Genre: Fantasy

ME and ME

The bright sun greeted Lark as she planned for her day. She smiled as she thought of having a perfect date with Alec. A perfect birthday. Enjoying the blue skies and calm lake water would be the perfect way for Lark and Alec to get to know each other. Then screams pierce the silence.

Annabelle, a girl Lark used to babysit, is in danger. Alec jumps in to help, but when he enters the lake, his head hits a rock. Now both Annabelle and Alec are in trouble, and Lark doesn’t know what to do. It only takes Lark seconds to react, but in those seconds everything changes. Her world is torn into two parallel lives, reflecting her two choices of who to save, and afterward, we see Lark live out the result of each choice.

The concept of living a parallel life is interesting; however, the storyline of Me and Me is confusing. Lark changes from one parallel life to the other without warning, making the transition jarring. Instead of focusing solely on Lark’s parallel lives, the author also delves into other heavy topics, including the loss of a parent, domestic abuse, shoplifting, and sexual peer pressure. The addition of so many topics adds to the confusion of the story and because so many subject matters are thrown in, none of the topics are well developed.

Lark’s world is filled with many friends but instead of adding interest, the number of minor characters piles onto the confusion. None of the friends are well developed, making it hard for readers to feel invested in the story. Even though Alec is a major character, there is little to like about him. Even though Alec talks about his abusive father, he doesn’t act to protect himself or his mother because he doesn’t want to see his father in jail. The only reason Lark seems invested in Alec is because the two have a physical attraction for each other. Right from the start, the two have hot, steamy make-out sessions that get in the way of the story’s action.

The end of the story highlights the dangers of shoplifting and how it can destroy a person’s future. Lark realizes her “tendency to take risks was out of control” so she goes to therapy. Afterward, she “felt brave for dealing with my issues.”

Unless someone is extremely interested in parallel lives, Me and Me would best be left on the shelf. The confusing story will leave readers wondering why Lark’s story was worth their time.

Sexual Content

  • Once Lark and Alec begin dating, they kiss often. Additional, less graphic kissing scenes have been left out of this review.
  • Alec kisses Lark, and “his kiss is quick and gentle, and his lips taste of sunshine and honey. My whole body turns molten. . . He slides his hand into my hair, and hot sparks shoot down my neck and spine.”
  • Lark thinks about her time with Alec during the past week. “Kisses against the gym wall. Hand holding at lunch. Long conversations. . .”
  • While on a date, Lark and Alec kiss. “His tongue is rough, and his hand slides over my shirt, then underneath it to graze my belly button, then slowly upward. My body responds, and I hear a groan escape my lips as he kisses my collarbone.”
  • Alec “kisses me hard, his tongue warm and wet, and our knees press together. Something shoots through me—I haven’t felt like this before. God, I want him to kiss me more, kiss me harder. I become liquid.”
  • Alec and Lark go to his house when his parents are out. They partially undress. “His toned abs flex as he leans forward to kiss the point of my chin, then the place where my collarbones meet, then the top of my breast.” Alec tells Lark that he has been with “a few others. Only one who—I guess that meant anything.” Alec’s parents come home and interrupt the two.
  • Lark and her friend talk about how they are “not getting it.”
  • Lark questions her friend. She asks if he’s been to his boyfriend’s house to meet the parents, and  “not just for a hookup with their son.” They have a conversation about how hard it might be for his boyfriend and his parents to come to terms with a gay relationship.
  • Lark and Alec kiss and “his tongue slipped into my mouth, opening me up. Things get heavy fast, and we’re both breathing quickly. . . He lifts my shirt out of the way to kiss the skin of my stomach.” They stop because they are in too public of a place to do more.
  • While at a public park, Lark and Alec make out. “. . . He pulls me onto his lap, my legs astride him. . . he lies on top of me. He’s breathing warmly into my neck, kissing me just at the base of my ear, and every pore is opening, ice trickling down my spine, as I help him tug at my jeans.”  A text interrupts them.
  • While at Lark’s house, Alec “pushes me down onto the bed. Before I can take a breath, he climbs on top of me, tongue and hands exploring my face, my body. I want this—I want him. . .” Lark stops him from doing more.
  • While outside, Alec pushes Lark to the ground and he “slides a hand up my skirt and beneath my underwear. I moan as he touches me.” They stop and don’t go to either one of their houses because their parents are home.
  • Lark skipped school so Alec could come to her house. “Alec and I are in my bed, and he has pinned my arms above my head, our hands entwined in my long hair, the covers over our almost-naked bodies. . . Alec slides my underwear down. . . He runs his hand up my inner thigh. . . I arch my body toward him, my breast and stomach against his hard chest and abs. He opens my legs with his and pushes me into the bed. . .” They have sex, but it is not described.

Violence

  • Alec has bruises and tells Lark that his dad hits him. Alec says, “Mom gets the worst of it, but when I’m around, I try to keep him off her. Sometimes I win. Sometimes he does.”
  • When Lark gets a text from a friend, Alec gets angry, and “he grabs my arm, and his grip is hard. Hard enough to bruise me.” He threatens Lark and she leaves.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • When Lark said she was rebellious, her friend replies, “You seem like a good student. Into nature and stuff, not drugs and parties.” Lark agrees.
  • Lark’s friend smokes clove cigarettes. Another one of her friends smokes an e-cigarette.
  • Lark and her friend use a fake ID so they can drink vodka cranberry.

Language

  • Profanity is scattered throughout the story and includes bullshit, bitch, crap, damn, holy crap, fricking, hell, and shit.
  • “Thank god” is used often. For instance, when Lark takes off her shirt and shorts so she can swim, she thinks, “Thank God I’m wearing a decent bra.”
  • Jesus is used as an exclamation once.
  • Lark flips her friend off.
  • A character thinks his boyfriend’s parents are “bigots.”
  • When a friend catches Lark stealing, the friend calls Lark a “bonehead.”

Supernatural

  • Someone tells Lark that she is a channel for her dead mother’s spirit.
  • Lark has a parallel life, which she can see sometimes. She receives texts and videos from her parallel life. She also has visions of her other life. “There is a static flicker in the air—I sense something before I see the shimmery shapes of a room. It’s as if I’m looking through a window. . .” Lark discovers there is a portal between the two worlds and travels to the other world to talk to her other self.
  • Lark and a friend discuss parallel lives. Her friend says that the number two “represents your soul number. Your divinity. If you’re open to receiving the message, angels will guide you.”
  • Lark wonders if having a parallel life is genetic.

Spiritual Content

  • When Lark gets to work, her friend says, “Thank the Great Spirit you’re on with me tonight.”

 

 

 

 

 

Bob

Five years ago, Livy told Bob to hide in a closet. Since then, he’s built a Lego pirate ship sixty-three times. He’s played chess with a Lego pirate monkey. He began reading the dictionary. And he’s wondered why Livy hasn’t come back.

It’s been five years since Livy visited her grandmother in Australia. Once she’s back, she knows she’s forgotten something very important. She’s forgotten all about Bob.

Bob, a short greenish creature, hasn’t forgotten about Livy, but he has forgotten who he is and where he came from. Five years ago, Livy promised to help him find his home. Now that Livy is back, they work to solve the mystery of where Bob belongs.

Each chapter switches between Livy’s point of view and Bob’s point of view. Hearing the different perspectives of each character adds interest and allows the reader to peek into each character’s world. Younger readers will relate to Livy, who is afraid to stay the night at her friends’ houses and struggles between growing up and remaining a child. Bob adds an interesting perspective showing how Livy has changed since they parted five years ago. In the end, Bob realizes that “Livy’s not just Old Livy or New Livy, she’s every age she’s ever been, and sometimes they get jumbled but they are all there.”

The simple writing style and beautiful pictures will engage even the most reluctant readers. Bob has spent much of his time reading the dictionary and uses his knowledge to explain the meaning of words in a fun way that is completely integrated into the story, so readers will learn new words without feeling like they are sitting through a vocabulary lesson. The story contains short paragraphs, lists, and dialogue that break up the test and keep younger readers interested.

The mystery of where Bob came from and what he is adds interest. The friendship between Bob and Livy will touch reader’s hearts. Bob and Livy are well developed; however, the other characters lack personality and added little to the plot. The ending is a surprise and wraps everything up nicely. Not only does Bob show the value of friendship, but he also realizes that “All the things I choose to put in my head are what make me, me. I plan to choose wisely.”

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Livy carries a black pawn from a chess set to help her remember Bob. When she doesn’t have the pawn. She forgets Bob.
  • Bob is a well dweller. They live in between wells and are responsible for bringing the rain. Well dwellers are “tied to the earth and the sky . . .”

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Two Dogs in a Trench Coat Go to School

Waldo and Sassy spend their days taking naps and keeping the house safe from squirrels. When their boy Stewart comes home from school smelling like “boredom and anxiety,” the dogs decide to save Stewart. Waldo and Sassy stand on top of each other, dress in a trench coat, and enroll as a new student. Everyone at school thinks that Salty is a new student—everyone except Stewart. The two dogs help Stewart in an unexpected way.

Two Dogs in a Trench Coat uses silly, slapstick humor to engage readers. The dogs are obsessed with squirrels, meat, and helping Stewart. Some of the dogs’ conversations are random and repetitious. The dogs’ fascination with squirrels and the dogs’ myths about squirrels allows the reader to look at the world from a dog’s point of view. In the end, the dogs’ fascination with squirrels helps Stewart achieve success on his big project and allows the dogs to put their exceptional knowledge to use. The unexpected conclusion will bring out the giggles in readers.

