The physical dimensions of this book will give the reader the appearance of reading an average intermediate grade book. The story itself appears to be for a hi-lo reader, short and sweet, with more illustrations and less text than an average intermediate grade book. Four quick chapters that will satisfy the need for something a little bit creepy.

A young girl recounts, “I am painting in the garden when Great Aunt Raven finds me. ‘Put your things away, Ella,’ she says. ‘It is time for another odd job.’ ” (4) Great Aunt Raven leads Ella through the boarded-up town and leaves her outside a seamstress shop where someone is waiting for her. Madame Pintuck takes Ella down a hall and asks her to wash everything that is dirty. There are mounds and mounds of clothes. In a cedar armoire hangs a white lace dress. The lace dress is the only one that won’t come clean. Suddenly someone, perhaps a ghost, asks Ella, ” ‘Haven’t you heard of the widowed bride?’ ” (35) She recounted the tale of how long ago on the day of the wedding, the groom “died tragically of fever”. (43) Then she disappears. Shortly after, Madame Pintuck returns telling Ella the girl died of a broken heart.

The Civil War is waging in the south, in 1863, but this is New York City. Here is a story told from a person of color’s perspective. Here “some of the people, places, and events are based on real historical facts, some are inspired by real historical facts, and some are just totally made up.” (242) The biggest ‘made up‘ piece is the domesticated dinosaurs, used in place of horses, carrier pigeons, and airplanes. The Colored Orphan Asylum, Vigilance Committee, and “Richard Riker was a real-life magistrate in the New York City courts, and he did indeed run an organization called the Kidnapping Club that captured black New Yorkers and sent them into slavery…” (244) make this an eye opener for this reader.

New York men are now being drafted to fight in the Civil War. Richard Riker and his followers use this as a excuse to set an area in New York City were blacks live ablaze. Riots ensue. The Colored Orphan Asylum is burnt. Riker captures the orphans and plans to ship them down south into slavery. A few orphans were at the Zanzibar Theater watching an all-black Shakespearean company when the theater caught fire. These orphans escape with the help of the two black actors. They escape the fire and the riots. The stage is now set for the thrilling story of the fiery orphan Magdalys’ rise to a leadership role in recovering the captured orphans from Riker.

Slowly Magdalys realizes she can communicate with dinosaurs and get them to follow her instructions. Magdalys’ knew ability helps when the orphans need to ride a sauropod ferry across the river to Brooklyn. It helps when she flies on the back of a dactyl to Manhattan (dactyls are not dinosaurs- a character informs) and when triceratopses are needed in the final battle charge to release the orphans.

The dinosaurs do not detract from the historical events and issues of this period in time. This is a fun ride, so get ready to fly into the action.

Book #2 in the Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls series takes off a year after the first book. Abby is now in her second year at The Smith School for Children, a private boarding school. It is also a “training facility for the Center, a government organization that uses kids to ferret out information no one else has any hope of acquiring. The theory is that kids are invisible…and therefore make really good spies.”(8) A few things have changed. The first and foremost for Abby being the interim Headmaster is her own mother. A new Headmaster means changes will be made. One change is the rule dealing with no playing of the video game Monster Mayhem. (Monster Mayhem is very much like Pokemon Go.) So, of course, Abby is playing it on the sly.

At this day’s Morning Meeting, the guest speaker in Toby’s father -Drexel Cain, the inventor of Monster Mayhem. At the end of the meeting, a smokey explosion has the entire school evacuating the auditorium. A short time later, Toby is sent a ransom note, via text message, for his father. Toby must play and win the latest version of Monster Mayhem, which has not been made available to the public yet, to get his father back. As always, Toby is not to tell anyone about the kidnapping. And as always, people, especially Abby, find out and try to help.

Off the reader goes to see if the kidnapper will be caught by extremely smart, extremely rich, extremely well-connected middle-school students who are secretly training to be spies while figuring out clues to the video game Monster Mayhem which takes them around the world. Yes, they are scared at times, but Abby’s mother used to say,”that being afraid was good because fear let you know when you should be alert and aware. She said it was the body’s way of turning on all the lights and getting ready.” (249)

So get ready readers, the Power Play is is about to begin!

