This is a very unique, clever, and funny story satirizing what could happen if you don’t eat your green beans.  Martha hates beans and even though her mother serves them for dinner every Tuesday night, she won’t eat them.  Until one day….a wild bunch of mean green beans ride into town and cause problems…especially for those who have said “eat your green beans.”  While Martha is sitting at the table staring at her plate she hears a ruckus and finds that her parents have been bean-napped by the mean gang.  At first she is delighted because now she’s her own boss.  But she’s also lonely and misses her parents.  She follows their trail and finds her parents tied up with bean vines.  She demands that they free her parents but the bean gang just laughs at her, ’cause really, what could she do?  She threatens to eat them but again they laugh because they know she won’t eat green beans.  But Martha pinches her nose and starts to munch away and soon her parents are freed.  Martha becomes a hero and her mother doesn’t serve green beans again.  The illustrations are a hoot and the mustaches, boots and hats really give the beans some character.  Makes a great read aloud and should be a purchase for elementary libraries.

Jose and his family have moved from Puerto Rico to the U.S. (it sounds a lot like New York City).  It’s right before Christmas and it just isn’t the same as it was back home.  Now they live in a too tiny of an apartment with grouchy neighbors in a neighborhood teeming with immigrants.  Jose’s father must go to the pizza place in order to use their oven to cook a roast.  After it is done, the mouth-watering aroma attracts all those grouchy neighbors’ attention as they carry it back home.  They all tell Jose’s father that they are alone for Christmas and they get invited to share with Jose’s family.  Everyone brings something.  Because they aren’t alone for the holidays, spirits rise, and everyone has a good time–a miracle!  The illustrations are bright and vivid and full of the energy found in NYC.

Mission Titanic, Book One, is the first installment of the fourth series within 39 Clues.  You will have had to read the others before this one will make any sense.  The original 39 Clues was quite imaginative in which a prominent citizen of a leading family (leading in financials, political, scientific, athletic, you name it) dies and in her will she issues a challenge.  Each beneficiary, and there are many, may choose between one million dollars cash or a clue which may lead to her entire fortune.  After 11 books, all written by different authors, each book has various family members scouring the world to find clues to the fortune.  I only read book one and thought it was great.  However, Mission Titanic introduces a new family character who has rounded up others to overthrow the new family leaders.  He has given them a clue to prevent an impending disaster.  If they can’t, they lose everything.  First of all, this book goes back to all the younger generation members of the Cahill family and revisits their part of the plot and how they will unite together to solve this mystery.  It pretty much jumps all over the place and doesn’t give the reader a sense of plot or strong characters.  You’ll need to read the other books in the previous three series before this one, and I think it would have been better just left alone.

Lots of Bots, book 2 in the series Robots Rule!, reminds me of the Jetsons meet Dr. Evil from Austin Powers.  George Gearing, an 11-year-old boy, has an opportunity to be an apprentice at TinkerTech, a research and development technology company where his parents once worked.  George quickly finds out that all is not what it seems or should be at TinkerTech.  The evil Micron is on the verge of introducing a product which controls people and will allow him to take over the world.  It’s up to George to stop it.  As the title says, Lots of Bots, and this is true–there are robots that do everything.  Plus the names of the characters are a little contrived, for example, Dr. Droid, Mr. Volt, and Micron. All in all, it’s an interesting, fast-moving story and stands alone even though it is book 2.  Kids in grades 3-5 should enjoy the action and humor.

We have often heard that truth is stranger than fiction,  Lauren Tarshis- author, is putting that saying to the test in this book. Tarshis has written fictional accounts of famous events in her acclaimed I Survived series, but this one is all non fiction! The five disasters she’s chosen for this book  include: ‘The Children’s Blizzard- 1888’, ‘The Titanic Disaster- 1912’, ‘The Great Boston Molasses Flood-1919’, ‘The Japanese Tsunami- 2011’, and ‘The Henryville Tornado- 2012’.

After the retelling of each event, black and white photos of people involved in the event, photos of the aftermath of the event, and  photos of memorabilia from the time draw the reader ever closer into the story, especially since the last two stories occurred during the reader’s own lifetime. The final story- The Henryville Tornado was written upon invitation from students who lived through the ordeal.

Stone Arch Books is bringing back  YOU CHOOSE stories. Meaning, after the reader has read the opening fives pages of the story, the reader is given two or three choices to make at each plot turn, leading up to 12 different possible endings. The plot begins with the Mystery Incorporated gang going to visit their friend, David Bush, at his quaint picturesque Bushytail Farm for a weekend. When they arrive at the farm, it is run down and David is nowhere to be seen. Shaggy and Scooby-Doo decide to search for David at the nearby fair. Daphne and Velma decide to search for David in the farm house and Fred will search the barn.

The reader is given four possible ending for each of the three search parties as they are chased and scared by zombies, while  searching for David.

Sometimes the zombies are trying to scare the Mystery Incorporated gang away so their boss can use the farm land to build a factory. Sometimes the farm land is wanted to find oil or hidden treasure or valuable lost paintings. Whatever the reason, the would-be crooks are foiled by Shaggy and Scooby-Doo, or Daphne and Velma, or Fred.

The book includes ten full-color illustrations by Scott Neely “a professional illustrator…for many years…official Scooby-Doo…licensed properties” (p. 106) sprinkled throughout the book.

Kyla knew that running from the government would not be easy but she hopes that by returning to the place of her birth – and kidnapping – she might succeed in hiding and maybe even discover some secrets about her life.  This is the third and final book in the Slated Trilogy.