Dory Fantasmagory

By Abby Hanlon

As the youngest in her family, Dory really wants attention, and more than anything she wants her brother and sister to play with her. But she’s not too much of a baby for them, so she’s left to her own devices—including her wild imagination and untiring energy. Her siblings may roll their eyes at her childish games, but Dory has lots of things to do: outsmarting the monsters all over the house, moving into the closet, and exacting revenge on her sister’s favorite doll. And when they really need her, daring Dory will prove her bravery, and finally get exactly what she has been looking for.

This book has been compared to Junie B Jones and for good reason. It’s a transitional book, one that is good for those just starting to read larger chapter books. Dory is a little girl who so badly wants to play with her older siblings but they just find her annoying. It’s a charming story that is made for laughing and remembering what it was to use your imagination for everything and getting into heaps of trouble! I’d say this is a great book for kids aged 6-9 depending on their reading ability. It was cute and fun to read.

I give it a 3 out of 5

Amulet Book 1: The Stonekeeper

By Kazu Kibuishi

After the tragic death of their father, Emily and Navin move with their mother to the home of her deceased great-grandfather, but the strange house proves to be dangerous. Before long, a sinister creature lures the kids’ mom through a door in the basement. Em and Navin, desperate not to lose her, follow her into an underground world inhabited by demons, robots, and talking animals.

Eventually, they enlist the help of a small mechanical rabbit named Miskit. Together with Miskit, they face the most terrifying monster of all, and Em finally has the chance to save someone she loves.

This is a graphic novel pointed at elementary aged children (6-12 years). I never would have picked this up if I hadn’t repeatedly seen it being checked out at the library where I work. It was so popular it got me curious. It’s a quick read with good illustrations. The story is more adult than I was expecting, dealing with loss, responsibility, and grief along with battling magical and mechanical creatures. It was interesting to me, and had the same kind of feel of a sort of Alice in Wonderland, but darker and without the overt whimsy in it. Emily is a very serious young girl who feels the burden of being the oldest and watching out for her brother and mother now that her Dad is gone. I can understand why it is so popular, and I have a nephew who doesn’t necessarily love reading, and he grabbed onto this series and devoured it and got his friends reading it too, which tickled me pink! It’s a great book to pick up for reluctant readers.

I give it a 3.25 out of 5

Westly: a Spider's Tale

By Brian Beus

When Westly emerges from his cocoon, not as a beautiful butterfly, but as a spider, he is rejected by the butterfly kingdom and undertakes a journey to discover who he really is. But not even the dirt eaters can offer him answers. Not the dragonfly, the centipede, the moth, or even Zug Zug, the fly. None have ever seen an eight-legged creature who can spin webs. However, Westly’s new friend the Raven has offered to help. If only the Raven could get inside the glass menagerie where Westly and the other bugs lives. Yes, yes, the Raven is sure he could change everything. But sometimes things don’t turn out the way we plan.

This is a sweet tale that reminded me a bit of “Hope for the Flowers”.  But in this tale, the caterpillar knows what he is destined to be: a butterfly, the most majestic and perfect of the animals in their kingdom. When the caterpillars all go into a cocoon, Westly does not come out a beautiful butterfly, but to his dismay he comes out a monster that he doesn’t even recognize. He runs away and falls down to the place where the crawlers live. Nobody has ever seen anything like Westly, but unlike the butterflies, they welcome him so long as he works for his keep. Westly is desperate to return to the life he thinks he deserves, as a butterfly, so when he meets a Raven claiming to know how help him, Westly is sucked into a plot the could destroy everything. Westly is a cute and short novel that I enjoyed but will not likely read again.

I give it a 3 out of 5

Clementine Books 1-7

By Sarah Pennypacker

Clementine is having not so good of a week.

-On Monday she's sent to the principal’s office for cutting off Margaret’s hair.
- Tuesday, Margaret's mother is mad at her. 
- Wednesday, she's sent to the principal... again. 
- Thursday, Margaret stops speaking to her. 
- Friday starts with yucky eggs and gets worse. 
- And by Saturday, even her mother is mad at her.

Okay, fine. Clementine is having a DISASTROUS week.

