Small As an Elephant
Kirkus Reviews Eleven-year-old Jack is older than his years; he has to be. His mother, suffering from an unnamed mental disorder, has left him behind again. This time he is in a campground on Mount Desert Island in Maine, far from his Boston home. When he wakes up, there is no sign of his mother—no […]
Judy Moody and the Bad Luck Charm
Overview Will Judy’s lucky penny lead her to the nation’s capital — or to third-grade C-A-L-A-M-I-T-Y? And what do her spelling-bee nemesis and a potbellied pig have to do with it? The lucky penny in Judy Moody’s pocket sure does seem to be working. She can’t stop winning — at bowling, spelling, the unbeatable Prize […]
Cheesie Mack Is Not a Genius or Anything
Kirkus Reviews Ronald "Cheesie" Mack and his best friend, Georgie, are about to graduate fifth grade and embark on the best summer ever, which will include, but not be limited to, making points in a private battle against Cheesie's evil older sister June, hanging out in their treehouse and, most importantly, summer camp in Maine. […]
Take Me to the River
Children's Literature When fifteen-year-old Dylan Sands arrives in Texas to take a whitewater river trip on the Rio Grande, he expects to see his uncle and cousin waiting for him. The fact that they are not at the bus stop is only the first indication that this is not going to be just a river […]
Middle School, the Worst Years of My Life
VOYA Like other "novels in cartoons" (e.g., Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Janet Tashjian's My Life in a Book), James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts offer a likeable, middle-grade underachiever, Rafe Khatchadorian. Rafe gets into so much trouble during sixth grade, a punishment of near solitary confinement leads him to recount the highlights […]
Middle School : Get Me Out of Here!
VOYA The second book featuring Rafe Khatchadorian (who we met in last year's Middle School: The Worst Years Of My Life [Little, Brown, 2011/Voya August 2011]) opens as Rafe explains and describes his family's move to "The City," where they will live with his Grandma Dotty. Mrs. Donatello, Rafe's sixth-grade English teacher, arranges an interview […]
Seraphina
VOYA In the kingdom of Goredd, tensions exist between humans and dragons, even though it has been forty years since a peace treaty was signed. Sixteen-year-old Seraphina Dombegh holds the esteemed position of assistant to the court composer due to her exceptional musical gift. While preparing for the celebration of the treaty's fortieth anniversary, she […]
Stink and the Great Guinea Pig Express
School Library Journal Gr 1-3- Stink is back. This time, he and friends Webster and Sophie are working on a cereal-box re-creation of the Great Wall of China when the youngsters discover some mysterious guinea pigs hiding in one of the boxes. They figure out that the animals escaped from the local pet store. Store […]
Judy Moody & Stink : the Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt
Children's Literature Judy Moody and her brother Stink are back in a spine-tingling story about pirates and hidden treasure. When Judy and Stink's mom and dad decide to take a few days vacation on Ocracoke Island in North Carolina, Judy and Stink are prepared to be bored. They are not prepared for a blustery ferry […]
Stink : Solar System Superhero
School Library Journal PreS-Gr 3—In this installment, Judy Moody's brother sticks up for Pluto, as it has unfairly (in his estimation) been demoted to dwarf planet status. Stink, defender of all things small, accepts the challenge of trying to convince his classmates that Pluto should still be considered a real planet while his nemesis, Riley […]