Black and white illustrations appear on every page, which helps bring the dog’s actions to life. The character’s facial expressions are hilarious. The typography will help keep readers engaged. When the dogs speak, the font is larger and bolded. Food words, which are scattered throughout the book, are also bolded. Two Dogs in a Trench Coat would be a fun book to read out loud, especially if the reader used different voices. The change in the font is the perfect opportunity to have a younger reader take a turn reading.

One of the characters is surprisingly different than expected. Stewart thinks Bax hates him and is a bully, but in the end, Bax helps save Stewart from failing his big project. Bax realizes that his teasing comments were misinterpreted by Stewart and says, “And sorry about making fun of you. That’s just how they do it where I’m from. We let people know we like them by making fun of them. I forget sometimes that some people think that’s rude.”

Some readers may get bogged down by the length of the book—at 186 pages, the story slowly comes to a conclusion. Some portions of the story don’t add to the plot, such as a subplot about Mrs. Twohey’s teaching. She thinks that Salty is a spy from another school who is trying to discover her excellent teaching methods. If a reader has graduated to more mature books or likes to focus on facts, this book will not appeal to them. However, for readers who love ridiculous slap-stick humor, Two Dogs in a Trench Coat will make them smile.

Sexual Content
• None

Violence
• None

Drugs and Alcohol
• None

Language
• When Salty smelled everything during a smell experiment, Mrs. Twohey said, “You have one heck of a sniffer!”
• When loud barks interrupt class, Mrs. Twohey said, “I’m going to close these windows so those darn dogs aren’t so disruptive.”

Supernatural
• None

Spiritual Content
• None

Wizard for Hire

When Ozzy was six years old, men took his parents. Since then, he’s lived alone. When Ozzy finds Clark, a robotic talking raven, the two venture into town. All Ozzy wants is to find his parents, but he’s not sure how a fourteen-year-old boy can discover the secrets to his parents’ disappearance.

Then Ozzy sees an advertisement: wizard for hire. Ozzy isn’t sure if wizards are real, but he’s read enough about Harry Potter that he has hope that wizards do exist. When Labyrinth “Rin” appears in his bathrobe and high-top tennis shoes, Ozzy has his doubts. Can Rin cast any magic spells and help him find his parents?

Wizard for Hire will cast a spell over readers, making it hard to put the book down. From the very first page, the story begins with an engaging mystery and a unique character that is easy to love. After living alone for so long, Ozzy struggles with how to talk to others, which is a dilemma many readers will relate to. The surprising appearance of a magical raven brings humor and heart into the story. Clark gives Ozzy encouragement, advice, and a reason to leave his small cabin. Clark’s crushes on metal objects add a fun element to the story.

Once Rin enters the story, Ozzy (and the reader) are both left questioning Rin’s wizardly abilities. Rin could be using magic or modern technology to help Ozzy, but the reader is left guessing about Rin’s magical ability. Rin casts a spell to make Ozzy invisible, which only works because the man is blind. Even though Rin may or may not be a wizard, he embarks on a quest to find Ozzy’s parents. As Rin and Ozzy investigate to find Ozzy’s missing parents, they must avoid the police who are looking for Ozzy, which adds suspense to the story. One additional bonus is Rin’s occasional words of wisdom. For example, when Ozzy is worried about his future, Rin tells him, “Too many of you humans are scared by ghosts that haven’t yet formed.”

Humor, heart, and Harry Potter references make Wizard for Hire a must-read. This coming-of-age story shows the importance of being unique and true to yourself. Although the ending isn’t a happy-every-after, Ozzy does find the answers to his questions. Although there is very little violence, some sensitive readers may be upset by the idea that Ozzy’s uncle was responsible for his parents’ deaths and, in the end, desires to kill Ozzy for greed and personal gain.

Sexual Content

  • Clark, a metal bird, is attracted to metal objects. “Clark sort of gets funny crushes on anything bird-related—or made of metal.” Once he tells Ozzie that “your fork isn’t unattractive. Maybe you could bring it home.” Later in the story, Clark has a crush on a dumpster.

Violence

  • Men came and took Ozzy’s parents. “One of the men put a rag over Emmitt’s mouth. Another did the same to Mia. Ozzy’s parents thrashed and kicked, but their mouths were covered and they were no match for the hulking men who had them bound.” Ozzy hides from the men, who leave him, thinking he will die.
  • A man breaks into Ozzy’s home. Later, Ozzy discovers who the robber was and Clark follows him. “Something hit Ed in the back of the head, causing a good deal of pain and making his sunglasses fly off of his head. Ed swore. . . Something slammed into the right side of his face. Ed spun around twice before regaining his footing. . . Something slammed into and stung his lower back. It took everything he could do to keep the bike under control.” The man crashes the bike, but “he scrambled up screaming and swearing.”
  • There is a car chase. Trying to lose the men who were chasing them, Rin goes into a graveyard. “The SUV followed suit. They were considerably bigger than the white car and kept hitting gravestones on their right side. . .” The SUV crashes.
  • Ozzy finds out that his uncle took his parents “and brought them to a bunker in New Mexico, leaving Ozzy for dead.” When Ozzy’s parents wouldn’t tell his uncle the formula, his uncle ended “his parents’ lives.”
  • During another car chase, Clark “shot through the window” of the SUV. “The bird bounced around inside the vehicle like a possessed pinball. He knocked the driver’s glasses askew and broke a tooth of the large goon with the mean eyes.” The SUV “flipped onto its side and went skidding across the freeway.”
  • The bad guy, with a gun, confronts Ozzy. Clark saves his friend when he “slammed into the right side of Charles’s head. The evil half-uncle swore and waved his gun at the dark sky. . . Clark swooped in again and hit him from the left. Charles spun and shot into the air, hitting the bird and dropping him like a rock down onto the deck.”
  • Ozzy tackles Charles and “the gun flew from his hand and Charles’s head slammed against the railing. Ozzy began to punch him as if he were the root of all his sorrow ever. And since he was, Rin let it go for a few moments before he pulled the boy off.”
  • Charles grabs Rin’s wizard wand and “raised his fist, intending to thrust the wand into Ozzy’s chest, but at that moment, the dark sky opened up and a terrific bolt of lightning snaked down and made contact with the wand. . .” Charles is dead and “Ozzy saw, “his lifeless body smoldering.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • When the wizard first discovers that Ozzy lives deep in the words, he tells Ozzy, “Listen, if your family is out here doing something illegal, like making moonshine or fireworks, I want no part of it.”

Language

  • The bad guy yells, “The formula your parents came up with could have changed the world. No more idiots letting their free will ruin things for others.”

Supernatural

  • Ozzy’s dad makes a metal bird named Clark that is alive.
  • Rin said he went to Quarfelt, which is another dimension, where wizards live.
  • Ozzy’s parents thought they “discovered a formula that could help people have better control over their own free will. The formula had the potential to cure apathy and misunderstandings.” They tested the formulas on unsuspecting people. One man, under the influence of the formula, enters a polar bear enclosure and walks towards the bears. “Timsby stood up in the water and began to walk toward the bears. Before he could get to them, four zookeepers entered the enclosure from the door.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

The Wizard’s War

When Evan and Cleo jump into a book, they find themselves thrust into a quest to save the kingdom. In order to save the kingdom, they will have to fight elves, trolls, and the mighty Golden Dragon. Danger comes from many places, and the two are not sure who they can trust. Only magic will end the war, but will it help them find the right key and return home?

This fast-paced fantasy contains many fantastical creatures that will enthrall younger readers. Danger lurks around every corner, which keeps the suspense high throughout the entire story. When Evan and Cleo meet the manticores, there are several fun riddles that readers can try to solve. Because of some overlapping plot points, The Wizard’s War should be read after the first two books of the series.

Throughout the story, Evan and Cloe show their bravery, brains, and devotion to each other. Working together to defeat evil is the main theme of the story. King Ledipus’s words reinforce this theme when he says, “Today we start a new chapter in the world, one where all creatures—humans, elves, manticores, dwarves, dragons, and even trolls—live in harmony. We will work together to build a future where all can find happiness.”

The story contains a lot of dialogue and short descriptions that help keep the story interesting. A full-page illustration appears in every chapter. The story contains magic wands and magic spells, which are clearly fantasy and not part of the real world. The Wizard’s War will be a hit with readers looking to take a trip into another world. The ending contains a cliffhanger that will leave readers reaching for the next book of the series—The Titanic Treasure.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Elves throw a net on Evan, Cleo, and Vixa. “They struggled but it was no use. Even Vixa’s blade couldn’t cut the net.” The elves take the captives to the queen. “The elves tied up Evan, Cleo, and Vixa and led them to a platform made of logs.” The queen orders the elves to let them go.
  • A group of trolls uses a catapult to fling “a fiery lump” at Evan, Cleo, and Vixa. “The fireball roared past them.”
  • Cleo and Evan try to escape the trolls by riding on a railroad cart. The trolls follow them in their own cart. “One of the trolls leaped into their cart and bared his yellow teeth. He growled and swung his club with the force of a sledgehammer.” Cleo slows the cart and s out of the cart. “Evan curled his legs under the troll’s chest and kicked up. The troll lifted into the air just as the cart shot under a low bridge. His head smacked into a beam and he flew out of the cart.”
  • When another troll attacks, Cleo “kicked the troll in the face. The creature swung his club. It whizzed past Cleo’s head and smashed the hand brake to splinters.” Cleo causes the troll’s cart to flip and “the troll flew forward and smacked into the tunnel wall.”
  • Someone jumped onto a troll’s back and “yanked on the troll’s ears. . .”
  • A dragon attacks Evan and Cleo. “Another flame spewed from the dragon’s throat. . . Evan rolled away and crept behind a statue of an ancient king.” During the attack, the dragon’s “tail whipped around and hit Cleo.” The battle takes place over a chapter.
  • During the final battle, dwarves, manticores, and others fight to defeat the evil villain. The manticore and dragon fight. “The manticores clawed and bit and let their spikes fly. The dragon swung her tail like a club.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • The library under the school has a magic portal that takes people into books. When a person travels into a book, they become a character in the book.
  • When Evan and Cloe become characters in a book, Evan is a wizard and Cloe is a moon elf.
  • An evil character controls the king and his daughter through a headband that uses “dark magic.”
  • One of the characters is a manticore, which is a “lion with bat wings, and the end of its tail was covered in sharp spikes.”
  • Tannis wants Vixa to find the Dragon’s Orb because it “has the power to control dragons.”
  • Cloe poured a “silvery liquid onto Daruis’s wing. The leathery skin began to mend. She took the rest of the potion and poured it into Darius’s mouth . . . The manticore seemed to swell with strength.”
  • When Evan uses a spell, “orange light fired out and hit the troll in the face. Daisies sprouted from the troll’s head, and his nose started blinking like a holiday light.”
  • During the story, several of the characters smash a crystal that opens a magical doorway.
  • Evan uses the “Monstrous Transformation spell,” which makes him become large.