This is such a cute and well written series. I hope there are more. Clementine is a little firecracker of a girl and is capable of getting herself into more trouble than most little girls. One of the things I love about this series is that Clementine is such a unique character that it is easy to believe she is a real little girl living out in the world somewhere. Her family is another high point with her artist mother, her father who is the maintenance man in their apartment complex, and her little brother who we never figure out his real name because Clementine is determined he’ll have a vegetable name because she got stuck with a fruit name. This series is cute, full of life and troubles, and would be a wonderful read-aloud to kids. It’s a great book because it will entertain kids and adults alike as the kids will understand and laugh at Clementine’s shenanigans and the adults will shake their heads and laugh at her parents’ reactions. This is a great series and can be read quickly with a smile.

I give the series a 4 out of 5

The Imaginary

By A.F. Harold

Rudger is Amanda Shuffleup’s imaginary friend. Nobody else can see Rudger—until the evil Mr. Bunting arrives at Amanda’s door. Mr. Bunting hunts imaginaries. Rumor has it that he even eats them. And now he’s found Rudger.

Soon Rudger is alone, and running for his imaginary life. He needs to find Amanda before Mr. Bunting catches him—and before Amanda forgets him and he fades away to nothing. But how can an unreal boy stand alone in the real world?

This is a quick little read, probably focused at older elementary aged children, but I was surprised to find a dark undertone to this book. Mr. Bunting (this has to have a reference to the nursery rhyme right?) is a man who eats imaginary friends. This story is all about Rudger, an imaginary who has lost his friend and is being hunted by Mr. Bunting. It’s a bittersweet story about imagination, growing up, and knowing when to let go and when to hang on tight.

I give it a 3 out of 5- average. 

Janitors 3: Curse of the Broomstaff

By Tyler Whitesides

A secret society of Janitors with wizard-like powers continue their battle, and now, the stakes are even higher.

The Bureau of Educational Maintenance is after Alan Zumbro and this time they mean business—deadly business. Spencer, Daisy, and their little team of rebels must find the source of all magical Glop and destroy it before it can destroy the world as we know it. No small task with the BEM and their monster toxites at their heels. It’s a wild and dangerous ride as they follow the trail of clues all the way to the hiding place of the mysterious aurans: guardians of a secret landfill. What they discover there will change the way Spencer sees himself, not to mention the fate of the rebels.

I was excited to start this novel simply for the fact that I was interested to see what the author would do with Spencer’s newfound abilities as an Auran. The journey that the group takes through the glopified dump is equal parts entertaining and surprising with the imagination that Tyler Whitesides displays. Kids will eat this up. Bookworm is a personal favorite for a new character, that scene just left me happy. We’re handed a few twists in this book and Spencer has to decide who he’s going to trust and who he should give a second chance. I can say this for the Janitors series, it gets better with every book. I didn’t much care for the first book, but they have gotten incrementally better each time. I still am of the opinion that this series is one for the kids more than the adults. Some middle readers and young adult books can bridge the gap between kids and adults so both parties end up loving it, but this one falls shy of that for me as an adult reader. It’s still fun, don’t get me wrong, but I can become bored. That doesn’t mean I won’t finish the series though!

I give it a 3.5 out of 5

Wild Born

By Brandon Mull

Four children separated by vast distances all undergo the same ritual, watched by cloaked strangers. Four flashes of light erupt, and from them emerge the unmistakable shapes of incredible beasts—a wolf, a leopard, a panda, a falcon. Suddenly the paths of these children—and the world—have been changed forever.

Enter the world of Erdas, where every child who comes of age must discover if they have a spirit animal, a rare bond between human and beast that bestows great powers to both. A dark force has risen from distant and long-forgotten lands, and has begun an onslaught that will ravage the world. Now the fate of Erdas has fallen on the shoulders of four young strangers…and on you.

Part engrossing book series, part action role-playing game—discover your spirit animal and join the adventure.

This is one of those books that if you’re an animal lover you’ll enjoy. It’s a nice little late elementary to middle reader book that centers around a coming war and the four children chosen to have the four fallen Great Beasts for their spirit animals. Each of the children is uniquely different and bonds (or doesn’t) with their spirit animals. They each find that they are looked to for answers to end the oncoming war, and it is up to them to discover their own parts in the battle and in the process become a team. I really enjoyed the mythology of this world and wondered throughout what spirit animal I might have. There is a whole online experience for kids that I tried to check out but lost interest in pretty quickly. This is a fun young fantasy that can get a little boring for an older reader at times, but on the whole it is a great book choice for young and reluctant readers.

