What’s Your Next Great Read? Book Reviews with Ms. Cecily

Are you looking for great adventure in far off lands? Interested in a beginner chapter book? Maybe you are somewhere between? No matter your reading level or interest the library has something waiting for you!

Eerie Elementary: The School is Alive! by Jack Chambert
Sam Graves finds out on his first day as hall monitor that his school is ALIVE! He must defend himself and his fellow students against the evil school. Will he be able to save himself, his friends, and the school play before the school eats them all? If you enjoy this spooky tale, try the rest of the series.
J CHAAges 6+
The Visitors by Greg Howard
Hollow Pines doesn’t like visitors. A lonely twelve-year-old boy is “stuck” at the deserted plantation with no recollection of his name, no memory of how long he’s been there, and no idea how to leave. Things don’t change much for the lost souls at Hollow Pines and time is strange when you’re dead. When visitors from the living world arrive for the first time in a long while, the boy feels a spark of hope. They seem to understand more than others that the plantation is not just spooky or eerie, it’s a sad place. Maybe they could help him uncover the dark secrets of his past and help him find a way to move on.
J HOWAges 11+
Healer and Witch by Nancy Werlin
Travel back to the 1530’s. Can Sylvie learn to manage her magic powers? Can she claim her gift without being declared a witch in the time of inquisition? Sylvie and her mother and grandmother are beloved, trusted healers in their medieval French village. There were some whispers that fifteen-year-old Sylvie and her grand-mere might be a bit…witchy! After her grandmother dies she tries to heal her mother’s grief, but her newly acquired gifts need training. Sylvie leaves her village with her friend Marti in search of a teacher. The journey subjects her to strange alliances, powerful temptations, danger, and deceit. Who can Sylvie trust? Beautifully crafted, powerful story for young readers.
J WERAges 10+
Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
The witch and her cat are happily flying through the sky on a broomstick when the wind picks up and blows away the witch’s hat, bow, and wand! Luckily, three helpful animals find the missing items. The animals all hitch a ride on the broom…but is there room on the broom for so many friends? And when disaster strikes….
E DONAges 3+
The Mary Celeste Ghost Ship by Anita Amin
The story of Mary Celeste from 150 years ago and the disappearance of the captain, his family and crew of eight who have never been seen or heard of again. But, the ship was found abandoned six weeks after it should have arrived in Italy! Fun non-fiction!
J 910.916 AMIAges 8+
Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol: The Haunted House Next Door by Andres Miedoso
Fun, easy to read ghost story. Meet Desmond Cole, a fearless ghost buster who looks for ghosts everywhere. His new neighbor Andres has moved into a haunted house! There’s no job too spooky for Desmond and Andres. Seems cool, right? There’s only one problem…Andres is afraid of everything. Perfect book for emerging readers who are ready to move onto a chapter book.
J MIEAges 5+
The Bones of Fred McFee by Eve Bunting
In this rhythmic story, an unsuspecting brother and sister bring a toy skeleton home from the harvest fair. They name it Fred McFee and hang it from a sycamore tree. Soon, eerie things begin to happen. Then, on Halloween night, Fred vanishes! A Halloween favorite good for the whole family.
E BUNAges 4+
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Scratch, scratch, scratch, click, click, click. Caroline gets sucked into the other world. There are others who have been sucked in. Her parents are suddenly missing. Her fake parents with button eyes offer her delicious food and a lovely room, but for how long? Will Coraline find her parents and her way back home? Enjoy the thrills and chills. You will be on the edge of your seat or hiding under your covers from the first turn of the page!
J GN GAIAges 8+
The Haunted Library: The Ghost in the Attic by Dori Hillestad Butler
Perfectly scary story for young chapter book readers! Learn how to carry your pet ghost outside so he can help you solve ghostly mysteries all over town.
J BUTAges 6+
Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega
Twelve-year-old Seven Salazar is waiting to be placed in a powerful coven (think Harry Potter houses) but then she isn’t placed in any coven. She’s a spare! She tries to form a new coven and it doesn’t work! She’s stuck as a witchling and will lose her magic. How will Seven and the other spares survive? Maybe friendship can be the most powerful magic of all. Girl power vibes on every page.
J ORTAges 8+
The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street by Lindsay Currie
A Chicago ghost story centered around Graceland Cemetery. Tessa has just started seventh grade when her parents yank her out of school in Florida and move to Chicago in October. They bought their Near North Brownstone cheap. It needs a lot of updates and there is a not so friendly ghost haunting Tessa’s room and bathroom. When it starts bothering her four year old brother and mother, Tessa’s new friends help her solve the mystery and how her around the city.
J CURAges 9+
Small Spaces by Katherine Arden
After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie only finds solace in books. She then happens upon a crazed woman at the river threatening to throw a book in the water. Ollie doesn’t think, she steals the book and runs away. In the slender book, Ollie discovers a chilling story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who loved her, and a strange deal made with “the smiling man”. The next day the field trip bus breaks down….and with that a deliciously creepy adventure begins!
J ARDAges 10+
Scritch Scratch by Lindsay Currie
Claire has no interest in the Paranormal. She is a scientist! She can’t think of anything worse than having to help her dad on one of his ghost themed Chicago bus tours. She thinks she’s made it through when she sees a boy with a sad face and dark eyes at the back of the bus. There’s something off about his presence, especially because when she checks at the end of the tour…he’s gone. Claire tries to brush it off, but then the scratching starts. Claire tries to find out why she is being haunted before it’s too late!
J CURAges 10+
Eva Evergreen Semi Magical Witch by Julie Abe
Sometimes all you need is a pinch of magic…Eva Evergreen is determined to earn the rank of Novice Witch before her thirteenth birthday. If she doesn’t, she’ll lose her magic forever. For most young witches and wizards, it’s a simple enough test. The only problem? Eva only has a pinch of magic. She summons heads of cabbage instead of flowers and gets sunburn instead of calling down rain. Find out what happens when she lands in a tranquil coastal town and sets up a magical repair shop to prove she’s worthy.
J ABEAges 8+
Calendar Mysteries: October Ogre by Ron Roy
It’s Halloween and there’s a haunted house in Green Lawn! The Shangri-la Hotel has been transformed into a haunted house. The kids are ready for some scary fun, but they notice that none of the kinds who have gone to the hotel have come back out. What’s happening to them? Ogres, ghosts, and witches aren’t real….right?
J ROYAges 6+
Camp Creepy Lake: A Campout in the Haunted Woods by Laurie Friedman
A creepy lake and a haunted wood! When your skeleton counselor gives you a tent and pushes you into the haunted woods, how will you and your fellow campers survive?
J FRIAges 6+