Typo on page 198, paragraph 9, “It” should be ‘If’.

While flipping through channels on the TV, do you ever stop and watch, at least for a little while, those reality shows about hunting ghosts or big foot? If yes, then you have a good idea for the basis of this book series- Monster Hunters. This series is not an adrenalin racing, keep you away with nightmares at night, creepy story. It is for those readers who are not sure if cryptids exist or not, but are curious about them all the same.

Cool added feature, there is a little grey goat man at the bottom of each page that appears to ‘walk’ when the reader flips the pages.

Ben and his young helpers film an Internet Show- Discover Cryptids. “In each episode, they focused on a specific creature from myth or legend that may exist.” (4) This time it is The Pope Lick Monster aka Goat Man, near Louisville, Kentucky. Ben is there to interview a man, Chester, who puts on a yearly Halloween attraction featuring Goat Man. At the end of the interview they ask Chester to see the Goat Man costume. As it turns out, the mask is missing for some unknown reason.

Ben’s group then goes to video tape footage around the train trestle where Goat Man is known to have been seen. There they bump into a local police officer who patrols the area to kept curious sightseers away. Later, at the diner in town, the officer tells of his own personal encounter with Goat Man.

When Ben and his team go back to the trestle after dark, a teenage girl comes running down the trail screaming that she’s just seen the monster. The team splits up. One goes back to their van with the girl and the others run in the direction of the monster. The only thing they find is the missing mask. Ben and the team take the girl home. Then, they return the mask to Chester. While there Chester’s mother confesses she took the mask to prove to Chester that she can be scary, so he’ll give her a bigger part in the annual Halloween attraction.

Later, back at the hotel, as the “Discover Cryptids” team goes over the film footage, one of them points out a shadowy something clinging to the trestle. Goat Man, maybe? ” ‘Whatever it is,” he said. It’s so cool.’ “

One mistake I found in proofreading, on page 24, the character Jake was mistakenly called Jack twice, then goes back to Jake.

Brian P. Cleary once again is explaining things to young people in a way they will understand and better yet, will enjoy! This time Brian’s topic in his CATegorical series is dealing with computer coding.

Brian lets his readers know coding deals with commands in a special language, loops are repeated coded instructions, and conditionals are sets of rules dealing with “If this … then that will happen”.

“Loops and conditionals lend a big hand to code-writing pros of all ages, like YOU to write software, create fun, new games, or make your own apps or web pages!” (20-21)

Martin Goneau’s illustrations of cats personified learning about computers and coding make this a every fun and kid friendly visual learning experience. Brian P. Cleary and Martin Goneau make a great pair!

As an adult, I like page 22, the afterward, almost as much as the entire rest of the book put together. I hope students will not skip this page.

This book is part of the Symbols of American Freedom series. It states the Washington Monument was built to honor George Washington. At the time it was built in 1884, it was the tallest building in the world, at 555 feet.. The text is more about George Washington than it is about the actual monument.

There are one or two sentences on each left hand page opposite the full page picture on the right page.

It ends with www.factsurfer.com for more information.

Each book in this series “Just Like Us!” begins with very basic similarities and then moves onto differences in detail.

In ” Just Like Us! Fish” the similarities include we both need oxygen to breathe and there is safety in numbers.

There is good information about exotic fish, even if the comparisons between the fish and people are very general.

I keep coming back to the books in this series for the artwork composing each page. David Clark does a marvelous job of characterizing the fish in humorous poses, then layering these on top of photos of the real fish in action. Who would not want to see a picture of a porcupine fish dressed in a suit of armor carrying a lance in its fin?

Each book in this series “Just Like Us!” begins with very basic similarities and then moves onto differences in detail.

In ” Just Like Us! Cats” the similarities include: being loving parents and great diplomats , taking the easiest path, defending their territories, napping by the young is considered boring, mom is the cubs first teacher, and “some types of cats are great swimmers”.

There is good information about wild cats, even if the comparisons are very general.

I keep coming back to the books in this series for the artwork composing each page. David Clark does a marvelous job of characterizing the cats in humorous poses, then layering these on top of photos of the real wild cats in action. Who would not want to see a cheetah running upright in track shoes?

