This is the story of a poor young girl named Minli. She lived with her parents in a village near Fruitless Mountain, named so for the fact that it was barren due to the anger and pain of a dragon. Every day Minli and her parents worked hard in the rice fields to make just enough rice to feed themselves, and every night Minli would sit with her parents. Her mother would sigh in anger at their misfortune and her father told her folktales about dragons, evil magistrates, and the Old Man of the Moon (an immortal who read from the book of destiny).
One day a goldfish peddler passed through the town selling his wares, saying that a goldfish would increase the buyer's fortune. Hearing this, Minli took one of the two copper coins to her name and bought a fish. Her mother is furious with her and tells her there that there is barely enough rice for the three of them and that they would never be able to feed another mouth. The night following this conversation, Minli decided that her mother is right and released the goldfish. As soon as she did so however, the goldfish thanked her! She was startled to find the goldfish talking to her, but was told that all goldfish talk, but only those who want to listen can hear. The goldfish then tells Minli how she can find her way to Never Ending Mountain, home of the Old Man of the Moon, so that she could try to change her fortune. This sets Minli off on a journey to try to change her family's fortune. She meets various characters, dragons, goldfish, places, people, all of which she heard of in folk tales and fairy tales.
When I first began reading this book I didn't understand why it had won the Newbery Award. The story seemed pretty typical, kid goes on an adventure, meets some people, learns a lesson, that old thing. But as I read on I found the story to be more than that. All of the folk tales, even the plot itself were taken right out of a Chinese folktale, and all were seamlessly interwoven. If a folk tale was told early on in the story, Minli would interact with the people in that folk tale later on in the plot. So often fantasy and make-believe and imagination is passed off as a foolish waste of time with no practical application in the real world. This story reminds us that folk tales do come from somewhere, that there are lessons we can learn from them that we can apply to our own lives, and most importantly, we can see how stories give Minli and her family hope and happiness.
This was one of the most well-crafted, imaginative, adventurous, addicting show's I've seen in a long time. It's so well put together and the world they've created is such a fascinating place.
The story takes place in a world where certain groups of people are connected to or have an affinity with a certain element. There are 4 nations all together; fire, water, earth, and air. Some people in these four nations have a special ability to manipulate the element their nation is associated with and these people are called benders. A person can only bend one element, but there is one person called the Avatar who can bend all four elements. The Avatar is reborn into each of the nations in the order of earth, fire, air, water. On the year the avatar is born into the air nation however, he disappears and the fire nation attacks the rest of the world to expand their empire dramatically. For 100 years the avatar is nowhere to be seen until one day two adolescents from the water nation come upon something in the ice. When the girl, Katara, breaks it apart a small boy emerges from the ice with a large flying bison, the boy is the avatar. After a run in with a fire nation raid, wherein we meet the prince of the fire nation, Zuko, the two water nation kids, Saka and Katara, go with the avatar to help him learn the four elements and become a fully realized avatar. This isn't as easy as it seems however. The fire nation has become a wide-spread terror and they are looking for the avatar to kill him. They have wiped out the entire air nation in hopes of killing the avatar, but missed Aang as he was buried in an ice block. The three go around world inspiring hope in those who have lost it, and becoming stronger as they learn more about themselves and the people they come across. There are three seasons in total; Book One: Water, Book Two: Earth, Book Three: Fire, and with each season Aang works on learning a new element and someone joins the group.
I think this series is so successful because there is real danger. I've read that the creators were fans of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and that definitely shows, not because the story line imitates those stories, because it doesn't, but because there is a definite and real danger that follows Aang and gang (sorry I had to) around. There is the possibility that their enemies will catch up with them and if that happens, the avatar will never become fully realized and the fire nation will terrorize and enslave the rest of the world forever. The entire world is resting on their shoulders. And yet it isn't too serious or depressing. There are several really funny scenes and for the most part the series is very up beat.
The character development is great also. At the beginning of the series Aang is so carefree and fun-loving, Saka is so cautious and prejudiced, and they remain that way for the entire series but as more and more things happen to them we see them mature. They still keep their vitality and energy, Aang is always optimistic and Saka, though he's the comic relief, is always something of a buzz kill, but they grow from their experiences and become a little bit wiser with each encounter. The same thing with Katara, but her transformation isn't as apparent. In the entire series, she is the character that is the beacon of hope for all whom she meets. She always believes that any situation is possible and that the world will be saved and that all people are or can be essentially good. Many instances in the series she stops the journey to help someone who has lost hope or who is being taken advantage or abused, despite the rest of the group's urgings to push on. Their adventure began by Katara first breaking Aang out of the ice and then insisting on journeying with him. She's more practical and almost motherly compared the other characters, but she is also the gutsiest of the group and is most likely to do what is right no matter the consequences. She is also a very strong female character, which is hard to find many tv shows, for both kids and adults. If there is action the woman is either wilting and useless or hard-hearted and ruthless. There is rarely a female character that displays a quiet strength in the way Katara does. She's one of my favourite characters. Toph, a character in the later seasons, has just as much inner strength as Katara, but again displays that differently. She is a little more rough around the edges, and is blind, which I thought was great because blind people are rarely main characters, and if they are their blindness is most often seen as a weakness or a crutch. But many times Toph's blindness is a strength, as she has used that handicap to heighten other senses. Many times I forgot that she was blind. She also grows immensely, more emotionally than anything else.