October Tween Read Scene: Ghoulish Graphic Novels

It’s that time of year again, the leaves are falling, the nights are chilly, and everyone is looking for a spooky read to cuddle up with! While there are many great scary novels available, gruesome graphic novels really turn up the fear-factor with their visual displays of frightening fun.

You’ll be sleeping with the lights on after indulging in one of these ghoulish graphic novels!

Sheets by Brenna ThummlerJ GN THUAges 9 & Up
AR: 3
Lexile: 400L
Fake Blood by Whitney GardnerJ GN GARAges 10 & Up
AR: 2.5
Lexile: 150L
The Sleepover by Michael ReginaJ GN REGAges 8-12
Apocalypse Taco by Nathan HaleJ GN HALAges 8-12
AR: 2.5
Lexile: 150L
This Was Our Pact by Ryan AndrewsJ GN ANDAges 10-14
AR: 3
Lexile: 350L
The Witches of Brooklyn by 
Sophie Escabasse
J GN ESCAges 8-12
AR: 2.9
Be Wary of the Silent Woods by Svetlana ChmakovaJ GN CHMAges 8-12
AR: 2.7
Paranorthern and the Chaos Bunny A-Hop-Calypse by Stephanie CookeJ GN COOAges 8-12
Garlic and the Vampire by Bree PaulsenJ GN PAUAges 8-12
Nightlights by Lorena AlvarezJ GN ALVAges 8-12

