Reading Level: Elementary

 Dog Days

The trials and tribulations of middle school life are temporarily over for Greg Heffley. As summer approaches, there are no bullies or classes to worry about. Greg is ready to kick back and enjoy junk food, TV, and video games. However, after his summer vacation is canceled, a three-month guilt trip starts for Greg. Greg now has to put up with his mom’s constant demands to go outside and read a book, his dad and his “bonding” experiences, a terrible birthday party, a new dog, and a fight with his best friend, Rowley. How will Greg survive?

Written in Greg’s own journal, the conflict of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days revolves around everything that happens in Greg’s life. It is written from his 12-year-old perspective. The story contains a lot of bathroom and childish humor. At one point in the story, Greg, who is almost naked, has to chase after his dog. At another point in the story, Greg has to save his younger brother, Manny, before he accidentally washes his hands in the urinal.

Greg Heffley is a well-developed and relatable character for young audiences. Although Greg is lazy, petty, narcissistic, and cowardly, he does have moments of kindness. Greg will show readers the importance of sharing and thinking of others. He even points out some of the flaws in his own terrible behavior, showing kids that procrastinating and sleeping all day isn’t worth it. The consistently funny black-and-white illustrations, which look more like a comic strip than a highly illustrated graphic novel, help break up the text and keep even the most reluctant readers engaged.

Greg’s perspective is often pessimistic and at times can be downright mean. Greg demonstrates qualities, such as laziness and selfishness, that parents would not want their children to emulate. However, the story has relatable conflicts and shows readers the different perspectives of children and parents. Greg’s behavior could lead to a good discussion between parents and children about how people should act. Readers do not have to read these books in order to enjoy them. The fun, easy-to-read story will teach valuable and practical lessons to readers. Despite the childish humor, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days will entertain readers and have them laughing out loud.

Sexual Content

  • At the beginning of the book, Greg and Rowley are strolling around the country club pool and he says, “We’re both bachelors at the moment, and during the summer it’s better to be unattached.”
  • Greg has a crush on Heather Hills, a lifeguard at the public pool, and hits on her every day for weeks. However, he “…didn’t mention Heather Hills to Mom, because [he doesn’t] need her getting in the middle of my love life.”

Violence

  • Rodrick shoves Greg off the high dive.
  • Grandpa accidentally runs over Greg’s dad’s dog while Rodrick’s fish eats Greg’s fish.
  • Greg snaps Rowley with a rubber band, leaving him with a red mark on his arm.
  • Rowley “crushed [Greg’s] hand to smithereens” with a hammer because he thought it was the Muddy Hand (a terrifying horror movie character) coming to get him.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Both bathroom and immature humor are used frequently and include words like poop, idiot, pee, and dumb.
  • Poop jokes are told frequently. For example, Rodrick wants to name the dog Turtle so he can call it “Turd for short.”
  • Scared that he’s not going out enough, Greg’s mom invites Fregley over and suggests that he and Greg should play outside together. Greg glances out the window and says, “I think Fregley might be naked” when he sees Fregley shirtless behind a tree.
  • When Greg was younger, he used to go swim in the baby pool, but he quit after he figured little kids would pee in the pool.
  • Greg’s dad went back-to-school shopping and the next day Greg says, “Well, THAT was a dumb move because Dad did all of his shopping at the pharmacy.”
  • Greg’s at the public pool and asks a lifeguard, “Does Mrs. Arciaga REALLY think it’s a good idea to wear a bikini when she’s eight months pregnant?”
  • Greg has the highest score on an arcade machine called Thunder Volt at the boardwalk, and his name was at the top of the high scores list. However, the person that had the second highest score on the list listed their name as “Is an idiot.” The high score list says “Greg Heffley …. is an idiot.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Greg’s Gramma prays to the Lord to help her find her dollar savers coupon book while Greg prays, “Dear Lord, please let Mr. Jefferson get hit on the head so he forgets about the money I owe him. And please let me get past the third level of Twisted Wizard without having to use any of my bonus health packs. Amen, and thank you in advance.”
  • Greg describes a church trip on Sunday. He says, “Today’s sermon was called ‘Jesus in disguise,’ and it was about how you should treat everyone you meet with kindness because you never know which person is really Jesus pretending to be someone else.”

by Matthew Perkey

 

Sif and the Dwarfs’ Treasures

Twelve-year-old Sif attends Asgard Academy, but she’s keeping important secrets from her podmates. No one knows that her magical hair allows the wheat crop to grow. When mischievous Loki cuts her hair in a horrible prank, Sif must rely on her podmates and Loki for help.

Sif has a prophetic dream that gives her a hint on how to solve the problem. Sif and Freya must convince Loki to go to Ivaldi’s sons, dwarves who are skilled blacksmiths. Loki must strike a bargain with them to help Sif get her hair back. An overconfident Loki strikes a deal with the blacksmiths, and as part of the deal he could lose his head—literally.

To make things worse, there are rumors of a looming attack that could hit Asgard Academy. Sif is afraid that Ragnarok, or doomsday, might be about to begin. Is there any way Sif can save the wheat crops and her beloved school?

Fans of Goddess Girls will enjoy this new series which focuses on Norse Mythology. Sif is a relatable character who has a difficult time overcoming her embarrassing insecurities. She doesn’t want anyone to know that she is a seer—or that she has a difficult time reading. As Sif gets to know her podmates better, she realizes that no one, not even a goddess girl, is perfect.

Sif and the Dwarfs’ Treasures has many positive messages that pertain to younger readers. Odin has created the school in order to get people from different worlds to interact. “[He] wished them to understand and appreciate everyone’s differences.” As Sif learns more about her roommates, she realizes the importance of working together. Sif also knows that looks do not define a person’s (or a god’s) character. Even though “many girls found Loki cute,” Sif knows that “a person’s behavior, not his appearance, was what made him attractive.”

Readers will enjoy learning about Sif, who is a well-rounded and caring goddess. Sif and the Dwarfs’ Treasures has interesting characters and actions, humorous puns, and a sprinkle of crushing moments that will entertain readers. Although many of the characters appeared in Freya and the Magic Jewel, the stories do not need to be read in order. Each book is told from a different goddess’s point of view and allows the reader to see that even goddesses need help from others.

Readers who are unfamiliar with Norse mythology will want to read the glossary first. The story introduces Norse mythology in a kid-friendly way, while still staying true to the original stories. Sif and the Dwarfs’ Treasures uses a relatable character to embed important life lessons in an entertaining story that readers will love. Readers will eagerly look for the next book in the series, Idun and the Apples of Youth.

Sexual Content

  • Freya has noticed Sif and Thor looking at each other and thinks the two are “crushing on each other” because “crushes often start with just looking.”
  • After Sif and Thor have several conversations, Sif thinks, “She likes him, too. As a friend anyway. As far as crushing. . . well. . . time would tell.”

Violence

  • The large painted friezes that covered a wall come to life. When Sif and her friends are eating, “all four girls studied the nearby frieze, [and] an armor-clad warrior reached out of it to grab a dish of lemon-flavored snow pudding from a Valkyrie rushed by with a tray of desserts. With a wide grin on his face, the warrior took aim and then flung the snow pudding at a painting of heroes directly across the room.” A food fight begins. Most of the food being thrown “was directed at warriors occupying friezes on opposite walls, but occasionally the thrown food accidentally hit students, too!” They start a food fight several times in the story.
  • When Loki says a mean joke, Thor gets angry. “In an instant Thor was across the room, his fists balled to punch Loki out. Before he could follow through[;] however, Loki shape-shifted into fire. ‘‘Yow!’ Thor leaped back, blowing on his singed fingers to cool them.”
  • Loki changed into an eagle and stole an apple, “even though he could eat them anytime he wanted in the Valhallateria.” When Loki stole the apple from Idum, she scraped her knee and it was bleeding.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • After Loki plays a mean trick, someone calls him a bonehead.
  • Loki says, “It’s easy to predict events that have already happened. Even a dummy like Thor could do that!”
  • Someone calls Loki a rat.
  • Loki calls a group of students idiots.

Supernatural

  • Sif takes a class on how to read Runes and the students share their “‘rune-words’ meanings and suggest[ed] prophecies that might be connected to them.”
  • In order to hide from Thor, Sif “transformed into a rowan tree. It was one of only two forms she could take, the other being a swan.”
  • When Sif was younger, she was “proud” of her talent at prophecy and tried to use her talent at school. However, soon people started calling her “fortune-tattler instead of fortune-teller.” She also lost her best friend. Sif was trying to help her friend by carving the rune word for brave, but Sif made an error and wrote the rune word for poison instead. When Sif’s friend became ill, the friend’s parents wouldn’t allow them to spend time together.
  • A dwarf chanted a spell, “For one whole day, you’ll zip your lip. Nothing will you say. Nothing will you sip.” The spell makes it so the Loki cannot speak or eat for a day.
  • The large painted friezes that cover a wall come to life. “These painted friezes cover all of the V’s walls and were peopled with heroic warriors who had died in battle. The warriors had been brought into the friezes by Odin’s Valkyries as painted figures that magically came to life toward the end of every meal.”
  • Freya has a marble that contains cats and a cart. When Freya says, “catnap,” the cats and cart grow. The first time Freya uses the marble, she thinks, “if anyone had been watching at that moment, the cats and cart would’ve seemed to instantly disappear. However, in reality, they had only shrunk down to a single cat’s-eye marble.”
  • Freya drinks juice that won’t make her immortal, but will make her “stay the same age.”
  • Several characters are shapeshifters.
  • Mimir, an oracle, only has a head. When Sifi sees him, “suddenly a column of bright-blue water shot through one of the tubular slides to bubble up in a tall, fountain-like spout at eye level. Atop the spout sat a disembodied bald head!”
  • Sif goes to the library to learn about rune spells and charms. One of the things she learns is that “difficult rune interpretations can sometimes be solved through dreams.” Later in the story, she uses the book’s advice and has a prophetic dream.
  • Talking acorns can give students a message. Odin uses one to deliver a message to Sif.

Spiritual Content

  • The story focuses on Norse mythology and includes Norse gods and goddesses as characters.
  • Sif is a seer, a shapeshifter, and also the “girl goddess of bountiful harvest.” Her power comes from her hair; however, how her hair helps the harvest is never explained. When Sif’s hair is cut, the humans’ wheat fields begin to wither.
  • Freya is the goddess of love and beauty. She is also a seer. Another character, Odin, was “the leader of the Asgard gods and the supreme ruler of all the worlds.” (This is not a complete list of the Norse gods that appear in the book.)

The Bad Guys in Intergalactic Gas

The bad news? The world is ending. The good news? The Bad Guys are back to save it! But, they might have to “borrow” a rocket, there might be something nasty in one of the spacesuits, and Mr. Piranha might have eaten too many bean burritos. Surviving this mission may only be one small step for man, but it’s one giant leap for the Bad Guys.

Younger readers will giggle their way through The Bad Guys in Intergalactic Gas. Wolf and his friends head into space in order to track down the villain Marmalade. The Bad Guys are convinced that they can keep Earth safe, but readers will never expect how bean burritos and farts help save the day. The story contains many humorous events, but also uses body humor. For example, when Wolf finds Piranha in a spacesuit, Piranha is embarrassed to admit that “I needed somewhere to poop out my burritos and I decided to do it in the spacesuit.”

The Bad Guys in Intergalactic Gas pulls readers into the text in various ways. The large text has nine or fewer sentences per page, and many of the words are huge and bold. In addition to the large text, black-and-white illustrations appear on every page. Some of the illustrations are full-page, while others appear in panels. The illustrations add to the humor by showing the story’s actions as well as the characters’ facial expressions.

