Action Presidents: Abraham Lincoln~ Fred Van Lente & Ryan Dunlavey [@HarperChildrens @fredvanlente]

Action President #2: Abraham Lincoln
Ryan Dunlavey, illustrator
HarperCollins
February 06, 2018
129 pages
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Where the history is real and the jokes are fake!

The second Action Presidents book is just as fun—and funny—as the first. Legendary lumberjack and paramount president Abraham Lincoln practically jumps off the page.

Wimpy Kid meets the Who Was… series in these hilarious new graphic novels from New York Times bestselling comic book author Fred Van Lente and award-winning cartoonist Ryan Dunlavey.

Did you know that Lincoln never went to college, and that he kept important documents in his famous top hat? Even the most reluctant reader won’t be able to put this graphic novel down, and they’ll learn about an American icon along the way.

U.S. history comes to life like never before! Historically accurate and highly entertaining, Action Presidents is perfect for curious minds. With timelines, maps, charts, and more, readers will keep learning until the last page.

The critics agree that the Action Presidents should not be missed. "A delightful, educational spin on history—and plenty of jokes," said School Library Journal of the first book in the series, George Washington. "Sheer joy," praised Booklist in a starred review.

The second installment of the Action Presidents series tells readers the story of Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States. The book does a great job - starting with the back cover - of letting you know, right away, that it includes information you, likely, do not already know.

The blending of things you probably did not already know about Lincoln - even small things like why he grew a beard - with the more known facts of his presidency with his early career really help readers to assemble a full picture of who Abraham Lincoln was. Both the public, political figure and the man he was in private.

There are smart descriptions of the whys, wheres and hows of not only the start of the Civil War, but its battles, strategies, leaders, victories and defeats (both Union and Confederate). The telling does keep the age of its intended readers in mind but doesn't gloss over things or try to sanitize them - something that seems especially important at present.

Readers, beyond the eight to twelve-year-old range, will like being able to learn more about both President Lincoln and the Civil War in a format other than a more in depth, denser nonfiction book.




Action Presidents #3: Theodore Roosevelt! will be released July 24th





finished copy received from publisher, for review consideration

Action Presidents: George Washington ~ Fred Van Lente & Ryan Dunlavey [@HarperChildrens @fredvanlente]

Action Presidents #1: George Washington
Ryan Dunlavey, illustrator
HarperCollins
February 06, 2018
128 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

Where the history is real and the jokes are fake!

The first Action Presidents book will turn even the most reluctant reader into a history buff. George Washington, ultimate founding father and awesome American, practically jumps off the page.

We all know that George Washington was our first president and a hero of the American Revolution, but did you also know that he didn’t want to be president and had teeth so bad that he hated to smile?

Wimpy Kid meets the Who Was … series in these hilarious new graphic novels from New York Times bestselling comic book author Fred Van Lente and award-winning cartoonist Ryan Dunlavey.

U.S. history comes to life like never before! Historically accurate and highly entertaining, Action Presidents is perfect for curious minds. With timelines, maps, charts, and more, readers will keep learning until the last page.

This series has the weirdest narrator: a turkey named Noah the Historkey. There is an explanation for his name and why he's off telling these kids about history and the presidents - but it's still odd. Odd that gets your attention and makes the book a bit different, though.

This first Action Presidents has a logical choice for its subject, the first United States President, George Washington. While 'Presidents' is in the title, the book starts with Washington's early life. I will admit to knowing very little about his childhood (other than the infamous - and fictional - story of George Washington and the Cherry Tree). I liked that the book started there and told readers both that it was untrue and how it came to to be.

The book addresses Washington's adolescence,  his time in the Revolution and then as President. There was a good mix of his military life, accomplishments and setbacks and his personal life - his marriage to Martha, how his career impacted their lives, etc.

Action Presidents #1: George Washington will probably appeal more to boys than girls (at least the dysentery jokes) but is a good way to introduce or refresh American History to readers not likely to read it in other forms. (And as a fun way to get toe information, even if you will read/learn it elsewhere.)

I do wish these books had page numbers. It is easier to keep track of where you are in a book or to remember where in the book a bit of information was that you wanted to remember or share with someone.



Action Presidents #2 focuses on Abraham Lincoln . .






finished copy received from publisher, for review consideration

Marty Pants: Keep Your Paws Off ~ Mark Parisi review [@@OffTheMarkComic @HarperChildrens]

Marty Pants #2: Keep Your Paws Off
HarperCollins
February 06, 2018
256 pages
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Marty Pants is back! And in an unexpectedly hairy situation, Marty must put his deduction skills to the test as this new mystery might be leading to monstrous consequences.

When Marty finds a ripped page from his sister's diary, the most crucial piece—revealing Marty's true identity—is still locked inside his sister’s room. Undaunted, Marty pieces the clues together and comes to the most logical conclusion: he's on a one-way trip to werewolfville!

Superhuman speed. Howling. Hairiness. The evidence is mounting against him, and with his werewolf powers growing stronger, Marty is determined to protect his classmates from himself before it's too late—no matter what the cost!

The second book in the Marty Pants series from the award-winning cartoonist behind the “Off the Mark” strip, Mark Parisi, is perfect for fans of Wimpy Kid, Big Nate, and laughing a lot.

Marty Pants returns for another strange, funny, crazy installment of Mark Parisi's Marty Pants series. This time the young aspiring artist has discovered something truly frightening about himself: he is a werewolf.

It seems unbelievable, but seems to make perfect sense, too. Just to be sure Marty decides to watch for the signs: ripped clothing, howling, etc. He needs to keep people safe from his monstrous, true self, after all.

