BOOK REVIEWS

Note: this index does not include reviews of comics or art books that are simply a collection of pictures. It does cover art books that include biographical and analytical text. Most of these are books I enjoyed and would recommend, some more than others, of course. Books I didn’t like enough to finish are not here.

I’ve been reading and loving books since my childhood, and another place to find lots of short reviews of books and authors in my library is on this section of my website:

https://kleinletters.com/BooksRecommendedA.html

Adams, Douglas and Mark Carwardine

Last Chance to See

Aiken, Joan

The Cockatrice Boys

Cold Shoulder Road

The Stolen Lake

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

Black Hearts in Battersea

Akers, Dwight

The King’s Mule

Alder, Elizabeth

The King’s Shadow

Alexander, Lloyd

The Prydain Chronicles

The Arkadians

The El Dorado Adventure

The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian

The Rope Trick

Time Cat

Allende, Isabel

City of the Beasts

Kingdom of the Golden Dragon

Forest of the Pygmies

Andrae, Thomas and Carson Laqua

Walt Kelly: The Life and Art of the Creator of Pogo

Arden, Katharine

The Bear and the Nightingale

The Girl In The Tower

The Winter of the Witch

Asimov, Isaac

David Starr, Space Ranger (writing as Paul French)

Lucky Starr Book 2 (Venus and Mercury)

The End of Eternity

Atkinson, M.E.

Challenge to Adventure

Mystery Manor

Steeple Folly

Avi

Crispin, The Cross of Lead

Midnight Magic

The Fighting Ground

Bacon, Thorn

Race for the Gold

Baker, Bill

Alan Moore’s Exit Interview

Baldridge, Cyrus LeRoy

Time and Chance

Balliett, Blue

Chasing Vermeer

The Wright 3

The Danger Box

The Calder Game

Pieces and Players

Baron, Mike

Skorpio

Bartlett, Allison Hoover

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much

Baum, L. Frank

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

Beagle, Peter S.

A Fine and Private Place

I See By My Outfit, A Cross-Country Adventure

Slight of Hand

Summerlong

We Never Talk About My Brother

Giant Bones

The Overneath

The Way Home

B.F. Beebe

Assateague Deer

Bell, Blake and Dr. Michael Vassallo

The Secret History of Marvel Comics

Bester, Alfred

The Stars My Destination

The Computer Connection

Bester, Alfred and Roger Zelazny

Psychoshop

Binns, Archie

The Enchanted Islands

Birdsall, Jeanne

The Penderwicks

The Penderwicks on Gardam Street

The Penderwicks at Point Mouette

The Penderwicks At Last

Blackwood, Gary

Shakespeare’s Scribe

Shakespeare’s Spy

Blakemore, Megan Frazer

The Water Castle

Blish, James

They Shall Have Stars

A Life For The Stars

Earthman, Come Home

The Triumph of Time

Boston, L.M.

The Children of Green Knowe

Treasure of Green Knowe

Curfew & Other Eerie Tales

The Green Knowe novels (all six)

Briggs, K.M.

Hobberdy Dick

Brin, David

Sundiver

The Uplift War

Brinley, Bertrand R.

The New Adventures of the Mad Scientists’ Club

The Big Chunk of Ice

The Big Kerplop!

Brooks, Walter R.

Ernestine Takes Over

Freddy Goes to the North Pole

Freddy the Detective

Buckley-Archer, Linda

The Time Travelers

The Time Thief

The Time Quake

Burgess, Melvin

The Earth Giant

Burroughs, Edgar Rice

A Princess of Mars

The Gods of Mars & The  Warlord of Mars

The Mucker, The Return of the Mucker

Burton, Hester

The Flood At Reedsmere

Butterworth, Oliver

The Enormous Egg

Cameron, Eleanor

The Mysterious Christmas Shell

Campbell, Hayley

The Art of Neil Gaiman

Card, Orson Scott

The Lost Gate

Ruins

Pathfinder

Carleton, Barbee Oliver

The Witches’ Bridge

Carey, M. V.

