The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Hidden Gallery, by MaryRose Wood

978-006-179112-3
HarperCollins
Copy borrowed from library.

If you haven't read the first book in this series (The Mysterious Howling), stop right now and go find it. Some books in series can be read out of order, this is not one of them! In this case, that's a good thing - some series books are so determined to stand on their own, they spend the first several chapters boring you with back story. This book moves too quickly to bore anyone.

If you have read The Mysterious Howling, and you enjoyed its quirkiness, then you will definitely enjoy the sequel. The children are their same delightful combination of wolf pup and proper lady and gentleman, Penelope is still the perfect governess for them, and an easy heroine to root for. She is a bit innocent and naive, but smart enough that she catches on to clues not too long after the reader does. Is it always realistic and plausible? Of course not! Hello, the kids were raised by wolves! That's part of the fun of these stories, and we already can't wait for the next one. Recommended for upper elementary, middle or high school libraries - or for a fun family read-aloud (homeschoolers especially will find a plethora of lessons to spin off onto!)

We give this a 5 out of 5.

Max Cassidy: Escape from Shadow Island, by Paul Adam

978-0061-863257
Walden Pond press
Review copy from publisher.

  
We hate to use the word 'formulaic', but we can't help feeling like we have read this before. In fact, as we neared the end, someone asked what we were reading and how it was. We answered by telling them we were about to get to the part where the hero does "x", finds out "y", but won't be able to "z" until the next book at least. Oh, and so-and-so will do such-and-such at the last minute, saving the day. We were right on all counts.

That said, this was well-written enough to appeal to teen and preteen boys looking for a good adventure series, and we do plan on purchasing the sequels. If you are looking for a fast-paced read and willing to contribute a healthy suspension of disbelief, this is a great series to pick up. We give this first title a

3 out of 5.

Max Cassidy can escape from anything

Only fourteen years old, Max is the world's foremost escape artist. Chained, handcuffed, locked in an airtight water tank, there's nothing he can't get himself out of. He learned the art from his father a man who just two years ago was murdered, and Max's mother went to jail for the crime.



Now a mysterious man has shown up backstage after one of Max's shows, telling Max that not only is his mother innocent, but his father is still alive. He can provide only one clue: a slip of paper with eight digits written on it. It is this clue that will lead Max from his home in London to the exotic and deadly Central American country of Santo Domingo and the impenetrable fortress on the sinister Isla de Sombra.


Max Cassidy can escape from anything–but given the chance to finally know the truth about what has torn his family apart, escape from Shadow Island is the last thing on his mind.

The Magic Thief series by Sarah Prineas

From the publisher: "The heart pounding series about an incredible place where even a thief may become a wizard, and cities run on living magic."

Harper Collins is being sneaky. They don't send us the FIRST book in a series, they wait and send us the second or third (or in this case, both), so the first has to move from our "TBR" list to our "TBR right now so we can read the sequels" list, and we spend the entire week immersed in said series.
 
Not that we are complaining, especially when the series is such a great one! Much credit goes to the very likeable characters, from our hero Connwaer, to his gruff but very human mentor Nevery, to Rowan, to Benet to Kerrn to...well, everybody! Except maybe Nimble. We have no use for Nimble. The plots move quickly, with a great mix of action and character development. There's even a web site here where you can play games or check out an interactive map of Wellmet. Something to play with while you are waiting for the next book in the series. There will be a next book, right? Right???

Chapter Book Thursday: A Conspiracy of Kings, by Megan Whelan Turner

We are spent. We have finished reading Turner's series (so far - please don't let this be the last one!). We highly recommend that everyone read these books (if there is anyone left in the world besides us who didn't discover them long ago), We do NOT recommend you read them back-to-back in one giant marathon - for the simple reason that you will be useless to anyone else, as we were. You may TRY to stop reading and, say, cook a meal for your family, but your mind will be so entrenched in Attolia/Eddis/Sounis and the various political intrigues, that you will see conspiracies everywhere, probably giving your toddler a little more credit for planning and sneakiness than you should (then again, maybe not).

For long-time fans of the series, this one should not disappoint. The first chapter immediately answers a burning question from the last and gives readers a huge sigh of relief. If parts of the ending are less than surprising, it is because we have grown accustomed to Turner's characters being smarter than us, and thus getting themselves out of jams we would stay hopelessly mired in.

So, Ms. Turner...is the next one ready yet??!!

Red, White & True Blue Mallory, by Laurie Friedman, reviewed by Freaky

We have several of the Mallory books here at the library, and they have not been terribly popular. Of course, neither has the book we reviewed yesterday, which we loved, so number of check-outs is not necessarily an indicator of quality.

These have all the attributes of, say, Junie B. Jones or Amber Brown which should make them appeal to younger girls, so we are inclined to think it is just lack of name recognition. We are going to start pointing them out to kids who ask for similar books, and see if circulation increases.

For those who are new to the series or who have read every title (more than a dozen) so far: Red, White and True Blue Mallory is written in journal format, which is a very popular venue these days, particularly with reluctant readers. It has more pictures than many of its predecessors, so in those respects it might make a good introduction to the series for someone who needs a little pushing.

