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Third Grade Mermaid and the Narwhals

Cora wrote a story about narwhals and reads it in class. Vivian Shimmermore makes fun of Cora’s story, saying that narwhals are fake. To prove Vivian wrong, Cora and her friends travel across the open ocean to find a pod of narwhals before they migrate. Cora wants to show Vivian that narwhals are not just mythical creatures but really exist. Will Cora and her friends be able to find the narwhals before they migrate?

Third Grade Mermaid and the Narwhals has many elements that will appeal to younger readers. Readers will enjoy meeting Cora’s friends—a sea cucumber and a shrimp. Delightful cartoon illustrations appear on every page; this allows the reader to visualize the sea creatures and the characters’ emotions. Some of the conversations appears in speech bubbles, which helps break up the text into smaller parts.

As Cora travels to see the narwhals, she learns the importance of stepping out of her comfort zone. Through Cora’s interaction with Vivian, Cora was encouraged to go find the narwhals—a feat that Cora did not think she could accomplish. Cora clearly doesn’t like Vivian Shimmermore; however, when Vivian is afraid of the dark, Cora helps her overcome her fear. The story also teaches the importance of friends helping each other.

The story is told from Cora’s point of view, which allows her personality to shine. Nevertheless, Cora has several qualities that are not worth emulating. When her teacher asks Cora to enter a writing contest, Cora only agrees to participate so she can “put Vivian in her place for once.” Cora’s interactions with others, even her friends, are at times slightly mean and snippy. When Cora asks for permission to go find the narwhals, she nags her mother. “The ‘Yes Game’ went on for some time before Mother actually said yes for real. But the point is she did.”

The book also has several negative aspects. Even though Cora looks like a third-grader, the other two girls from her class look more like teenagers. The plot also doesn’t enforce the importance of hard work. When it is time for Cora to write her story, she falls asleep and decides to turn in her diary entry. Even though Cora did not have time to write her story, she still receives first place.

With short sentences, dialogue, and definitions of difficult words, Third Grade Mermaid and the Narwhals is an engaging, easy-to-read book. The plot revolves around Cora’s trip to see the narwhals; however, at the beginning of the story, the plot jumps around which may make it confusing for beginning readers. The story ends with facts about narwhals and narwhal vocabulary. Younger readers will enjoy Cora’s adventure, the illustrations, and the sea life, but hopefully readers will not imitate Cora’s negative personality traits.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist

Most people think sharks are scary monsters. But when Eugenie saw a shark, she thought they were beautiful. She dreamed of growing up and studying sharks. She wanted to show others how amazing sharks are. Discover how Eugenie became known as the Shark Lady.

Shark Lady follows Eugenie’s progress from a small child dreaming of sharks to a grown woman who made fantastic discoveries. Each page contains beautifully colored illustrations that bring the underwater world of sharks to life. Several of the pages have pictures of fish, with both their scientific name and their common name.

Even though some people believed Eugenie should be a secretary or a housewife, Eugenie never gave up on her dream. The story does not overlook the years of study and the hard work that Eugenie put into getting an education before she “finally dove into the open ocean.” Through Eugenie’s life experiences, readers will learn that “we must never let the world tell us what we can and can’t do. It especially can’t tell us how brave we will choose to be.”

At the conclusion of the story, there are fun facts about sharks and an illustrated timeline of Eugenie Clark’s life. The picture book Shark Lady will appeal to any reader who wants to learn about sea life. The many illustrations and short sentences make Shark Lady the perfect book to read aloud. The positive, true-life story of Eugenie will inspire children to never give up on their dreams.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Team BFF: Race to the Finish!

Sophia and her friends are BFFs. Together they work on coding projects, eat cookies, and have impromptu dance parties. They are excited to participate in their first robot hackathon, where they hope to show off their coding skills. But when Sophia’s parents need her to babysit instead of attending the hackathon, everything may change. Without Sophia, the team will be disqualified. When Sofia tells her friends, will they have her back or will it destroy their friendship?

The second installment of the Girls Who Code Series focuses on Sophia’s struggle with balancing home responsibilities with her coding club responsibilities. Readers will be able to relate to Sophia’s struggle to tell her friends bad news—she won’t be able to participate in the hackathon. The friends in the story not only brainstorm how to build a robot, they also show the importance of helping each other. The diverse cast of characters are young girls who have a variety of interests (cooking, drama, and fashion), but come together because of their love of coding.

Team BFF, Race to the Finish is told from Sophia’s point of view, which allows the reader to understand Sophia’s feelings of not being noticed by her family. The reader will get a small glimpse into the life of a large, Hispanic family. Sophia’s family not only makes traditional Spanish food but also uses Spanish in their everyday interactions.

Sophia is also struggling to understand her feelings for a boy. She has a crush, but is tongue-tied every time she sees the boy. As Sophia and the boy interact, she wonders how to navigate a boy-girl relationship. Team BFF, Race to the Finish is an easy-to-read story that shows smart girls in everyday situations. Sophia’s struggle is an interesting story that is highly relatable and will capture many readers’ interest.

Sexual Content

  • Sophia has a crush on a boy and when they talk, Sophia talked even though “butterflies in my stomach were zooming around like crazy. . . It was silly to feel weird around him.”
  • While walking with Sophia, Sammy “reached for my hand. I let him take it, even though it was a sweaty mess—but his was too.”

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

 

Ada Twist, Scientist

Ada Twist loves asking questions. Her curiosity is never satisfied. When she tries to figure out just what is causing the stinking smell, Ada takes her fact-finding a little too far. Her parents are frustrated and frazzled, so they send Ada to the thinking chair. Can Ada figure out how to complete her scientific experiment without causing chaos?

Ada Twist uses rhyme, questions, and scientific vocabulary to show that questioning and curiosity are part of the scientific process. Ada loves asking questions. Why? What? How? When? As Ada tries to figure out the world around her, Ada’s parents try to figure out how to best deal with her inquisitive spirit. The story ends with Ada using her curiosity in an appropriate way instead of writing her hypotheses on the walls.

Short text and large illustrations appear on every page, which makes Ada Twist, Scientist an excellent choice for beginning readers. The adorable full-color illustration brings the action to life as well as shows an African-American family in a positive light. The parents wear professional clothing, Ada’s brother appears in sports apparel, and Ada wears a cute dress. Readers will also enjoy finding the picture of the family’s cat that appears on most of the pages.

Ada Twist, Scientist uses a creative and entertaining story to teach the fun of the scientific process and the importance of questioning skills. The two-parent family is portrayed in a positive manner. Ada, although different from other children, is never portrayed as weird or strange. Ada’s classroom has students from different races and the children appear in a variety of colorful clothing and styles, which helps enhance the message that being different is a wonderful thing.

Ada Twist, Scientist is intended to be read aloud to a child, rather than for the child to read it for the first time independently. The vocabulary may be difficult and some of the scientific language will need to be defined for the reader. However, Ada Twist, Scientist should be on every child’s bookshelf because of the story, illustrations, and lessons that will entertain readers time and time again.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

The Impossible Crime

Mac is an ordinary kid who likes to play video games. While at the arcade, the Queen of England’s corgi appears with a note stating, “pick up the phone.” The Queen of England needs Mac’s help. Someone is planning on stealing the Crown Jewels. With the help of beefeater Holcroft, Max tries to keep the Crown Jewels safe. But when they disappear from a locked room, Mac must use all of his knowledge to discover not only who did it, but why.

The Impossible Crime uses humor, riddles, and corgis to teach readers about English history. The fast-paced plot has several of the same interesting characters as Mac Undercover, but isn’t as outrageously funny as Mac Undercover. However, readers will enjoy the silliness of the story, the dialogue between Mac and the Queen, and the surprise ending. As the story unfolds, readers will learn historical facts, geography, and different meanings of words. Each new fact is integrated into the story in a seamless manner, which makes learning fun.

Mac tells his own story with humor and uses lists and reputation to help readers follow the mystery. The Impossible Crime will entertain even the most reluctant readers for many reasons. Short sentences and simple vocabulary will help readers build confidence. Every page contains large black, green, and orange illustrations that add to the humor of the story. The illustrations and text work together to provide clues, create humor, and keep the reader interested to the very end. The Impossible Crime is a fun, easy-to-read book that is a great choice for any reader. It is also a perfect book for parents to read aloud to their children; the short dialogue is a great opportunity to use different voices for the characters.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • In 1671, Colonel Blood tried to steal England’s crown jewels. When Edward took Colonel Blood to see the jewels, “Colonel Blood threw the cloak over Edwards’s head! The men tied up the god Keeper like a sheep in a sack. Then they hit him with mallets. . . Then they stabbed him.’”
  • Holcroft goes after Mac with an axe. “He turned to me and brandished his axe. . . I backed into a corner of the library as Holcroft slowly came towards me.” Mac orders Holcroft to put the axe down and he does.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Mac asks a man, “what the heck are you doing?”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying

Twelve-year-old Rowan is destined to be Queen and her twin brother, Rhydd, is to be Royal Monster Hunter. Rowan would give anything to switch places, but the oldest child is always next in line, even if she is only older by two minutes. She resigns herself to admiring her monster-hunting aunt’s glorious sword and joining her queen mother for boring diplomatic teas. But tragedy shatters the longstanding rule, and Rowan finds herself hunting the most dangerous monster of all: a gryphon.

Accompanied by a feisty baby jackalope and a giant wolf that barely tolerates her, Rowan sets off on a journey that will see her join other unlikely allies: a boy with monster-hunting ambitions of his own, and a girl hiding dangerous motives. It will take all of Rowan’s skills, both physical and diplomatic, to keep this adventure on track. The future of her kingdom depends on it.

Rowan and her brother Rhydd follow their aunt on a hunt that ends in a bloody battle and death. The heart-stopping battle is not for the faint of heart. Armstrong uses detailed descriptions of the battle between beast and man. Even though many of the monsters in the story are deadly, Rowan respects the monsters because she has been taught to only kill monsters if there is no other choice.

The story is told from Rowan’s point of view, which allows the reader to understand her concern for others. Rowan often acts overconfident; however, in the end she learns the importance of listening to others and working as a team. The know-it-all princess befriends a baby jackalope and their relationship will make readers long for a jackalope of their own. Through her journeys, Rowan learns that no man or beast should be forced to follow another. People should only follow a leader by choice, not by force.

