The Brave Puffer Fish is a level 3 reader, meaning that it has full paragraphs, higher word count, and a high-interest topic.  This book really is perfect for beginning readers; easily readable, interesting, colorful illustrations, and interesting facts set in a Disney-like story.  Kids will enjoy learning to read with this book.

Very readable guidebook,  with excellent sections on how to choose a college, how to find colleges that will be a great fit, how to evaluate colleges and how to find scholarships. It offers lots of practical tips on how to organize a college search with a “college score sheet” that can be copied and used when one visits colleges. Has chapter on suggestions for what to do over summer to be ready to apply to college. Nice sample resume. Excellent section on how to explain any weaknesses on a  school transcript. In depth chapter on funding education and finding scholarships. Detailed list of colleges that are not in the usual college search books with section on “B Student Support and Success”, and “Support for Students with Learning Disabilities” along with the standard statistics from each school. Colleges are listed in alphabetical order. It would have been nice if they also had an appendix with the colleges listed by location and one by size.  Highly recommended.

Two young boys are left with their mysterious rich uncle after their parents die in a plane crash.  The oldest brother, Leo, discovers on his 13th birthday a letter and old recordable disc from the 1950s.  The letter , written by his father on Leo’s 1st birthday, gives Leo an amazing look into his past — he was born was an amazing superpower that allows him to hear into the past.  When he discovers an evil device at his uncle’s warehouse, his superpower kicks in leading him on a journey with lives at stake.

In this fast-paced novel, the reader feels Leo’s need to solve this mystery.  Leo’s emotional ties to his brother and best friend are relatable to all students, especially middle schoolers.  The strength of this book lies in its blend of mystery and the and every kid.  The message is: “do the right thing.”

— Micheal S.

Violet McKenna has never felt comfortable with herself until she arrives at Winterhaven, a private high school. Violet has visions of terrible events that happen in the future, including death.  She even foresaw her own father’s death but in the past, when she tried to warn people, no one would listen.  Feeling as though she was drawn there with a purpose, Violet learns that everyone there has a special power or gift, much like her.  Telepathy or telekinetic powers, clairvoyants and shape shifters, students are there to learn how to hone their gift as well as be a normal teenager.  Author Kristi Cook doesn’t take long to bring on the romantic relationship that is full of tension as well.  The “Aidan effect” hits Violet hard but unlike other girls, he is drawn to her too.  And he keeps his gift a secret.  Violet is smart enough to put clues together, eventually figuring out his power, but such knowledge only leads to more complications, more visions, more chances for death to those she loves.  As Violet says about half way through the book, “Wow, that’s taking teenage angst to a whole other level…”(195) which is exactly what Cook does with the intricate plot of this novel.  Even though the foreshadowing was blunt at times, readers will still be engaged because Violet is a clever girl, the plot is intricate and yet moves at a fast pace, and the passion, though PG, is intense.  This will be a hit with all fans of vampire novels.

The Inquisitor’s Apprentice is a combination of a historical novel meets fantasy.  The story takes place in New York City during the era of Thomas Alva Edison, during the hustle and bustle of the tenement buildings and the mansions of the extremely wealthy.  The police dept. has a chief ‘inquisitor’ whose job it is to stop magic from being used for nefarious purposes.  The title actually refers to two apprentices to the Chief Inquisitor, one from a Jewish tenement and the other from an extremely wealthy family.  The plot is about a ridiculously wealthy and influential man, using (and coercing) Edison’s genius to create and install for his exclusive use the technology to use magic, unhindered, to his advantage.  The beginning grabs you, and the ending wraps up nicely and satisfyingly.  However, the middle does stall and seem to drag on needlessly.  I gave it a ‘recommended’ review because I’m a history nut and really enjoyed how the setting played into the story.  This book won’t be for everyone, and only students who’ve read a wide variety of novels and have a greater understanding of history, will appreciate it.  I,  however, loved it.

I rated this book as additional purchase primarily because the text is a bit unclear in spots in elucidating the original text.  Without having read Charlotte Bronte’s original book, I would have been a bit confused at times, particularly since the story is set in the past when customs and times were quite different.  I think it is a very difficult job to reduce such a lengthy and rich story into a graphic novel.  The illustrations are expressive and descriptive and the character portrait page at the beginning of the book was a good resource for students who haven’t read the original text.  There is also a glossary in the back as well as biographical information about Ms. Bronte and her family.

I enjoyed this book!  The story line is especially well-developed for a young juvenile novel, the sketch illustrations throughout are entertaining and expressive, and the characters are interesting and unique.  I also appreciated the Chinese-American culture woven into the story line through the main character’s family.  In this story, Ruby Lu’s family receives a shock when her Dad suddenly loses his job.  As so many families are experiencing in America with the down economy, the financial situation for the family is serious.  This is compounded by the fact that the family is currently hosting Ruby’s Aunt, Uncle and Cousin who have recently immigrated from China.  All the adults begin job hunts and the whole family assists in support.  Eventually Ruby’s Mom finds a job selling shoes at the mall and by the end, Dad is earning money as a handy man.  The other main storyline is that Ruby Lu’s recently adopted stray dog, Elvis, is reclaimed by his owner.  Ruby struggles with this disappointment but by the end realizes that her dog is happy back with his owner and is where he’s meant to be:  performing as a circus dog.  The owner invites Ruby and her family to the circus show and the book ends with Ruby being invited to ride the bicycle built for two with Elvis.

Great fun story.  This is a creative story of many well know nursery rhymns twisted together into a fun tale.  it leads through so many situations.  The comic book style, and colorful pictures give this book the old comic book flavor.

I loved it.  There are puns and funny situations with a twist into fairy tale land.  Kids would love this book.

This is a fun scary story for young children.  It would be fun for a slumber party story to give everyone a scare, or around Halloween.  The girl is a bit rebellious, and ends up being scared herself.

The rhyme is great for young children, and the pictures are wonderful.

This is an early reader horse story from the Breyer Stablemates series.  Diamond is an older horse who is purchased by a stable for lessons.  Ava is the only girl who realizes the value of Diamond’s experience, everyone else favoring youth.  When Diamond and Ava win a competition, the crowd goes wild and the reader gets a sense that Diamond has earned her place in the stable.  These are good little stories and the values and lessons learned are positive.