Even though The Bad Guys in Intergalactic Gas is not great literature, the story will engage readers and help them build reading confidence. Readers will enjoy the silly situations, plot twists, and unique characters, including the character Piranha, who sprinkles Spanish words into his dialogue. Each book begins with news reporter Tiffany Fluffit recapping the previous book’s events; however, readers will get maximum enjoyment if the books are read in order.

The Bad Guys Series will introduce the joy of reading to younger readers and have them clamoring for the next book in the series—The Bad Guys in Aliens vs. Bad Guys. Readers who enjoy the silly humor of The Bad Guys Series may also want to try the Inspector Flytrap Series by Tom Angleberger and Cece Bell. Both series use humor and an unexpected character to show children that reading can be fun.

Sexual Content

  • Snake yells at Wolf, “If we survive, your precious Agent Fox will give you a kiss.” Shark accuses Snake of being jealous. Snake says, “What?! You think I’m jealous that Agent Fox thinks this numbskull is ‘sweet’?”

Violence

  • Wolf and his friends steal a spaceship. When they get close to the moon, beams shoot the ship, “ZAP! ZAP!” The spaceship is “trapped in some kind of tractor beam” and gets pulled to the moon’s surface.
  • Legs, Snake, and Shark are tied to the wall after the ship is pulled to the moon’s surface.
  • The villain threatens Legs, saying, “Keep quiet, Legs, or I’ll pull off all your furry little digits and they’ll have to start calling you Body instead.”
  • Piranha’s farts touch the flames from a jetpack and cause an explosion. After the explosion, the “poisonous gas” causes the villain to faint.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Snake gets upset and begins yelling, “I get the feeling the international league of heroes is just a big load of . . .”
  • Characters call each other names, including idiot, monster, coward, poop burglar, and maniac.
  • Shark calls the villain an “evil lunatic.”
  • The villain turns into an alien that has tentacles “with a butt on the end of it.” There are several illustrations and references to the tentacles’ butts.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Flunked

For the royals, Enchantasia is a grand place to live. But for Gilly’s family, life is difficult. Gilly and her five little brothers and sisters live in a run-down boot. Gilly doesn’t want her family to go hungry, so she gets creative. Gilly doesn’t think it’s wicked to steal from the royals. She just doesn’t want her family to suffer.

When Gilly gets caught stealing for the third time, she’s sentenced to three months at Fairy Tale Reform School—where all of the teachers are former villains. The Big Bad Wolf, the Evil Queen, and Cinderella’s Wicked Stepmother have all changed. When Gilly meets fellow students Jax and Kayla, she learns there is more to this school than its heroic mission. When strange events begin to happen, Gilly wonders if the bad guys have truly turned good.

Told from Gilly’s point of view, Flunked takes a fun, fresh look at fairytale villains. Fans of fairy tales will enjoy seeing the evil villains in a new light. Although the story had several interesting characters, Gilly is the only character that is well-developed. Gilly’s roommate, Kayla, plays an important role in the story; however, she quickly disappears and only makes a brief appearance at the end. The princesses and the villains also only appear for a brief time, which may disappoint some readers.

Flunked breaks up the chapters and recaps some events by using Happily Ever After Scrolls—tabloid-like news articles. The interesting setting and fast-paced plot will keep readers entertained. The ending of the story has several twists, but the climactic end scene is over too quickly. Although middle school readers may wish for more depth of character, younger readers will enjoy the fun trip into Enchantasia. All readers will benefit from the theme—everyone, no matter how villainous, can change their evil ways and find a new, better path.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Gargoyles attack Gilly and Jax. The gargoyles “are wrinkly and dark grey with red eyes and long wings that fold under themselves, but the long, sharp claws on their hands and feet frighten me the most. One lets out a long wail when he sees us and Jax shoves me forward again, shaking me from my trance…” A Gargoyle grabs Jax, and his “face twists in pain and he begins sliding backward into the tunnel… I drop the grate and grab Jax’s hands, pulling as hard as I can and getting nowhere. It’s like we’re locked in a tug-of-war and Jax is the rope.” Jax is able to get free. Kayla uses a mirror that shoots bolts. A bolt hits the gargoyles and the kids are able to escape. The scene is described over four pages.
  • A student makes a loud noise that causes Madame Cleo, a Sea Siren, to “scream so loudly that bubbles take over the tank and the floor actually begins to quake…  And that’s when the tank begins to crack.” Jax uses his watch to break the lock. As they are leaving, the student “continues to chant, a smug smile on her face. When I look back Madame Cleo has passed out and is just floating in the middle of the tank.” Gilly jumps on the girl in order to get her to stop chanting. No one is injured.
  • One of the students lists some of the black magic that has been causing problems. “The crack in the tank, the swarm of pernicious peony ants that were accidently released in the botany lab, the poisoned fruit found in the cafeteria at the breakfast buffet.”
  • During a class, the students hear “the sound of a crash from above that sends glass raining down on the room.” Then gargoyles appear and a “thick, purple fog fills the room.”
  • As the students try to escape the gargoyles, “a gargoyle grabs hold of one of the Ladies-in-Waiting and takes off again. She screams and kicks, but it’s no use. She’s a goner…” The students try to hide, but Jocelyn gets picked up by a gargoyle. “I watch as she swings wildly with her sword and nicks one of the gargoyle’s legs. The gargoyle drops Jocelyn like a hot potato. She falls to the ground and bumps her head as the fog evaporates. We stare at her as she lies there motionless.”
  • During the gargoyle attack, teachers and students are sucked into a bubble. Harlow, a teacher, “throws her sword through the air. Maxine screams as the sword hits the bubble and bounces off of it. The gargoyles jump up and down excitedly as Harlow picks up a few of the discarded swords on the ground and aims another one at the bubble… This sword pierces the bubble and hits Princess Snow in the arm… Harlow throws another sword, and it pierces the bottom of the bubble, hitting a student in the shoe.” Gilly runs towards Harlow and slides as “hard as I can into Harlow, knocking her straight off her feet. I cover my head as swords rain down on me, and then the world goes black.” The scene is described over seven pages.
  • Later Gilly finds out that “Professor Harlow lost her pinkie in the mess and had to charm it back on.”
  • The villain shoots purple bolts from her hands and locks a student, Jocelyn, in a cell. When Jocelyn starts a chant, the villain “notices and flings bolts toward the bars, Jocelyn goes flying back…”
  • In order to break the students out of a cell, “Professor Wolfington transforms… Wolfington’s clothes begin to tear, his hair begins to grow, and he falls to all fours before letting out a wolf howl…” He is able to break the cell bars and free the students.
  • Gilly points a magic mirror at the villain. When two mirrors are pointed at each other, “the connection causes an explosion that sends us both flying backwards. The ground shakes, and large chunks of the ceiling begin to cave in…” The villain runs away.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Someone says, “God, no!”
  • “Oh God” and “Oh My God” are both used once.
  • Heck is used twice.
  • “What the—” is used once.

Supernatural

  • Mira lives in a mirror, but can “come and go between mirrors as I please.”
  • Some of the characters can perform magic and cast spells. Kayla’s mother was upset when she “caught me flying over Royal Manor. I was already grounded for casting a spell on my sister that made her nose as big as her face.”
  • One of the teachers “snaps her fingers” and makes Gilly’s boots disappear. In the boot’s place are the school shoes.
  • Gilly is given a quill. “I dip the quill in the ink, and nothing happens. Then I try putting the quill to paper. That’s when things get weird. I know what I want to write, but instead, different words come out.” Using the magic quill allowed Gilly’s roommate to secretly leave Gilly a note.
  • The school’s hallways are always shifting and making new ones.
  • A student casts a spell “on Maxine that made her right ear as big as her head.”
  • While dancing, a girl gets upset, and “her lips begin to move, and a glow emits from her eyes…  Gayle lets out an ear-piercing scream, and her troll partner flies backward, hitting one of the torches on the wall, which falls and causes a small fire that short-circuits the music.”
  • Kayla was sent to reform school after “[she]’d been busted for flying without a license, illegal use of magic, and casting love spells on people who hate each other.”
  • The villain is revealed when “a purple cloud of smoke surrounds her, and within seconds, Gottie’s ragged clothes, wart-covered face, and white frizzy hair have disappeared.” The villain’s appearance drastically changes.
  • Rumpelstiltskin made Kayla’s family forget her and “turned them all into hollow trees.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Home Court

Eleven-year-old Amar’e Stoudemire has a lot going on. He loves to go skateboarding in the park. He takes his school work very seriously. He helps out with his dad’s landscaping company. He also likes to play basketball with his best friends – but just for fun.

When a group of older kids starts disrespecting his boys on their neighborhood basketball court, there is only one solution. Amar’e must step in and use his athletic ability and intelligence to save the day. This experience leads Amar’e to realize that basketball is his true passion. This story is based on the life of All-Star NBA sensation Amar’e Stoudemire who overcame many obstacles to become one of the most popular figures in sports today.

Like many readers, Amar’e is interested in a wide range of activities—skateboarding, basketball, and hanging out with his friends. When his friends need him, Amar’e isn’t afraid to take on some trash-talking older kids. Anyone who has been mistreated will relate to Amar’e’s difficulties. Amar’e’s struggles are illustrated with simple black and white drawings which are scattered throughout the book. Amar’e tells his story using easy vocabulary and short paragraphs to create an easy-to-read, entertaining story.

Sports fans will enjoy the play-by-play basketball action. However, the story doesn’t just focus on sports. Amar’e also enjoys learning tricks on his skateboard, helping his father, and doing well in school. Amar’e worries about his history writing assignment on Dr. King. In the end, Amar’e is able to connect Dr. King’s message to his life. He writes, “One person could do a lot, but the more people you have behind you, the more you could accomplish.”

Amar’e’s diverse interests give additional intrigue to the story, but also make the story choppy. One positive aspect of the story is Amar’e’s strong connection with his family and friends. Because the story is written from Amar’e’s point of view, readers will understand why Amar’e believes it’s important to be a good student, a good friend, and a hard worker. Younger sports fans will enjoy Home Court because of the positive message that is delivered by a relatable character. Readers who are looking for similar books should try the Zayd Saleem Chasing the Dream Series by Hena Khan.

Sexual Content

  • While playing a basketball game, Amar’e and his friends huddle up. An older boy tells them to hurry up “unless y’all are making out in there.”

Violence

  • While playing basketball with some older kids, Carlos intentionally tripped Amar’e. “My eyes were on the ball, so I didn’t see Carlos stick out his leg. I sure felt it, though. His shin banged into mine just above my ankle and I tumbled hard onto the pavement.”
  • While playing basketball with some older kids, “Yeti clobbered Duece on a moving pick. It was the bigger player on the court taking out the smallest, and it was hard to miss the foul.”
  • While playing basketball, an older boy “jammed his elbow hard into his lower back. Mike grimaced in pain and lost his dribble.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Some older kids trash-talk Amar’e and his friends. Afterward, one of Amar’e’s friends calls the boys “jerks.” Later Amar’e thinks, “Yeti was hanging on the rim again like a jerk.”
  • When an older boy throws trash on the ground, Amar’e asks, “Shouldn’t you go back to the garbage dump you came from?”
  • An older boy calls Amar’e and his friends “losers.”
  • “What the—” is used once.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Tunnel of Bones

Cassidy isn’t excited to be in one of the most haunted cities in the world—Paris. While her parents are filming their TV shows about haunted cities, Cassidy doesn’t plan on attracting danger. But when her parents take her to the creepy underground Catacombs, Cassidy finds danger lurking in the shadows.