I give it a 3.5 out of 5

Fortunately, The Milk

By Neil Gaiman

“I bought the milk,” said my father. “I walked out of the corner shop, and heard a noise like this: Thum thum. I looked up and saw a huge silver disc hovering in the air above Marshall Road.”

“Hullo,” I said to myself. “That’s not something you see every day. And then something odd happened.”

Find out just how odd things get in this hilarious story of time travel and breakfast cereal, expertly told by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Skottie Young.

I have decided that aside from being crazy in a fantastic way, Neil Gaiman should write more short stories. This was fabulous. I was smiling and laughing at the premise, and at the fantastically expressive illustrations by Skottie Young. I’d love to have this ‘big fish’ story on my personal bookshelf. It’s on my list. If you’ve got half an hour, pick this up and read it, and remember all those whoppers you, or your family have told in your life.

I give it a 4.5 out of 5

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle

By Betty McDonald

Everyone loves Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. She lives in an upside-down house and smells like cookies. She was even married to a pirate once. Most of all, she knows everything about children. She can cure them of any ailment. Patsy hates baths. Robert never puts anything away. Allen eats v-e-r-y slowly. Mrs. Piggle Wiggle has a treatment for all of them.

I loved Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle as a kid. I found it hilarious to read about all these ill-behaved children and the ingenious cures that this little old lady came up with for bewildered parents. The book is cleverly written, and read more as a series of short stories containing different little children in each chapter with a different problem. I still like to read them and am happy to say there a quite a few Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books to read, this being the first. I was reading these along with Junie B. Jones when I was in elementary.

I give it a 4 out of 5

The Hundred Dresses

By Eleanor Estes

“I’ve got a hundred dresses.” Nobody can believe it—Wanda wears the same old blue dress every day. “A hundred dresses—all lined up!” If Wanda really does have a hundred dresses, she’s certainly keeping them hidden…buy why?

 

This is that rare book that was read to us in first grade that I actually listened to and really loved. It’s a book about being kind and about being different. It’s classic and I know that adult book clubs read it all the time. It’s sweet and sad and a great subtle lesson for kids to learn about bullying and being nice.

 I give it a 4 out of 5

The Whipping Boy

By Sid Fleischman

Prince Brat is the most horrid spoiled rotten kid in the whole kingdom, and being a prince, it makes him think he’s got a right to be. Jemmy is his whipping boy, the boy brought in whenever the prince does something worthy of a spanking, which is far more often than Jemmy likes. One day Prince Brat and Jemmy are kidnapped by two ruffians and it is up to Jemmy to try and save the prince, who can’t seem to keep his mouth shut, and show him that if he wants friends he needs to be a friend too.

 

I remember my teacher reading this out loud in second grade. I didn’t remember much because, frankly, my listening skills were horrible as a kid. I do remember that it was funny. So, when I found it the other day I thought, I can read this is one sitting, I’ll try it. This book is great. It’s a fun way to get kids to read and see that being a spoiled brat isn’t the way to win friends and get people to like you. It’s interesting even as an adult, which is the way I look at great kids writing: if you still value it as an adult, it’s a good book.

 

I give it a 3 ½ out of 5

Into the Land of the Unicorns

Bruce Coville

Eight! Nine! Ten! As each bell chime sounds, Cara pushes herself faster up the steep bell tower steps that lead to the roof. Eleven! She must be on the roof when the next bell tolls. As she races up the stairs, Cara can’t believe everything that has happened. Wasn’t it just a few minutes ago that she and Grandmother Morris were peacefully walking home from the library? When did that mysterious man start to follow them? What does he want? Where did he come from? Who is he? Twelve! The ringing bell brings Cara back to the moment. Gramma told her what she must do. With a deep breath, and only half believing she will be safe, Cara jumps off the church roof and into the adventure of her lifetime—into the Land of Luster, the world of the unicorns.
In Luster, Cara meets the Dimblethum, the Squijum, and the most magnificent of all the inhabitants, Lightfoot, a rebellious young unicorn. Together the new friends set out on a quest—to reach the Unicorn Queen and prevent the destruction of all unicorns.