The animation is good, if somewhat childish. Basically the animation is presumably targeting an elementary aged audience, and the content is appropriate for that level. However this somewhat underplays the show's potential for an older audience. Many people I've spoken to have heard of the show, but haven't watched it because it looked like a kid's show, which of course it is, but then again so is Harry Potter and that has a world-wide audience of all ages. The characters are rich and multi-faceted. I won't go into too much detail so as not to spoil anything, but the characters' growth as well as characters' break downs are very well done. Also, the ways the creators thought of using the bending was really ingenious and well thought out. My favourite example of this I cannot tell you, because if you're watching the show and think as I do, when you discover that part it will blow you mind with awesome a little bit. For those who have seen the show it's the part in the third season when Katara meets that old woman. This may just be my inner nerd breaking free, but it's pretty cool to say the least. So bottom line, if you haven't seen this show you should. It has adventure, romance, heart-break, combat, political intrigue, and magic. A little bit of something for everyone.
I really enjoyed this book when I was younger, and read it more than once.
It is a story about a girl named Phoebe in the time of the American revolution. Phoebe's father was a rebel in the war and was killed, so she had to go live with her loyalist relatives. Her elder cousin was fighting in the war as a loyalist, but was caught for being a spy and hanged. As children, Phoebe and her cousins were close and they would play games or send messages by leaving each other notes in a hollowed out tree. After her cousin's death, Phoebe goes to this tree and discovers an undelivered mission that her cousin was unable to complete, so she takes it upon herself to deliver the message. She sets out on her own and travels over a mountain, picking up a stray cat and a bear cub on the way. After she got across the mountain she meets up with a group of loyalists traveling to Canada so they won't be killed for supporting the king. She travels with them for a while before going to complete her mission.
I'm not sure whether or not this person actually existed in history, but if she didn't, this story sort of mimics the Laura Secord story. It's a fast paced novel with action, adventure, and a bit of romance. It's well researched and overall, and enjoyable read.
I've read a few books in this series and I'd have to say that this one's my favourites. I liked the perspectives from which the authors presented their characters. It was a kind of pensive, but not seriously so... meaning that there are little tidbits to think over every now and again but these tidbits are by no means the focus of the book, more a backdrop to the story, and they don't really inspire any intense thought, just more of a lazy sunday afternoon pondering kind of thought. If that makes sense.
I thought the story was well put together. There are several plot lines going on at once, which I enjoy because it gets the mind going a bit, but they all tie in to the overall story which is always nice. I liked the character Bad Belly. He was a reserved kind of guy, not for timidity but kind of for oddness. I thought him and whatever her name was made an ok couple. She could've been stronger, which bugged me at times. I read this a while back so I can't give any examples but I do recall that I wanted her to be stronger at times. Though this is so, she wasn't exactly weak. She had an inner strength, it just wasn't as powerful when confronting other people. This was a minor detail though. The plot and characters were well done and the story had a nice flow to it. Overall, worth picking up I'd say.
This is one of those books where not only do the children in my life enjoy this book, but I do as well. For a kid's book, it's pretty existential. A boy goes through this world where nothing exists and with his purple crayon, creates his world. What makes it more than just a kids book, what gives it the philosophical premise is that even though harold starts the story with this crayon, and has the power to draw anything, become anything, because all he need do is draw whatever he wants to be or where ever he wants to go, even though he has this power, he is unsatisfied and goes on a journey. He uses his crayon to create the world as he goes through it and ultimately finds some contentment, a resting place if you will :P, but the fact that he can create is irrelevant, its a means to an end. The implied 'end' gives us something to think about, and though the children who are meant to be reading this book will not go into such depth with the symbolism or the philosophy, they will pick up on some of the questions the author asks, like what is harold looking for? Why did he need to do all that stuff if he was just going to end up back at home? (Though actually he didn't start at home). Even if the kids don't burst their brains thinking about this, even if they don't come to any logical conclusion, even if they don't ask any questions to begin with, I think exposing our kids to this kind of story is important. Aside from being very amusing, it provides intellectual stimulation for those who look for it and for those who don't, well one day they may look back on this story as an example of some conclusion or another they have drawn. Even if they never understand the story philosophically, the fact that they are exposed to it will register somewhere in their heads and what they know of it will teach them something about life (as does everything, which always gets me critical of the constant stream of nothing we shove down our kids throats, like the bastardisations of stories presented by Disney and the like... and lets not even talk about pop culture).
Anyways, the kids I read this to love it. Its a great story, I recommend.
