Provo Library Children's Book Blog

Beyond the Grave is the fourth installment of The 39 Clues. Each book is written by a different author and some of the author’s own style is incorporated in the writing. This book is written by Jude Watson, an author I was not familiar with. I am happy to inform you that she did an excellent job with the Dan and Amy Cahill. Just as a quick overview, the series begins as the two main characters grandmother dies. When she dies everyone in the family (extended are included as well) gets the choice to inherit a million dollars or get the first clue to the scavenger hunt that ends with knowledge and even greater fortune. The two children set out to uncover clues about famous people that they are related to such as Winston Churchill, Napoleon, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison and more. In Beyond the Grave the scavenger hunt continues Dan and Amy travel to Egypt and the tombs of the pharaohs. This book is also full of mystery and suspense as the children’s relatives try to get them “out of th...

Fiction 264 pages 2009 Set in Alabama in 1917, The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had is the story of Dit, real name Harry Sims, who is 12 years old, loves baseball and hunting, and whose pa always has to run through a few of his 9 brothers' and sisters' names before he gets to Dit's. Dit's world is shaken up when the new postmaster, who is supposed to have a son his age, arrives in town and turns out not only to be black, but instead of having a son, has a daughter. She's 12 year old Emma and is unlike anyone Dit knows. She's well spoken, very well read, neat and tidy, and always wears her shoes. They become good friends, which is not an easy thing to do in small-town Alabama in 1917. Through Emma, Dit sees the cruelty and injustice of bigotry. He must decide whether he has the courage to be friends with Emma right out in the open, for all to see and know. And if he does, can he also stand up for her when others show their prejudice and treat her unkindly? Dit's sto...

Historical Fiction 193 pages 2009 I'm officially a Margarita Engle fan! I reviewed her first book, The Surrender Tree , loved it. It was a very enjoyable read, flowing in verse and full of history and human emotion. Tropical Secrets is just as good. Like Tree , it's written in verse, and set in Cuba, but at a very different time in history. Secrets takes place from 1939 and 1942. It's about refugees from Europe, mostly Jewish, who sailed first to the US, hoping to find sanctuary. Their ship is turned away from New York and ends up in Cuba. Throughout the book, we hear 4 different voices; Daniel, a Jewish boy from Germany, put on the ship by his parents in order to save him from the Nazi's; Paloma, a Cuban girl who witnesses the plight of the Jews in Cuba with a soft heart; David, an old Jew from Russia who has been living in Cuba since he was young; and El Gordo, Paloma's extortionist father who takes every opportunity to make money from the suffering refu...

Picture Book, 2008 illustrated by Jean Cassels A 2009-2010 Beehive Book Award Nominee for Informational Books No one knows exactly when they became friends, but out of the disaster that was Hurricane Katrina, two animals, Bobbi, a dog, and Bob Cat, a cat, emerged as survivors and inseparable companions. The two pets had been left behind in New Orleans when all the people had to evacuate. Four months after the hurricane hit, Bobbi and Bob Cat were found, together and starving. They were sent to an animal shelter, where an interesting discovery was made about Bob Cat. You'll have to read this book to find out what happened to Bobbi and Bob Cat. (This can be one of your nonfiction books for the Summer Reading Program.) Their story reminds us that people were not the only victims of this horrendous natural disaster.

Picture Book illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon 2009 A perfect, poetic picture book - words and illustrations working together to make a stunningly beautiful, warm and endearing celebration of parent-child relationships. In this case, the bond is mother-and-son. Dillon gives us simple poems about the teachings of mothers to sons and places the English version side-by-side with different languages from around the world. The languages are written in their own script. Mothers teach about courage, hard work, hope, faith, and respect, all told from the perspective of the sons. The illustrations which accompany each verse are gorgeous. My favorite is the one of the Ethiopian mother, staying up late with her son, holding the light for him as he finishes some schoolwork. I call this a perfect picture book because the text and illustrations do not outshine one another, they complement each other to make a wonderful reading experience. I highly recommend this one!

