What We Become, a companion novel to Those That Wake, could stand alone but it’s not going to win any awards.  Main characters Mal and Laura, along with their foils Rose and Aaron respectively, are fighting against the “Old Man” who plans to harness the ability to control all human beings’ minds.  There is a lot of violent action in this story set in a futuristic New York city.  There’s also the romantic emotional pulls of trying to get Mal and Laura to reunite.  This is where this reviewer is left wondering which young adults will be attracted to the story and why?  The dystopian plot or the romance, girls or boys?  It’s a story.  It’s ok.  It was given to our book review group in 2015 though it was published in 2013.  Clearly the publisher is just getting rid of spare copies.  Explicit language advisory to those that need it.

Detective Gordon: The First Case is the perfect book for kids who have finished beginning chapter books and are ready for a longer story.  It’s about a squirrel who has had their winter supply of nuts stolen and went to the police, an old toad, for help.  The old toad, Detective Gordon, goes to the scene of the crime and determines to investigate, telling the squirrel to go home and to keep warm inside, away from this freezing weather.  After awhile a shivering little mouse comes out with an acorn.  She took it because she was so hungry.  She helps Detective Gordon become un-stuck from the snow and together they go back to the police station.  She becomes his assistant.  The story goes on in such a fashion showing compassion for the needy, and is a story reminiscent of days gone by.  This would be a perfect read aloud for the younger grades.

I found reading NOMAD to be like putting together a large jigsaw puzzle in which some of the pieces are missing. Bit by bit, I reasoned out that this was the second book in a series. I enjoyed the story-line at the end of the book and am glad I read the entire thing, but feel many younger reader would not do so if they hadn’t read the first book. Somehow, the book’s front cover did not lend itself to this discovery, though the praise on the back of the cover for AMBASSADOR should have. The cover art is intriguing for the genre and sci-fi reader.

Gabe Fuentes, it turns out, is an intergalactic ambassador to the planet Earth. The people of Earth do not recognize there even is such a thing because the embassies on Earth have gone to ruin. [ Here the missing puzzle piece may have implied the ancient embassy was an Aztec temple in Mexico. I do not know for sure.]  Gabe and the other ambassadors have special abilities that allow them to travel through a dream state of consciousness when and where their actual bodies are not able to travel. There are special translators which allow Gabe and other the ambassadors to see each other in human-form, even when the species do not naturally look that way. These translators, also, help with languages between the species. The translations aren’t always easy for Gabe to understand, like ” Our faces have grown wide for you.” (p. 178) which means, “She’s proud of us.”

Somewhere along the line [another missing puzzle piece] Gabe and the ambassadors have come across the Outlast who travel through space destroying all the species they come across. It is Gabe’s mission to stop this from happening to Earth which is in the Outlast’s direct path of flight.

Gabe makes it back to Earth, with  one ambassador (Nadia) helping from space, and another (Kaen) helping him on Earth.  They land in Mexico which is familiar to the other (non-Earthen) ambassador. They cross into the United States only to be caught and locked up in  an immigration detention facility in Arizona.  For Nadia’s part, she must explain to the Machinae “Why they  should care? I need to explain to an utterly alien consciousness why genocide is bad.” (p. 252) One Outlast makes it to Earth and finds Gabe, the rest are stopped by the Machinae’s decision to oppose genocide at the hands of the Outlast.

This book will appeal to girls who love fairies and fantasy.  Ali has the perfect sister whom their parents praise and she will  do anything to get the attention she thinks she deserves.  She signs a contract agreeing to raise 100 fairies, recruit another child to so the same, in return for one wish.  Right there Ali should have seen a red flag:  100 for one?  Not fair.  But Ali sees no problem, until it is.  The fairies turn out to be lots of work and lots of trouble, all for one wish.

Seeing the future across the curve of time, travelers from another world (one who loves to talk in rhyme), a magical hat that acts as transport and can expand to easily fit five people, an ancient wizard and a special secret.

