K. V. Johansen Books

Quests And Kingdoms; A Grown-up's Guide To Children's Fantasy Literature by K.V. Johansen is a seminal work exceptionally well written and recommended for its relevance for teachers and or parents who wish to understand the actions of the children with whom they're involved. Quests And Kingdoms is a practical, accessible education on the subject of the impractical, fanciful mind of the child, and to where such a mind may be when indulged in books of fantasy at an age so susceptible to fantastic beliefs.

Quests And Kingdoms; A Grown-up's Guide To Children's Fantasy Literature by K.V. Johansen is a seminal work exceptionally well written and recommended for its relevance for teachers and or parents who wish to understand the actions of the children with whom they're involved. Quests And Kingdoms is a practical, accessible education on the subject of the impractical, fanciful mind of the child, and to where such a mind may be when indulged in books of fantasy at an age so susceptible to fantastic beliefs.

Quests And Kingdoms; A Grown-up's Guide To Children's Fantasy Literature by K.V. Johansen is a seminal work exceptionally well written and recommended for its relevance for teachers and or parents who wish to understand the actions of the children with whom they're involved. Quests And Kingdoms is a practical, accessible education on the subject of the impractical, fanciful mind of the child, and to where such a mind may be when indulged in books of fantasy at an age so susceptible to fantastic beliefs.

Quests And Kingdoms; A Grown-up's Guide To Children's Fantasy Literature by K.V. Johansen is a seminal work exceptionally well written and recommended for its relevance for teachers and or parents who wish to understand the actions of the children with whom they're involved. Quests And Kingdoms is a practical, accessible education on the subject of the impractical, fanciful mind of the child, and to where such a mind may be when indulged in books of fantasy at an age so susceptible to fantastic beliefs.

Quests And Kingdoms; A Grown-up's Guide To Children's Fantasy Literature by K.V. Johansen is a seminal work exceptionally well written and recommended for its relevance for teachers and or parents who wish to understand the actions of the children with whom they're involved. Quests And Kingdoms is a practical, accessible education on the subject of the impractical, fanciful mind of the child, and to where such a mind may be when indulged in books of fantasy at an age so susceptible to fantastic beliefs.

Reviewed by Ian McCurley (age 13) for Reader Views (4/07)

"The Cassandra Virus" is set in the near future just when 64-bit processors are becoming outdated and technology is taking great leaps of bounds in the field of computer programming. Fourteen-year old Jordan and his sister, Cassie, live alone most of the time because their parents are archaeologists who are away for months at a time. Jordan and his best friend Helen call themselves "Igor" and "Igor." Helen loves amphibians, and her mother is a professor at Cassie's college. Cassie is preparing her thesis, which is a robot lie detector named Baby. Jordan and Cassandra, by the age of ten, had both mastered Latin and Calculus, and they were both experts in computer programming, but since Cassie was older, she had mastered everything first. Jordan wants to do something Cassie hasn't done yet, so he sets out to program a virus that is not a virus. The virus will be able to access all computers and then utilize the unused memory and processing power of the computers to create a supercomputer within computers. After he is finished, Jordan begins playing a computer strategy game. When he starts to "cheat," a message appears on the screen that says "You are not playing fairly, Jordan O'Blenis." Jordan discovers that the virus, named Cassandra, has become self-aware and has the ability to access private email. When Cassandra sees shady people ransacking Cassie's lab through the eyes of Baby, Jordan and Helen must get Cassie's stuff back and keep Cassandra out of the hands of the feds until she can be deleted.

"The Cassandra Virus" is a compelling story of the recurring theme of self-aware computers. K. V. Johansen writes excellently in the "The Cassandra Virus." This book is for humans age 12 and up who like reading science fiction and are interested in computer programming.

KV Johansen has taken a number of medieval ballads (story-telling songs) and retold them as short stories. The overall effect is like a book of fairy tales, with princes and princess, witches and transformations. If you have any interest in European folk tales and legends, traditional music, or fantasy stories, this collection is a wonderful treat. Rarely have I read anything so rich in tradition and beautifully told.

Maurey used to be a student at the grammar school at Fowler College, but that was before his guardian passed away. Suddenly all of his tuition money, paid through college degree level, mysteriously disappeared. Now Maurey is an unpaid servant at the school, and whipping boy for bored students. In addition to being a charity case, he bears a striking physical resemblance to the sorcerers who were driven from the land many years ago. He is insulted, harassed, even assaulted, at virtually every turn. His only escape is the dark tunnels underneath the school. His extraordinary night vision helps him navigate and elude his captors. Until tonight.

Tonight he got away from the bullying students and ran directly into the King, along with the master of the school and the King's Chancellor. As a result of the impact, the chain around his neck bearing rings from his mother, the only thing he has that connects him to her, falls out of his shirt. First accused of theft, closer examination of the rings causes a much greater stir. Maury finds himself locked in a dungeon, waiting to be tried for sorcery. If his greatest fears about his ancestry are true, Maurey will undoubtedly be killed. His only possibility for help seems to be a very unlikely and unwise choice.

All I can say is WOW! I've read a fair amount of fantasy/paranormal books, and this is one of the best I've come across. Amazingly well-developed and imagined, both character and story-wise, intelligent, and witty. It's books like this, and the knowledge that it's only book one, that make me love this job!

