The Haunting: Ebram’s Story – Book 1
Author: Esther Locascio
Publisher: Tate Publishing
Genre: Tween / Mystery
ISBN: 978-1-61566-164-0
Pages: 212
Price: $13.99
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The Casas-Treski family has just moved into a new home in a new neighborhood. Ebram is having more trouble than his siblings in getting used to their new surroundings. But soon they all find themselves settled in with new friends and new schools. Although it’s not the home they left behind, Ebram starts to accept it. Then the family notices strange things happening, as someone called Mazie starts talking to the children.
One of Ebram’s new friends, the family babysitter, calls herself a shrouda. The members of this youth group wear distinctive items of clothing, and strive to live their Christian faith by doing good in the world. Ebram like this idea, and wants to also do his part in helping. When he attempts to do something for the community, it backfires, but who is the one who thwarted him?
The author pulls off a nice surprise ending, when we find out who Mazie is – and she’s not at all what we expect. It’s also great to read about kids who want to help others, rather than focusing only on their own wants. But these characters are very hard to relate to. Although this is called Ebram’s story, it’s told from multiple perspectives, and we don’t get to know Ebram as well as we could. And the constant use of the parents’ proper names, Mrs. Casas-Treski & Mr. Treski, rather than simply “mom and “dad,” pulls us out of the action and feels tedious. Overall, this is an interesting plot, but it would have worked better if written entirely from Ebram’s point of view.
Reviewer: Alice Berger
Monkey Magic: The Curse of Mukada
Author: Grant S. Clark
Publisher: Monsoon Books
Genre: Tween / Adventure
ISBN: 978-981-08-1077-1
Pages: 120
Price: $7.95
Author’s website
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Orangutans of the Mukada Nature Reserve are getting sick and heading to the coast. But what’s causing this unusual phenomenon? Is it overpopulation, as suggested by the park warden? Romy and her scientist father plan a visit to investigate, since something doesn’t feel quite right.
Soon after their arrival, Romy hears of the curse of Mukada – and she also discovers Monkey Magic. This magic helps her to communicate with the orangutans, with surprising results. Armed with new information, she and her father are able to solve the mystery and save the orangutans.
Monkey Magic: The Curse of Mukada also provides facts about orangutans, and how their habitats are being threatened by human encroachment. This delightful, magical tale shows us how greed can harm wildlife, and why we need to take immediate action to try to stop it. I highly recommend this enjoyable story with a great environmental message.
Reviewer: Alice Berger
Love Lessons On Bird Beach
Author: Cora Kerr
Publisher: Strategic Book Publishing
Genre: Tween / Birds
ISBN: 978-1-60860-713-6
Pages: 88
Price: $26.50
Author’s website
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Franny and Beth are spending the summer at a beach in Mexico. But they have no idea that they’ll also be spending time with some seagulls and pelicans that need their help.
These injured and sick birds seem to find the girls, and one by one, they are brought back to health. But Franny and Beth never know if their efforts will be successful. And as they learn about helping the birds, they also learn to relate better to each other and the boys they meet on the beach.
As an animal lover, myself, I enjoyed reading Love Lessons on Bird Beach. It was great to see these two young girls take such an interest in saving the birds, no matter what sacrifices they needed to make. And the relationship between Franny and Beth is normal and natural, as they bicker one minute, and then become best friends again. But I was surprised by the girls’ use of the Lord’s name in a way Christians find derogatory. Other than that, this is a fun summer read.
Reviewer: Alice Berger
Survivor Song: Tales of Treacherous Traverses Through Waters and Woods
Author: Joseph Kehoe
Publisher: You Come Too Publishing
Genre: Children / Adventure
ISBN: 978-0-9816836-1-4
Pages: 144
Price: $5.99
Children living in suburbs where the biggest danger is crossing a busy intersection dream of heading off to the wilderness and great adventures. In Survivor Song Joseph Kehoe takes us into dark wooded areas, down river rapids, and into snowstorms to give us a taste of nature and the elements at their fiercest.
In these thirteen harrowing stories of adventure and survival, kids will come face to face with some of their deepest fears. Will they manage to face their demons and come out alive? Most of the kids in these stories do — but some don’t.
