Entries Categorized as 'Review'
Posted by Rebekah
Categories: Advanced Readers, Fiction, Incredibook!, Mysteries, Review
Tags:mindy starns clark
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Our rating: 
In this first of the Million Dollar Mysteries, Callie Webber is on her way home from a charity donation when her mysterious boss asks her to stop off and deliver two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to an old friend of his.
Callie, with her background in private investigations and law, is very loth to just hand over that much money to anyone without checking up on them first. After all, it’s her job to investigate anyone who requests a grant from her boss’s foundation. But she agrees, and grudgingly heads off to Feed the Need with the check. All she can think about is getting home and enjoying her dog Sal—until the head of Feed the Need is murdered.
A Penny for Your Thoughts is very well written with lots of suspense and action! And it has one of those “gotcha” endings that, when you think about it, you should have been able to catch! I love those. Actually, the whole series has the delightful distinction of being written by a Christian author, and starring a Christian main character. I wouldn’t recommend it for younger readers, though. Like every murder mystery, there are some unsavory people and events, as well as a teensy bit of mature content. Happily, that latter is not over the top, nor held up as good. I find these books so refreshing after wading through several secular series.
Posted by Ruth
Categories: Advanced Readers, Adventure, Fiction, Review, Science Fiction
Tags:Garth Nix, pirates, Seafaring, The Keys to the Kingdom
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Wednesday dawns and Author Penhaligon is facing his next task: finding and claiming the next part of the Will and the Third Key. But this isn’t any easier than Monday and Tuesday were. Lady Wednesday herself, rumor has it, has been transformed into a monstrous, all-devouring whale. And the terrible and powerful pirate-sorceror Feverfew is set on capturing and killing Arthur. Falling in with the unusual crew of the salvaging ship The Moth, Arthur faces high adventure on the Border Sea, risking much to complete his quest. Lives are at stake.
Drowned Wednesday is fairly consistent with the first two books of the series, while still keeping the adventures fresh and unique. A good blend of humor and peril, with both old characters and new. I can’t say that it’s an exceptionally remarkable story, but I found it imaginative and enjoyable nonetheless, and I intend to follow it up promptly with the fourth book, Sir Thursday.
Posted by Sarah
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Arthur Ransome, Swallows and Amazons
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Our rating: 
Dick and Dorothea Callum are on their way to visit Mrs. Barrable (who used to be their mother’s schoolteacher) for the summer, when they meet a boy named Tom Dudgeon. It turns out that he is a neighbor of Mrs. Barrable, and is also the oldest member of the Coot Club—a club consisting of himself and five other children, formed for the protection of birds along the river. But the real trouble begins when some rowdy tourists scare a pair of coots from their nest, and Tom casts off their moorings during the night. Dick, Dorothea, and Mrs. Barrable decide to help Tom hide from the angry tourists and take him on a trip down the river in Mrs. Barrable’s houseboat.
I was a bit put off that none of the original Swallows and Amazons were included in this book—in fact, all the characters are new except for Dick and Dorothea. Once you get to know them, however, it isn’t so bad, and I particularly like Mrs. Barrable and her habit of making drawings in the margin of her letters. Tom’s action, though desperate, could also be considered a bit questionable. I wouldn’t consider this one of the very best of the Swallows and Amazons series, but it’s still an enjoyable read.
Posted by Becca
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Cows, Meindert DeJong, Out of Print, Turtles
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The little cow is very curious and is always ready to investigate new things around the farm. She makes friends with picnicking children, a group of hoboes, and a man changing a tire. One day, the little cow discovers a snapping turtle that is moving to a new pond. The cow follows the turtle on its journey across a road, several fields, and the dangerous railroad track.
There really isn’t much to say about The Little Cow and the Turtle. It is a wonderful, simple story with no swashbuckling action and no tough decisions—just a curious little cow and a grumpy old turtle. This beautifully written, memorable tale has become one of my new favorites.
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