This possible, life altering secret doesn't stop life around him from continuing on. There's still his nemesis Simon to deal with, therapy sessions with Parker, Roongrat's never-ending (but often incorrect) supply of facts and anecdotes, and Marty's sister's current way of spelling her name.

Marty Pants: Keep Your Paws Off is funny and maybe a bit absurd but also lets readers get to know the characters better and develops their relationships. (Marty also supplies a bit of information on different artists - and our Founding Fathers - along the way.) This book a is a light, fun read with enough in its characters and their friendships to make readers want to come back for the next book.

How Marty decides things to be true (what makes him think he's one step closer to confirming his lycanthropic identity) was fantastic. It's that perfect blend of odd and logical that is definitely funny, but somehow still understandable.

The Marty Pants series is targeted at readers eight to twelve-years-old but but older readers will still find the humor and it seems appropriate for any younger readers. Book 3, Marty Pants: How to Defeat a Wizard will be out in November and sounds like it will, again, showcase the . . . interesting conclusions Marty reaches.







finished copy received from publisher for review consideration

Book Trailer Friday [@AmieKaufman @HarperChildrens @HarperCollinsCh]

Amie Kaufman's Unearthed (written with Meagan Spooner) will be released next Tuesday, but that is not her only early 2018 release, there is also the first book in a new Middle Grade fantasy series, Elementals: Ice Wolves. It's not out until March but you can watch the trailer now:

about Elemental: Ice Wolves (Elementals #1):

Everyone in Vallen knows that ice wolves and scorch dragons are sworn enemies who live deeply separate lives.

So when twelve-year-old orphan Anders takes one elemental form and his twin sister, Rayna, takes another, he wonders whether they are even related. Still, whether or not they’re family, Rayna is Anders’s only true friend. She’s nothing like the brutal, cruel dragons who claimed her as one of their own and stole her away.

In order to rescue her, Anders must enlist at the foreboding Ulfar Academy, a school for young wolves that values loyalty to the pack above all else. But for Anders, loyalty is more complicated than obedience, and friendship is the most powerful shapeshifting force of all.

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March 27, 2018 // HarperCollins // 326 pages // Goodreads // Book Depository // Amazon

The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street ~ Lindsay Currie (earc) review [@lindsayncurrie @simonkids]

The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street
Aladdin
October 10, 2017
304 pages
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A girl unravels a centuries-old mystery after moving into a haunted house in this deliciously suspenseful mystery.

Tessa Woodward isn’t exactly thrilled to move to rainy, cold Chicago from her home in sunny Florida. But homesickness turns to icy fear when unexplainable things start happening in her new house. Things like flickering lights, mysterious drawings appearing out of nowhere, and a crackling noise she can feel in her bones.

When her little brother’s doll starts crying real tears, Tessa realizes that someone—or something—is trying to communicate with her. A secret that’s been shrouded in mystery for more than one hundred years.

With the help of three new friends, Tessa begins unraveling the mystery of what happened in the house on Shady Street—and more importantly, what it has to do with her!

The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street is a fun ghost story and story of friendship. Tessa has to deal with a mix of both the normal things (new school and new friend anxieties, missing her best friend, cold weather, everything being unfamiliar) and the not so normal (flickering lights, drawings appearing on her sketchpad, strange noises) when her family moves from Florida to Chicago.

Even if everything were normal, with no paranormal happenings, the move would be a lot for the twelve-year-old. Add in the weird occurrences and she's ready to go back to Fort Myers.   If her new friends can help, maybe she can stay - and like it.

I really enjoyed the blend of Tessa's adjustment to a new town, new house and new school with the supernatural elements. The way they worked together from how Tessa's feelings about her house impacted her feelings about Chicago to it all gave her something to talk to her potential new friends about, was done very well.

There were a few inconsistencies or inaccuracies that pulled me out of the story a bit. They were not things that really affected the story but they were distracting.

The relationship Tessa has with her parents was nicely done. Though her character could, at times, feel younger than twelve, I liked how the situation (the move first, then the weird events at the house) allowed us to see different aspects of their relationship than we otherwise would have. The author also did a nice job including different types of parenting while having them all be loving and involved.







digital review copy received thanks to publisher, via NetGalley

Click'd ~ Tamara Ireland Stone (earc) review [@tamaraistone @DisneyHyperion]

Click'd
Disney Hyperion
September 07, 2017
208 pages
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Allie Navarro can't wait to show her best friends the app she built at CodeGirls summer camp. CLICK'D pairs users based on common interests and sends them on a fun (and occasionally rule-breaking) scavenger hunt to find each other. And it's a hit. By the second day of school, everyone is talking about CLICK'D.

Watching her app go viral is amazing. Leaderboards are filling up! Everyone's making new friends. And with all the data Allie is collecting, she has an even better shot at beating her archenemy, Nathan, at the upcoming youth coding competition. But when Allie discovers a glitch that threatens to expose everyone's secrets, she has to figure out how to make things right, even if that means sharing the computer lab with Nathan. Can Allie fix her app, stop it from doing any more damage, and win back the friends it hurt-all before she steps on stage to present CLICK'D to the judges?

New York Times best-selling author Tamara Ireland Stone combines friendship, coding, and lots of popcorn in her fun and empowering middle-grade debut.

Click'd was such a fun but also heartfelt middle-grade novel. There is a great portrayal of Allie, a girl who loves her friends and their soccer tournaments but is willing to leave a summer of that behind to attend her 'computer camp.'  CodeGirls is even more than she had hoped it would be and she comes away from it not only with new friends, but also a great game: CLICK'D.

I loved that Allie loved coding and wasn't afraid to express that fact. It was something she enjoyed and, even if her school friends didn't understand it, she wasn't going to dial back her enthusiasm or pretend. For a seventh grader, really embracing something different that you like could be heard but she really was herself.