The cute book cover may give readers a false impression. A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying hits on some heavy themes: the importance of family, duty, conservation, indentured servitude, and political ambition. Rowan is kidnapped, almost killed multiple times, and has a face-to-face encounter with a giant spider and a deadly gryphon. The frightening encounters may leave some readers with nightmares. A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying is full of action, danger, and monsters who aren’t afraid to kill humans. The imaginative world is unique, fascinating, and will keep readers turning the pages. Readers who want an excellent adventure will want to follow Rowan as she learns how to become the next Royal Monster Hunter.

Sexual Content

  • Rowan is sneaking through the castle when she hides from a guard and a maid. Rowan listens to their conversation and learns that “she caught him flirting with the maid of a visiting lady. She’s upset, and he’s trying to tell her it meant nothing, and I’m stuck in a window alcove, wishing they’d just kiss and make up. . . Then the guard and maid do make up. And they do kiss. They don’t stop kissing. I don’t watch them, of course. That’s gross. But I can tell they’re kissing by the noises, which are also gross. They kiss and whisper, and whisper and kiss.”

Violence

  • Even though monster fights are illegal, “people still poach jackalopes for their antlers, which they think can be ground up as a cure for infertility.” Rowan finds a baby jackalope, and finds the dead mother. “The mother jackalope lies on the ground, her body riddled with arrow piercings. The killer took only her antlers.”
  • While in the forest at night, Rowan comes across four older kids. Rowan pulls her sword, and one boy “snorts. One of the other boys takes a slingshot form his pocket. The girl draws a knife.” When Rowan doesn’t flee, “a stone strikes my temple. I spin on the boy with the slingshot, and my sword spins, too. The tip of it catches his sleeve, and he yelps as if I’ve stabbed him.” When the kids realize that Rowan is the princess, they run off.
  • When Rowan gets too close to a unicorn, “the beast bites my butt. . .and the jackalope leaps from my head onto Courtois’s neck and sinks his teeth in right below the unicorn’s horn.”
  • The Royal Monster Hunter and her group find a manticore. As they track the monster, Rowan smells “a coppery one that makes me flinch. I can’t be a monster hunter and not recognize the scent of blood.” They find the manticore in a barn and Rowan “can hear it, making horrible ripping and gulping noises as it devours its prey. I can smell it, too, its dank must overpowering the smell of the livestock.”
  • In order to kill the manticore, Rowan’s aunt Jannah jumps on its back. In order to tire the beast, “she rides the manticore until the beast stops bucking and rearing. . . Jannah didn’t hop on the beast’s back for fun. The position just lets her sink in her dagger in exactly the right spot. One hard thrust and the manticore stiffens. Then before it has time to feel more than a flash of pain, it slumps to the ground.” In order to teach others about the beast, Jannah “opens the beast up… notice the size of the heart, the placement of the internal organs.”
  • While inspecting the manticore, a gryphon grabs Rowan in its talons. Rowan’s brother, Rhydd, tries to help, but “the beast holding me strikes at him. Blood flies. The beast lets out another ear-piercing shriek and slams me into the barn floor, talons pinning me there. . . The beak seizes Rhydd and flips him into the air, then lets go. As he falls, the beak grabs him again, this time by one leg. There’s a sickening crunch. . . The beast drops my brother’s leg. Rhydd falls to the floor.” The gryphon takes flight with Rowan in its beak and hunters shoot arrows at it. “An arrow buries into the underside of the beast. Then another and another. . . An arrow slices the fabric of my trousers, and I let out a cry. . . I grit my teeth and wrench it [the arrow] free. Then I stare at the sharp arrowhead, dripping blood.” Rowan keeps slashing at the gryphon, and then she slashes “the foreleg as hard as I can.” The beast drops Rowan and she hits “the ground. Pain slams through me and then. . . Darkness.” The scene takes place over four pages, but the battle continues.
  • When the gryphon lands, “a figure runs from nowhere. She [Jannah] leaps. Her sword slashes at the beast’s rear flank. . .The gryphon wheels on her. Its beak swings her way. . . she swings the sword, but the gryphon’s beak closes around her sword arm. . . The powerful beak closes with the same sickening crunch I heard when it seized Rhydd. Then it throws Jannah. Before it hits the ground, it grabs her again, this time by the leg, just like it did with Rhydd. . . The gryphon has Jannah by the leg. It lashes back and swings her. . . Swings her at a rock. Jannah’s head hits that rock. There is a crunch. . . She’s on the ground, blood streaming from her arm and her leg and her scalp.” Jannah dies. The battle scene is described over eight pages.
  • As Rowan tries to chase a monster away, “something hits my arm and knocks me off balance. As I stumble, I see an arrow lodged in my sleeve.” Rowan drops to the ground, and “I’m leaping up when another arrow whizzes past. It hits the warakin in the shoulder. The beast squeals in rage.” Rowan is able to drive off the warakin before anyone gets hurt.
  • As a pegasus attacks Rowan, the jackalope jumps on her back. The pegasus “flies up with great flaps of her wings, and Jacko clings to her, squealing. She dives, and he tumbles, and I scream. Then he’s dangling from her mane, his claws tangled in it. The pegasus tosses her head, and Jacko goes flying.”
  • Rowan’s companion Warg is a giant wolf. He hunts at night and “when he returns, the blood on his muzzle tells me he’s eaten.”
  • When Rowan tries to give a pegasus a sedative, the pegasus “wheels and rears. One hoof hits that sore shoulder again. I stumble, and I see another hoof coming straight for my head. My arm flies up. Her foreleg is delicate enough that I knock it off course. As I scramble out of the way, she comes at me again. This time, she grabs my tunic in her teeth and whips me off my feet.” Rowan gives the pegasus the sedative and then “she lies there, legs splayed and bent, her head drooping.” Rowan realizes that giving the sedative to the pegasus was wrong. The scene is described over five pages.
  • Rowan comes across an overturned wagon. A couple says their baby is stuck underneath the wagon. When Rowan crawls under the wagon to help, a man “wrenches me by the hair. I try to swing at his face, but there isn’t enough room. I yank out my dagger and slice his arm instead. He snarls. I slash the blade as I back out. Someone grabs my legs. Hands grapple at me from the wagon wreck. . . The young man shoves a sack over my head. I scream under it. Scream and kick and punch. As he hauls me away, my feet tangle, and I fall. He keeps dragging me, the sack cutting into my throat.” Rowan is captured and put in a cage.
  • After Rowan escapes, she watches a boy talk to Alianor. Rowan thinks that the two worked together to capture her, so Rowan hits “him square in the back, and he lands face-first with an oomph. I try to pin him, but he’s twisting, and he manages to get onto his back and throw me aside. That’s when Jacko attacks. He jumps onto Dain’s face and digs his claws in, legs wrapped around Dain’s head. . . Jacko sails from nowhere. He lands on Dain’s lap and sinks his teeth into the boy’s stomach. Dain yelps. . .”
  • While climbing a tree, Rowan disturbs a spider’s nest. Spiders begin dropping onto Rowan and Dain. A spider gets under Dain’s tunic and Rowan tries to “reach up under the fabric and pull out the spider. As I do, he yelps and bats at the back of his tunic. Another lump scuttles underneath. Then Dain yelps louder, in pain now. . .” Rowan discovers that the spiders are jba-fofi. “According to legend, only baby jba-fofi live in trees. The adults are too big for that. They’re the size of dogs, and they build trapdoors on their burrows. When any unsuspecting prey passes, they jump out and drag it in.” Rowan and Dain are able to get out of the tree.
  • As Alianor walks in the forest, “the ground opens, and a giant spider grabs her leg. . . She falls face-first as the spider drags her into its lair. The ground closes and they’re gone.”
  • In order to save Alianor, Rowan crawls into the spider’s lair. She finds “a fawn wrapped in black spider silk. The corpse is desiccated—drained of blood. I shiver as I shift the carcass aside. . . I  continue along. . . This time when I reach down I’m touching a soft-and-hard bundle that I know is wrapped prey. I try to keep going, crawling over the bundles, flinching as the dried bodies crackle within.” Rowan finds the spider, but before she can do anything, the jba-fofi springs. “It’s on me before I can even free my blade. . . The spider’s two front legs wrap around my chest. It pulls me toward its jaws, and Jacko shrieks, leaping on the beast. . . Jacko jumps onto the spider, sinking his fangs onto its back.” To get away from the spider, Rowan starts a fire and “shoves more mummies into the fire, stretching them in a line between us and the jba-fofi.”
  • Rowan searches for Alianor. “Then I see her head, completely wrapped in black webbing. I grab the webbing and pull. It sticks to my fingers and holds fast, refusing to break. With my trembling hand, I pick up my dropped dagger. I feel for her mouth, find it and slice the webbing as carefully as I can. . . I open her mouth. There’s more webbing in there. I yank it out and then press my hands against her chest and . . . Alianor coughs.”
  • As Rowan and Alianor try to escape, “something wraps around my [Rowan’s] leg. As I fight, it pulls hard, and I’m flipped onto my back. . . I kick as hard as I can. The spider squeals. I crawl back on my elbows and knees. I’m flipping over when powerful fangs grip my leg. . .” Dain is able to pull Rowan out of the spider’s lair and the pegasus attacks the spider. The spider scene is described over sixteen pages.
  • Lanslet, a teenager, attacks Rowan hoping to kill her. “He lunges at me. I leap forward to counter, and that isn’t what he expects. Our swords clang. . . My sword strikes his arm. He never even flinches, just draws his sword back and— An arrow hits his shoulder.” One of Rowan’s companions shoots arrows at Lanslet and “Malric hits Lanslet square in the back. The young man goes down with the Warg on top of him. Malric’s teeth sink into Lanslet’s collarbone, ripping away the leather. Lanslet screeches, and running footsteps sound as someone shouts an alarm.” Rowan is able to escape. The fight is described over three pages.
  • A gryphon comes after Rowan and her companions. “Malric charges. The gryphon rears like a horse, its talons flashing, but Malric feints to the side. When the gryphon twists to parry, Malric leaps, teeth sinking into the beast’s foreleg.” Malric pretends to be injured so the gryphon will attack him and the kids are able to hide in a cave.
  • Malric tries to sneak past the gryphon. Malric is “crouching to jump when the gryphon grabs him around his neck. . . The gryphon throws Malric. Warg hits the cavern wall, and that crunch rings out. That terrible crunch I will never forget—the one I heard when the gryphon pitched my aunt head-first into a rock.” Malric is injured. “Inside the cavern, the gryphon stomps about, shrieking in rage. That’s all I see. The gryphon. . . and a blood-smeared wall.”
  • Dain soaks arrowheads in a sedative and shoots them at the gryphon. “The gryphon lunged. Dain dives to the side. The gryphon’s beak snaps. It catches Dain’s bare foot. He drops the arrow as he falls clear of the beast and rolls across the cavern floor. . . As the beast turns, I see the angry red scabs on the foreleg I injured a week ago. I swing my sword right at the same spot. The blade slices in. The beast lets out a terrible screech of pain and rage.” The beast succumbs to the sedative and goes unconscious. The scene with the gryphon is described on and off for thirty-six pages. No one is seriously injured.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Someone has to taste the queen’s food and drink to make sure it is not poisoned.
  • Rowan gets angry that the pegasus isn’t friendly, so she gives her a sedative.
  • In order to capture Rowan, her captors drugged Warg.

