Literary Criticism & Collections Books - Page 3

Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer

Peter Turchi

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Left brain 'jumper cables' for the right brained 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.

Cartography is an analytical science ... mathematical, temporal, evolving. Novels are literal explorations. Perceiving a common link between the technical cartography and the creative novel becomes a fascinating common ground. Ever wonder how a left brainer thinks? Turchi gives us a hint.

Turchi makes a living from his application of the understanding of the technical structure of novels ... cartography is his hobby. Right brainers make a living from the technical ... novels are the hobby.

The subtleties and enjoyable descriptions of the structure and theory of great novels are merged with the structure and theory of great maps. How we use language and data to convey structural information is common ground in Turchi's premise.

For this reviewer, a great map improves efficiency in getting from "A" to "B". Turchi is revealing in his observation that humans use maps to reduce an anxious uncertainty of the unknown. As one of those 'if I'm lost, get loster' types, I suppose I do enjoy the ' ... get loster' adventure. The same is true in enjoying the unexpected adventures in the great novel. Turchi's insight into natural human motivation to seek a clearing of the veil of uncertainty left me thinking down a whole other set of rabbit holes.

This book is a box of chocolates.

Editorial Review:

In Maps of the Imagination, Peter Turchi posits the idea that maps help people understand where they are in the world in the same way that literature, whether realistic or experimental, attempts to explain human realities. The author explores how writers and cartographers use many of the same devices for plotting and executing their work, making crucial decisions about what to include and what to leave out, in order to get from here to there, without excess baggage or a confusing surplus of information. Turchi traces the history of maps, from their initial decorative and religious purposes to their later instructional applications. He describes how maps rely on projections in order to portray a three-dimensional world on the two-dimensional flat surface of paper, which he then relates to what writers do in projecting a literary work from the imagination onto the page.

A Guide Book to the Great Tree (Guardians of Ga'hoole)

Kathryn Huang

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Animals -> Birds -> Fiction

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Studious by nature, fortunate to have been present at the most glorious moments in the tree's recent history, and above all honored to count as friends its most ardent champions, I, Otulissa, have decided to write a compendium, a catchall -a guide, in short- to the history, life, and spirit of the tree. Pause a moment before the next adventure begins to read of its natural history, its origin, and yearly changes. Read of its lesser-known heroes: of Joss, brave messenger of legends; of the brothers Ifghar and Ezylryb and the treachery that bound them; of Theo, the peaceful warrior.

Learn of Gylfie, Digger, and Twilight's lives before they came to the tree. Read tales of Strix Struma, Uglamore, Trader Mags, and others. Many are the adventures still unsung! And many the brave deeds unheralded! Read of ages lost and dark; of strange ailments infecting the tree itself. Learn the feasts and holidays celebrated under moon and sun. Scan the maps, study the drawings, sample the recipes! Dear reader, though you be distant from The Great Tree, lift this tome to your eyes and learn what it is to be a Guardian!

Spider-Man: The Ultimate Guide (Amazing Spider-Man (DK Publishing))

Tom Defalco

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 33 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Unless Peter Parker decides to pen his own autobiography someday, you're not going to find a better guide than this to the life and times of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. From that fateful radioactive bite in the science hall up to Spidey 2099, DK's Ultimate Guide recounts all the career milestones--major and minor--of Stan Lee's web-slinging wall-crawler. Organized and authored by Tom DeFalco, former Marvel editor in chief and the series' bestselling author, this guide pulls together the storyline's many twists and turns (chronologically, by decade) and devotes big spreads to nearly every noteworthy ally, friend, and villain (with one curious omission in the Shocker). Special sections cover episodes like the alien costume, the regrettable clone saga, and the wedding to Mary Jane, while panel after panel of original art (over 600 images in all) flesh out the action (a particular treat with the corny old dialogue and art).

DeFalco makes some small missteps--inevitable in any fan-boy project--and certainly The Ultimate Guide will feel dated as the series evolves, but as a comprehensive guide, it just doesn't get any better. Throw in a foreword by the inimitable Stan Lee, and you've got a book that would make even Peter Parker proud. --Paul Hughes

The Tough Guide to Fantasyland: The Essential Guide to Fantasy Travel

Diana Wynne Jones

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 40 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Suffering from a bit of deja vu after reading your umpteenth fantasy trilogy? Seen too many magic swords, musical elves and warring wizards? Then you're ready for the funniest and most complete "tourist's" guide to Fantasyland's standard character types, plot elements, and settings ever devised.