Although this book is listed as intended for ages 10 and up, the more sensitive reader may find these tales a little too upsetting. But kids will be forced to think about how they would handle these situations if they ever found themselves in them, which might lead to great discussions in school and at home. The author is also a frequent guest speaker at schools, sharing these and other stories.
Reviewer: Alice Berger
SpaceCoyotes and the Secret of the Blue Planet
Author: Paul Fredrics
Publisher: Matador
Genre: Science Fiction
ISBN: 978-1906510-374
Pages: 344
Price: £13.99 (import)
Author’s website
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Forty years ago, an Anilar expedition to the Blue Planet (Earth) failed. Had this been any ordinary mission, fourteen year-old JoJo would never have given it a second thought. But one of the men on the spaceship was her grandfather, and she is now being denied her dream of becoming a SpaceCoyote because of him.
Jimmy Green’s rock band, Applejuice, was destined for greatness, until their lead singer unexpectedly moved out of the country. Now Jimmy is forced to endure Apple Valley’s spoiled darling’s attempts to sing, while his band grimaces in pain.
JoJo convinces her little brother 2B to come with her on a clandestine visit to the Blue Planet, but suddenly finds her ship crash-landed on its surface. All she wants to do is get home, and Jimmy’s band may well be the answer to her problem. But Jimmy may have more answers than either of them could ever expect.
JoJo’s spunk and determination to try to clear her grandfather’s name are admirable. Whether it’s hacking into top secret computer databases, stealing a spaceship, or fighting off evil grommets and CoyoteBots, nothing will stop her from succeeding at her mission. And Jimmy’s extraordinarily compassionate and helpful nature finally prove to JoJo that Earth isn’t the evil place she’s been led to believe it is.
SpaceCoyotes and the Secret of the Blue Planet is a fast-moving adventure through time and space. In a situation where nothing is as it seems, it’s hard to tell the good guys from the bad. I highly recommend this enjoyable science fiction story.
Reviewer: Alice Berger
Mrs. Kaputnik’s Pool Hall and Matzo Ball Emporium
Author: Rona Arato
Publisher: Tundra Books
Genre: Kids
ISBN: 978-0-88776-967-2
Pages: 192
Price: $9.95
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Moshe Kapustin has no idea he’s just traded his family’s firewood for a pet dragon, when he receives the mysterious egg from the peddler. But when the dragon, Snigger, saves them from the Cossacks and allows them to leave Russia for a new life in America, the family decides he will have to come with them. So they depart for New York on a quest to find their father, who has already arrived in America five years earlier.
A mistake at Ellis Island changes the family name to Kaputnik, and life becomes challenging as they adjust to life in New York. In 1898, immigrants faced hardship and struggle in their new country, but when you also have a dragon, things get even more complicated. Somehow, just as in Russia, Snigger seems to have a knack for making things better.
Mrs. Kaputnik’s Pool Hall and Matzo Ball Emporium is a light-hearted story of a Russian Jewish immigrant family to New York. Shoshi and Moshe want to help their mother be successful in their new country, but they also struggle with what they left behind. Living in America is so different from Russia and at times they miss their old country.
Many kids today have no idea what their immigrant ancestors faced when they came to the United States. Although this novel doesn’t paint the dire situations many had to deal with, it doesn’t show life as all rosy either. In a fun and humorous way, Rona Arato has shown us life at the turn of the last century, and given us a glimpse into our own history books. I highly recommend this delightful story.
Reviewer: Alice Berger
Slob
Author: Ellen Potter
Publisher: Philomel Books
Genre: Children
ISBN: 978-0-399-2705-7
Pages: 208
Price: $16.99
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Owen Birnbaum is 57 percent fatter than the average twelve-year-old. But this isn’t self-pity speaking. It’s just the facts. When Owen introduces himself in the first pages of this novel, the reader immediately knows we’re also meeting a boy with better than average intelligence and a wry sense of humor.
Along with battling his weight, Owen has some other problems. One is the puzzle of who keeps stealing his Oreo cookies from his lunch sack. Another is the bullying gym teacher who revels in humiliating the fat kid. And the most important is building Nemesis, which will help him solve a mystery that took place two years ago.