Hook by Ed Young Roaring Book Press, 2009 Juvenite picture book Simple text reveals the story of a young boy who finds an abandoned eagle egg, which he quickly places in the care of a mother hen. The hooked nose eaglet matures into a very "different chick" indeed. Hook's various attempts to fly are expertly illustrated along with the very satisfying double page spread conclusion where he "was not meant for earth, but rises to where he belongs." Young's soft pastels sit on top of rich, speckled background pages, representative of the colorful southwest setting.

Fire Engines Up Close By Andra Serlin Abramson Sterling, 2007. 48 pp. Juvenile nonfiction. These are the titles in this great series: Ships Up Close, Fire Engines Up Close, Race Cars Up Close, Submarines Up Close, Fighter Planes Up Close, and Heavy Equipment Up Close . Each book is about 47 pages. It's not just the topics that will captivate little boys and their big boy counterparts, but the books themselves; they are about 14" by 10 1/2" with lots of full spread, fold out pictures which are all photographs. Abramson does a good job briefly explaining how things work and includes some history and specific vocabulary for each subject. Our family enjoyed looking through these books and we learned quite a bit in the process. Isn't that what it's all about?

Wings: a fairy tale By E.D. Baker Bloomsbury USA Children's Books, 2008. 307 pgs. Juvenile chapter book. Tamisin is not ordinary, by any means. She has pointed ears, sparkling freckles, and an insatiable need to dance during a full moon. However, when wings start sprouting on her back, she knows there is more to her story than just being a little unusual. The only person who seems to have answers is the mysterious Jak, who may not be entirely trustworthy. This is a charming, innocent fairy tale with adventure, magic, and even a dash of gentle romance. Wings is an excellent book for those who have enjoyed other fairy tales such as those by Gail Carson Levine or Shannon Hale.

2030: A Day in the Life of Tomorrow's Kids Amy Zuckerman and James Daly ill. John Manders unpaged nonfiction New York, N.Y. : Dutton Children's Books, c2009 Have you ever imagined what life will be like for the next generation of kids? It's hard to imagine technology being any more advanced than it is right now. The authors explore such ideas as having maids clean your house, clothing that reflects sunlight away from you, virtual reality playgrounds and giant holograms in your classroom. An entertaining look into the possibilites of the future (and I love the illustrations).

Sam Patch: Daredevil Jumper by Julie Cummins ill. Michael Allen Austin unpaged picture book biography New York : Holiday House, c2009 Sam Patch always loved to jump. Whether he was jumping off rooftops, cliffs or ships, Sam loved the thrill of it. He earned quite a reputation as a true daredevil. His biggest feat was jumping off Niagara falls! He was a crowd-pleaser and did his best to put on a good show while doing his death-defying stunts. This beautifully illustrated biography is an informative and fast read about a fascinating American Legend.

The Problem with the Puddles by Kate Feiffer ill. Tricia Tusa 208 pages 8-12 New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2009 Mr. and Mrs. Puddle started agreeing to disagree when their daughter was born 8 1/2 years ago and they couldn't agree on a name. Mrs. Puddle calls her Emily and Mr. Puddle calls her Ferdinanda. Everyone else just calls her Baby because that is what the nurse ended up writing on her birth certificate. Baby, her parents and her older brother Tom are leaving their country house to return to the city. Everything is a typical chaotic muddle as they load the car, barely leaving room for themselves. They are two hours down the road when they realize they have left their two dogs, Big Sally and Little Sally, behind. Thus begins their adventure in trying to decide whether or not to return immediately for the pets or go home and call a neighbor to look after them until they can make it back to the country. Numerous other characters are introduced, each ...

Juvenile Biography 61 pages National Geographic Are you a fan of science fiction? Do you like detective stories? How about good, old fashioned horror stories? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then you should read this biography of Edgar Allan Poe because he was the originator of those genres. In his short 40 years of life, Poe wrote short stories and poetry that are still popular today, 160 years after his mysterious death. His life was full of sadness, poverty, and alcohol. It sounds bleak, but his contributions to literature have had tremendous influence on writers, artists, and filmmakers. Lange gives straightforward descriptions of Poe and his life choices and includes many photographs of the writer and other significant people and places that played a part in his life. A good read for boys and girls, 10 and older.