Allie's reaction to finding the glitch in CLICK'D was realistic but also made for a good story. The choices she made were understandable and, as a reader, you can agree with her or not, but see why doe did it.

I appreciated that Click'd was not full of quick fixes or instantly corrected wrongs. Both with relationships and when it came to the coding, solutions had to be figured out, tested and attempted. Sometimes they were the right and things were fixed. Sometimes it was more complicated. They was that the error in the coding might bring about a problem between people was smart and well done. All of the coding, the talk around the glitch, and how things work, etc was done well and used enough terms but without being overwhelming or losing readers who don't know code.

Click'd is a great middle grade debut from Tamara Ireland Stone with a great depiction of a girl who unabashedly loves coding - and is good at it. The author does a great job having the characters and their relationships and growth happen around and because of CLICK'D and its coding.










digital review copy received, from NetGalley, via publisher

Moo ~ Sharon Creech review [@HarperChildrens @ciaobellacreech]

Moo
HarperCollins
August 29, 2017
288 pages
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Fans of Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech’s Love That Dog and Hate That Cat will love her newest tween novel, Moo. This uplifting tale reminds us that if we’re open to new experiences, life is full of surprises. Following one family’s momentous move from the city to rural Maine, an unexpected bond develops between twelve-year-old Reena and one very ornery cow.

When Reena, her little brother, Luke, and their parents first move to Maine, Reena doesn’t know what to expect. She’s ready for beaches, blueberries, and all the lobster she can eat. Instead, her parents “volunteer” Reena and Luke to work for an eccentric neighbor named Mrs. Falala, who has a pig named Paulie, a cat named China, a snake named Edna—and that stubborn cow, Zora.

This heartwarming story, told in a blend of poetry and prose, reveals the bonds that emerge when we let others into our lives.

Even if you are beyond the Middle Grade novel reading age, you really may want to read Sharon Creech's new release, Moo.

Moo alternates between verse and short chapters of prose to tell Reena's story. A city girl who is used to the bustle of urban life, of museums and public transportation and people all around, Reena isn't expecting her family to decide to move to rural Maine. Even if it may have, technically, been her idea.

Things in their new home are quite different - and not exactly like what she's read about or seen in books. Reena and her brother Luke don't know what to do when their parents volunteer them to help Mrs Falala - and her animals.

One of the things I most appreciated about Moo was that it gave readers a look at both city life and r rural life but without making one look better than the other. If you are more familiar with open fields and livestock than subways, you can enjoy seeing Maine, the cows, the animals and that life through someone just experiencing it. If youwith two're like Reena and may not have ever seen a cow in person, you can experience things with her.

The author does a really fantastic job putting her characters into a new, very unfamiliar setting, with equally new and unfamiliar experiences but Reena's enjoyment or discovery of the new is not at the expense of the old.

Moo is a sweet, funny, possibly educational (depends how much you knew or didn't know about cows) read. Reena's relationships with her parents and her brother Luke, the beginnings of her life in Maine, and caring for Zora all make for a great read for MG readers and beyond.








finished copy received, for review consideration, from publisher

Book Trailer Friday [@JamesENicol @chickenhsebooks]

This week I chose the trailer for  The Apprentice Witch by James Nicol for my post because the beginning of the YouTube description was just too good to pass up: "Every witch has a rough spell, especially when they fail their witch's test!"

Here's the trailer:

A special middle grade debut of magic and courage in a world of witches, written with the charm and enchantment of Circus Mirandus and The Apothecary.

Arianwyn has flunked her witch's assessment: She's doomed. Declared an apprentice and sent to the town of Lull in disgrace, she may never become a real witch-- much to the glee of her arch-rival, Gimma.

But remote Lull is not as boring as it seems. Strange things are sighted in the woods, a dangerous infestation of hex creeps throughout the town, and a mysterious magical visitor arrives with his eye on her.

With every spirit banished, creature helped, and spell cast, Arianwyn starts to get the hang of being a witch--even if she's only an apprentice. But the worst still lies ahead. For a sinister darkness has begun to haunt her spells, and there may be much more at stake than just her pride . . . for Arianwyn and the entire land.

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July 25, 2017 // Chiecken House // Goodreads // Book Depository // Amazon 

Waiting On Wednesday [@jpetroroy @FeiwelFriends @MacKidsBooks]

Waiting On Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine

My pick for this week:

P.S. I MISS YOU by Jen Petro-Roy

In this epistolary middle-grade debut novel, a girl who's questioning her sexual orientation writes letters to her sister, who was sent away from their strict Catholic home after becoming pregnant.

Eleven-year-old Evie is heartbroken when her strict Catholic parents send her pregnant sister away to stay with a distant great-aunt. All Evie wants is for her older sister to come back. But when her parents forbid her to even speak to Cilla, she starts sending letters. Evie writes letters about her family, torn apart and hurting. She writes about her life, empty without Cilla. And she writes about the new girl in school, June, who becomes her friend, and then maybe more than a friend.

As she becomes better friends with June, Evie begins to question her sexual orientation. She can only imagine what might happen if her parents found out who she really is. She could really use some advice from Cilla. But Cilla isn't writing back. 

published March 6th by Feiwel & Friends

add to your Goodreads shelf // pre-order from Book Depo // or Amazon

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Why?

I really love epistolary novels; it gives us a lot of insight into the character and can be a great way to tell a story. I especially like the premise of why these letters are being written, it's an outlet for Evie but with the idea, too, that she's talking to her older sister so it may not be as free or unreserved as a dairy.

I also really love the juxtaposition of that seemingly sweet and cute cover with the deeper, maybe harsher realities of Evie and Cilla's life (Cilla being sent away for being pregnant, Evie's uncertainty and isolation). It looks like a fantastic read and I can't wait for March!