The Secret of the Haunted Mirror

Carroll, Jonathan

The Land of Laughs

Chabon, Michael

Gentlemen of the Road

The Yiddish Policemen’s Union

The Final Solution

Chance, Stephen (Philip Turner)

Septimus and the Minster Ghost

Church, Richard

Five Boys In A Cave

Clarke, Pauline

The Twelve and the Genii / The Return of the Twelves

Clarke, Susanna

The Ladies of Grace Adieu and other stories

Piranesi

Coatsworth, Elizabeth

Houseboat Summer

Thief Island

Cole, Brock

The Goats

Colfer, Eoin

Half-Moon Investigations

Collins, Susan

Gregor the Overlander

Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane

Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods

Cooper, Susan

Ghost Hawk

Victory

Couch, N.C. Christopher

Jerry Robinson: Ambassador of Comics

Coville, Bruce

The Skull of Truth

Creech, Sharon

Castle Corona

Cross, John Keir

The Angry Planet

The Red Journey Back

Crossley-Holland, Kevin

Arthur: The Seeing Stone

Crowley, John

KA: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr

Curry, Jane Louise

The Big Smith Snatch

The Great Smith House Hustle

Me. Myself and I

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Time, The Magical Cupboard

The Wolves of Aam, Shadow Dancers

Cushman, Karen

Alchemy and Meggy Swann

Davis, Lavinia R.

Danny’s Luck

The Journals of Lavinia Riker Davis

Threat of Dragons

De Camp, L. Sprague

The Purple Pterodactyls

Delany, Samuel R.

The Einstein Intersection

De Lint, Charles

The Cats of Tanglewood Forest

Dickens, Charles

A Christmas Carol

Di Filippo, Paul

Lost Among the Stars

Di Liddo, Annalisa

Alan Moore, Comics as Performance, Fiction as Scalpel

Dickinson, Peter

The Blue Hawk

Healer

Fire, Tales of Elemental Spirits

Doyle, A. Conan

A Study in Scarlet

The Sign of Four

The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Valley of Fear

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The Return of Sherlock Holmes

His Last Bow

The Lost World

The Poison Belt

The Land of Mists

When The World Screamed

Duane, Diane

Deep Wizardry

High Wizardry

A Wizard Abroad

A Wizard Alone

Dunne, Pete

Arctic Autumn

Bayshore Summer

Prairie Spring

Dunsany, Lord

The Gods of Pegana

Time and the Gods

Eager, Edward

Half Magic

Knight’s Castle

Magic By The Lake

The Time Garden

Magic Or Not?

The Well-Wishers

Seven-Day Magic

Engdahl, Sylvia Louise

Enchantress From The Stars

Enright, Elizabeth

The Melendy Family

Spiderweb For Two, A Melendy Maze

Gone-Away Lake & Return to Gone-Away

Evanier, Mark

Kirby, King of Comics

Farmer, Nancy

The Sea of Trolls

The Land of the Silver Apples

The Islands of the Blessed

Farmer, Philip José

The Fabulous Riverboat

Farmer, Wendell (Lavinia R. Davis)

Bicycle Detectives

The Surprise Mystery

Fenner, Arnie & Cathy

Brush With Passion: The Art & Life of Dave Stevens

Fletcher, Susan

Dragon’s Milk

Fraser. George MacDonald

Flashman

Friesner, Esther M.

Wishing Season

Fry, Rosalie K.

Snowed Up

Funke, Cornelia

Ghost Knight

Inkdeath

Reckless

Reckless: Living Shadows

Igraine the Brave

Gaiman, Neil

American Gods

Blueberry Girl (with Charles Vess)

The Graveyard Book

Interworld (with Michael Reaves)

Neverwhere

Norse Mythology

The Ocean at The End of the Lane

Odd and the Frost Giants

Stardust (with Charles Vess)

The View From The Cheap Seats

Trigger Warning

Two Gaiman Rarities

A Walking Tour of the Shambles (with Gene Wolfe)

Gallico, Paul

The Small Miracle

George, Jean Craighead

Dipper of Copper Creek (with John George)

Gianni, Gary

The Prince Valiant Page

Gopnik, Adam

The King in the Window

Gordon, Roderick and Brian Williams

Tunnels

Goss, Theodora

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter

European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman

The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl

Graham, Harriet

A Boy and his Bear

Grahame, Kenneth with Annie Gauger

The Annotated Wind in the Willows

Graves, Robert

An Ancient Castle

Gregory, Robin

The Improbable Wonders of Moojie Littleman

Guinan, Paul and Anina Bennett

Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel

Frank Reade: Adventures in the Age of Invention

Haahr, Berit

The Minstrel’s Tale

Haig, Matt

Samuel Blink and the Forbidden Forest

Hajdu, David

Positively 4th Street

Heinlein, Robert A.