Language

  • Rowan thinks unicorns are “jerks.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Rowan’s father wrote an inscription on the inside of a book that he gave her as a gift. As she reads the message, Rowan misses her father, but thinks, “he’s watching from the others side, and he’s there every time I add a new page or a new fact or a new sketch.”

The Basque Dragon

As members of the Unicorn Rescue Society, Elliot and Uchenna know that mythical creatures exist. But Elliot’s unprepared for the strange events he encounters. As he leaves for school, Elliot finds a mysterious package on his front step. He opens the package and finds a book called The Country of Basque. When Elliot gets to school, he meets up with Uchenna. Professor Fauna approaches them—he needs their help.

Soon, the two friends are whisked away in Professor Fauna’s plane and heading across the ocean to the mountains of the Basque Country. The members of the Unicorn Rescue Society must find and save a missing dragon. Can the group track down the kidnapped dragon? And if they find the dragon, how will they stay alive long enough to save it?

An action-packed fantasy, The Basque Dragon is full of adventure, mystery, and humor. Elliot and Uchenna show how two people who are completely different can still be friends. Elliot would rather read about mythical animals than meet them. His fearful nature is a fun contrast to Uchenna’s adventurous, courageous spirit. Uchenna is not portrayed as a stereotypical girl; she is capable, strong, and smart.

The Basque Dragon gives some history of the Basque people and uses some Basque words. The story explains how to pronounce the Basque language by giving pronunciation guides. For example, the Basque people are called, the Euskaldunak—AY-oo-SKAL-doo-nak.

In order to enjoy the story, readers will have to suspend their disbelief. There are several events that are unrealistic. For example, the professor parks his beat-up single-prop plane in the school parking lot. The group flies across the Atlantic in the beat-up plane, which the professor does not know how to land. Despite the professor’s lack of skills, the group still makes it safely to the desired location. Another unrealistic event is that even though the group leaves New Jersey after school, Elliot and Uchenna are still able to make it home in time for dinner.

One disturbing aspect of the story is that Elliot and Uchenna go to Europe with Professor Fauna, even though they don’t trust him. To make matters worse, they lie to their parents and say they were at school participating in a club—the Worm Nutrition Club.

The second installment of The Unicorn Rescue Society can be read as a stand-alone book; however, readers will enjoy the book more if they read The Creature of the Pines first. The Basque Dragon will keep younger readers entertained with its rapid pace, humorous tone, and diverse characters. Black-and-white illustrations are scattered throughout the book; the illustrations add humor as well as help readers visualize the characters. Most of the text is easy to read because it uses short paragraphs, simple vocabulary, and dialogue. However, adding the Basque language makes reading parts of the story laborious. Even though the evil villain is predictable and some of the events are unrealistic, The Basque Dragon will entertain readers while exploring the difference between independence and isolation.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When the group lands in Basque, someone shoots at them. “Pop! Pop! Pop. . . They threw themselves to the ground.” The shooting stops when the professor stands up and says, “You have succeeded, whoever you are! We are afraid!”
  • The kids are told an old story. A dragon killed a knight and captured a noblewoman. When the Knight’s squire tells the swordsmith that the blade he made broke, the swordsmith goes to free the woman. When the swordsmith finds the dragon, “A roar of flame enveloped Teodosio. He fell to the ground, fire covering his body. . .” The swordsmith and the noblewoman are able to escape.
  • During World War II, Nazis dropped bombs on the dragon. “. . . Another wave of bombs fell. The ground trembled. The great herensuge fell to the ground.” A man led the dragon to a safe cave.
  • In a fit of anger, Professor Fauna smashes the plastic membership cards for The Unicorn Rescue Society. Professor Fauna “brought the rock down again and again, breaking the plastic cards to pieces, not seeming to notice that he was also smashing the buttons and switches. Dials started going crazy, whirring and spinning. . . A groaning came from the walls of the cavern and then the sound of an explosion. . .” The cave begins to crash around the group, but no one is injured.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • One of the characters says “darn it.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • In the Basque Country, there are stories of a “dragon with seven heads: Sugaar, the god of the storms.”
  • A dragon’s saliva is “marvelously powerful” and will heal wounds.

 

 

 

 

Dreaming Dangerous

Brassmere Academy is the only home Plum has ever known. Hidden deep in the woods, Brassmere is home to orphans who have extraordinary abilities. Each night when Plum lays down to sleep, she travels into dream worlds, where her best friends Vien, Gwendle, and Artem meet her. While dreaming, the friends go on exciting journeys and fight dangerous monsters.

During a dream, Artem tells Plum, “They’re coming for us. One by one, until they find the one they need.” When she wakes up, Artem is missing. No one knows where Artem has gone. Plum is convinced that the adults at the school cannot be trusted.

Plum, Vien, and Gwendle search for their friend. As they find clues in both the dreaming and waking worlds, they uncover many secrets. Plum has always considered the director, Dr. Abarrane, a trusted adult, but now she wonders what dark secrets he keeps. Brassmere has always kept the children safe from the outside world, but is the real danger inside Brassmere’s walls? Will Plum and her friends be the next to disappear?

Told from Plum’s point of view, Dreaming Dangerous quickly jumps into the mystery of Brassmere Academy. Right from the start, the reader understands the strong bonds of friendship between the four friends. The friends travel into the dream world, where they encounter imaginative worlds full of monsters. Plum spends an equal amount of time in the real world and the dream world, which adds drama but also may cause some confusion.

Dreaming Dangerous is a compelling story that has the perfect amount of suspense and scare factor for younger readers. Readers will be drawn into the story because of the interesting dream world, the children’s abilities, and the mystery surrounding Brassmere Academy. The ending of the story shows the violent death of Plum’s mother and the evil nature of Dr. Abarrane. However, the death is not described in gory detail. The only negative aspect of the story is the abrupt, confusing conclusion that leaves many questions unanswered.

Many readers will be drawn to Dreaming Dangerous because of the well-develop characters, monsters, and mystery. The fantasy story is at times creepy and frightening. For readers who like Gothic-style mysteries, Dreaming Dangerous is an easy-to-read, fast-paced story that will entertain until the very end.  

Violence

  • While in a dream, Plum falls. “Sword pointed downward, Plum leaned into the momentum of the drop, landing hard on the head of some giant, scaled creature. An alligator, she suspected. She jammed her sword between its eyes and it thrashed and roared. . . Blood stained her sword and her shoes. . . The giant alligator would not die quickly . . . a set of sharp teeth had snared her ankle and pulled her underwater.” Plum’s friend appears and saves her. The battle with the alligator happens over four pages.
  • While in a dream, Plum sees a monster. When she asked the monster a question, “its mouth became so wide that it was big enough to devour a girl like Plum in a single bite. And that’s what it did. . .” She falls down the monster’s throat and lands in a town.
  • The gargoyles that stood guard over Brassmere came to life. The gargoyles flew towards the school. “One of the gargoyles was barreling through the overarching glass window of the grand foyer. The other had scaled the side of the building that housed the dormitory, and its giant swinging tail was shattering the windows. . . All the birds and insects in the wallpaper had escaped and were buzzing and flapping at the ceiling and remaining windows, trying to find a way out.” No one was injured.
  • Plum wakes up Melinda, who was in a trance. When Plum touches her, “Melinda raised her head and looked at Plum, her mouth curled into a vicious snarl. And then, Plum was airborne, flying backward by the metal in her boot buckles and the buttons of her coat, until she hit a wall, hard, and everything went dark.”
  • In a dream, Plum sees the young Dr. Abarrane kill a woman and take her baby. When the woman tries to argue, “Dr. Abarrane didn’t bother to argue. He pulled the trigger . . . the woman had fallen to the ground. Dead. The baby screamed and fell into a fit of tears.”
  • Dr. Abarrane chases after Plum and Artem. He tried to inject Plum with a syringe, but “a metal tray hit him in the side of the head, hard. All it took was one blow and he was down.” The kids were able to escape.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Plum is given a “strange purple liquid” through an IV. The liquid makes her sleep, and she is unable to wake from her dream.
  • After Artem disappears, Plum finds him in a building that looks like a hospital. When she finds him, he has an IV “that dripped in a bag over his bed. Plum recognized that odd purple liquid; it was the same thing Dr. Abarrane had given to her that morning. . .”
  • Plum overhears a nurse talking about the death of a boy. The boy was given “three doses of blue. . . The immediate effects were an increase in physical strength and energy.” The fluid killed the boy.

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • The orphans who live at Brassmere Academy all have special abilities. The main characters share their dreams. Some “could bend and move metal if they concentrated.” Others could “charm animals” or “communicate with their thoughts.”
  • While in a dream, Artem “could always breathe underwater.”
  • While in a dream, Plum and the others travel to a town. Plum thinks what they saw “happened in the past, and somehow I was able to see it.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Ellie Steps Up to the Plate

Ellie loves being on the stage, and she knows she is good at it. During physical education, Ellie tries baseball for the first time. She is surprised that she can hit the ball almost every time. Ellie decides to join the school team, but during her first game, she makes several mistakes. Baseball is not as easy as Ellie thought. Should Ellie stay on the team or put her mitt down forever?

Many readers will relate to Ellie’s frustration with trying something new. Through Ellie’s struggle, readers will learn the importance of practice and perseverance. Even though Ellie makes several errors during the game, her teammates encourage her to stay on the team.