J Nonfiction - 590 SIW 93 pages 2009 Fabulous! A nice big book with full sized photographs of a wide variety of very small creatures. Have you ever heard of a Prickly Phasmid? Or a Dune Tiger Beetle? How about a Variegated Locust? They, along with some other interesting animals, are all here. The author, Igor Siwanowicz, spent thousands of painstaking hours preparing for and taking these incredible pictures. And they really are "up close"! You will see the intricate details in feathers, antennae, scales, and fur. Each full page spread features one animal and gives information about where and how they live and other intriguing facts like why the gecko on the cover is actually licking its eye! This is one of those books that anyone who picks it up, adult or child, boy or girl, will be drawn instantly into its pages and remain there, contentedly, for as long as allowed. A definite must for my collection.

Historical Fiction 2008 165 pages The full title of this book is The Boy Who Dared - A Novel Based on the True Story of a Hitler Youth . This is the courageous story of Helmuth Hubener, who was executed in 1942 in Germany. He was 16 years old. His story is important because it reminds us that not all Germans stood with Adolf Hitler. There were many, like Helmuth, who recognized Hitler's madness, arrogance, and cruelty. This young man secretly worked against the Nazi's at the risk of his own life. Through Helmuth's story, we get an idea of what life was like once Hitler came to power. We see that Hitler's persecution focused not only on the Jews of Europe, but anyone who dared to disagree with him. Bartoletti learned about Helmuth while researching Hitler Youth - Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow, a juvenile nonfiction book about the youth organization that trained the children of Germany to be staunch followers of Hitler and the Nazi government. She is an excellent wri...

All the Broken Pieces - a Novel in Verse by Ann E. Burg 2009 Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate 2007 I give both of these books a high recommendation! I'm reviewing them together because they are so similar. First off, they are found in Fiction, but contain so much true history, they could easily be historical fiction. They are both set in the United States and the main characters in both stories is a boy, pre-teenish aged, who comes from a war-ravaged country; in Pieces , it's Matt from Viet Nam; and in Brave , it's Kek from the Sudan. Each boy brings with him bitter/sweet memories of his homeland. Wonderful images of family, homelife, and native foods, are mixed with harrowing recollections of gunsmoke, blood, and fear. Two lives resemble each other so closely, yet they are thousands of miles apart, as well as several decades. Matt has been adopted into a loving American family. He discovers he likes, and is very good at, baseball. But he must face the prejudic...

T4 is a fantastic historical fiction book and unlike anything I have ever read before. Paula Becker’s mother got rubella when she was pregnant. This caused Paula to be slightly deaf when she was born; however, when she was sixteen months old she got a high fever which caused complete deafness. Still, life was good for Paula until Hitler came into power and created Action T4. Action T4 was a way for Germany to build up an elite race by killing anyone with disabilities. Paula’s parents and local church leaders saw the horrible injustices being committed and hid the girl before it was too late. T4 tells Paula’s story in poetry form. It is a deeply moving, quick read. In this period of her life she discovers how to communicate with others, sees the evils of the German empire, and discovers how to be a true friend. As a reader, you will learn information you never knew about the holocaust and the horrible crimes that were committed there. This book is truly a must read, and is short enough ...

J - Nonfiction, 398.209 2009 71 pages Mythology is a little bit of everything; fantasy, science fiction, ancient history, adventure, and romance. In Cynthia Rylant's newest book, The Beautiful Stories of Life , she retells six of the classic Greek myths. The tales of Pandora, Persephone, Orpheus, Pygmalion, Narcissus, and Psyche are retold in Rylant's masterful, lyrical style. The illustrations by Carson Ellis are light and wistful. This would make a wonderful night time read-aloud. Stretch it out over six summer nights and you've had a Classic Greek Myth Week (say that 10 times fast).

