The Katharine the Almost Great series is a good beginning chapter book for kids.  There are quite a few different things going on that make the story interesting.  First, there’s the mystery of their beloved teacher becoming Miss Crankypants; second, it’s almost Christmas and quite a few school events happening; third, Crockett, Katherine’s cousin has a hilarious sense of humor and quite a few great jokes; plus, his absent father cannot make it for Christmas and that causes some problems; and lastly, Katharine and classmates really show the spirit of Christmas for their teacher.  This is a good story that should energize kids and make them feel good and possible think that this is something they would like to do.

The illustrated children’s book “The Cat, the Dog, Little Red, the Exploding Eggs, the Wolf, and Grandma” by Diane and Chrystyan Fox will be sure to give primary and intermediate readers a good laugh. In this book we follow a cat trying to read the story of “Little Red Riding Hood” to an action loving dog. However the dog is always interrupting and trying to add in it’s own commentary to the tale, much to the frustration of the cat. The humor in the book sets it apart from others, which switches between the dog voicing it’s own ideas for the story, to slightly critical of the “plothole’s” in “Little Red Riding Hood.” However the illustrations, while being comical and fitting for the text, are a bit too minimalistic at times with the size of the pages, so too much blank, white space is shown. The different approaches to and levels of comedy in this story make it a fun little read. While the drawings themselves, although being too small at times, add to the humor as well with some slapstick interaction between the two main characters. Primary readers will love the silliness of the dog, and intermediate readers will love the good natured criticism of the famous tale. Recommended.

The children’s picture book Beetle and Bug and the Grissel Hunt by Hiawyn Oram and Satoshi Kitamura is an interesting read, but not always in a good way. The story is told in a AA, BB rhyme scheme, about the main characters “Beetle” and “Bug,” who try to find a mysterious “Grissel,” a creature that has apparently never been seen, however they have a very specific description of what it looks like. They go to the ocean and up into space via their magic rug, finding strange and interesting creatures, but never the prized “Grissel.” The fun rhyme scheme is easy to digest and the illustrations are always eye catching. On the other hand the flow of the text simply can not redeem the disaster of the plot, and while the art style is unique it sometimes seems disconnected from the text with random everyday items just thrown in throughout the book. This fiction book takes full advantage of it’s classification, giving us a potentially interesting journey to go on looking for this elusive creature. However, halfway through it seems to drop any semblance of a plot, leaving us with no resolution in the end. The illustrations arenimaginative, but like the convoluted plot, the closer you look the less enchanting they become. Primary readers might enjoy the innovativeness of the creatures and the setting, but as they mature it will surely wain on them.

In this episode of Ricky and his Mighty Robot, Sergeant Stinkbug from Saturn has polluted his planet so much that he wants to move to another planet.  He looks towards Earth and spots Ricky’s cousin Lucy and plans to kidnap her.  Stinkbug and his soldiers fight Ricky and his robot and Lucy steps in to win the day.  This volume has more language for students to read and has copious illustrations to support the story.  Many pages are used for the ‘Flip-o-Rama’ and makes this an expensive comic book.

This book will appeal mainly to boys who are reluctant readers.  Ricky is celebrating his birthday and going to the natural science museum.  Meanwhile the evil General Jackrabbit has taken the heads from the dinosaur skeletons and combined it with his own fur to create a new creature that is a cross between a dinosaur and a rabbit.  He then zaps them with a ray gun and makes them evil and orders them to destroy the city.  They go on a rampage and Ricky and his Mighty Robot save the day.  The story is simple and most of it is told through the illustrations.  This is a pricey comic book.

The Glass Voice is a modern-day Cinderella story, with the main characters voice being compared to glass rather than having glass slippers.  In this version, Chantella (a name made by combining chanteuse withCinderella) mourns the death of her mother, a famous singer, as her father marries an evil woman with two equally evil children.  As the new family members move into Chantella’s house, Chantella is made into the maid and is put in the maid’s quarters.  Of course, the evil twins are evil.  Chantella’s father doesn’t seem to understand what is going on; it almost seems as if he is under a spell, but that isn’t revealed in the story.  Rather than a ball to attend, there is a singing competition similar to American Idol, and Chantella manages to audition.  As the producer of the competition arrives at the house, the stepmother and stepsiblings try to convince him they are the winners of the competition.  Chantella’s father finally shows up and gets Chantella noticed and stands up to his wife announcing their marriage is over.  Chantella and her father move to Hollywood and become famous and the ex-wife and her children stay in the house.  Chantella’s childhood nanny does show up and seems to fit the fairy godmother role, but she doesn’t really do any magic (except maybe towards the end when she produces the completed homework for one of the twins).  She acts more as a comfort and encourages Chantella.  The plot stays pretty true to the story with modernization.  I would have given the book a high rating except the illustrations were very Anime’ style and did not seem to fit with the story.

In this novel, a young girl named Jax from Maine, finds a lost Tibetan mastiff dog who leads her into an exciting adventure. The dog takes her to a Tibetan temple in the mountains of Maine and introduces her to her new friend Yeshi and his master Jampe Rinpoche. Together the girl and Yeshi embark on a quest to find a missing Tibetan statue and protect it from those who wish to steal it. Along the way, Jax finds out a lot about herself and her family due to the Tibetan teachings.
This satisfying story will leave the reader cheering. The characters are well-developed and fun to read about where the reader will be able to make a strong connection with. The plot is fast-paced and interesting. A great read for those who like dog stories and for those who like reading about other cultures.

— Kellyn S.

Set in World War II Britain when the Nazis are bombing the country, a young English boy and a young English female find a crashed German plane and a new German friend. The couple must hide the young German from the authorities for they fear for his life. As they hide the German, they learn more about Nazi Germany and their friend. They soon learn that not all German are Nazis and that one should not judge a person based on where he/she is from.
This is a heart-warming novel — quality storytelling. The characters were well developed and the reader will be able to connect with them. Readers especially interested in World War II stories will not be disappointed. This book carries the message of, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

— Kellyn Suthers

Tracks Count is also “A Little Naturalist” book and as such combines basic counting skills with animals and their tracks.  The perfect audience for this book are outdoorsy people who hike a lot and those who often frequent zoos.  I wish that the animals were all animals that were native to our area so that there might be some real possibility of seeing such tracks.  The illustrations are lovely and the thoughtfulness of choosing sepia tones for the animal pictures and a soft, mossy green for the text added to the outdoor feel of the book.  I wish a small illustration had been added to the animal facts at the end of the book so I know which animal I’m reading about.

People who have or had young children will completely understand this story, about a little boy who takes his on sweet time getting ready for bed, with everything being very dramatic.  Kindergarteners and first graders to whom I read the story were pretty quiet during the story–as if saying, so what?  The story was not unusual for them.  It wasn’t until the very last page was turned and there sits the dog wearing a tutu that they roared with laughter.  Fun, whimsical illustrations.