The story itself, however, reads like a guidebook, as Mallory's class visits Washington D.C. A very entertaining guidebook, mind you, with tidbits like, "It took almost 30 years to build the Washington Monument (which is even longer than it takes my brother, Max, to finish a book report)", or "There are some very big monkeys at the [National] zoo called orangutans who know how to use a computer. HOW TOTALLY COOL IS THAT?" Mallory's enjoyment of the trip is clouded by her best friend, Mary Ann, paying more attention to a boy than to Mallory. The problem is that the guidebook part takes over the story part - in other words, it reads more like a guidebook with a story included as a way to connect the museums and monuments.

And they visit a LOT of museums and monuments. I think that is the root of the problem: when I read the itinerary at the front of the book, the list of places the class was going in a few short days made me want to crawl into my shell and hide in the mud. (Okay, the idea of traveling anywhere for four days with a class of ten-year-olds does that, but you get the picture.) For a field trip or for a chapter book, that was just too much information to try to cram in. I also - minor quibble - have to question a ten-year-old getting so excited about a loose tooth. Six, yes, ten - not so much.

So, to recap: a good series in general. The format might make it a good first choice, the content might not. Give it to girls in the 8-11 range, or young fans of American history.

Nonfiction Monday, Guest Review, AND Series Review: Let's Work It Out from PowerKids Press, as reviewed by Ami

As I work in a public library, I often get requests from both parents and teachers for books on dealing with specific issues - bullying, making friends, and sharing are big ones. I recently received a dozen or so titles from this series that should fit the bill nicely.

The series has three authors involved; Rachel Lynette, Julie Fiedler, and Jonathan Kravetz. Some differences are obvious among the three. Lynette's start off with a situational story and asks a question such as, "How do you think that made her feel?" or "Do you think that was fair?" Fiedler and Kravetz, on the other hand, begin with a brief definition of the problem at hand (teasing, jealousy, etc.)

As a former teacher, I like Lynette's approach better. For the teacher or parent wanting to lead a discussion, the opener is right there. For the child who has just been given the book to read alone (although that seems like a cop-out on the adult's part to me), the beginning at least makes everything following feel more personal, rather than like a lecture.

Other than the beginnings, however, the books were very similar, and I appreciated how thorough and well-balanced they were. How to Deal with Competition, for example, pointed out that competition can be a good thing, and explained when it is and isn't. How to Deal with Fighting differentiated between fighting and simply disagreeing. We can probably all think of some adults who need to be reminded of those differences!

I loved some of the photographs that went with these books, and can imagine the fun they must have had getting some of them. Check out the cover for How to Deal with Anger:



You could have some fun with your kids asking them to show you their Angry/Jealous/Secret face!

A nice glossary and index round out the books, and rather than list a few web sites that will immediately go under, PowerKids gives a link to their home page which then has up to date addresses. Smart!

A great series to have in the school or public library.

Series Review: Rosen's Volcanoes of the World by Kathy Furgang, Reviewed by Yoda

This series was [ublished several years ago, but really, do volcanoes ever get old? The dramatic photographs and illustrations - fire coming from the title lettering, lava dripping down the pages - are sure to grab the attention of some of those hard-to please boys.

While there is some necessary overlap of information in each book (i.e. how a volcano is formed), it is presented in a slightly different manner each time. This was nice to see, as they probably could have got away with just reprinting a few paragraphs in each book. The glossary at the end is simple and clear. Unfortunately, we found most of the web sites given after the glossary are no longer available. This is one of the perils of including web sites - by the time your book is published, the list is out of date, and as we mentioned, these were published a while ago. A quick search found us these cool sites, though:

follow this link to webcams of some of Alaska's volcanoes!

General volcano information/FAQs


To order this series for your library, follow this link:



A side note: while the ISBNs on Amazon's listings are the same as the copies we have, the front cover does not look the same. We think the ones we have are more attractive, though!

Series Review: Rosen's Library of Intergenerational Learning, Native Americans. Written by E. Barrie Kavasch, reviewed by Yoda.

I was looking forward to reading this series, but after my disappointment from ABDO (3T News and Reviews: Series Review, Native Americans by ABDO, reviewed by Yoda), I was a bit apprehensive. No worries! These simple but delightful books have none of the same issues.

Each of these six (so far - I hope there will be more!) books alternate between young children and elders, often relatives, in the same tribe. They tell mostly about their everyday life, ways they try to retain their unique culture, and how their families interact with each other.

These would not be very useful for a report on the history of any Indian nation, and are rather vague about location, government, etc. They would be wonderful, however, for imparting a general sense of how children in Native communities are special and at the same time just like every other kid. (Loving pink seems to be pretty universal among all little girls!)

The pictures are wonderful, and add to that theme. You have to love the image of two Crow in full regalia on a souped-up three-wheeler! I have to admit, we were especially tickled by "Apache Children and Their Elders Talk Together". We have found most books about the Apache focus on the northern bands, but this one is entirely about the Mescalero Apache. We have some close ties to that particular reservation, and were eager to see if we recognized any of our patrons. No such luck, but still an enjoyable - and, thankfully, accurate - read.

The only criticism I have of the series is the inordinately high number of pronunciation guides included in the text. It was very distracting, and as most of these books are written at a 4th grade reading level, unnecessary (your 4th grader can't read the word "rodeo"? Seriously?) Rosen usually puts those in the back of the book, in their glossaries, and they really should have followed suit this time.

Other than that, a very nice series, and one we hope to see more of soon. To order yours:



To learn more about the Mescalero (not that we are biased or anything), go to:

Mescalero Apache Home Page