UPCOMING TWEEN EVENTS

October 1-31
TinkerCAD Challenge: Create a Stencil Board
Best for 4th Grade & Up
Registration begins October 1

October 3-31
Ghost Hunting Scavenger Hunt | All day
All Ages
Registration not required

October 5
Art Attack: Mini Cauldrons | 6-6:45 pm
4th-8th Grade
Registration begins September 21

October 15
Goofy Ghouls | 10-11:30 am
Spooky games, crafts & treats
All Ages
Registration not required

October 21
Wild Explorers: Leaves! | 4:30-5:15 pm
4th-8th Grade
Registration begins October 7

October 25
Geek Out! Graphic Novel Club | 6-6:45pm
The Okay Witch by Emma steinkellner
4th-8th Grade
Registration begins September 27

May your Halloween be safe, spooky, and spectacular! Come back next month for more great reads!

What’s Your Next Great Read? Book Reviews with Ms. Cecily

Are you looking for great adventure in far off lands or just looking for your first great chapter book?  Or somewhere in between. The library has something waiting for you!

Breaking Through the Clouds by Sandra Nickel Ages 6-9 Grades 1-3
(J B SIM)

Every wonder about who predicts the weather?  Joanne Simpson (1923-2010) was fascinated by clouds and studied them constantly.  When World War II started the Air Force asked her to teach their pilots about the clouds and the weather changing winds. After the war she stayed at the University of Chicago to study Meteorology even though the professors said a woman could not earn a Doctorate in Meteorology!  Read about this amazing pioneering woman scientist! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Luna Howls at the Moon by Kristin Tubbs Ages 8-12 Grades 3-7 (J TUB, Audio Libby)

This is the dogs story and a cat to tell. Luna is a Labrador therapy puppy and she  helps children with the holes in their lives. She’s a whisker away from reaching her fifty-visit pin that will make her an official therapy dog. But when her “clients”—the children who visit her—are put into a therapy group, Luna’s routine is upended. There are so many feelings to deal with! Like the moon, Luna shows different faces at different times. And her clients each have different needs—Beatrice is tangled in knots of anger, Caleb rushes like a waterfall, Amelia carries fear heavy like a shadow, and Hector is quiet as a rock. To comfort the kids, Luna can be what they need her to be, but can she be everything to them all at once? When Hector doesn’t show up to a session the kids set off to find him. Luna joins to keep them safe and learn the truth. Five wagging tails!

Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan Libby Audio Ages 10-13 Grades 4-7 (J RIO)

This is a Girl Power book! Our protagonist, Ana Dakkar, takes control of the Nautilus that has been lying on the bottom of the  Pacific Ocean under a volcano for 150 years.  She is the last living relative of Captain Nemo (you might want to read  Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea)! She is the only one who can unlock  the Nautilus and all it’s power! The first AI machine with many scientific marvels that is keyed to her DNA.  Fun, fast paced and a true girls adventure book.  Take charge you will love this book.  ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate
Ages 8-12
Grades 3-7
(J APP)

Do you have an imaginary friend? They can be helpful  to get you through hard times. A dog, a frog, a cat… they can be there for you when you feel alone like Jackson.  His family has fallen on hard times. The rent isn’t paid. There’s never enough to eat and his family may have to live in their minivan – AGAIN! It is a magical story about family, friendship, resilience and a very large cat named Crenshaw. ❤️❤️❤️

Absolutely Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick Ages 8-12 Grades 3-7 (J FRE)

Absolutely Truly has just moved from Texas to a small town in New Hampshire. With two older brothers and two younger sisters clamoring for attention, her mother back in school, and everyone up to their eyebrows trying to keep Lovejoy’s Books afloat, Truly feels more overlooked than usual. With her best friend in Texas and having to make new friends in January at a new school in record COLD New Hampshire winter and having to be tutored in PreAlgebra by her father what else could go wrong?  

