Posted by Ruth
Categories: Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Incredibook!, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Animals, Bryan Davis, Dragons, Dragons in Our Midst, Funny, Long Read, Sad, Scary
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Our rating: 
Our small group of heroes, recovering from the events of Circles of Seven, are about to be swept up in another whirlwind of adventures. The Watchers have gathered together, and the evil Morgan Le Faye is putting into action her plan for world domination. Guided by a prophecy of Merlin, Billy and Bonnie plunge into the realm of Dragon’s Rest, intent on finding and rescuing Billy’s father—along with many others. But Billy knows that the success of his crucial mission may come at great cost. And the friends they’ve left behind encounter increasing troubles of their own.
A truly amazing conclusion for the Dragons in our Midst series. I found very little fault with it the first time I read it, and some of the scenes are so beautifully done I was moved to near-tears. What with the complexity of the series, there were a lot of loose ends in the plot to be wrapped up, but Bryan Davis handled it very well indeed. The Dragons in our Midst books have both encouraged and challenged me, and I count them among my new-found favorites.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: Adventure, All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Book of Ember, Funny, Good Read Aloud, Jeanne DuPrau, light
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Ember stands as the only light in a literally dark world. The city is lighted by lamps, the sky is black, and nobody ever leaves. When Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow are assigned their jobs as citizens of Ember, they are excited at first, but soon become frightened as they discover that the city is running down, which is the worst possible thing that could ever happen. Then Lina’s granny remembers that something important was lost, which Lina finds, but not before her baby sister chews up the important piece of paper, leaving the writing on the paper in tatters. It’s labelled “Instructions for” something, so Lina and Doon try to figure out what it says before the city’s lights flicker out for the last time.
Here’s a delightful story that is both fun and deep at the same time. I’m still thinking about some of the implications of elements of the story, and still chuckling over others. The citizens of Ember have no concept of so many of the things that we take for granted, which is demonstrated time after time as they wonder about what words like “hogwash” and “treetop” mean. On the deep side of things, The City of Ember speaks profoundly about pride, greed, and the consequences of wrong choices. The only thing I really didn’t like was the slow beginning, but once that’s over, you have a book that deserves to be recognized as an excellent story for pretty much everybody. There’s a movie coming out on October 10th, which looks pretty good to me.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: Fantasy, Fiction, Picture Books, Review, Younger Readers
Tags:Animals, Arnold Lobel, Dogs, Fairies, Funny, Giants, Good Read Aloud
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Giant John and his mother have no food except two potato chips, so John goes off to get a job and make some money. What kind of job will he get? And what will happen when his friends the fairies want him to dance?
I was quite pleased to discover that Giant John is coming back into print. The story ends in a fun way that will leave everybody laughing at John’s attempts to help. Arnold Lobel’s pictures may be the best part, and I always get a kick out of the picture of John’s mother when he comes home at the end.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:E. Nesbit, Funny, Good Read Aloud, treasure hunting
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Our rating:
The six Bastable children have realized that their father is out of money, and because of this he has no time to spend with them anymore. So they decide to restore their family fortunes by finding treasure. They all sit down in the nursery and brainstorm ideas. Then they start trying them, one by one. Some ideas are reasonable, like going into business. Others a bit more far fetched, such as becoming highwaymen (but not robbing anybody nice).
E. Nesbit wrote this book before any of her other children’s stories. She had just finished writing breezy stories that magazines would print, and the haphazard style lingers here. The Story of the Treasure Seekers is quite enjoyable, but the writing style could turn off some people. However, fans of Nesbit will pick up on her subtle humor, which is absolutely hilarious in this one. I nearly died laughing quite a few times as the Bastables stumbled their way through money-making schemes.
Posted by Becca 
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