ereks mom Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 (edited) The dc & I had this book as a summer read-aloud a few years ago, and EK wants to find it and read it again. I'll tell you everything I can remember about it: The actual book is fairly thick, but I don't think it's as thick as one of the later Harry Potter books. I'd say it's for about 6th or 7th grade & up. I seem to remember that the author was female, and her mother is a celebrity--movies/television or maybe a famour author??? The main character was a girl about 11 or 12, I think, whose mom remarried, and the girl & mom moved in with the step-dad and his son, who live in a big house in a rural area--I'm thinking maybe it was in Canada? The girl and boy read books together--the author incorporated characters and plots of actual books into the story--and somehow, the events in the books began to actually happen in real life. One book I remember that the kids read was The Twenty-One Balloons, with the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano. Animals would appear as they read the stories, and the kids would have to figure out what to do with them, so they kept them on the upstairs sleeping porch so the parents wouldn't find out. So, that's all I can remember. Can anyone help? Edited August 19, 2011 by ereks mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacy in NJ Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 http://www.amazon.com/Inkspell-Cornelia-Funke/dp/0439554004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofkhm Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 Not Inkspell. There's no step parent. No son. Check this site and see if any sound familiar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krakatoa_in_media_and_popular_culture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proverbs356lady Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 Hmm, that reminds me of the movie Jumanji. But Jumanji is based on a board game where characters/animals come to life. And the book was written by Carl Allsburg I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted August 19, 2011 Author Share Posted August 19, 2011 No, it's not Inkspell or Jumanji. We read Inkspell, and there are some elements that are similar, but it's a completely different story. We didn't read Jumanji, but we saw the movie, and that's not it either. I looked at the Wikipedia article, and none of the books mentioned are the right one. I'm going to look at Loganberry Books and see if can find it there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 At first I was thinking Jumanji, like someone mentioned, but you said that's not it. It also sort of sounds like the movie called Bedtime Stories (with Adam Sandler in it). He reads his kids bedtime stories and they start to come true. Not sure if it is based on a book or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted August 19, 2011 Author Share Posted August 19, 2011 At first I was thinking Jumanji, like someone mentioned, but you said that's not it. It also sort of sounds like the movie called Bedtime Stories (with Adam Sandler in it). He reads his kids bedtime stories and they start to come true. Not sure if it is based on a book or not. No, it's not Bedtime Stories. We saw that movie too. I'm really stumped, and it's making me crazy because I can't think of the name of the book and I can't remember many details. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted August 19, 2011 Author Share Posted August 19, 2011 (edited) Another detail: in the book, the girl loves to read, and she & the boy talk about parallels between books they've read and what's happening in real life. They could go into books and bring things out with them, such as animals, but once they brought them out, those items were no longer in the story. I think they had to try to figure out how to return these things to the story. A lot of actual books, mostly classics, are cited, but the only one that stands out in my mind is The Twenty-One Balloons. My recollection is that the girl is the main character, but EK says she thought the boy was. Edited August 19, 2011 by ereks mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted August 19, 2011 Author Share Posted August 19, 2011 One more detail: EK reminded me of this part. The Yearling is mentioned. The kids feel sorry for the deer and decide to go into the book to prevent it from being killed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheReader Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 One more detail: EK reminded me of this part. The Yearling is mentioned. The kids feel sorry for the deer and decide to go into the book to prevent it from being killed. No idea, no luck googling, but when I tried searching "books that quote yearling+21 balloons" I got a link to this forum for 5th/6th grade summer reading. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 Is it The Book of Story Beginnings by Kristin Kladstrup? Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 bump because I want to know what book this is! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natalieclare Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 bump because I want to know what book this is! :001_smile: Me, too! I spent a chunk of time last night poking around for it. Sounds interesting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted August 19, 2011 Author Share Posted August 19, 2011 Is it The Book of Story Beginnings by Kristin Kladstrup? Tara No, but that one sounds good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurel Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 This sounds like it may be it: Travel Far, Pay No Fare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted August 19, 2011 Author Share Posted August 19, 2011 (edited) This sounds like it may be it: Travel Far, Pay No Fare That's it! Thank you, thank you, thank you! :hurray: And now we all get to see how well my memory served me on those details! The actual book is fairly thick, but I don't think it's as thick as one of the later Harry Potter books. It's 199 pages. I'd say it's for about 6th or 7th grade & up. Reading Level: 7th I seem to remember that the author was female, and her mother is a celebrity--movies/television or maybe a famour author??? The author is Anne Spencer Lindbergh, daughter of Charles & Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The main character was a girl about 11 or 12, I think, whose mom remarried, and the girl & mom moved in with the step-dad and his son, who live in a big house in a rural area--I'm thinking maybe it was in Canada? From Amazon: This story takes off into flights of fantasy when Owen, 12, and his cousin Parsley, 9, visit children's books. The two are thrown together when, over his protests, Owen's mother moves them to Vermont where she plans to marry her brother-in-law, Parsley's father. Owen resents the fact that his divorced mother, a prolific children's book author, is marrying her deceased sister's husband. Leaving Boston, starting junior high in rural Vermont, and soon having weird cousin Parsley, age nine, as a sister requires considerable acclimation. The equally displeased girl secretly schemes to stop the impending nuptials. The girl and boy read books together--the author incorporated characters and plots of actual books into the story--and somehow, the events in the books began to actually happen in real life. One book I remember that the kids read was The Twenty-One Balloons, with the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano. Animals would appear as they read the stories, and the kids would have to figure out what to do with them, so they kept them on the upstairs sleeping porch so the parents wouldn't find out....Another detail: in the book, the girl loves to read, and she & the boy talk about parallels between books they've read and what's happening in real life. They could go into books and bring things out with them, such as animals, but once they brought them out, those items were no longer in the story. I think they had to try to figure out how to return these things to the story. A lot of actual books, mostly classics, are cited, but the only one that stands out in my mind is The Twenty-One Balloons. My recollection is that the girl is the main character, but EK says she thought the boy was. ...The Yearling is mentioned. The kids feel sorry for the deer and decide to go into the book to prevent it from being killed. From Amazon: When Parsley tells Owen, a reluctant reader, about her "travels," he's incredulous, until he too is transported to stories such as Alice in Wonderland, Little Women and The Yearling. ...Despite his misgivings, they visit several books and the boy finds himself eager to read the books he has visited. He becomes interested in helping the young deer in The Yearling, while Parsley collects diamonds in The Twenty-one Balloons and tries to ride the Goose Prince in The Fledgling. Edited August 19, 2011 by ereks mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 This book sounds great. Which age group is the best for a read aloud? Is it better to have read some of the books mentioned in the book before reading it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 I had never heard of it. The concept sounds really interesting (reminds me a little of Thursday Next) but the SLJ and Pub. Weekly reviews make the book sound terrible. Huh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted August 19, 2011 Author Share Posted August 19, 2011 This book sounds great. Which age group is the best for a read aloud? Is it better to have read some of the books mentioned in the book before reading it? We had read some of the books before we read it, but not all of them. My kids were probably no older than 10 & 15 when we read it. The younger one enjoyed it more, but then, she always loved read-alouds more than her older brother did. I had never heard of it. The concept sounds really interesting (reminds me a little of Thursday Next) but the SLJ and Pub. Weekly reviews make the book sound terrible. Huh. The reviews do sound bad, but we liked it. EK especially liked it, and she wants to read it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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