So she pours herself into uncovering the mystery of an undelivered letter she finds stuck in a valuable autographed first edition of Charlotte’s Web she found at the bookstore that lead Truly and her new Pumpkin Falls friends on a madcap treasure hunt around town, chasing clues that could spell danger.  A good set up for the follow-up books in the series. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Cress Watercress by Gregory Maguire Ages 8-12 Grades 2-6 (Libby Audio)

The Author of  Wicked turns his attention to Junior Fiction written in the vein of E.B. White or Thorton Burgess’ Old Mother West Wind.  In this animal adventure about growing up, moving on, and finding community. When Papa bunny doesn’t return Cress holds out hope, but her mother assumes the worst. Mama moves what’s left of the Watercress family to the basement unit of the Broken Arms, a run-down apartment oak with a suspect owl landlord, a nosy mouse super, a rowdy family of squirrels, and a pair of songbirds who broadcast everyone’s business. In the timeless spirit of E. B. White this read-aloud and read-alone for animal lovers of all ages features an unforgettable cast that leaps off the page in glowing illustrations by David Litchfield. It invites us to flourish wherever we find ourselves. A delightful tale with well developed characters! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Boris on the Move by Andrew Joyner
Ages 5-7 Grades K-2 (J JOY)

The perfect early chapter book with an unexpected adventure.  Boris lives with his mom and dad in a van that once traveled all over the world. Now it never moves… BUT when it does move, Boris is in for an adventure! Bright lively pictures help move the story along for the emerging reader who wants to move up to chapter books. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Back to School, Mallory by Laurie Friedman Ages 7-10 Grades 2-4 (J FRI & Audio Libby)

Mallory has to go back to school but it’s a new school and the new music teacher is HER MOM! And then there is a play for music class and she is an eggplant! This is the second of the series and a fun read that is full of 3rd grade angst! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Lilly and Finn: A Mermaids Tale by Cornelia Funke
Ages 8-11 Grades 2-4th (J FUN)

When Mr. and Mrs. Snorkel decide to add a mermaid to their private zoo it spells trouble for Lilly and Fin, two merkids. In this story they learn that the 2 leggeds are mean and that the giant Kraken is actually a loveable sea monster. This beautifully illustrated adventure is sure to capture all two-legged chapter-book readers!  ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Masterminds by Gordon Korman
Ages 8-12 Grades 4-8 (Libby, Hoopla Audio, J KOR)

Another great page turner from Gordon Korman. You live in the perfect town, in a perfect house, with perfect parents, but you have never left  the town. One day you discover that you can’t… Perfect may not be so perfect any more! When you realize that your crime-free community is connected  to some of  the greatest criminal masterminds of all time! What if you found out that you were the clone of a master criminal?  ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Masterminds: Criminal Destiny by Gordon Korman Ages 8-12 Grades 4-8 (J KOR, Libby Audio)

The second book in the action-packed series from author Gordon Korman. The clones of Project Osiris are free—but are being hunted. After their narrow escape from their “perfect” hometown, Eli, Tori, Amber, and Malik are finally in the real world and determined to expose the leaders of Serenity. And Project  Osiris. They evade capture by breaking laws and sneaking into houses, hotels, buses, and cars—are they becoming the criminals they were destined to be?