Reviewed by: Carrie Spellman

Reviewed by Simon Smith (age 9) for Reader Views (5/08)

"Nightwalker: The Warlocks of Talverdin" is a book that tells about an odd boy named Maurey. He is odd because of his black hair and eyes. Also, he is the son of a warlock (his mother is dead before the story begins) and was called a nightwalker even before people knew that he was a nightwalker because he just looked like one. A nightwalker is a kind of sorcerer that, using a shadow, can disappear into a dimension called the half world. This is a place where everything is made out of shadow. Nightwalkers are able to perform spells as well as go in and out of the half world. The other power that the nightwalkers have is being able to see very well in the dark. You might think that it would be cool to be a nightwalker, and if you think so, then you are right. Or at least you would be right if almost every human on the earth did not try to destroy you.

The method that the people used to find, take out, and destroy all of the nightwalkers, was an odd thing -- a creation of alchemy called philosophers' fire, which only harms warlocks. Philosopher' fire is difficult to find and making it is very dangerous because if you don't do it exactly right it could kill you. Maurey has to flee for his life after the rings -- the only things which he had left from his mother -- were taken from him and he was put to the test by Philosophers' fire to see if he was a warlock or not. After being proved a warlock by the Philosophers' fire, Maurey meets the Baroness of Oakhold, who attempts to free Maurey because she knows that humans have more evil than warlocks. You'll be amazed at the unusual way that she tries to free him!

I really liked how the author described the half world and how the adventure unfolded in "Nightwalker: The Warlocks of Talverdin." I didn't understand the beginning very much when I started but it gets better when the book goes on. I think this is a very good book for boys and girls, aged eight and up.

Jordan O'Blenis is worried about his sister, Cassie. They've always been close, even more so since their last adventure. But lately she hasn't been answering her phone or responding to emails. Sure, she's busy. Top secret government projects can keep a person pretty occupied. Jordan knows his sister though, and he's pretty sure there's something else going on. Jordan and Helen, his partner in crime, are determined to find out what that is. And they'll have to do it in person, since Cassandra, Jordan's "super virus," has suddenly acquired an interest in ethical behavior. Off they go to surprise Cassie, and do a little investigating.

It's not long before they uncover a stalker, and their old friends the Harvey's from Bureau 6, as well as some new faces from Bureau 7. (B6 and B7 are kind of like the Canadian FBI and CIA.) Cassie's definitely in trouble. Now what? How do a child computer genius and a child biology genius compete with covert government operatives? Even with the help of conspiracy theorist Jack, their old friend and now Cassie's boyfriend, this could be a bit much. And definitely dangerous.

This book is a non-stop adventure; once it gets going there is rarely a pause. If you liked The Cassandra Virus, this is a great continuation of where that book left off. If you haven't read that one, I highly recommend it, both because it's very good and because this book may be hard to get into otherwise. There isn't a whole lot of discussion of past events; the author assumes you know the characters and their past, which I actually really liked.

I've read a few books by K.V Johansen now, and I really like the way she writes. Everything is very intelligent, but never condescending. Sure, there's some technical stuff that I didn't quite get, not being a computer genius, but I never felt bad or dumb for not knowing. And it never took anything away from the story.

I also liked that Jordan, Helen, and Cassie are geniuses but still socially adept. Well, mostly. Kidnapping and interrogation are always difficult the first time. It's a very fun, often funny, intelligent read. I highly recommend it.

Reviewed by: Carrie Spellman

Reviewed by Dylan James (age 11) for Reader Views (11/07)

This book is in the future and is about five people and a super robot. Jordan (a computer wiz) and Helen (a biologist) are the two kids. The three teenagers are Jack, Sammilea, and Cassie. Cassie, Jordan's sister, works for an artificial intelligence company. Jack is Cassie's boyfriend and Sammilea is Cassie's roommate at college. Something is stressing Cassie so Jordan and Helen get together with Jack and Sammilea and try to figure out what is wrong with her. The super robot named Cassandra is developing a conscience and won't help them spy on Cassie. They take matters into their own hands and discover spies that are after Cassie.

My favorite part of this book was when Jordan, Helen, Jack, and Sammilea try very humorously to catch a spy that is following Cassie.

This book will make anyone who has not read the first one really want to read it and anyone who has read the first book want to read it again. I really think this book would have benefited greatly if it had an introductory chapter briefly describing the first book. The glossary at the end of the book helps a little. Because readers that have not read the first book will be confused, I do not think this book is the best it could be. This book's author is kind of assuming its readers have already read the first one. I think this book leaves you wanting to know too much more about the characters. Because of that, I think this will be a book loved if you have read the first one, but only liked if you have not. I want to make it clear that people that have read the first one will be very delighted with this sequel. It made me laugh a couple of times and was a pretty interesting book.

I think this is a book for lots of purposes: a good bedtime story to read to kids as young as seven and a good action story for kids as old as fifteen. Past 15-years-old, kids might start to want more content in the book. Readers that have read the first book will probably rate "The Drone War" 4 stars. Although there were a few spelling errors, the writing was good in the sense of drawing people in and making them want to keep reading the book.

My overall opinion is that it was worth the time to read "The Drone War."

lacked the excitment and adventure that I was hoping for. Being a teacher of fourth grade, I was excited to find a book about a young FEMALE Pirate Captain. I read it hoping to read it aloud to my class. There were abundant opportunities for adventure and excitement that just weren't brought to fruition. It was an easy read (even for 9-12 year olds), entertaining, and funny at times, but not a book I'd read aloud. I will do a Book Talk on it to my class and hope that students will chose to read it independently. The young captian is brave and decisive ... and as I said ... a girl! (It is very difficult to find a book with a strong female character.) I'll keep looking for that fiction pirate book to read-aloud ... and if it has a female lead -- all the better.