Madhatten Mystery

Madhatten Mystery

By: John J. Bonk

304 Pages

Ages: 8-12

While Lexi & Ken McGill's father is on his honeymoon, they are sent to a New York summer camp. While there, they'll be staying with their Aunt Roz, an actress. Neither Lexi or Kevin have much hope of fun this summer, but that all changes when they arrive at Grand Central Station.

It is in Grand Central's Whispering Gallery that Lexi overhears 2 men talking about what they are going to do with the jewels. Lexi later reads in the paper that Cleopatra's jewels have vanished!

If you like mysteries and adventure, you will like this book!

The Missing Golden Ticket And Other Splendiferous Secrets

Attention all Roald Dahl fans!! Attention all Charlie And The Chocolate Factory fans!!! Have I got a book for you!!

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/missing-golden-ticket-and-other-splendiferous-secrets-roald-dahl/1102159545?ean=9780142417423

Ever wonder what it was like to write the timeless classic Charlie And The Chocolate Factory? Ever got curious as to how it might have been if it had a different ending? What if there were more kids who got the golden tickets?

Well, wonder no more. This book gives you a little behind-the-scenes look at how the beloved book came to be. Not only that, but you also get to know more about the genius writer who created numerous books the world has loved for generations.

I encourage any fans of the incredibly talented Roald Dahl to pick this book up. Readers who fell in love with Charlie And The Chocolate Factory will get to revisit this wondrous world again, if only briefly.

Kylie Jean Dancing Queen

Kylie Jean Dancing Queen

By: Marci Peschke

102 Pages

Ages: 6-8

Kylie Jean's dream is to become a beauty queen. But when her cousin Lucy's dance studio puts on the ballet Swan Lake, Kylie dreams of being the Swan Queen. Can she do it?

Fans of the Kylie Jean series will enjoy this new installment. She's back with her family and ready to take on the ballet world.

The Unbearable Book Club For Unsinkable Girls

The Unbearable book Club For Unsinkable Girls

By: Julie Schumacher

238 Pages

Summary:

Adrianne, CeeCee, Jill, & Wallis are spending their summer in a book club thought up by their moms. The only thing these 4 girls have in common is that they don't want to be there. While reading 5 books from their AP English Class the girls will get to know one another much better.

Julie Schumacher is riding the wave of successful Mother/Daughter Book club books that have been coming out lately. However, I am sorry to say, this one isn't as good as the others. While it was a fun read, there really isn't much to separate it from the previous books that have already come out. This book does go further in the drama department than the others I've read, but that may not be a good thing.

CeeCee is the popular girl who loses out on going to Paris over the summer because she drove her parents car- without a license or permission. She's also the one who influences Adrienne into a summer she'll never forget. Adrienne is the girl trying to recover from a bad knee injury that cost her a white water rafting trip with her best friend. Jill is the smart girl who has a summer job and her whole life already mapped out. Wallis is the unknown factor- and I mean that in more ways than the obvious.

This book is targeted for 12 years and older, but it deals with some issues a 12 year may, or may not, be ready for. While CeeCee gets Adrienne to spread her wings a little, she also gets her drunk and kisses her. Wallis is believed to be a girl, but it's brought into question towards the end of the book. Her home life is unknown and the subject of great theory. By the time the book ends, you never really know what the story is. Adrienne is the fatherless child who is starting to struggle with that and have questions. None of her questions are asked and you never find out what the deal was with her Dad. You are told he was a one-night stand and that Adrienne's Mom didn't even know his last name.

Overall, the book was a good read but I had a hard time not getting all the answers to the many questions the story raises. I felt The Unbearable Book Club For Unsinkable Girls wasn't nearly as good as Heather Vogel Frederick's The Mother-Daughter Book Club series.

Rating: Borrow From The Library

Facing The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Facing The Hunchback of Notre Dame

By: L.L. Samson

141 pages

Ages: 9-12

An attic once used by a scientist becomes the place where literature and real life can interact.

Qusaimodo is brought out of his book and into modern day time. How does he adjust? Can he even get back to his story?

