Bad Magic

Pseudonymous Bocsh, the author behind the delightful Secret Series, is back with a brand new series!!! Get ready to meet new characters, revisit some from the Secret Series, and go on more wild and crazy adventures!

Bad Magic

By: Pseudonymous Bosch

248 Pages

Ages: 8-12

Summary:

Clayton is being framed! After someone paints something from his journal onto a school wall, Clayton is kicked out of school. The only thing that can save him is to attend a camp for troubled kids. His parents agree (which is a rare occasion) on The Earth Ranch Camp. However, when Clayton gets there, he quickly learns all is not what it appears to be. One giveaway is the talking llama who greets him. Then there's the whole mystery of a ghost in the old library. Clayton has quite an adventure on his hands. But what does magic (something he wrote off years before), his long missing brother, and William Shakespeare have to do with it?

Earth Ranch camp is far from your usual camp designed to whip kids into shape. It was fun navigating the camp with Clayton, and seeing all the oddities for the first time. Until the very end of the book, you don't really know what's going on. You just know that something is going on. 

As I mentioned, some favorites from the Secret Series make appearances. Clayton's missing brother is non other than Max- Ernest. One of the camp figures is also from the previous series. There will be several names you'll read and recognize, like Cass and Price.

Pseudonymous has created another memorizing world to get lost in. From the camp's island home, to the people there, to the mysterious girl/ghost in the abandoned library window, readers will not lack for enticements to keep turning the pages. The role magic plays isn't a dark one, but one where imagination steps in where reality stops. 

Bad Magic was a fun read that kept me wanting to see what was going to happen next. I do think readers may want to be 10, or older, for reading. Some references and words may not be understood by younger readers.

The Worst Witch

The Worst Witch

By: Jill Murphy

96 Pages

Ages: 8-12

Summary:

Mildred Hubble is starting her first year at Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches — and making a mess of it! She can’t ride her broomstick without crashing, she’s always getting her spells mixed up, and worst of all, the teacher’s pet, Ethel, has just become her sworn enemy. -- publisher

Originally released in 1974, The Worst Witch is being re-released for a new generation to discover. Young readers are bound to fall in love with little Mildred Hubble. This poor witch-in-training is the student with her heart in the right place, but nothing else. She's the one who will crash into things while learning to fly on her broom, fixing her broken broom with a pile of sticky tape and glue, and is afraid of the dark (ssshhh, if you don't tell, I won't.). 

In this first installment of this delightful character's series, Mildred is the recipient of a kitten. The time has come for all the first year students to get their assigned kitten who will ride on the brooms with their owners. Instead of getting the typical black one, Mildred is given a tabby one. And worse off, yet, the poor kitty isn't taking to flying on a broomstick too well. 

Everything comes to a head during her class's formation presentation at the annual Halloween festivities. Mildred's has embarrassed her class by causing a crash landing (not her fault, though). Poor Mildred is so upset, she decides to taker her tabby cat and run away. However, while walking down the mountain, she stumbles across a group of witches. Witches who are plotting to place a spell over everyone at the school so they can control it. Now it's up to Mildred to save the day.

This book was fun to read. Mildred is a cute character who is fun to read. I can relate to being that child who had good intentions, but would somehow, someway mess things up. I think fellow readers will enjoy her, as well. I look forward to reading more adventures of Mildred.  

Great Storytime Books

  Many times I read this at storytime. A really great going to bed book. You cannot go wrong. Plus it rhymes, which is always fun.

  My favorite to read aloud of the Dinosaur series. As you may have guessed, this one is all about table manners.

    A very fun story about how to behave in the classroom.

  A little fact about this series: A different dinosaur is featured on each page, and the dinosaur's name is hidden somewhere in the illustration. It's really fun for kids to look for it on each page.

Spring Break Read

 

     Even if Megan would rather be at the mall, Cassidy is late for hockey practice, Emma's already read every book in existence, and Jess is missing her mother too much to care, the new book club is scheduled to meet every month.
       But what begins as a mom-imposed ritual of reading Little Women soon helps four unlikely friends navigate the drama of middle school. From stolen journals to secret crushes, to a fashion-fiasco first dance, the girls are up to their Wellie boots in drama. They can't help but wonder: what would Jo March do?
      Acclaimed author Heather Vogel Frederick will delight daughters of all ages in a novel about the fabulousness of fiction, family, and friendship.

     I really loved this book. I couldn't put it down, and ended up reading it in about 3 hours. I think there's something for everyone represented in this story. There are four very different main characters, yet each one has similarities with one of the March sisters from Little Women. As a kid, I read Little Women and really loved it, and have read it again as a adult and it's even better. It would be really fun to read Little Women, then read this book. And it's the start of a series! My verdict- read this book. You won't regret it!

