THE LAST RIVER RAT: KENNY SALWEY'S LIFE IN THE WILD -- J. Scott Bestul and Kenny Salwey

Voyageur Press
Stillwater, Minnesota -- ©2001 -- 255pp
ISBN: 0-89658-457-7
Illustrations by Mary Kay Salwey
Autographed by Kenny Salwey (2002) and J. Scott Bestul (2005)

A one-year "diary" of living the life of a "river rat" in the backwaters of the Mississippi River.

Broken down first by month, and then each month having three parts, 1)River Rat Almanac, 2) Scott Bestul's report on what he learns from Kenny during that month, 3) Kenny's Tale. Each is interesting in its own way, but Scott's narration is direct and honest and brings the reader right to the Whitman Swamp with him.

An engaging read, interesting, and dare I say, unique in so many ways. Better, I think than the legendary A Sand County Almanac, and will have a comfortable spot on the bookshelf near my favorite outdoor memoirist, Sigurd F. Olson.

Highly recommended.

CLEMENCY POGUE: FAIRY KILLER -- J.T. Petty

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
New York -- ©2005 -- 120pp
ISBN: 0-689-87236-4
Illustrations by Will Davis

After being pestered by the Fairy of Frequent and Painful Pointless Antagonism, little girl Clemency Pogue vows that she does NOT believe in fairies, killing her attacker...and every other fairy in the world. Realizing that there are plenty of good fairies, Clemency and a hobgoblin set off to make things right.

A quick read that offers plenty of laughs for the adults, perhaps an interesting short story for kids, but nothing really of any substance. It's a quick adventure in the world of fairies, a little bit of action, and a short burst of triumph for the girl.

Certainly this is taking advantage of the popularity of books like Harry Potter, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and the awful books of Eoin Colfer. If it weren't for these other books, this probably would never have seen the light of a fairy's wand.

Check it out from your library if you're looking for something quick and light to read, but don't waste your cash.

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE -- J. K. Rowling

Arthur A. Levine Books/An Imprint of Scholastic Inc
New York -- ©2005 -- 652pp
ISBN: 0-439-78454-9
Illustrations by Mary Grandpre

In his sixth year at Hogwarts School for budding witches and wizards, Harry Potter learns more about his enemy, Voldemort, and watches a dear friend die.

This book, more than any of the others does NOT stand on it's own as an individual book. The whole purpose of this book seems to be a paving the way for the ultimate show-down between Harry and Voldemort, with a couple of possible surprises thrown in (surprises which are hinted at here).

The story-telling has kept us turning pages here, but the book,on whole, feels empty. The story is not a self-contained story (ala The Sorcerer's Stone), but rather the first part of a larger story.

I would not recommend this as an individual book, but would still recommend the series as an interesting and mostly enjoyable phenomenon.

THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ -- L. Frank Baum

A Signet Classic/New American Library
New York -- ©1984 (introduction and Signet edition) -- 219pp
ISBN: 0-451-51864-0
Introduction by Selma G. Lanes
Original drawing illustrations by W.W.Denslow

A young girl gets taken from her Kansas farmhouse by cyclone to a fantastic world called OZ, where she must face strange creatures and confront a wicked witch and a powerful wizard in order to return home.

So many people think they know this book because they are so familiar with the classic MGM movie. Of course there really is so much more in the book that it might surprise people.

I find the book to be slow at times, sometimes the obstacles in the girl's way just seem so extraneous. However, I read this book aloud twice now. Once to my daughter, and once to my two boys. Each time it managed to hold my childrens' interest. They've all agreed that we should consider reading book two in the series.

I can see where this easily would have/could have been the Harry Potter of it's day. Chock full of fantastic people and places and things. In it's day however, I don't believe it was popular for adults to read a children's book, nor was fantasy as acceptable.

More people ought to read this classic.

LONG AGO WHEN I WAS YOUNG -- E. Nesbit

Dial Books
New York -- ©1987 -- 127pp
ISBN: 0-8037-0476-3
Introduction by Neal Streatfeild
Watercolor illustrations by George Buchanan
Line drawings by Edward Ardizzone

A short autobiography of children's author Edith Nesbit.

