Tag Archives: series

The Sky is Falling

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Data Set are in another adventure-this time with an alien who wanted to visit earth after hearing from Dr. Bunsen in his new language. sending light and sound to space, Dr.Bunsen has attracted the attention of the townspeople, aliens and, possibly, government agents. Can the Data Set fix this scientific mess?

This book offers science in a fun, fast-paced easy chapter book with multi ethnic kids solving whatever problems their scientist friend, Dr. Bunsen (somewhat reminiscent of Doc Brown from Back to the Future movie fame) manages to cook up. And, as always, the kids manage to do so with ingenuity and intelligence. Recommended

Olympic Records

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This slim book succinctly describes many of the greatest Olympic records and athletes of all times. Exciting photographs punctuate the bits of information, which will be jut enough for those sports buffs that don’t want to wade through lots of information in a larger reference book. Many of the athletes and sports will be familiar (example: Michael Phelps and swimming). But, some will be new to middle grade readers (example: coxless pair rowers Hamish Bond and Erick Murray).

Typical nonfiction features are present: table of contents, glossary, index. And potentially unfamiliar words are bolded. Olympic Records is part of the Blastoff! Discovery: Incredible Sports Records series and is a nice addition to those collections that need a boost of new material. Additional selection

Team Awkward

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Anna Huntley, Britain’s newest IT Girl, continues her zany adventure in this second installment of The IT Girl series. Anna continues to amuse and delight with her dog, DOG, her soon to be blended family, and her BFFs, Jess and Danny. The story picks up after spring break with Anna trying to prove that she is a girl of substance to her love interest, her classmates, and the world. Anna has an unexpected and unfortunate experience that lands her in a plant pot which happens to go viral on social media. Jess and Danny convince Anna that leading the school Puffin team to victory in track and field is just what she needs to restore her reputation and win Connor’s affection. Readers will laugh with Anna as she attempts to become a “sporty” person and sympathize with her when Connor starts spending time with the new girl, Stephanie.

Scaredy Squirrel Goes Camping

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Scaredy Squirrel is afraid of the big outdoors.  Well, actually, he’s scared of more than that, a lot more, but he knows how to deal with his fears – by making lists and planning to overcome any trouble he encounters. Camping outdoors seems like way too much trouble, so he decides he would rather watch it on TV instead. In order to enjoy the outdoors on his TV he will first need to plug in his extension cord at a local campground. After making his list of fears and creating solutions to deal with them, he dons his protective gear and bravely heads out into “the wild”. Of course, something happens to derail his plans (oh no! Penguins! His worst fear!). Curiosity overrides fear as he learns a valuable lesson.

Another cute, funny and entertaining book in this series.  Large colorful pictures and simple descriptive text are used to create a story that both children and adults will enjoy.

Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Halloween

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Scaredy Squirrel is ready to teach readers about the perils of Halloween and how to avoid them.

As his name implies, Scaredy Squirrel is afraid of many things.  In this book he guides readers in celebrating a non-threatening Halloween.  Tongue-in-cheek tips include: how to make your house look festive with a ghoulish (but not too ghoulish) interior, how to safely carve a jack-o-lantern (always go with a friendly look),  costume choices (with a scare factor rating for each), acquiring candy (always have an inspection before attempting to eat any…do not attempt to eat a toad that is stuck to your candy) and rational excuses for not entering a haunted mansion. Full color drawings riddle the pages making this series fun to read and entertaining.

This is the eighth book in this series and like the others, it generally will not make it back to the shelf before it is checked out again.

 

Snorkeling With Sea-Bots!

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Kolten goes out into the water for some snorkeling fun.  What he discovers is an underwater city of hard working robots whose job it is to keep the ocean running smoothly.

I feel comic books and graphic novels are a great way to draw reluctant readers into reading.  Comics Land stories I believe are trying to do just that – draw in reluctant readers.  The stories are brightly colored, easy to read and follow and are written with a touch of unexpected humor.

I like that the back matter includes a “word power” section where readers can check the glossary for unknown words.  Here they will also find a pronunciation guide as well as the meaning of the word.  Each book in this series also contains questions to aid in critical thinking skills, vocabulary scramble, word/picture match, find the hidden objects and a how to draw section.

Yes the story line does not hold much weight, but the beauty in these little gems (the Comics Land series that is) is that this format is highly appealing to young readers.  Beginning readers will gain confidence in their skills in a easy to access manner and learn along the way.

The Good, The Bad and The Monkeys

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Jake has an unusual job of herding monkeys.  When monkey rustlers come and try to steal his “herd”, Jake acts responsibly to tend to his small group.

I feel comic books and graphic novels are a great way to draw reluctant readers into reading.  Comics Land stories I believe are trying to do just that – draw in reluctant readers.  The stories are brightly colored, easy to read and follow and are written with a touch of unexpected humor.

I like that the back matter includes a “word power” section where readers can check the glossary for unknown words.  Here they will also find a pronunciation guide as well as the meaning of the word.  Each book in this series also contains questions to aid in critical thinking skills, vocabulary scramble, word/picture match, find the hidden objects and a how to draw section.

