Sir Gawain, the undefeated, is King Arthur’s nephew and one of his knights. However, the giant Green Knight challenges him, and threatens to change his title to Sir Gawain, the defeated. On his way to challenge the giant Green Knight, he meets a few unique characters that help him learn lessons in manners, honor and the importance of keeping a promise. Gerald Morris has a writing style that is quite unique and very witty.

Basil, the greatest dragon of all time, organizes a team of residents  from the land of Avalon to battle against swarms of fire dragons that kill rampantly. Emerging from the battle, Basil knows that he must seek out the evil mastermind behind the mayhem and stop him forever. This requires Basil to make a trip into the Haunted Marsh with his beloved Myrna and risk their future. Although this is the third in the trilogy, this book is written well enough that it can stand alone. Adventure, thrill, fear, courage, honor and true love is at the reader’s fingertips.

Another wonderful story to add to Kasza’s collection.  Goose’s friends love his stories, but he is always the hero.  When he gets in trouble, though, his friends are the ones who become the heroes and come to his rescue.  A story about imagination, sharing, and the value of friends who will be there for you even when you are at your worst.  All with Kasza’s expressive illustrations and clever text.

This picture book is a wonderful introduction to yoga for preschoolers as well as older children.  The 2 pages of “instructions” are perfectly illustrated with young children.  Each pose is then related to a different animal that is revealed in a colorful two page spread after each exercise, complete with rhyme. (“You are a…/DOG/Stretch in the sun/Bark at your friend/Ready for fun”).  A great example of how text and illustration work together. And fun to act out, too!

Felicia Bond creates beautiful collage art in this book.  The text of the book, however, does not have any kind of unifying theme.  She begins with hugs from different kinds of animals, and then introduces opposites (upstairs/downstairs), and then more abstract opposites (winter/summer), beginning and ending with “Everyone hugs, all over the world.” Lovely collage, but the text seemed random.

This fantastic, fast-paced book is full of quirky, fun characters that will pull readers through to the very end.  Jane Doe is an average ten year old in the town of Remarkable, which, understandably, is full of interesting and talented people.  She cannot even claim to be remarkably unremarkable since her grandfather holds that distinction.  But when pirates start converging on the town of Remarkable, followed by a number of other mysterious events, Jane must find her self-confidence to save the day, the town, and Remarkable’s own lake monster.  The storytelling is wonderful, and the program opportunities for classrooms and libraries abound.

Packaged like a “Picture Book”, I was surprised to see that this title is actually chocked full of information and activities about witches.  It begins with a story about two kids who received an urgent letter from their Aunt Amarga, instructing them to come to her house where they learned that she is the last witch on earth.  She wanted to tell the children some of the secrets of witches so none of the information would be forgotten.  The next page begins the Witches Handbook where you can learn about Flying Styles, Potions and Spells, Famous Witches and Warlocks, as well as do a Bewitching Word Search (bad idea for a library book), or make Spell-removing Pancakes.  The handbook is such an odd concoction of this and that…not unlike a cauldron filled with “Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog.”  Visually, it has “Primary” written all over it…yet the amount of text and sophisticated vocabulary makes me think…”Intermediate”.  What comes across most is FUN!

Jessalynn, an older lady, has been helping abused animals as well as foster children for years. Although she tires from the challenges of the past cases, she accepts another broken horse as well as a broken girl, all in the same night. Each of the three tell their story in turn, alternating chapters. Pieces of Night’s world emerge, how he was an amazing race horse who was finally sold away to a new owner. Bits of Shiloh’s world emerges, of how her mother’s boyfriend would torment. Parts of Jessalynn’s life and feelings arise of not being able to reach either one, until the three lives crash together one night. This story brings intrigue to the reader, wanting to know more about each of the characters.

This interactive, choose-your-adventure style of book is great entertainment! You, the reader, travel in a small plane with the pilot when you are forced to parachute in the jungle alone. Life threatening decisions need to be made. Do you drink the water from the stream? Make a raft and float the river? Set up camp or search the jungle for the pilot? Make a shelter or make a fire? Beware of the caiman, jaguars, stinging ant nest, snakes and so many more dangers that lurk around you! This book has photographs that give the reader a realistic element to the story!