What they discover will change everything. What they are looking for is any evidence that will convince the outside world to believe the truth. Eli, Tori, Amber, and Malik will stop at nothing to take down Project Osiris! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Caterpillar Summer by Gilliam McDunn Grade 3-5 Ages 10-12
(J MCD (Bluestem) Libby Audio)

Wonderfully written flawed characters who when things don’t go as planned might fall apart but instead find family and friendship and start to fix some of their flaws. Heart warming story of Family, forgiveness, and growing up. This book started a little slow but  I was sorry when the book ended.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwane Alexander
Age 9-12 Grades 3-7 (J PAT (2023 BLUESTEM ))

In this biographical novel we learn about Casscius Clay a young fighter from Louisville Kentucky. Then we learn why he decided to become become Muhammad Ali. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

September Tween Read Scene: Super Sports Stories!

With the start of a new school year, sports seasons are upon us. Whether you are a player, spectator, or avid fan, sports stories can be enjoyed by all. Offering lessons in perseverance, teamwork, and respect, sports stories give us GOALS to aspire to in our every day lives. KICK OFF the new sports season with one of these HOME RUN titles!

Takedown by Laura ShovanJ SHOAges 9-12
AR: 4.1
Lexile: 610L
Wrestling
Checked by Cynthia KadohataJ KADAges 10-14
AR: 4.9
Lexile: 760L
Hockey
Ten Thousand Tries by Amy MakechnieJ MAKAges 8-12
AR: 3.9
Lexile: 590L
Soccer
The Underdogs by Mike LupicaJ LUPAges 10 & Up
AR: 5.2
Lexile: 840L
Football
Ghost by Jason ReynoldsJ REY

AUDIO CD J F REY
Ages 10 & Up
AR: 4.6
Lexile: 730L
Track and Field
Kenzie Kickstarts a Team by Kit RosewaterJ ROSAges 8-12
AR: 3.8
Roller Derby
Lupe Wong Won’t Dance by Donna Barbara HigueraJ HIGAges 8-12
AR: 4.7
Baseball
Up for Air by Laurie MorrisonPLAYAWAY J F MORAges 10-14
AR: 5.7
Lexile: 900L
Swimming
A High Five for Glenn Burke by Phil BildnerJ BILAges 10-13
AR: 4.1
Lexile: 690L
Baseball
The Fifth Quarter by Mike DawsonJ GN DAWAges 8-12
AR: 2.2
Basketball

UPCOMING TWEEN EVENTS

September 1-31
TinkerCAD Challenge: Use Codeblocks to Create a Gyro Keychain

Best for 4th Grade & Up
Registration begins September 1

September 6
Geek Out! Graphic Novel Club | 6-6:45pm

Allergic by Megan Wagner Lloyd
4th-8th Grade
Registration begins August 9

September 12, 19, & 26
Let’s Go Fishin’ | 5-6 pm

Ages 6-12
Registration begins August 29

September 14
Art Attack!: Ceramic Apples | 6-6:45 pm

4th-8th Grade
Registration begins August 31

September 16
Wild Explorers: Soil! Get Your Hands Dirty | 4:30-5:15 pm

4th-8th Grade
Registration begins September 2

September 19
Soapy Roads: Make Your Own Soap | 5:15-7:15 pm

Ages 8-13
Registration begins September 5

What’s Your Next Great Read? Book Reviews with Ms. Cecily

Are you looking for great adventure in far off lands or just looking for your first great chapter book?  Or someone in between. The library has something waiting for you!

The Floating Forest by Linda Chapman

Age Interest: 6-9 Grades 1-4 Rating:4/5 ❤️❤️❤️❤️

This is the second book in the Mermaids Rock series. Mermaids and Mermen romp with their undersea friends. Join Coralie, Marina, and their mermaid friends in the beautiful coral reef at Mermaids Rock! Whether they’re working together to help sea animals in danger or solving a mystery of the deep, the friends at Mermaids Rock will do anything to protect their ocean home and if there is a ripple of adventure they will find it! This is the perfect series for those looking to transition to chapter books from easy readers.  Lots of pictures to go with the text. J CHA