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Switch

Gypsy Beaumont used to love being a whirly-twirly girl who picked flowers and danced. She has been dreaming of her savvy—the extraordinary talent that strikes every Beaumont on their thirteenth birthday. Gypsy had imagined getting the wings of angels or being able to catch candy necklaces instead of fish, but when her thirteenth birthday arrives, Gypsy gets blurry vision and catches glimpses of the past and future.

Then in a strange turn of events, everyone’s savvy is switched and things become topsy-turvy. Gypsy must learn to use her new powers and try to stop the events of the last vision she saw. As she tries to change the future, Gypsy embarks on an adventure that will lead to new friendships and closer relationships with her family.

Right from the start, readers will want to turn the page to see what happens next in this entertaining story of adventure and magic. Switch shows the power of friendship and family in a heartwarming story. Being told from Gypsy’s point of view allows the reader to peek inside of her mind and understand her hopes, fears, and uncertainties. Gypsy’s personality comes to life and shows the difficulties of being different; however, the story goes on to show how being different should not be seen as an embarrassment, but as a gift.

Switch tackles several difficult issues including changing friendships and the effects of aging. Gypsy’s self-confidence takes a hit when her best friend stops talking to her because Gypsy acts like a “baby.” The story also focuses on Gypsy’s grandmother who is beginning to have difficulties remembering people and often lives her life in the past. Switch expertly weaves lessons about friendship, family, and accepting yourself into a beautifully written story with memorable characters.

Sexual Content

  • Two characters kiss twice. When it’s close to Valentine’s Day, Gypsy is reminded of the way, “Samson and Nola had secretly kiss-kiss-kissed behind Grandma’s house.”

Violence

  • Tucker throws a tantrum and grows “as tall as the house itself.” In his anger he uproots “trees in our front yard like they were daisies . . . tossed two leafless maples and a blue spruce into the field across the road.” He also “kicked over a tool shed.” Someone finally calms him down by offering him candy.
  • A bully tells B-Bug to punch someone. “B-Bug was already reaching over the counter. With an apologetic look, he grabbed the front of Del’s hoodie. Then he pulled back his arm, aiming his knuckles at the smaller boy’s face.” Before B-Bug can hit him, Gypsy stops time.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Savvy family members have special powers. At the beginning of the book, Gypsy can see into the future and past.
  • Samson can make fire. When he first learns of the power, he “glanced down at his hands as each of his fingers lit up in licks of red-and-yellow flames. He looked like he was holding ten candles. A second later, there was a whoosh and a crackle, and Samson’s entire body became a bonfire.”
  • Tucker grows bigger (he can grow larger than a house) when he is angry.

Spiritual Content

  • Gypsy’s family attends church once and Gypsy prays. In one scene she “asked God and all the angels to make everything go back the way it was before Mrs. Kim called . . . before we learned that Grandma Pat was ill and had to live with us . . .”

Scumble

Ledger Kale has looked forward to his thirteenth birthday in anxious anticipation. That is the day when his savvy, a special magical talent that all members of his family receive, arrives. His excitement is short-lived, however, as everything falls apart . . . literally. Ledger’s savvy is worse than he could have imagined. Now he must struggle to regain control as things break all around him.

His family riskily decides to travel to Wyoming for a savvy-filled wedding, where his power is revealed in full force to his entire family and an outside witness: ambitious amateur reporter Sarah Jane Cabot. Due to Ledger’s newfound destructive nature, his parents decide that it is safer to leave him and his sister on the family ranch for the summer. They hope that when he and his sister return, Ledger won’t combust everything that surrounds him. Adventures ensue as Ledger must cope with his new capabilities, crazy cousins, and Sarah Jane’s nosy journalism.

Scumble is a delightful read for young audiences as Ingrid Law spins an enthralling tale of family, friendship, and finding yourself. Ledger’s journey to control his power brilliantly displays the struggles of growing up, no matter how extreme the circumstances. His initial disappointment and ultimate triumph are relatable to young readers trying to discover who they are. Fans of Savvy will love this new adventure because of the fresh faces that invigorate the story. Although not quite as entertaining as the first book, it is still a worthwhile, fun read.

Sexual Content

  • One of Ledger’s friends, Josh, is a “ladies man.” He has “even locked lips with Misty Archuleta during a field trip to the planetarium once, after giving her a necklace with a big silver M on it.”
  • The Kale family goes to the wedding of Fisher Beaumont. Ledger describes the ceremony, including the beauty of the bride and their “just-kiss-the-bride-already smooch.”
  • In order to distract Sarah Jane from some savvy magic that is occurring, Ledger kisses her. She promptly punches him in the ribs.
  • Ledger’s mom tells his cousin that “a girl wants a cheerful, clean-cut beau, not a moody caveman.”
  • Uncle Autry thinks that Ledger has a crush on Sarah Jane and brings it up several times throughout the book. Many of their family members join in teasing the young man and at one point, he protests by saying, “She’s not my girlfriend! Not, not, not my girlfriend.”
  • Rocket loses control of his powers and confidence in himself when he “was showing off . . . for a girl.”
  • Ledger receives a letter from Sarah Jane. His twin cousins Marisol and Mesquite see him with the letter and they ask, “Did you get a love letter, Ledge? Ooh! Do you have a girlfriend now too, Sledgehammer?”
  • When Ledger contemplates the thought that he and Sarah Jane might be cousins, he, “stood up fast, riddled with heebie-jeebies. I’d locked lips with her! And I’d considered doing it again!” It is later revealed that they are not cousins.
  • Once Sarah Jane and Ledger are apart for the school year, she writes in a letter that she “planned to kiss me the very next time we met.”

Violence

  • Ledger trips, and his “mouth filled with the taste of panic, sharp and metallic.”
  • Ledger blows up his Dad’s watch using his savvy. “The parts flying like shrapnel… I covered my head to avoid getting razor-thin gears lodged in my brainpan.”
  • The realization of the true nature of Ledger’s savvy is quite shocking. “The understanding that I had a powerful savvy after all hit me like a hammer blow. It wasn’t just watches and windshield wipers that needed to look out. It was the whole, wide world.”
  • Ledger accidentally blows up the barn during his cousin’s wedding. The groom is injured as his, “cheek was bleeding, gouged by something sharp and airborne.”
  • Ledger’s mom references a time when her brother was young. “You broke your leg here, Autry. . . Your collarbone, too. You also fell in the river and nearly drowned before Cam Beacham fished you out. The two of you weren’t even dry before you wrestled him into a cactus patch and got nearly a thousand stickers in your–”
  • When Ledger comes to talk to Sarah Jane, she says, “Did you come for another right hook in the kisser?”
  • When his cousins continually attempt to help Ledger learn to scumble, they intentionally pelt him with shrapnel to see if he can control it.
  • Sarah Jane gets hit by a fence that Ledger is scumbling. “The scratch wasn’t deep. Not even bleeding.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • On many occasions, characters “cuss” but the words they say are not described.
  • When Ledger breaks the handle of a suitcase, he is “cussing as it broke loose.”
  • When Ledger loses his temper, he lets, “a loud barrage of barnyard language rip. After a full minute of noisy cussing, I looked up realizing that the rest of the world had gone much too quiet.”
  • A character yells “shut it” once.
  • A character exclaims, “What in John Brown’s britches is going on here?”
  • When a truck drives away from Rocket, he runs after it and Ledger could, “hear Rocket cuss as he tugged on the sticky door handle.”
  • The word “crud” is used once.

Supernatural

  • The majority of the characters have an inherited magical power called a savvy. The plot of the story revolves around the main character learning to control his power of manipulating metal.
  • Dinah Kale, Ledger’s mom, can control people’s actions through her words and facial expressions.
  • Ledger describes Wyoming as “still and silent as if the ghost of the Wild West outlaw the Sundance Kid had come back to haunt the place.”
  • One of Ledger’s cousins, Samson, is invisible.
  • A magical jar that captures music is played at the wedding.
  • At Grandpa Bomba’s funeral, the Earth drastically shifts in remembrance of his life and savvy, which was the manipulation of Earth.

