on Corydon and his acquaintances brings Greek mythology vividly to life. With obstacles worthy of Odysseus and a climactic battle (complete with a pretty dark ending), Druitt's breathtaking plot will draw in readers regardless of their prior knowledge of these stories. Fans of Greek mythology, though, will especially appreciate the author's wit and playfulness, and will look forward to the trilogy's final installment, set during the Trojan War.

Answered at 12:38 AM on February 06, 2009

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Share a review of A CORNER OF THE UNIVERSE by Ann Martin?

Asked by Mitana Mukhe in Books & Authors at 12:32 AM on February 06, 2009

myjunction's Answer

A CORNER OF THE UNIVERSE
by Ann Martin

Scholastic
ISBN: 0439388805
Ages 9-12
208 pages

Imagine learning about an uncle you never knew existed. In this 2002 Newbery Honor book, twelve-year-old Hattie Owen meets her Uncle Adam, a mentally disabled man who has been living in an institution that recently lost its funding.

During the summer of 1960, people were less likely to dissect family problems than today, the era of the talk show. Adam was a family secret, but Hattie learns to love him. She was planning a summer of trips to the library and ice cream, but now Adam comes with her. He is closer to her age mentally than most adults and has an endless enthusiasm for new experiences. Hattie loves to go to the carnival and is happy to bring Adam along. But she does not know how to handle Adam when he is out of control, such as when she finds him walking in his underwear through the neighborhood or when he disappears. He also becomes angry when he can't have his way.

Living with someone who is mentally disabled can be confusing at any age. Best-selling author Ann M. Martin of P.S. LONGER LETTER LATER (written with Paula Danziger) and the BABY-SITTERS CLUB series, does a wonderful job of showing the reader the joys and sadness of the experience, as seen through the eyes of likable teen Hattie.

Powerful characters and plot surprises will keep readers interested in this title --- and it is sure to stay with the reader long after the book is closed.

Answered at 12:33 AM on February 06, 2009

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Any idea about the Fairy tale - "The Emperor's New Clothes" - by H C Andersen?

Asked by Mitana Mukhe in Books & Authors at 12:34 AM on February 06, 2009

myjunction's Answer

"The Emperor's New Clothes" (Keiserens nye Klæder) is a fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen about an emperor who unwittingly hires two swindlers to create a new suit of clothes for him. The tale was first published in 1837 as part of Eventyr, fortalte for Børn (Fairy Tales, Told for Children). The tale is one of Andersen's most popular. It appears often in selected collections of his work and is frequently published in illustrated storybook editions for children. The tale has seen adaptations in animated film, and television drama.

Plot summary

An emperor of a prosperous city who cares more about clothes than military pursuits or entertainment hires two swindlers who promise him the finest suit of clothes from the most beautiful cloth. This cloth, they tell him, is invisible to anyone who was either stupid or unfit for his position. The Emperor cannot see the (non-existent) cloth, but pretends that he can for fear of appearing stupid; his ministers do the same. When the swindlers report that the suit is finished, they dress him in mime. The Emperor then goes on a procession through the capital showing off his new "clothes". During the course of the procession, a small child cries out, "But he has nothing on!" The crowd realizes the child is telling the truth. The Emperor, however, holds his head high and continues the procession.

http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/The_Emperor%27s_New_Clothe s

Answered at 12:35 AM on February 06, 2009

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