The Dragon of Trelian by Michelle Knudsen 407 pages age 10+ Cambridge, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 2009 Calen was an orphan working at a roadside inn until Mage Serek discovers him and takes him on as his apprentice. Calen is excited at the prospect of being able to cast spells. He learns quickly that being a mage involves lots of study time and not so much spell-casting. When Serek becomes the King of Trelian's Royal Mage life becomes a little more interesting for young Calen. Princess Meglynne is Royal Daughter Number Three. The castle is in an uproar preparing for her older sister's impending wedding. The marriage was arranged to put an end to the century long feud between the two kingdoms. Princess Meg retreats to an upper floor guest room to watch the groom's Royal Procession enter the castle grounds. She stumbles upon Calen doing the same thing. She instantly decides he is someone she can trust with her biggest secret - the young dragon she found orphaned in the forest...

For those who love Laura Ingles Wilder and Anne of Green Gables, let me introduce you to Calpurnia Virginia. (Callie Vee for short) It is 1899 and Callie is the only girl in a family of seven children. Callie would much rather catch insects, run around with her brothers, and study Darwin’s evolution than darn socks or cook pies the way other girls her age do. Where her mother dreams of Callie coming out some day, Callie only wants to become a naturalist and discover some previously unknown species of mutant plant. Little does she realize that her greatest ally could be hiding in the guise of her crusty old grandfather, a man who doesn’t even know her name. This book is at times both laugh out loud funny and touchingly tender. The imperfect but lovable cast of characters wrap themselves around your heart and charm you right from the start. This book is Jacqueline Kelly’s first novel and I, for one, am looking forward reading to any future books she might choose to write.

A Walk in New York is an engaging book for people who have been to New York or who want to go someday. The storyline in this book is about a boy and his dad walking through the city and examining the sites. Also, on each page there are numerous interesting facts. One of the most interesting facts is that the New York Public Library gets 10,000 new books every week. Also, there are 88 miles of bookshelves inside! Every booklover’s dream! The illustrations are extremely charming too. The paintings greatly enhance the quality of the book and capture the feelings of New York in a subtle, exciting way.

Trains By Lynn Curlee New York: Atheneum, 2009. 40 pgs. Lynn Curlee train book is a visual delight, all cobalts and blues and shades of gold and orange. The text is not half-shabby neither, pages filled with an enormous amount of information about the genesis and development of locomotives. Everything from train wrecks to Grand Central Station to the Orient Express share with readers young and old the romance of the rails. The only slightly quibbly thing about the book is that occasionally the text seems to have little relationship to the pictures, but that's a very small snag in a large and lovely tapestry.

Dragon is Coming written & illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev 2009 Picture Book Do you remember the story of Chicken Little ? Well, here's a variation of that classic children's tale. This time, though, it's Mouse who overhears Dog commenting on how a certain cloud looks like a dragon about to swallow the sun (no acorn involved). Mouse overreacts and goes running about, shouting to all who will listen that "Dragon is coming!" Various farm animals hear her and join in the frenzy. They become even more frantic when they see the dragon's fire (lightning) and hear its stomach rumble (thunder). Calm, rational Dog saves the day by explaining that it was simply a thunderstorm. Gorbachev's watercolor illustrations are charming and delightful. The clouds shift back and forth between grayish fluffy things to a scary, hungry dragon, depending on who's perspective we're seeing. While it's a funny, silly, enjoyable story, Dragon is Coming also teaches s...

the tear thief by Carol Ann Duffy ill. Nicoletta Ceccoli unpaged picture book Cambridge, MA : Barefoot Books, c2007 The Tear Thief tiptoes through the neighborhood every evening collecting children's tears. She has a beautiful silver sack to hold them. Nobody can see her unless they see her reflection in a puddle. As she gathers these tears her magic works upon the children and they no longer need to cry. The most valuable tears are those made out of pure sadness. What does she do with all of these tears every night? This is a sweet story perfect for bedtime. Ceccoli's ethereal illustrations are gorgeous and perfect for this twilight visitor.

