A Little Child Shall Lead Them: She Persisted: Ruby Bridges by Kekla Magoon

Little Ruby Bridges was a farm-to-city girl. As a preschooler, she played and helped pick and prepare the food the family grew. But her parents knew she was bright and needed to go to school, so they moved from the farm to New Orleans, and Ruby had a happy year in the Kindergarten class at Lockett Elementary School Kindergarten, which was all black children as the laws of Louisiana required.

But in 1954 the Supreme Court of the U.S. ruled that all public schools must be integrated.

That summer all black children were required to take a scholastic test:

The test was very hard, on purpose. The white people who designed the test to be so hard that none of the black children would pass.

But Ruby Bridges scored very high, one of only four black children who passed the test, and she was assigned to begin first grade at William Franz Elementary School. But although the school was only a short walk from her house, it had been an all-white school and parents and non-parents were very angry. On the first day, crowds of them surrounded the school, with weapons and signs demanding that the school not be integrated--ever. For her safety, Ruby had to be driven by Federal Marshalls to the school and escorted inside and all the way to her classroom--where she found herself the only student of her teacher, Mrs. Henry.

"I was going to integrate William Frantz Public School and I was going to be alone," she wrote later.

At that moment Ruby was not afraid. She was only sad that she could not be with her friends any more. At six years old she had no idea what a huge moment in history she was about to be part of.

Almost all adults and some children are familiar with the Norman Rockwell painting of little Ruby, in her little white dress, with white socks and shoes, and beribboned braids, surrounded by protective federal marshals as an angry crowd screamed and tossed ripe tomatoes at her. But Ruby Bridges bravely walked into a new world, inside to a now integrated William Frantz School. That painting, which now hangs outside the Oval Office in the White House, is an iconic symbol of the courage and determination of those brave souls who eventually overcame school segregation.

Coretta Scott King award-winning author Kekla Magoon tells the essence of the story of Ruby Bridges in language accessible for young readers in a short chapter book, describing how the six-year-old felt during that very unusual first-grade year--how Ruby sometimes hid her sandwich, hoping to get to go to the lunchroom with the other first graders and how Mrs. Henry stopped lunching with other teachers so that Ruby would not be lonely eating alone in their classroom.

Illustrated by Gillian Flint, She Persisted: Ruby Bridges (Philomel Books, 2021) is one of the books about persistent girls and women in the series She Persisted.

Beginning Black History Month with what the children know best, the schoolroom, this is a perfect read-aloud to begin February observances and activities. "A context-offering complement to Bridges’ own books for children." says Kirkus Reviews.

Sea Monsters? Pirates? Shipwrecks? Oh, MY! The Quiet Boat Ride by Sergio Ruzzier

Under a bright morning sky, Fox launches his little rowboat into the tranquil pond. But before he can row away, Chick appears, full of questions, as usual.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, FOX?"

"I'M GOING FOR A QUIET BOAT RIDE."

"CAN I COME, TOO?" ASKED CHICK.

"I GUESS IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE QUIET..." SAYS FOX, NOT WITHOUT REGRET.

And Fox is right about that. As soon as they shove off, Chick begins asking questions. Can he be captain? Are there sea monsters down there under the water? Are there scary pirates on this pond? What about shipwrecks?

"I DON'T KNOW, FOX. THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A QUIET BOAT RIDE!" LAMENTS CHICK.

"A QUIET BOAT RIDE WAS MY PLAN!" MUTTERS FOX.

Fox reluctantly rows the boat to the shore, and as they disembark, Chick kisses the ground. Safe at last.

And as Fox ruefully remarks, no encounter is quiet with Chick around, in Sergio Ruzzier's latest super easy beginning chapter book, Fox and Chick: The Quiet Boat Ride and Other Stories (Chronicle Books, 2019).

In a classic example of the folklorish "noodle" tale, Chick is the perfect "noodlehead," and Fox is the unlikely and patient "straight man," who tries to bring the clueless little chick up to speed in three gentle stories in which Fox is forced to explain how things work to his inquisitive little buddy. In the second story, "The Chocolate Cake" and the third, "The Sunrise," there's a laugh on every page for both adults or older kids who share this book with younger children just beginning to read on their own. With a cogent little tale of innocence and caretaking told in comic book-format, four frames to the page, this latest from author-illustrator Sergio Ruzzier is a little gem. Ruzzier's other Fox and Chick stories and other picture books include Fox & Chick: The Party: Book 1 and Fox & Chick: The Sleepover: and Other Stories. (See reviews here:)

Small Girl, Big Heart! Too Small Tola by Atinuke

Tola lives with her Grandmommy in an apartment in the city of Lagos, in the country of Nigeria.

With Grandmommy also lives Tola's big sister, Moji, who is very smart and is studying for exams at her borrowed computer, and with big brother Dapo, who is a very fast runner, especially at football.

Tola is small, like her Grandmommy, who is not tall but is strong and tough. But one day she needs to do a lot of shopping for food in the market, which means she needs someone to help her carry it all home. But Moji needs to study for a test and Dapo is busy warming up to star in a game outside.