Ellie Step Up to the Plate focuses on Ellie’s desire to earn a solo spot for her musical group, and her attempt to play baseball. Although the story also includes a baby deer; that part of the story was disjointed and did not flow well with the rest of the book. However, younger readers will still be able to understand the easy-to-read story and will appreciate the adorable artwork that appears on almost every page. Large type, short sentences, and plenty of dialogue will help newly independent readers stay engaged.

Readers will be able to relate to Ellie’s struggle to learn a new skill. Several of the events are connected to each other, which helps readers understand the importance of not giving up. Young girls will also benefit from seeing the varied woman characters in the story. The school coach, the veterinarian, and the principal are all women. Despite being part of a series, Ellie Steps Up to the Plate can be read as a stand-alone book.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Dragons in a Bag

Jaxon’s mom leaves the nine-year-old with Ma, so she can look after him. While there, Jax is intrigued by a moving package. Ma reveals that she is a witch, and she has the duty to deliver three baby dragons to a parallel realm where magic still exists. Jax joins Ma on her journey, but when the transporter takes them to the Mesozoic era, Ma quickly sends Jax and the dragons back to Brooklyn. Jax is determined to keep the dragons safe until he can find Ma. Will Jax be able to protect the dragons and find Ma in another dimension?

Dragon in a Bag contains a cast of diverse characters, including an invisible man, a witch, a squirrel, and Jax’s friend from school. Black-and-white illustrations are scattered throughout the book and help the reader visualize the characters. When Jax is sent back to Brooklyn, he is forced to ask for help from adults who are strangers. Even though the adults in the story make some life decisions that others do not agree with, the adults’ decisions are not criticized or shown in a negative light.

The children in the story are able to share their knowledge about different subjects, and Jax clearly loves geography. The story teaches about animal imprinting and information about the Mesozoic era. Jax briefly enters the Mesozoic era; however, Jax’s visit is so short that the reader will be disappointed with the lack of dinosaur action.

Much of the story focuses on the interpersonal relationships between the adults; they all have different views of magic and what should be done with the dragons. This allows the reader to see different people’s perspectives and shows how people can have different views without being wrong. Even though the dragons are a main part of the plot, they stay in Ma’s purse for the majority of the story. Readers who pick up the story with the hopes of seeing some dragon action will be disappointed. In the end, Dragons in a Bag is an interesting story, but younger readers will struggle to stay engaged because the story lacks action.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A squirrel comes into the house and Ma hits it with a cane. The squirrel “jumps out of the way just in time, and Ma’s cane crashes the metal breadbox instead.”
  • When a dinosaur attacks Ma, she “grabbed hold of that funny flap and swung around onto its back. Of course, that was after I’d zapped it a couple of times with my cane . . . then I used a mild enchantment to make it more manageable.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Ma serves Jax a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and then asks, “You need a beer to wash that down. Why don’t you grab a bottle from the fridge?” Later Jax realizes she was talking about root beer.

Language

  • Ma tells Jax, “go sit your butt down on that sofa and read your darn book.”

Supernatural

  • Ma is a witch, who has three dragons she is supposed to take to another dimension where magic exists. She tells Jax, “Parallel realms exist in different dimensions. Time travel is like whizzing down a slide. Crossing dimensions is more like skipping double Dutch.”
  • A transporter reads a person’s intentions and sends them to a different time period or dimension. Ma and Jax travel to the time of dinosaurs and then to a dimension where there are supercontinents.
  • One of the characters can breathe fire.

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

The Creature of the Pines

Elliot isn’t excited about starting a new school three weeks after the school year began. To make matters worse, his class is going on a field trip to the Pine Barrens, a potentially dangerous, creepy forest. The field trip is being led by Professor Fauna, a strange man who is rumored to be unhinged from reality.

Uchenna is the only person who will talk to Elliot. Unlike Elliot, she is adventurous and fearless. When Uchenna goes into the forbidden forest, will Elliot be brave enough to follow? When the two meet a Creature of the Pines, will the two survive?

Right from the start, Elliot and the other characters jump off the pages. The frightening Professor Fauna adds mystery, possible danger, and suspense. The diverse, interesting characters will pull the reader into this fast-paced mystery. The vivid descriptions and well-developed characters join together to create a suspenseful mystery that readers will not want to put down. Elliot, a fearful boy who has the tendency to overthink situations and Uchenna, an adventurous, fearless girl, make a fun pair as they join together to help a Jersey Devil that they find in the woods.

The Creature of the Pines has adventure, danger, and a mythical creature with magical powers. Black-and-white illustrations are scattered throughout the book; the illustrations add humor as well as help readers visualize the characters. The text is easy to read because it uses short paragraphs, simple vocabulary, and dialogue. Although the creature makes an exciting appearance, more information about the interesting creature could have been incorporated into the story. The Creature of the Pines will delight readers who are interested in a character-driven adventure.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • While trying to find the Jersey Devil, Elliot and Uchenna go into someone’s greenhouse. “Phipps, the butler, had crept around them, and at that instant, he grabbed Elliot’s arms.” The Jersey Devil jumps onto the butler’s face and Uchenna “spun and punched Phipps in the stomach. She was only a kid, so she couldn’t punch very hard. But she did double Phipps over.” The kids are able to escape.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • One of the characters said, “You’re darn right!”

Supernatural

  • According to a family’s legend, Beulah (a distant relative) had twelve children. After she delivered child number twelve, she told someone, “I won’t be having any more children. I’d rather have the devil than have another child.” When she gave birth to the next child, the “baby wasn’t a baby at all. It was a strange creature, and it went screeching out of Beulah’s arms and straight through the window, leaving shattered glass all over. . . Ever since then, the Jersey Devil roams these pines.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Seeing Red

Abby wants to go to her friend’s sleepover party. When she asks the secret mirror in her basement to take her to the party, Abby ends up in a fairy tale—Little Red Riding Hood.

Abby and her brother want to warn Little Red Riding Hood about the big bad wolf, but when they get to Little Red’s grandmother’s house, they are met with a big surprise. How will they be able to avoid becoming a wolf snack?

Seeing Red is a fantastic, fun retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale. The retelling adds diversity by describing Little Red Riding Hood as having “brown skin, and dark brown bangs that fall into her eyes.” Little Red Riding Hood’s real name is Lali, which means ‘red’ in Hindi.

Both Abby’s grandmother and Lali’s Dadi (grandmother in Hindi) are well-developed characters that diverge from the stereotypical grandmother. Abby’s grandmother is adventurous, while Lali’s Dadi struggles with the need to have others help her. Through Dadi’s words and actions, readers will get a small glimpse into the difficulties associated with growing older.

The introduction of the wolf, Owen, is a delightful surprise. Instead of being a typical villain, Owen becomes a wolf that a person can understand and sympathize with. Owen is “hungry and cold, and my family is mean to me, and the horrible hunter has been chasing me for years.” Owen’s sister and two brothers are important parts of the action. The theme of standing up for family is integrated throughout the story. In the end, Abby realizes “I’m lucky to have been born into such an amazing family—and Owen is lucky to have made his own.”

The woman (and girls) in the story are portrayed as caring, capable people. Mona, who helps save the day, is a policewoman, a firewoman, and a doctor. Although she appears for only a short time, the reader will come away feeling as if girls can do anything.

Although Seeing Red is part of the Whatever After series, the story can be enjoyed without reading the previous books. Seeing Red uses short sentences, dialogue, and onomatopoeias to create an easy-to-read, fast-paced story that will engage readers. The story contains many unique twists compared to the original story, which adds interest. The characters are never stale, but have interesting personalities that come to life. The story contains humor, heart, and teaches about the importance of standing up for yourself, as well as your family.

Sexual Content

  • Jonah has his first crush. He thinks Lali is “so sweet.” When Jonah and Lali meet, Abby thinks, “Is Jonah blushing? Yes! His cheeks are pink. I can practically see cartoon hearts shooting out of his scrawny chest as he sneaks another peek at Lali.”

Violence

  • When Jonah goes through the portal, he accidentally lands on the huntsman’s head, knocking him out.
  • The huntsman strikes a wolf named Owen with an arrow, which puts Owen to sleep. The huntsman says, “It will be easier to kill him back at my treehouse. With the sun setting through the windows, it’s the perfect way to spend an evening. Murder at sunset! It’s the best.” The huntsman “throws a limp Owen over his shoulder and heads for the door.”
  • In order to help Owen, Lali’s grandmother, “throws her cane up, up, up at the door. And somehow it hits the hunter square in the head. He falls backward into his house. Plunk!”
  • A wolf pack surrounds a group of people and threatens to eat them.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • The huntsman’s arrow had a sleeping medicine, which makes Owen “wobbly from the effects.”

Language

  • One of the wolves calls her brothers “fools” and “idiots.”
  • Abby thinks the huntsman is a “jerk.”

Supernatural

  • Abby and Jonah have a “magic mirror in our basement. When we knock on it three times at midnight, it pulls us inside and whisks us into a fairy tale.” Maryrose is a fairy who’s “trapped inside our mirror. She’s the one who takes me and Jonah into different fairy tales.”
  • When Abby, Jonah, and Nana enter the portal to return home, “It’s like we’re on a Tilt-A-Whirl.”
  • Abby and Jonah discover that “going into stories runs in our family!”

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Bad Mermaids Make Waves

Beattie, Mimi, and Zelda planned to spend the summer on land with temporary legs, but their trip is cut short when they receive a message ordering them to return home. The queen of the Hidden Lagoon, Arabella Cod, has been fishnapped. It’s up to the three friends to figure out what has happened to Arabella. When they return to the Hidden Lagoon, they discover that some seriously bad mermaids have taken over. With the help of a talking seahorse, the three go on a dangerous journey to discover who has fishnapped Arabella. Will the three be able to avoid the bad mermaids and chasing piranhas? Can they discover who the true villain is?

Readers looking for a fast-paced and silly mermaid mystery will be drawn to Bad Mermaids Make Waves because of the beautiful cover and the fun black-and-white illustrations throughout the story. The illustrations bring the magical mermaid world to life and help readers visualize the many crazily outfitted characters.

As Beattie, Mimi, and Zelda swim through the mermaid kingdom looking for clues, they interview those who may have had a hand in Arabella Cod’s disappearance. The mystery solving is more silly than serious and the three spend much of their time being chased. Bad Mermaids Make Waves will satisfy readers who like riddles, puns, and seriously silly fun.

