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Although some people believe that facts are more important than fiction, Phineas Taylor Wilkie—who prefers to be called P.T.—isn’t a believer in the “truth conquers all” motto because he thinks that some stories have more power.  Chris Grabenstein–the award-winning bestselling author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library–shares that theory with tween readers in his recent book, Welcome to WonderLand: Home Sweet Motel, a book cleverly illustrated by Brooke Allen.  P.T. and his mom Wanda live in a Florida motel on St. Pete’s Beach with Grandpa Walt, who wants nothing more than to snatch from “the other Walt,” the title of “Hottest Family Attraction in the Sunshine State” (12). P.T. lovesRead More →

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In: Middle Grade Reviews, Mystery & Suspense, Supernatural & Horror
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David Neilsen is a professional teller of spooky, horrific tales for all ages. For his first novel, Dr. Fell and the Playground of Doom, he’s chosen to stick to what he’s good at. Intended for readers between the ages of 8 and 12, Neilsen offers a quirky, uniquely chilling story that provides an engaging and suspenseful read for everyone, especially if you are afraid of going to the doctor. It all starts when someone buys the abandoned house on Hardscrabble Street. It’s a house “of imagination, a blank canvas just waiting to be painted with the gleeful brushstrokes of youth” (2). The kids from theRead More →

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The only thing certain in life is that it will change, and how we adjust to those changes will determine our satisfaction on the journey.  Sharon Creech weaves this thematic thread into her new novel, Moo, a clever blend of the prose and poetry genres with a target audience of tweens. Moo features twelve-year-old Reena and her brother Luke, “a seven-year-old complexity” (6) with a talent for drawing and an aversion to animals and to being touched.  Inspired by both his imagination and what he sees, Luke has the eye and the demeanor of a creative soul.  His sister, too, has an artist’s eye, but sheRead More →

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The amazing orphans are back again in the second story of the Curiosity House. Pippa, Sam, Max, and Thomas are relaxed now that the villain, Nicholas Rattigan, is in jail and far away from their home. The orphans have continued working on their show at Dumfrey’s Dime Museum of Freaks, Oddities, and Wonders. However, business is not picking up as expected, and the orphans are worried that the museum will be closing soon. Before the children have time to worry, Mr. Dumfrey, the Museum’s owner, and the person the kids call “dad”, comes across a newspaper headline that is sure to bring in business. “RICHSTONE TO FRYRead More →

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“What do you do when your favorite teacher starts turning into a were-hyena?” (1). That’s the question raised in The Curse of the Were-Hyena by Bruce Hale, the first in the new Monstertown Mystery series. Smart, silly, and intriguing, this middle-grade novel is an all-around fun time. “Forget about homework habits and curriculum goals – this is the kind of practical stuff they should cover in back-to-school orientation” (1). Carlos and Benny are your average fourth grade best friends, “just regular, comics-nerd-type kids” with the best teacher in the whole school (61). Mr. Chu teaches in exciting and engaging ways and all of his studentsRead More →

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The Crown’s Game is a story about a woman named Vika, who has to decide between honor or love. She has a duty to her country to win the Crown’s Game, but she also wants to experience love and life. Vika encounters Pasha and Nikolai, who will have a great impact on the decision that will affect the rest of her life. Vika will soon know the meaning of love through the encounters that she has with Nikolai and Pasha as the games continues. The Crown’s Game reveals that magic can be found in all forms of the characters whether is performed or felt. AsRead More →

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Three-time Newbery Honor winner Jennifer Holm shares a historical fiction account in Full of Beans about life during the Great Depression in Key West, Florida, where there was a tradition of nicknaming. Conchs, for example, were those who often ate conch chowder.  Ten-year-old Beans Curry is a Conch who mines the garbage bins for milk cans to recycle for coins so that he can watch his favorite Shirley Temple films or buy coconut ice cream since times are tough and money is scarce.  Because he’s “a good boy,” however, his money often purchases deworming medicine for his brother Kermit or hand cream for his mother,Read More →

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“Nothing is quieter, or has more secrets . . . than a book that’s closed” (233), writes Avi in his newest novel, School of the Dead.  With each turn of the page, the book whispers its secrets about why Uncle Charlie is so different, why Jessica Richards walks with a limp, and how Tony Gilbert gets in to Penda School, a private school in San Francisco, so easily. Uncle Charlie may be eccentric, but he is the best friend of sixth grader Tony Gilbert, who hates fakery—especially adults who pretend to enjoy adolescent pastimes.  But Uncle Charlie loves kids’ stuff like video games, spooky stories, andRead More →

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Charlie’s father has always told Charlie that he’s a very special and fragile boy.  Protective of his son, Rajesh Pondicherry is a creative inventor and designer of various mechanisms in 1887 London.  Because Charlie has special needs and no mother, his bap doesn’t allow him to wander and doesn’t like him to spend too much time outdoors.  These limitations make Charlie an avid reader of adventure stories and the Almanack of the Elder Folk and Arcana of Britain and Northern Ireland by Reginald St. John Smythson.  Charlie’s vocabulary and imagination grow under the influence of this reading, which further teaches him about kobolds, trolls, dwarfs,Read More →