 

Bruce Coville is one of those authors that I loved as a kid. I’ve had this book since I was probably 8 years-old. I, like many little girls, loved unicorns. This book is fun and fast-paced and great for kids; specifically girls. A classic journey tale, it’s got fun companions, the dimblethum and the squijum are loyal and unique, and remind me a bit of Gurgy from Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain chronicles. The story of the land of the unicorns and the hunters is creative and unique, something a kid can latch onto and love. I highly recommend this book for kids and adults alike. This is one of those rare children’s books that can hold the interest of adults, while not being a book that I would recommend solely to an adult. It's also a series, so if your child likes it, there's more where this came from! 

 

I give it a 3.5 out of five, probably a 3 or 2.5 for adults.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

By Lewis Carroll

Alice in Wonderland is a fantasy novel about a little girl who enters a magical world full of peculiar creatures. She enters this world through a rabbit hole.

As a kid, the cartoon Disney version of this classic tale always freaked me out. The Cheshire Cat was creepy and I couldn’t understand why my friends liked watching this crazy movie. As an adult, I’ve always told myself to read the book, give it a chance. So, here I am, full adult, and…well…it’s still weird.  I don’t think there was one part of that book that I liked.  It was just all random craziness to me. But, I did have a previous bias toward it, so I didn’t go in reading it with great expectations.  For me, this classic is just too confusing and lacks a point. If it’s supposed to be a dream then I can sorta understand that, but I’d like to know if there is a point. If anybody wants to enlighten me, please do!

I give it a 2.5 out of 5 because it’s a classic or it would’ve been lower.

The Phantom Tollbooth

By Norton Juster


For Milo, everything’s a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only because he’s got nothing better to do. But on the other side, things seem different. Milo visits the island of Conclusions (you get there by jumping), learns about time from a ticking watchdog named Tock, and even embarks on a quest to rescue Rhyme and Reason! Somewhere along the way, Milo realizes something astonishing. Life is far from dull. In fact, it’s exciting beyond his wildest dreams!


The wit in this book is simply priceless. It reminds me a lot of Ronald Dahl and I wish I would've read this as a kid. It's so cute and fun and has a great moral. Want fun with words? Take a ride with milo and go through the phantom tollbooth. You can jump to the island of Conclusions, visit the Castle in the Air, solve problems with the Mathemagician, or go on an adventure with the Humbug. Cute, cute, book. Can see why so many have loved it for years and why it got honors.

3 3/4 out of 5

Powerless

By Mathew Cody

When Daniel Corrigan and his family move to Noble's Green, he notices that some of the kids there seem rather odd. After one of them miraculously saves his life, they admit that they have superpowers, but that they come with a price. They will lose them, and all memory of ever having them, when they turn 13. Daniel, being the only one who doesn't have powers, becomes the one (maybe the only one) who can figure out what is happening to the powers of all the superpowered kids of Noble's Green, but what he finds will test them all to the limit.


I've been wanting to read this for ages, so it was the first book I got on my Kindle Fire (which is pretty sweet by the way). Daniel's story isn't just about superpowers, or a tribute to comic books, but it also deals with death, courage, jealousy, and feeling powerless. It's a great read for boys especially I think, perhaps for reluctant readers who like superheroes. The mystery of this story is what keeps you reading at the beginning, but it picks up the pace and then you are reading because you find yourself rooting for the super-kids and Daniel. Admitedly, this book had a fairly predictable villan, who didn't seem as developed as it could have been, but for the age group it's aimed at, it is a very good choice for elementary age kids. I really enjoyed it.

3 out of 5 stars.

The Golden Tree

By Kathryn Lasky


Soren and the Band are back. Coryn has retrieved the ember and it seems a golden age is dawning at the Great Ga’Hoole Tree. But all that is gold is not necessarily good. Soern, Twilight, Gylfie, and Digger face their biggest challenge yet as the young king, haunted by the suspicion that haggish blood flows in his veins, hunts for the truth. His wanderings imperil himself and the good guardians who travel with him.
Meanwhile, back at the tree, the influence of the ember is strong—and strange. The tree changes, as do the guardians left to govern in the young king’s absence. Otulissa objects to the strange new ways, and her outspokenness puts her in grave danger. Someone must get word to Soren and the Band. But who?

 
I have been searching two separate libraries for about six months for this blasted book. That is the frustrating thing about reading elementary size books. I can read them in about 2 hours but have to remember that kids take forever! This is I think book 11 or 12 in the Ga'Hoole series. Can't keep track anymore...it needs numbers on the spine or something. Anywho, this book was fun. It continues with Coryn, the new King of the Great Tree and follows his fears of his bloodline and how he can measure up to be a good king. It's a fun story, and kids will really enjoy this series if they like animals and fantasy. They run about 150 pages.