The three main characters and a talking sea-horse, Steve, interact in hilarious ways. Another added bonus is the news-like articles from Clamzine and The Scribbled Squid that are dispersed throughout the story. The Scribbled Squid writes, “gossip and lies and things you should definitely buy,” while Clamzine gives snapshots of important characters in a fun way.

Bad Mermaids Makes Waves weaves mermaids, fashion, and mystery into a silly story that will engage reluctant middle school readers.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Arabella Cod is fishnapped by a human.
  • Piranhas chase the three mermaids. Mimi uses fin-fu, which is “a little like human kung fu, only with fins” to battle the piranhas. Mimi “was doing a weird single-finder chopping move and pinging them away.” The piranhas finally swim away.
  • The mermaids chase someone who stole a car. Beattie jumps on a shark and chases the car. “The shark lunged and snapped down. The clam car shot forward . . . the shark lunged and crunched! She opened her eyes just in time to see the robber mermaid shoot out of the car and down the alleyway.”
  • The mermaids sneak into someone’s house to investigate. When they are caught, Beattie gets stuck in the door that was shaped like fish lips. In order to get Beattie unstuck, “Mimi casually turned and fin-fun chopped the fish lips. The entire sandcastle crumbled into a pile in one dusty explosion of sand.” The mermaids then escape.
  • Someone fishnaps Goda Gar. “There on the bow was Goda Gar, being tied up with seaweed streams and carted off by the chomping piranhas.”
  • The three mermaids are captured. When a seahorse tries to help them, a shark “bit down hard on Steve. . . Beattie cried as the wriggling little sea horse went limp and floated down toward the mermaids in a trance below.” The seahorse’s “shell top is ruined,” but he’s okay.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Someone used a “powerful magic, old magic, dark magic” to control the mermaids. Somehow the mermaids’ nails are stamped with piranhas, which allows the piranhas to track them.
  • Someone found the Ruster Shells, which are “two magic shells with crocodiles carved on them.” When mermaids see the shells, they fall into a trance and do everything they are told. Whoever wears the shells can control others.

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

 

Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny

Introducing Isabel, a.k.a. Bunjitsu Bunny! She is the BEST bunjitsu artist in her school. She can throw farther, kick higher, and hit harder than anyone else! But she never hurts another creature . . . unless she has to. Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny introduces Isabel and has twelve short stories, each with a different, exciting adventure. Isabel learns lessons from bunjitsu school, pirates, and even a butterfly.

Much like Aesop Fables, each tale is simple, yet exciting. Every conflict is resolved in a peaceful manner (except one) and leaves readers with a moral, such as “Practice my art until I am good at it. And then keep practicing, study the world, and find what makes me laugh, and laugh loudly. And often.”

Each clever story is brief and ranges from 6-10 pages long. The story uses simple vocabulary, contains 1-5 sentences per page, and has simple red-and-black illustrations. The combination of illustrations and short sentences makes Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny a good option for those just transitioning to chapter books or to read aloud.

Each story can stand alone, and readers will want to go back to reread their favorites. Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny is about a fierce girl who proves that a person or a bunny doesn’t have to use their muscle to solve a problem.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Pirates take Isabel prisoner. “The pirates grabbed Isabel and pulled her into their boat. Isabel grabbed the arm of the nearest pirate and bunjitsu flipped him over her shoulder. He landed in her empty boat.” Isabel uses bunjitsu to get all four pirates onto her boat. The boat that the pirates are on begins to sink.
  • Jackrabbit challenges Bunjitsu Bunny to a fight. He says, “I will hit her so hard, she will fly to the moon.” The fight never happens because Isabel doesn’t show up.
  • A bear tells Isabel that he practices bearjitsu and “kicked Isabel so hard she slid across the field. . . He grabbed Isabel’s ears and flipped her to the ground. . . He twisted Isabel into a pretzel.” When the bear asks Isabel if she wants to give up, “Isabel kicked Bear so hard he shot straight into the cloud. When he landed, she flipped him to the ground so hard the earth shook! Then she grabbed his giant paw and twisted it behind his back.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Saint Anything

Sydney’s older brother, Peyton, holds the spotlight in their family—first for his charm, and then for his stints in rehab and his poor decision-making skills. When he lands in prison after hitting a young boy while drinking and driving, the spotlight turns on Sydney. With this new scandal, she decides to switch schools, hoping for anonymity and a chance to start over.

She starts over by becoming friends with the Chatham family, a family that shows Sydney what it looks like to have parents who are present and supportive and friends who accept you for you. Dessen does all this without feeling cheesy or unrealistic. Readers will see the lesson shown when Sydney is finally able to stand up for herself and the people she loves. Readers will appreciate the character development of Sydney as well as her parents.

Saint Anything is a heartfelt story that doesn’t only focus on romance but also captures the ups and downs of real life. With just the right amount of romance, suspense, and family drama, Saint Anything explores Sydney’s personal growth as she deals with tragedy.

Sydney’s character is genuine and relatable. Her story explores the complicated nature of family relationships. Readers will walk away feeling satisfied at having read a story that not only had a well-developed plot, but also realistic characters and an engaging conflict. The realistic dialogue and uncomplicated vocabulary make for an easy-to-read, engaging story.

Dessen writes a beautiful story that focuses on dealing with grief, guilt, and loneliness. The heart-warming story, with well-developed characters, shows readers the importance of becoming comfortable in your own skin. Saint Anything is the perfect book for those looking for a sweet romance that focuses on family and friendship.

Sexual Content

  • Margaret says to her friend, “Thank me forever for hooking you up with the guy you’re crazy about?”
  • Margaret walks up the stairs with a boy, implying that they are going to have sex. She asks Sydney what she is doing, and Sydney thinks, “Considering she was alone with the guy Jenn had clearly stated she was crushing on, in Jenn’s house, on her way to where there were only bedrooms, I wanted to ask her the same thing.”
  • While on a walk in the woods, Mac and Layla kiss. “I took my hand from Mac’s, then reached up to touch his cheek. When I did, his fingers moved to my waist, pulling me in closer. It was fluid and easy, like everything had been since we’d met, as I stood on my tiptoes and finally, finally kissed him.”
  • Layla thinks about Mac while reflecting on their new relationship, “Not just that he was a good kisser (very good, actually) and had the tightest set of abs I’d ever seen or touched.”
  • When Layla and Mac say goodbye, “he leaned in, kissing me once on the lips, then on the forehead. I felt safe enough to close my eyes.”
  • Spence and Layla kiss before going downstairs to the recording studio. As Spence is headed towards the studio, Layla “allowed herself to be pulled in for a kiss. To her surprise, not to mention mine, it quickly became open-mouthed and full-on tongue.”
  • Sydney’s mom speaks of Mac, “enunciating his name like you might the word herpes or molestation.”

Violence

  • Sydney’s brother is in jail. He was driving under the influence and hit a young boy riding his bike, “head-on.” The accident is not described.
  • Margaret is speaking to Sydney about her public school and says, “I hear there are fights there every day. And that’s with the girls.”
  • A boy attempts to sexually assault Sydney. “He grabbed my wrists. . . then tightened his grip on my wrists, pushing them back, back, against my ears. That was when I got scared. . . I tried to turn my head as he put his lips on mine, squeezing my eyes shut, but he grabbed my face, jerking me back to face him. I could feel his fingers digging into my chin. . . but then my palm was connecting with his face, the sound of skin to skin loud, a smack, and he stumbled backward. . .” Sydney’s dad stops the attack. “. . . I saw my dad. He had one arm hooked around Ame’s neck, tight, the fist clenched, and was pulling him backward down the hallway, away from me.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • In the beginning, Sydney explains the backstory of how her brother ended up in jail. She describes a background of breaking and entering, smoking pot, and possession of pills in his locker.
  • Peyton’s friend has a habit of smoking cigarettes. He would “duck out occasionally to the garage to smoke cigarettes, using a sand-bucket ashtray my mom (who abhorred the habit) put out.”
  • Peyton “drank several beers, took a few shots,” and then “got into his car, and headed home.”
  • In the past, Rosie became addicted to Vicodin that the doctor prescribed to her for a knee injury. She got into trouble when she attempted to get more by faking her prescriptions. “She got a bit too fond of the Vicodin they gave her. Tried to pass off some fake prescriptions.”
  • When Jenn’s parents are out of town, Margaret, Jenn, Meredith, and Sydney drink piña coladas. Meredith and Sydney are not fans of alcohol, but they stay to make sure Jenn is okay. Jenn drinks too much and Sydney helps her to bed.
  • A newspaper story speaking about Peyton’s past states, “After a string of arrests for breaking and entering and drug possession, among other things, he’d completed a stay in rehab and had been sober for over a year. But on that February night, after an evening spent drinking and getting high. . .”
  • Layla and her friends go into the woods behind their house and drink one or two beers before coming back home. Irv says, “Beer me, someone.”
  • Layla’s boyfriend has started taking drugs. Layla tells Sydney the extent of it. “Just pot. Some pills. They make him different. But when I nag him, he gets mad, then doesn’t answer my texts.”
  • When Layla’s boyfriend shows up at her house, she “got a strong whiff of alcohol.”
  • While in the recording studio, Spence, “proceeded to drink most of his bottle of vodka.”

Language

  • “Oh, my God” and “My God” are used several times as exclamations.
  • Layla’s dad says, “Blah my ass,” and then apologizes for his language.
  • Rosie flips another character off.
  • Layla speaks about her brother’s ex-girlfriend. “She was a mean hippie. Who even knew such a thing existed? Bitch.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Layla and her brother went to church when they were young. She speaks about meeting a friend “whom I’d known since our days at Trinity Church Preschool.”
  • Mac explains that the pendant he wears around his neck is “actually a pendant of a saint.” He explains further saying it is of “Bathilde. Patron saint of children. I guess she [his mom] figured we’d need all the help we could get.”
  • Sydney thinks about Mac’s mother, “Like my mom, she was that center of the wheel, with everyone connected drawing strength from her. She needed a saint of her own.”
  • Mac and Layla deliver pizza. “At the next stop, we interrupted a teenage Bible study and were greeted at the door by a beaming girl with braces, who invited us in for a slice and some testimony. Even though we declined, she tipped generously. Jesus would have approved.”
  • Mac speaks about saints and the pendant again, saying Mrs. Chatham “always liked the idea of protection, but especially since she got sick. I’m not wholly convinced. But I figure it can’t hurt, you know?”
  • Mac speaks about saints and his mom. “But there are a few that can be applied pretty broadly. Like the saint of wanderers, travelers, the lost. Or whatever. . . My mom’s favorite is Saint Anthony, the finder of lost things.”
  • Sydney speaks about her saint pendant. “My Saint Anything. I liked the thought of someone looking out for me, whoever it might be. We all need protecting, even if we don’t always know what from.”

by Hannah Neely

Lullaby Lake

Tag, Skyla, and Blaze go to Lullaby Lake to search for the next piece of the magical Ember Stone. When they get to the lake, they find magical fairies protecting the Ember Stone. The fairies won’t let anyone near the stone. Thorn and his spies are near. How will the friends get the next piece of the stone? Will they be able to defeat Thorn’s dark magic?