Hurray…another gorgeous, large-format book by Steve Jenkins.  The stunningly rich and vivid illustrations entice the reader in.  Then you are hooked by the impeccably researched wealth of information.  “Line up every kind of plant and animal on Earth…and one of every four will be a beetle.”  There are even forest fire beetles with special heat-sensors that can detect a fire more than 20 miles away!  Once at the fire area, they lay their eggs in charred wood, now free of predators.  Black silhouettes, on the bottom of the pages, show actual sizes of the beetles on that page.   Atypical back matter includes a list of beetles, and page numbers, Latin names, and locale.  I would say this publication was accessible to a wide audience, however, grandparents, reading to grandchildren may be visually challenged by the teeny hand-written styled font.  You will, certainly, want to get this fact-packed beetle bonanza for your library!

Teddy lives at Fun Jungle and is very suspicious when Henry the Hippo is murdered. When the police decide not to investigate, Teddy decides to investigate Henry’s murder himself which puts him in all kinds of danger. There are many people who could have wanted Henry dead, and it could cost Teddy his life trying to get to the bottom of this mystery! This book is full of fun, intrigue and is a little disgusting as well!

Buddy the dog is so lucky to be able to go to the school sleepover with his owner, Connor. However, there is talk about a school ghost. Connor gets secret notes, holds secret meetings with school mates, and with Buddy’s help, attempts to crack the case of the school ghost. In this book, Connor and his friends make a home-made Ouija Board to try to contact Agatha, the ghost.

During Josh’s quest for the Blank Book, he experiences many mysterious situations such as strange notes, floating books, and people turning invisible before his eyes. At the end of his quest, he finds himself at the home of his favorite author, Simon Skull, where he learns that the author has been dead, and his shadow has been writing and causing all the mystery. This book catches the reader’s attention from the very beginning and keeps it all the way through each chapter. Although this book contains six chapters, its vocabulary is controlled, and the number of words on a page is low, making this book very interesting to students who read at a level below their grade level.

Ulf, a young boy, and Dr. Fielding and a fairy go on a quest to the haunted Howlhammer Castle because there is trouble there. Ulf is forced to take on an army of zombies under the direction of the evil Baron Marackai. With the help of his friends Marackai is defeated, and Ulf is given the title of Knight of the Realm. Zombie lovers will enjoy this adventure.

Here is the story of child ‘proddity’ – Rico- who solves his friend’s kidnapping by Mr. 2000 , a serial child kidnapper. Because Rico is a child himself and Oscar is his friend, he picks up on clues an adult police officer would probably overlook. Steinhofel’s two quirky main characters keep the story moving and the mystery unfolding at a nice pace.

A child ‘proddity’ in Rico’s own words, “… means that I think a lot but not particularly quickly… that doesn’t mean I’m stupid…Sometimes a few things go missing from my brain, but I don’t know when and where until it happens.”

Written for a middle school audience with character details :”…people stare at Mom …She looks fantastic… wears short skirts and low-cut tops. High-heeled, silver or gold strappy sandals… (page 9) , divorced lady -Rico’s babysitter- drinking whiskey (page 2) , and “But mostly he’s just drunk and it’s the booze talking” (page 77) or for a European audience. Translated from the German  by Chantal Wright.

British author, Martin Howard, has written yet another story of witches.     Set in modern times, orphan Sam (short for Samantha) escapes from the orphanage, to learn magic, and seeks out the witch- Esmelia Sniff in the middle of the deep, dark Pigsnout Wood. There Sam becomes her apprentice. Unbeknownst to Sam, Esmelia needs her help if she is to compete for the position of MOST SUPERIOR HIGH AND WICKED WITCH. Sam has three weeks to became a witch. This is done more by reading Esmelia’s books then through Esmelia’s tutelage. Just in the nick of time Sam passes her witch exam and becomes a licensed witch.  The competition for the Most Superior High and Wicked Witch begins, but there is a surprise entrant – Sam. Nastiness and treachery abounds, because these are witches we are dealing with after all.

This book has just the right amount of old-fashioned witchery in it: warts, black hats, frogs, flying broomsticks,etc. ,  because #1 Esmelia wants to bring back the old-good days of witches, and #2 that’s what the reader expects after seeing the cover art by illustrator, Colin Stimpson. Stimpson’s charcoal gray sketches appear in every one of the 29 short  chapters ( about 10 pages or less) . The short chapter length will help readers who are venturing out into longer books keep interest.  Character names like: Diabolica Nightshade, Boodie Hodure, and Mistresss Smellie-Dogbasquet  don’t hurt, either.

