British author, Martin Howard, has written yet another story of witches.     Set in modern times, orphan Sam (short for Samantha) escapes from the orphanage, to learn magic, and seeks out the witch- Esmelia Sniff in the middle of the deep, dark Pigsnout Wood. There Sam becomes her apprentice. Unbeknownst to Sam, Esmelia needs her help if she is to compete for the position of MOST SUPERIOR HIGH AND WICKED WITCH. Sam has three weeks to became a witch. This is done more by reading Esmelia’s books then through Esmelia’s tutelage. Just in the nick of time Sam passes her witch exam and becomes a licensed witch.  The competition for the Most Superior High and Wicked Witch begins, but there is a surprise entrant – Sam. Nastiness and treachery abounds, because these are witches we are dealing with after all.

This book has just the right amount of old-fashioned witchery in it: warts, black hats, frogs, flying broomsticks,etc. ,  because #1 Esmelia wants to bring back the old-good days of witches, and #2 that’s what the reader expects after seeing the cover art by illustrator, Colin Stimpson. Stimpson’s charcoal gray sketches appear in every one of the 29 short  chapters ( about 10 pages or less) . The short chapter length will help readers who are venturing out into longer books keep interest.  Character names like: Diabolica Nightshade, Boodie Hodure, and Mistresss Smellie-Dogbasquet  don’t hurt, either.

This is a cute little story of a New born elephant.  Everyone has been waiting for the new baby and when it arrives they all have something nice to say about how cute she is.  but baby says, “I am not cute, I am Kai-Mook!”

I love the pictures.  They are bright and cute.

This is a song tale of a mouse and a frog who courted and ended up getting married.  It is fun to read with the repeated phrase of Whip-see diddle dee dandy O, that the children can repeat with you.

The pictures are wonderful.  With the words rising and falling on the pages it like reading a song.

In this fantasy romance novel, young Lucinda Chapdelaine’s parents have been murdered and she is sent to live with her uncle and her gruel aunt. Due to many events, the now teenage Lucinda is on a mission to recover a magic stone that holds the essence of a person from another world. She is risking her life in one big deception in order to solve her parent’s death and locate the missing stone.
In this book, the author compels the reader to delve for deeper meaning in the story. The characters are portrayed as fascinating and creative. The plot has many twists and turns with an ending that can not be foreseen. Readers who enjoy never knowing what’s beyond the page will enjoy this book.

— Erika W.

This mystery novel takes place in 19th century London, England. The secret organization called the Pinkerton Agency hires Carver Young to be a junior detective on the Jack the Ripper cases. Since Carver is an orphan, he stumbles upon a letter at the orphanage supposedly written by Carver’s father. Hawking, Carver’s mentor at the Agency, helps Carver investigate his past, as well as, working on the Ripper Case. Carver does discover some unexpected news about his father…and his world is turned upside-down.
This unpredictable suspense story will guarantee readers thrills and chills. The author’s writing is highly descriptive with the characters and the crime scenes – making the reader feel a part of the crime investigation. The author writes unexpected bursts of twists throughout the novel. Readers of crime mysteries will be entertained and not be able to put this book down.

–Danae P.

In this Alice in Wonderland-esque graphic novel, Ichiro falls down a tanuki hole into the world of Japanese mythology. Ichiro, a Japanese-American, learns more about his heritage when he moves back to Japan to live with his mother and grandfather. He is confused over the Japanese culture vs. the American culture. He tries to help his grandfather capture a monkey who is stealing fruit. However, the monkey turns out to be a tanuki, a raccoon-dog type creature from Japanese mythology, who leads him down the hole into the world of Japanese gods. He is mistaken as a ghost which therefore leads him into a power struggle between the kingdom of Yomi and the kingdom of Ama. In this power struggle, he learns about dishonesty and trust. His journey helps Ichiro reconcile the two halves of his heritage.
I enjoyed this book due to the different levels that it can be read on; you could read it just as a fun fantasy filled adventure, a moving story about the connection between a grandfather and grandson, or a story about reconciling different cultures. The art style is fresh and beautiful and the writing is realistic. Graphic novel enthusiasts will enjoy this superbly crafted story.

— Mara B.

“The Newfoundland is the only breed that has natural lifesaving ability listed in its American Kennel Club (AKC) breed standard.”

General information on this  large dog breed is giving in this book, including:  its layered coat, intelligence, strength, weight, swimming ability, average  lifespan, and black, brown, grey and combination of white and black coloring.

The book has four chapters: Built for Hard Work, Newfoundland History, Large and Playful, and Caring for a Newfoundland.  EDGE FACTs are interesting bits of random information which don’t fit under the chapter headings. They are inserted throughout the book, usually a top the color photos of Newfoundlands,  on every other page.

Bold type words are defined on the page, below the text, with a similar definition in the glossary.

The holiday of Easter is presented in riddle format in this flap book. This is a colorful and delightful question & answer book for young children dealing with the season of spring and a secular Easter.

Each 2-page spread begins with clues (on left pages) as to the identity of the object hidden under the 3/4 page fold of the right hand page. The picture on the left page and continuing onto the right page reveals just a smidgen of the picture which will allow the young readers to correctly answer the questions, “What Am I? What Could I Be?” These questions are asked eleven times: Easter egg, lamb, spring flowers, chick, Easter lily, chocolate rabbit, Easter bonnet, jelly bean, duckling, Easter basket, and bunny.

A simple repetitive picture on the left page demonstrates a pattern accompanied by 3 or 4 sentences of description on the right page. This occurs 9 times in this 7.25 x 6.25 inch book, just right for small hands.  Some of the sets include: toy plastic animals, children clapping and snapping fingers, toy matchbox cars, cookies, and pairs of shoes.

The book is divided into four parts: What Comes Next?, Patterns You Can Hear,  Patterns You Can See, and  Number Patterns.