By Rose 

The Never Girls series by Kiki Thorpe- Ages 6-10

Hocus Pocus Hotel: The Thirteenth Mystery

Hocus Pocus Hotel: The Thirteenth Mystery

By: Michael Dahl

222 Pages

Ages 9+

Summary:

Ty and Charlie must find their beloved friend, Brack. He's gone missing and no one knows where he is. They do know, however, that he never left the hotel. Where could the famous former magician be in a hotel built by magicians? And what do priceless statues of Greek gods and goddesses have to do with it?

Welcome to the third book in the wonderfully enchanted Hocus Pocus Hotel series. In The Thirteenth Mystery, Ty and Charlie need to find their missing friend, Brack. If he isn't found within 24 hours, he risks losing the hotel he loves dearly to rival magician, Theopolis. No one knows where Brack is. The only thing they do know is that mo security camera footage shows him leaving the hotel. Where could he be? Does the the clump of read hair found on Brack's apartment floor have anything to do it with his disappearance? Also, 50 years ago, priceless statues of gods and goddesses were delivered to the hotel. What was once long forgotten has now been remembered, but by who? What lengths are they willing to go to in order to get them back? 

I have loved this series from the very beginning! The books are fun, lighthearted, and absolutely enchanting. Ty and Charlie are a great team and the setting of a hotel built for, and by magicians, mean endless possibilities. The Thirteenth Mystery was every bit as good as other 2 books in this series. Whereas the previous books were broken up into 2 stories each, this time one plot unfolds. However, within that one plot, several other stories emerge. In this case, priceless Greek statues of gods and goddesses are found within the hotel. They had been delivered 50 years ago, but forgotten. Now one is stolen. Who would want to steal them, why, and how were they able to take one of the heavy stone statues? 

A Snicker of Magic

A Snicker of Magic

By: Natalie Lloyd

320 Pages

Ages 8-12

Summary:

Midnight Gulch used to be a magical place, a town where people could sing up thunderstorms and dance up sunflowers. But that was long ago, before a curse drove the magic away. Twelve-year-old Felicity knows all about things like that; her nomadic mother is cursed with a wandering heart.

But when she arrives in Midnight Gulch, Felicity thinks her luck's about to change. A "word collector," Felicity sees words everywhere---shining above strangers, tucked into church eves, and tangled up her dog's floppy ears---but Midnight Gulch is the first place she's ever seen the word "home." And then there's Jonah, a mysterious, spiky-haired do-gooder who shimmers with words Felicity's never seen before, words that make Felicity's heart beat a little faster.

Felicity wants to stay in Midnight Gulch more than anything, but first, she'll need to figure out how to bring back the magic, breaking the spell that's been cast over the town . . . and her mother's broken heart. -- publisher description, courtesy of Netgalley.com

Every once in a while, a book comes along that is so enchanting and magical that it never leaves you. Long after finishing the final page, the story has stuck with you. Readers, A Snicker of Magic is just that type of book. From Felicity collecting the words she sees everywhere, to the magical town of Midnight Gulch itself, you are going to love every page of the story.

This book was so fun to read. I loved all the characters. The story of the brothers who had the fateful dual had me gripped; wanting to learn more. All the discoveries Felicity makes about herself and her family were done with me right there. You feel the desire to stay in Midnight Gulch, just as Felicity does. You won't want to leave it, either. 

Get ready to go on a journey you will never forget. Get ready to learn how important words truly are. Get ready to have Midnight Gulch change your life. I encourage you to read this book and see life in a way you probably wouldn't before. You won't regret it!

I Am Walt Disney

I Am Walt Disney

Ages 8-11

112 Pages

Summary:

All of us have seen Disney movies. The majority of us have been to a Disney park. It's hard to anywhere without seeing one Disney character or another. But, have you ever wondered how all of that came to be? Who was the man behind the movies. How did Disneyland and Walt Disney World come about? Was Mickey Mouse Disney's first character? What was he like as a Father? Through I Am Walt Disney, you can find out. Full of pictures and cool facts, this is a book any Disney fan will enjoy reading.

Walt Disney was born in 1901, but to a rather poor family. His father had a short temper and poor business sense. Because of this, the Disney family moved around- a lot. Walt didn't go to school until he was 7, and didn't enjoy it when he did. Instead of focusing on his lessons, Walt would make flip books out of his drawings.

Walt's love of art led him to earning money for his drawings by local businesses. He went to the Kansas City Art Institute. His friend, Ub Iwerks became business partners doing illustrations for Restaurant News. Walt's first company, Laugh-O-gram Films, Inc.started when a movie theater owner loved the animated shorts Walt made, and asked for more.

When finances overwhelmed Disney and his company, he was forced to close it's doors. However, he soon made his way to Hollywood, Ca. Frustration and success marked his early years in California. A hard lesson brought the world it's most recognizable character: Mickey Mouse. (However, he originally had a different name)

I Am Walt Disney is full of information for young readers. The book introduces you to the key people who were in Walt's life. A timeline is given, and a glossary for any unfamiliar words. Fans of Disney will enjoy this overview of the man who brought Mickey and the Princesses into their lives.