A Girl, A Boy and A Monster Cat by Gail Gauthier 

Age Interest: 7-10 Grades 2-4 Rating: 4/5❤️❤️❤️❤️

This is the tale of Hannah, a know it all, bossy little girl and her classmate Brandon, who goes to her house in the afternoon until his mother comes home from work. She has an amazing imagination and Brandon is pretty good to put up with all of her antics.  Add in a difficult neighbor, her ferocious chihuahua, Bucky, and one big fat monster cat, Buttercup and they have plenty of adventures.  The chapters loosely flow together and each chapter is often a story in itself. Add a cute ending this is definitely a book a 2-4th grade girl would enjoy! J GAU

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Van Glaser

Age Interest: 8-11 Grades 36 Rating: 4/5 ❤️❤️❤️❤️

What do you do when  your landlord  says  your family has 2 weeks to move the week before Christmas?!  The brownstone, the only place the kids have ever lived.  The book is the story of the kids trying to win over the landlord so that they don’t have to move.  And the lessons they all learn over the two weeks. I really enjoyed this book .  It’s available on Libby as an audio and e-book as well as in print. If you enjoy this try the 2nd book, The Vandebeekers Make a Wish or the Penderwicks (J BIR) J VAN

The Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

Age Interest: 9-12 Grades: 3-7 Rating: 5/5 ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Aven is a hilarious and inspiring protagonist. She’s not happy when she has to leave the only home she has ever known and all her friends. Now she has to explain her disability to a whole new group of kids! Then in her new school she bonds with Connor, a classmate who also feels isolated because of his own disability. Together they solve a mystery and she finds out moving wasn’t so bad after all. It’s available on Libby as an audiobook and e-book as well as in print. Give this book a try; it’s a great read! J BOW

The Last Map Maker by Christina Soontornvat 

Age Interest: 8-12 Grades: 4-8 Rating: 5/5 ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

This fantasy adventure explores a girl’s struggle to come to terms with her past and chart her own destiny in a world full of secrets. Twelve-year-old Sai is the assistant to a celebrated mapmaker.  Sai plays the part of a well-bred young lady with a glittering future, but her father is a conman and she has no family to be proud of.  In a kingdom where one’s ancestors’ status dictates their social position the truth could ruin her. Sai takes a chance and joins an expedition to chart the southern seas, but she isn’t the only one with secrets. This tale of identity and integrity is as beautiful as the maps of old. Just beware of the DRAGONS! J SOO

Knight Owl by Christopher Denise (Picture Book)

Age Interest: 4-8 Grades:Preschool-3 Rating: 5/5  ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️  

Owl has always dreamed of becoming a knight.  What he lacks in size he makes up for in bravery and cleverness.  He proves that all these things and friendship can rule over brawn. E DEN

A book of Camping and Survival  Projects by Ruth Owen

Age Interest: 8-11 Grades: 2-4 Rating: 4/5❤️❤️❤️❤️

Great book for all the Cub Scouts out there working on badges! J 613.6 OWE

Born Hungry Julia Child becomes “the French Chef”  by Alex Prud’homme

Age Interest:5-9 Grades: K-4 Rating: 4/5 ❤️❤️❤️❤️

This is a short  Biography of Julia Child. If you were born hungry you will want to know how this vivacious woman became a chef.  She started out life and could barely boil water, but any one can learn to cook and cook well. And that is what she did! At the end there is a bonus recipe of one of the first thing she learned to cook at Le Cordon Blue. J B CHI

Dodsworth in New York by Tim Egan  

Age Interest: 6-9  Grades: 1-4 Rating:5/5❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Colorful pictures on every page make this a perfect transition book from Easy Readers to Chapter Book. Dodsworth goes to New York on the train and discovers that his friends duck has stowed away in his suitcase. Once in New York, Dodsworth chases the crazy duck that misbehaves all over the Big Apple and sees the sights as he goes. Then they are supposed to go home but….  If you enjoy this book, Dodsworth also visits Paris, London, Tokyo and other great cities. J EAG

Nellie vs Elizabeth by Kate Hannigan

Age Interest: 7-10 Grades: 2-4 Rating: 4/5 ❤️❤️❤️❤️

This is the real-life adventure story of two ladies who set out to go around the world in fewer than the 80 days that Jules Verne wrote about.  In this real-life adventure, daredevil and groundbreaking journalists Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland race against each other–and the clock–as they circle the globe by ship, train, and foot. Join these two stereotype-shattering reporters as they prove that not only is traveling around the world possible, but that women are just as curious, capable, and courageous as any man. If you enjoyed this story you might like to read Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne. J 910.41 HAN

What’s Your Next Great Read?