That's my pick for this week, what's yours? Tell me in the comments and/or link me to your own post!

Hero: Hurricane Rescue ~ Jennifer Li Shotz review [@HarperChildrens]

Hero: Hurricane Rescue (Hero #2)
Harper Collins
May 30, 2017
192 pages
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The action-packed follow-up to Hero, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Li Shotz.

When a dangerous hurricane strikes town and Jack and his puppy, Scout, go missing, retired search-and-rescue dog Hero is the only one who can track them down.

Hero and his human, Ben, set off into the woods, but when the storm surges out of control, the group is suddenly trapped with no way out. Now it’s up to Hero to get everyone home safe and sound. Together, Hero and Ben fight for their lives—but can Hero battle his way past alligators, mudslides, and raging floods?

Join Hero for another epic adventure and discover what a dog will do to save his best friend.

Hero: Hurricane Rescue is the sequel to 2016's Hero (Hero #1) and there are references in the new release to that first story but Hero: Hurricane Rescue can be read on its own.

Ben's father is a police officer and he worked with Hero, a search and rescue dog, before Hero was retired. Now, Hero lives with Ben and his family and, while he may be retired, he hasn't lost his ability to or love for search and rescue.

Hero and Ben are great. Ben has faith in Hero's ability to find people, but also enjoys playing with him like anyone plays with their dog. Through Ben's amazement at Hero's abilities and how he explains things to other characters, readers get a good idea of what Hero can do - and how. It is a good introduction to a SAR dog without being more technical than the book's audience needs.

The depiction of a the hurricane did feel realistic. The sped at which everything developed - from the boy's learning the hurricane was headed for Gulfport to its arrival to the different stages of the storm - happened at an incredibly accelerated pace. It was a great way to move along the action in the book while providing anxiety and tension, all without drawing anything out. If it had been a tropical depression or storm or even just a really bad thunderstorm system, it would have seemed more plausible. (Anyone who doesn't love where there are hurricanes will probably not notice any of this, but those like me who do, will.)

There did seem to be consequences of the storm that impacted Ben on his search, without what caused those things impacting him. (It's tricky to explain without being spoilery.)

All of that said, though, I really did enjoy this book. Hero is a great dog who has fantastic tracking abilities, is smart, fun and has a great relationship with Ben. The things he and Ben run up against would be unbelievable in any other situation and how they deal with things in inventive and, at times, thrilling. Ben's character, his age, his sense of responsibility and that he cares so much about his parents' worries is a great main character and match for Hero.

Readers that like adventure stories that aren't too dangerous and dog books should enjoy Hero: Hurricane Rescue. The third Hero book, Hero: Rescue Mission will released in October.








finished copy received from publisher for review consideration

The World's Greatest Detective ~ Caroline Carlson review [@carolinetc @HarperChildrens]

The World's Greatest Detective
HarperCollins
May 16, 2017
368 pages
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By the end of our time together, someone in this house will be rich. Someone will be the World’s Greatest Detective. And someone, well, someone might be dead.

Detectives’ Row is full of talented investigators, but Toby Montrose isn’t one of them. He’s only an assistant at his uncle’s crime-solving business, and he’s not sure he’s even very good at that. But he sees his chance to prove he could be by entering Hugh Abernathy’s crime-solving contest in his uncle’s place.

Toby’s friend Ivy is the best detective around—or at least she thinks so. But she can’t show off her sleuthing skills and take the title because she’s not allowed to join the investigators’ ranks. Even though the competition is being held at her house.

Then a detective is found murdered before the games begin and his death becomes the World’s Greatest Mystery. And Toby and Ivy may be the only two who can crack the case.

In Caroline Carlson’s newest novel, hilarity and hijinks abound as the greatest detectives around try to solve the greatest mystery they’ve ever come across.

The World's Greatest Detective does a brilliant job having an almost historical, but entirely fictitious setting. It allows us to have the feel of the murder mystery in the big, grand house full of servants and social expectations and dressing for dinner - but without some of the restrictions. We get the atmosphere without being limited in who the characters can be or what they can do.

Science still gets to play a role in the investigation and in the character's methods of detecting, but doesn't feel out of place.

What I loved, maybe most of all, is that the book and when it takes place has that older feel, but that its world isn't quite as male dominated. As Ivy would no doubt remind you, there are still expectations put upon girls but women seem less restricted. There is a female doctor, several female detectives, and a scientist. The author does a great job giving younger readers a historical feel without subjugating the female characters.

I loved Toby as the central character. His past and how that affects how he behaves, his worries and his fears was fantastic. It added a bit of gravity to everything he did and got readers to pull for him eve more. It wasn't just about him looking for entertainment. (It gives him some great motivation, one of the 'Three M's' they try to uncover in the book.)

The mystery was nicely done and did a great job dropping hints, throwing out false leads and making you wonder just how - of even if - it would all be solved.








finished copy received from publisher for review consideration

Marty Pants: Do Not Open ~ Mark Parisi review [@HarperChildrens @OffTheMarkComic ]

Marty Pants: Do Not Open (Marty Pants #1)
Harper Collins
May 02, 2017
256 pages
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“Funny and engaging. Marty Pants is a surefire hit!”—Lincoln Peirce, author of the Big Nate series

Move over, Wimpy Kid. Here comes the imaginative, the inquisitive, the unstoppable Marty Pants! Meet Marty in the side-splitting first book of a new series written by Mark Parisi, the award-winning cartoonist of the Off the Mark comic.

Marty Pants is different from your typical middle schooler. He has the soul of an artist, and as an artist, he notices things—the kinds of things other kids don’t seem to see.
So when Marty discovers a plot on his teacher’s computer to take over the world, Marty knows this is a danger he can’t just ignore. But no one, not his best friends Parker and Roongrat or his mother, father, sister, arch-enemy, Simon, or Chief of Police Pickels, believes him.

