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.

The Tree House That Jack Built is a large book measuring 9.25″ x 12.25″ with bold, beautiful, saturated illustrations.  The text is told in rhyme and is sometimes cumbersome with the ending the tree house that Jack built.  But nonetheless, the story has charm and kids will enjoy the feel of the Swiss Family Robinson tree house.

Whack of the P-Rex is volume 5 of the series The Notebook of Doom.  This is the first installment of this series that I have read, and honestly, I’m not sure what to make of it.  I checked other reviews online to see what others had to say, and for the most part, all of it was pretty positive.  I think it must just be my lack of taste for slapstick type of comedy.  In this book, P-Rex is a monster, a giant-sized pinata in the shape of a T Rex dinosaur.  Alexander, Rip and Nikki are on their way to school with their science projects, ant farms, when they come upon a lot of candy on the ground as well as giant footprints.  More clues throughout the day give them leads as to what is causing this disturbance.  They find the monster and deal with him the way kids would deal with a pinata: hit it with a stick.  Inside the P-Rex there is a skeleton made entirely of candy.  The funniest thing to happen was that this skeleton broke the giant ant city, belonging to the teacher, and all the ants swarmed him to get at the candy. The ending is terrific.  Illustrations are funny and appropriate to the story.  Text is at 2nd grade reading level and kids seem to enjoy the silliness of it all.

I think the lesson from this story is that laughter is contagious.  Jenny is an adorable, sweet little mouse and Lorenzo is a mouse-eating cat.  Jenny is bound and determined to meet this Lorenzo, whom she has heard so much about.  Strangely enough, her parents let her go with a warning of ‘be careful!’  They meet and Jenny laughs, sings and dances and turns a backward somersault, totally befuddling Lorenzo, who breaks out laughing.  Enjoying Jenny’s good humor was much better than enjoying her as a snack, they became the best of friends.

Based on the children’s classic, I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly,I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Dreidel,is a spinoff using the Jewish celebration of Chanukah as the event. The family is all gathering at  Bubbe’s (grandma’s) house for Chanukah and the cat is playing with a dreidel, a small wooden spinning top, and drops it onto the top of a cream-cheese covered bagel.  Not seeing the dreidel, Bubbe eats the bagel and the story is off.  Throughout the story, the reader will notice familiar scenes.  After awhile, the reader will expect to see scenes that are based on famous works of art.  Throughout the story, Slonim has interspersed familiar art:  Mona Lisa, The Scream, American Gothic, The Starry Night, The Thinker, only to name a few.  Of course, the subjects in the art are all family members.  A very clever way to study art as well as hear a familiar story based in holiday celebrations.