Children's Nonfiction 23 pages Here's an excellent nonfiction book about Mount Rushmore for young children. Kate Riggs gives all the basic facts about the construction of Mount Rushmore in straightforward, simple terms. The text on each page is just enough to learn something, but short enough not to lose a small child's attention. That's the mark of a good children's nonfiction writer! The illustrations are all real photographs, some taken during the actual construction. A great book for 2nd grade or younger

J Fiction 328 pages I almost didn't finish this book. I got to Chapter 4, and was just about ready to quit (a kind of slow story about a girl, name of Piper McCloud, who discovers she can fly, parents freak out, she becomes a social outcast, yadda, yadda) but suddenly, right there in Chapter 4, the story takes a sharp turn and becomes really interesting . Piper finds herself in the company of others like her, but not "fliers", and under the care and authority of Dr. Hellion. I won't even tell you any more. Read this book. Forester does a great job of keeping you wondering who's the good guy and who's the bad? Piper is a likeable, strong, endearing character that girl readers will enjoy. But don't NOT give it to boys! The main male character is an extremely intelligent young man who is one of the ones you wonder about . . . good or bad? This is a good one, well worth your time.

Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon ill. Tony Ross 90 pages age 6-10 Naperville, Ill. : Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, c2009. Having a child like Horrid Henry would make most parents pull their hair out. He is a teacher's worst nightmare. He torments everyone around him in every way possible. In this, the first of the series, Henry is responsible for ruining his family camping trip, his dance recital and his mother's spotless kitchen. No matter what his parents say or do, he will never be like his younger brother, Perfect Peter. Who would want to though, "perfect is boring"! All the other kids have alliterative names such as Moody Margaret, Rude Ralph, Kind Kasim, and Sour Susan. The teachers have wonderful names like Miss Battle-Axe and Mr. Nerdon. Each volume in the series has four short but hilarious stories. The illustrations by Tony Ross are fun and remind me of Quentin Blake. I thoroughly enjoyed reading these, but I am not entirely sure I would want my little boy to do t...

City of the Dead by Tony Abbott 134 pages age 10+ New York : Scholastic, c2009. Derek Stone is a slightly overweight 14-year-old who is partially deaf in his left ear. He lives in the French Quarter of New Orleans with his older brother Ronny and their father. At least he did until one day when everything changed forever. Now dead people are chasing him through the streets and he doesn't know why. With the help of some rather bizarre acquaintances, he must discover how to stop the walking dead before he becomes one of them. The tension starts in the first chapter with a train hanging off a cliff and continues through to the cliff-hanger of the final chapter. A fast scary read for boys in upper elementary and middle school. I must add an additional disclaimer. I have since read books 2 and 3 in this series. They were interesting but even more intense and creepy than the first one. I definitely do not recommend these for young children. Teens and above should be fine reading them, th...

A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk: a Forest of Poems by Deborah Ruddell, illustrated by Joan Rankin New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009. Ruddell and Rankin's collaboration on Today at the Bluebird Cafe yields further fruit in this delightful collection of nature poems. In these pages a turkey is miffed at the uninspired coloration of a child's hand-traced portrait of his feathers; the author suggests a spa for squirrels where they can temporarily lay down their frenzied existences in favor of " . . . all the walnuts she can eat/and pedicures for all four feet." A badger writes an ode to his beloved, and "pinstriped" squirrels work all day sans thanks for the "Acorn Savings Banks." One of my favorites is "Spring Welcome" in which "a million arms in woody sleeves/wave a zillion brand-new leaves." And welcome indeed is this new book of kid-friendly verse.

