Review: Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos

 By: R.L. Lafevers

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, 2007  

 

Main Character: girl  

Location: England, circa 1907  

Focus: Ancient Egypt, fantasy, mystery, strong female heroine 

Review

Theodosia Throckmorton is the daughter of the head of the Museum of Legends and Antiquities in London, England. Many of the artifacts come to the museum from Egypt thanks to her mother who is the head of archeology for the museum. Unbeknownst to her parents, many of the artifacts brought into the museum are cursed with powerful black magic. Theodosia is the only one who knows about this magic and she has taken it upon herself to rid the artifacts and the museum of the curses. Although she is somewhat hesitant about working with such powerful curses, she has spent a good deal of time researching counter curses and collecting important bits of potion making materials. Theodosia is busy throughout the book reversing curses and learning about secret societies. Finally, she takes a trip to Egypt to save Great Britian. There is constant action and it is quite impossible to read the book without picking up some interesting information about ancient Egypt. Theodosia is a strong, adventurous and humorous character whose adventures your readers will want to follow in, Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris. 

Possible Uses

This book would be a great fictional companion to a unit on ancient Egypt. 

It is also an interesting book with a strong female lead character.  

If your students are interested in or are studying Edwardian England, this book is set in that time period. There are even some references made to the political issues of the time. 

http://www.theodosiathrockmorton.com/ is an excellent site penned by Theodosia herself, with a little help from R.L. Lafevers.  

Children's Book Club for Adults

Since I have discovered the kidlitosphere, I have been greatly satisfied to learn that I am not the only lover of children's literature, not by far! After much searching, I found a new book club specifically for adults who love to read children's books. It is in Minneapolis at the phenomenal bookstore, The Red Balloon.  They will be hosting this club the third Thursday of each month at the store; Chapter and Verse. Click on www.redballoonbookshop.com for more information and a reading list. I already have the books for the April 16th meeting; Mudville, by Kurtis Scaletta and The Vermeer Interviews: Conversations with Seven Works of Art, by Bob Raczka. Hope to see some of you there!  

Welcome!

Welcome to Experience Reading! I am starting this blog after being inspired by the many amazing blogs I have read in the "kidlitosphere." I have always been obsessed with children's books and am frequently asked if I ever read 'grownup books'. Not often. As an elementary teacher ( I am currently on hiatus as I raise my two young children) I can't read books without thinking about how those books would touch my students. I underline great quotes to discuss, think of questions to ask and plan activities to help the kids relate to the characters.  There is nothing better for me than talking to kids about the books they love and seeing their faces glow, knowing that they have had an experience with that book.  I have a Master's degree in Experiential Education and wrote my thesis on how to teach reading experientially. On my website (up by summer 2009) I offer my thoughts about how to teach reading 'experientially'. I have reading lists with activities to help parents and teachers encourage their children to engage experientially with their reading. I also offer brief reviews of many of the books I have used in my classrooms. 

My main goal for this blog is to write about books I am reading (and have read) and to get feedback from others out there who love children's books as much as I do. I am learning so much from other bloggers and hope to learn even more about children's literature, teaching and reading with this blog. Thanks!