This is a cute little story of a New born elephant.  Everyone has been waiting for the new baby and when it arrives they all have something nice to say about how cute she is.  but baby says, “I am not cute, I am Kai-Mook!”

I love the pictures.  They are bright and cute.

This is a song tale of a mouse and a frog who courted and ended up getting married.  It is fun to read with the repeated phrase of Whip-see diddle dee dandy O, that the children can repeat with you.

The pictures are wonderful.  With the words rising and falling on the pages it like reading a song.

In this fantasy romance novel, young Lucinda Chapdelaine’s parents have been murdered and she is sent to live with her uncle and her gruel aunt. Due to many events, the now teenage Lucinda is on a mission to recover a magic stone that holds the essence of a person from another world. She is risking her life in one big deception in order to solve her parent’s death and locate the missing stone.
In this book, the author compels the reader to delve for deeper meaning in the story. The characters are portrayed as fascinating and creative. The plot has many twists and turns with an ending that can not be foreseen. Readers who enjoy never knowing what’s beyond the page will enjoy this book.

— Erika W.

This mystery novel takes place in 19th century London, England. The secret organization called the Pinkerton Agency hires Carver Young to be a junior detective on the Jack the Ripper cases. Since Carver is an orphan, he stumbles upon a letter at the orphanage supposedly written by Carver’s father. Hawking, Carver’s mentor at the Agency, helps Carver investigate his past, as well as, working on the Ripper Case. Carver does discover some unexpected news about his father…and his world is turned upside-down.
This unpredictable suspense story will guarantee readers thrills and chills. The author’s writing is highly descriptive with the characters and the crime scenes – making the reader feel a part of the crime investigation. The author writes unexpected bursts of twists throughout the novel. Readers of crime mysteries will be entertained and not be able to put this book down.

–Danae P.

In this Alice in Wonderland-esque graphic novel, Ichiro falls down a tanuki hole into the world of Japanese mythology. Ichiro, a Japanese-American, learns more about his heritage when he moves back to Japan to live with his mother and grandfather. He is confused over the Japanese culture vs. the American culture. He tries to help his grandfather capture a monkey who is stealing fruit. However, the monkey turns out to be a tanuki, a raccoon-dog type creature from Japanese mythology, who leads him down the hole into the world of Japanese gods. He is mistaken as a ghost which therefore leads him into a power struggle between the kingdom of Yomi and the kingdom of Ama. In this power struggle, he learns about dishonesty and trust. His journey helps Ichiro reconcile the two halves of his heritage.
I enjoyed this book due to the different levels that it can be read on; you could read it just as a fun fantasy filled adventure, a moving story about the connection between a grandfather and grandson, or a story about reconciling different cultures. The art style is fresh and beautiful and the writing is realistic. Graphic novel enthusiasts will enjoy this superbly crafted story.

— Mara B.

“The Newfoundland is the only breed that has natural lifesaving ability listed in its American Kennel Club (AKC) breed standard.”

General information on this  large dog breed is giving in this book, including:  its layered coat, intelligence, strength, weight, swimming ability, average  lifespan, and black, brown, grey and combination of white and black coloring.

The book has four chapters: Built for Hard Work, Newfoundland History, Large and Playful, and Caring for a Newfoundland.  EDGE FACTs are interesting bits of random information which don’t fit under the chapter headings. They are inserted throughout the book, usually a top the color photos of Newfoundlands,  on every other page.

Bold type words are defined on the page, below the text, with a similar definition in the glossary.

The holiday of Easter is presented in riddle format in this flap book. This is a colorful and delightful question & answer book for young children dealing with the season of spring and a secular Easter.

Each 2-page spread begins with clues (on left pages) as to the identity of the object hidden under the 3/4 page fold of the right hand page. The picture on the left page and continuing onto the right page reveals just a smidgen of the picture which will allow the young readers to correctly answer the questions, “What Am I? What Could I Be?” These questions are asked eleven times: Easter egg, lamb, spring flowers, chick, Easter lily, chocolate rabbit, Easter bonnet, jelly bean, duckling, Easter basket, and bunny.

A simple repetitive picture on the left page demonstrates a pattern accompanied by 3 or 4 sentences of description on the right page. This occurs 9 times in this 7.25 x 6.25 inch book, just right for small hands.  Some of the sets include: toy plastic animals, children clapping and snapping fingers, toy matchbox cars, cookies, and pairs of shoes.

The book is divided into four parts: What Comes Next?, Patterns You Can Hear,  Patterns You Can See, and  Number Patterns.