Tiny Treasury

One of the golden rules in the world of kids’ toys, TV, and books (besides the one that says you must be a celebrity to write a children’s book) is that girls will play with boy toys, read boy books, and watch boy TV. But the reverse is not true. Boys do not play with Bratz dolls, read The Babysitters Club, or watch Dora. Yes, there are exceptions (including my son, who likes to make sure Barbie gets her turn going down the slide). But gender-neutral, feminist fuming aside, it’s a pretty hard and fast rule, whether we like it or not. So when MotherTalk knocked on my door with this book review, I was immediately interested to see how James Patterson broke the rules in Maximum Ride 3 and whether he would get away with it. I mean, Patterson is a 60-year-old white guy who writes books middle aged men read on the beach. How on earth would he 1)write a story from a 14-year-old girl’s point of view, and 2)get boys to like it? But after reading the entire book in two days, all I know is he succeeded.

“Maximum Ride” is the name of the book’s eponymous heroine, a 14-year-old wise-cracking girl who kicks serious butt. Genetically engineered to be two percent bird, she sports giant wings that let her fly into battle against evil scientists, robots, and other nefarious types. As a mother figure to the other bird children, she is alternately tough and tender, leading them on an escape from the lab where they were raised and into a campaign to save the world.

I felt sorry for Max. At 14, she shouldn’t be a mother figure. She shouldn’t have to save the world. She shouldn’t be on her own, taking care of other kids. I mean, I know 14-year-olds who still sleep with stuffed animals. But she is on her own, and the fate of the world does rest on her (feathered) shoulders. Her voice is angry and authentic, right down to the sarcastic distrust of the grown-ups who’ve screwed everything up, and I found myself wanting to cheer for her and hug her at the same time. Not that she would let me.

Joining Max in her save-the-world mission is Fang, a technically talented bird guy who uses his blog to mobilize kids around the world and becomes Max’s love interest at the same time. (And the blog? It’s real- check it out.) So even the most testosterone addled boy who refuses to cheer for Max will find a hero in Fang and the rest of the flock.

All around, I give Maximum Ride 3 two thumbs up. I’ve already ordered the first two books in the series so I can read them before number four comes out next spring. As for the movie … bring it on!

“Hola! We’re playing at the beach today,” is the first sentence of my son’s current favorite book called, yup, you guessed it, A Day at the Beach. That has nothing to do with anything, other than I’m Jackie, the new writer for Tiny Treasury and the first thing that came to mind for my first post was to say ‘hi.’

The first book I read by myself was Meg and Mog and it’s gotten better and better since then. I love to read. I love reading so much I became a Reading Specialist. I love books so much I’m the treasurer of my local Friends of the Library organization. I’m looking forward to reading more books and writing about them here.

Seriously, I love books. Whenever my dad talks about my soon-to-be 18-month-old son Sam he asks, “Do you remember what you could do when you were 18-months-old? You knew the whole alphabet. It’s because I read to you every night.” I honestly have no recollection of knowing the alphabet, but I remember begging my dad to read ten more chapters of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz before I went to bed and I quite clearly recall asking my stunned father what a period was when I read about them for the first time in Are you there God? It’s me Margaret . My father’s greatest gift to me was teaching me how to value books and the stories they contain.

I love children’s literature and I’m thrilled to have an excuse to read more of it. Storytelling, more than anything else, is what makes us human.

It has been such a blast writing Tiny Treasury (the name notwithstanding) over these past months.

Books are such an important part of my life and the lives of those in my family - and I have really enjoyed sharing our favorites with you. I can’t think of any better gift that you can give your children than a love of reading.

I have the opportunity to be a Channel Editor for the Business Channel over at b5media and that necessarily means saying goodbye here. I am really excited about this new chapter in my life. I am also extremely grateful to the management here at 451 Press for having given me the chance to write for such a great community. I wish everyone at 451 Press the best - including Jackie, who will be taking over for me here at Tiny Treasury.

So, thanks so much for reading. And don’t forget to stop back by and say hello to Jackie!