The Heinlein Juvenile series (the next 12 titles)

Rocket Ship Galileo

Space Cadet

Red Planet

Farmer In The Sky

Between Planets

The Rolling Stones

Starman Jones

The Star Beast

Tunnel In The Sky

Time for the Stars

Citizen of the Galaxy

Have Space Suit — Will Travel

Double Star

Farnham’s Freehold

Glory Road

I Will Fear No Evil

Podkayne of Mars

The Pursuit of the Pankera

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

Sixth Column

Space Cadet

Starship Troopers

Three by Heinlein

Beyond This Horizon

Helprin, Mark

A City in Winter

Hesse, Karen

Stowaway

Hightower, Florence

Dark Horse of Woodfield

Hobbs, Will

Bearstone

The Big Wander

Far North

Jason’s Gold

The Maze

Holdstock, Robert

Mythago Wood

Lavondyss

The Bone Forest

Hull, Katherine and Pamela Whitlock

The Oxus Books

Crowns

Ibbotson, Eva

The Haunting of Granite Falls

The Secret of Platform 13

Jacques, Brian

Mossflower

Mattimeo

Mariel of Redwall

Salamandastron

Outcast of Redwall

Jansson, Tove

The Moomins and the Great Flood

Comet in Moominland

Finn Family Moomintroll

Moominpappa’s Memoirs

The Book About Moomin, Mymble and Little My

Moominsummer Madness

Moominland Midwinter

Who Will Comfort Toffle?

Tales From Moomin Valley

Moominpappa At Sea

Moominvalley In November

Jemisin, N. K.

The Fifth Season

The Obelisk Gate

The Stone Sky

Far Sector with Jamal Campbell

The City We Became

Jones, Diana Wynne

Enchanted Glass

The Game

House of Many Ways

The Islands of Chaldea (with Ursula Jones)

The Pinhoe Egg

The Tough Guide to Fantasyland

Jones, Julia

The Salt-Stained Book

A Ravelled Flag

Ghosting Home

The Lion of Sole Bay

Black Waters

Pebble

Voyage North

Jones, Raymond F.

This Island Earth

Kanefield, Teri

Knights of the Square Table

Knights of the Square Table 2

Knights of the Square Table 3

Kay, Guy Gavriel

A Brightness Long Ago

A Song for Arbonne

Tigana

Ysabel

Children of Earth and Sky

All the Seas of the World

Kelly, Eric P.

The Trumpeter of Krakow

Kelly, Jacqueline

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

Kelly, Kevin

Cool Tools

Kendall, Carol

The Gammage Cup

The Whisper of Glocken

Kerr, Jake

Tommy Black and the Staff of Light

Kerr, P. B.

Children of the Lamp: The Akhenaten Adventure

Children of the Lamp: The Day of the Djinn Warriors

Khoury, George

The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore

Image Comics: The Road to Independence

Kingman, Lee

The Secret Journey of the Silver Reindeer

Kipling, Rudyard

Stalky & Co.

Kirby, Matthew J.

The Clockwork Three

Kjelgaard, Jim

The Lost Wagon

Kluger, Jeffrey

Nacky Patcher and the Curse of the Dry-Land Boats

Knapp, J. Richard

Book of Codes

Knox, Rawle, editor

The Work of E.H. Shepard

Knight, Kathryn Lasky

Atlantic Circle

Konigsburg, E. L.

(george)

The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World

The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place

The Second Mrs. Gioconda

Kooiker, Leonie

The Magic Stone

Korshak, Stephen D.

From the Pen of Paul: The Fantastic Images of Frank R. Paul

Lampman, Evelyn Sibley

Treasure Mountain

Rock Hounds

Langton, Jane

Her Majesty, Grace Jones

The Mysterious Circus

The Dragon Tree

Lawson, Robert

I Discover Columbus

The Great Wheel

The Tough Winter

Lebbon, Tim

Hellboy: The Fire Wolves

Le Guin, Ursula K.

A Wizard of Earthsea

The Tombs of Atuan

The Farthest Shore

Tehanu

Tales From Earthsea

The Other Wind and uncollected stories

Gifts

Voices

Powers

Lavinia

Eye of the Heron

Lenz, Rick

The Alexandrite

Levitz, Paul

The Silver Age of DC Comics

The Bronze Age of DC Comics

Lewis, C. S.

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

Out of the Silent Planet

Lewis, Hilda

The Ship That Flew

Link, Kelly

Magic for Beginners

Llewellyn, Sam

Lyonesse: The Well Between The Worlds

Lofting, Hugh

The Story of Doctor Dolittle

Doctor Dolittle’s Post Office

Doctor Dolittle’s Circus

The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle

Doctor Dolittle’s Zoo

Doctor Dolittle’s Garden

Doctor Dolittle In The Moon

Doctor Dolittle’s Return

Doctor Dolittle and the Secret Lake

Doctor Dolittle and the Green Canary

Doctor Dolittle’s Puddleby Adventures

The Twilight of Magic

Lowry, Lois

The Willoughbys

Macbird, Bonnie

Art in the Blood

MacDonald, George

The Princess and the Goblin, The Princess and Curdie

Lilith

At The Back Of The North Wind

Mahy, Margaret

Maddigan’s Fantasia

The Magician of Hoad

Maltin, Leonard

Leonard Maltin’s Movie Crazy

Mantle, Winifred

The Hiding Place

Tinker’s Castle

Marshall, Dean

Invisible Island

Martin, George R. R.

