Tuesday, August 17, 2010

The Touchstone


I have written before how much I like the humorous books by Andrew Norris. Phyllis at Vancouver Kidsbooks shares my love and promptly gave me 'The Touchstone" to read and it is another winner. This one is about Douglas Patterson, a young boy who is contacted by an alien in trouble. He helps this alien who in turn gives him a Touchstone, an amazing device that links him to a universal librarian who has access to all the knowledge of all the galaxies. He first uses his Touchstone to give him answers to tests and for help for his friend Ivo to build a robot. However this Touchstone is sought after by the Guardians, enemies of his alien. He is torn between the opposing sides and wants to know who to believe. He realizes it is the questions he asks that are the most important thing, the questions that have long term consequences.

What are you reading today?

2 comments:

Alice33 said...

Wow!That sounds like a really good book!I'm going to see if I can get a copy at the library...

Josh Campbell said...

I'd like to second the recommendation for The Touchstone. I read it to most of the intermediates at my school this past Spring (upon Phyllis's recommendation) and it always left them begging for more.

I read it to my own children (ages six and eight) this summer, and they not only loved it, but we had some great discussions stemming from the read.

Josh Campbell
A.R.Lord Elementary