The evil vulture Thorn makes an exciting appearance in the fourth book of The Last Firehawk series. Lullaby Lake adds mystery when Tag and his friends keep falling asleep and forgetting their goal. With the help of a sleepy sloth and a bit of good luck, the three befriend a nixie, who happens to be the princess. Although the story has less adventure than the first books in the series, the fairy world adds new characters, magic, and an argument with a protective fairy king.

The repetitious nature of the series may lead some readers to become bored with the series. Lullaby Lake ends with the three friends needing to find another piece of the Ember Stone. Similar to The Whispering Oak, the protector of the Ember Stone does not want to give the stone to Tag and his friends. The similarities between the plots leave the story lacking much-needed suspense.

The fourth book in the series continues to use onomatopoeias, which are scattered throughout the story and make the reading fun. Short sentence structure, dialogue, and simple vocabulary make the series easy to read. Black-and-white illustrations appear on every page and help bring the story to life.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Thorn tries to take the Ember Stone from Tag. “Quick as a flash, Thorn took another swipe at Tag’s sack. His sharp claws ripped it open . . . Skyla shot acorns from the shore while Tag and Blaze chased after the vulture by air.”
  • Tiger bats capture a nixie. Tag and his friends rescue her. “Bonk! She hit the tiger bat holding the nixie, and the tiny fairy fell to the ground. . . Blaze threw small flames at the tiger bats. They squawked and took to the sky.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Water fairies protect the Ember Stone. When they are in danger, they sing a lullaby that puts animals to sleep. The fairy uses magical bubbles to take Blaze, Tag, and Skyla to the fairies’ underwater kingdom.
  • Thorn is an evil vulture that uses black magic called the Shadow; he hopes to destroy Perodia.
  • Firehawks “were magical birds who protected the Ember stone—a stone that holds magic within.”
  • When a piece of the Ember Stone is placed on a map, “the map glowed, brighter and brighter. . . When Tag looked again, a small shining dot appeared on the map.” The magical map guides the friends to the next location to which they must travel.

Spiritual Content

  • None

Refugee 87

Shif has a happy life, unfamiliar with the horrors of his country’s regime. He is one of the smartest boys in school, and feels safe and loved in the home he shares with his mother and little sister, right next door to his best friend, Bini. Both boys dream of going to university. Bini hopes to be a doctor and Shif wants to be an architect.

Both boys’ dreams are shattered the day that soldiers arrive at their door. Soldiers accuse the fourteen-year-olds of trying to flee before they can be drafted into the military. The boys are sent to prison, where they discover the lengths the government will go to silence anyone who is seen as a possible threat. Shif and Bini’s only hope is to escape the prison, sneak across the desert, and enter another country.

Told from Shif’s point of view, Refugee 87 jumps into a hostile country where people face unthinkable cruelty at the hands of their government. Shif and the other prisoners are treated like worthless animals and are given little food. However, once Shif escapes from prison, he discovers many unexpected dangers. A woman tells Shif not to go to the refugee camps because “a tribe in this area kidnaps people who have escaped from our country. . . They have gangs who patrol the camps, waiting for anyone new. Children get good prices. . . Before selling you, they try to get hold of your family’s money.”

Readers will sympathize with Shif as they learn about the modern refugee crisis. Instead of delving into the political situation, Fountain keeps the setting vague and brings Shif’s hardships to life. Even though the story is told from Shif’s point of view, readers may find it difficult to believe that Shif did not understand the reason his mother was so cautious and the dangers people in his country faced. The easy-to-read story doesn’t waste words on detailed descriptions, which sets the fast pace of the story. However, the lack of detail leaves the reader with unanswered questions.

Even though the publisher recommends the story for children eight and older, younger readers may become upset by the story’s mature themes which include war, violence, death, and human slavery. Although the events in the story are not described in graphic detail, Shif faces the death of his best friend and other horrific treatment. The abrupt ending may frustrate readers because the conclusion does not tell readers if Shif eventually made it to the safety of Europe.

As realistic fiction, Refugee 87 will help readers understand why people flee war-torn countries and the dangers that refugees face. The story also touches on themes of friendship, endurance, and the predatory nature of humans. Refugee 87 explores the refugee crisis in a manner that is appropriate for younger audiences and will engage readers of all ages. Readers who enjoyed Refugee 87 or want to learn more about refugees should also read Refugee by Alan Gratz.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Shif and other prisoners are walking. One of the guards pushes Shif “in the back with the butt of his rifle and points ahead. He pushes me again. . . ‘eyes down!’ the guard shouts, and pushes me so hard that I fall to my knees on the stone ground.”
  • Shif and Bini try to escape the prison. As they run, the guards shoot at them. “Seconds later, I hear a bullet ricochet from the tree trunk. Another whizzes past my head like a bee. Puffs of dirt jump in the air as more bullets hit the earth around us.” The boys run and hide in a crack in the desert floor.
  • When Shif and Bini walk through the desert trying to escape from the prison’s soldiers, they hear a vehicle coming. As they begin to run, “There is a puff of dust from the ground beside me. Bullets. Which means they are close enough to fire at us. . . Bini shudders and yells out, then falls to his knees in front of me, clutching his arm.” Because of his injury, Bini tells Shif to leave him. As Shif runs, he “hears Bini shouting at the guards. I hear two shots behind me, then silence.” The scene is described over three pages.
  • Shif meets a woman who was injured. She tells him, “A land mine exploded when we were crossing the border. Two people we were crossing with were killed. I was hit with some pieces of shrapnel. We managed to get the pieces out, but the cuts were deep and I wasn’t able to clean them properly so they became infected.”
  • Shif stays with a family, who has a young daughter named Almaz. While shopping in the market, someone steals Almaz’s money. “Almaz darts down a dusty street after the man. I skid to a stop at the top of the street. Halfway down I see the man has stopped too. He is holding Almaz by the waist. She has her back to him and is struggling to kick him or twist around to scratch at his face.” Shif helps Almaz. “I push at his shoulder and try to grab his arm. He pins Almaz against the wall with one hand, then hits me in the face with the other. I fall backward; my cheek and nose explode with a coldness that almost immediately turns to throbbing pain.” Shif and Almaz escape. The scene is described over two pages.
  • While trying to escape the country, the smuggler yells at a woman who needs to pay more money. Shif hears “screaming and shouting in the corridor, and a loud cracking sound, then she is quiet.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • When Shif and Bini are shoved into a prison room, one of the men tells them, “Whatever you do, don’t piss on anyone in the night.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • When Shif and Bini hide from the soldiers, Shif prays “that we look like nothing more than two rocky bumps in the uneven desert landscape.”

 

 

Boy Bites Bug

Will wasn’t trying to prove a point. He wasn’t trying to put his friend in his place. He just wanted to fix an awkward situation. So, he ate a stink bug. Now, everyone knows him as bug boy. His new popularity brings a host of confusion—he’s feuding with his old best friend and trying to navigate a new friendship. Will wants to do what’s right, but he’s not always sure what that is.

Boy Bites Bug is a fast-paced story that brings the struggles of friendship into focus. The diverse characters are authentic, funny, and bring heart to the story. Will has a hard time figuring out how to deal with his changing friendship with Darryl. Will thinks, “Darryl and he had been friends for a long time, but would a real friend make him feel crappy for trying to be a decent person?”

As Will and Elroy become friends, Will struggles with figuring out what racism is. Even though his new friend Elroy is from Minnesota, others see him only as a Mexican, and Will makes assumptions about Elroy because of his race. Will knows it’s wrong to give someone “crap about who he was,” but wonders if his own behavior and assumptions are racist as well.

The story shows strong positive relationships between Will and his family. Even though Will’s actions have negative consequences for his sister, his sister still stands by his side. Will’s sister is one of the best parts of the book because even though her bug-eating brother causes her problems, in the end, she supports him and even makes up a bug-eating cheer for him.

Boy Bites Bug will appeal to a variety of readers because Will and his friends struggle with real-life issues—friendship, family, and figuring out life. Through Will’s journey, the reader will learn about eating bugs “on purpose” as well as get recipes that include bugs. The gross factor brings humor as well as lessons about different cultures. In the end, Will realizes that making fun of people for eating bugs isn’t funny. He also learns an important lesson about forgiveness. He learns that “some apologies would never fix things, but that didn’t mean they shouldn’t be made. It just meant they’d be harder to get out.”

Sexual Content

  • One of Will’s friends uses his father’s credit card for ridiculous items because, “his dad left Simon’s mom and taken off to Arizona with a girlfriend, leaving Simon behind with a credit card to make up for not calling much or ever visiting.”

Violence

  • Hollie accidentally gives a boy a bloody nose. “Hollie had been putting something on the top shelf of her locker when Jeremy sneaked up behind her and brushed her back. . . He’d surprised her, and when she jerked around, her elbow cracked his nose.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • During a presentation, Will talks about how many bugs can legally be in food. He said, “If one’s dad had a bear with it (pizza), he would drink twenty-five hundred aphids, too.”

Language

  • Light profanity is used throughout the story. Profanity includes crap, holy crap, holy cow, and heck.
  • Will’s sister said someone is “acting like a jerk.” She also calls her brother a “dork-face” and a “fuzz-butt.”
  • A boy calls the new boy a “cholo.” The boy “knew he’d crossed a line, but his jaw squared too-he wasn’t taking anything back.”
  • The kids in the book call each other names including bonehead, dork, jerk, loser, nerd, idiot and menso (stupid).
  • Will gets upset because his friend is making “the three of them look like prejudiced jerks.”
  • “Oh my gosh” is used as an exclamation.
  • At wrestling practice, Will changes quickly because he didn’t want “his bony butt hanging out in front of these guys any longer than necessary.”
  • Will said his father can cook, “but you only eat his chili if you want to shoot flames out of your butt.”
  • When Will is introducing someone to the sport of wrestling, he said, “If you think it’s gay, you should leave now.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

 

 

 

The Next Level

Ellie attempts a new project and accidentally makes a big mess. As punishment, her parents have Ellie help their elderly neighbor, Mrs. Curran. Ellie and her friends, Kit, and Toby, are supposed to help with little things like stuffing envelopes. However, when Ellie sees things around the house that need fixing, she puts her engineering skills to work.