Are you a tween looking for great adventure in far off lands or looking for your first great chapter book?  Maybe you’re somewhere in-between. No matter your age or interest, the library has something new waiting for you!

Notorious by Gordon Korman  Age Interest: 8-12 Grades 3-7 Rating: 5/5 ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Tweens looking for a great adventure on an island that’s half in the United States and half in Canada ( a place so well described I had to look up whether it was real or not!)  Meet Keenan who has arrived to live with his father on the U.S. side of the island and Zarabeth(ZeeBee) who lives on the Canadian side of the island in a house once occupied by gangsters. She also once had a dog who was the terror of the island and the new Barny II is the exact opposite of her old dog. 

I really liked how the character and the setting were developed through the making of new friends and the consistent theme of the old Barney being compared to the new Barney and the mystery of the gangsters gold. Join the adventure while Keenan and ZeeBee unravel the clues and a conspiracy that dates back to Centerlight’s gangster past in the 1920’s. The bad news is that someone is after them. . .

Northwind by Gary Paulsen Age Interest: 9-12 Grades 3-7 Rating: 4/5 ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Survival story in the Arctic! Leif is an 11 year old orphan in the wilds of the Arctic who is forced to take to the water in a cedar canoe when a deadly plague reaches the small fishing camp where he lives. He flees northward and learns to survive the plague, bears attacks, Orcas and hunger along a wild shore laced with high fjords, all on his own. Leif learns to connect with the ocean and live on his own.  Another great survival book by Gary Paulsen. If you like this one, read Hatchet too!

Dragons and Marshmallows by Asia Citro Age Interest: 5-8 Grades 1-3 Rating: 4/5 ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Do dragons like marshmallows or will they make them sick? From the Zoey and Sassafras series, Meet Zoey who can see magical animals and what’s even better they come to her barn to be taken care of. Fun read for the emerging reader who is ready for chapter books.  What’s not to like about fixing magical animals?!

The Ember Stone by Katrina Charman Age Interest: 6-8 Grades 1-3 Rating: 4/5 ❤️❤️❤️❤️

From The Last Firehawk series, Magical animals abound in Perodia, but a dark magic used by a powerful vulture named Thorn is trying to destroy it. Can a young owl named Tag and Skyla, a perky squirrel, help save the island when they find the last Firehawk? 

Anybody Here Seen Frenchie? by Leslie Connor Age Interest:8-11 Grades 3-6 Rating:5/5❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

This is the story of two 6th graders Aurora and Frenchie.  Aurora is loud and boisterous and Frenchie does not talk.  But… they understand each other. They both love nature and they are both a little bit different! They live in a small town in Maine where many of the people march to their own tune.  When Frenchie goes missing all of these odd ball characters come together to search for him.  This story “Honors the sweet mysteries of how to communicate with each other and the world.” (Kirkus Review Feb 2022)  

Alien in My Pocket – Blast Off  by Nate Ball  Age Interest: 6-9 Grades 1-4 Rating: 5/5 ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Catch this one on Libby! The first in a series, this is a perfect chapter book for a young readers.  There’s a boy – Zach, a girl – Olivia, and a 4 inch tall blue alien – Amp. Will Zach have to protect the world from an alien invasion while trying to navigate 4th Grade? Or will he have to protect Amp from the world?  Highly recommend this book with a DYI science experiment ! Have fun!