"Wait until I return!" Grandmommy shouts.

"Then you will work!"

Grandmommy asks little Tola to come along with her. Tola is small, but so is Grandmommy, and if she can do it, So can Tola, so Tola balances an empty basket on her head and sets out for the market with Grandmommy. It is hot and noisy and busy, but at last they arrive at Mile 12 Market, where Grandmommy begins to fill both their baskets to the top with a smile. Tola loves to count out the money just right, and she does, but she feeling tired already.

"You are small," Grandmommy says, "but you are strong like me."

If Grandmommy is that small but that strong, maybe Tola can be strong, too!

And Tola is strong, but although she and Grandmommy are mighty, they get phone calls asking that they bring football glue for Dapa, diapers for Mrs. Abdul's baby, and a new computer mouse for Moji. The baskets are very heavy. They have to stop to rest, sharing ice cream, cold drinks, and a donut on the way, making her brother and sister jealous.

But Tola is again tested, when the neighborhood tailor, Mr. Abdul, breaks his leg and is unable to go about the city to measure his customers for their new clothes for Easter and Eid. Grandmommy offers Mr. Abdul the services of Tola, who is an expert measurer and money counter, and Dapa, who is fast, very fast, at pedaling Mr. Abdul's bicycle.

"I am a lucky man! Mr. Abdul proclaims. "I have the best measurer in all of Lagos taking my measurements!"

Is Too-Small-Tola up to such a big job?

Tola comes through with perfect measurements for the styles the customers order. Mr. Abdul rewards her with a pretty new Easter dress with many ruffles, and Dapa can boast that he has the biggest and strongest calf muscles of anyone on his football team, in Atinuke's, Too Small Tola (Candlewick Press, 2021). With artist Onyinye Iwu's charmingly humorous illustrations on each page, this is a perfect beginning chapter book for budding readers in which perseverance is rewarded, rivalrous siblings are tweaked, and all ends well for all concerned, thanks to Tola, that is, if with her new mouse, Moji passes her exam with flying colors! Good things come in small packages, they say, and this petite heroine is one who punches way above her weight! Says Book Page's starred review, "Atinuke is a masterful storyteller, playing with language and rhythm as she evokes Tola’s world. Every sentence is fun to read. . . . Too Small Tola’s gentle morals linger with an unusually satisfying combination of inevitability and surprise. . ."

GOTCHA! Hungry Plants! by Mary Barton

 

EVERYTING IS QUIET IN THE BOG. OR ALMOST EVERYTHING.

A TINY BLACK FLY BUZZES AROUND, LOOKING FOR FOOD.

And nothing is so appealing to a fly as the sweet scent of sugary nectar. And that smell is coming from a small, odd plant growing low to the moist ground. The fly circles round, coming lower and lower, until it's tempted to land and investigate. But it's the last landing he'll ever make!

SNAP!

That fly has just encountered one of the strangest plants known--a flesh-eating plant. It sounds like something from a horror movie, but it's a carnivorous (meat-eating) plant, the Venus flytrap. And plants that trap animals to eat have been around at least as far back as the days of the dinosaurs. Not so dependent on good soil and available moisture, they have thrived during the many climatic periods Earth has known. Unfortunately, the Venus flytrap takes several days to digest one fly, so they have never become hugely successful as pest-eliminating houseplants.

Among the types of carnivorous plants included in this non-fiction book is the bladderwort which grows in shallow water, blooming prettily above the water level, but with special hair-trigger pouches below the waterline which suck in tiny water creatures that are unfortunate enough to touch it. The lovely green spiraled pitcher plant has nectar at its base and works like the twisty slide at the park to whiz unfortunate insects around and around and down, where they become "plant food." Some giant ones in Borneo are large enough to swallow up a greedy frog or bird. The sundew, a favorite discovery of Charles Darwin, attracts insects with sticky bubbles on its long leaves, which can roll up to pull the insect down to its "stomach" for digestion. Luckily, there are no carnivorous plants big enough to consume humans, except perhaps in horror comic books; even the giant pitcher plant draws the line at smallish rats. But these endangered survivors of eons of earth time are usually seen today only in botanical gardens, where if young readers are there at the right moment, they may get to see feeding time in the carnivorous plant zoo.

There are more fascinating facts about animal-eating plants to read about in Mary Batten's beginning chapter non-fiction book, Hungry Plants (Step-into-Reading, Step 4) (Random House), with plenty of elegant nature illustrations by artist Paul Miracha, for those young readers who like to read about "real stuff."

All Kinds of Best Friends: Izzy in the Doghouse by Caroline Adderson

ISABEL AND ZOE WERE EACH OTHER'S FAVORITE FRIEND--MOST OF THE TIME.

They make each other friendship bracelets and wear them until they are gray and brown. At school they hang their coats in side-by-side cubbies so that their sleeves are in each other's pockets.