When Cassidy accidentally awakens a frightening, strong spirit, she must rely on her still-growing skills as a ghost hunter and her friends, both old and new, to help her unravel a mystery. As the spirit grows strong, Cassidy realizes that she’s not the only one in trouble. Soon the ghost causes disaster after disaster, which endangers the people Cassidy loves. Can Cassidy stop the angry spirit, or will he haunt her city forever?

The second installment of the City of Ghost series will not disappoint. As Cassidy follows her parents through Paris, Cassidy gets a firsthand look at some of Paris’s ghostly stories. While many of the ghostly encounters could be deadly, Cassidy’s best friend (and ghost), Jacob, is always waiting in the shadows in order to keep Cassidy out of trouble. Readers will enjoy Cassidy’s inquisitive mind and courage.

Cassidy’s adventures take her into Paris’s underground as well as to several of Paris’s landmarks. The adventure is at times creepy and suspenseful, but always interesting. Tunnel of Bones adds several new and interesting twists. As Cassidy tries to help a young ghost remember his past, she begins to wonder if Jacob will also begin to lose his memory of his earthly life. The parallel between the two ghosts adds an interesting dimension to the story.

Tunnel of Bones will entertain readers with a good ghost story. The easy-to-read text contains short sentences and offers action, description, and dialogue. Although several ghosts make a short appearance that does not enhance the plot, a little boy ghost continues to reappear which gives the story an air of mystery and unexpected danger. Cassidy’s faithful friends and encounters with frightening ghosts mixed with a dash of humor creates a highly entertaining ghost story. Although Tunnel of Bones can be read as a stand-alone novel, readers will not want to miss the first book of the series, City of Ghost.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When Cassidy goes into the Veil, she drops a necklace and begins to look for it. “But before I can reach it, the ghost grabs me by the collar and pushes me back against a tree. I try to twist free, but even though he’s a ghost and I’m not, the Veil levels the playing field.” Cassidy’s friend Jacob comes to her aid. “The ghost looks sideways just as Jacob swings the bucket at his head. The man staggers, black tar dripping down his face, and I gasp, dropping to the ground.” Cassidy uses her mirror to send the man on. The scene is described over three pages.
  • In order to see a ghost, Cassidy climbs onto a roof. When the ghost sees her, he pushes her off the roof. Cassidy is “falling, and somewhere between the edge of the roof and the lawn below, I cross back through the Veil and land hard on the ground beside the crypt. The fall knocks all the air from my lungs and sends pain jolting up through my right arm, and for a second all I can do is blink away the stars and hope I didn’t break anything.” Cassidy’s arm “zings” but she isn’t seriously injured.
  • When Cassidy opens the Veil, she sees a man “in an old-fashioned suit. He lifts an old-fashioned pistol and aims it straight at me, and Jacob wrenches me back out of the Veil before the shot goes off.”
  • The poltergeist opens the back door of a truck and “the contents begin to spill out. Boxes and crates smash into the street, followed by a massive golden frame that hurtles straight towards me.”
  • When Cassidy goes into the Veil, she is on a train car. When she changes train cars, she sees a ghost. “And as he turns, I see the knife buried in his stomach. His own hand curled around the blade as if to keep it from falling out. The sheen of blood running down his front.” Jacob drags Cassidy out of the train car and slams the door.
  • While looking for the poltergeist, Cassidy runs into a man. “The man snarls and grabs me, shoving me against a wall of bones that rattle as they dig into my back. I gasp, but I manage to swipe the cap from his head before Jacob lunges at the spirit from behind, hauling him backwards. . . Jacob slams the other ghost into a pillar of skulls. The bones topple with a crash, and the man drips, dazed, to his hands and knees.” Cassidy and Jacob run away.
  • In order to help the poltergeist remember his past, Jacob grabs ahold of the boy. The boy “thrashes, trying to twist free. The air around him ripples and glows red, and the whole tunnel begins to shake as the crimson light spreads over everything, splitting across the floor, the ceiling and the walls of bone. . . The whole ground begins to shake with the force of Thomas’s displeasure. Even the wall of bones to my left begins to tremble and shift.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Someone tells a story about a man that was invited to a party. When the man goes to the party, “he found a party in full swing, and passed the night with music and wine and excellent company. . . And then something hits me. Not the frame, but a pair of hands. They plant themselves against my back and shove, and I stumbled forward to the pavement, scraping my palm as the frame crashes into the stone wall and rains glass onto the street behind me.”
  • Cassidy’s parents are in their hotel room “sharing a bottle of red wine.”

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Cassidy’s best friend, Jacob, is a ghost and can read her mind.
  • Cassidy can travel through the Veil and the in-between where ghosts live. Cassidy explains, “That’s the thing about the Veil: It only exists where there’s a ghost. It’s like a stage where spirits act out their final moments, whatever happened that won’t let them move on.”
  • When Cassidy goes into the Veil, “the world around me—vanishes. The carnival lights, the crowds, the sounds and smells of the summer night. Gone. For a second, I’m falling. And then I’m back on my feet.”
  • In order to get a ghost to move beyond the Veil, Cassidy holds up a mirror for the ghost to look into. Then she says, “Watch and listen, see and know. This is what you are.” When Cassidy says the words, “the whole Veil ripples around us, and the ghost thins until I can see through him, see the dark thread coiled inside his chest. Lightless, lifeless. I reach out and take hold of the thread, the last thing binding him here, to this world. It feels cold and dry under my fingers, like dead leaves in the fall. As I pull the cord from his chest, it crumbles in my palm. Vanishes in a plume of smoke. And then, so does the ghost.” Cassidy completes the same pattern on two other ghosts, and the ghosts disappear.
  • Cassidy awakens a poltergeist. Cassidy’s friend tells her, “It’s a spirit drawn to spectral energy… It was probably dormant until it sensed yours, Cassidy. . . That cold sensation you’ve been feeling, it is a kind of intuition, a warning that strong spirits are near. . . Poltergeists are wanderers. They’re not stuck in a loop or a memory, and they’re not tied to the place they died.”
  • While trying to understand ghosts, Cassidy calls a friend that tells her “the Veil is tailored to fit the ghost, [and] the place they died, which means it’s essentially tied to the ghost’s memory—that’s what binds it there. So if a poltergeist isn’t bound to the Veil, it’s because—they don’t remember.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Jada Jones Sleepover Scientist

Jada is hosting her first sleepover and she has lots of cool scientific activities planned: kitchen chemistry, creating invisible ink, and even making slime! But when her friends get tired of the lessons and just want to hang out, can Jada figure out the formula for fun and save the sleepover?

Jada wants to combine her favorite things: science and her friends. She’s even more excited when her best friend who moved away shows up for the sleepover. But in her excitement to plan her perfect party, Jada forgets that not everyone loves the same thing. Soon all of the girls want to go home and Jada, with the help of her mother, learns to listen to other’s opinions.

Anyone who loves science will love Jada Jones Sleepover Scientist, which has kid-friendly science experiments as part of the story. Throughout the story, Jada’s family plays a positive role and Jada includes her brother, even when she doesn’t want to. When Jada’s brother accidentally makes a mess, Jada’s friends don’t throw a fit—instead, they pitch in and help clean up the mess. Like the previous books in the series, Jada Jones Sleepover Scientist has relatable characters, realistic conflicts, and reinforces real-life lessons.

Jada’s struggle comes to life with black and white pictures that have a pop of purple. Jada Jones Sleepover Scientist is intended for readers who are transitioning to chapter books. The story has seven short chapters, easy vocabulary, and illustrations on almost every page. The story does have several pages with only text and some complicated sentence structure. Overall, Jada Jones Sleepover Scientist is an entertaining story that has positive life lessons. Readers who enjoyed Katie Woo by Fran Manushkin or Sofia Martinez by Jacqueline Jules will also enjoy Jada Jones.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

 

The Sonic Breach

Tom gets to take all sorts of cool classes at the Swift Academy of Science and Technology, but robotics may be the one excites him the most. His teacher is holding a battling robot tournament, and Tom and his friends have to build a machine that will come out on top.

With the final battle coming up, Tom and his friends need as much time as possible to refine their masterpiece. But the rest of their teachers have been giving so many pop quizzes that they can barely focus in class, never mind concentrate on the tournament. Naturally, everyone is frustrated with the trend. . . until a mysterious new phone app appears. If students get pop quizzes during first period, they can warn everyone else about it by getting their phones to emit a high-pitched sound—a mosquito alarm—that adults can’t hear.

Tom is unsure about the whole thing, but it technically isn’t cheating, right? But when someone changes the app to break all the rules, the ethics aren’t debatable anymore. The longer the perpetrator remains unknown, the more harshly teachers treat all the students, and the pressure won’t stop until Tom and his friends track down the person behind the app takeover.

Like the first book in the series, The Sonic Breach incorporates mystery and technology. However, unlike The Drone Pursuit, The Sonic Breach doesn’t have as much interaction between Tom and his friends, which takes some of the enjoyment out of the story. Book two is also told from Tom’s point of view, and the story has an easy-to-read, conversational tone which allows the readers to understand Tom’s thinking process.

As Tom and his friends solve the mystery of who hacked the Pop Chop app, the readers will learn the importance of perseverance and helping others. At one point, Tom thinks, “Mistakes are ways to learn, overcome, and move forward. I would much rather have had our robot fail during a sparring match than during the final battle. This way we can learn from our design mistakes and make it better than it was before.”

The cover of The Sonic Breach shows two students battling their robots. However, the battle bots take backstage to the moral question of using a new app—Pop Chop. The story focuses on Tom’s moral dilemma: is using Pop Chop a form of cheating? Although the topic is relevant to students, readers may quickly become bored with the lack of action. In the end, Tom and his friends discover who hacked the Pop Chop app, but the mystery’s solution is unrealistic and comes too easily.

Readers looking for non-stop action and an in-depth mystery may want to leave The Sonic Breach on the shelf. However, readers who enjoyed the first Tom Swift book and are interested in technology will find The Sonic Breach entertaining. Tom Swift is an intelligent, likable character who models good communication skills. Plus, parents will appreciate the story’s positive relationships and messages.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Tom and his friends build a robot that says the phrase, “Get to za Choppa.” The phrase comes from an Arnold Schwarznegger movie, and the kids at the school often repeat it. One of the students “was creative with his altered Arnold phrase, ‘Get to the crappa.’”
  • When a news crew shows up at the Swift Academy, the reporter walks over to the fencing team. A student wonders why the reporter is covering the fencing team when there “are two perfectly good robots over there beating the crap out of each other.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Dragon Captives

Identical twins Fifer and Thisbe have amazing, uncontrollable magical abilities. They want to learn more about magic, but their brother Alex is the head mage of Artimé and he doesn’t think the girls are ready. Alex knows the girls are more gifted than anyone else, including himself. In order to keep the girls from learning any magical spells, Alex orders everyone in Artimé not to do magic in front of Fifer and Thisbe.

On the Day of Remembrance, an ice blue dragon named Hux shows up with terrible news. His siblings have been enslaved by the notoriously evil Revinir, the ruler of the dragon land. In order to survive, Hux needs someone to return to the dragon’s land to make the dragons new wings. Without Alex’s help, Hux’s sibling will die. Although Alex feels bad for Hux, Alex refuses to leave Artimé.

