This book is a spin-off from the DreamWorks Dragons movies. Readers who have seen the movies will easily identify with the characters: Hiccup, Stoick, Gobber, and Astrid.

A Rumblehorn dragon is attacking the Dragon Riders’ fort nightly. Gobber decides to build a wall to stop the dragon. While back at the village, Stoick is giving everyone a hard time. Hiccup soon realizes Stoick is missing his old dragon. Hiccup and Stoick will help the fort by tracking down the dragon. Stoick is able to lasso the dragon. The dragon flips Stoick up onto its back then flies out to show Stoick the real problem. A giant ocean wave is headed towards them. They head back to the Riders’ Fort and build Gobber’s wall even “longer and stronger to block the wave.” The village is saved and Rumblehorn stays to be Stoick’s new dragon.

This informational book on Cuba will be sufficient for those students in primary grades and for those who are struggling with reading. Cuba’s location is presented on a map in relation to Florida, along with its warm climate and rainy summers. The large full page photos show Cuba’s lush vegetation on hills and plains for farming coffee and fruit. The hills and plains are in contrast to the resort beaches and colorfully painted houses in their cities.  Cuba’s favorite sport of baseball is shown with children playing it on a city street. Let’s not forget Cuba’s food with a delicious life-sized plate of fried plantains, rice and beans, meat tops with onion rings and wedges of fresh lime.

All of this information is presented in nine pages of text with an average of three sentences per page opposite the photo pages. Plus, there is a free download with more information at www.lerneresoucre.com.

Silliness at its best abounds in this Nickelodeon-TV show book based on a screenplay by Melanie Duval.

When I showed two of my  classes the dust cover to this book, I found numerous hands coming in my direction reaching for it, thinking it was the actual book. Instead of “Attack of the Zombie Rabbids”, I had attack of the second and third graders.

In this story, the rabbids at the mall find a box of doughnuts green with powdery mold. Not knowing any better, one of the rabbids eats a doughnut, or as they call it a “green delicious-looking round thing”. (20) The rabbid turns into a zombie.

On and on the rabbid(s) with the box of doughnuts try to keep it away from the other rabbids. One by one a rabbid eats a doughnut turning into a zombie until at last, the last doughnut in the box is eaten by the last rabbid.

Greedy little rabbids who will not share run screaming away from rabbids who have eaten a “green delicious-looking round thing” are laughable humor.

Dinosaurs and race cars! What could be better?!  Dino-Racing is a fun, action-packed book about different kinds of car races with wildly colorful dinosaurs as the drivers. Shown are drag racing, off road racing, speedway racing and stock car racing.  The rhyming verses entertain as the action moves through the scenes of different race styles.  Both boy and girl dinos drive and repair the cars. There is a lot of behind the scenes action to interest young readers of any age. A dynamic, fun book, sure to be a winner!

Max uses his “super secret” powers to overcome obstacles that appear during his adventures. The illustrations reflect the movement of Max as whooshes with his jet pack or zooms in his race car. He meets and defeats each challenge until he dead-ends at the door with a secret combination, broken with the code word, HOME!  The author/illustrator, Stephen Shaskan, does a beautiful job of combining movement, sound and story to carry a young boy on an exciting adventure using his “super-secret” imagination.   A delightful book.

The colorful  illustrations in primary colors with whimsical facial expressions on the toilet are the saving feature of the book, The Saddest Toilet in the World. In an attempt to help a child overcome his fear of potty training, the toilet is personified as having feelings and emotions.  The toilet “runs away” from the home because the boy would not sit on it.  A search ensues for where the toilet could be. In the attempt to be playful, the antics of the toilet become a bit absurd. Maybe a child would find it entertaining to make the potty topic humorous but the delivery falls short. This is not a book that would be recommended.

Extremely cute animals face off against extremely mean bullies with extremely heavy machines.  Just ‘cause you’re cute doesn’t mean you can’t defeat the big bad bullies, especially if you’re smart and you have friends.  The illustration of the pink tutu-clad girl bunny welding a steel beam shows how to overcome bullies: with strength and determination. Bullies are mean, they hurt feelings, but they can be defeated and even reformed.  The happy ending includes letting the bullies share in the fun of the grandest sand castle/amusement park built by biggest, baddest machines ever.  It is a simple story with a powerful message: facing challenges with compassion and forgiveness.  A worthwhile, fun read from David Gordon.

Another take on the quest for treasure, good vs. evil genre of children’s books.  The illustrations are in a  “video game” style with different levels to survive and unusual terrains to traverse.  The multitude of little characters and side humor jokes keeps the book interesting in spite of the rather usual story line.  Heroes such as a Unicorn and a Gnome add to its appeal for children.  A silly reason for the theft–the Old Oak stole the Mystical Crystals of Life to buy a speedboat–lessen the depth, therefore the interest in the story.  It is an okay book for a possible one or two time read, not destined to be the long-held treasured favorite, read every night book. 

A delightful, rough-edged presentation of basic manners. Pirates are pirates: they burp and fight and plunder but they don’t forget to say “please” and “thank you” or share fairly or use their “inside voice”.  Zany, colorful illustrations plus humorous rhyming text add to the message of manners amid chaos. This would be a fun book to read to children around three to eight-year-old. Thoroughly entertaining!  Bravo to Corinne Demas and Artemis Roehrig.

Lucille O’Malley teen years are not footloose and fancy-free.  In the heart of the Depression, the O’Malley family barely makes it by on the small profits from doing other people’s dirty business – their laundry.  Lucille’s mother always has a happy outlook, but Lucille desperately wants to find other means to support her family.  Unfortunately, it was another kind of dirty business that allows her an opportunity.  While delivering garments one afternoon, Lucille witnesses a New York mobster, Salvatore Benedetto, kill another man.  With the police already on Sal’s heals, he doesn’t shoot Lucille too.  But when the police question Lucille, she covers for Sal.  Impressed but still worried she might spill the beans at some point, Sal grants her wish to move to Hollywood and arranges for her to become an actress with an agent.

In a parallel storyline, Frederick Preston Aloysius van der Waals, the heir to a business and lifestyle of power and extreme wealth in New York, is learning that he doesn’t like his life either.  He appreciates his betrothed girlfriend who wants to marry the 17-year-old but he doesn’t love her.  He used to love his father but learns that he is a back-stabbing, lying, money-hungry power monger who has no sense of remorse or empathy for others.  Wanting nothing to do with the family “business” anymore, he disappears and begins to cross the country, heading for California.

The 2 plot lines remain separate for part 1 and 2 of the book.  Lucille learns what it takes to be a Hollywood starlet and Frederick bums his way across the country with the aid of a companion named Ben.  How their paths cross is unique and it is quickly realized that they will eventually couple up.  But each keeps their secret of how they ended up in California from each other until the fates push out the truth.  Frederick’s greedy father and notorious Sal both make resurgences to bring about the climax.  How the issue with Sal is wrapped up feels rushed and weak considering his gangster status but the relief of tension between Frederick and his father is satisfying.  Authors Adam Shankman and Laura Sullivan keep this plot driving forward, especially in part 3 as another gunshot puts Lucille in the center of a high-profile Hollywood scandal.  Looking at these author’s own profiles helps explain why this text is such a well-written young adult novel that feels like it could go straight to a screenplay.   Both male and female teens would enjoy this story if only the publisher hadn’t put a picture of a female on the front.  Why do they do that??? Highly recommended for middle or high school libraries.