An adventure through time and space. Ten year old Flor Bernoulli of Brooklyn, New York, has to save the world and the life of a new found friend. Aided by Dr. Pi, a pie-baking wizard thousands of years old, a nosy neighbor Mrs. Plump (who doesn’t like sugar, “just tea and toast please”) and a pair of twin men from another world, Mr. It and Mr. Bit. Flor has to protect a singular cosmic fire that keeps nature in balance throughout the universe

Dr. Pi explains the spiral to Flor: “It gets bigger and bigger without changing its shape at all.” And he reveals to her that, “…we are all like the Spiral. Though we change and grow and learn through life, something deep in us remains the same. Just like the Spiral, which gets bigger and bigger, but never changes its proportions. And so, we too are always changed, and ever the same.”
An interesting way to bring mathematical concepts into the literary realm.

(Newest cover)

Little kindergartener, Sadie, does not quite feel right. Her mother asks the usual questions, “sore throat?” , “tummy ache?” , and checks for a rash.s “A strange cough rumbled in her throat and turned into a roar…as her fingernails grew longer and longer…as her teeth grew sharper and sharper.” SADIE transforms into a frisky leopard cub.The pediatrician “announced, ‘ I am a doctor for children not for leopards.‘  ” So mama and the 3 brothers take her to a veterinarian. The vet was excited to see such a healthy leopard, but couldn’t help if Sadie was really a person. So mama and brothers took Sadie to the zoo. BUT mama could not stand the thought of Sadie in a cage, so she took Sadie home and doctors her with “a big bowl of chicken soup, which she lapped right up.” Sadie and mama “watched interesting programs on the nature channel.” By bedtime Sadie was feeling better, but mama was feeling “kind of funny…” As the reader turns to the final page, Sadie the little girl, is sleeping curled up with mama the leopard.

Everyone loves birthdays, but here is a boy who thinks he has it mastered with his 10 rules.

“Here’s a little secret.

I’m a birthday pro.

When it comes to festivities,’There’s nothing I don’t know.”

Percy Isaac Gifford explains these 10 rules will help you.

#1 Make the most of your birthday it’s only once a year. (Birthday cheer with cheer leaders pictured.)

#2 “Today is all about you!” (Dancing around – pictured.)

#3 Get ready, Get set. Get picture perfect. take a bath for all of the photos.

#4 Do the math.   Friends + family = fun!

#5 Party like it’s your birthday.  Balloons, hats, and noise makers will help.

#6 There’s no time like the present for a present- Thank you.

#7 It ain’t over till there’s singing.

#8 Part A: Have your cake,  Part B: and eat it too!

#9 Be careful what you wish for.     “As you put your gifts away… What does all this mean? …Growing older is a wondrous thing.

#10 Birthdays Rock! Growing up is cool!

Percy is polite, says “thank you”, shows his appreciation for all the festivities, and has moments of introspection .

Teresa Murfin has smiles with and without teeth showing in her action packed mixed media illustrations of Percy’s birthday.

We Forgot Brock! is a very exciting, adventure filled children’s picture book that will keep readers engaged.  Phillip sets out on a journey of a lifetime to find Brock when the family accidentally left him at the fair.  What puts a twist on this conflict is that Brock is Phillip’s imaginary friend.  But what reader’s are pleasantly surprised to find is that Phillip’s journey will give him a friend beyond imagination.  Younger readers will surely be absorbed into the story while adult readers will love the special heart-warming effect.  Recommended for preschool – 1st grade.

I Love You More Than Moldy Ham is an intricately illustrated picture book that is sure to keep kiddos intrigued.  The young monster sets out to make a little feast at his house for his mom as a surprise.  The rhythmic sequencing of the text creates a tune as one reads along.  Well placed rhymes make one want to turn the page.  Surprisingly, there are no names for the characters but they are still easy to keep track of and allow the idea that this story could be about anyone.  The colorful illustrations really add to the excitement and keep it just silly enough to truly enjoy.  Could be used to prepare for Mother’s Day.  Recommended.