Spiritual Content

  • Ledger questions his purpose and says, “Surely my Maker had had some plan when He put me together like this?
  • In another instance, he asks, “Dear God, what had I been built to do.”

by Morgan Filgas

The Hidden Oracle

There is no way to punish an immortal god, right? That is what almighty Apollo, god of the sun, thought, but he is quickly proven wrong as his father, Zeus, casts him down to the mortal world as a powerless, friendless, and—even worse—ugly sixteen-year-old boy named Lester Papadopoulos. As if it can’t get any worse, Apollo (now Lester) can’t even remember how he incurred Zeus’s mighty wrath.

With nowhere and no one to turn to, Apollo lays his trust in a runty twelve-year-old girl named Meg and the teenage demigods that reside in Camp Half-Blood. There he seeks help from the campers, including some of his own children, and begins to discover disturbing secrets that may endanger those he grows close to.

Fast-paced and witty, The Hidden Oracle is a humorous read for younger and older readers alike. Fans of Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus series will rejoice as Riordan once again paints a world of mystery and mythology that enthralls readers. However, the book touches on sensitive topics such as sexuality and battle violence that may be of concern for some parents. Nevertheless, it is an entertaining novel that is well worth the read.

Sexual Content

  • Apollo mentions his hope that Meg does not develop a crush on Percy Jackson.
  • Apollo has two loves of his life that he mentions several times throughout the novel. Both of his relationships ended in tragedy. One of his loves was Hyacinthus, a strong hero who happened to be a man. The other love was Daphne, whom he dreams of and describes as having, “those lips I had never kissed but never stopped dreaming of.” Due to losing these loves, he swears off marriage as others “had never possessed my heart” as his true loves once had.
  • Apollo encounters some of his demigod children at camp Half-Blood. When he meets each of them, he remembers the romantic relationships that he had with their parents. “To my teenage self, our romance felt like something that I’d watched in a movie a long time ago—a movie my parents wouldn’t have allowed me to see.”
  • Apollo is embarrassed by the attention of some female campers, and he says, “My face burned. Me—the manly paragon of romance—reduced to a gawky, inexperienced boy!”
  • Nico di Angelo and Apollo’s son, Will Solace, are dating. Apollo has no problems with their relationship because he has had “thirty-three mortal girlfriends and eleven mortal boyfriends? I’ve lost count.”
  • Apollo once created a child with another man.
  • Apollo “accidentally saw Ares naked in the gymnasium.”
  • One of Apollo’s former girlfriends, Cyrene, got together with Ares to get revenge on Apollo.
  • Apollo argues that gods are almost always “depicted as nude, because we are flawless beings. Why would you ever cover up perfection?”

Violence

  • When Apollo crashes on Earth, a group of hoodlums beat him up. “My ribs throbbed. My stomach clenched . . . I toppled out and landed on my shoulder, which made a cracking sound against the asphalt.” His opponents pull out a knife, but it is not used. One of the boys “kicked me in the back. I fell on my divine face. . . I curled into a ball, trying to protect my ribs and head. The pain was intolerable. I retched and shuddered. I blacked out and came to, my vision swimming with red splotches.”
  • A lightning wielding cyclops kills one of Apollo’s sons. The death is not described.
  • Percy, Meg, and Apollo get into a car crash in which their car is totaled. No one is seriously injured.
  • A mythical grain spirit called a karpoi bites the head of a nosos clean off in one chomp.
  • Meg slaps Apollo’s face to wake him from a dangerous trance. He promptly vomits afterward.
  • Meg “poked Connor Stoll in the eyes and kicked Sherman Yang in the crotch.”
  • There is a famous story about Apollo in which he slays the mighty monster Python. He “killed Python without breaking a sweat. I flew into the mouth of the cave, called him out, unleashed an arrow, and BOOM!”
  • There is a legend about Apollo “skinning the satyr Marsyas alive after he challenged me to a music contest.”
  • After a dangerous camp activity, “Chiara had a mild concussion. Billie Ng had come down with a case of Irish step dancing. Holly and Laurel needed pieces of shrapnel removed from their backs, thanks to a close encounter with an exploding chainsaw Frisbee.”
  • Two satyrs die attempting to retrieve and bring the Oracle of Delphi back to Camp Half-Blood. Their deaths are not described.
  • Apollo wishes that he could have “picked a nice group of heroes and sent them to their deaths.”
  • Apollo and Meg battle killer ants who attack in groups, snap through Celestial bronze, and spit acid. “Meg’s swords whirled in golden arcs of destruction, lopping off leg segments, slicing antennae.”
  • The pair meet a geyser god that suggests that they do not jump in his water unless they “fancy boiling to death in a pit of scalding water.”
  • A man almost stabs himself to obey the orders of his master, Emperor Nero.
  • Apollo attempts to fight Nero and “let out a guttural howl and charged the emperor, intending to wring his hairy excuse for a neck.” Later, he fights one of the emperor’s bodyguards and “spun Vince like a discus, tossing him skyward with such force that he punched a Germanus-shaped hole in the tree canopy and sailed out of sight.”
  • There is a large battle near the conclusion of the novel in which many characters fight a giant mechanical statue. It is described over several chapters and many are hurt in the process, but the ending is victorious for the heroes.
  • Nyssa slaps Leo in the face because he was missing for several months.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Ambrosia is the food of the gods and their immortal bodies allow them to eat it as their normal food. Demigods eat ambrosia if they are sick or injured because it instantly heals them. However, if mortals attempt to eat it, they burn up inside and possibly combust.

Language

  • “Crud” and “darned” are each used once.
  • Meg tells Apollo that he has landed in Hell’s kitchen and he thinks, “It seemed wrong for a child to say Hell’s Kitchen.”
  • Apollo is dragged across a river, “scolding and cursing.”
  • Many demigods mutter ancient Greek curses when they are angry.
  • A demigod calls a friend, “Idiota,” when she does something wrong.
  • Many characters use the expressions, “thank the gods!” and “oh, gods.”
  • Percy “yelped a curse that would have made any Phoenician sailor proud.”

Supernatural

  • Most of the characters are demigods and have magical powers that they have inherited from their godly parent. For instance, Meg can control elements of nature (plants, soil, grain spirits, etc.) because her mother is Demeter, the goddess of agriculture.
  • Many Greek mythological creatures and monsters appear in the story.
  • Nico, the son of Hades, uses his powers to sit with his boyfriend by saying that the “zombies stay away” if he is seated near him.
  • It is mentioned that Leo died and then came back to life. The details of this event are found in one of Riordan’s previous books.
  • When a demigod is claimed at Camp Half-Blood, a glowing symbol appears above their head to show their parentage.  This happens to Meg during the campfire ceremony.
  • Some trees in the woods of Camp Half-Blood are the ancient Grove in Dodona, which is a powerful force that whispers prophecies. Finding this grove is the catalyst for the majority of the novel’s plot. The wood from these trees was used for the mast of the Argo, which could “speak to the Argonauts and give them guidance.”
  • Meg tells Apollo about a looming threat to which he responds, “I had been hoping she would say something else: giants, Titans, ancient killing machines, aliens.”
  • Magical creatures emerge from the woods to aid Apollo in his quest to stop the evil Emperor Nero. “The shimmering forms of dryads emerged from their trees—a legion of Daphne’s in green gossamer dresses . . . They raised their arms and the earth erupted at their feet.”

Spiritual Content

  • In this book, the Greek gods are real and have a presence in the world. All of the legends about them are true, and they are immortal. The main character is a god who has been turned mortal.
  • The source of the gods’ powers is their presence in the minds of humankind, and if they are forgotten they will eventually fade. “Gods know about fading. They know about being forgotten over the centuries. The idea of ceasing to exist altogether terrifies us.”
  • It is discussed how in ancient Greece, priests tended and cared for the sacred Grove of Dodona.
  • When the character of evil Emperor Nero is introduced, Christians are mentioned as being scapegoated by him. In response to these accusations, he says, “But the Christians were terrorists, you see. Perhaps they didn’t start the fire, but they were causing all sorts of trouble.” A terrifying event is then mentioned in which Nero had “strung up Christians all over his backyard and burned them to illuminate his garden party.”

by Morgan Filgas

 

Meltdown Madness

Ed wants to join the soccer team, but first, he has to sell chocolate bars. But when he tells his friend to run “as fast as possible,” his friend runs so fast that the chocolate bars melt. Ed must figure out how to get out of this gooey mess. Is there any way for him to earn the money he needs to join the team?

Meltdown Madness is a super silly story that beginning readers will enjoy. The humorous black-and-white illustrations that appear on every page help readers visualize the strange events that happen to Ed. Talking coins, miniature horses, and rows of corn all come to life through the illustrations. Ed’s mishaps show the importance of choosing words carefully and teach the meaning of various sayings such as “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”

Even though the storyline is silly and humorous, Ed demonstrates problem-solving skills as well as taking responsibility for his actions. When Ed is unsure how to solve his problem, he seeks out adult advice and continues to brainstorm ideas. After Ed accidentally breaks two windows, he doesn’t complain about having to earn the money to pay for them. Meltdown Madness is a straightforward story that is worth the read.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When Ed’s sisters give their toy doll bangs, Ed grabs the doll’s head. “The hair over its forehead had started to sizzle, like lit fuses. . . I hurled it at the window. It smashed through the glass, landed on the lawn, rolled halfway to the street, and exploded.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Ed finds a coin that gives him “the power to make strange things happen. Sometimes strange things even happen when I wasn’t trying to make them happen.”
  • Ed’s sisters have a toy doll head that allows them to try different hairstyles. When Ed’s sister makes three pigtails on the toy, “three pigs appeared out of nowhere.” As the sisters make various hairstyles, strange things happen.
  • Ed’s brother makes a thermostat that can change the weather. When his brother turns the dial to comfort zone, “the air grew cooler.” Ed’s brother is the only one that can make the thermostat work.
  • When Ed says, “money talks,” Ed and his friend can hear coins. Ed “held the coins near my ear. Lincoln and Washington were arguing about who was more honest.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Not So Normal Norbert: L4LUZR—1

Everything is the same. Being different is illegal. His All-Knowing Eternal Excellency, Loving Leader, has decided that “Conformity makes us Free.” Individuality is evil. All Earth must conform. When Norbert makes a funny impersonation of Loving Leader at school, the truth police arrest him. Being funny is illegal.