When Thisbe and Fifer discover Hux’s need, they decide to help the dragons themselves. The girls want to show Alex they are ready to be taught how to use their magic. Thisbe, Fifer, and their friend Seth sneak away to rescue the dragons. Will their untrained abilities be enough to save the dragons—and themselves—when they come face-to-face with Revinir?

Readers will quickly connect to Thisbe, Fifer, and Seth, who want to prove that they can do something good. When the children take off on their journey, they don’t expect to find a hostile land where they will be imprisoned. Despite being in a strange new land, the three spend most of their time trapped in a prison. Because of their plight, each of the characters discover the importance of perseverance.

Dragon Captives is set ten years after the great battle that left Thisbe and Fifer without parents, which will cause confusion for those who haven’t read The Unwanteds Series. The first part of Dragon Captives has many of the same characters as The Unwanteds Series. Even though the story tries to recount the important events from the previous series, readers will have an extremely tough time learning about the magical world and keeping track of the many characters that were developed in The Unwanteds Series.

Even though readers may struggle with the beginning of the book, readers will not regret staying with the story. Once the children make it to the dragon’s land, the story shows interesting cultural differences between the two worlds. Magical spells, chase scenes, and betrayal all come together to make Dragon Captives a fast-paced, exciting story. The action-packed scenes are not gory; however, some readers may be upset by the idea of humans being sold to the highest bidder. Dragon Captives does not have a feel good ending. Instead, the story ends with a scary cliffhanger that will have readers reaching for the next book in the series, Dragon Ghost.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A magical creature in the shape of a scorpion chases Thisbe and Fifer. The girls try to escape by climbing a tree, but “the scorpion slid to a stop below them. It gripped the tree with one of its pinchers. Then it snapped the trunk in two, sending the top portion with the girls in it falling through the air and crashing to the jungle floor.” Thisbe’s ankle is caught under the tree, and the “scorpion, moving steadily towards her with its poisonous tail raised, knocked her flat with its pincher. Then it pinned both girls to the ground with its spindly front legs.” A magical Panther appears, and the frightened Thisbe uses a magic spell. “Sparks flew from the girl’s fingertips and slammed into Panther’s flank. The creature’s scream stopped abruptly. With a loud crack and a horrible thud, the black stone beast hit the ground. Slit completely in two.” The girls escape and someone is able to fix the Panther. The scene is described over five pages.
  • Thisbe has strong, uncontrollable magic. When she was two years old, she killed someone—“an actual human.” “She’s also nearly killed others in her younger years, including Alex, with almost effortless magic that was beyond her control.”
  • Fifer and Thisbe go into a town when a man grabs them. “Thisbe whirled around in surprise, she felt a strong calloused hand reaching over her mouth, then a scratchy cloth placed over her nose that had a sickly sweet smell. She tried to scream. . . She gasped for breath, the horrible sweetness from the cloth permeating her nose and throat, and traveling to her brain. She felt a strange fuzziness creep in and take over her. . .” She passes out and wakes up a captive.
  • A snake tries to bite a boy named Dev. “Thisbe pointed at it (the snake). ‘Boom!’ she cried. As Dev twisted and spun around, trying to get away, the snake’s head froze in midair. For a split second it hung there. Everyone held their breath. And then the snake exploded into dozens of pieces that went flying far and wide.”
  • When Thisbe, Fifer, Seth, and the dragon Hux get to the castle, they are taken prisoner. “The soldiers forced the children to one side, taking their supplies for the wings and throwing them to the ground. Then they whipped poor Hux until he backed into the empty stall and they continued whipping him even though he was doing exactly what they told him to do.”
  • Thisbe yells at a guard, and “immediately the soldier pushed Thisbe against the wall. He pulled a dagger from his belt and pressed the point to Thisbe’s chest.” Seth and Fifer try to help, but “the other soldier grabbed Fifer and Seth and pulled them back while the two holding Thisbe dragged her to the ramp and began to ascend it.” Thisbe is taken deeper into the prison and locked in a cell.
  • As the soldiers were forcing Thisbe to leave her friends, Thisbe “flicked her fingers the best she could, hoping something else would happen. Fiery sparks flew out of them, hitting the soldiers in the face. . . the head soldier held her, kicking and screaming. Next to her, Seth landed a well-placed kick and managed to break loose from his captor. . . He pulled out a few scatterclips and sent them flying. They snagged one soldier, dragging him backward and stacking another behind the first, and pinned them to the wall.” In the end, Seth and Fifer are separated from Thisbe.
  • Seth tries to look for Thisbe, but a soldier “stuck out his leg, tripping the boy. Seth went sprawling hands first and landed on his stomach. The head soldier grabbed him by the back of his vest and brought him to his feet, then pulled his dagger and held the point to Seth’s neck.”
  • While trying to escape, one of the dragons “torched anyone who got in his way.” When the dragons got close to the door, “the dragons roared and dove for the exit, dodging spears and swords, spewing fire from their mouths with reckless abandon, caring only about their freedom now. . .”
  • Simber and Seth try to find Thisbe, but soldiers stop them. “A valiant soldier stood fast in front of Simber, holding a spear pointed at the cheetah’s eye. Simber ducked and plowed into him. The soldier and his spear flew up in the air and landed hard in the path of dust and rubble Simber left behind him. One by one Simber clobbered all the men and women who stood in his way.”
  • Seth uses the glass spell. “This time a sheet of glass appeared between him and the soldiers, cutting them off. They slammed into it. The last thing Seth saw was four faces pressing against it before he turned and vaulted onto Simber’s back once more.
  • When Simba and his friends were trying to escape the prison, “soldiers charged, but Simber batted at them with his wings or butted them with his head and didn’t slow down. Before long, he was trampling the ones who wouldn’t get out of the way. As soon as the Artiméans came to the entryway, Simber spread his wings wide, knocking more soldiers down, and began flapping.”
  • When Simber and his friends were running from the guards, someone began lowering the gate. One of the stakes “caught the collar of Thatcher’s shirt. Thatcher was violently yanked off Simber’s back and thrown to the ground under the portcullis. . . The sharp iron points were about to run him through. He screamed and rolled away, his shirt ripping down the back.” Thatcher is able to escape unharmed.
  • Thisbe and Fifer were tied up and taken to the market to be sold. During the ride, “their wrists were tied down.” When they arrive at the market, the soldiers “shackled the girls to two wooden posts.”
  • Simber tries to save Thisbe and Fifer, but he didn’t notice the glass barrier. “Before anyone could warn him, Simber smashed right through the invisible glass barrier that Thisbe had cast in front of Fifer. The girls screamed. Shards of glass flew everywhere. . . Fifer’s face, at first joyous at seeing Simber coming toward them, turned to shock at the impact, and then horror afterwards as she glanced down at her body. Bright red bloodstains spread over her clothing. And then, without a word, she slumped unconscious, only her shackles keeping her from falling face-first to the stage.” Fifer is wounded and Thisbe is kidnapped.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Crud is used six times. Seth tells a dragon, “go up the ramp and torch the crud out of any soldiers who come this way.”
  • Thisbe says someone is “kind of a jerk.”

Supernatural

  • Artemé is a magical island that has “creations carved from stone or molded from clay and brought to life with strong magic.”
  • People can travel through a large glass tube. When Thisbe and Fifer press the button, “the girls’ world went dark for a second or two. When it became light again, they were looking upon a completely different landscape. Indeed, they were on a completely different island, far from home—it would take several days’ journey by ship to get here.”
  • One of the characters is an octogaor, “who had an alligator head and an octopus body.”
  • When Fifer lets out a whoop, glass breaks. Fifer can also make glass disappear and reappear.
  • In the past, Artemé’s mage was killed and “Artemé had disappeared because the world couldn’t exist without a head mage running it. Every last one of the living statues and creatures. . . had immediately ceased to be alive.”
  • Alex “rarely did magic anymore, other than simple spells like flicking on a highlighter in a dark corner of the Museum of Large or sending a seek spell whenever he couldn’t find his sisters and wanted them to come home. A seek spell merely required him to hold an artistic item created by the person he was seeking.”
  • A dragon, Hux, goes to Artemé hoping someone can make him new wings so he can fly again. Later, Thisbe and Fifer sneak in to see Alex turn vines, flowers, and cloth into dragon wings. Alex “closed his eyes and concentrated for several moments, imaging the wing taking flight. He pictured it sparkling in the sun, flowing with ease, as light and free as the petals that adorned it… And finally he spoke a single wood. ‘Live.’ The wings began to move.”
  • In Artemé, “a blackboard was like a magical host in the living area of each apartment. Each personality delivered messages, kept an eye on the residence, offered help, guidance, and sometimes attitude, and some even shared gossip from the other blackboards.”
  • Thisbe can make invisible hooks. “Thisbe quirked her finger away and pointed at a wall. A spark shot out and supposedly an invisible hook attacked itself to the wall, though neither girl felt like going to feel around for it.”
  • In order to get out of a locked cell, Thisbe uses magic to make the bamboo grid come to life. “The bamboo grid began to billow, and suddenly the top right corner of it worked its way out of the stone. It waved this way and that, and with a series of little pops, the grid came loose one bar at time. . .People in the market noticed what was happening. A wave of panic spread through the area. . .the people in the marketplace ran away screaming, and the grid, filled with exuberant magical life, wiggled and tumbled and chased after them.” The girls are able to escape. As they flee, the prison door chases Seth. “A moment later one corner of the bars hooked Seth by his shirt and took him on a ride into the air. Then it slammed him into the ground and dragged him around again in the same manner as it rolled through the square.” Eventually, the girls are able to pull Seth free and “he hit the ground with a sickening thump, his face slamming into the pavement. Luckily some squashed tomatoes kept him from hitting it too hard.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

 

 

Odd Gods

Oddonis may be the son of Zeus, but he’s a little bit odd for a God. He’s so odd, in fact, that he’s not sure if he has any powers at all. And if that isn’t enough, his twin brother Adonis is the most popular, most athletic, and most otherworldly handsome God of them all.

Oddonis’s future at Mount Olympus Middle isn’t looking bright, especially when he makes the last-minute decision to run against Adonis to be class president. With the help of his friends Mathena (Goddess of math and poultry), Germes (God of all things sniffling and snotty), Puneous (the smallest God of them all), and Gaseous (enough said?), Oddonis is determined to win the race, prove that his friends are as good as any Greek God, and maybe, just maybe, find out what his true powers really are.

Anyone who has ever felt like an outsider will relate to Oddonis, who is not handsome, strong, or amazing like his brother, Adonis. Oddonis’s tale features other misfits, including Gaseous, who farts his way through the story. Unfortunately, Gaseous’s farts smell like “feta cheese, a wet ferret, and feet.” Later at an assembly “Gaseous lets out one of those loud, long, air-going-out-of-a-balloon farts, and the auditorium goes crazy.” In the end, Gaseous uses his fart-power to help Oddonis.

Odd Gods has easy vocabulary, short paragraphs, and humorous black-and-white illustrations on every page. Despite the juvenile humor, Odd Gods has several positive messages about the importance of liking yourself (flaws and all). Even though Oddonis was bullied and called names, he realizes that it’s okay not to be perfect. In the end, Oddonis looks at his reflection and thinks, “I maybe even like what I see. . . And that makes me smile.”

Throughout the story, Oddonis finds a unique group of friends, who were often criticized by others. When Oddonis decides to run against his brother, his friends use their unique talents to help Oddonis. Through their experiences, the reader will learn the importance of friendship, forgiveness, and working together. The message is clear: people who are different should be proud of their differences. Even though Odd Gods has gross humor, readers will enjoy the ridiculously humorous story as well as learn some valuable lessons.

