Cy is a cyclops who loves to build and create things. The one thing he cannot make is a friend. He really wants a friend so he practices making eye contact, watches how his dog makes friends, practices making conversation, and tries to look like a friend. Cy builds a chariot to share with his friend. Cy sets out to find a friend to share his chariot with. The creatures in the story are from Greek mythology and there is a glossary of mythological creatures in the front of the book and labels the creatures in the back of the book. A great book for how to make a friend.

Dean Bob’s and Lou Tweet’s announces that they are going to have a class pet show. Dean and Lou are very excited to perform, but are worried their families will embarrass them.

The entire book is written in rhyme and I felt that it bogged down the book. This is book two and I had not read book one and I was several pages in before I had figured out that Bobs and Tweets were their families. I thought that this was a struggle to read and the readers that would be attracted to the cover of this book would struggle too.

Percy and Piper are on their family’s pirate ship when a storm starts up. Piper starts to tell Percy about the legend of the Sea Spirit. The storm picks up, so their parents send them below deck. They decide to hide in the closet, but Percy believes he sees a ghost and it is the Sea Spirit. The ghost turns out to be their dad’s pirate coat and hat. This book is written with short chapters with color illustrations on every page.

Tell the Wind and Fire’s title comes from a Charles Dickens’ quote from A Tale of Two Cities: “Tell the wind and fire where to stop…but don’t tell me.” This novel is a modern day retelling of A Tale of Two Cities, and begins with “It was the best of times until it was the worst of times,” a variation on the opening of Dickens’ novel.

This novel is a mixture of fantasy and romance set in a dystopian society in what was once New York City. NYC is now a city divided between extreme luxury (the Light side) and oppressive poverty (the Dark side). The main character is a courageous young woman, Lucie Manette, who was born in the Dark half of the city, but managed to create celebrity status in the Light side. Unfortunately, her name and face were easily identified, as were those of her boyfriend. When she is so distracted by happiness and loses track of time, and has to ride home on a public train, she and her boyfriend find that their fame is a detriment. Her boyfriend is captured by guards and accused of being someone / something that shocks and terrifies her.

Will Lucie be able to save him? When both halves of the city go up in smoke, and the revolution is in full force, will she be able to survive? And if she can’t save him, will she want to live even if she can survive?

This is an action packed story with pacing that is almost too hard to sustain. Recommended for those readers who like strong female characters, action, romance, fantasy, and dystopia. And for those who enjoy Dickens.

In this semiautobiographical novel, Jim Murphy feels his teachers are always out to get him. He is determined that this year will be different, but on the first day of sixth grade he is already in trouble. His teacher is always humiliating him, including having him assist the 2nd grade onstage where he has to dress up as a banana. He and his friends set out for revenge to embarrass his teacher.

A charming story about Lola Zuckerman who always seems to get herself into some trouble. Hilarity ensues as she offers to watch her friends’ dogs over Thanksgiving break when she can barely control her own dog from running away, and she must tell both her grandmothers that their pumpkin pie is “the best” when they come for the Thanksgiving meal.  Throughout all this, she hasn’t brushed her hair in days and she tries to cover up the knot that has formed using hats and other disguises. A light, fun-loving story that is sure to cause smiles and giggles for kids grades 2-5.

Grace wants her papa to tell a scary bedtime story. Her brother, Walter, is not so sure and wants a story that is “not too scary”. Papa weaves Grace and Walter in the story and starts out scary, but then discover that whatever is scary is something familiar and not too scary. Papa has to walk a delicate balance between making his story scary for Grace, but not too scary for Walter. Towards the end, the story ends up being too scary for both of them and they want to sleep with the light on.

A collection of poems by Jane Yolen about things that are under the ground. Some of the things described are found in nature, while others are human made such as the subway. The full page color illustrations add to the poems. There is the combination of art, poetry, and science. The notes on the end of the book give us scientific information about some of the topics as well as personal anecdotes on some of the poems from the author.

A girl needs to give a presentation about personification, but she is scared. She ventures to the park where she finds personification all around her. Each page is filled with examples of personification. This would be a great accompaniment to lessons on figurative language.

A nonfiction book about ragdoll cats with many text features including headings, keywords, glossary, and text boxes. The photographs span the full page. Only about five pages have information specifically about ragdoll cats, the rest of the book seems to be about cats in general. Each page has about two paragraphs of 2-3 sentences each. This book would be a good resource for those interested in getting a ragdoll cat or a cat in general as it provides tips for feeding, care, and what things they need.