Diana Wynne Jones describes (starting, of course, with a map) every sword-and-sorcery cliché in wickedly accurate detail, arranged alphabetically. Elves sing in beautiful, unearthly voices about how much better things used to be. Swords with Runes may kill dragons or demons, or have powers like storm-raising, but they are not much use when you're attacked by bandits. You can only have an Axe if you're a Northern Barbarian, a Dwarf, or a Blacksmith. Jones also tackles hard-hitting questions: how does Fantasyland's ecology work when there are few or no bacteria and insects and vast tracts of magically irradiated wastelands? Why doesn't the economy collapse when pirates and bandits are so active and there is no perceptible industry?

The Tough Guide to Fantasyland (U.K. Edition) was a 1997 Hugo and World Fantasy Award nominee. It's a good companion to Jones's Dark Lord of Derkholm, a fantasy about what happens when your land is turned into a theme park for questing tourist parties. Fans of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books will enjoy both. --Nona Vero

Fact, Fiction, and Folklore in Harry Potter's World: An Unofficial Guide

George Beahm

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

good book 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book for my children, and myself. I expected it to be a bit more, but my children found it to be informative. We found it to be a fun read, and the facts interesting. It made it fun to figure out where some of the characters and creatures were from.
I recommend this book to everyone.

Editorial Review:

*This book is not prepared, endorsed, or authorized by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros. and is not part of the Harry Potter series.* For fans who want to know about the myths, folklores, legends, and Muggle history embedded in the Harry Potter novels, Beahm's new book is a treasure trove of fun facts and tantalizing trivia covering the fabulous beasts and creatures, the wizards, magical artifacts, and magical places in the Harry Potter world. Covering Harry Potter novels 1 - 5, this unofficial guide includes sidebars, internet references, and enchangting art by five-time Hugo award-winning artist Tim Kirk and newcomer Britton McDaniel. This fascinating and educational book belongs on the shelf of every Muggle who wants to know Rowling's inspiration for the creatures, people, places, creatures, and things in the wizarding world.

Guts

Gary Paulsen

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Action & Adventure

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 55 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

What do you do when you're being charged by a red-eyed furious wall of brown fur that is an insane moose? How do you make a weapon with your bare hands? How do you sneak up on a grouse or a rabbit, kill it with a well-aimed arrow, and cook it over a fire--without a pot? All this and lots more is essential learning for Brian Robeson, the young wilderness survivor in Gary Paulsen's classic novel Hatchet. In writing that book, Paulsen was determined that everything that happened to Brian--the survival techniques and the physical and emotional traumas--would be drawn closely from reality and his own experiences. In Guts he reveals the stories behind Hatchet, as he lived them. Linked to specific incidents from Brian's ordeal are the skills and insights Paulsen learned as a teenager passionately in love with hunting in the north woods of Minnesota, the extremes of exhaustion and cold he knew in running the Iditarod dog races in Alaska, the chilling close-up knowledge of heart attacks from his experiences as a volunteer ambulance driver, the silence and majesty of the wilderness. Some great stories are told here: the child killed by two kicks from the razor-sharp hooves of a small deer, the difficulties of sharing a rescue helicopter ride with a terrified dog team, and some spectacular gross-outs about the nutritional need to eat every part of an animal. Hatchet fans will be agog, and parents and teachers will be thrilled to see the enthusiastic reaction of even the most reluctant readers. (Ages 10 to 14) --Patty Campbell

Ox-Cart Man

Donald Hall

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Ox-Cart Man 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is one of my family's all-time favorite children's books, with lovely, quiet pictures and a calm tone in the text. We love the feeling of the "circle of seasons" that it gives, as well as a glimpse back into a simpler era. The story also portrays the ethic of working hard and being rewarded for it. I read it to all five of our children as they were growing up. This Christmas I bought it for our 23 year-old daughter, who had asked for it. She doesn't have children yet; she just loves the book and wanted it for her own library. I was pleased to see Donald Hall's poem, "Ox-Cart Man"-- almost identical to the words in the children's book-- in Garrison Keillor's book called Good Poems, an anthology of poems he selected and arranged.

I love Oxcart Man! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is a wonderful book about earlier and simpler days when a family wasted nothing and supported themselves off the land. Each member of the family contributes and their activities change as the seasons do. It's wonderful!