Norbert and two others are banished to the Astro-Nuts Camp on planet Zorquat 3. Now that Norbert is on a planet where rule-breakers are sent, the only things he wants is to be sent back to Earth. Norbert is on a quest to prove that he’s not creative. Will Norbert be stuck on a planet where everyone seems crazy creative or will he find a way to return to Earth?

The cover of Not So Normal Norbert will catch readers’ attention, and the first chapter will instantly captivate. Short chapters and funny black-and-white illustrations make the story easy to read. The descriptions include a healthy dose of onomatopoeias, which helps create the fun atmosphere of Zorquat 3. Told from Norbert’s point of view, the lives of those on Zorquat 3 jump off the page.

The main theme throughout the book is the importance of being an individual and being different. Everyone on Zorquat 3 embraces the message (except Norbert), which leads to some ridiculous and outlandish behavior by both the children and the adults. The crazy behavior adds interest to the story; however, part of the story drags because too many events do not connect to the main plot.

Anyone who feels different and odd will be able to relate to Norbert’s fears. The message of embracing being different is clear, but repeated a little too often. Norbert learns the hazards of obsessing over what if’s. One of the adults tells him, “don’t focus on what if’s or you will completely freak yourself out . . . Stick with what is.” The story also teaches that just because someone acts like a “jerk,” you don’t need to act the same way. For readers who are looking for a silly, humorous book, Norbert will make a good addition to their reading library.

Sexual Content

  • Norbert’s crush kisses him on the cheek. Later, the same girl “throws both of her arms around me and gives me a huge hug . . . then she leans in and kisses me. On the lips. Fireworks go off in my brain. It’s my first kiss. Ever.”

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Norbert’s teacher’s name was “Mrs. Hurlbutt.”
  • When seeing a brontosaurus Norbert makes a comment that “its breath smells worse than Mrs. Hurlbutt’s perfume, Butt Thunder.”
  • Norbert thinks one of the other kids is a “jerk.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Loving Leader says he “sees all, knows all, and loves all.”
  • During a meal, Warden Buckner says, “Since today is Backward Day, it’s now time for grace before the meal.” Norbert is confused why everyone “mumbles something different. One of the adults tells him, “You can say whatever grace you feel like saying.” When Norbert asks if they are praying to Loving Leader, the adult replies, “No, silly, to a higher power.”
  • Norbert is scared of a mysterious Black Box. At one point he thinks, “I don’t know much about the higher power Crazy Swayzee talks to when he says grace, but I beg that higher power to protect me from whatever awaits me in the Black Box.”
  • When Norbert and some of his friends sneak into an adult’s office, they are almost caught.  When Norbert hears steps, he starts “praying to a higher power that my stomach doesn’t suddenly growl.”

 

Polly Diamond and the Magic Book

Polly loves words. When a magic book arrives, she is excited to put her words on paper. Then Polly learns that the book is magic and can make everything she writes happen in real life. Polly begins writing, but she soon learns that it’s hard to write what you mean. Soon, her bedroom walls are turned into an aquarium, her sister is turned into a banana, and she is turned invisible. How is Polly ever going to fix everything before her parents get home?

Beginning readers will love Polly Diamond for many reasons. The text is broken up with cute black and white illustrations that appear on every page. Polly loves to write lists of words, which are scattered throughout the story. Polly and her magic book write back and forth to each other, which adds humor because the magic book often misinterprets what Polly wants it to create. The silly events that happen when Polly writes in her book come together to create a fun story. However, some readers will find the story a little too goofy. The plot jumps from topic to topic without clear transitions, which may make the story confusing.

Polly Diamond and the Magic Book has many positive attributes. Readers will learn new vocabulary, including how words can have multiple meanings. Through Polly’s narration, she teaches different types of figurative language such as similes and hyperboles. In the end, Polly learns the important lesson that she doesn’t need to change her home and family—Her home is perfect just the way it is. Polly Diamond and the Magic Book will entertain younger readers and teach vocabulary in a creative, fun way.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Polly Diamond has a writing and spelling book that writes answers to her questions. Everything Polly writes in the book comes true. For example, when Polly writes that she wants a room that looks like an aquarium, the walls change so that, “fish flash past. Big ones. Yellow ones. Purple ones. A crab scuttles along the baseboard.”
  • Polly asks the book to do a series of funny things including turning her invisible and turning her sister into a banana.

Spiritual Content

  • None

The Lizard War

Max loves everything about bugs, so his mother gives him an old book full of insect pictures. When Max peers into the book, he suddenly finds himself on Bug Island—and he’s the size of a bug. When he arrives on Bug Island, he finds out that the bugs are under attack. Lizards have found their way to Bug Island. The lizards are looking for yummy snacks: the bugs of the island. Max isn’t sure how he ended up on the island, but he knows he can help the bugs win the battle.

The Lizard War jumps into action in chapter two and leads the reader on a fun, imaginative journey through a bug’s life. The story teaches facts about bugs through an engaging storyline. The bug (and human) characters are well-developed and show unique personalities. Seeing a human through a bug’s eye gives the story interest and humor. The fighting between lizards and bugs adds suspense with kid-friendly descriptions.

Even though The Lizard War has some longer, descriptive paragraphs, the text is easy to read. Dialogue, Max’s thoughts, onomatopoeias, and full-page illustrations help keep readers engaged. Through the actions of the bugs, readers will learn about the importance of working together. Although the story focuses on bugs, any reader who enjoys reading about battles will enjoy The Lizard War.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Max is riding a scorpion when a lizard begins bullying the scorpion. When the lizard is distracted, “the scorpion darted forward, taking the reptile by surprise. Before it could react, the scorpion snapped one of its pincers onto the lizard’s nose. The lizard gave a high-pitched hiss and backed away, twisting its head in pain.”
  • The lizards battle the other insects. During the battle, the scorpion “aimed his stinger straight for its nose. The reptile fell back, writhing on the ground in pain.” Later in the battle, “the giant hornet and other flying insects started dive bombing the lizards on the bridge, flying at them wherever they could.” The battle takes place over a chapter. None of the bugs or lizards are seriously injured.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Max has a magic book that takes him to Bug Island. When he looks at the book through a magnifying glass, “the room started to swirl around him, making him dizzy. . . His stomach flipped over, and for a moment he felt like he was falling.” When he lands on Bug Island, he is the size of a bug.

Spiritual Content

  • None

The New Kid

There’s something strange about the new kid in school. Zeke eats strange food, acts strange, and uses strange words when he talks. Harris thinks Zeke is an alien (and he’s right), but no one believes him. Not even his best friend Roxy. Harris is determined to prove that Zeke is an alien. Will Zeke’s strange behavior give him away or will he be able to keep his secret?

Zeke’s strange behavior will engage beginning readers as well as teach an endearing lesson about friendship and being kind to others. The story is humorous not only because of Zeke’s odd behavior but also because no one believes Harris when he claims that Zeke is an alien. Harris looks at comic books and watches a movie about aliens, and Zeke acts just like the characters in the book/movie. The black-and-white illustrations show Zeke and fictional aliens doing the same things, which adds to the humor.

Besides the fun topic, The Alien Next Door has a variety of other elements that are perfect for students who are transitioning to chapter books. Each page contains illustrations that help break up the text. The illustrations will also help readers understand the wide range of emotions each character feels. The large font, simple vocabulary, short chapters, and dialogue make The Alien Next Door a fun book to add to a beginning reader’s book list.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • An alien family comes to earth to research humans. In order to go unobserved, they take human form. “The green being began to glow. When the glowing stopped, a human-looking man stood in its place.”
  • On one of the planets Zeke lived on, kids “do cool stuff like teleport place to place. And control the weather with their minds.”
  • Zeke can make things move with his mind. While playing soccer, “Zeke wiggled his hand. The soccer ball slowed down, stopped, then started rolling back toward Zeke.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

The Locker Ate Lucy!

As hall monitor, Sam Graves is supposed to keep the kids of Eerie Elementary safe. Sam and his friends, Lucy and Antonio, know the school is alive, but they’re not prepared for how scary the school can be. When a locker eats Lucy, it’s up to Sam and Antonio to save her. Will they be able to save Lucy before they become Eerie Elementary’s lunch?

The next installment in the Eerie Elementary series, The Locker Ate Lucy, will continue to captivate readers because of its spooky, action-packed fun. Many of the pages end with cliffhangers that will make the reader want to continue reading. Black-and-white illustrations and onomatopoeia help create the story’s tone. The book contains simple sentence structures and a straightforward plot.

