Saturday, March 12, 2011

Meme and themes

Several years ago (two or three or four), children's authors decided to write about - transplanted children in the 1930s, Cuba right before and right after Castro's regime began, America during the 60s.  Then there was/is the sudden interest in brain anomalies - autism, and especially synesthesia, or seeing sounds as colors and shapes.  It happens every publishing cycle.  Two years before, an author picks a subject that he/she thinks is unique and by the time the title is published, that author looks around to find that she/he is not alone.

Thomas and the DragON Queen (My capitals!  Pay attention!)  is just one book about dragon queens and their mighty reigns.  Ivy's Ever After by Dawn Lairamore has a very influential dragon queen in it - and a more friendly younger dragon as well.  Ivy manages to enlist this young dragon in her plan to rid herself and her kingdom of a most unsuitable suitor.  The two, Ivy and her dragon guard/buddy, Elridge, travel through troll-infested swamps, over craggy dangerous mountains and into a fairy mound looking for answers to their pest problem.  This is a fun adventurous read with feminist undertones - not too heavy.  There is an emphasis on diplomacy here that shows up in Thomas's book as well.

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