At times Slob touches on serious matters no twelve-year-old should have to deal with. But Ellen Potter handles them in a sensitive manner, and Owen’s pain rings believable and true. I really enjoyed this well-written story, and I hope we get to see a lot more of Owen Birnbaum, who’s truly a delightful character.
Reviewer: Alice Berger
The Squeaky Wheel
Author: Robert Kimmel Smith
Publisher: iUniverse / Authors Guild Back In Print Edition
Genre: Tween
ISBN: 978-0-595-52203-3
Pages: 196
Price: $14.95
Author’s website
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Divorce can turn children’s lives upside-down. Moving, losing friends and familiar surroundings, and not knowing when they’ll see the parent they don’t live with can be traumatic for kids.
In The Squeaky Wheel, Mark Baker is in sixth grade and his parents are getting a divorce. He’s angry, scared, and feels like his world has completely fallen apart. But although he just wants things to go back to the way they were, he has to learn, bit by bit, to pick up the pieces and rebuild his new life.
From making new friends to dealing with a bully, and even how he feels about girls, this story covers the whole gamut of emotions. Mark finally realizes he has to accept the fact his world will never go back to what it once was, but he still can make his life a good one.
The Squeaky Wheel was originally published in 1990 by Delacorte-Dell, and has recently been brought back into print because of its timeless message of hope for children of divorce. This sensitive portrayal of how Mark deals with this difficult situation is masterfully handled. I highly recommend this wonderful and well-written book.
Reviewer: Alice Berger
The Great Scarab Scam
Author: Valerie Storey
Publisher: Dava Books
Genre: Tween / Mystery
ISBN: 978-0-9643289-1-4
Pages: 212
Price: $12.95
Author’s website
Buy it at Amazon
Lydia Hartley wants to be an Egyptologist like her dad, Phid. When a mysterious scarab scam surfaces, Phid is called to investigate. Under cover of a vacation, she and her family travel to Egypt to find the culprits.
But Lydia knows her father can’t help but try to find the Trove of Isis – a cache of treasure he had seen only once before it vanished. And now something fishy is going on at the Malik household where her family is staying, and Lydia needs to get to the bottom of it. Suddenly her trip of a lifetime has turned ugly.
Egypt and mystery blend together perfectly, but there are elements of this story that don’t fit quite as well. I had a hard time suspending my disbelief on a few plot points. The characters were likeable, the setting interesting, and there was great action. But if these elements were fixed, the story as a whole would flow better, in my opinion.
Kids who love Egypt and action-packed mystery will probably enjoy The Great Scarab Scam.
Reviewer: Alice Berger
The Magic Scales
Author: Sam Wilding
Publisher: Olida Publishing
Genre: Fantasy / Tween
ISBN: 978-0-9558789-0-9
Pages: 336
Price: $19.99
Author’s website
Buy it at Amazon
You don’t find a talking goldfish every day – especially one who calls himself a wizard from another planet. So when James encounters Mendel, he is understandably surprised. But James thinks Mendel and his planet might have something to do with his father’s disappearance, so he willingly follows him to his home planet, Denthan.
But Denthan’s sun is about to explode. Mendel disappears soon after he, his friend Craig, and Craig’s dog, Bero, arrive. Now they find themselves alone to fight strange beings and look for Mendel so they can try to save the city. And everywhere he goes, James expects to find signs his father is there.
Full of intrigue, magical creatures, and wars between menacing beasts, The Magic Scales is a fast-paced, exciting adventure, with good triumphing in the end for a satisfying conclusion. A great read!
Reviewer: Alice Berger
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- Embracing the Gray by Mark A. Hollingsworth
- Healing Touch by Dorothea Hover-Kramer
- Junior Dragster Dreams by Carol Carter
- Mallory the Forgetful Duck by Elaine Allen
- Music for a Shift in Consciousness by Bruce Lipton & Russel Walder
- Off to Class by Susan Hughes
- The Skinny on Success by Jim Randel
- Tibetan Dream Journey
- Tiptoe Through Tasmania by Janice Anderson
- Your Daily Walk With the Great Minds by Richard A. Singer, Jr.
“Who’s Taking a Bath?” by Alice Berger
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