Sexual Content

  • Adonis is the “God of beauty and desire.”

Violence

  • On the school chariot, Poseidon “opens his mouth, a tidal wave comes out” and drenches Oddonis and his friend. The illustration shows Oddonis and his friend swimming with fish and crabs, while other gods laugh at them.
  • On the first day of school, Oddonis, Gaseous, and Puneous are in the hall when “Ares and Apollo pick the three of us up, stuff us in an open locker, and slam the door shut.”
  • When Oddonis sticks up for another kid, “Hercules slams his mighty fists down on our table, and before I can say, ‘Where are we going’ –I’m FLYING UP IN THE AIR!” And it’s not just me—Gaseous, Puneous, Mathena, and Clucky and Ducky are flying, too!” The group ends up in the dumpster.
  • While in the dumpster, Gaseous farts and “Boom!!! WHAM!!! Back we land, right at our table, right where we were sitting before.”
  • Adonis, Poseidon, and Hercules are racing towards Oddonis in a chariot. When the chariot gets close, one of Oddonis’s friends “grabs a level next to the steering wheel and pulls hard. One side of the dumpster drops down and empties its putrid payload. . . right on Adonis’s chariot!” The three gods are “coated with stinky slimy slop! (The cafeteria’s ‘Tuna Surprise’ never looked better!)”
  • Oddonis looks in his brother’s backpack and sees a picture of himself being hung on a noose.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Someone calls Gaseous “Fire Butt.”
  • “Oh My Gods” is used as an exclamation twice and also OMG is used twice.
  • The story contains a lot of name calling, including apes, birdbrain, fish face, jerk, weirdos, idiot, dummy, doofus, bonehead, stupid, halfwit, dimwhit, blockhead, and nincompoop.
  • “What the—” is used twice.
  • Heck is used three times.
  • When Oddonis tells Echo, “But now what do I do, do, do?” Echo giggles and says, “You said doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • When Puneous comes back from a spying mission, Oddonis says, “Thank Gods you’re okay!”

The Last Kids on Earth and the Midnight Blade

Surviving their first winter after the Monster Apocalypse was no easy feat, yet Jack and his buddies waste no time springing to action against some of the nastiest, most evil monsters around. When Jack discovers his Louisville Slicer has new otherworldly powers, he’s thrown into epic training to find out what kind of destruction the blade can wield. But between fighting off zombies, fleeing from strange, glowy Vine-Thingies erupting from the ground, and squeezing in a video game session or two, there’s barely time left to figure out what’s wrong with their buddy, Dirk. Dirk has been acting weird any time he’s around the undead. When an unexpected villain appears, can Jack and his friends save themselves—and the rest of the world—from cosmic domination?

The fifth installment of The Last Kids on Earth brings back some old friends and enemies. The action-packed sequences begin with Jack and his friends trying to help Dirk get over his depressed state. Younger readers will enjoy the entertaining activities that Jack plans to help Dirk. However, the fight scenes with the Vine-Thingies may be slightly confusing. In the end, Jack learns that “being different and not fitting in—that’s good sometimes.”

Like the previous books, the story will keep readers entertained with its fast pace, funny scenes, and epic battles. The easy-to-read text contains dialogue bubbles, alliteration, and onomatopoeias that make reading the story a joy. The black and white illustrations that appear on almost every page bring the kids’ world to life as well as adds humor.

At first, The Last Kids on Earth and the Midnight Blade may look like just another graphic novel. However, the characters are surprisingly well-developed and readers will come away with a valuable lesson about working together. Both the human kids and the monsters work together to defeat evil. Throughout the story, Jack realizes he has to do what’s best for his friends, even when it may be painful for him.

This story can be understood without reading the previous books in the series, but for maximum enjoyment readers should read the books in order. Readers will like The Last Kids on Earth and the Midnight Blade because the story keeps the same humorous, non-frightening format as the previous books. The story ends with a conclusion that makes it clear that Thrull will return, and it gives the possibility that Jack’s friends just might find their parents.

Sexual Content

  • Jack and Bardle need a place to keep a group of zombies. They ask a monster if the zombies can stay on her property. Warg gives her permission, but says, “there is one condition.” Jack replies, “I don’t have to watch you guys make out, do I?”

Violence

  • Jack and his friends sneak into Ghazt’s lair and are discovered. Biggun tries to help Jack and his friends by “hurling zombies right and left. June and Quint are back-to-back, battling the Cabal of the Cosmic. Crack! Ghazt’s tail smacks me, and I’m hurled across the room. I land against a half-inflated pile of bowling lane bumpers.” During the fight, “Skaelka’s razor-sharp blade slices through Ghazt’s tail! The creature SHRIEKS. His eyes go wide and his face contorts into an ‘oh no now my tail is just a nub’ face.” Ghazt eventually falls through the floor and disappears. The fight scene is described over seven pages.
  • A huge eyeball is attacked by vines. Jack and his friends try to help the eyeball by attacking the vnes. Dirk screams “MALLET MELEE!!!” and the fight begins. “Each goo-slime-covered swing melts, slices, and tears through the vines! Soon, only one titanically thick Vine-Thingy still chokes it.” The group try to help but, “Vine-Thingies burst through the pavement, like hundreds of spindly branches. They clutch Hairy Eyeball monster. The monster shrieks and struggles, but it’s no use. An instant later, the eyeball is gone—pulled, howling, into the crumbling pavement.” The battle is described over ten pages.
  • The vines try to capture Jack and his friends. Someone “uses the Gift’s Wolverine-style blade to slice through vines. Green goo splatters the ground.” The kids run for their lives.
  • In an effort to take control of the zombies, Thrull appears. When Bardle raises his sword, “Thrull lifts the war hammer and it seems to hang in the air, defying gravity, then he swings. A crashing boom. A flash of energy. And then metal crunching—Bardle slamming into a nearby car. Thrull’s blow catapulting him out of the wreckage and across the street.” After a ten page battle, Bardle dies.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Freaking is used occasionally.
  • Crud is used seven times. When June makes a joke, Jack thinks, “the teasing—it makes it all feel normal again. And I appreciate the crud out of June for it.”
  • When Bardle is hurt, Jack says, “Holy crud, that scared me!”
  • Jack calls Thrull a “DOOF! WAD!”

Supernatural

  • When Jack swings the Slicer at a zombie, Jack feels “the Slicer catch—like the blade and the zombie are connected by some strange magnetism.” Everything freezes, then “the hovering zombie is thrust down, too. Its knees buckled and it crumples to the floor in a drooling, groaning heap.”
  • A Scrapken, which is an octopus-like creature, grabs Jack’s hand, causing him pain. Jack uses the Slicer to cut off the Scrapken’s tentacle. “The Scrapken howling. Dirk stammering. Me clutching my arm and shouting up at the monster.” Jack apologizes and “the severed tentacle waves in front of me, leaking thick blue-green ooze.” The tentacle acts like a glove and allows Jack to hold the burning hot Slicer.
  • Thrull and the kids fight to get Ghazt’s tail because of its ability to control zombies. When Jack touches the tail a “big mass” of “dark other-dimension energy” courses through his glove. The “rat tail’s skin begins to bubble. It’s being pulled into the glove. . . I smell burning and I see the last bit of energy extracted from the tail. After the process is complete, Thrull’s left with a long, winding, skeletal appendage.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Dodging Dinosaurs

Get ready for Chase and Ava’s newest adventure! When they touch a dinosaur egg inside their magical suitcase, Chase and Ava jump back to prehistoric times. They’ll need to work to return the egg to its rightful nesting place before they become dinosaur dinner. How will they find the right nest to put the dinosaur egg in? Will they run into the bad guy, Randall, who keeps following them?

Siblings Chase and Ava jump back into the dinosaur age. As they search for the right nest to place the egg, the two befriend a baby dinosaur as well as run from giant stinging bugs. The story contains some interesting dinosaur facts and begins to answer the mystery of the suitcase. Even though the storyline is not completely believable, readers will enjoy the non-stop action, mystery, and dinosaur facts.

Dodging Dinosaurs is part of Scholastic’s Branches early chapter books, which have easy-to-read text and illustrations on every page. The story uses short descriptions and dialogue to keep the story moving at a fast pace. Black and white illustrations appear on every page and help break up the text into manageable sections. Dodging Dinosaurs introduces several characters that appeared in previous books, which requires the Time Jumpers series to be read in order.

In Dodging Dinosaurs, the villain Randall jumps in to save the kids. Randall tells the kids, “As of right now, I officially quit stealing things from history. The Collector isn’t going to like it.” Even though Dodging Dinosaurs solves one mystery, readers will be eager to discover who the Collector is and why he wants historical artifacts. Dodging Dinosaurs focuses on a positive sibling relationship and will entertain readers who are ready for chapter books.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Chase and Ava are time jumpers. When they go back in time, they meet another man from their time period. Chase tells the man, “You’re definitely a time jumper. You could open the suitcase, which regular people can’t. You traveled when you touched one of the objects inside. And you remember both timelines—the one where the brontosaurus was in the museum, and the one where it wasn’t. We’re pretty sure only time jumpers can do those things.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Frost Friends Forever

Lina has never had a sleepover before. She’s excited that Claudia is coming up to the clouds for the first time. Lina always has fun at Claudia’s sleepovers, and Lina wants her sleepover to be extra special and fun. Lina has everything planned—snow cones, pizza, and staying up late.

When Lina’s Great-Aunt Eastia visits, everything that Lina has planned must be changed. Instead of pizza for dinner, they’re eating turnip soup. There also won’t be snow cones, snow fun, or staying up late. Instead, Great-Aunt Eastia wants Lina to act like a proper princess. Lina doesn’t want Great-Aunt Eastia to ruin her fun. How will Lina and Claudia have a snowingly perfect sleepover without following Lina’s plan?

Readers don’t have to be princesses to understand Lina’s conflict—Lina just wants to have a good time with her best friend. Even though Lina really loves her great-aunt, Lina doesn’t want to follow her advice. The magical princess has been banned from creating snow. In an attempt to have some snow fun, Lina and Claudia sneak onto Lina’s father’s airplane. Once the plane has landed, the girls head to a snow hill for some amazing sledding. When an unexpected blizzard arrives, the girls discover that they are lost.

Like a Disney princess, Lina is sweet, but not perfect. Lina tells her own story in a diary format, which allows readers to understand Lina’s conflicting emotions. In the end, Lina learns that she didn’t need exciting plans to have a fun sleepover with her best friend. Even though Lina doesn’t follow instructions, she still shows her great-aunt respect. Lina knows she can’t talk back to her aunt “because it would be rude.” Readers will understand Lina’s frustration and her mischievous side, but also see the dangers of sneaking away from her home.

Adorable blue-and-black illustrations appear on almost every page, showing Lina’s adventures. Some of the illustrations look like a piece of blue binder paper and have a list that helps reinforce the story’s ideas. For example, after Lina realizes that she and Claudia are lost in the snow, she makes a list of “Why I felt, really, really awful.” Readers will enjoy seeing Lina and Claudia’s fun sleepover, Lina’s house in the clouds, and her cute husky puppy.

Frost Friends Forever is not only a magical princess story, but also introduces the science of friction through an easy-to-understand explanation. The story also gives a practical example—Lina and her friend use ice friction to turn the ballroom floor into a sledding rink. The end of the book also explains how to make an ice lantern like the one Lina and Claudia made.