Editorial Review:

A lyrical journey through the seasons and passing years of one New Englander's family evokes the feeling of historical America.

Lentil (Picture Puffins)

Robert McCloskey

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Excellent book for a musically inclined child. 5 out of 5 stars.
46 of 48 people found this review helpful.

This is an excellent book for the musically inclined child whose singing voice is a little less than melodious. In the book, the vocally challenged Lentil finds his mantra through the harmonica and ends up saving the day with it. My father gave me this book along with a harmonica when I was seven years old in response to my wobbly warbling, and I've been playing harmonica and many other instruments ever since. I just can't 'harp' enough on how great of inspiration this book was to me and could be for other vocally vexed children. -stephen

lovely book and character training 5 out of 5 stars.
15 of 15 people found this review helpful.

This is a lovely story set in a town in Ohio during the '40s. Lentil learns to play a harmonica and there are sweet scenes of small town life as well as a marching band. My 3.5 year old son loves this book, along with all of McCloskey's books. What has been wonderful for us about this book is the character of "Old Sneep", who grumbles and does mean things. This has really hit home with my son regarding our teaching of having a joyful heart and not complaining. Great literature at its best.

Editorial Review:

Lentil's harmonica playing saves the day when calamity threatens the homecoming celebration for the leading citizen of Alto, Ohio.

The Visit

Mark Kimball Moulton

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The Truth Behind "Twas the Night Before Christmas" 5 out of 5 stars.
13 of 13 people found this review helpful.

Written by a relative of Clement Clarke Moore, the author shares the history of the famous Christmas story. Done all in rhyming poetry with explanations of phrases used throughout like "threw open the shutters". Beautiful illustrations as well. Makes you want to crawl into a warm bed and read it again. My 8th grade students enjoyed hearing it very much! Worth the purchase.

This book will become a new tradition for all ages! 5 out of 5 stars.
13 of 13 people found this review helpful.

I came upon this book after the holidays were over and regret that I didn't find it before Christmas. This book was so enchanting that I went back to purchase more as gifts for next Christmas and was disappointed when they were sold out. This story is written in poem form as recalled by Dinghy Sharp, the great-great-grandaughter of Clement C. Moore, author of the famous poem, The Night Before Christmas, written on Christmas Eve of 1822. The story captures the history and origin of his poem that was passed down from generation to generation in their family. Many verses from the poem are explained in the story to help readers understand the poem's meaning. The story ends with a copy of The Night Before Christmas, handwritten by Clement C. Moore along with his signature, dated 1862. This story will become a new family tradition in my home for many years to come. It will be read on Christmas Eve, among other stories that are currently read as tradition in our home. I intend to pass this wonderful version of Moore's poem on to my children with the hope that it will be passed on from generation to generation as it was told in the Moore family.

Editorial Review:

In December of 1823, the poem now known as The Night Before Christmas was first published anonymously and has since become the best loved Christmas poem of all time. Now, for the first time in The Visit, Dinghy Sharp, a direct descendant of recognized author Clement Clarke Moore, shares her delightful story with us all, and reveals the history and origin of this beloved poem as it has been passed down for generations in the Moore family.

Superman: The Ultimate Guide to the Man of Steel

Scott Beatty

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

From the doomed planet Krypton to Smallville, Kansas, to the great (but often troubled) city of Metropolis, a powerful superhero has fought for truth, justice, and the American way for over 70 years. In this breathtaking tribute to the man of steel himself, all the nitty-gritty, fascinating details of Superman's life and career are investigated, analyzed, and celebrated. Discover just what happened back on Krypton to propel infant "Kal-El" to Earth as the one Kryptonian hope for rebirth of their civilization. Learn how a loving farm family named Kent adopted the baby, renamed him Clark, and instilled him with solid American values. And meet the many, many friends and enemies of our hero, including, fiercely independent but lovable Lois Lane, the nasty Joker, and Doomsday, the unstoppable creature that killed Superman.

Allowed unlimited access to the archives of DC Comics, author Scott Beatty delved deep, coming up with the kind of details fans will fall all over themselves to peruse, including each featured character's vital statistics and year of appearance on the Superman scene. The large book format, compelling, readable text, and many crystal-clear illustrations in The Ultimate Guide are in keeping with Dorling Kindersley's signature style. A true treasure for superhero buffs! (All ages) --Emilie Coulter