14 year old twins Ophelia and Linus Easterday have been sent to live with their Aunt Portia and Uncle Augustus- who happen to be twins, as well. The twins' Aunt and Uncle live in a townhouse that also holds their rare bookstore. Oddly, the building once belonged to Cato Grubbs, but he mysteriously disappeared one day.

While getting to know their new environment, the twins both stumble upon an abandoned attic. Closer inspection shows it was the previous tenant's old scientist lab. However, this is no ordinary lab holding ordinary lab equipment. Ophelia finds this out when she's reading in the attic one night and strange things start to happen.

At exactly 11:11pm on the 11th day of the 11th month, the room begins to vibrate. A circle that was painted on the floor by Cato Grubbs begins to glow and white sparks start to fly up. When everything stops, Quasimodo, himself, is there in the middle of the circle.He's come right out of the book Ophelia had been reading.

The twins read from a book they find called Imaginary Realms and discover they have their literary guest for the next 60 hours. But that's not all they have. Soon enough they discover that Cato isn't the dead former tenant everyone thinks he is. He and Frollo, also from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, have come to retrieve Quasimodo- though for very different purposes. Now the twins are in a race to keep Quasimodo safe and return him to his story and they get help from a Priest and a boy from the school next door.

This book was a fun read. I enjoyed how L.L. Samson brought a well-known character to life. She made the thoroughly misunderstood outcast into someone of wisdom and knowledge. I loved reading how the two worlds melded. She has created a series to be read by many and introduce the classics to a new generation.

I Don't Believe It, Archie

I Don't Believe It, Archie
By: Andrew Norriss
128 Pages
Ages: 7-10

Summary:
Life is anything but predictable and boring for Archie. You never know what will happen. However, you do know that if you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, you wouldn't have believed it.

Every day it's something new. From a piano delivery going wrong, to being mistaken for a kidnapped boy who looks just like him, to getting his hands glued to the library door handles. The possibilities are endless.

Now you get to spend a week with Archie. On Monday you'll see the craziness that involves a piano, a little girl stuck in a car, and tons of stones. On Tuesday you will see a misunderstanding involving Archie and a dog take one bizarre turn after another. Wednesday will have an innocent trip to the library end up with a protest involving superglue. On Thursday, a case of mistaken identity will occur. Friday will show you how a toy rescue involves a real lion and a real leopard. On Saturday will interrupt a real robbery when he tries to watch a staged robbery. When Sunday arrives, while it pails in comparison to the other days, chaos arrives no less.

If you like to laugh and giggle while you read a book, then this is the book for you. I Don't Believe It, Archie was fun from cover to cover. Children will love seeing all the crazy things that find Archie.

Star Wars Jedi: Volume 1 The Dark Side

Okay all you Star Wars fans. A new graphic novel has hit the bookstores and Kids Korner has enlisted our resident Star Wars reviewer to tell you what you should know about it. We present to you...

Star Wars Jedi: Volume 1 The Dark Side

120 Pages

Ages: Teen & Up

Star Wars: Jedi is a graphic novel (compilation of comic books) that takes place in the Star Wars time line before Episode 1. In Jedi, we follow Qui-Gon Jinn and his padawan learner, Xanatos, who are paired with another Jedi master and another padawan. The group must travel to Xanatos' home world of Telos IV where a political assassination must be investigated. Once there, the group is attacked and ambushed, all the while Xanatos must face his biggest trial: choosing between his birth family and his Jedi family.

Jedi is fast-paced, illustrated well, and informative for background knowledge of the characters. It gives more detailed information about the life lessons and struggles between Qui-Gon and the padawan he had before Obi-Wan Kenobi, Xanatos, whom we first really see in the second book in the young adult series Jedi Apprentice. The plot is well thought out, the character interaction is good, and you get to see a younger Mace Windu, with hair! The writing leaves the ending open for future volumes, which, if you are like me, you always want more Star Wars. Anyone interested in Star Wars graphic novels should take a look at collecting this at book stores.