Readers will want to read about Lina’s adventures again and again as they learn important lessons about friendship and appreciating people’s differences. Readers do not have to be princesses to apply the story’s message to their life—being a princess is acting honorably as well as thinking about others, and keeping promises.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Lina is a Winterheart, “which means that I have magic powers over ice and snow.”
  • Most of Lina’s family members are Windtamers, which means “they can control the wind and weather.”
  • Lina and her family live on a magic cloud. “Otherwise we’d all be dropping out of the sky right now.”
  • When Lina and Claudia are lost, “Great-Aunt Eastia swooped through the clouds. She was using her Windtamer powers to warm the air and blow the blizzard away.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Guts

Raina wakes up with a terrible stomachache. Because her mom is also sick, no one is really worried. But Raina’s stomach continues to hurt, even after she’s returned to school. Raina worries about throwing up at school. She’s worried about her classmates giving her an illness. She worries about eating something that will make her sick. She’s worried about her best friend moving. Raina’s tummy trouble isn’t going away. All this worrying is making Raina sick. What will it take for Raina to conquer her fears?

Raina doesn’t just have tummy trouble; she is also being bullied by Michelle. Every time Michelle says something mean to Raina, she explodes and ends up in trouble. Raina only talks to her best friend about Michelle’s mean words. Everything gets worse when Raina’s best friend begins talking and giggling with Michelle. Many readers will relate to Raina’s fears and anxiety. In the end, Raina and Michelle learn that they actually have a lot in common, and they might just be able to become friends.

As Raina’s stomach problems become worse, her parents take her to the doctor and eventually to a therapist. Even though Raina is “perfectly healthy,” she learns that her constant worrying is making her sick. With the therapist’s help, Raina learns breathing exercises to calm herself down. When she tells her friends that she is in therapy, Raina thought her friends would freak out, but instead, they think it’s “no big deal.”

Guts deals with the difficult topic of panic attacks, anxiety, and puberty. Using both illustrations and text, Telgemeir tackles the problem with compassion and humor. Each page contains eight or fewer sentences. The easy vocabulary, simple sentences, and bright pictures make Guts accessible to all readers. The brightly colored pictures do an amazing job at showing the facial expressions of the characters, which brings the character’s emotions to the forefront. The engaging story explores feelings and lets readers know that sometimes people need help to conquer their fears.

Readers who enjoyed Guts should pick up Telgemeier’s graphic novel Ghost which shows a healthy sibling relationship and has a positive message. Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson is also an excellent graphic novel that contains a positive message.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • During a sleepover, the girls share their secrets. One girl says, “my dad gets drunk sometimes. He’s never dangerous, but a couple of times he’s yelled at me and my brother. It’s scary.”

Language

  • A girl at school calls Raina a “poopy diaper baby.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Top Secret Smackdown

Ravens have been stolen from the Tower of London! Mac B.’s top-secret mission? Travel to Iceland and retrieve the ravens. . . or Britain is ruined!

In Iceland, Mac discovers secret submarines, hungry polar bears, mysterious blueprints, and his old archnemesis! Is the KGB man behind this birdnapping? Can Mac get the ravens to safety? It’s time for an epic, top-secret smackdown between these two secret agents!

The third installment of the Mac B. series continues the punny fun. Mac learns more about the United Kingdom’s history as well as the difference between dolphins and porpoises. Mac discovers how a simple story can become an important legend. The queen of England orders Mac to travel to Iceland and solve the mystery. Even though the majority of the story focuses on the mystery of the missing ravens, Mac’s difficulties with his mother’s boyfriend also plays a part in the story.

The queen’s outlandish behavior will make readers giggle. Readers will enjoy the conclusion because it ties all of the events together in a unique way. Top Secret Smackdown mixes humorous puns, a mysterious enemy, and wrestling to create a fun story that will entertain even the most reluctant readers. Short sentences and simple vocabulary will help readers build confidence. Large purple and orange illustrations appear on almost every page, which helps readers envision the story’s events.

Mac tells his own story with humor and puts a spotlight on the absurd. Younger readers will love the adventure, intrigue, and interesting characters. Although Top Secret Smackdown can be read as a stand-alone book, for maximum enjoyment the books should be read in order. Readers who enjoy silly, illustrated stories may also want to read Two Dogs in a Trench Coat Series by Julie Falatko.

Sexual Content

  • The story implies that Mac’s mother’s boyfriend stays the night when he thinks, “usually on Saturday mornings, my mom’s boyfriend, Craig, was camped out in front of the TV watching WrestleFest.”

Violence

  • When Mac goes to Iceland, he looks for clues, and “someone hit me on the head with something very heavy and knocked me out.” When he woke up, Mac was tied to a chair.
  • The president of Iceland is telling Mac a story. She acts out part of the story when “she punched me lightly on my arm. When I tried to block it, she punched me harder in the ribs.”
  • The KGB man ties Mac to a chair. Mac breaks out of the ropes and pretends he is a wrestler on WrestlingFest. Mac “jumped onto the KGB Man’s back. He shook me off. . . I jumped on his back again. The KGB man stood up and threw me to the floor. He tore off his shirt.” During the scuffle, Mac throws a chair, accidentally sparked TNT, and “something exploded. The camera zapped. Its wires fried. The submarine was filling with water.”
  • When Mac escapes the sinking submarine, “there was another blast. . .pieces of metal came flying and knocked my legs out from under me.” Mac falls into the river but is saved.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • The KGB man calls a group of people “fools.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • When Mac is afraid that he might drown, he thinks about Father Thames. “Some people say there is a river god named Father Thames who lives in the waters that run through London. They say he has lived there for a long, long time.” Mac thought he saw Father Thames, but then he realized it was a dolphin.

 

 

The New Kid at School

Wiglaf, the smallest boy in the family, gets pushed around by his brothers. Then a traveling minstrel tells Wiglaf he was born to be a hero. Wiglaf doesn’t think he will ever do anything heroic. When he reads the Dragon Slayer’s Academy ad posted on the village message tree, Wiglaf and his pet pig head to the academy. Even though Wiglaf can’t stand seeing any creature suffer—not even a fly—he’s convinced he can learn to slay a dragon. His first day at Dragon Slayer’s Academy will be a day he never forgets.

Twelve older brothers love to boss Wiglaf around. Much like Cinderella, Wiglaf must wash the dishes and do a never-ending list of chores. Wiglaf befriends the minstrel, who then teaches him how to read. Despite his small size, Wiglaf is convinced that he can be a hero. The kind, likable Wiglaf isn’t ashamed to be small, poor, or different than others. Instead, he uses his knowledge to defeat the dragon without using his sword, Surekill.

The New Kid at School mixes a little bit of silly magic, a talking pig, and a kind classmate to create a delightful story that makes readers giggle. Wiglaf’s adventure is told with humor while also highlighting the importance of work. This is shown when Wiglaf did not have any money to pay the academy’s tuition, so he offers to wash dishes. Another character empties eel traps in order to stay at the school. The conclusion has several surprises that will have readers eager to pick up the next book in the series, Revenge of the Dragon Lady.

The story uses simple vocabulary and short paragraphs to tell a fast-paced story. Readers may need help with some of the more complex sentences and the medieval language. For example, the dragon slayers are hoping to take the dragon’s “hoards” and Wiglaf is told to go “thitherwald.” Full-page black and white illustrations are scattered throughout the story. The detailed illustrations bring the characters to life with exaggerated facial expressions. A map of the academy and a DSA yearbook appear at the end of the book. Each yearbook page has a picture of a character as well as important information about him/her. Adventure-seeking readers will enjoy The New Kid at School and cheer for Wiglaf as he proves that you don’t need to be mighty in order to be a hero.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A minstrel tells a story about Sir Gilford, who teased a dragon named Old Snart. “Well, Old Snart hated to be teased. He began whimpering and crying until he collapsed in a pool of tears. He hardly noticed when Sir Gilford sliced off his head.”
  • Wiglaf’s mother wants to hurry into town because she “doesn’t want to miss the hanging.”
  • Gorzil, a dragon, takes all of the town’s gold. Then, “he swears to burn Toenail to the ground unless a son and daughter of the village are outside his cave tomorrow. Tomorrow at dawn, in time for breakfast.” After a lottery, two children are sent to become Gorzil’s dinner.
  • Eric and Wiglaf go to Gorzil’s cave. Eric yells, “I am your worst nightmare!” Gorzil becomes angry and “sparks shot from his nose. They scorched the hem of Eric’s dress. Then Gorzil raised the tip of his tail over his head and whacked Eric’s sword out of his hand.”
  • After Wiglaf tells the dragon a series of really bad knock-knock jokes, “Gorzil’s chest heaved. His tail lashed one final time and was still. His tongue flopped out the side of his mouth and lay in a puddle of yellow drool. Then, with a thunderous poof, Gorzil’s body exploded into a cloud of dragon dust.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • The headmaster calls a boy a “ninny.” Later, someone calls Wiglaf a “ninny.”
  • Wiglaf’s brother tells a minstrel to “be gone, varlet!”
  • “Blazing King Ken’s britches!” is used as an exclamation.

Supernatural

  • A wizard cast a spell saying, “Oink-a-la, doink-a-la, fee fi fig! This pig shall be a talking pig!” Then the pig speaks in Pig Latin.
  • A wizard gives Wiglaf an enchanted sword called Surekill. When Wiglaf cries for help, the “sword leaped out of Wiglaf’s hand. It glowed red hot as it soared up, up into the air. . . They waited for it to reappear. But the sword had vanished.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

The Boy Who Crashed to Earth

BOOM! CLANG! CRASH! D.J. and Gina are totally ordinary kids. But Hilo isn’t! Hilo just fell out of the sky and doesn’t know where he came from, what he’s doing on Earth, or why going to school in only your underwear is a BAD idea! But Hilo is excited to have a friend, D.J. Even when Hilo tries to blend in with the rest of the kids at D.J.’s school, he just doesn’t understand earth’s customs.

Soon the three discover that Hilo wasn’t the only thing to fall to earth. Can the trio unlock the secrets of Hilo’s past? Can Hilo SURVIVE a day at school? Find out in Hilo – a laugh-out-loud, epic story of friendship, adventure, and occasionally a mutant space robot.

Readers of all ages will fall in love with the main characters D.J. and Hilo. Readers will relate to D.J. who worries that he is boring and eagerly helps Hilo. The relationship between the two is fun and endearing. Hilo says he is lucky to have D.J. because when “a boy fell from the sky, and all you wanted to do is protect him. You saved him by throwing a robot off a cliff, leaping down a pitch-black hole, fighting a giant metal bug with a stick. And a whole lot more!” In order to help Hilo, D.J. helps Hilo battle robots.  In the battle scenes, the characters spend more time running away than fighting and none of the characters are seriously injured.

Without sounding like a school lesson, The Boy Who Crashed to Earth introduces new vocabulary through Hilo’s speech. For example, Hilo says, “Crazy. AD.J.ective. Informal. ‘He was acting like a crazy person.’ Mad, insane, out of one’s mind. Deranged.” One negative aspect of the story is the juvenile humor. For example, Hilo likes to talk about his silver underwear and he loves to burp. Despite the juvenile humor, Hilo portrays D.J.’s family in a positive light and shows the importance of helping others.

 Brightly colored illustrations will capture readers’ attention, but readers will want to keep turning the pages because of the engaging story and the likable characters. The detailed illustrations show exaggerated facial expressions which will help readers understand the characters’ changing emotions.