Here are the facts about the United States flag we would desire all of our youngest people to know: the number and color of stars and stripes, when the first flag was made, and it should be held with respect. “The United States flag is a symbol for freedom and unity.” (4)

There are one or two sentences, in large font, on the left hand page opposite a photo, on the right, of the United States flag being displayed on a government building or being held in the hands of waving waving people.

The six word glossary containing : word, picture, and definition, is followed by a short list of books and the www.factsurfer.com web site for more information, and an index.

Best graphic novel ever! If you can call a 38 page, 11.25″ X 8.75″ book a novel?

When the world is threatened with the destruction of all books by the evil Doctor Glockenspiel if his demands are not met, who will save the day? The top secret agents fail.

Lyric McKerrigan takes it upon herself to stop this villain using various disguises and a tool box full of books that win over each guard and hunchman that stand between her and Doctor Glockenspiel. When Doctor Glockenspiel releases the book eating moths as his last resort, Lyric McKerrigan “shines a flashlight onto book. The moths love flashlights… The moths like stories even better than flashlights.” Soon Doctor Glockenspiel is back in jail and the world’s books are safe once again!

Illustrator Vera Brosgol has won both Eisner and Harvey Awards and received a Caldecott Honor for her past work. This book is in true comic book style which young and old readers will enjoy.

Fabian Starr wants to be in a rock band. Fab’s friend Emilio would rather be an inventor. Both of their friends, Lola is thinking about giving swim team a year off. Together they agree to give being in a rock band a chance for one month, but they need a drummer badly. After posting audition posters in the middle and high school wings of their school, two people show up at Fab’s garage for auditions. Thank goodness the strange high school student (Zee), who just moved in across the street from Fab, comes over to audition. Zee’s audition is over the top! The band is formed! Lola gets the band their first gig playing at her 6 yr old sister’s Princess birthday party.

Emilio is not too confident about the band. He builds a dog-sized unicorn which shots “a small jet of rainbow sparks”(80) out of its horn to ‘wow’ the party-goers, in case, the band does not. Never fear, the band is fantastic! When asked the band’s name, Fab yells out, ” ‘We’re called Electric Zombie!’ ” (101)

Lola’s cousin thinks the band is ready for the middle school fair, with their adrenalin pumping Fab, Emilio, and Lola agree to sign up. Will Zee agree, too? Fab is not so sure. Fab is beginning to wonder if Zee might actually be a zombie. The reader is left with this cliff-hanger. Read book two- “Shock and Roll”, maybe it will give Fab the answer he is after concerning his neighbor Zee.

Zombie lovers and middle school rock band lovers will enjoy this book. I am not sure there will be a bigger audience for this book, though.

The book does have one color illustration per chapter.

Modern day Robyn Hood are her sidekicks the Hoods are up against the Havocs. The Havocs pick pockets and steal from anyone and everyone. They poke fun at Robyn and her Hoods “who only took from bad guys to HELP people in need.” (15)

Each time the thefts end with a cloud of smoke and the victims yelling and accusing each other of stealing from them. Robyn and her Hoods decide to look for the Havocs at the open-air market, where there are always large crowds of people. Sure enough Robyn spots a Havoc. They run in their direction, but find nothing. After chasing after another suspicious person, Robyn trips over an open sewer grate. Again they find nothing. Then Robyn concludes they should look down in the sewer. There the Hoods find the stolen valuables. They collect it to return to the victims.

“After returning the STOLEN goods, the Hoods convinced everyone to STAY OUT of the market so they could face the Havocs.” (36) The Havocs want their loot back. When the Havocs ‘LUNGED‘ at the HOODS they trip over ” the camouflaged trip line at their feet.”(43) The Havocs release a thick cloud of smoke. By the time the smoke clears, the Havocs are gone. Robyn and the Hoods have returned the valuables, that is the important part. They “will FACE the Havocs another day.” (48)

Good over evil wins again in this updated version of Robin Hood and his merry men. This version has color graphics on each page by Abigail Dela Cruz. The text has a key word in bold or a stylized font in almost every sentence adding to the enjoyment and to the reader’s comprehension. After four short chapters, the reader is on to the next book in this series.