The easy-to-follow plot is entertaining and appropriate for newly independent readers. However, The Locker Ate Lucy will be enjoyed by older readers as well. Those who enjoy the Notebook of Doom series will want to jump into the world of Eerie Elementary. Readers will enjoy seeing the friends work together and come up with creative ways to escape. The story ends with discussion questions that add to the learning value of the book.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When a locker eats Lucy, Jack and Antonio go into a vent to search for her. In order to stop them, “the vent squeezed tighter, closing around them! It pressed against Sam’s shoulders. It pressed against his legs.” They escape when the vent comes to an end.
  • A lunch cart tried to make Sam and Antonio its lunch. “CLICK CLACK! The lid snapped like a mouth as it rolled toward them. . . Then just as it was about to hit them, the boys jumped out of the way.”
  • Everything in the basement comes to life. A dodge ball, a Frisbee, and “roller skates that shot toward his legs like cannonballs” fly towards Sam and Antonio. When they try to run, “something long that looked like a spear was headed for Antonio. A whiffle ball bat.”
  • A “maze of rusty old pipes” are alive and have Lucy, who is “suspended in midair, hanging upside down. One of the pipes was wrapped around her ankle.”
  • When Sam and Antonio free Lucy, the school tries to drown them. “Water bubbled up through the crack in the floor. It was rising fast.” The friends are able to escape.
  • Sam ends up alone in the cafeteria. As he was hanging from a curtain, “the water on the lunchroom floor began rising. It was taking shape. It was becoming something. . . The water was taking the form of a giant hand.” The hand tears the curtain that Sam is hanging on, but Sam comes up with a plan to save himself.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • “Orson Eerie was a mad scientist. He was also the architect who designed Eerie Elementary almost one hundred years ago. Orson Eerie found a way to live forever—he became the school. Orson Eerie was the school, and the school was Orson Eerie! Eerie Elementary was a living, breathing thing that fed on students.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Flash’s Dash

Cressida, a unicorn-obsessed girl, is invited into the Rainbow Realm, where unicorns live. When Cressida arrives, Princess Flash is preparing for the annual Thunder Dash. For the first time ever, non-unicorns will be allowed to race. Cressida is excited to be the first human girl invited to run in the race.

Then Ernest, the wizard-lizard, has a mishap while casting a spell. Now the racetrack is covered in sticky, pink goo. Will Cressida and the unicorn princess find a way to save the race?

Flash’s Dash begins slowly because the story begins with Princess Sunbeam and Princess Flash arguing over who Cressida is friends with. Although the reader learns that a person can be friends with more than one person (or unicorn), the chapter is not very interesting.

Once Cressida jumps into preparing for Flash’s Dash, Cressida meets some new characters, including talking boulders. The story will appeal to younger readers because of the interesting characters, silly encounters, and fun conflict. However, readers will also learn the importance of practicing in order to get better.

As Cressida prepares for the race, she learns that Sunbeam doesn’t want to participate because she always loses. To make matters worse, she feels self-conscious because she overheard the boulders talking about her. How can she join the race after hearing the boulders say that she looked funny when she ran? In the end, Princes Sundance learns that the boulders actually said, “that she looked downright sunny. You know, like a streak of yellow light.” Through Princess Sundance’s conflict, the reader will learn how teasing hurts, as well as the importance of talking out problems and misunderstandings.

Flash’s Dash is the second book in this series written for children who enjoy chapter books. Beginning readers may struggle with the amount of text on a page as well as the long descriptive passages. The pictures scattered throughout the book are adorably cute; however, they only appear about every three to seven pages. This chapter book would be a good story to read aloud to beginning readers.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • A wizard-lizard makes a spell to change avocados into shoes. He chants, “Fasty Foo! Wing Feet, Fleet Feet, Fast Feet, Blue!” He also makes a magical mishap and changes a race course to pink strawberry cake batter.
  • The wizard-lizard made bandannas change into gold running shorts and a gold T-shirt. When he tries to use magic to put the clothes on Cressida, she “felt wind swirling around her body, as though she stood at the center of a miniature tornado. When the wind stopped, the gold shorts were inside out and upside down on her chest. . . “
  • Flash’s magical power is “to run so fast that my horns and hooves create lightning.”
  • Cassandra has a magical key that allows her to go to the Rainbow Realm. When she is in the Rainbow Realm, “time in the human world froze.”
  • Cassandra meets a talking boulder and talking forest animals.

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Sunbeam’s Shine

Princess Sunbeam’s magical gem disappears when a wizard-lizard accidentally casts the wrong spell. Without her magic yellow sapphire, she loses her ability to create light and heat. Princess Sunbeam needs to find a human girl—one who believes in unicorns. A human girl is the only one who can help her reverse the spell and find her gemstone.

When Princess Sunbeam goes to the human world to search for a human girl, she finds Cressida. Cressida loves everything unicorns, and despite her parent’s disbelief, Cressida knows that unicorns are real. When Cressida meets a unicorn, Princess Sunbeam, she’s excited to travel to the Rainbow Realm.

Girls may want to pick up Sunbeam’s Shine because of the beautiful sparkly cover; however, the cover isn’t the only positive aspect of the book. As Cressida searches for the gem, she shows how to use problem-solving and communication skills. The addition of talking desert creatures adds interest to the story.

In the story, the sand dunes are upset with the cacti because of a misunderstanding. As Cressida helps the friends solve their problems, the reader learns the danger of keeping secrets.

Cressida is a smart, considerate character that uses good communication skills to help others. When she travels to the Rainbow Realm, she makes sure to leave a note for her parents so they do not worry. Sunbeam’s Shine hits the mark for its intended audience. Younger readers who want to add a little magic and sparkle to their lives will enjoy jumping into the Rainbow Realm.

Sunbeam’s Shine is the first in this series written for children who enjoy chapter books. Beginning readers may struggle with the amount of text on a page as well as the long descriptive passages. The pictures scattered throughout the book are adorably cute; however, they only appear about every three to seven pages. This chapter book would be a good story to read aloud to beginning readers.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • A wizard-lizard casts a spell on an ear of corn, “Alakazam! Alakazoop! Unicorn, unicorn! Alakaboop!” The spell was supposed to turn the corn bright pink, but instead it caused Princess Sunbeam’s magical gemstone to be “dropped into a shimmering, purple canyon.”
  • Sunbeam’s magical gemstone allows her to make the sun shine.
  • In order to reverse the spell, a human girl who believes in unicorns must be found. One must believe in unicorns in order to see them.
  • Sunbeam finds Cressida and the two use a magical key to enter the Rainbow Realm. When they enter the kingdom, Cressida “had the feeling the two of them were falling. It was like being in an elevator hurling downward without stopping on any floors.”
  • A flame-bite looks like a fox, but is made of flame. “. . . It looked just like red and orange candle flame with flailing arms, legs, and a tail.”
  • Cressida meets talking sand dunes and talking cacti.

Spiritual Content

  • None

The Wrath of Mulgarath

In the fifth and final installment of the Spiderwick Chronicles, the Grace children must battle Mulgarath’s goblin army to save their mother and reclaim the Field Guide. With the help of Thimbletack, Hogsqueal, and Byron, the Grace children attempt to sneak up on Mulgarath’s goblin army. Can the small group defeat a fierce army of goblins and Mulgarath? Are the children doomed to lose everything they hold dear?

All of the characters and creatures come together in a satisfying conclusion. The griffin, Thimbletack, and Hogsqueal unite to help the Grace children rescue their mother and defeat Mulgarath. Book five of the series is darker and has some potentially disturbing descriptions. Although the final battle ends with a satisfying surprise, reading descriptions of Mulgarath’s evil deeds may disturb younger readers. In an attempt to trick the children, Mulgarath shapeshifts to appear like their father. Jared is able to see through Mulgarath’s trick and, in the end, saves his family from Mulgarath’s wrath.

Like the previous books, the Grace Children work together and come to one another’s aid when needed. When Jared’s mother finally learns the truth about Jared’s strange behavior, there is a heartwarming apology. The ending doesn’t ignore the natural consequences of Jared’s bad behavior but ends with the hopeful possibility that life will be better. In the end, Aunt Lucinda moves in with the Grace family and there is peace between the children, Thimbletack, and the family cat. When the exciting series comes to an end, the readers will be left with a smile and characters that they will remember for a long time to come.

 Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Mulgarath kidnaps the Grace children’s mother. When the children find her, she is in “one corner, bound, gagged, and unconscious.”
  • Goblins attacked Thimbletack. The fight is not described, but Jared finds Thimbletack, who “had a long, raw scratch on his shoulder and that his hat was missing.” He also had a black eye.
  • A griffin grabs a hobgoblin by the arm. “The griffin shook his head, whipping Hogsqueal back and forth.” Simon hit the griffin, “Hard on the beak with his hand,” hoping to get the griffin to let go of Hogsqueal.”
  • Thimbletack threatens a hobgoblin saying, “No. We’ll set rats to nibble off your toes, poke out your eyes, and put them up your nose. Your fingers we’ll remove with dull scissors, and we’ll wait until your confidence withers.”
  • Goblins attack the Grace children. The battle is described over three pages. During the fight, two goblins, “Grabbed hold of his (Jared’s) legs and toppled him into the dirt.” Mallory uses her swords to chase them away. One goblin “Jumped on her back, biting her shoulder.” The griffin appears and the children are able to escape.
  • While Simon is riding the griffin, a dragon attacks. “The dragon twisted, teeth sinking into Byron’s feathered and furred body. . .” Simon falls off the griffin, injuring his arm. In order to distract the dragon, Simon, “who had never killed anything. . . stepped on the head of one of the baby dragons, crushing in into a smear under his shoe. It squealed. Dragon blood stained the ground and melted the edge of Simon’s heel.” The fight ends with Byron, “Plunging his beak into the creature’s neck, he rent it wide. The dragon went limp in Byron’s claws.” The action is described over seven pages.
  • Mulgarath put fairies in honey. Simon tries to help, “but the honey was heavy and clung to their thick wings, tearing them. The sprites squealed as he set each one down on the table in a sticky, sodden heap. One was completely still and lay there limply, like a doll.”
  • Mulgarath kicks Thimbletack. “The ogre kicked the brownie, his giant foot tossing Thimbletack across the room, where Thimbletack landed like a crumpled glove beside Mrs. Grace.”
  • The story ends with an epic battle between the Grace children and Mulgarath, which is told over several chapters. At one point, Jared stabs Mulgarath in the foot with a sword. The battle ends with a funny surprise.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • When Simon hits the griffin, his sister yells, “Oh Crap, don’t do that!”
  • Hogsqueal calls the Grace names such as “beetle-guts”, “lump-meat,” and “chatter-basket.”
  • Jared says, “I want Dad to be less of a jerk . . .”
  • “Oh my god,” is used as an exclamation once.
  • Mallory calls Jared an “idiot.”

