Boo! is a wordless story about a little ghost that is trying to scare the other ghosts in his family. The book has vivid illustrations that make it interestingto read even though there are no words. It is fun and the little ghost is really cute. He tries everything to be scary from being a vampire to Frankenstein, but the only way he is scary is when he accidentally runs into a sheet and is a “ghost.” When he makes a ghost costume with his sheet, he is finally able to be scary!

From the Little Princess series, this book tells the story of the Little Princess being scared of the dark. When her dad asks her why she is afraid of the dark, she tells him it is because she actually is afraid of ghosts and ghosts come out in the dark. Dad, the Admiral, Doctor and Maid all try to convince her not to be afraid and that there is no such thing as a ghost. When the lights go out, Little Princess figures that ghosts are probably afraid of the dark too. When the ghost and Little Princess meet, Little Princess realizes that the ghost is more frightened of her! This is a fun, cute little story that has great illustrations to go with it!

A cross between the film Stand By Me and the novel Lord of the Flies, Nothing is a gripping novel that will grasp the reader by the throat, or the heart, and not let go until the chilling conclusion.

Set in a small suburban town in Denmark, the story revolves around a class of 7th grade students and one of it’s members who flees the classroom on the first day of the school year, shouting “Nothing matters…I’ve known that for a long time. So nothing’s worth doing. I just realized that.”

This student spends the better part of the school year perched in a plum tree in his yard, overhanging the sidewalk that carries the other classmates to and from school.  His verbal taunts push them to the point of distraction and they decide that they must do something to prove to him that life does matter.

The efforts to which the students go to prove to him that there are things that really do matter will grip the reader.

A compelling novel, full of turns one does not even begin to suspect, is not for the faint of heart. A modern day Lord of the Flies.

The raving reviews on the back book jacket got me to pick this book up, and I cannot adequately express my disappointment.  In much of the beginning of the book, Kingsley repetitiously goes over, again and again, the previous two books, neither of which I have read.  But it doesn’t usually take me much to bring me up to speed, since I get the gist of what’s going on.  However, the action/plot was choppy, jumping all over the place.  I couldn’t care less about what happened to the main characters; there was nothing to make them at all endearing.  For example, they start out at a grocery store and Erec comes out of a fog sitting in a shambles–poof–they’re home–poof–he’s in a magical timetravel contraption his ‘mother’ conveniently has–poof–he ends up with the bad guy because he goofed in his wishing where to go–poof–he’s in a dentist’s chair waiting to have his eyes removed–poof–he’s being saved.  I really don’t care if he’s saved or not.  He, Erec, does nothing to prove his worthiness.  Ughhhh—halfway through the book I wanted to scream.  Contrary to what the reviews say on the book jacked, and I seriously think they were taken out of context, this is nowhere near Harry Potter quality.  So don’t worry J. K. Rowling, no one’s going to knock you off your throne!

This was a fun Batman story.  The pictures are bright and interesting.  The story moves along quickly, and is a light fun read for kids.    After an action packed read about Batman and Robin taking on the Mad Hatter, there are several thought provoking questions and reading prompts at the back of the book, along with an interesting biography about the author and cartoonist.  It is a nicely done book for kids.  There are typo’s on pages 11 and 33 in this book.

This is the same format and author of “If the World Were a Village”.  In this book the author condensed the world population to just 100 and gave us statistics based on numbers that are more fathomable than the billions and millions.  In this book, the same effect is achieved, but this time using statistics based on people living in the United States.  For example: for every 100 people living in the U.S., 75 are white, 12 are black, 4 are Asian, and 1 is Native American.  Remaining 8 consider themselves mixed or different race.  This large sized book with bright acrylic style illustrations would make for an interesting book to share with students. The facts and statistics are interesting enough to hold any adult’s attention as well.  I recommend this book for the elementary library and even the middle school library.

This is a crazy rhyming tale of a critter cafe for animals.  It’s fun, fast, has great illustrations and would entertain the audience with the great playful sounding words.  It’s a nice sized book with interesting pictures depicting the waiter and animals at the Cow’s Cafe.  This would make a great read aloud for primary aged children.  Nice addition to an elementary library!

Not all the Pilgrims were seeking religious freedom, some were just plain looking for adventure and weren’t really nice at all.  This engaging book, written in a child friendly graphic novel form, tells the story of the plymouth colony with a different twist.  The two rambunctious boys of the Billington family make sure their many troublemaking schemes  are represented as they banter back and forth with the narrator.  Although the layout of the book is a bit too choppy for a read aloud, it’s an exciting insight into a part of the story that is usually passed over.  Includes authors note.

Nothing brings to life the story of Rwanda’s genocide more than personal accounts.  There are plenty of great videos on Youtube what will create the spark students interest in this horrific history lesson.  Alexander Cruden has put together a strong collection of essays, mainly primary source in nature, that can supplement the classroom teacher, but this is not a stand alone history of the genocide.  Full color pictures and maps throughout will aid the student.  Divided into 3 chapters, Historical Background on the Rwandan Genocide, Controversies Surrounding the Rwandan Genocide, and Personal Narratives, with at least five essays in each, this book is for the student researcher who is looking for key quotations to support their position papers. Issues regarding women and children in particular come through the 2nd and 3rd chapter essays.  Chronology in the back serves as a great review/summary for students.  The $40.00 hardcover price is worth it.

Walter Diemer, an accountant for a chewing gum factory, decides to experiment and manages to invent “Dubble Bubble”.  His new creation changes the world’s chewing habits and kids will enjoy this simple nonfiction title as they learn the history of gum.  Includes references and an entertaining list of facts about our obsession with bubble gum