Lumberjanes is a comic book series about a summer camp for “hardcore lady-types.” Volume 1: Beware the Kitten Holy is a collection of the first 4 issues, which introduces the characters and gets them started on their adventures—it certainly doesn’t bring a story arc to a close, so expect your young reader to start asking for […]
Summer’s Friendship Games
June 15, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Summer’s Friendship Games is the fourth book in the Jim Henson’s Enchanted Sisters series. I haven’t read the first three, and that wasn’t a problem as far as understanding the characters and plot—maybe some things would have had a little more meaning had I read the others, but it wasn’t really an issue. There are four […]
Flora & Ulysses
May 28, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures is the story of Flora, a girl who is a proud cynic and comic book fan, and a squirrel who gains superpowers after surviving being sucked into a powerful vacuum cleaner (of course!). Parts of the story are told in comic strips, showing the action instead of describing it. […]
The Silver Thread
January 28, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The Silver Thread is the second book in The Unicorn’s Secret series, following Moonsilver. It only increases my feeling that this isn’t so much a series as one longer novel broken down into chunks that are manageable for newly independent readers. If you haven’t read Moonsilver, The Silver Thread won’t make much sense at all. […]
The Sea of Trolls
December 12, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The Sea of Trolls is a great historical fantasy epic for the middle grade set. It follows the adventures of 12 year old Jack after he and his little sister Lucy are captured by Northmen. After gravely insulting Frith, a half-troll queen, Jack needs to go on a quest to see the queen of the […]
Nate the Great and the Halloween Hunt
October 31, 2014 by Leave a Comment
I was aware of the Nate the Great series when my kids were young, but we never read them at home. I finally read my first one, Nate the Great and the Halloween Hunt. It’s very much a beginning reader book—no chapters, large type, lots of pictures—just about right for kids who aren’t quite ready for […]
Moonsilver
September 19, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Moonsilver is the first book in The Unicorn’s Secret series. It’s written for newly independent readers, with short paragraphs and less than 100 pages. Like many books like this, it also takes some short cuts on character development, but it’s a more complex world than many books for young readers. Heart Avamir is a young girl […]
It’s NOT Just a Dog
June 27, 2014 by 1 Comment
It’s NOT Just A Dog! continues the story of Madison and Cooper which began in When Dogs Blog. You don’t necessarily need to read When Dogs Blog first, but I’ll assume you’ve at least read the review. The school year, during which Madison and Cooper shut down a puppy mill, is over. Cooper is living […]
When Dogs Blog
June 26, 2014 by 1 Comment
Madison Morgan: When Dogs Blog is the story of Madison who loves dogs and wants nothing more than a dog of her own. When she finally convinces her stepfather to get her a dog, he bring home Lilly, a small rescued dog. Lilly isn’t at all what Madison imagined, but as she learns about the […]
The Tiger Rising
May 23, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The Tiger Rising is quite short, just over 100 pages with chapters of 3-4 pages each. However, there’s a lot contained in this slim volume. It has “Literature Circle Questions” at the end because it was pretty much designed for that kind of situation—short enough for everyone to read, with enough metaphor to fuel tons […]