Book #7 in The Graveyard Diaries series takes place in “The small town of Marshfield … known for its four old cemeteries. Local people call the place Graveyard City.” (29) What better place for an urban legend dealing with a ghost to take place.

This story reads and feels like a reality TV show GHOST HUNTERS. There are no silly little anecdotes.

As Jared and his mother drive home, on a December evening, they take a short cut through one of the town’s cemeteries. There, they almost hit a girl with their car. They volunteer to take her home, as she (Tammy) has hurt herself from a fall in the cemetery. Once they arrive at Tammy’s house, she disappears. The house is terribly run down, looking like no one has lived there in years.

A little by little, Jared researches the house at the public library. Jared meets a local librarian who remembers when Tammy died back in 1961. Jared and his two closest friends (they’ve named themselves the Zombie Hunters) will try to help Tammy if she is a ghost who wants to escape or a ghost who wants to be rescued. When Jared enters the house Tammy tells him to leave them alone. Jared flees the house after seeing an allusion of flames. These ghosts do not want his help. He will leave them alone.

The book concludes with a page of five steps entitled TRACKING GHOSTS and a second page of eight items entitled GHOST FACTS.

This is a fast read for those young people who either believe in ghosts or are border-line believers. The slightly enlarged type hint this is a hi-lo book. The single black and white sketch in each of the ten chapters keeps the mood alive and moving.

Here are ten fairy tales: Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin, Cinderella, The Pied Piper, Snow White, The Princess and the Pea, Red Riding Hood, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, Hansel and Gretel, and The Swan Brothers ‘reimagined’,”not quite as you remembered.”

Different back stories make these tales more easily relatable to the youth of today who are wise about interpersonal relationships.Sometimes the title character is not always the one who wins in the end. Sometimes the story affects characters from more than one generation. Sometimes characters from other traditional tales make guest cameo appearances in another tale.

I was thinking – “That’s not the way this story goes, but I like this way better!” For example: Rapunzel has twin children, or Hansel and Gretel retell what happened to them for a writing assignment at school, or Snow White has a small glass shard of the wicked witch’s magic mirror which is controlling her, or the prince liked Cinderella best because she didn’t have ‘blue’ blood when the rose the prince gave each attendee to the ball was pricked by its thorns.

Each tale is accompanied by black silhouettes of the characters in action amidst varying tones of gray settings by Sarah Gibb. The cover art is for Rapunzel, while the book’s title refers to Rumpelstiltskin.

Whether you one tale or read them all, this book is a winner.

In Kathy Cannon Wiechman’s novel Not on Fifth Street you explore the treacherous 1937 flood in Ironton, Idaho. The two brothers, Pete and Gus, struggled because of the rising water of the huge flood. Gus falls in love with someone his parents don’t approve of and causes tension with his parents and his brother. Pete has to take care of the family and deal with problems with his brother and his best friend Richie. The boys grow distant because Gus was seeing a girl named Venus Marlowe. The book is action-packed and informs readers about the record setting flood Ironton experienced in 1937. The book is about what the people in Ironton experienced during the flood and how it affected the people. I would recommend this book to people who like to read about historical events and stories of how people survived disaster. When I started reading this book, I didn’t want to put it down even to take care of my needs. The book was intriguing and interesting even though it’s factual. It is full of information and true stories about the terrifying river during that season. Not on Fifth Street is a very good and interesting book about a record setting 1937 flood and the terror it caused in Ironton.

Review by Janelle

My favorite part of this series are the illustrations by David Clark. The illustrations are humorous. Whimsy with plants and insects both having facial expressions and acting like humans, only to have a photo of an actual plant tucked away amid the cartoons.

This book tries to inform you of the ways plants and humans are alike. This is all true at a basic level of life: basking in the sun, breathing, need for water, having babies, and even at times wearing armor. From there, Bridget Heos goes onto tell of some quite unusual plants and their added characteristics to which she attaches human attributes.

It is a fun way to learn about plant basics and then on to more diverse characteristics that only a few plants may have.