A Dance With Dragons

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

Martin, Rafe

Birdwing

Mayle, Peter

A Year in Provence

French Lessons

Toujours Provence

McGraw, Eloise Jarvis

Greensleeves

Master Cornhill

McIlwaine, Catherine

Tolkien, Maker of Middle-Earth

McKinley, Robin

The Blue Sword

Fire, Tales of Elemental Spirits

Meader, Stephen W.

The Black Buccaneer

Phantom of the Blockade

T-Model Tommy

Meigs, Cornelia

Swift Rivers

Meloy, Colin

Wildwood

Under Wildwood

The Whiz Mob and the Grenadine Kid

Milford, Kate

The Boneshaker

Miller Jr., Walter M.

A Canticle for Leibowitz

Mitchison, Naomi

Graeme and the Dragon

Moorcock, Michael

The War Hound and the World’s Pain

The City in the Autumn Stars

Von Bek

The Jewel in the Skull

The Mad God’s Amulet

Hawkmoon: The Runestaff

Moore, Alan

Illuminations

Murkerji, Dhan Gopal

Gay-Neck, The Story of a Pigeon

Myron, Vicki

Dewey, the Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World

N. A. Nelson

Bringing The Boy Home

Nesbit, E

The Enchanted Castle

Five Children and It

The Phoenix and the Carpet

The Story of the Amulet

Harding’s Luck

Nevala-Lee, Alec

Astounding

Neville, Emily

It’s Like This, Cat

Niffenegger, Audrey

Raven Girl

Niven, Larry

Ringworld

The Ringworld Engineers

Niven, Larry and Jerry Pournelle

The Burning City

Nolen-Weathington, Eric

Modern Masters Volume 22: Mark Buckingham

Nortman, Karen Musser

The Time Travel Trailer

Norton, Andre

The Time Traders

Galactic Derelict

Star Guard

Star Rangers

Norton, Mary

Bed-knob and Broomstick

The Borrowers

The Borrowers Afield

The Borrowers Afloat

The Borrowers Aloft

The Borrowers Avenged

O’Brien, Stacey

Wesley the Owl

O’Dell, Scott

The Captive

The Dark Canoe

Sarah Bishop

Zia

Ortiz, Luis

Arts Unknown: The Life and Art of Lee Brown Coye

Emshwiller, Infinity X Two

Palmer, Amanda and Jason Webley

Evelyn Evelyn, a Tragic Tale in Two Tomes

Paolini, Christopher

Brisingr

Inheritance

Park, Paul

A Princess of Roumania

The Tourmaline

The White Tyger

Paterson, Katherine

Preacher’s Boy

Patterson Jr., William H.

Robert A. Heinlein In Dialogue With His Century Volume 1 Part 1  Part 2  Part 3

Robert A. Heinlein In Dialogue With His Century Volume 2

Paulsen, Gary

Canyons

Pearce, Philippa

Tom’s Midnight Garden

Tom’s Midnight Garden Audiobook

Pepperberg, Irene M.

Alex & Me

Piccirilli, Tom

Hellboy: Emerald Hell

Piekos, Nate

The Essential Guide to Comic Book Lettering

Platt, Kin

The Blue Man

The Blue Man Hardcover

Sinbad and Me

A Mystery For Thoreau

Pournelle, Jerry

Starswarm

Pratchett, Terry

The Color of Magic

The Light Fantastic

The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents

The Wee Free Men: The Beginning

A Hat Full of Sky

Wintersmith

I Shall Wear Midnight

The Shepherd’s Crown

Equal Rites

Wyrd Sisters

Going Postal

Making Money

Raising Steam

Small Gods

Mort

Sourcery

Night Watch

Pyramids

Eric

Moving Pictures

Men At Arms

Feet of Clay

Jingo

The Fifth Elephant

Snuff

Reaper Man

Witches Abroad

Lords and Ladies

Pullman, Philip

The Firework-Maker’s Daughter

Once Upon a Time in the North

The Book of Dust Vol. 1: La Belle Sauvage

The Book of Dust Vol. 2: The Secret Commonwealth

Pyle, Howard

The Garden Behind the Moon

Ransome, Arthur

Drawn At A Venture

Ringwald, Whitaker

The Secret Box

Roberson, Chris

End of the Century

Roberts, Charles G. D.

