This week I figured I’d build on last Monday’s post about Bunnicula and review Howliday Inn, the next book in James Howe’s hilarious series. Unfortunately, his wife Deborah did not live to co-author this one. But the book maintains Bunnicula’s quirky style. I actually received this book in fourth grade as a new release, and […]
Bunnicula, by Deborah and James Howe, 1979, Book Review
I first met Chester and Harold as a kid and fell in love with them. If you haven’t encountered these two yet, let me introduce you. Chester is a highly educated cat with a vivid imagination. One of his delights is to listen to his owner, a college English professor, practice class lectures. He’s widely […]
Keeper of the Grail (The Youngest Templar series), by Michael P. Spradlin, 2008, Book Review
In Keeper of the Grail, Michigan native (yay!) Michael P. Spradlin offers the first installment of what promises to be a fabulous trilogy. I love epic stories, and the Middle Ages is one of my favorite periods of history. Throw in a little mystery, a hint of Robin Hood, a knight and a Crusade and […]
Henry and the Clubhouse, by Beverly Cleary, 1962, Book Review
Henry and the Clubhouse is my favorite Henry Huggins book yet. Of course, Henry overlaps with the Ramona series. She’s his pesky little neighbor. And in this book, the two of them certainly clash! Henry obtained a paper route in the last book. In this installment, his after-school job is funding his building project–a clubhouse that he […]
Sabotaged (The Missing, book 3), by Margaret Peterson Haddix, 2010
Engaging, suspenseful, and squeaky, Ms. Haddix has done it again in her third installment of her Missing series. In Sabotaged, Jonah and Kathryn are sent back to the lost colony of Roanoke with, you guessed it, Virginia Dare. Only this time things don’t go according to JB’s plans. The veteran time traveler sends them […]
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by JK Rowling, 2003, Book Review
At 870 pages, this is a very long book. It takes a dedicated child reader to finish, but Rowling seems to draw those in abundance. Needless to say, the book covers a lot of ground. Within, the home of Sirius Black has become headquarters for those who believe Voldemort is back and are working to […]
Knee-Knock Rise, by Natalie Babbitt, 1970, Book Review
In a land of flat plains there sits a ridge of hill, and on the very top one, the one always embraced by a cloak of mist, there dwells a beast. The people of Instep, the town closest to Kneeknock Rise, hold a fair each autumn, when the weather turns surly and the Megrimum atop […]
Cycles, by Lois D. Brown, Book Review
I always tread cautiously when my blog attracts requests for book reviews. I see a wide range of talent and professionalism, but Cycles, by Lois D. Brown, I am pleased to say, rates among the best stories I’ve received. Within, an accident leaves13-year-old Renee Beaumont’s life completely shaken. Not only does she narrowly escape death, […]
The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog, by John R. Erickson, 1983, Book Review
Hank is an Australian shepherd employed on an American ranch. Being “Head of Ranch Security,” as he proudly informs us, “requires a keen mind, a thick skin, and a peculiar devotion to duty. I mean, you put in sixteen-eighteen hours a day. You’re on call day and night. Your life is on the line every […]
Thirteen Treasures, by Michelle Harrison, 2010, Book Review
Tanya can see fairies. Unfortunately, she can’t explain away the odd things that always seem happen to her because no one else can see them. So Tanya ends up holding the blame each time they cause mischief. And now her mother has had enough. Tanya is being sent on an extended visit to her grandmother’s […]