So, it’s up to Marty to save the world—his way.

This hilarious new series follows the endearing, frazzled, embarrassed, and, ultimately, fearless footsteps of literature’s most unlikely hero—Marty Pants.

You know what? I like Marty Pants. He is funny, he is imaginative, he is, honestly, a bit weird, but endearing, too.

Marty is an artist - it's why he wears black - but his teacher doesn't seem to understand his creative expression. Or, at least, he doesn't seem to grade it very well. It all makes a bit more sense, though, when Marty discovers who his teacher really is.

Now, to save the world . . .

Marty Pants: Do Not Open is a fun read whether you normally read MG books or not. It may not be full of life lessons or deep literature but it has a memorable characters, it is creative and original and a truly enjoyable read. Marty's relationship with his family is great (in that it's not always all that great). The dynamic between his parents, his father's love of old music, his hostile cat, Marty's sister - however she spells her name right now - and how they were all very real but also very humorous was fantastic.

The conclusions Marty comes to and the actions he decides to take because of them will be entertaining and, often, comical for both MG age readers and those older.

The illustrations add to the story, giving readers a visual for some of the crazier situations Marty finds himself in or to some of his more specific descriptions. They are a fun addition to the story and well placed.

I am definitely curious to see what Marty will get up to in the second book - and why he'll have done it.




Another Book You Might Also Enjoy: Mutant Mantis Lunch Ladies by Bruce Hale




finished copy received from publisher for review consideration

Xander & the Dream Thief ~ Margaret Dilloway (earc) review [@DisneyHyperion @mdilloway]

Xander and the Dream Thief (Momotaro #2)
Disney Hyperion
April 18, 2017
352 pages
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Xander Miyamoto should be feeling great. It's the beginning of summer vacation, his mother has returned from a long absence, and he has learned that he is a warrior with special powers. Xander never would have guessed that the old Japanese folktale about Momotaro, the hero who sprang from a peach pit, was real, much less part of his own heritage.

But instead of reveling in his recent victory against the oni, monsters bent on creating chaos, Xander is feeling resentful. What took his mother so long to come back? Why does his father insist on ruining the summer with study and training? And why is Xander plagued by nightmares every night? Maybe this whole Momotaro thing is overrated.

Xander's grandmother gives him a special baku charm to use to chase his nightmares away. He just has to be careful not to rely on it too much. If he does, the baku will not only take his dreams, but those of everyone in the house, forever. Without dreams, there is no hope, no motivation, no imagination, no Momotaro. And then it would be far too easy for Ozuno, king of the oni, to wreak havoc. . . .

On his second quest, Xander explores new surreal landscapes, encounters more strange and dangerous creatures, and faces even higher stakes as he learns whether or not he has what it takes to be Momotaro.

Margaret Dilloway's second Middle Grade novel, after last year's Xander and the Lost Island of Monsters is the second book in the Momotaro series. Xander knows about his special powers, about the threat of the oni, and has his mother back.  Add in that it's summer break and everything should be fantastic for the twelve-year-old, right?

Not so much. His mother was gone for most of his life and no one seems angry with her for her absence - no one but Xander. The threat of the oni is ever-present, his father insists on grueling training and, to top it all of, Xander's having nightmares.

When his grandmother gives him a charm to help, it seems like the perfect solution. Until Xander doesn't heed her warnings and things go very, very wrong. Now it's up to him to fix things and save everyone.

I really loved how Xander and the Dream Thief used Japanese folklore and ancient stories to create the magical world and beings that Xander encounters. Though they were from different tales, author Margaret Dilloway worked them all together very well. Each played a part in Xander's tale but also helped connect the elements of his quest and create a full, rich journey.

There are times that wiser characters give Xander bits of sage advice but how he reacts to them really made him feel his age. Yet, if/when those pieces of advice made sense to him or he realized their validity, he was willing to embrace them. His initial reaction paired with the later one made things feel more real. (And his needing to get to a place where he could accept the words and fully grasp them, gave them that much more weight.)

You can read Xander and the Dream Thief without first reading Xander and the Lost Island of Monsters (I did) because there is enough recap of what happened in that book to catch you up and to follow the new story. I would suggest reading the first book, though. You will have a better understanding of the characters, their relationships and what they experienced. Plus, if this book is anything to go by, it will be a fun, enjoyable read.

Xander and the Dream Thief is out today so go get yourself a copy!









thank you to the publisher for my copy to review

Mutant Mantis Lunch Ladies ~ Bruce Hale review [@storyguy1 @CassieMcGinty @DisneyHyperion]

Mutant Mantis Lunch Ladies: A Monstertown Mystery
Disney Hyperion
March 07, 2017
208 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

How well do you know the lunch servers at your school? Sure, they seem like nice people, but what if secretly they are something much, much weirder?

Best friends Carlos and Benny, who just saved their teacher from becoming a were-hyena, have been called upon to investigate the strange goings-on in the cafeteria. Why are the lunch ladies suddenly so grumpy? Why are the girls' meals different from the boys'? And what was that thing seen scuttling around the kitchen wearing an apron?

It's going to require a lot of courage--and more than an industrial size can of Raid--for the boys to avoid extermination in this buggy adventure.

I have to admit that Mutant Mantis Lunch Ladies was a book that I did not know about prior to receiving it in the mail. So, you may not know about it, either . . . but you want to!

Mutant Mantis Lunch Ladies is the second Monstertown Mystery, following 2016's The Curse of the Were-Hyena and features fourth grade best friends Carlos and Benny. This book does reference a were-hyena, that it was their teacher and that Benny and Carlos saved the day, but not much beyond that. It lets readers know that this isn't the friends' first encounter with something other than human, but doesn't spoil that story. (This works just fine as a standalone book.)