Mrs. Curran assumes that Toby is responsible for fixing things around the house, even though they are Ellie’s ideas. Ellie wants to prove to Mrs. Curran that girls can do anything, even be engineers. How can Ellie use her engineering knowledge to change Mrs. Curran’s assumptions about engineers?

 Ellie, Engineer focuses on showing that girls can be smart and creative, but it also examines other stereotypes. Ellie makes many assumptions about “grandma-age people.” However, as she gets to know Mrs. Curran, she learns that those assumptions are incorrect. Through Ellie’s experiences, the theme becomes clear—making assumptions about others is wrong. Boys can play with dolls. Girls can be engineers. Not all old people are the same. Even though the story focuses on Mrs. Curran and her assumptions, she is not well-developed. However, in the end, Mrs. Curran’s perception changes, both about others as well as herself. The ending has a cute surprise that readers will enjoy.

Ellie, Engineer is a fun story about friendship and has the added benefit of teaching important lessons. Even though Toby acts like a know-it-all, Ellie realizes that “It didn’t seem right to be friends with Toby but still call him a name behind his back.” The story also reinforces the importance of asking permission before using someone else’s things.

Although the story’s plot is easy to understand, there is very little action that propels the plot forward. The first chapter starts out strong, with Ellie and her friends having an engineering disaster; however, after the first incident, the three friends do not discuss how to make the invention better. Instead, they seem to build a working elevator without much planning.

The story contains some fun illustrations of Ellie’s sketches; however, the story is text-heavy, which might make the story daunting for some readers. The story’s plot is easy to understand and would be engaging for elementary readers. Ellie, Engineer’s vocabulary isn’t difficult, but the sentence structure is complex. Strong female characters, important life lessons, and positive adult interactions make Ellie, Engineer a story worth reading. Ellie, Engineer would be an excellent choice for more advanced readers or to read aloud with a parent.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Spotlight on Coding Club!

Erin loves being on stage. When the school announces an upcoming talent show, Erin knows she can come up with a winning performance. Erin also agrees to help the coding club with developing an app to help score the contestants. Erin knows she’s taking on a lot, but she’s determined to distract herself. Erin doesn’t want to think about her father’s deployment and staying busy is her solution.

With operation distraction in full force, Erin’s anxiety gets the best of her. She wants to pretend that everything is okay, but her stress levels keep increasing. Her friends from the coding club have always been there for her, but Erin doesn’t want to tell them what’s really going on in her life. Will Erin be able to handle the pressure? If she tells her friends the truth, will they still like her?

The fourth installment of the Girls Who Code series has the same lovable characters but is told from Erin’s point of view, which allows the story to focus on a new conflict. Readers will get a look at Erin’s thought process as she tries to use humor to diffuse stressful situations. Erin tries to hide her true feelings from her friends. Readers will relate to Erin’s struggle with anxiety and her fear of telling others. The story makes it clear that having anxiety should not be viewed as an embarrassment. Erin is told, “I think it’s really cool that you talked to a therapist about this. Getting professional help was definitely the mature way to handle it.”

Spotlight on Coding Club uses texting bubbles, emojis, and simple vocabulary, which makes the story easy to read and assessable to younger readers. The fourth book in the series focuses less on the girls’ friendship and more on Erin’s personal struggle. Although Erin’s struggle is real, the story contains less action than previous books. Along with Erin’s personal struggle, Maya struggles with asking a girl on a date. Although dating is a topic many preteens are interested in, Maya’s romantic interests seemed forced and added little to the plot. In the end, Spotlight on Coding Club teaches a valuable lesson about friendship and anxiety but lacks action and suspense.

Sexual Content

  • There is a short conversation about Maya asking another girl out on a date. Later in the story, Maya asks the girl to the movies and it is “definitely a date.”

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • “Oh my god” is used as an exclamation three times.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Nightbooks

Alex is considered a bit odd by the other kids at school because he likes to spend his time writing scary stories. Disheartened by their constant teasing, Alex sneaks out of his apartment one night to burn his notebook. On the way to the boiler room, the elevator mysteriously stops on the fourth floor. Before he knows it, a witch named Natasha has imprisoned him in her magical apartment. Natasha loves stories, and Alex’s storytelling abilities are what got him captured—and what will keep him alive.

The witch has one other prisoner, a girl named Yasmin. She has long given up hope of escape and tells Alex that to stay alive he will have to continue telling Natasha hair-raising tales. But Alex is running out of story ideas, and he can’t focus on writing while consumed with thoughts of escape.

Nightbooks blends the fairy tale elements of Hansel and Gretel into a modern story that readers will love. Unlike Disney’s version of fairy tales, Nightbooks keeps the dark elements alive by delving into how a person becomes evil. This action-packed story is full of frightening elements, interesting characters, and several twisty surprises. As Alex, Yasmin, and a cat named Lenore join together to defeat Natasha, readers will cheer as the three try to stay alive and find a way to escape.

Alex and Yasmin aren’t the only well-developed characters. The witch Natasha is a uniquely interesting character because she is cruel, but she is also clearly frightened of the creepy, ever-changing apartment in which she lives. Although Natasha is obviously evil, her well-developed character gives the reader a glimpse into her history, adding interest to the story.

Throughout the story, Alex reads his own scary tales, adding another interesting element to Nightbooks. His stories do not distract from the main story, but add more frightening elements—dead children, vampires, and an evil teddy bear. Both Alex’s stories and the main narrative are creepy and scary, but the descriptions are not gory.

Many younger readers will relate to Alex, who feels like he is abnormal and does not fit in. A theme of normalcy is integrated into the story through Alex’s struggle with his desire to be like everyone else. In the end, he realizes, “So what if I write scary stories? I might hurt someone with nouns and adjectives, but I would never hurt someone for real.”

Readers will come away from this story with a message about the importance of courage, compassion, friendship, and accepting yourself. For those who like a fast-paced, frightening story, Nightbooks is a superb scary story for middle school readers.

Sexual Content
• None

Violence
• When Yasmin accidentally feeds a magical plant the wrong food, it produces “danglers.” When a dangler opens, a creature comes out. “Two red pinchers burst through the outer layer of the sac and dug into the wood, gaining purchase and dragging the rest of the body to freedom.” The creature shreds anything it touches. A cat named Lenore tries to catch the creature. “More sounds. Hissing. A buzzing noise, like a flying insect. A pot shattering. Lenore screeched in pain.” More creatures are born, and the kids try to fight them off. Alex “felt a sharp pain in his ankle. He kicked his foot and a furry lump sailed across the room. . . something landed on his lower back and immediately began to climb higher, claws tearing through his shirt and into skin.” The attack takes place over the span of a chapter.
• The witch gets angry with Lenore. “The witch opened her hand and a tiny fireball shot at Lenore. It seared the back of her fur, leaving a black streak against the orange. Lenore yowled in pain.”
• When the witch gets upset at the children that she has captured, she turns them into porcelain dolls.
• Alex tells a story about two brothers. The younger brother dies but comes back one night. The older brother, who was sleeping, felt “something jab him again, harder this time. The mattress lifted into the air for a moment before crashing back down onto its frame.” When Keith tried to get out of the bed, “a hand grabbed his ankle. It was cold and small but strong enough to jerk him off his feet. Keith crashed to the floor.” The story implies that the dead child takes over his brother’s body.
• When Alex, his friend, and the cat go into a passage, a creature greets them. “It had the body of a horse, but its black hair was missing in patches, revealing large swatches of oozing skin.” The creature attacks. “Alex screamed, certain that he was about to be impaled in several places, but the sharp tips of the horns fell just short of his body.”
• Aunt Gris and the witch Natasha fight. “Natasha snarled with frustration and unleashed a barrage of spells, one after the other; choking mist, nooses made of flame, twin skeletons brandishing iron swords. . . Aunt Gris leaped across the room and landed on her back. . .” There was a “short scream of pain followed by horrible crunching sounds—and then nothing at all.”
• At one point, the witch, “seemed determined to fit Yasmin’s entire head in her mouth.” When Alex throws a book of stories into the furnace, the witch tries to save the book, and “Yasmin shoved her from behind. [She] fell forward into the flames.”

Drugs and Alcohol
• None

Language
• Yasmin thinks Alex’s brother “sounds like a jerk.”

Supernatural
• A witch lives in a magical apartment that entices children to enter. “The apartment does what it can to get you inside. Different for everyone . . . Traditionally, it’s some sort of food that draws them. Kids are always thinking with their stomachs, you know.”
• The apartment needs dark magic to stay alive. The witch wants Alex to tell scary stories because “the thing about dark magic, though—it thrives on nightmares. . . When you read it a scary story, you soothe its aches and pains. And then it can rest easy again—at least for a little while.”
• The witch has a business that sells “magic-infused oils. . . A hex for that annoying neighbor, extra luck for a weekend getaway to Atlantic City. And love oils.”
• Alex writes a story about a girl who turns into a vampire when her reflection was stolen.
• Alex meets the original witch, Aunt Gris, who “ate children and devoured their youth.” The witch that captured Alex had “slipped a sleeping potion into [Aunt Gris’s] tea.” Natasha keeps Aunt Gris alive, but asleep.
• When Aunt Gris wakes, she is deformed. “Its fingers were candy canes ending in chiseled nails that looked very, very sharp. They twisted and cracked, testing their newfound freedom. . . Her ears and nose were in the expected places, but her face drooped like melted taffy, and her eyes were gold-foiled chocolate coins pressed deeply into malleable flesh.”
• When Aunt Gris dies, her magic dies and the porcelain children come back to life. “They recalled their names and everything about their lives up until the moment they entered apartment 4E. . . some of the children had been missing for a decade or more and hadn’t seemed to age in the intervening years.”