The Tushy Book by Fran Manushkin ill. Tracy Dockray unpaged picture book New York : Feiwel and Friends, 2009. The Tushy Book confused me a little bit. I wasn't sure who the intended audience was. The cover is adorable with a touch of sparkle to attract little girls. However, the title and subject matter are somehwat more appealing to boys as they think they are getting away with "potty talk". True, tushy is a nicer word than what most kids generally would use, but it is still a funny word for little kids to say. The illustrations are cute, but I wasn't too impressed with the overall story. The author did make a point of showing that people and animals all have tushies that serve the same purpose even if they look different: "Grown-up tushies, firm or droopy. Baby tushies, cute but poopy! Tushies dressed and tushies bare. Tushies, tushies, EVERYWHERE." A silly book to entertain small children with. As a side note, is tushy even a real word? My spell check di...

The Mystery of the Fool & the Vanisher Being an Investigation into the Life and Disappearance of Isaac Wilde, Artist and Fairy Seeker by David and Ruth Ellwand 102 pages Fictional Photographic Journal London ; Boston : Walker Books, 2008. Photographer David Ellwand explores an area in England called The Downs. It is a mysterious and magical place where one would expect to have supernatural encounters. Ellwand uncovers an old trunk full of strange paraphernalia including a fascinating journal by fellow photographer, Isaac Wilde. The Mystery of the Fool & the Vanisher is that journal as well as Ellwand's own journal. Full of haunting black and white photos this is an intriguing read for fairy hunters everywhere. This is one of those books that can not be put cleanly into one category. It is in the fiction section, but reads like a true biography or even an historical description of an archaeological dig. The best way I can describe it is The Spiderwick Chronicles made more re...

Harvest of Light by Allison Ofanansky and Eliyahu Alpern Lerner, 2008. Unpaged. If you would like to give your children beautiful access to a different culture, this is a lovely place to start. In the hills above Safed in Israel the Halpern family harvests olives for food and for oil to light the Hanukkah lamps. The family's young daughter tells how the fruit is picked, prepared, and steeped in salt water to remove the bitterness. Later the family will take their olives to the local press where it will be prepared for multiple uses. The text and pictures of this lovely little book are informative, evocative, and beautiful.

Girls, girls, girls, young and old, this is the book for you! How to Get Married by Me, the Bride is a picture book written from a young girl's point of view on how, where and who to get married to. For example you can marry your best friend, your pet or even a flower. You can also learn how the proper girl should behave around someone she is marrying; this includes not picking you nose in front of them or gobbling up candy. The entire book is hilarious and took me back to the days when I used to have pretend weddings with my friends. I loved everything about this book including the list of things that married people have to do. The pictures are fun and very girl friendly (lots of pink). The dress the little wears is adorable and her wedding invitations are top notch. Check this book out for a great laugh!

The Mousewife by Rumer Godden New York: NYRB, 1967/2009. 46 pgs. The New York Review of Books is doing the world of children's (and adult!) literature an extraordinary service by reissuing classic titles in sturdy bindings. The Mousewife is a tender but unsentimental story of a mouse going about her wifely and motherly duties but all the time feeling that something is missing. When a dove is captured and kept in the house where she scavenges for crumbs and bits of fabric, she visits the cage in her hunger to take some peas that the dove refuses to eat, in its sorrow. By and by the two become friends and the dove tells the mouse about the larger world. "The dove told her how [the wind] blew in the cornfields, making patterns in the corn, and of how it made different sounds in the different sorts of trees, and of how it blew up the clouds and sent them across the sky." The book has a lovely, reflective ending: one may go through life doing what is required and expected,...

The Unknowns: a Mystery by Benedict Carey New York: Amulet Books, 2009. 259 pgs. Mysteries using numbers are all the rage now, and this one is prime (get it? hahahahahahahahahahaha). A ragtag collection of trailers housing workers at the Folsom Energy Plant doesn't even have its own name: Folsom Adjacent is where our young heroes live, in a dusty, nasty place with no trees and nothing to do. Until people start disappearing. Lady Di Smith and Tom Jones (so-called because his Arabic name is unpronounceable to the Adjacenites) are on the case because one of the missing is their friend and tutor Mrs. Clarke. Luckily she has left mathematical clues for the children, and has prepared them to be able to solve them. The equations they come up with lead them (and soon some other helpers) into dangerous territory--the outlet pipes of the plant which fill with and purge hot water at regular intervals--and from there to a plot to scam the government and destroy the Adjacent community. Lady Di ...

