The Monroes come home from a Dracula movie one night with a new addition to the household. They have found a baby bunny in a box of dirt in the back row of the theater. Chester, the cat, is convinced that this is a vampire rabbit and takes it upon himself to warn the Monroes of their impending doom. Harold, the dog and narrator, thinks Chester is nuts, but then how can he explain Bunnicula's sharp teeth or the way he seems to walk through the wire of his cage or the juiceless vegetables in the refrigerator. This is a laugh-out-loud read. If you like this one, look for other books in the Bunnicula series.

Similar books: Howliday Inn; The Celery Stalks at Midnight; Nighty-Nightmare; Return to Howliday Inn; Bunnicula Strikes Again; Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allan Crow

Awards nominated: 2012 Bluestem Award Nominee

Reviewed by: caroll

Date read: 7/13/2009

ISBN-10: 0689307004

ISBN-13: 9780689307003

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Sometimes 11-year old Calli thinks she's in the wrong family. From the back of her Mom's van, she watches her siblings rush to ice skating and basketball practice. At dinner, she listens to their proud accomplishments and her parents' enthusiastic encouragements. Calli doesn't want to rush anywhere, and she doesn't feel like she can accomplish anything. When her fifth grade class is paired with second-graders in a Peer Helper Program, she picks quiet little Noah Zullo. When the Peer Friendship Fair conflicts with an ice skating competition and a basketball game, Calli finally gets her family's attention. Calli and her family discover that not rushing can accomplish a lot.

Similar authors: Judy Blume; Phyllis Reynolds Naylor; Joan Bauer

Awards nominated: Bluestem Nominee 2014

Reviewed by: donna

Date read: 6/4/2013

ISBN-13: 9780375865282

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Mike Pillsbury has always felt that he is different from anyone else on earth. In fact he is convinced that he is a refugee from a doomed alien people who was adopted when he was a baby. After a particularly disastrous Halloween dance at which his worst enemy humiliates him in front of the girl of his dreams, he sends a desperate plea for help into space. Only he isn't quite ready for the answer he receives.

Reviewed by: caroll

Date read: 7/15/2009

ISBN-10: 0380976811

ISBN-13: 9780380976812

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Steve Brixton lives for solving mysteries. He even sent away for his very own Ace Sleuth detective identification card. When Steve begrudgingly goes to the library to check out the book An Illustrated History of American Quilting for a school report,little does he know but he has gotten involved in his very own mystery. It starts when he is shot at in the library and is dragged into a limosine by a librarian. The police then begin treating him like a fugitive from the law. Can Steve prove that this is a case of mistaken identity before it is too late and find the quilt that holds all of America's secrets? This first book of The Brixton Brothers series leaves you on the edge of your chair from start to finish.

Reviewed by: jb

Date read: 3/27/2010

ISBN-10: 1416978151

ISBN-13: 9781416978152

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Cat the Cat tells us the names of all her friends, until she comes across someone she doesn't know. This entry in the funny, likable Cat the Cat series introduces Cat the Cat and her friends...and a new, very unusual friend. Find out who it is! (Reading Level: 1.4)

Reviewed by: emc

Date read: 5/5/2011

ISBN-10: 0061728403

ISBN-13: 9780061728402

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