Fifth-graders, Sylvan, whose parents’ divorce causes him stress, and Charity, who lived in Kenya for the past five years, both strive for normalcy at school and start a petition to keep their teacher from being fired.  Certainly appropriate for students dealing with issues who want to be “normal.”  A pleasant, clean novel.

Evil books have been released from the library. There is only one hope, the League of Librarians. On a bus, a book is loose, sliding along the floor. It only contains one sentence among many, many blank pages. A student picks up the book, reads the sentence and instantly disappears. Each person on the bus who reads the sentence disappears. However, a hero jumps on board the bus to stop the book from its evil actions. It is the Blind Librarian to the rescue. This gripping mystery is followed up with discussion questions, writing prompts, and a glossary. This book is written for students who have a lower reading level.

This is the fifth Nancy Drew Mystery in the long line of Nancy Drew mysteries. The suspense holds up more than 80 years since it was written. The reader may notice the absence of cell phones, lack of air conditioning in the car, and watching a movie in a theater instead of at a drive-in, but this all adds to the mystery and suspense of this, now- period, piece. New readers to the mystery genre will enjoy this book as much today as when it was new in 1931.

Nancy has just flown into Phoenix, AZ, for a vacation with her friends at their aunt and uncle’s Shadow Ranch. Uncle Ed and Aunt Bets are the new owners of the ranch which they acquired in payment for a debt. Now things are starting to go wrong at the ranch beginning with the appearance of a mysterious glowing phantom horse who runs through the pasture at night right before something goes wrong. Once after the phantom horse appeared  the ranch’s only source of power and the water stopped working. Sabotaged! Another time the phone lines were cut (and even if this was in today’s time, the ranch would be in a dead cell zone, considering how far out from town they are). Nancy’s friends are very confident she will be able to solve the mystery of the phantom horse in time to prevent their aunt and uncle from loosing their ranch. Nancy analyzes the events. She is full of suppositions and suspicious of everyone outside of the family. Trips into town to talk with the sheriff and get supplies add new clues and suspects into the mix. As it turns out, Nancy is gifted an antique watch from the 1880s, which once belonged to the daughter of the original ranch’s owner, for helping stop a thief. This watch becomes one of the first real clues to solving the mysteries. The watch’s original owner was in love with a robber who had buried a treasure somewhere on the ranch. Horseback rides into remote parts of the ranch, a near kidnapping of Nancy, and setting a trap in an ancient Indian dwelling keep the suspense and intrigue going through until the end.

The cover art was very appealing, but the horse’s rider should have been wearing Western attire, not English riding clothes.

Young primary grade readers will immediately identify with the photos of children with missing baby teeth.

Factual information on the number of baby teeth, permanent teeth,  ages for beginning and ending of childhood tooth loss, and how to care for teeth is given.

This book does not talk down to its readers. Page 18 states, ” Eating right builds strong teeth. Eating too many sugary foods can cause cavities. germs in our feed on sugar. The germs make acid that attack teeth. The acid can lead to cavities.”

There are 9 Fast Fact trivia factoids spread throughout the book.

This 6″ X 7″ includes an activity page asking the child to count their own teeth and a second page with a pictorial mini-quiz on how to maintain a healthy smile.

Includes: glossary, index, and web site:  www. factsfornow.scholastic.com   keyword Teeth.

When their tour guide dies in a tragic accident that happens while Emma and her small group of strangers are hiking during a huge wind storm, they now have no choice but to make it to Lake Superior on their own.  But not everyone in the group believes in the “All for one, and one for all” mentality.  In fact, when it comes to surviving mother nature and all of the creatures that come with her, one hiker has no qualms with a survival of the fittest mentality.  This is an exciting, attention grabbing book for adventure loving types who love adrenaline rushes. Survival is definitely the name of the game and with all of these types of shows on TV in the last couple of years, Stranded by Melinda Braun could be a go-to book for that kid who can’t find anything to read roaming your shelves…

Smick! is a picture book story told in extremely simply drawings using a total of 15 different words.

Smick is a dog. He listens. He follows the command to, “Sit, Smick.” He is rewarded with, “Good, Smick.”  Someone, off page, throws Smick a “stick*“, off Smick goes. Then, Smick hears a “Cluck!” and a “Chick” flies into the story. Smick and the chick have fun with the stick.