Animorphs: The Invasion

By K.A. Applegate


Sometimes weird things happen to people. Ask Jake. He could tell you about the night he and his friends saw a strange light in the sky that seemed to be heading right for them. That was the night five normal kids learned that humanity is under a silent attack—and were given the power to fight back. Now Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Tobias, and Marco can transform into some of the most dangerous creatures on Erath. And they must use that power to outsmart an evil greater than anything the world has ever seen…

 
This is a series from the 90s that I fell in love with as a kid. There was something so extremely cool about kids who could turn into any animal that they touched and they fought aliens from taking over the Earth. These kids get a mission from a dying blue alien and their awesome morphing powers. They also find out that the Earth is being secretly taken over by gross little slug-like aliens that crawl into your ear and control your brain. (I wonder if Stephanie Myers read these...) I think this series is a great buy for boys and girls that are reluctant readers. The series goes up in the 50s I think...it kinda got a little ridiculous like Goosebumps. But it was a great ride for me as a kid from about ageg 8 to the time I was 13 or so. My friend and I both found ourselves some morphing suits and pretended we were Animorphs too, though I probably looked ridiculous in a bright yellow-orange swirled swimsuit over top of blue leggings...Anyways it's a great book for kids in later elementary stages.
Only one warning: it does use H-E double hockey sticks (yes I still say that) and has some references to beer (drink responsibly and all that).
 

 
 
This is the newly released cover for the Invasion, which I find slightly disturbing. They are the pictures that you tilt and Jake changes into a lizzard before your eyes. Cool Beans.

Animorphs: The Visitor

By K.A. Applegate

If someone told you Earth was under a silent attack, there’s a good chance you’d think they were pretty strange. If that same person said Earth’s only means of defense depends on the actions and powers of five kids, you’d probably start to look for a quick exit. Guess what? It’s all true.

Rachel and her friends knew they were in for some pretty strange stuff from the very beginning. How often do you run into a dying alien who gives you the power to morph into any animal you touch? But that was before they knew what they would be up against. Now they know. And they know what they have to do. Before it’s too late…

 
This is the second book in the Animorphs series told in the perspective of beautiful, yet tough, Rachel. In this story the newly formed team of teenagers try to find out more about the plan of the evil alien Yeerks to take over their planet and the only way they can figure out how to do that is a covert mission to their assistant principal's house- a known leader of the Yeerks, and also one of Rachel's best friend's dad. Their mission is ever more clear as they face greater and greater dangers together, and the ever present fear of being trapped in the body of an animal...
 

 
 
 
 
New released cover-funny enough the cat is actually how it is described in the book versus the first release cover. Go figure.

Animorphs: The Encounter

By K.A. Applegate

When Tobias, Jake, Rachel, Marco, and Cassie were given the ability to morph, they were also given the ability to morph, they were also given one very important warning: Never stay in a morph for more than two hours. It seemed a small price to pay, since the kids know that humans everywhere are being forced to let slimy, spineless creatures creep into their brains. And the only way the kids can fight back is not to be human.

But Tobias stayed in his morph too long. And now he’s a hawk—with a boy’s mind—forever. Tobias knows they can’t give up. That they all made a promise. So now it’s four kids and a hawk against a force that is determined to destroy them. Or die trying…

 
This series is one that goes on and on, but having the story told from different perspectives each book is refreshing, even if the plot can get predictable. Tobias is my favorite character and always has been since I first read these as a kid. This book was great fun to see how Tobias lives as a Red-Tailed Hawk and the things he misses about being human. His struggles to determine if he really is still human is one of the most interesting aspects of this particular book in the Animorphs series. What makes a human, well, human? This is a great adventure series for reluctant readers ages 8-14 specifically, but still fun to read as an adult.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This is the new cover release for The Encounter

The End of the Beginning

By Avi


Avon the snail's voracious reading convinces him that having an adventure is the key to a happy life so he sets out on a journey with his new friend, Edward the ant. In a series of very short chapters, the two travel–at a snail's pace–the length of a branch.


This is a cute and witty little story, one which left me smiling at the sillyness and the wit implanted in its pages. This is a book you can read in about 45 minutes, and have a fun little adventure with a snail and an ant. Which the greatest adventure might be the fact that they become such good friends.