A cook book that has recipes for “charred zombie-skin snacks” and “popped brains” is a book that will not stay on your library shelves. This book, part of Little Kitchen of Horrors series, begins with a discussion of kitchen safety, tools and metric conversions. It moves into setting the scene for your yucky (yummy) snacks and then moves into the nine recipes. Despite the disgusting names, many of the snacks use fairly normal ingredients and sound quite tasty. Directions are numbered with several illustrations. It is fair to say that Halloween will be a lot more fun after eating “booger sticks” washed down with “slime cocktails”. Buy this book and watch the kids giggle and gag their way to the kitchen!

Buzz reads a ninja story to Fly Guy on Christmas Eve and as they prepare for bed, he mentions that the next day is Christmas when Santa brings gifts and they exchange presents. Fly Guy can’t sleep after receiving this information, because he doesn’t have a gift for Buzz. What will he do? He flies downstairs to search for a suitable present, finds cookies and milk and decides to stop for a snack. Suddenly, a stranger in red surprises him and Fly Guy launches into a ninja attack! Unfortunately, he knocks down Santa and the tree. But, Buzz hears the noise, comes down the help clean up and they finish up by sharing the cookies and milk. After Buzz heads back to bed, Fly Guy admits to Santa that he doesn’t have a gift for Buzz. Santa helps and they boy and his fly exchange some some lovely gifts!

Once again, Tedd Arnold puts together a funny easy reader that will enthrall kids with ninjas and Christmas. It will be a great addition to libraries, where kids might want something a little silly to add to their holiday reading lists. Highly recommended.

Tales of dragons are told in many cultures.  Here, Mould collects four folktales, one original tale by another author, and five of his own stories.  The illustrations are the highlight here.  Mould’s artwork is curly and crisp, evocative and bright.  His dragons are beautiful and creepy, but friendly too.  His writing is uneven – mostly serviceable, with the occasional run-on sentence.  One glaring issue is that he labels three of the folktales with their region of origin, but when it comes to the story from his cultural heritage, merely marks it “traditional.”  Many children will enjoy reading through the selection of stories and poring over the pictures, but this is an additional purchase.

It is thought that Miss Muffet ran away because of a spider, but that is wrong. She is not interested in arranging flowers, or identifying insects or being demure. She wants to play her fiddle, but her mother finds this appalling and hides the fiddle. So while sitting on her tuffet, she sees a spider who knows where the fiddle is hidden. They decide to go off together. Along there adventure they come upon Bo-Peep and other characters and eventually end up Old King Cole’s castle.

This fractured fairy tale is told in verse with dialog and stage/setting notes. The story lends itself to a reader’s theater or some type of performance.

Pax befriends a pigeon he calls Blue. Every morning he feeds Blue a piece of toast. One morning Pax’s mother is in a hurry and he doesn’t get to feed Blue a piece of toast before he is hurried onto the subway. Pax is worried that he left Blue alone and you don’t leave a friend behind. Pax did not know that Blue followed him on the subway and now Blue was lost. Pax sees Blue on the subway and helps him get off.

The story is very simple with only 1-2 sentences on a page. The pictures are muted with Pax and Blue having the most color, but effectively tell more of the story.

Any book that can get kids outside is a book that should be in every library. Outdoor Math details math games for every season, using materials found outside. Whether it is making shapes while holding hands with friends or collecting pine cones and adding up the group’s collection – this book will keep young mathematicians busy as they enjoy the outdoors. Some of the winter activities use snow, which may be a problem in those locations without the benefit of snowy winters, but most of the activities are very accessible. What kid wouldn’t want to be outside while learning math?

Dario and his mother travel from Brazil to Cape Cod each spring so that she can work. Atlantic right whales travel up to Cape Cod early each spring in search of food. This book is about the friendship between Dario and a young right whale. They notice each other at the beach and strike up an unlikely, but sweet relationship. When Dario whistles, the whale spouts. When Dario waves, the whale breaches. Their friendship lasts through the spring. One day, Dario cannot go to the beach, because he has a cold. When he returns to the beach the whale seems to be gone. A young girl tells him that the whales migrate in May and that they are gone. Dario is upset, but jumps up to see his friend just offshore. He enters the water and the whale comes closer than it ever has before. They exchange greetings (whistle/spout, wave/breach) and when Dario asks the whale if he has to go, the whale blinks his large eye. Dario asks if he will return and the whale slaps the water with his huge tail in response. And, Dario knows that the friends will reunite next year.

Portuguese words are scattered throughout this story of two migrants that form a beautiful and enduring friendship. Information about Atlantic right whales at the end of the book will give students solid facts about these mammals. This is a very sweet story with lovely pictures that students will thoroughly enjoy. Highly recommended.

Part of the Mars Bound series, this book recounts three teens’ perilous journey to Mars after the death of the crew assigned to take them there. In addition to the deaths of the crew, a fellow teen has destroyed their radio, so they have no verbal contact with the Mars station. As they pull closer to the station, they realize that they are not allowed to enter the station, the doors are not opening. With little fuel or food, Gabriel makes the decision to force the Mars crew to open the doors by going full speed toward them. At the last moment they are allowed in and as they leave their spaceship and walk into the station, they are held at gunpoint. Gabriel tells the leader, Sheena (third in command of the space station), about their trip from Earth and the troubles along the way. At that point, she shares the news of the station – an earlier space vehicle from Earth had arrived and attempted to kill the colonists in order to return to Earth. The colonists were suspicious of Gabriel’s ship, because they didn’t respond to radio messages. The book ends with Sheena welcoming Gabriel and his two shipmates to the space station.

This book is part of series called Mars Bound and the reader will feel like this particular book is a chapter in a larger story. The writing is accessible and the pictures are retro. The story is short and at a second grade reading level, so struggling readers who enjoy science fiction should do well with this book. The teens are multicultural and the story is intriguing enough to entice the readers to check out the rest of the series.

Beginning with an introduction detailing an event in pro wrestling rivalry ‘history’, this book goes on to detail ten great rivalries in countdown fashion. Loaded with pictures and text boxes with extra details, this book is sure to excite young pro-wrestling fans. This title is part of a series of six books on pro wrestling. Rabid fans might not learn anything new, but the accessible writing and colorful photos should keep this book in circulation.
Typical nonfiction features are included: table of contents, glossary, index and a page detailing websites and more books for further exploration. If you are looking for some pro-wrestling books, these should be popular choices. Buy it if you have some extra money.

Ben Putter is on a mission. He must go to Augusta, Georgia, from his home in Alabama to spread his father’s ashes on the 18th hole of Augusta National, the world’s best golf course. His daddy told him to do so from the urn that holds his ashes and eleven year old Ben feels that it might be the only way to get rid of the golf ball sized lump that has been in his throat since his father died. So, he decides to go to Augusta without telling his mother, travelling with a secretive runaway named Noni. She has some unfinished business in that direction and together they go by bus, train (on the coal car) and in a truck (Ben driving it) to fulfill some promises. Ben talks to his dad’s urn along the way and the reader learns that their relationship was not the best while dad was alive. But, the trip is a healing one for Ben, who wants to connect with his father this one last time. His new-found friend, Noni, completes her journey to Augusta with him in a surprising ending that reveals some secrets and brings closure to the characters and the reader. Students who pick up this story might end up with their own ‘golf ball sized lumps in their throats’, but will be happy they made the journey with Ben and Noni.

Set in 1972, the story also touches on racism, desegregation and life in the deep South. The author does a fine job of describing the time and place, giving a rich view of a girl, a boy and his daddy’s ashes as they journey toward the best golf course in the world.