Caroline Bateman
Age 7
Washington, DC

THE LAST OF THE REALLY GREAT WHANGDOODLES
by Julie Edwards

My favorite book is THE LAST OF THE REALLY GREAT WHANGDOODLES. I think it must have been hard to write because the woman who wrote it is also an actress and I think it must be hard to carry on two professions at the same time. I like it because it is very imaginative and fun to read. But it also has lots of lessons in it. For example, you should not pay attention to someone who is teasing you. They will stop because it is boring to tease someone who doesn’t react. If you pay attention to them and call them names, though, they will keep teasing you because when people tease you, it is usually because they want attention.

I like this book because the author made up a lot of funny things like a snack machine selling special ice cream dishes, like banana splits, a boat that starts when its passengers tell jokes, and the Whangdoodle growing bedroom slippers on his back feet and shedding them once a year.

It is about three children and a professor trying to get to Whangdoodle-Land where the Whangdoodle is the king. The children learn about Whangdoodle-Land from the professor, who has already been there.

A creature called a Prock acts as the prime minister in Whangdoodle-Land. He want to prevent the children and the professor from coming there, because he doesn’t want people from Earth to know about the magical creatures in Whangdoodle-Land. The prock uses animals to scare the children away from Whangdoodle-Land, like the harmless sidewinders who will not hurt the children but are meant to frighten them. But in the end, the children reach the Whangdoodle and the clever professor experiments and makes a mate for the Whangdoodle to marry! The children and the professor then go back to Earth and decide not to tell anyone about magical Whangdoodle-Land.

I really like this book because it is very detailed and helps draw a picture in your mind of the funny and magical things you are reading about.

Editor’s Note: Julie Edwards is the pen-name for Julie Andrews.

 


Winner, Age 14-18 Category
Claire Eager
Age 15
Potomac, MD

THE BLUE SWORD by Robin McKinley

I am one of those people lucky enough to have an absolute, all-time favorite book, THE BLUE SWORD, by Robin McKinley. Not only is it fantasy, my favorite genre, but the story is wonderfully written. Furthermore, as well as being great fun to read, it teaches important lessons on tolerance and when it is acceptable to break the rules.

The story is set in a world very different from our own, but with some surprising similarities as well. The Homeland, a British Empire-type country, has conquered much of the southwestern portion of a huge continent which they call Daria; the "native" name is Damar. One small but strategically important town is Istan, on the northern border: the edge of a huge desert. Across the desert are the mysterious, dangerous Hillfolk, the only native Darians still under their own rule (but not from a lack of effort on the parts of the Homelanders).

This is the situation when Angharad "Harry" Crewe, a young, aristocratic woman, arrives in Istan. Unlike most Homelanders there, she utterly falls in love with her new surroundings and dreams of one day traveling to the distant Hills. She unexpectedly gets her wish when the kelar, or magic, of the Hill-King, Corlath, forces him to kidnap her and train her as a warrior.

Harry learns to love her new people and realizes that she, too, has kelar and maybe the power to save Damar from the huge armies of Thura, an evil and "not-quite-human" sorcerer to the North of the Hills. Corlath gives her Gonturan, the magical Blue Sword which only a woman can bear, once carried by the legendary Lady Aerin Dragonkiller.

On the way to fight Thurra, Harry and Corlath quarrel over which mountain pass to defend and the upshot is that Harry must seek the help of her Homelander friends in stopping the Northerners at the second pass, expressly against the King's wishes. upon discovering that most of the Northerners are using her pass, Aerin and Gonturan help Harry to magically crumble the mountains on top of Thurra and his army. The "deserters" return to Corlath, who has realized that he was being just as intolerant of the Homelanders and they were of his people. He welcomes "Harry's Army" to join the Hills which they all love. He also proposes to Harry, who joyfully accepts. In the end the King and Queen begin formal talks between Damar and the Homeland, ending decades of hostility and fear.

I love, have always loved, and will always love fantasy stories. The best kind have a noble-but-imperfect hero who uses magic and swordfighting to champion goodness. This book has all that and more: a heroine who is honorable and good but unsure of herself, a kingdom about to be overrun by evil, a magic sword, an ancient hero-mentor, and a sweet love story that does not overpower the rest of the book. The story itself is mostly serious with moments of quietly ironic humor. the setting is creative, a colorful cross of Arabian-medieval culture and nineteenth century Britain, while the characters are vivid and seem quite real. The quality of the writing itself is what differentiates this book from all my other almost-but-not-quite favorites.