I greatly enjoy the works of Edith Nesbit and often wish that more people would read her now. She's most famous for The Railway Children, though I don't feel it's her strongest. This autobiography, which really only covers her first ten years, is written in the same, conversational style that her books are written.

I didn't find anything particularly interesting or revealing in this book, other than that she suffered from a fear of the dark as a child, and that her sister was very good at telling her fantasy stories. I couldn't help but wonder if some of those stories her sister told became the basis for any of her own later works.

This book would probably only be of interest to a true fan of Nesbit's children's books, and even then, maybe only slightly so.

WICKED: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST -- Gregory Maguire

ReganBooks/ An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
New York - ©1995 - 406pp
ISBN: 0-06-039144-8
Illustrations by Douglas Smith

Elphaba, born green and of questionable gender at birth to an emotionally unstable and sexually rampant mother and a narrow-focused, religious leader father, grows up to become the infamous "Wicked Witch of the West." This tale of politics, sex, and treachery is her "side" of the story.

This really is an incredible weaving of L. Frank Baum's tale and an original piece of work to shed new light on the Wicked Witch's story. Though at times uneven, the story is full of duplicity and complexity that requires the reader to keep a sharp eye out for what has happened and what might be coming still ahead.

I think that I enjoyed this all the more because while reading this book I have read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz twice -- once to my daughter and once to my sons. By becoming much more intimately acquainted with the original source for this book, I much more appreciated the way Maguire was able to make connections, and I certainly looked at the original story in a new light.

I would recommend this book, but I also would recommend first reading L. Frank Baum's original series (or at the very least, the first book) set Oz.

THE SHATTERED GODDESS -- Darrell Schweitzer

Starblaze Editions/The Donning Company
Virginia Beach/Norfolk -- (c)1982 -- 183pp
ISBN:1880448807
Illustrations: Stephen Fabian
Autographed: Darrell Schweitzer


An evil witch switches her son and the heir to a throne at birth. The witch's son grows up not understanding why he is capable of performing magic, but ultimately must face the witch in a showdown which could destroy the entire world.

There was a time when I really would have enjoyed a book such as this. But that time has passed for me, I think. I looked forward to this when I started it, but soon looked forward to being done with it.

I never felt truly connected to any of the characters, and when that happens one begins to wonder, "So what?" It didn't help any that I never felt comfortable with any of the character names and even to the end of the book I had some confusion as to which names belonged to male characters and which to female. The lead character was named "Ginna," and perhaps because I have a friend, two sister-in-laws, and a niece all named "Gina" I couldn't help but constantly read the name as female.

For a fantasy story with magic, it lacked too much of both and had too much posturing and vocal threats from gods and demi-gods.

I bought this direct from the author on eBay. In part becaue I felt a little sorry for the guy (I couldn't shake the feeling that he was selling this stuff as part of his way of making a living), and in part because I remember reading his shorter works in the pulps back in the 70's and enjoying them.

Unfortunately I can't recommend it.

RUFUS AT THE DOOR & OTHER STORIES -- Jon Hassler

Afton Historical Society Press
Minnesota - (c)2000 - 126pp
ISBN: 1-890434-29-9
wood engravings by Gaylord Schanilec

A collection of short stories including:

Publisher's Note by Patricia Condon Johnson
"Rufus at the Door"
"Anniversary"
"Winning Sarah Spooner"
"The Life and Death of Delano Klein"
"Dodger's Return"
"Agatha McGee and the St. Isidore Seven"
"Nancy Clancy's Nephew"
Postscript: A Letter from Agatha McGee

I have to admit that I was half hoping to not like any of these stories. I'm not sure exactly why. Maybe it's because Mr. Hassler also runs a successful, small theatre nearby, and I'm jealous of his accomplishments. Who knows. But the truth is, I enjoyed this collection. Some more than others, like any collection.

"Rufus at the Door" conveyed small town sentiments toward those who are "different" quite well. "Dodger's Return" brought back memories of childhood acquaintance J. Orlikowski. "Wow," I thought. "That's exactly what happened with me and J."

"Agatha McGee and the St. Isidore Seven" was amusing, and ended exactly the way I expected it to, and that's okay! Not every story has to surprise you with the ending. Any ending other than what was written would have been a disappointment.

Based on this collection, I will look forward to reading Mr. Hassler's "Staggerford" books, and other collections of short stories.