 The Boy Who Crashed to Earth introduces complex characters that readers will love. The reader only sees snippets of Hilo’s past, which creates both suspense and mystery. The action-packed story will keep readers flipping the pages until the very end. Readers will be eager to read the next book in the series, Saving the Whole Wide World.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A giant robot chases Hilo and D.J. When D.J. falls, Hilo shoots the robot with lasers. The scene is illustrated over six pages.
  • In order to distract the school secretary, Hilo sets a wild raccoon loose in the school office.
  • “A cybernetic formicidae! A robot ant!” chases D.J. and Hilo. All three of them fall over a cliff, and when D.J. is in danger of being hurt, Hilo shoots the robot with lasers. The robot is disabled but eventually comes back. The robot and Hilo fall over another cliff. The robot is destroyed and Hilo falls apart. The action is illustrated over twelve pages.
  • A giant robot centipede grabs Hilo and takes him underground. D.J and Gina go in after Hilo. When the centipede opens its mouth, Hilo shoots a laser inside of the creature. The creature is disabled. The scene is illustrated over three pages.
  • Giant robot insects are building a robot, and Hilo tries to stop the creatures by zapping them with lasers. The robot comes to life and begins shooting lasers while the robot bugs chase the kids. During the battle, the robot is able to capture Hilo. In the end, Hilo opens a portal and sends the robot through. The epic battle is illustrated over 28 pages.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • “Holy Mackerel” is used as an expression occasionally.
  • A classmate tells D.J., “Dude. Your pal is a real freak.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Boo’s Dinosaur

When Boo brings home a dinosaur that only she can see, her brother Sammy doesn’t want to encourage her antics. Boo and her dinosaur are inseparable until Boo says goodbye to the dinosaur quite suddenly.

When Sammy sees how sad his sister is, he understands Boo’s need for her dinosaur more than he wants to admit. So much that he almost believes it . . . almost.

Boo’s Dinosaur focuses on Boo and her imaginary friend. The simple story portrays Boo’s family in a positive light, and Boo’s brother Sammy demonstrates patience. The cute story has a simple plot that is easy to understand. However, none of the characters or situations are memorable.

Beginning readers looking for early chapter books will find Boo’s Dinosaur a good bridge between picture books and chapter books. The story has eight or fewer sentences on each page. With six short chapters and easy-to-read vocabulary, beginning readers will be able to read the book independently. Black and white illustrations appear on every page, which breaks up the text as well as shows Boo with her dinosaur. The adorable illustrations bring Boo’s imagination to life and will help readers understand the plot.

Dinosaur-loving readers who are ready for more advanced chapter books and want more adventure should try The Dino Files Series by Stacy McAnulty and the Dino Rider Series by Will Dare.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

The Sorcerer’s Shadow

In the twelfth book from The Kingdom of Wrenly series, Prince Lucas and Clara go on an adventure in the forest realm of Trellis! All is not right in the forest realm of Trellis. Birds have left their nests, and bears have abandoned their dens, as mysterious magic threatens the natural order of the deep, dark woods. Together with a band of knights, Prince Lucas and Clara set out on an adventure that pits them against a dreaded sorcerer’s shadow. There’s only one problem: How can a shadow be defeated?

Unlike typical royalty, Prince Lucas interacts with everyone regardless of their station. When the prince and Clara see a kid named Petros being bullied, they jump in and help the boy. Even when others avoid Petros, the prince and Clara stick by his side and treat him kindly. The theme of the story is clear: “You must watch how you behave. No hurtful words or calling names. No hateful playground bully games.”

The Sorcerer’s Shadow has a darker, more frightening tone than previous books in the series. Because others have bullied Petros, his anger and hatred has transformed into a shadow beast that can turn people into wooden statues. When Petro gets angry, the beast grows and mimics Petro’s feelings. For example, when Petros cries, it begins to rain. Lucas and Clara help Petros realize that he has a gift—the gift of goodness, forgiveness, understanding, and love.

Readers will be able to relate to Petro who is upset when others treat him badly. The positive message in The Sorcerer’s Shadow is complicated because readers will need to understand the cause and effect of the events. Even though the message might not be clear, every reader will understand that words can be hurtful.

The story’s illustrations are beautifully drawn in black and white and appear on almost every page, which will help readers visualize the story. One of the characters is a lady knight, and although she does not have a large role in the story, she is portrayed in a positive light and appears in several of the illustrations. Easy-to-read vocabulary, dialogue, and simple sentence structure make The Sorcerer’s Shadow a perfect book for beginning readers. Although The Sorcerer’s Shadow is the twelfth installment of a series, the previous books do not need to be read in order to enjoy the story.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When Prince Lucas and Clara enter a town, “they heard a ruckus up ahead. The two kids had tripped another boy, who tumbled into a fruit cart, knocking it over. Strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries speckled the road.” Prince Lucas and Clara help the boy clean up the mess.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • When Petros goes to the playground, someone yells, “Get out of here, you clumsy oaf, before you break the whole playground.”

Supernatural

  • No one knows why, but a “dark, ghostly cloud swirled from inside the great oak lift. The vapor formed into a showdown that roared an eerie warning.” The voice tells the town people that “the knights who tried to do some good have now been turned to bark and wood.”
  • The prince learns that Petros has magical powers that he cannot control. Petros didn’t know he had magical powers “until other kids began to make fun of me. The more upset I got, the more bad things would happen. . .When I get angry, the evil side of my powers begin to grow. Now my evil side has grown into a powerful, menacing shadow.”
  • Prince Lucas and Clara try to help Petro focus on his good powers. “Then the shadow reached dark tendrils out that touched Lucas and Clara. Instantly the two of them were rooted in place. Lucas looked down. Their feet had turned to wood.”
  • Lucas learned that he needed to “tame the evil magic with positive feelings!”

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Fast-Forward to the Future

Chase and Ava have already traveled to the past twice. When they touch a glowing cube in their magic suitcase, they don’t go to the past. They end up in the future! Even though they recognize where they are, almost everything is different. In the future, they find awesome flying cars and tons of robots. But it doesn’t take long for the villain Randall to find them. Chase and Ava are on the run. They know they need to put the cube back quickly, but can they complete their mission in time? Will Randall steal the cube?

Chase and Ava travel to the future and see a wonderful world where robots have taken the place of human laborers. As Chase and Ava explore, they pass a sign that can recognize people and records their good deeds. The robots record people’s likes and dislikes and help fulfill their desire. When Chase and Ava discover that they can spend someone else’s money, Chase says, “There must have been a mistake back there. We can’t just spend other people’s money.” The two decide that it is okay to spend the money because it actually belongs to the future Chase. The black and white pictures that appear on every page will help readers visualize the imaginative world.

Fast-Forward to the Future portrays an interesting world. The addition of a prototype robot that can talk adds interest. Although Randal makes a brief appearance, most of the plot revolves around exploring the future as well as wondering what will happen if Chase meets his future self. When Chase meets his future self, the younger Chase doesn’t get any answers to the mysteries of the suitcase or Randall.

Fast-Forward to the Future shows an imaginative future where robots and humans are friends. Readers will enjoy seeing a world where ice cream appears on demand, clothes grow to the perfect size, and the restaurant robots remember Chase’s favorite meal. Fast-Forward to the Future is part of the Scholastic’s Branches early chapter books, which have easy-to-read text and illustrations on every page. The story uses short descriptions and dialogue to keep the story moving at a fast pace. The black and white illustrations appear on every page and help break up the text into manageable sections. Fast-Forward to the Future has several characters that appear in book one, which requires the Time Jumpers series to be read in order.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When Randall appears and tries to take a robot prototype, “Ava stomps on Randall’s foot! Randall howls and clutches his foot.” Chase and Ava are able to run away from him.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • When Chase and Ava touch an object out of an old suitcase, they begin to spin. This time, the siblings notice, “There’s something different about it this time. The images swirling around them are of strange places and objects.” This time, the two travel to the future.

Spiritual Content

  • None

Survival Tails: Endurance in Antarctica

The sled dog Samson can’t wait to be a part of Ernest Shackleton’s historic voyage to Antarctica. Samson wants the honor and recognition that will come if they complete the dangerous voyage. He is eager to feel the snow under his paws and the wind on his face as he races across the ice fields. Samson wants to be a leader and help the humans survive on the unexplored continent.

While in the kennel waiting for Shackleton to decide which dogs to take, Samson meets Bummer. Unlike Samson, Bummer is scared to go on an ice-filled adventure that may end in death. Bummer knows he isn’t as big or as strong as the other dogs. His only goal is to survive the dangerous icy weather.

Bummer’s worse fears come true when their ship, the Endurance, becomes trapped in sea ice, leaving the dogs and men with no way home. Their journey quickly stops being about glory and becomes about survival. Samson, Bummer, and the other dogs will have to put aside their differences and band together to rescue the humans—and themselves.

Instead of focusing on the human explorers, Survival Tails: Endurance in Antarctica is told from the sled dogs’ point of view. Throughout the journey, Samson, Bummer, and several of the other dogs’ unique personalities come to life. Instead of only focusing on a dog’s good or bad qualities, Charman creates imperfect characters who make mistakes. Much like the humans, the dogs are at times prideful, loyal, hardworking, and heroic.

Survival Tails: Endurance in Antarctica uses historically accurate facts to bring the harsh conditions of the Antarctic voyage to life. Much of the action comes from the rivalry between the dogs and the harsh conditions the animals must face. However, the friendship between Samson and Bummer will keep readers interested until the very end. Readers will fall in love with the dogs and learn about the complicated nature of friendship as well as the importance of forgiveness.

A tale of bravery, friendship, and sacrifice, Survival Tails: Endurance in Antarctica will entertain both animal lovers and history buffs. The story has several surprises that highlight how the smallest dog is capable of heroic deeds. Four black and white pictures are scattered throughout the book and help bring the scenes into sharper focus. At the end of the book, readers will find a glossary, as well as more historical information about the Endurance expedition. Although this story is the second book in the Survival Tails series, each book is an independent story and can be read without the context of the other books. Survival Tails: Endurance in Antarctica will leave readers with new knowledge of history and has a conclusion that will make readers smile.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A pack of dogs chases a cat, Mrs. Chippy. Bummer sees “fur and jaws and tails, and Amundsen leading the pack as they closed in on the terrified cat. She hissed at Amundsen as he drew nearer, striking out at his face with extended claws as Amundsen let out a roar of rage and reared back as Mrs. Chippy frantically lashed out again and again, trying to keep him and the other dogs at bay.” The cat is able to jump away from the dogs, but falls into the ocean. Bummer saves the cat.
  • After being caged up too long, the dogs are let off the ship. Some of the dogs begin to fight. “Amundsen launched himself at another dog, going for his throat. The other dogs immediately joined in, using their jaws and claws to bite and scratch, slamming their huge bodies into each other.”
  • When Samson tries to warn the dogs that they are on dangerously think ice, Amundsen thinks Samson is going to attack. When Amundsen sees Samson, “Amundsen leaped into the air, meeting Samson in a tumble of fur and limbs, and they rolled together, sliding to a stop right on the top of the blackening ice. There was a loud crack, and both dogs froze as small fissures snaked across the ice, creeping toward them.” The dogs fall into the ocean, but are rescued.
  • While out on the ice, Bummer sees a leopard seal try to bite a human named Crean. “As if out of nowhere, a leopard seal emerged from the water, launching itself into the air, its mouth open wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth, aiming straight for Crean.” Bummer catches the seal by the neck. The seal, “rolled over, forcing Bummer beneath it, crushing his legs, but Bummer still held on, refusing to let their one chance of a good meal escape them. . . Wolf and Hercules took the seal’s tail and dragged it off Bummer, while Judge and Amundsen circled, blocking any way the seal might have of escaping into the water.” The human “finished the seal off with a single shot from his gun. The sound echoed around the ice, stunning them into silence.”
  • While sleeping, a fissure opens and a man falls into the ocean. “There was a loud splash and a yell as one of the men inside fell into the glacial water below.” One of the dogs pulls the man to safety.
  • When a pup is out in the ocean on a rock, Bummer notices a black shadow and races to the pup. “Bummer roared and leaped from his rock, pushing Roger out of the way as the leopard seal’s huge body connected with his, sending him flying into the water. The back of Bummer’s head slammed onto a rock lying beneath the surface. . . But the leopard seal was much quicker in the water. It bit down hard on Bummer’s paw, and Bummer yelped in agony as he felt the bones in his leg crush. . . There was a sudden bang, and the seal dropped beside Bummer, landing in the water with a loud splash.” Bummer is injured and his foot needs to be amputated.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Freya and the Magic Jewel

When eleven-year-old Freya hears a Doomsday prophecy from her magical jewel, she isn’t sure what to make of it. Mere seconds after the prediction, she receives a mysterious invitation to Asgard Academy from the powerful Odin, who commands her to “bring her magic” to Asgard.