I have a friend who can crochet the cutest little stuffed animals. This book reminds me of her. In this picture book, Greta, the goat, likes to knit.

When Greta knits animals they come to life. First, she knit baby goats. When Mr. Sheep teases Greta about her messy knitting, Greta knits a wolf that eats Mrs. Sheep. Now, Greta is hiding in a closet so the wolf won’t eat her. “clickclickclicketyclick”, Greta knits a tiger who eats the wolf. Now Greta is hiding in the closet so the tiger won’t eat her. “I have to get rid of him! What should I knit now? she wonders. Something even bigger, something even more dangerous!”

“Clickclickclicketyclick go the needles.” Greta has created a monster! But Greta has learned an important lesson about the animals she knits. Greta does not quite finish the monster, leaving him still on the knitting needle. Greta pushes the monster out into the room where it eats the tiger. Then without wasting any time Greta starts to unravel the monster, then the tiger, then the wolf, and Mrs. Sheep is saved.

Greta decides to knit some green grass for her goats. Oops, while Greta wasn’t paying attention to her knitting, the green knitting has become a green alligator. It is a good thing she has not cast off yet.

This is part of the new series-MAKERS Make It Work. “Makers Make It Work is a series of fun easy-to-read stories that focus on problem-solving and hands-on action. Each book also includes an activity for young makers to try themselves.” (back cover)

Arun and Keya find a raccoon damaged bees’ nest, in the woods near their home, while looking for the perfect tree in which to build a tree house.Luckily, one of their neighbors, Dr. Chen, is a beekeeper. They show Dr. Chen the nest. Arun and Keya help Dr. Chen move the bees to one of her newly built hives, while Dr. Chen helps Keya overcame her fear of bees. The happy ending comes with the bees getting a safer new hive, Dr. Chen sharing the honey with Arun and Keya, and mom and dad will now help them to build a tree house in the tree that once held the nest.

Sprinkled throughout the story are seven information boxes about bees. At the end of the story there are three small sections: Learn Like a Maker, Look Back, and Try This!

This is a retelling of the folktale THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES. In this modern version, children should be able to identify with a school principal more easily than with an emperor.

Mr. B , the principal, is known for being a snazzy dresser. So when, Moe and Ivy present Mr. B with their business card – “MOE & IVY – Expert Tailors” with “We Make Suits that Suit You Fine.” on the reverse side, Mr. B. is hooked.

Mr. B. planned to wear the new suit to a school assembly. None of the staff, or students, or even the people on his way to school were confident enough to tell Mr. B. they could not see his new suit. Once Mr. B. began walking down the aisle in the auditorium a kindergartener shouted, ‘ “Our principal’s in his underwear!” ‘ (36) All present quickly loan Mr. B. bits and pieces of an outfit. Mr. B. gave the little kinder a gold star and shook her hand for being so honest. “Everyone cheered. They knew their principal was smart and good at his job. ” (42)

The story is followed by a glossary and a set of discussion questions.

Vashti Harrison’s illustrations of the love shared between this father and daughter will draw you into this simple, yet complexed, story of a father (of color) helping his young daughter style her hair that “kinks, coils, and curls every which way.”

Mom has been away for awhile and now little Zuri wants her hair to be perfect for her mother’s return. Dad steps in to work his magic with her hair.

Written by “former NFL wide receiver” Matthew A. Cherry.

As I sat a top of a hill in Douglas County, Washington State, posing for a photo as I read this book, I knew I was in rattlesnake country. I did not know anything more about rattlesnakes than what I had seen in Hollywood movies and old TV Westerns. Now I do. For starters, there are 36 species of rattlesnakes and their habitats are not just in desert country. Rattlesnakes can strike faster than a human can blink an eye. Sometimes, they rattle after they strike and not before. The snake can determine how much venom it will deliver in its bite and sometimes there will be no venom. This is called a dry bite.

I give distance to rattlesnakes, but I truly am amazed by the HD close-up photos of rattlesnakes in this book! Their scaly skin is as bristly as a pine cone at times, not smooth at all. This book is as close to the real thing as I ever hope to be outside of a live snake exhibit. If you are not a snake person, the photos might just make you shiver.

