The Burning Bridge
Kirkus Reviews :More absorbing, straight-arrow adventures set in the medieval, alternate world kingdom of Araluen and featuring the three apprentices introduced in The Ruins of Gorlan (2005). As the brutish wargals of Morgorath, Lord of Rain and Night, gather for an invasion, deft young Will and his strapping friend Horace discover that Morgorath has planned […]
Something About Hensley's
School Library Journal Review: PreS-Gr 4?A story that can be enjoyed as a read-aloud or by independent readers. It touches upon the troubles of a family, newly relocated to a town that has a special shopkeeper who stocks anything a person could ever need or want. Hensley???s is more than a normal general store, and […]
Boat Ride With Lillian Two Blossom
School Library Journal Review: PreS-Gr 2– A quiet fishing trip turns into an adventure for William and Mabel when Lillian Two Blossom, “an old Indian lady who lived in the woods,'' suggests that the siblings row her out to the center of Kalaska Pond. Before they realize what is happening, the boat lifts up out […]
Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare
School Library Journal Review: Gr 1-4?When Trisha family moves from Union City to Battle Creek, her older brother makes her life miserable. He embarrasses her at school with rude, gross behavior at every turn, and they fight over which is better, ice hockey or ballet. At last she triple dares him in front of his […]
An Orange For Frankie
School Library Journal Review: Gr 2-4?The author/illustrator has turned again to her family history for this story of a Christmas long ago in rural Michigan. The plot is predictable, revolving around Pa's late return from Lansing with the traditional nine oranges, one for each child; 10-year-old Frankie's generosity to a hobo; and the boy's subsequent […]
Things Not Seen
The earnest and likable 15-year-old narrator is the principal thing not seen in Clements's (Frindle; The Jacket) fast-paced novel, set in Chicago. As the book opens, the boy discovers that he has turned invisible overnight. Bobby breaks the news to his parents who, afraid of being hounded by the media, instruct him to share his […]
Things Hoped For
Publisher Weekly Review: Starred Review. Clements hits no false notes in this beguiling sequel to Things Not Seen. Narrator Gwen left her West Virginia home two years earlier to live with her ailing grandfather in Manhattan to attend a music academy on scholarship. The disciplined 17-year-old plays her violin many hours each day, practicing for […]
The Case of the Missing Marquess :an Enola Holmes Mystery
School Library Journal Review: Starred Review. Gr 4-8?In what is hopefully the start of an exciting new series, Missing Marquess features the intriguing, much younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes. Enola was a late-life baby, causing something of a scandal in society. Her rather vague mother is a 64-year-old widow who disappears on Enolas […]
High Rhulain
School Library Journal Review: Gr 6 Up?The Redwall saga continues with a book that can stand entirely on its own. Tiria is a young ottermaid with amazing skill with rock and sling. She lives in Redwall with her father and the entire cast of beloved characters from earlier novels. When she starts to dream of […]