With encouragement from her twin, Frey, Freya reluctantly heads out on the new adventure. Freya’s first challenge begins before she even steps foot in Asgard. While trying to navigate the treacherous Bifrost Bridge, she drops her magical jewel off the bridge, and a sneaky pair of dwarves take her jewel down to the world of Midgard!

Without that jewel, Freya thinks she is powerless. But with the help of her pod-mates at Asgard, Freya discovers a world that is bigger and more mysterious than she ever imagined! There, she learns the true terror of Ragnarok, the doomsday that her jewel warned her about, and what it could mean for Asgard Academy if she and her new friends, the Thunder Girls, don’t stop it!

Fans of Goddess Girls will enjoy this new series, which focuses on Norse Mythology. At first, Freya comes across as shallow because of her intense love of fashion and her assumption that everyone male will find her crush-worthy; she is the goddess of love and beauty after all! On the positive side, Freya has a positive attitude even when times are difficult. In the end, Freya learns that her best ability is fostering friendship. Readers will relate to Freya, who wonders if she is “in-like” with someone, and worries about hurting someone’s feelings if she does not like them in the same way.

Freya soon learns that Mason has a crush on her. In order to win her heart, he promises to “rebuild Asgard’s wall to protect her, if only she will give me her heart in return, plus the sun and the moon.” Freya doesn’t want to make the promise, but she knows the Asguard’s wall must be rebuilt. She reluctantly agrees because she doesn’t think Mason can succeed at building the wall. Although this is one of the main plot points, Mason is delegated to the background, so the ending falls flat.

Readers who are unfamiliar with Norse mythology will want to read the glossary first. The story introduces Norse mythology in a kid-friendly way, while still staying true to the original stories. Readers will enjoy the Norse world, Loki’s mischievous pranks, and the fast pace of the story. Although the story lacks depth, the characters are stereotypical, and Freya is not well developed, younger readers will enjoy getting to know Freya and the other Norse god and goddesses.

Sexual Content

  • Mason thinks he has won Freya’s heart. “Then he closed his eyes and leaned forward, puckering up.” Freya gives him something other than a kiss.

Violence

  • The large painted friezes that covered a wall come to life. “At first it was only the blinking of eyes or the twitch of a hand, as if those carved, painted heroes were waking up from a long sleep. . . And because they were all warriors, they immediately went into battle mode. Painted hands grabbed turnips, carrots, and crab apples from painted fields and trees or from platters on carved feast tables, depending on the scene. Arms drew back. Fists punched forth from the friezes. . . The moment food was lobbed out of a frieze, it temporarily turned real.” The kids had to evacuate.
  • Dwarves make a boar that comes alive. “Waving their arms, the four dwarfs chased the boar, trying to shoo it out of their workshop without getting stuck by its sharp tusks. . . Alfrigg wasn’t fast enough, though. Oomph! The board head-butted him in the rear.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Freya has a marble that contains cats and a cart. When Freya says “catnap” the cats and cart grow. The first time Freya uses the marble, she thinks “if anyone had been watching at that moment, the cats and cart would’ve seemed to instantly disappear. However, in reality, they had only shrunk down to a single cat’s-eye marble.”
  • Fraya has a magical jewel that can tell the future. The jewel “had the power to show Freya the future, sometimes it only revealed bits of information. It didn’t always answer her questions, either, so she could never be sure what it did or didn’t know.”
  • A message acorn had “cute faces and hats, and sweet voices.” One acorn “hopped right up into her (Freya’s) palm.”
  • Sometimes characters use vine slides to travel. Freya gives her brother a vine slide, which “could enlarge back into the huge spiral slide for Frey anytime he wished to travel through it. And then shrink anytime he wasn’t using it.”
  • Ice giants appeared normal-sized, but “magically shot up to five times their normal height” and made it snow.
  • While trying to enter Asgard, the Bifrost became hot for the frost giants. “When the frost giants were huge, the bridge probably sensed they were troublemakers and was trying to make them turn back from Asgard by giving them, and only them, a case of hot foot.”
  • When Freya drops her jewel, “gnarled hands reached up and snatched at Brising (the jewel) like snapping turtles. Fingers captured it before it could even hit the ground.”
  • Doors appear in thin air and allow people to travel to different locations.
  • Freya drinks juice that won’t make her immortal, but will make her “stay the same age.”
  • Several characters are shapeshifters. Others can grow bigger.
  • One character has a box that “expanded into a box large enough to hold many apples.”
  • Freya puts her toes and nose against a tree. “Whoosh! Instantly she found herself standing inside a hollowed-out space in the very middle of the tree trunk. . .”
  • One of the characters only has a head.

Spiritual Content

  • The story focuses on Norse mythology and includes Norse gods and goddesses as characters.
  • The main character, Fraya, is the goddess of love and beauty. She is also a seer. Another character, Odin, was “the leader of the Asgard gods and the supreme rule of all the worlds.” (This is not a complete list of the Norse gods that appear in the book.)

The False Fairy

In the eleventh fantastic adventure of The Kingdom of Wrenly series, a spell makes all but one fairy disappear. A mysterious spell has hypnotized the fairies on the island of Primlox, and now it is up to Prince Lucas and Clara to save the fairyland. Along with the last remaining fairy named Falsk, will the two friends find the missing fairies? Or is Falsk, who is famous for telling wild stories, leading Lucas and Clara into a trap?

The False Fairy uses adventure, friendship, and a little bit of magic to form an entertaining story that teaches a positive lesson. Like many people, Falsk likes to play jokes on others and tell stories. However, Falsk has told so many untrue stories and played so many pranks on others that no one trusts her anymore. When the fairies are in trouble, Falsk journeys to Wrenly to get help. Even though the Falsk is known as the False Fairy, the prince listens to her plight and helps her free her fairy friends.

The Kingdom of Wrenly series has a lot of positive aspects. Besides having a pet dragon, the prince is curious, helpful, and truly cares for other people. Even though he is royalty, the prince’s best friend Clara is the daughter of a baker. The adventurous friends work together to help Falsk find her friends. In the end, Falsk learns the danger of telling untrue stories and promises. “From now on, I will never play another trick. And I’ll be truthful, honorable, and kind.”

The story’s illustrations are beautifully drawn in black and white and appear on almost every page. The illustrations help readers visualize the characters and events in the story. Easy-to-read vocabulary, dialogue, and simple sentence structure make The False Fairy a perfect book for beginning readers. Although The False Fairy is the eleventh installment of a series, the previous books do not need to be read in order to enjoy the story.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • The wizard Grom goes in search of items for his potions. He wants to make, “potions for bad-dragon-breath and stain removal, cough serums, and tracking spells.”
  • Grom’s tracking potion needs, “1 body part for creature to be tracked (hair, fingernail, scale, dander, or shell), 1 cup orange blossom honey, ½ turnip, 1 handful of gooseberries, 1 swoosh of snail slime.”
  • Grom mixes the tracking potion ingredients and then says, “Pursue-mora! Pursue-mora! Hot on the trail of an unknown beat. Track it down in a high-speed chase. Then make known it’s hidden face.” After the spell is cast, “sparkling light and glitter swirled from the locket. It ripped out of the cabin and up into the sea air.”
  • Grom cast a “strong protection spell on the children and Ruskin.”

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • When fairies hear a song, they go into a trance. When Rainbow Frost hears the son, “a dreamy expression fell over Rainbow Frost’s face. Her body began to float upward. Falsk watched in horror as Rainbow Frost and the fairies of Primlox seemed to be pulled away by a dark, misty cloud moving across the sky.”
  • When looking for the source of the song, Falsk finds out that “the strange song was coming from a dark, misty cloud moving across the sky.”
  • As the group follows the dark cloud, “they studied the sea and sky for more clues. Soon their imaginations began to play tricks on them. Each waved seemed to swell with monster faces, and the clouds took on beastly shapes.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Dog Diaries: A Middle School Story

Junior always wanted a human of his own. When Junior finally gets out of the dog shelter, he’s excited to meet his human, Rafe. Junior has to learn the layout of Rafe’s home and also figure out how to protect the yard from raccoons. When Rafe takes Junior to the park, Junior gets a little too excited and causes havoc. Unfortunately, the evil Mrs. Stricker was in Junior’s path. Now, Mrs. Stricker is forcing Rafe to take Junior to obedience school. If he doesn’t behaver Mrs. Stricker will send Junior back to the pound. What will this mischievous mutt do?

The story is written from Junior’s point of view, who begins his story at the local animal shelter. Several times, Junior explains why dogs sniff each other’s poop and their “you-know-what.” At the beginning of the story, Junior explains each room in Rafe’s house from his point of view. Younger readers may find the dog’s explanation of a human house funny. For example, Junior calls the bathroom, “The Rainy Poop Room.” The story does contain some bathroom humor such as in one scene, Junior is illustrated peeing on his pet human.

Dog Diaries: A Middle School Story is easy to read and has some fun black and white illustrations that are scattered throughout the story. However, the plot and the characters are not well developed. Most of the humor comes from Junior misbehaving and causing chaos. Instead of learning to be obedient and well-mannered, Junior is proud of the fact that he corrupted another dog named Duchess. In the end, Duchess decided to copy Junior’s terrible behavior. Instead of helping Junior act appropriately, Rafe laughs and takes a picture of the destruction that Junior caused.

Readers should leave Dog Diaries: A Middle School Story on the shelf. Junior comes off as an unintelligent, uncaring dog. Readers interested in reading a humorous story written from a dog’s point of view should add the Two Dogs in a Trench Coat series to their reading list. Although the story is similar in style, the dogs in the story are doing their best to look after their human boy, instead of causing their human boy grief. The Crime Biters series would also be another fun series for dog lovers.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • While at the park, Junior gets overly excited and begins running. His friends follow and soon the pack of dogs and accidentally pull the drinking fountain off the wall “sending a huge arc of water crashing onto some unsuspecting grandmoos [grandmothers] on a bench opposite. Another dog had his leash knotted to the stroller his pet human was pushing, and before she knew what was happening, the lady was screaming at the top of her lungs as her baby was hurtling backward across the park, being towed by an overexcited Akita named Dwayne.” The scene takes place over six pages.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • A woman calls Junior “an uncouth, bad-mannered, unimpressive waste of time.” The woman continues yelling at Junior and Rafe, saying “You and your dog are zero, loser nobodies.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

 

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