Supernatural

  • Goblins, Frey, griffins, and other creatures exist. These creatures have different magical abilities.
  • Mulgarath is raising dragons. The dragons have “hundreds of teeth, thin as needles.” When a person touches a dragon, their skin burns.”
  • Mulgarath is able to change shapes. In order to trick the children, he changes, making himself look like their father. “As Jared looked up into the familiar hazel eyes of his father, they started to turn pale yellow. His father’s body elongated, filling out, becoming a mammoth shape clad in the tattered remains of ancient finery. His hands became claws, and his dark hair twined together into branches.”
  • The children meet their great-great-uncle Arthur Spiderwick, who the elves kept captive. Arthur meets his aged daughter. When Arthur goes to hug his daughter, his “foot touched the ground, his body turned to dust and then smoke.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

The Ironwood Tree

The entire faerie world wants Spiderwick’s Guide. Even if the Grace Children wanted to give the book away, they couldn’t because Thimbletack has hidden the guide. When Mallory disappears, Simon and Jared go in search of their sister. When the boys search the old abandoned quarry, dwarves imprison them. Is there any way for them to escape and save their sister?

Thimbletack and the griffin do not appear in the story, but new creatures are added. Although the story is entertaining, and suspenseful, some readers may wish that the different faerie creatures were incorporated into all of the books. Humor is added when neither Jared nor Simon wish to enter the girls restroom to look for Mallory. The ending takes a dark turn, and the unexpected killing of dwarves may disturb younger readers.

In the fourth installment of The Spiderwick Chronicles, Jared continues to struggle with anger and his mother’s misperception of him. Although Jared is trying to protect his family, he often falls into trouble. Jared worries that his mother will try to send him to live with his father, but his father won’t want him.

One of the best aspects of the series is the relationship between Jared and his siblings. Their realistic sibling relationship shows how each one has unique talents that can be used to defeat the faerie creatures. Although readers will be entertained by the faerie creatures, they will continue to read because they want to know what happens to the Grace children. Is there any way they can survive when the next faerie creatures come after them? The only way to find out is to pick up the fifth and last installment of the series.

Sexual Content

  • Mallory has a crush on a boy. To tease her, Simon sings, “Chris and Mallory sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

Violence

  • A shape-shifting creature appears looking like Jared. When the creature confronts Jared, Jared “pointed a knife at his double.”
  • Dwarfs kidnap Mallory and put her in a magical box that makes her like Sleeping Beauty. A dwarf tells the boys, “Out of this case she would be doomed to age, death, and decay—the curse of all mortals.”
  • Mechanical dogs chase the children. The children climb up a tree to avoid the dogs, but one of the dog’s “teeth caught hold of the end of her white dress and ripped it. The other dogs swarmed close, tearing the cloth.” Simon comes up with a way to get away from the dogs.
  • When Mulgarath discovers that the goblins do not have Spiderwick’s Guide, he orders the death of the dwarves. “The goblins bit, clawed, and slashed until not a single dwarf was left standing. Jared felt sick and numb. He had never seen anything be killed before. Looking down, he felt like he might throw up.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Mallory says, “Oh crap,” once.

Supernatural

  • A shape-shifting creature appears in the story. The creature makes himself look like Jared and other people. The creature’s body, “shrank, its dark hair paled into a sandy brown, and its now blue eyes went wide with terror.”
  • Dwarves live in an abandoned quarry. They have “skin as gray as stone.” The dwarves carve trees and animals out of metal. The animals are alive but must be wound up with a key.
  • A creature appears and helps the children escape. Jared thinks it is a “nodder or a banger.” The creature listens to the stones, which allows him to help the children.
  • Mulgarath is an ogre, “a massive monster with dead branches for hair.” The goblins are serving Mulgarath.

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Lucinda’s Secret

The Grace children are surrounded by problems. Thimbletack wants revenge. A hungry griffin is hiding in the carriage house. Creatures will stop at nothing to get Arthur’s Field Guide. Giving up the Field Guide isn’t an option, so the children go to see their Aunt Lucinda. But the more they learn about the fantastical world around them, the more they are convinced that the only way to stay safe is to discover more about the creatures who want to silence them.

Lucinda’s Secret takes the reader into the past and begins to answer the question: Why do the fairies want the Field Guide? The third installment of The Spiderwick Chronicles has several scenes that may scare younger readers. The children go to visit their Aunt Lucinda in an asylum, and they see several patients in straight jackets and a man “in a bathrobe giggled over an upside-down book.” Lucinda’s story of monsters that attacked her at night may also frighten readers.

Readers will be able to relate to the realistic sibling relationships. Even though the children work together and care about each other, they still squabble, fight, and disagree. Because the siblings often have conflict, the scenes when they work together are even more enjoyable. The story shows how relationships are always changing and that people can love each other and still disagree.

The introduction of new characters and new creatures adds interest to Lucinda’s Secret. Book three focuses on advancing the plot and giving important background information. However, this book also has less action than the first two books and readers will miss Thimbletack and the griffin, who do not appear in the story. The introduction of elves and a glimpse into the elves’ world adds a new, interesting element. Readers will want to continue the series to find out how the elves and Lucinda’s secret are connected.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When Aunt Lucinda was younger, monsters came looking for her father’s book. She shows the children her scars and says, “Late one night the monsters came. Little green things with horrible teeth held me down, while a giant one questioned me. I struggled, and their claws scraped my arms and legs . . . Before that night, my back was straight. Ever since, I have walked hunched over.”
  • When Mallory touches a unicorn, she sees a vision of people hunting. As the unicorn runs, “arrows fly, burying themselves in white flesh. The unicorn bellows and goes down in a cloud of leaves. Dog teeth rip skin. A man with a knife hacks the horn from the head while the unicorn is still moving.”
  • Elves capture Jared. With the wave of an elf hand, “dirty, hairy roots climbed Jared’s legs and held him.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • “Crappy” is used once. “Crap” is used three times.
  • When Jared talks about his dad leaving to take a new job, Mallory says, “You can’t really believe that load of crap.”
  • The Phooka tells the children he is “an ass or perhaps merely a sprite.”

Supernatural

  • Sprites visit Aunt Lucinda. They are “creatures the size of walnuts, whirling in on iridescent wings. They alighted on the old woman, tangling in her white hair and crawling up the headboard.”
  • Sprites gave Aunt Lucinda fruit, and when she ate it, “it tasted better than any food I’d ever imagined. . . After that, human food—normal food—was like sawdust and ashes. I couldn’t make myself eat it.” She now must rely on the sprites to feed her.
  • The children learn that wearing their clothes inside out will allow them to find the elf world. The children meet the green-skinned elves.
  • The children meet a Phooka, who speaks in riddles. The Phooka “had the body of a monkey with short, blackish brown speckled fur and a long tail that curled around the branch on which it sat.” The Phooka has a face that looks like a rabbit “with long ears and whiskers.”
  • When Mallory touches a unicorn, she sees a vision.

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

The Seeing Stone

The mysterious field guide that their long-lost great-great-uncle Arthur Spiderwick wrote is wreaking havoc on the Grace children’s lives. In an attempt to get the book, goblins kidnap Simon and his cat.  It’s up to Jared and Mallory to track down the goblins, save Simon, and make it out of the woods alive. Can Jared and Mallory save Simon before it’s too late?

Full of suspense, The Seeing Stone is more intense than the first story in the series. At the beginning of the story, the goblins are invisible to the Grace children. The fact that invisible goblins are able to kidnap Simon, put him in a cage, and may possibly want to eat him may scare younger readers. Despite the danger, Jared and Mallory learn to work together as they search for their brother. They use creative problem-solving skills to rescue Simon.

In The Field Guide, Jared is angry and only concerned about himself, but in the second book, he shows growth and proves that he is more than a troublemaker. The children learn that they must trust and rely on each other in order to defeat the goblins. Readers will relate to the realistic siblings’ relationship and the children’s struggle to get along. Although the mother cares about her children, she clearly struggles in her new role as a single parent.