The story is told to us by Carlos and author Bruce Hale does a fantastic job capturing how a fourth grade boy might see things; it doesn't feel like an adult's idea of a a kid, but like a kid.

There are a ton of similes in this book and they're crazy and hilarious and odd but not absurd. Each of them somehow really fits what's being described and as a whole they really make Carlos's character and the story special.  (Like "...Shaking like guava jelly on the San Andreas fault." pg 118)

The supernatural elements to this story (and, I think, the Monstertown Mysteries) is light enough to fit both the age range and the tone of the story. (Though so many bugs!) Yet, there's enough reason behind all of the 'why' and the solutions that it makes sense and is satisfying.

I may not have known about this book (or series) prior to getting Mutant Mantis Lunch Ladies but it was a fun read and has me interested in both the first book (The Curse of the Were-Hyena) and the next (Invasion of the Scorp-Lions).

(Also? The cover with its lenticular print is super fun.)






finished copy received from publisher for review

The Bone Sparrow ~ Zana Frallion (earc) review [@ZanaFraillon @DinseyHyperion]

The Bone Sparrow
Disney-Hyperion
November 01, 2016
240 pages
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Subhi is a refugee. Born in an Australian permanent detention center after his mother and sister fled the violence of a distant homeland, Subhi has only ever known life behind the fences. But his world is far bigger than that—every night, the magical Night Sea from his mother's stories brings him gifts, the faraway whales sing to him, and the birds tell their stories. And as he grows, his imagination threatens to burst beyond the limits of his containment.

The most vivid story of all, however, is the one that arrives one night in the form of Jimmie—a scruffy, impatient girl who appears on the other side of the wire fence and brings with her a notebook written by the mother she lost. Unable to read it herself, she relies on Subhi to unravel her family's love songs and tragedies.

Subhi and Jimmie might both find comfort—and maybe even freedom—as their tales unfold. But not until each has been braver than ever before.

There is something I especially love about books when you know that they have the exact right person/character as narrator. Not only are they the right person, but they're in the correct location, at the right point in their lives. They are also, clearly, the only person able to best tell this story - the character's story but also that of their whole world - to readers. That was most definitely the case with Subhi and The Bone Sparrow.

Whether its' an old TV show ("Kids Say the Darndest Things") or the bible, ("Out of the mouth of babes.") it has long been acknowledged that children see things differently than adults. The author uses that fact to full advantage in The Bone Sparrow. Subhi was born in the detention center and lived every day of his life there; it is all he knows. It's his normal.

So, he has a certain amount of naivete and acceptance of what life there is like that lets him show it to readers in a way that is more jarring for how commonplace it seems to him. What they eat, how much water they have, just how well acquainted hi is with the rats, who does or doesn't have shoes, roaches in your ear, and dozens of other things. To Subhi this is life. To readers and to those in the detention center who remember life before, outside of it, they are more demeaning, inhumane and hard to tolerate.

It is how it really is his norm and how he can just include little pieces of information in his story that really make them stand out and make him and the story memorable.

I loved Jimmie's addition to the story. Her life is not perfect or terribly easy, either and provides some interesting contrast to Subhi, him family and life. I liked her character, her determination, her grief, and how she was trying to handle all of it, often on her own. What they two characters brought out in each other was fabulous.  It was very nice how their story happened but didn't seem out of place and didn't detract from (or somehow seem disconnected) from Subhi's life in the camp.

The Bone Sparrow is an enlightening, sweet, heartbreaking, magical and incredibly memorable tale that is highly recommended.

In Their Shoes: Fairy Tales & Folktales (earc) review [@PushkinPress]

In Their Shoes: Fairy Tales and Folktales
Anne-Laure Mercier & Julia Nicholson, compilers; Lucy Arnoux, illustrator
Pushkin Children's Books
October 04, 2016
128 pages
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To coincide with a major V&A exhibition: the best shoe stories from around the world

Red shoes, golden slippers, seven-league boots... Just step into the shoes of princes and princesses, ogres and orphans, cats and rabbits, and discover a fascinating fairy-tale world of footwear.

Did you know that long ago Cinderella lived in China? That dogs in America wear boots? And that a small pair of shoes in France can fall in love?

With original illustrations by Lucie Arnoux, this is a timeless and captivating collection of fairy tales and folktales, whose footprints have lasted through the generations, over the centuries, and all around the world.

Many of the days I stayed home from school sick, I would watch an old copy of Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre - usually Rapunzel or maybe Hansel and Gretel - so I knew that Disney wasn't giving us quite everything. Still, the animated tales of the princesses with great hair and singing mice/teacups/etc are what most of us think about when it comes to fairy tales.

In Their Shoes: Fairy Tales and Folktales is here to remind us that the real versions of those stories - those that are original or close to it - weren't nearly as sweet or cute. In fact, this collection caused me to realize, once again, how glad I am not to have been a woman, or child, or animal, or really anyone at all in these stories- or the times they were written. From eating your cat to cutting off toes to killing children (those you mean to or others), there is a lot of blood, death and trickery in really all of the stories.

I liked that, at the end of each tale, we got a bit about who was believed to have written the tale and where and when it originated. It's nice to have that bit of background and to know where the tales (most of which) we know so well came from.

The illustrations that I have seen (through online previews of the book as they weren't included with the review copy) are very well done and fit the tone of the book rather well. (The black and white drawings are sweet and cute which wouldn't fit these versions of the stories.)