Silvertongue (The Stoneheart Trilogy, Book 3) By Charlie Fletcher Hyperion Books for Children, 2009. 464 pgs. Juvenile fiction. In this brilliant wrap up to the Stoneheart trilogy, the spits and taints of London are fiercely battling on, while Edie and George, both the key and the cause of the madness, seek for a final solution. As an old evil is unleashed upon the city, the two children, along with the ever-faithful Gunner, must speed to save the city despite the overwhelming threat of death that confronts them all. Silvertongue is a wonderfully thrilling, tense, and satisfying finale. With exquisite character development and revealed mysteries, this book will have your heart in your throat as you await the fate of our heroes. CW

Flip, Flap, Fly! by Phyllis Root ill. David Walker unpaged picture book Somerville, MA : Candlewick, c2009. This little picture book was a pleasant surprise. It starts with a baby bird being helped from the nest and encouraged in his first flight. The baby bird then spots a baby fish who in turn is being helped to swim independently by its mother. This continues on through several different animals. I read it to my almost-3-year-old and he loved it. Due to the rhyming nature and the flow of the story, he was excited to be able to predict which animal came next. The story is a fun read-aloud and the pictures are adorable.

The Last Olympian is the last book in the Percy Jackson series. It was the perfect ending to an excellent series. In this last book Percy and his friends must stop the evil Kronos from taking over New York City and Olympus. Without the help of the Gods (they are away fighting on many different fronts) and the demi-gods fighting amongst themselves, Percy must fight to not only save the day but to make everyone united. This action packed book is filled with magical creatures, monsters, mythical elements. If you haven't read the first in the series, The Lightning Thief, it is a must read. Get excited too because the book ended with a wide open ending which means that Riordan is writing another series that include the Gods and prophecies. Check out all five books in the Percy Jackson series!

The Unnameables by Ellen Booraem 316 pages age 10+ Orlando [Fla.] : Harcourt, c2008. Medford Runyuin has a name that doesn't mean anything, at least not anything "useful". He washed up on Island's beach as an infant and was taken in by Boyce Carver. He is trained to follow in his foster father's footsteps as a carver. Medford has a secret that he can't tell anyone. His secret is Unnameable and could get him banished if anyone were to find out. As if coping with his secret isn't enough, a stranger shows up on his doorstep causing even more chaos. The residents of Island have a lot to think about in resolving these issues. I was intrigued by the idea of this story. Island was started by a group of people who separated themselves from mainstream society during the 1700's (I think, no clear dates were ever given). They believe that everything should be "useful" and have a clear "purpose". People and things should be named for their purp...

The Roar by Emma Clayton 481 pages 10+ New York : Chicken House, 2009. The future of London is bleak and dreary. Yet it is safe behind the wall. Safe from the Animal Plague that devastated the Earth. Mika's twin sister was kidnapped over a year ago. Although his parents believe she is dead, he knows better. A mysterious organization begins recruiting children to play a game. All the children become obsessed with winning the game, including Mika. The winners all have one thing in common, they are mutants. Will this game distract Mika from the mystery surrounding his sister's disappearance, or will it bring him closer to discovering the truth? I liked the characters and the story. My main problem was the ending which seemed to wrap up a little fast and was a bit too preachy regarding the environment. Overall, this was a fast and enjoyable read.

Artichoke Boy by Scott Mickelson unpaged picture book Honesdale, Pa. : Boyds Mills Press, c2009 How many children know what an artichoke is? Maybe that is the point of this book, I am really not sure. It is about a boy that loves artichokes. He loves them so much that he is practically made of artichokes and he sees them everywhere. His whole family loves them too. An odd and rather pointless story accompanied by mixed media illustrations that are a little creepy. However, just because I didn't get the humor of this book doesn't mean some children won't.