Even though the children realize danger still lurks outside their home, they choose to lie to their mother because they do not think she will believe that goblins, trolls, fairies, and other creatures exist. As the children learn more about the mythical world around them, they meet Hogsqueal, a hobgoblin, who has a hilarious vocabulary and proves that not every creature is evil. When readers finish The Seeing Stone, they will want to pick up the next book in the series. The fast-paced story will end all too quickly, so you will want to have Lucinda’s Secret waiting on the shelf.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Goblins kidnap Simon and his cat; then the goblins attack Jared and Mallory. When a goblin grabs Jared by his shirt, “he went down on his stomach in the grass. . .” Mallory tries to help Jared and “he saw Mallory’s arm jerk and heard her cry out. Red lines appeared where nails scraped her.” Mallory is able to chase the goblins off when she hits them with her rapier. The attack scene takes place over six pages but is not told in gory detail.
  • A troll tries to grab Mallory, but he is burned by sunlight and she is able to escape.
  • The goblins attack a wounded griffin. When the goblins circle the griffin, “the animal couldn’t seem to raise itself very far off the ground, but it could snap at the goblins if they got too close. Then the creature’s hawk beak connected, scissoring off the goblin arm.” Simon and his siblings save the griffin.
  • When the goblins chase after the children, they make a deal with the troll to lead the goblins to him. The troll hides in the river, and when the goblins enter, “the troll grabbed them all, shaking and biting and dragging them down to his watery lair.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • A hobgoblin calls Jared a host of creative names. A few names he uses include candy butt, dribble-puss, and jinglebrains.

Supernatural

  • A brownie lives in the Grace house. When Jared grabs the brownie, “the little brownie squirmed in his grasp, abruptly changing shape into a lizard, a rat that bit Jared’s hand, then a slippery eel that flailed wetly.”
  • The Grace children encounter goblins, who eat small creatures such as cats. The goblins “are born without teeth and so find substitutes, such as the fangs of animals, sharp rocks, and pieces of glass.”
  • The Grace children put hobgoblin spit in their eyes so they will have “the Sight.”
  • A hobgoblin uses children’s teeth instead of glass and other items. When Jared asks if he steals children’s teeth, the hobgoblin replies, “Come on, Dumbellina, tell me you don’t believe in the tooth fairy!”

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

The Field Guide

Jared, his twin brother, Simon, and their older sister, Mallory, are not happy about moving to a new town and into their Aunt Lucy’s dilapidated mansion. When a series of pranks happen and strange bruises start appearing on Simon and Mallory, Jared is blamed.

Then Jared stumbles upon Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You. He believes the creatures in the book are real and that a boggart is the one causing all of the problems. No one else in the family believes the boggart is real. How can Jared prove that he isn’t responsible for destroying the house and hurting his siblings?

The story focuses on issues that children will be able to relate to including having problems with parents and difficulty expressing emotions. The plot focuses on Jared, who is having difficulty containing his anger. As Jared learns about the boggart, Jared is able to think about the boggart’s perspective. Jared doesn’t want to help the boggart, but “he knew what it was like to be mad, and he knew how easy it was to get into a fight, even if you were really mad at someone else. And he thought that just maybe that was how the boggart felt.”

The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Field Guide is a fantastical story that will engage even the most reluctant readers. The easy-to-read story has a fast-paced plot that deals with the difficult topic of divorce in a child-friendly manner. Black and white pictures and maps are scattered throughout the story, which will help readers picture the events in the story. When the story ends, readers will be reaching for the next book in the series.

 The Spiderwick Chronicles is an excellent series; however, parents should read the reviews for all of the books before beginning the reading journey. Younger readers may not be ready for scary events that the Grace children face before their adventure comes to an end.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • While Mallory was sleeping, someone tied her hair to the bed. “Long pieces of her hair had been knotted to the brass headboard. Her face was red, but the worst part was the strange pattern of bruises that decorated her arms.”
  • The boggart steals Simon’s mice and tadpoles. “Each of Simon’s tadpoles was frozen into a single cube in the tray.” Later, they discover the boggart is keeping the mice as pets.
  • The book refers to a fight at school that Jared got into. His mother says, “I was shocked to learn that you broke a boy’s nose.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • When Mallory’s mother says the house is just like she remembered, Mallory replies, “Only crappier.”
  • “Crud” is said once.

Supernatural

  • The children learn that there is a boggart living in the house. Boggarts are “malicious. Hateful. Hard to get rid of. In their brownie form, they were helpful and nice.” The boggart causes havoc for the family.
  • The children meet the boggart. When they see him, he is standing on a desk in “worn overalls and a wide brimmed hat, was a little man about the size of a pencil. His eyes were as black as beetles, his nose was large and red . . .”

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

How to Rope a Giganotosaurus

Josh admires the legendary dino wrangler Terrordactyl Bill, who just captured a T. rex. Josh knows that he can be the next great dinosaur cowboy. In order to be like Terrordactyl Bill, Josh wants to capture his own giant dinosaur. Finding a T. rex can’t be done, but Josh, with the help of his friends, can nab a giganotosaurus. With a little bit of luck and a whole lot of rope, can Josh prove he has what it takes to be the best dino rider in The Lost Plains?

Whether reading this as part of the series or reading the story as a stand-alone, How to Rope a Giganotosaurus will engage younger readers with an easy-to-read story and fun illustrations. The second installment of the Dino Riders series will captivate readers because of Josh’s friendships, his daring spirit, and his desire to be great. Similar to the first book in the series, the story has several scenes that contain dino dung and dino slobber. Josh and his friends even cover themselves in dino dung and dino feathers. Although the bully is a bit stereotypical and the conclusion is far-fetched, that doesn’t take away from the book’s enjoyment. Anyone who enjoys adventure and dinosaurs will find How to Rope a Giganotosaurus fun to read.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Josh and his friends try to capture a giganotosaurus, but the snare they build does not hold. The dino charges the kids and chases Josh. “He could feel the breath of the giant on his back as he powered towards the edge of the rocky outcrop. His heart pounded. His stomach went tight.” As the dino chases Josh, it falls into a swamp and dies. “A spray of stinking swamp water was thrown high into the air over Josh’s head.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • A bully calls Josh a “little dweeb.” Later the bully says that Josh and his friends look like “idiots.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

The Hide-and-Seek Ghost

Kaz is an ordinary ghost who hasn’t figured out how to glow. When the house that Kaz and his family live in is torn down, the wind scatters the ghosts and carries Kaz to a library. While at the library, Kaz meets Claire—a human who can see him. Together the two look for Kaz’s family and solve ghostly mysteries in the process.

One of Claire’s classmates, Eli, is known for his pranks. So when he asks Claire to help him rid his family home of a ghost, Claire isn’t sure if Eli really needs help or if he is just trying to pull another prank. Can Kaz and Claire discover if Eli’s home is really haunted?

The Hide-and-Seek Ghost brings Claire’s world and the ghost world to life with black-and-white illustrations that will help readers visualize the characters and actions. The plot focuses on an argument between Kaz’s parents and another ghost as well as the mystery of Eli’s haunted house. The multiple plots make the story choppy and may cause some confusion. Readers will enjoy following the clues to the mystery and looking at the many illustrations that show the characters’ emotions.

The ghosts in the story are not scary; however, there are several scenes where ghosts are separated from family when they leave a building and the wind blows them away. The idea of being accidentally separated from family and not being able to return may frighten some readers. A glossary of ghostly terms helps readers understand those that are used in the story.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Many of the characters are ghosts who can choose to be seen and heard by “solids” and who can glow, shrink, expand, and walk through walls.

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Lilly and Fin: A Mermaid’s Tale

Two merpups, Lilly and Fin, love to sneak out of the mermaid city to explore caves. Adults have warned about the dangers of Two-Legs and the Kraken, but surely, they are just stories. Then one day, Lilly and Fin decide to go to their favorite cave. What they don’t know is that there is a couple of Two-Legs that are hiding in the shadows. Will Lilly and Fin fall into the humans’ trap?

Beautiful full-colored illustrations are sprinkled throughout Lilly and Fin: A Mermaid’s Tale. The illustrations of the characters, ocean creatures, and the submarine help bring the story to life. Readers will smile at the comical illustrations of the humans. Another positive aspect is that the larger illustrations have hidden pictures that give readers another fun way to interact with the story.

The easy-to-follow plot of Lilly and Fin: A Mermaid’s Tale cleverly weaves in the adults’ stories of the dangers of the Kraken and the Two-Legs. In the end, the merpups discover that the adults’ stories were not merely made up to make them behave. One negative aspect of the story is that Lilly and Fin lie to their parents on a regular basis. In order to sneak out of the city, Lilly tells her parents she is going to Fin’s, and Fin tells his parents he is going to Lilly’s. Lilly’s love for adventure shines throughout the story, but she isn’t the best friend. She completely ignores Fin when he suggests they do not go to the cave because his scales itch, which means there will be trouble. However, she does convince the Kraken to help free Fin.

The beginning of the story starts out slow, but once Lilly and Fin get out of the mermaid city, they meet interesting characters. The reader knows that Mr. and Mrs. Snorkel are on the hunt for mermaids, which adds suspense to the story. Although the book is written for younger readers, many of the pages only have text, with long paragraphs, which may intimidate some readers. Lilly and Fin: A Mermaid’s Tale would be a humorous story for confident readers of chapter books. The story would also be fun to read aloud for those who are not yet ready for chapter books.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When Lilly and Fin tried to swim past Neptune, “the fat king grabbed them with his fingers and held them in front of his red eyes.” When the two talk disrespectfully to Neptune, “the fat man howled, shaking his fist, and the merpups with them.”
  • Mr. and Mrs. Snorkel capture Fin. When the submarine is close, Fin’s “wide eyes were just staring at the terrible pinchers, and before Lilly knew what was happening, one of them had sucked up her friend. It closed with a loud clang. And Fin was gone.”
  • In order to free Fin, the Kraken grabs the submarine, and it “began to shake as though it was in the grips of a mighty storm. Mr. Snorkel and Mr. Harkenear were rolling around the floor like marbles.” The group escapes in a pod.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • “Darn” is used twice.
  • The Kraken calls Lilly a “dimwit.”
  • Lilly refers to Neptune as “the fatso.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None
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