With a name like Meggy Swann everything in life should be lovely. Unfortunately, that is very far from the truth when your legs are crippled, your mother finds you a bother, and everyone in London shuns the unfortunate. However, it is Meggy's high spirit and determination that carry her through the difficult daily tasks. Sent to her father, Meggy arrives with not much more than her goose. With his alchemy experiments failing, money is scarce and her father's needs are quite demanding. Soon she finds herself caught up in her father's dark schemes and she is determined that things do not go as planned.

Similar books: Catherine Called Birdy by Karen Cushman; The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

Reviewed by: adf

Date read: 8/2/2010

ISBN-10: 0547231849

ISBN-13: 9780547231846

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In just one hour, 15-year-old Josh Newman's life had changed completely. The bookstore where he had (at last) found summer employment was blown up by a magical duel between a strange little man in a suit and the bookstore owner, Nick Flamel, a man Josh had previously thought of as a little, well, bookish. Now, Josh and his twin sister were being dragged along on a quest to find Hekate, the goddess of three faces. Flamel realized that Josh and Sophie were the twins whose power would save all or destroy all. Hekate would be the one to awaken their powers so that they could join in the race between Flamel and the Dark Elders, who wanted the Codex, a book Flamel had guarded for 600 years. The strange man in the suit, John Dee, succeeded in grasping most of the book, but two pages were still in Flamel's possession. Ownership of the Codex would allow the Dark Elders to once more rule the earth.

Similar authors: Rick Riordan, Lloyd Alexander, J. K. Rowling

Similar books: Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Awards nominated: Rebecca Caudill Award 2011

Reviewed by: vverscaj

Date read: 5/5/2010

ISBN-10: 0385736002

ISBN-13: 9780385736008

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Commenter: Ellie, grade 6

When a white rabbit runs by, pulling his watch out of his waistcoat, Alice follows him down a rabbit hole and into a world filled with amazing characters. Magic potions make Alice grow, and then shrink, and grow again. A tea party with the Mad Hatter, the March Hare and a sleeping Dormouse leave Alice with more questions than answers. A grouchy queen makes playing croquet 'complete with flamingos for mallets and hedgehogs for balls' a scary proposition. This adventure is filled with amusing characters and whimsical word play. Quite an adventure indeed!

Reviewed by: donna

Date read: 6/29/2010

ISBN-13: 9781402768354

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This is not the typical orphaned child story. Lucinda is very resourceful and she is determined to do the right thing when a very special gem she has been entrusted with is stolen. This action-packed fantasy is filled with memorable characters: a thief or is he really a friend, a goat named dog, a prince and of course, the princess he is betrothed to, an extraterrestial that everyone thinks is a witch, a mean step-aunt, a knight in a prison, and much more. Lucinda's adventure is quite the tale.

Reviewed by: adf

Date read: 7/21/2010

ISBN-10: 1599903342

ISBN-13: 9781599903347

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Commenter: Awsome, grade 7

What are Cat with the fiddle, Cow that jumped over the moon, and Dog that laughed, to do? The Dish has run away with the Spoon and they haven't returned. Their nursery rhyme, Hey Diddle Diddle, can't be read, sung, or told tonight until everyone in the rhyme is present! So Cat, Cow, and Dog go on a search for their missing friends. Their journey through Nursery Land is full of adventure, danger, and humorous verse as they enlist the help of various nursery book characters. All is lost unless they can each use their unique talents to rescue their friends. How would their nursery rhyme sound if instead of 'the dish ran away with the spoon', it ended with 'the little dog bit a baboon'? 'And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon' by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crommel, is a delightful romp through the land of nursery rhymes.

Similar authors: Paul Galdone; Jon Scieszka; Tomie De Paola

Similar books: Whatever Happened to Humpty Dumpty?: And Other Surprising Sequels to Mother Goose Rhymes by David T. Greenberg; Yo, Hungry Wolf: A Nursery Rap by David Vozar; The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka; Tomie de Paola's Favorite Nursery Tales by Tomie de Paola; On the Hills and Far Away: A Book of Nursery Rhymes by Alan Marks

Reviewed by: mb

Date read: 7/25/2011

ISBN-10: 0152022988

ISBN-13: 9780152022983

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