Escape From The Pipe Men

Escape from the Pipe Men! by Mary G Thompson follows Ryan and his sister Becky who are exhibits in a Zoo run on an alien planet controlled by the Pipe Men.  When Ryan's father gets sick Ryan and his sister must travel and work with several other races to find the antidote and save their father.

This is a delightful book full of imagination and excitement.  The descriptions of the many alien races and their worlds are fantastic.  I can imagine kids deciding that they had to draw each of the different aliens (there are no pictures forcing kids to use their imaginations).  There are also several great ideas in the book to make kids think regarding the treatment of others and some cool space travel ideas.

Appropriateness:  This book has no adult content or romance and is not violent (although there is quite a bit of action). I recommend this book to readers 9-14.

Review copy provided by Amazon Prime

The Year of the Baby

The Year of the Baby is the second book in a series staring Anna Wang. In this book Anna's family adopts a baby from China. When the baby has problems gaining weight and Anna has to come up with a science project. Anna combines the two and uses the scientific method to help out her new sister.

This book teaches a lot of little lessons. These lessons very from the scientific method, to how to deal with small conflicts that come up in a child's everyday life.

I would recommend this book to girls who are new to chapter books in second or third grade (and as a read aloud for younger students).

The Adventures of Shrinkman

The Adventures of Shrinkman by RL Stine follows Danny who follows the adventures of shrinkman.  Then he drinks something called shrinkman cola and then shrinks.  He finds that being small is not as cool as he thought it would be.

This book is very good.  The suspense gets very high keeping the reader interested throughout.  This book has a great twist much like the ones that RL Stine adds to his goosebumps books making this great for fans of the series. 

Appropriateness:  This book is more creepy than scary and contains no adult content.  I would reccomend it for readers 9-14.

Review produced with help from one of my student reviewers.

The Lonely Planet Not For Parents: How to be a World Explorer

The Lonely Planet Not For Parents: How to be a World Explorer is a delightful book with travel tips for kids from the useful to the absurd that kids will love.  This is one of those books that you buy for the child who hates to read that they can't put down.

I recommend this book for readers from 8-14

Velveteen

Velveteen by Daniel Marks is a strange book about a girl named Velveteen.  Velveteen is dead.  She was killed by an evil serial killer whom she continues to torment when she sneaks out of purgatory.  Purgatory is being threatened by horrible storms.

I had major issues with this book and finally gave up not willing to force myself to pick the book up again.  While the writing was good and the descriptions of purgatory original the story was all over the place and confusing.  The book started out with Velveteen haunting her killer (a story which was promising) but then moved into purgatory and then moved through that without much explanation as to what exactly was going on or what the point of Velveteen's story was. 

Appropriateness:  This book has quite a bit of adult content.  The book is very violent and scary (check out the first chapter).  There are discussions of drug use and quite a bit of crude sexual talk.  I would recommend this book to readers 14+

Review copy provided by amazon vine

Hush Little Polar Bear

Hush Little Polar Bear is a sweet book that follows a polar bear on his adventures.  While the story doesn't follow the traditional "Momma's going to buy you" model that you would expect the poetry still fits well with the traditional melody making it easy to sing.  My students loved it.

I recommend this book for kids from 0-6

Hush Little Dragon

Hush Little Dragon by Boni Ashubrn and Kelly Murphy is a delightful version of Hush Little Baby that stars a Dragon instead of a baby.  My students love the original song as well as the stories Hush Little Alien and Hush Little Monster and I'm sure this one will be requested just as much.  They loved that the mother dragon brought the baby dragon villagers to eat.  The poetry fits perfectly with the song making it an easy sing even the first time through.

This book will be enjoyed by kids from 4-8

Spider on the Floor

Spider on the Floor illustrated by True Kelly is one of the books in the Raffi Songs to Read series.  The book beautifully illustrates the song in a way that engages kids and is easy to sing.  Additionally with each additional page the spider web adds a different animal to his web.  I've read this book to my students for years and even though it's a simple song they ask for it over and over again as it's fun to sing and read.

This book is appropriate for kids from 0-8 and works well as a read to self or a sing-a-loud

Losing It

Review by a delightful fifth grader

Losing It by Erin Fry follows Bennett an eighth grader who is overweight.  When Bennett was young his mother died of cancer.  One day when Bennett is watching television his father suffers a major stroke.  Because his father so disabled from the stroke Bennett moves in with his Aunt Laura who decides that he is going to make Bennett healthy. 

This is a fantastic book with lots of excitement and unpredictable things that happen making it difficult to put down.  Bennett's journey to becoming healthier and happier is inspirational for readers. 

Appropriateness:  This book is appropriate for middle grade readers 10-14

My So-Called Death

My So-Called Death by Stacy Jay Follows perky cheerleader Karen.  When Karen falls to her death after being dropped off the top of a cheerleading formation she doesn't stay dead, she wakes back up.  Karen soon finds herself enrolled at the DEAD school for zombie kids.  Unfortunately as soon as she arrives she finds that this school isn't as easy to navigate as the one she left.  Her roommate is creepy, everyone seems to dislike her and her classmates are having their brains stolen.

This is a cute zombie novel that kids will love.  Karen is a spunky zombie girl who is unafraid to be herself even when it's unpopular.  The mythology is crafted in an entertaining way and the mystery has a nice resolution and kept me guessing till the end.  I sped through the book reading it in one sitting.

Appropriateness:  This book has no adult content.  While Karen is in high school her attitude is that of someone younger making this a book that will appeal to a middle grade audience.  The romance isn't a main factor in the book and the mystery is more creepy than scary or excessively violent.  I recommend this book to readers 10-14.

Wild Awake

Wild Awake by Hilary T Smith follows Kiri, an accomplished pianist whose life changes when she's left alone during the summer while her parents go on vacation.  Soon after her parents leave Kiri gets a call from a man who says that he has her dead sister's stuff.  Kiri then rides her bike to the horrible area of town to go and get her stuff and soon learns more about her sister and her life than she ever thought she would.

I had mixed feelings about this book.  While it was interesting and kept moving I felt that the characterization of Kiri just didn't work.  We've got a girl who was perfect and hard working (apparently a prodigy pianist) who does things that a girl like her would do.  Riding her bike alone into a horrible area of town alone, accepting rides from strangers and throwing everything she's worked for out the window.  It was very readable though and I did find myself interested throughout.

Appropriateness:  There was so much pot use in this book that it made me uncomfortable.  She's not just smoking weed when she's at a party but she's smoking frequently alone and even at one point infers that there must be something strange about the guy she likes because he doesn't smoke.  There's also quite a bit of sex and drinking and of course her inability to have any self preservation instincts at all.  I'd recommend this book to readers 14+ and encourage parents to talk about substance use and abuse and good decision making skills.

Review Copy Provided by Amazon Vine

Pretty Girl 13

Pretty Girl 13 begins with Angie finding herself standing in her neighborhood.  When she walks inside she finds that she's been missing for three years that she can't remember.  The story follows Angie slowly recalling her past through her alters (multiple personalities).

This was a terrific book that I could not put down.  I finished it in an afternoon.  Angie's story was engrossing (if not very realistic) and the pacing of the details of Angie's kidnapping were revealed in a way that made me unable to put the book down.  Readers who are looking for something that's realistic or deep won't be satisfied but it's a great quick read.

Appropriateness:  This book deals with  mental illness, sexual abuse and rape along with a bit of underage drinking.  I would recommend it for readers 13+

Review copy provided by Amazon Vine