The Lafayette we know from United States history class comes to life in this graphic novel depiction of his life until his return to France after the American Revolutionary War. The tale is being told by “THE PROVOST, THE HANGMAN, AND THE SPY, NATHAN HALE.” (6) Nathan Hale spins this tale to postpone his own execution, if just until the tale is told. It begins shortly after the death of Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier the Marquis De Lafayette’s father in the Battle of Minden.

The telling includes bits of history at first, mixed with some urban legend, customs of dress, schooling, and arranged marriages of the time. First Lafayette’s mother dies and then his great-grandfather dies leaving him a rich orphan at the age of thirteen. At thirteen, people are already scheming to have Gilbert marry their daughter to advance their family’s status.

At age nineteen, Gilbert has a wife and child, but still dreams of glory on the battle field. He goes against King Louis XVI’s “DECREE, THAT NO FRENCH OFFICERS WERE ALLOWED TO JOIN THE AMERICAN CAUSE.”(35) Gilbert sails to America and eventually meets up with General George Washington. Lafayette has a knack for being in the wrong place at the right time or the right place at the wrong time depending upon which side of the war you want to win. “LAFAYETTE HAS NOW FOILED TWO PLOTS TO OVERTHROW WASHINGTON.” (55) Later, Lafayette will encounter Benedict Arnold before and after Arnold changes sides in the war.

Lafayette is charismatic. No wonder his name is still known today. I’m guessing most people today could not give any specifics about what he did to help the Americans during their revolution.

One small mistake, appears on page 99, in frame 11, where the word ‘their’ appears twice. The second time spelled ‘thier’.

What a wonderful visual way to engage young readers in history!

The Only Living Boy Omnibus, The Complete Saga, by David Gallaher and illustrated by Steve Ellis, keeps you on the edge your seat. The world around the main character Erik Farrell completely changes over night. Erik Farrell fights to stay alive and helps others around him on the way to save his world from the dark force. I love the book in general. The artwork and story is stunning and breathtaking. The way the illustrator made the callout boxes is very creative and smart. There is a little art gallery in the back of the book. I highly recommend The Only Living Boy Omnibus, The Complete Saga to everyone and especially people who like very detailed artwork, fantasy, and adventure. The book will drag you in when you read the first couple pages, you will not want to put the book down. I give the book a five out of five stars.

Review by Rylie

Soof by Sarah Weeks is an amazing story about a troubled girl who might have found a new path than what was meant for her future with the help of her dog Duck. Aurora has to face many obstacles in life even meeting Hedi. Without her closest friend Duck, she would have found her new story. This heart wrenching book is a realistic fiction giving the reader something to look forward to throughout the book. There are even a few tear justling moments waiting to get the best of you anytime. If you love books with family, dogs and adventure, this book is right up your alley. I would give this book 5 stars.

Review by Sophie

I am getting used to the graphic novel’s visual technique of going forwards and backwards in time. In this graphic novel, Gillbert (yes, that is gill with two “l”s because he lives under the sea) finds a message in a bottle, but can not read it without his mother’s (Queen of Atlanticus) help. Just before Gill’s mother arrives to translate the message, Anne Phibian, the mermaid, gets Gill’s attention and whisks him off to an unknown party. Meanwhile in deep space, a fiery asteroid is on a collision course with Earth. Gill’s father, King Nauticus, goes to investigate the asteroid.

Teeq- a space alien and long time friend of the Queen has been sending a message into space calling his sister to planet Earth. Teeq’s sister arrives in the form of an egg and hatches in the Queen’s and King’s presence. They name her Matilda. Shortly thereafter, the Pyrockians come crashing into the ocean from space. They want Atlanticus back for their own, which does not make King Nauticus happy.

Teeq and Anne Phibian leave the party after having Gillbert taken home. Teeq and Anne meet Matilda for the first time. Matilda solves the King’s Pyrockian problem by causing a new volcano to form in the ocean giving the Pyrockians a hot place to live in peace. The Queen now has time to translate the Gillbert’s bottle message, it says,” YOU ARE DESTINED FOR GREATNESS.”