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.

In the RIVER DARKNESS, by German writer Marlene Röder, is a young adult drama that does not live up to the intrigue that gripes the reader in the opening paragraphs. The cover and the opening chapter lead the reader to expect that the book will be a mystery or thriller. But the reader is let down by the predictable plot and so-so ending. It almost seems as if In the River of Darkness was written to lead into future sequels. This quick read (222 pages, easy to read) can be read in just a couple of hours.

The plot centers around three teens: a new girl to town, Mia, and two brothers, Alexander and Jay, who live next door. The story is told from these three teens’ points of view. There is a bit of romance, a bit of mystery, but overall, there is no thrill in this story.

Teenage girls are sure to fall for Burn Girl and her ambivalent attempts to pursue the search for self, bought to light by Mandy Mikulencak’s persuasive writing style and her ability to build tension right up to the very end.

After her mother’s mysterious death, Arlie’s struggle to find her place in the “normal” world turns out to be a true emotional roller coaster ride. Stuck between abandonment issues and confusing emotions around family, friendship, and love, Arlie’s irrational behavior reflects her traumatic upbringing perfectly. Durango, Colorado is where her mother last took her when she ran away with her hiding from her mean step father. The mysteries around her mother’s death – whether she OD’d or got killed never was resolved but the process of finding truth took it all from Arlie.

The book expresses well that both emotional scarring as well as physical handicaps alike can have deep impact on our development. The author described the tender roots of emotional healing and that it is possible to transform one’s life.

Using various characters offering friendship and help providing a safe space for trust and growth keep the book interesting and alive. A truly heart warming teenage drama with lots of extra twists and turns.

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.

Both beautiful and informative, this non-fiction picture book describes physical traits and behaviors and challenges faced by all bears, and it also dedicates a two-page spread to each of the eight species of bears.  For each species it gives the scientific name, common names, size, as well as detailed descriptions of the habitat, features and behaviors specific to that species.  The beautiful illustrations support the text and draw the curious eye.  A world map in the back indicates where each species lives, and a habitat glossary uses illustrations as well as words to explain the terminology of land features.

Beautiful watercolor illustrations combine with informative text to tell the story of train travel across The United States.  Starting with the fluster of activity on the platforms of an eastern urban train station as a commuter train gets ready to pull out, the story describes the actions of conductors and passengers and the passing views until it reaches another station where we see a passenger train just pulling out to cross the country-side.  Again we get a full description of events and sounds and sights until it pulls into a midwestern city, where we meet a freight train.  And so it goes until the overnight train crosses the Rocky Mountains and encounters a high-speed train heading into a new urban station on the west coast.  Besides being informative about all different kinds of trains, it’s a lovely example of descriptive detail.  Like a virtual cross-country field trip.