Yes the story line does not hold much weight, but the beauty in these little gems (the Comics Land series that is) is that this format is highly appealing to young readers.  Beginning readers will gain confidence in their skills in a easy to access manner and learn along the way.

The Adventures of Sir Balin the Ill-Fated

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Summary:  The night Balin is born in Norththumberland, the old woman of the mountain arrives and predicts greatness for the newborn!  “But wait,” the old woman exclaims!  “There’s a cloud over this!” “His greatness will bring calamity to all his companions and he will strike the dolorous stroke!” Thus begins the life and knighthood of Sir Balin, the ill-fated, alternately trying to avoid and fulfill his fate.

What I like about it:   This is another installment in “The Knights’ Tales,” a fun series for reluctant readers.  Readers will enjoy the twists and turns in the story, the wordplay, and humor, matched with clever illustrations by Aaron Renier. Gerald Morris is clever writer, who will win many fans with this series.

Who I would recommend it to:  Hook reluctant readers to this series in grades 3 to 5.  Recommended for school and public libraries!

Write Fantasy Fiction in 5 Simple Steps

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     The “five simple steps” are broken down into five short but insightful chapters. Beginning with “Start With an Idea”
and wrapping up with “What to Do With Your Finished Story”, each step is one chapter unto itself. Each chapter’s
beginning page is a step to be taken when writing fantasy fiction. The step is isolated and the reader’s attention is
drawn to the page by the use of a deep pink, one inch, page border. This visual sign post commands the reader to
pay attention and take note. Within each chapter, assignments are suggested as a way to get the reader to practice
the craft of writing. Each chapter also includes resources to further help learn the craft, such as: a Famous
Fantasies book list, tips (start a daily journal, create maps and word lists for your story), ideas (have different
people critique your work, do your research) and web links (to authors’ and organizations’ websites).
McKay breaks down the writing process into bite sized chunks which allows the reader to work at a slow and methodical pace, or to read in small increments when help is needed. The text heavy book may not initially appeal to younger readers; however, those who do pick up this book may find exactly what they are looking for and find it easy to understand. Teachers and librarians may also find this book useful as a teaching tool because most subsections within the chapters are mini-lessons. These could easily be plugged into a lesson plan and the book as a whole could be used for a unit plan.
Table of Contents, Book Key (for icons that are interspersed throughout the text), Chapter Notes, Glossary, Further Reading suggestions, Internet Addresses and an Index are all included.

Jacob Wonderbar for President of the Universe

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Seventh grader, Jacob Wonderbar, has been nominated as President of the Universe by the     king of the planet Astral.  With the help of Sarah-Daisy and Dexter, the three friends set off for the planet Astral to begin an adventurous interplanetary campaign.  Jacob’s opponent is none other than the King’s own son, Mick Cracken.  Mick plays dirty and may be hard to beat, but Jacob is known for his notorious pranks and may be a worthy opponent as well.  But Jacob has to win.  He must win.  The very fate of the Earth itself is in jeopardy if he loses!

Second book in a trilogy, this is a fast paced, laugh-out -loud, fun read.  Filled with memorable characters like space monkeys who are misunderstood to Valkrian tough guys who love to blow things up, it becomes easy for readers to get hooked on this series.

Bransford is able to subtly inform the reader about the behind the scenes workings of what it takes to run a political campaign and deftly weaves in  lessons about integrity, honesty and friendship, all in a highly entertaining way.

Both boys and girls will find something to draw them into the story and the pace and excitement will keep them reading.  The amusing storyline and the unresolved ending will make readers clamor for the next book.

Bransford also includes his website address,on which readers will find some good information about writing and publishing.

Finicky

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This book is described as an “alphabetic series for middle grade readers 7 to 13”(Flyleaf).  Finicky is the sixth book in the series and it introduces new vocabulary words that begin with the letter “F”, such as folderol, flabbergasted and fracas.

There’s controversy at Dana Elementary when the district nutritionist launches a healthy food campaign known as F.E.A.S.T. (Food Energy and Sensational Tastes).  When Aldo and his friends, Jack, Bee and Danny, find out that pizza is being removed from the lunch menu, they begin a F.E.A.S.T. protest.  Will chants, petitions and refusal to eat school lunches be enough to do away with F.E.A.S.T. ?  Aldo and his friends are willing to try anything to fight for their pizza rights!

Book six of the series continues the laugh out loud adventures of Aldo and his friends.  Readers are entertained by a fun story while at the same time are subtly increasing their vocabulary and general knowledge.  For example, the reader is introduced to Giuseppe Arcimboldo, a famous 16th century painter who used food as his medium. The focus on the new lunch program at Dana Elementary inspires the art teacher to have the students create their own “Arcimboldo”esque art project.  Aldo’s creation graces the cover of Finicky. Over ninety F words are incorporated throughout the story and a “word gallery” is provided at the back of the book.  The chosen F vocabulary is sure to stretch the reader’s knowledge and gives this series a nice little niche in the children’s series market.  A pronunciation key is one thing I wished the author and editors had included in the word gallery.  The lack of which doesn’t lessen this fun series, it just would have made it shine even more.