Red Fox

Robertson, Keith

Mascot of the Melroy

The Henry Reed Series:

Henry Reed, Inc.

Henry Reed’s Journey

Henry Reed’s Baby-sitting Service

Henry Reed’s Big Show

Henry Reed’s Think Tank

The Carson Street Detective Agency Series:

The Mystery of Burnt Hill

Three Stuffed Owls

The Crow and the Castle

The Money Machine

Robinson, Kim Stanley

Red Mars

Green Mars

Blue Mars

Aurora

Robinson, Tom

Trigger John’s Son

Rodda, Emily

The Key to Rondo

Rowling, J.K.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows

Schulman, J. Neil

The Robert Heinlein Interview

Schultz, Mark

Storms At Sea

Segura, Alex

Secret Identity

Seidler, Tor

A Rat’s Tale

The Revenge of Randal Reese-Rat

Selden, George

A Cricket in Times Square

Selznick, Brian

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

The Marvels

Severn, David

Rick Afire!

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft

Frankenstein (with Bernie Wrightson art)

Simak, Clifford D.

A Choice of Gods

Smith, Jeff

Little Mouse Gets Ready

Snyder, Zilpha Keatley

The Bronze Pen

The Magic Nation Thing

The Runaways

William S. and the Great Escape

Springer, Nancy

The Enola Holmes Mysteries 1-6

Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche

Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade

Steele, William O.

The Buffalo Knife

Stewart, Trenton Lee

The Mysterious Benedict Society

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma

The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict

The Secret Keepers

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of the Ages

Stroud, Jonathan

Buried Fire

Lockwood & Co.: The Screaming Staircase

Lockwood & Co.: The Whispering Skull

Sturges, Matthew

Midwinter

Swann, Thomas Burnett

The Forest of Forever

Queens Walk In the Dusk

Talbot, Bryan

The Naked Artist: Comic Book Legends

Tolkien, J.R.R.

The Children of Hurin

Smith of Wootton Major & Farmer Giles of Ham

The Silmarillion

Townsend, John Rowe

Noah’s Castle

Travers, P. L.

About Mary Poppins: books, movie, musical

About the Sleeping Beauty

Trease, Geoffrey

No Boats On Bannermere

Turner, Philip

Colonel Sheperton’s Clock

Skull Island

Twain, Mark (with Charles Dudley Warner)

The Gilded Age

Twain, Mark

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The Prince and the Pauper

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court

The American Claimant

Tom Sawyer Abroad

Tom Sawyer, Detective

Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc

The Mysterious Stranger and two other short novels

Ullman, James Ramsey

Banner in the Sky

Valente, Catherynne M.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

Varley, John

The Persistence of Vision

Rolling Thunder

Slow Apocalypse

Irontown Blues

Titan

Verne, Jules

Around The Moon

Around the World in 80 Days

Dr. Ox’s Experiment

Five Weeks In A Balloon

From the Earth to the Moon

In Search of the Castaways

Off On A Comet

The Mysterious Island

Vess, Charles

The Queen of Summer’s Twilight

Voigt, Cynthia

Building Blocks

Homecoming

Dicey’s Song

A Solitary Blue

Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things

Mister Max: The Book of Kings

The Vandemark Mummy

Wagner, Hank with Christopher Golden & Stephen R. Bissette

Prince of Stories: The Many Worlds of Neil Gaiman

Ward, Patricia

The Secret Pencil

Warner, Sylvia Townsend

Lolly Willowes

Waugh, Sylvia

The Mennyms

Mennyms in the Wilderness

Space Race

Westall, Robert

The Cats of Seroster

Whitney, Phyllis A.

The Mystery of the Crimson Ghost

Willans, Geoffrey

Down With Skool!

Williams, Tad and Debora Beale

The Dragons of Ordinary Farm

Willingham, Bill

Down the Mysterly River

Peter & Max

Willis, Connie

The Doomsday Book

Blackout

All Clear

Miracle and Other Christmas Stories

Wolfe, Gene

Peace

Shadow and Claw

Sword and Citadel

The Urth of the New Sun

Wooding, Chris

Storm Thief

Woodruff, Elvira

The Ravenmaster’s Secret

Wylie, Philip

Gladiator

Yolen, Jane

Dragon’s Blood

Heart’s Blood

A Sending of Dragons

Young, Karen Romano

A Girl, A Raccoon, and the Midnight Moon

Young, Rob

Electric Eden

Zelazny, Roger

A Dark Traveling

The Dead Man’s Brother

Jack of Shadows

Lord of Light

Gabrielle Zevin

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow