All About "fantasy"

DVD Review: Toys

Despite title, edgy fantasy-fable isn't geared toward kids.

DVD Review: Twilight Zone: The Movie

TV show is much better; some mature themes, violence.

DVD Review: Millennium Actress

Arty Japanese animated drama is too complex for little ones.

DVD Review: Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

Sweeping owl fantasy adventure is impressive but intense.

DVD Review: The Secret of Moonacre

Enchanting fantasy turns teen into sweet, selfless princess.

Review: Eldest (The Inheritance Trilogy, Book 2)

Eldest picks up where Eragon left off, at the end of the battle between the Varden, aided by Eragon, Saphira, and their friends, and the evil emperor Galbatorix's forces in Farthen Dûr. With barely time to mourn his fallen friends Eragon is first caught up in political intrigue among the humans, and between the humans, elves, and dwarves, and then sent across the empire to complete his training as a Rider with the elves in the vast forest of Du Weldenvarden.

At the same time, Eragon's cousin Roran is sought by Galbatorix, who sends soldiers and two of the vicious Ra'zac to Carvahall, Eragon's home. Roran leads the villagers in holding them off, but Roran's fiancé is captured and the villagers are force to flee across the mountains, pursued all the way, to try to make their way by land and sea to Surda, the stronghold of the rebels.

As the story flips back and forth between Eragon and Roran we get to see both of them grow in maturity and power, Eragon as a result of his training with the last survivor of the old Riders, and Roran in a trial by fire as the de facto leader of his villagers fighting their way across the empire. These parallel streams, of course, converge in a climactic battle which once again ends the book.

Includes map and language guide.

Review: Corydon & the Island of Monsters (The Corydon Trilogy, Book 1)

We've all heard that history is told by the winners. What if Greek myths were too?

Corydon, a young shepherd boy with a goat-leg, is cast out of his village, then kidnapped by pirates gathering monsters for a freak show: Medusa, the Sphinx, the Minotaur, the Nemean Lion, a Harpy, a Hydra, and a snake-girl. Corydon helps them all to escape, and they scatter across the island, while Corydon and Medusa go to live with two other gorgons in a cave.

Corydon finds in Medusa a mother figure, and a brother in her infant son. But Perseus has heard about the island from one of the pirates, and he gathers an army of heroes to wipe them out. So Corydon must travel into the Underworld to find the power to protect his new friends.

Review: Into the Labyrinth

At the end of The Great Good Thing, Princess Sylvie and her fellow book characters were written into a new book. Now their book is a bestseller, and about to be uploaded onto the Internet. Since they must perform any time a Reader is reading, they are harried and stressed, so much so that Sylvie asks Lily, the Writer, to add a character who can help them. Enter Rosetta Stein, a yoga instructor, who helps them learn to cope with stress.

But being uploaded onto the Net not only brings more stress, it also brings a computer virus that is eating away at the Story. So Sylvie, along with Rosetta and the girl with the dark blue eyes, must venture into the corridors of the Net to find the source of the virus, and destroy it.

Book Review: Not Just a Witch

Heckie has just graduated from Good Witch school with the power to turn humans into animals (using her Knuckle of Power and Toe of Transformation), and she is determined to Do Good. Unfortunately she and her best friend, Dora Mayberry, have a terrible quarrel at graduation, so she is on her own.

Moving to a small town to make the world a better place, Heckie gathers a group of children and other witches to help her find bad people who deserve to be turned into animals. But when an unscrupulous furrier discovers her power, he charms and deceives her into a scheme to turn prisoners into snow leopards for fur coats.

Book Review: Charlotte's Web

When Fern convinces her father not to kill the runt pig of the litter, she names him Wilbur and raises him with a bottle. Soon Wilbur goes to live in her Uncle Homer Zuckerman's barn down the road, where she visits him every day. But when she's not there, Wilbur is lonely -- the sheep, cows, geese, even the rats, don't want to play and be his friend.

Then he meets Charlotte, a grey spider whose web is in a corner of the barn door, and they become good friends. But soon after, they learn that Wilbur is to be slaughtered next Christmas to make hams and bacon. So Charlotte hatches a plan to make the Zuckermans want to keep Wilbur around forever.