I enjoyed reading older versions of stories I thought I knew and reading a few that I was not familiar with. In Their Shoes has an interesting focal point (stories about shoes/feet) but it works well for this collection and is an enjoyable read.







digital copy received for review, from publisher, via NetGalley

The Secret Horses of Briar Hill ~ Megan Shepherd (earc) review [@DelacortePress @megan_shepherd]

The Secret Horses of Briar Hill
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
October 11, 2016
240 pages
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There are winged horses that live in the mirrors of Briar Hill hospital. In the mirrors that line its grand hallways, which once belonged to a princess. In those that reflect the elegant rooms, now filled with sick children. It is her secret.

One morning, when Emmaline climbs over the wall of the hospital’s abandoned gardens, she discovers something incredible: a white horse with broken wings has left the mirror-world and entered her own.

Tucked into the garden’s once-gleaming sundial, Emmaline finds a letter from the Horse Lord. He is hiding the wounded white horse, named Foxfire, from a dark and sinister force—a Black Horse who hunts by colorless moonlight. If Emmaline is to keep the Black Horse from finding her new friend, she must collect colorful objects with which to blind him. But where can Emmaline find color when her world is filled with gray?

In her author's note at the end of the book, Megan Shepherd mentions books like The Secret Garden, "which combined reality with dreams, history with fantasy, darkness with heart, and,  most of all, contained true magic." It is what she has created with The Secret Horses of Briar Hill.

Emmaline, Briar Hill hospital, the other children, the nuns, Thomas, and the World War II setting combine to form this magical, fantastical, but also realistic and identifiable world. The winged horses Emmaline sees in the hospital's mirrors are that final bit of (perfect) magic.

The book has enough basis in fact - with the children at a remote mansion turned into a hospital during the war - that it's recognizable and something you can identify with. I loved Emmaline's character from her love of horses (those in the real world and those in the mirror world), how she couldn't be contained by the Sister's rules and the house but needed the outdoors, even with the danger that posed, but most of all I loved her heart. Her love for Anna, her belief in the horses, even if no one else believes, and her refusal to give up or give in make her a truly endearing character.

I love the way that magic and fantasy blend with reality and fact - and that it is not always clear where, or even if, there is a line between the two. The juxtaposition of wartime Britain with its air raids and gas masks with Emmaline's winged horses in the mirrors, of the gray with rainbows of color was brilliantly done.

The Secret Horses of Briar Hill is another wonderfully written book by Megan Shepherd full of real magic, heartfelt characters and a world you won't forget.







digital review copy received, via NetGalley, thanks to publisher

Cloud and Wallfish ~ Anne Nesbet (earc) review [@annenesbet @Candlewick]

Cloud and Wallfish
Candlewick Press
October 04, 2016
400 pages
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Slip behind the Iron Curtain into a world of smoke, secrets, and lies in this stunning novel where someone is always listening and nothing is as it seems.


Noah Keller has a pretty normal life, until one wild afternoon when his parents pick him up from school and head straight for the airport, telling him on the ride that his name isn’t really Noah and he didn’t really just turn eleven in March. And he can’t even ask them why — not because of his Astonishing Stutter, but because asking questions is against the newly instated rules. (Rule Number Two: Don’t talk about serious things indoors, because Rule Number One: They will always be listening). As Noah—now "Jonah Brown"—and his parents head behind the Iron Curtain into East Berlin, the rules and secrets begin to pile up so quickly that he can hardly keep track of the questions bubbling up inside him: Who, exactly, is listening — and why? When did his mother become fluent in so many languages? And what really happened to the parents of his only friend, Cloud-Claudia, the lonely girl who lives downstairs? In an intricately plotted novel full of espionage and intrigue, friendship and family, Anne Nesbet cracks history wide open and gets right to the heart of what it feels like to be an outsider in a world that’s impossible to understand.

I don't think I realized how little I knew about the Iron Curtain, East and West Berlin before reading Anne Nesbet's Cloud and Wallfish. I have read a couple of other books set in or around there but I think they focused more on the characters than where or how they lived.  I had not, before, gogten such a full look at, in particular, life in East Berlin.

Cloud and Wallfish is a Middle Grade book but one that absolutely should appeal to older readers, as well. Noah is the ideal main character for this story. The perspective that his age gives him  - along with the facts he is or is not aware of, what he knows of history and how he sees people and the world around him is perfect for the story. He and his character are a great fit not only for MG readers but those of us who aren't full educated on the time or facts. The understandable naivete on some things that his age gives him really lets readers be introduced to new information while also seeing things in an unexpected but realistic way.

Noah's stutter (his Astonishing Stutter) also makes his character any interesting one for the center of this story. From the social trouble it causes him - both in the US and now in East Berlin - to how, in 1989, it is viewed by those there. It brought out several aspects of East German life I don't think would have otherwise been known.

I really loved Noah and Cloud-Claudia, their relationship, the struggles they faced and how the author used it all to show us life in East Berlin in 1989 while still making it very much about Noah and Cloud. There's a fantastic balance between fiction and nonfiction in Cloud and Wallfish. (The inclusion of the Secret Files at the end of the chapters that give you real, historical insight without needing the characters to be aware of those facts is a great addition both for readers' education and for how we view the characters' lives.)







 thank you to the publisher for my review copy, via NetGalley

Where You'll Find Me ~ Natasha Friend (earc) review [@IAmMortified @mackidsbooks @fsgbooks]

Where You'll Find Me
Farrar, Straus & Giroux (BYR)
March 08, 2016
272 pages
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""Natasha Friend, I loved your book. I was hooked from the first page." —Judy Blume

The first month of school, thirteen-year-old Anna Collette finds herself...
DUMPED by her best friend Dani, who suddenly wants to spend eighth grade "hanging out with different people."
DESERTED by her mom, who's in the hospital recovering from a suicide attempt.
TRAPPED in a house with her dad, a new baby sister, and a stepmother young enough to wear her Delta Delta Delta sweatshirt with pride.
STUCK at a lunch table with Shawna the Eyebrow Plucker and Sarabeth the Irish Stepper because she has no one else to sit with.

