The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd

 

The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd

Nan A. Talese/Doubleday

Published in 2008

ISBN 9780385530842

353 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Amazon (Paperback)
Barnes & Noble (Paperback)

CHECKED OUT THE BOOK FROM MY PUBLIC LIBRARY.

APART OF THE GOODREADS 2011 READING CHALLENGE.

2ND REVIEW. 1ST REVIEW IS HERE.

Review/Rating:

4 out of 5



After Victor Frankenstein goes to London to study at Oxford, he meets Percy Bysshe Shelley. They become fast friends, but with Shelley's radical views, will Victor get an idea that will put him on the road to darkness?

This is the second time I'm reviewing this because I want to. :X Actually, I'm re-doing some (most) of my reviews so that I can make them (hopefully) better. With this one, I will compare it to the original a little bit more.

Anyways, in this retelling of Frankenstein, Peter Ackroyd makes it out so that a fictional character actually knows historically accurate people. I still find that part of this part kind of intriguing, and it also made this book rather interesting than if the author just told it through Victor Frankenstein's and a little bit from his monster's perspective. However, now that I read the original, I don't know what perspective is better since they both were interesting, so they both get equal points in that.

Although how both Mary Shelley and Peter Ackroyd told the story gets equal points, the descriptions and the growth of the characters actually goes to Peter Ackroyd. With Mary Shelley's, it is mostly someone re-telling Frankenstein's story as Frankenstein tells him it, so the growth and descriptions really don't have that much to grow. So, basically, I like how Peter Ackroyd tells it because the way he makes the characters grow appeals to me more than the original. Also, in Ackroyd's version, the person who turned out to be the "monster" was someone Victor Frankenstein knew and maybe even friends with. I found that also very interesting and even gave the monster even more of an identity than Shelley's version. The characters are also completely different in Ackroyd's version. It has the same thing happen to a character in each book, but the circumstance and character are off. I also like how Ackroyd did his version in that aspect as well since it had a little bit more depth and development than the original.

Let's see, some other things that are different, but I wish Ackroyd put in his version. In Mary Shelley's version, I actually felt like crying and feeling pity towards both Frankenstein and his monster. However, with Ackroyd's version, it had less emotion. Also, the ending is more disappointing and confusing than the original. The ending in the original is more emotional and appeals more to me.

Now that I had a chance to read the original, I think it would have been better if some of the original's aspects, like some of the emotion, was in this book. So, I rated it a four stars this time because, despite the original re-telling thing, I like the emotion and ending of the original Frankenstein more.

Other Reviews/Author Site:

Peter Ackroyd
Goodreads: The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd
Library Thing: The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd
New York Times Book Review: The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein
A Study of Reading Habits: Peter Ackroyd - The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein
Everything of Something: The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd

The Trojan Horse by Emily Little, Illustrated by Michael Eagle

STEP INTO READING (5) SERIES

The Trojan Horse by Emily Little, Illustrated by Michael Eagle

Random House

Published in 1988

ISBN 0394896742

48 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Amazon (Paperback)
Barnes & Noble (Paperback)

I OWN A SINGLE COPY.
BOUGHT AT AMAZON.COM.


APART OF THE GOODREADS 2011 READING CHALLENGE.

Review/Rating:

2 out of 5



A simple retelling of the Trojan War and how the Greeks won this war. The city of Troy lives in wonder, with a stone wall protecting it, while the Greeks live on rocky land and can't grow wheat. In order to get wheat, they have to trade with Asia, but they get past the channel because Troy won't let them pass without paying the toll (gold). After the Trojans kidnap Helen, Menelaus' wife, the Greeks declare war on Troy. The war goes on for years, until the Greeks finally have a plan to defeat Troy, which involves a wooden horse.

It is so simple with the facts and there is no really interesting facts put into the book --- in order to make it more engaging. They pretty much had all the information that you should remember from school. And it feels longer than what the history books mention for the age group of this book. And from what I remember from that age, they mentioned the same information in the history book, but less pictures. Also, even though the illustrations seem to be pretty, there seems to be less than the previous Step Into Reading book I have read. They also look a little bit more bland than the Trail of Tears' illustrations.

I think it would be more interesting if I read it myself, but the purpose of the children's book is to have your children read it to you. However, you help them when they having trouble with a word or page or have questions. Basically, you need to definitely participate reading with them with this one because of the names, but I found it boring. It had too many details of the history for little kids, at least to me, and I would have liked it better if it was told more fictionalized. >.>" Also, go over the pronunciation guide with your child, which is at the book of the book, FIRST before having them read it since most of the words will be hard for them.

Other Reviews/Author Site:

Emily Little
Goodreads: The Trojan Horse by Emily Little, Illustrated by Michael Eagle
Library Thing: The Trojan Horse by Emily Little, Illustrated by Michael Eagle
Collingswood Public Library: The Trojan Horse by Emily Little, Illustrated by Michael Eagle

The Trail of Tears by Joseph Bruchac, Illustrated by Diana Magnuson

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The Trail of Tears by Joseph Bruchac, Illustrated by Diana Magnuson

Random House

Published in 1999

ISBN 0679890521

48 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Amazon (Paperback)
Barnes & Noble (Paperback)

I OWN A SINGLE COPY.
BOUGHT AT AMAZON.COM.


APART OF THE GOODREADS 2011 READING CHALLENGE.

Review/Rating:

3 out of 5



Through simple explanation, the author explains the history behind the Trail of Tears and the challenges that the Cherokee Nation faced during this time period. Chief of the Cherokee Nation, John Ross, and his people (17,000) must leave their homes and go west. During this trying time period and journey, a lot of deaths and hardships will befall them.

The information given is pretty much interesting, which one of the reasons why I like the book, and even some of it that I don't even remember. The hardships that they are faced and the history facts are not really watered down, but phrased in a way that won't have your kids ask questions you wouldn't really want to answer when they are still kind of young. If your kids doesn't understand that we have done bad things in the past, you might have some explaining to do. Now some of the interesting information they give are about Cherokee legends of how their people came to be, the legend of the Cherokee Rose, which is thought to come from the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee written language and the newspaper, and some other pieces of information. Basically, it is kind of like a miniature history book with fun and interesting information, but I wouldn't count on it for tests and things like that. Why? Because most schools depend on their history books for making tests. It's also great if you want to give a head start for your kids about the subject before they start on it in school. Another reason why I like this book is because of the illustrations inside the book. They are some pretty, and I liked looking at some of them. :D

The only thing I didn't like the book is the fact that it is non-fiction and why mostly boring in some of the parts, which is the main reason why I rated this book a 3 out of 5. I would have liked the book better if they had a little bit more fiction in it like the Dear America books. However, it is a good little book that will tell your kids about the Trail of Tears before they learn it in school.

I would recommend this book for kids who are having difficult time learning about the Trail of Tears and need a little bit easy way of explaining the basics of what happened during that time. However, I wouldn't depend solely on it for their school projects. Also, make sure you read it with them because some of the words they will have trouble with like the Cherokee language, some state names, some of the names, and that's pretty much it. But, it is pretty much easy to understand.

Other Reviews/Author Site:

Joseph Bruchac
Diana Magnuson
Goodreads: The Trail of Tears by Joseph Bruchac, Illustrated by Diana Magnuson
Library Thing: The Trail of Tears by Joseph Bruchac, Illustrated by Diana Magnuson
Back to Books: The Trail of Tears by Joseph Bruchac, Illustrated by Diana Magnuson