Posts by Hannah Rothman

Any child growing up knows that change is a difficult thing, but what if those changes included evacuating your dying city and the only home you've ever known? Or taking refuge in a struggling town that gets by on the artifacts of a long-lost world? Or even radical groups taking away your rights to sing or keep a dog? These are but a few of the challenges faced by the young protagonists of Jeanne DuPrau's tetralogy, the Books of Ember. In these four books, children and young adults alike will be engaged and enthralled by the adventures and mysteries of Lina Mayfleet, her best friend Doon Harrow, and their efforts to save their people.

The phrase "lost episode" can evoke a number of different emotions in TV viewers. To some, it can evoke the excitement of lost treasure; to others, the sadness of an adventure they may never see. In the early 1970s, tapes for storing old television programs were very expensive in the United Kingdom, and the advent of home video was still a few years off. Figuring that most of the old black-and-white Doctor Who serials from the 60s (along with numerous other shows) had officially been milked for all their commercial value, the old tapes were wiped to make room for new shows.

Since 1963, the BBC's sci-fi epic Doctor Who has followed the adventurous and enigmatic alien time traveler known only as the Doctor as he races through space and time and our TV screens solving problems, saving worlds, and making new friends who join him on his travels. Unfortunately, the current season is on break and won't be back until this fall (with an episode curiously titled "Let's Kill Hitler.") Let's say you're a newer fan — someone who's only recently gotten into the show through the 2005 revival, be it with Matt Smith, David Tennant, or Christopher Eccleston's Doctor. You've worn out all your DVDs, commentaries and all, and the tie-in novels just