Spiritual Content
• None

Amy on Park Patrol

When Amy volunteers to help pick up trash at the park, she learns that new stores will be built on some of the park’s land. She’s worried about all of the insects and animals who make that park their home. Can Amy and her friends help save the park and the creatures who live in it?

Amy on Park Patrol teaches the importance of caring for the environment. Amy shows she cares about the environment by picking up trash, planting pollinator-friendly plants, and teaching about nature. Amy and her friends make a petition to save the neighborhood park. The petition process is difficult. Some want to save the park, while others are looking forward to having new stores. Even though Amy and her friends have difficulty gaining signatures, they do not give up on their plan.

Amy on Park Patrol’s main goal is to teach about the process of pollination as well as the importance of pollinators. The story focuses on insects and birds, which might disappoint some readers. However, younger readers will enjoy the adorable artwork that appears on almost every page. Large type, short sentences, and plenty of dialogue will help newly independent readers stay engaged.

Despite being part of a series, Amy on Park Patrol can be read as a stand-alone book. Amy on Park Patrol will engage younger readers while allowing them to see that children can make a difference in our world. After reading about the importance of pollinators, readers may want to plant some flowers of their own.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Rosie Revere and The Raucous Riveters

Rosie Revere loves engineering. When Rosie’s Aunt Rose and her friends—a group of women who built airplanes during World War II—ask her to complete an important project, Rosie is excited to help. One of the Riveters has broken both her wrists and can’t participate in the Art-A-Go contest. Rosie and her friends use all of their knowledge to invent a tool to help her paint. Building a paintapolooza comes with setbacks. When Rosie begins to lose hope, her friends step in to help. Will Rosie and her friends be able to finish the paintapolooza in time for the big event?

Readers will initially be drawn to Rosie Revere and the Raucous Riveters because of the cheerful illustrations but will continue reading because of Rosie’s personality. Rosie is a strong character who uses problem solving to create her inventions. Rosie’s struggle is realistic; she doesn’t find the solution to her problem without failure. When Rosie feels “frustrated and frazzled,” she uses smart strategies to refocus. For example, Rosie’s great imagination causes her to focus on what-ifs, and “when that happened, Rosie had to remind herself to stop and think differently.”

Rosie’s illustration notebook, which contains lists and alliterations, will engage readers transitioning to chapter books. Rosie and her friends use imagination and teamwork to help someone in need. The story portrays the older generation in a positive light, and through her interactions with the Riveters, Rosie learns the importance of strong friendships. The story’s positive message is clear: “The only true failure can come if you quit.”

After the story concludes, additional text is included: a poem about a valve, information on valves, and historical information about the Riveters. The book ends with a “think about this” section that guides readers to apply the story to their life.

Instead of focusing on a simple plot, the book delves into too many characters and too many subplots. For instance, Rosie misinterprets one character’s behavior, but later discovers that the person was allergic to sunlight. Although there is historical information about the Blue River Riveters, the facts do more to complicate the story. For beginning readers interested in engineering, readers may want to begin with the Ellie, Engineer series before moving to The Questioneers series.

Sexual Content
• None

Violence
• None

Drugs and Alcohol
• None

Language
• None

Supernatural
• None

Spiritual Content
• None

The Secret Sheriff of Sixth Grade

Sixth-grader Maverick dreams of being a superhero. The only problem is that he’s weak, friendless, and has a host of problems. His father died in the war in Afghanistan. His alcoholic mother brings home abusive boyfriends. His mother’s love of alcohol and inability to keep a job often leaves Maverick hungry and wearing dirty clothes.

Maverick holds on to a plastic sheriff’s badge that his father gave him. The badge reminds him to fight for those smaller than him—even if it’s hard to find someone that small. However, every time Maverick tries to defend someone else, his efforts always take a wrong turn.

The Secret Sheriff of Sixth Grade quickly pulls readers into the story because it’s told in a first-person point of view and showcases Maverick’s self-deprecating attitude and desire to help others. Even though Maverick has a host of problems, he has the heart of a hero. Readers will laugh out loud at his mishaps, cry at his misfortunes, and root for him every step of the way.

The supporting characters are so well-developed that their unique personalities jump off the page. As Maverick gets to know other people, his perception of them changes as he realizes that their actions are often misinterpreted. For example, the assistant principal who Maverick originally thinks is terrible, turns out to have a kind heart.

Domestic abuse and alcoholism are weaved into the story in a kid-friendly manner, which allows the reader to see the devastation caused by the two without giving frightening details. At one point, Maverick wonders if he will become an abuser like his dad. His aunt tells him that changing the patterns of life is difficult. “It’s hard. Sometimes making the right choices is super hard.”

The Secret Sheriff of Sixth Grade is a fast-paced, powerful story that shows the importance of kindness and standing up for others. In the end, Maverick realizes that he is not just a “shrimpy loser,” but an imperfect boy that can impact others through acts of kindness. Maverick learns that “Maybe I didn’t need webs to be a hero—or rippling muscles, or a bulletproof shield. Maybe, at the end of the day, I could just keep trying to look around for people who needed a hand, and then grab on to theirs with my own.”

Readers will keep turning the pages of The Secret Sheriff of Sixth Grade. Maverick is an unforgettable character that readers will remember for a long time after they finish the book. Maverick’s lessons of kindness and persistence will leave the readers with a sense of optimism. The Secret Sheriff of Sixth Grade is a must-read book for middle school readers.

Sexual Content

  • A girl tells Maverick that he can’t fight Bowen, but she was going to “kick his (Bowen’s) butt.” Then someone said, “Oh, she’s feisty, too! Is that how you like your women, Maverick? Big and spicy?”

Violence

  • Maverick’s mother has a string of “loser” boyfriends, who physically abuse her. Maverick gets home and sees his mom, “clutching at her left eye, and sobbing. Johnny was leaning over her, shouting so loudly that I could see the spit flying out of his mouth into her hair. . . His hand whipped through the air and cracked across my mother’s face so hard her head smashed against the couch cushion and bounced forward again.
  • Maverick sees a kid being picked on in school. In order to help, he “dropped my book bag, put my head down, and charged at Bowen . . . Too late, I dimly realized I had just knocked the little guy into a row of lockers. Oops. A split second later, my head and shoulders slammed into Bowen. . .“ Bowen is knocked into a trash can, and then the principal shows up and ends the fight.
  • Maverick’s father was a “firefighter on an artillery base. A mortar round came in at night, hit some gas cans, and set the barracks on fire.” His father died trying to save the men.
  • A father, who is a police officer, hits his son. “Before Bowen could say another word, his head rocketed sideways toward me and I heard him whimper. . . Bowen’s father had hit him, really hard, on the side of the head.”
  • Maverick comes home and finds his mother, “Holding a bloody towel under her nose . . . Mom looked down at the towel in her hand, and almost seemed surprised to see it there. Maybe she was. I could smell the alcohol rolling off her from across the room.” His mother passes out.
  • Maverick and Bowen meet at the park after school so they can fight. “He punched me, extremely hard, once. . . I felt a crack, and a slicking stab of pain. I stopped swinging, started to reach for my chest with one hand, and bent forward. As I did, Bowen swung his knee up, into that same spot of my chest. The impact jerked me fully upright. . . the entire left side of my sweatshirt was already soaked through with blood.” Bowen calls his father, who races Maverick to the hospital.
  • Maverick’s mother’s ex-boyfriend comes to the house. The ex-boyfriend and his mother argue. Before violence begins, Maverick “squirmed my way between them, and said, ‘hit me, Johnny.’” Johnny leaves. His mother celebrates by drinking “something clear that was not water.”
  • Maverick’s house burns when “your mother fell asleep with a lit cigarette.” Maverick’s pet is killed in the fire. Maverick thinks it’s his fault because, “I check in on her in the morning, and everything looked fine.”
  • Maverick thinks back to when his dad was alive. When Maverick was little, his parents began to argue, and “then I heard a sharp smack and a gasp from the porch. . . My mother had whipped a hand up to cover one side of her face. . .”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Maverick’s mother has a drinking problem, which Maverick thinks about often. Once he had to “drop out of T-ball when my mom drank up the fifteen-dollar T-shirt fee.”
  • When Maverick gets sent to the principal’s office, he doesn’t want to call his mom because “she didn’t have a car. She was probably hungover. Or still sleeping. Or, worst of all, drunk again.” Maverick calls his aunt and promises to tell his mother about being in trouble. He thinks, “I didn’t say that my plan was to wait until she’d had a bunch of drinks and was about to pass out.”
  • When assigned to make a poster about his life, Maverick thinks, “if I had been totally honest, I would have cut out a pile of vodka bottles. . .”
  • When Maverick’s mom loses her job, she “started drinking. And drinking. And drinking. . . Nothing got my mother up off the couch until the eighth day, when she ran out of alcohol.” His mother sold his father’s military medal of honor to pay for more alcohol.
  • Max is upset because his friend complained about his mom not doing laundry and now “his favorite clothes were dirty.” Maverick’s mother didn’t do his laundry, and Maverick had to worry about “when scary teen gangsters were smoking and drinking in front of the laundry room of our apartment complex, so I was afraid to do my laundry and had to wear dirty stuff to school.”
  • When Maverick’s mother’s ex-boyfriend shows up, he wonders, “Do I let him in? Should I offer him a beer?”
  • When Maverick’s aunt goes to his house, he worries, “What if there were bottles of booze all over the place? What if it reeked of cigarettes and last night’s garbage?”

Language

  • Crud, darn, jerk, and holy cow are all used twice. Freaking is used seven times. Bonehead is also used.
  • “Oh, my god,” is used as an exclamation once.
  • Maverick is upset when the P.E. coach yells at him for not having the money to pay for his P.E. clothes. He thinks, “I don’t freaking have ten dollars.” Later, he thinks that the P.E. teacher had “Been a jerk about my problem.”
  • In a humorous scene, Maverick calls someone a “cheese tool.” Someone tries to explain what a cheese tool is. “A cheese tool is the little plastic rectangle that comes in a packet of cheese and crackers.” The group of kids that heard the comments were confused. “Half the kids seemed to be muttering things like, ‘Cheese tool? What a moron!’ But the other half were like, ‘Dang! Bowen got called a cheese tool!’”
  • Someone yells at a group of boys, “We’re all going to get in trouble, just because you three boneheads couldn’t control yourselves.”
  • Someone calls Maverick a “shrimpy little idiot.”
  • When a teacher talks about having a guest speaker, a student refers to the “special guest” as “special dorks.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

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