But what if all isn't lost? What if Anna's mom didn't exactly mean to leave her? What if Anna's stepmother is cooler than she thought? What if the misfit lunch table isn't such a bad fit after all? With help from some unlikely sources, including a crazy girl-band talent show act, Anna just may find herself on the road to okay.

I didn't just love this book, I loved the characters, too. I was going to say I loved Anna . . . then add that I loved Marnie . . . then add that I loved Shawna, so really I just love them all.

From the very first paragraph,

"I USED TO THINK your friends were your friends no matter what, but that’s not how it works. There is elementary school, and then there is middle school, where suddenly all the rules change and no one tells you how to play and the only thing you know for sure is that you are losing. Everything about you is wrong: your hair, your personality, your jeans."

I was pulled in by Anna and her narration. Whether it's thinking about her (ex) best friend Danielle, her mother's mental health, her father's new wife and baby or what it all means for her, Anna has a very captivating narration. She's incredibly frank, straightforward way of seeing things. It's at once incredibly informative - about the actual event, person, place, thing Anna's talking about but also her life in general - and very poignant, too.

"What about mothers who try to kill themselves? Do they love their children less? This is the question I need answered--the thought I can't stop thinking." (pg 73) You get Anna's insecurity over what happened, sometimes even her guilt, but also that honesty, those questions she has that don't hide behind what's more acceptable or correct. Even as she's telling the world she's fine, we see the truth in her thoughts.

(Read an excerpt from Where You'll Find Me here on the publisher's page and see what I mean.)

I know I said I love all of the characters, but I may need to amend that a little bit because I didn't love Anna's dad. It's easy to see, especially once more details are given, how her parent's divorce and her father's remarriage were so hard on Anna. It made me want to dislike her stepmother Marnie, but I really couldn't. I didn't even dislike her dad, just wanted to give him a bit more sense.

Eighth grade characters can be a little young for YA books, but with Anna and Where You'll Find Me, it's the perfect fit. With Anna's age, what she's dealing with both at home and school, what's happening socially and all of the questions Anna has, it's the perfect time to meet her and hear her story.

Anna is dealing with more than a lot as she starts eighth grade and Where You'll Find Me could be depressing, but it isn't; it's funny and sweet, honest and real and even hopeful. Don't miss out on Where You'll Fine Me.





review copy received, via NetGalley, thanks to publisher

Charmed ~ Jen Calonita (earc) review [@jabberwockykids @JenCalonita]

Charmed (Fairy Tale Reform School #2)
Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
March 01, 2016
288 pages
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Sometimes it's good to be bad...

Charmed is the exciting sequel to the wildly popular Flunked -- second in the brand new Fairy Tale Reform School series where the teachers are (former) villains. "Charming fairy-tale fun." --Sarah Mlynowski, author of the New York Times bestselling Whatever After series.

It takes a (mostly) reformed thief to catch a spy. Which is why Gilly Cobbler, Enchantasia's most notorious pickpocket, volunteers to stay locked up at Fairy Tale Reform School...indefinitely. Gilly and her friends may have defeated the Evil Queen and become reluctant heroes, but the battle for Enchantasia has just begun.

Alva, aka The Wicked One who cursed Sleeping Beauty, has declared war on the Princesses, and she wants the students of Fairy Tale Reform School to join her. As her criminal classmates give in to temptation, Gilly goes undercover as a Royal Lady in Waiting (don't laugh) to unmask a spy...before the mole can hand Alva the keys to the kingdom.

Her parents think Gilly the Hero is completely reformed, but sometimes you have to get your hands dirty. Sometimes it's good to be bad...

Praise for Fairy Tale Reform School: Flunked
"Fairy Tale Reform School has a clever concept and a fresh and funny take on the enchanted world. (I always wanted to know what happened to Cinderella's stepmother too!)"-Julia DeVillers, author of the Liberty Porter, First Daughter series and co-author of the Trading Faces series
"Spell-binding and wickedly clever."-Leslie Margolis, author of the Annabelle Unleashed novels and the Maggie Brooklyn mysteries

Charmed, the sequel to Flunked is the second book in the cute, fun Fairy Tale Reform School series. Readers are now familiar with Fairy Tale Reform School, its headmistress Flora, Cinderella's (formerly) Evil Stepmother, the teachers, Gilly and her friends. There is enough recap of what the school is, why Gilly is there, who (and what - ie Maxine is an ogre, Kayla is a fairy, etc) her friends are to bring readers back into the world.

At the end of Flunked Gilly and her friends seemed to save everyone. Yet, with Alva, the one who cursed Sleeping Beauty, still out there and wanting to take over, the students at FTRS still aren't safe.

I thought that the mystery parts of Charmed were not all that mysterious - whether or not it was because I'm older than the book's target reader, I don't know. I really didn't mind that I had that aspect of things figured out, though. It allowed me to focus more on Gilly, her character, her relationship with her friends, and how she was taking her new 'hero' status.

Gilly has to make some difficult decisions in Charmed: What's right for her, what will keep her family safe and keep her father's business flourishing, how much to embrace being a 'hero,' and how far to go to save everyone again.

The story, as the characters work to unravel the mystery, figure out the danger and how to counter it kept me reading. The Fairy Tale Reform School books have the villains from those fairy tales we all know so well (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Rapunzel) but there are also characters or mentions of characters from nursery rhymes (like Three Blind Mice). The mix of magical characters, (former) fairy tale villains, a reform school, pegasi, magical scrolls and danger is perfectly entertaining.






review copy received, from publisher, via NetGalley