Beyond the writing, the themes of the book emphasize transcending ordinary rules in need and recognizing value in all peoples. These are demonstrated when Harry must betray her King in order to save all that she loves and when, despite their differences, Homelanders and Damarians accept each other in order to work together. Both themes are profound and also easily applicable to today's society. All of these aspects combine to form a many-faceted story that is enjoyable and beautifully crafted, truly the best I have ever read.

 


Third Place, Age 6-9 Category
Rebecca Guiterman
Age 9
Washington, DC

THE TIME OF THE WITCH by Mary Downing Hawn

My favorite book is THE TIME OF THE WITCH by Mary Downing Hawn. it is my favorite book because the girl is the brave one and not the boy. It is also adventurous.

The Time of the Witch is about a girl named Laura who trusts a wicked witch. The witch said she was a friend of Laura’s grandmother and wanted to help Laura. Laura wishes her parents wouldn’t get a divorce. The witch, named Maude, tells her to come to her house in the woods at night and to bring something of her brother Jason’s, one of her aunt’s brushes, and something with both of her parents on it. She does it!

Maude casts a spell with the things. The spell makes Jason sick. Jason gets sick at their aunt’s house.

Laura’s parents then come together the way she wanted, but just because Jason is sick at the hospital. Laura goes with her friend Wanda, and Wanda’s cousin Twyla, to Maude’s house to find the box to undo the spell. Maude is not there. Laura and her friends then go inside to look for the box that help the things that Laura got from her family.

Maude comes back unexpectedly. While Maude talks to Laura, Wanda finds the box. They run away. Twyla casts some spells on Maude to make her act differently. They destroy the box and Jason gets better.

I learned from this book not to trust strangers because they might be lying. Strangers could also hurt you. I also learned to do what people I trust tell me to do, because if I don’t it could lead to danger.

The book The Time of the Witch changed my life because I think of how nice Laura is to Jason, so I try to be nice to my little sister. This is my favorite book and now you know why.

 

 


Second Place, Age 10-13 Category
Nancy Heimbach
Age 12
Washington, DC

NUMBER THE STARS by Lois Lowry

My favorite book is NUMBER THE STARS by Lois Lowry. It is the story of a Danish girl named Anne Marie who finds herself caught up in a nightmare when her family tries to help their Jewish friends to safety in Sweden during World War II. I learned a lot about life in Denmark at the time of the war, and I loved reading a book with a heroine who is a twelve year-old girl like me. I could relate to a lot of Anne Marie’s feeling.

The characters in Number the Stars are really realistic. Kristy, Anne Marie’s little sister, is a chatterbox and a bit of a brat. Ellen is a shy, quiet girl who wears pigtails. She has to give up her whole way of life and become a refuge because she is Jewish. Anne Marie, the heroine, is courageous, spunky and brave. She misses her sister Lise, who had been killed because she was in the Resistance. I also like the character of Peter, the young man whom Lise would have married if she had lived. He leads the Jewish refugees to a fishing boat owned by Anne Marie’s uncle.

Another thing I really liked about Number the Stars is the way the author gives lots of details. For example, Anne Marie overhears her father speaking on the phone in code. He says, "Is the weather good for fishing?" What he actually means is, "Is it time to take the Jewish refugees to Sweden?"

There are also symbols in the book. Ellen’s necklace has a Star of David on it. Ellen has to take the necklace off in order to hide the fact that she is Jewish. In the hurry to get the necklace off, the clasp breaks and this shows how her life has been broken by having to hide who she is if she is to survive. She can’t be proud of being Jewish.

The story of Number the Stars is very exciting. The climax comes when Anne Marie is running through the woods to get to the fishing boat before the Nazis do. She knows that if the Nazis get there first, all of the Jews on the boat, including her friend Ellen, will be taken away and murdered. Luckily, Anne Marie arrives a few minutes before the Nazis. If she had not gotten there in time, it would have spelled certain doom for her friends.

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