The stick* is an actual photo of a forked stick. The chick is a single bi-colored geranium flower petal with eyes, beak, wings, and feet drawn in with a black pen/marker.

Beginning readers will enjoy the simplicity of the easy to read text in combination with the easy to understand dog and bird behaviors.

The absolute best part of Una LaMarche’s Don’t Fail Me Now is Michelle’s voice.  It is aided by LaMarche’s terse storytelling abilities, keeping the action moving along without a single chance to pause.  In the 1st chapter of the story, readers learn that Michelle is a 17 year old senior with a mom who returned to jail on drug charges and two younger siblings to take care of while avoiding CPS.  Michelle is a quick thinking, AP classes kind of student stuck in her mother’s grasp of bad choices.  Extended family actually complicate the situation.  Michelle dad has been MIA for since she was 6. But now he’s dying, which she finds out through Tim, the step brother from another marriage to Leah, who is Michelle’s 1/2 sister of the same dying dad.  Michelle and Leah had never met, though they live in the same town, but Leah wanted to get Michelle the news…and the hope for an “heirloom” which could be money, something that would help Michelle dearly as she tries to hang on to her siblings.  While the realities of the cross country road trip storyline are totally far fetched, LaMarche’s character’s voices are so authentic that readers will want to see how the story ends.

Kris Dinnison’s premise in You and Me and Him is very possible in any high school around the world today, which is what kept me anticipating how the conflicts would be tied up.  Unfortunately, for this reader, the ending is where it falls apart.  “You” refers to Nash, the gay best friend of “Me”, Maggie.  Nash and Maggie have been besties since their preschool years.  Dennison captures the voice of a frustrated gay student quite well.  And it complements that of Maggie, who is overweight and proclaims from the opening sentences “I am not one of those shrinking-violet fat girls.  I don’t sit alone in my bedroom playing Billie Holiday albums while drowning my sorrows in a carton of ice-cream.”  But Maggie needs a Nash so together they can survive being slight outcasts in their teenage years.  Along comes “Him”, or Tom, a new kid who is drawn to Maggie and Nash his 1st day.  Tom is considered a hottie—to both Nash and Maggie. Nash calls dibs and Maggie will try to avoid the obvious sparks that fly, but there will be drama and some passionate kissing. No sex.

I really liked each of the characters independently through 3/4 of the book, though I felt an editor could have encouraged less description of cookie eating after the 1st encounter.  But I don’t feel Tom got a fair shake at the end.  There weren’t enough shady comments or actions on his part to get the ax that he did.

Besides that, this colorfully covered novel will give colorful insight into the complexities of teen life today.  With a western Washington setting, schools up and down the Puget Sound corridor might especially like this pick.

The Yellow Fairy Book is a compilation of fairy tales from all over the world.  Originally published in 1894, this book has stood the test of time.  With a fresh new cover, it’s ready to be read by today’s children.  Many children, especially those in the U.S., might have trouble understanding the language used in elaborate descriptions of settings, actions, and characters, but this is only because for the past few decades Disney has taken over the telling of fairy tales and has dumbed down the language so all children can understand.  Reading tales from The Yellow Fairy Book is mezmerizing with it’s rich embellishments of characters and settings.  In the past one hundred plus years since it’s original publication, literature and language has taken a beating.  This book was originally published because people, especially children, clamored for books with intriguing, entertaining stories and by reading them learned to speak and write for themselves.  Before the advent of technology, books were a safe haven for children to lose themselves in.  However, technology has changed that.  No longer do many parents read fairy tales to their children, but they haven’t been read to themselves.  People don’t take the time; technology has sped up living.  But by reading and explaining the words and meanings in these timeless stories, you are giving your children the gift of time.  Not only the gift of knowledge but the actual gift of taking time to teach and care about them.  That is what makes reading so special to children–the connections it makes.  This book should be on all library shelves (it has been on mine for over 50 years) and in every home that has parents who care about their children.