"OUR COATS HANG OUT SO MUCH THAT THEY HATE TO SLEEVE EACH OTHER!" JOKES IZZY.

But Izzy tends to take her ideas a bit over the top. They get into trouble as, with toilet paper streaming from their waistbands, they twitter like lizards running down the halls at school, and when at recess she tries to get a Kindergarten boy to pretend a pinecone is cookie and take a bite, both girls find themselves on the carpet in the principal's office.

Zoe blames Izzy for getting her in trouble and chooses a less rambunctious playmate after school. Bernadette turns Izzy down: Patty has piano lessons after school; and Nima says she has soccer practice. Izzy has a dull afternoon at home with her nanny Rosa, who wants to watch her soap opera in peace, and to make it worse, Mom is away on a business trip and won't be home until late. Izzy sleeps downstairs waiting for mom to get home and when she does, Izzy gets more bad news: Mom has an important business meeting the next day, so they can't have their usual Hooky Day and stay in their PJs together all day.

IZZY IS IN THE DOGHOUSE.

But when the next day Mom declares a Make-up Hooky Day, she has another great surprise for Izzy! They are going to adopt a puppy! Since Izzy herself is adopted, she is delighted. But when they bring Rollo home, she realizes that it takes a lot of thinking ahead to take care of a baby puppy.

"HE COULD CHEW CORDS THAT AREN'T UNPLUGGED OR GET STUCK UNDER SOMETHING. OR KNOCK SOMETHING OVER AND GET SQUASHED!"

And when Zoe asks for a playdate so she can see Rollo, Izzy forgets to lock his crate when he naps, and she's horrified when they can't find him anywhere!

"ZOE! WE HAVE TO FIND HIM. YOU CAN'T LEAVE A BABY ALONE! SOMETHING TERRIBLE COULD HAPPEN!"

But then Izzy realizes that she is the one who knows exactly how to find Rollo, in Caroline Adderson's Izzy in her Doghouse (Kids Can Press, 2020). In her new series for early chapter book readers, author Adderson has a character who is even more "over-the-top" than Beverly Cleary's Ramona Quimby. Adderson goes bravely into the weeds of an unusual family with a more rambunctious and less perceptive young heroine, but catches the moment when the impetuous Isabel suddenly discovers what responsibility to others means.

This is a endearing story, with an infectuously funny character that promises to equal Adderson's beginning chapter success with her Jasper John Dooley: Left Behind series, and Kelly Collier's funny line drawings break up the text and enrich and advance the story line with pazzazz that just fits Izzy. Says Kirkus Reviews, "An endearing, energetic take on chapter books for transitioning readers.

Pouches, Pouches! Super Marsupials Kangaroos, Wombats and More by Katherine Kehne

Humans keep their babies in cribs and car seats and carry them in their arms, but all 300 kinds of marsupials protect them in pouches on their bodies!

Marsupials are different from mammals like humans and bats, and dogs and cats.

All marsupials are born pink and hairless, tiny as a bean. They can't see or hear. They have no hind legs.

Marsupial newborns must make their way into their mother's pouches, where they are rewarded with milk and a leisurely period of growing legs and hair and finishing up with their ears and eyes and whatever else they need. This process can even last for months, as in the case of kangaroos, before they hop out, and they can still hop back, performing an amazing somersault, into the pouch for protection until they are big and strong.

Kangaroos live on the ground, have large tails that they use for balance, hopping high and far in groups called "mobs," and eating greenery. But other marsupials, like koalas and tree kangaroos are arboreal, preferring to spend most of their time climbing around in trees with their strong claws. Sugar gliders, sometimes called "flying squirrels," have "wings" of loose skin that they spread to glide between branches and even trees. The only marsupials outside of Australia, the North American opossum, can actually hang by their tails from branches, although they also spend part of their time on looking for all kinds of foods on the ground. And back in Australia, wombats dig underground tunnels and chambers.  And the rare Tasmanian devil is one scary-looking critter on the ground, screaming and spinning to frighten predators away!

But all marsupials have the pouch in common, a cozy way to spend their baby days!

Illustrated in full color by Stephanie Kizer Coleman, Katherine Kehne's Super Marsupials: Kangaroos, Koalas, Wombats, and More (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1) (Harper, 2019) introduces the varied and fascinating life forms of marsupials, perfect for reading aloud to preschoolers and for young animal researchers in the early grades. Kids love animals, and the marsupials are certainly a fascinating part of the animal family, exotic, awesome, some seemingly cute and cuddly, and some fearsome, but all likely to spark more interest in the varied wonders of zoology on this planet!

The Best Badge! Bug Blonsky and His Swamp Scout Survival Guide by E. S. Redmond

 

Abner Vanderpelt has six merit patches on his Swamp Scout vest. I have only three. OK, two--the yellow one is just a mustard stain.

Bug Blonsky has little hope of winning a bunch of merit badges at the weekend campout at Camp Win-Kee-Noo. For one thing, Abner Vanderpelt's mom is the Marsh Mother for the trip. Not only does her perfume attract mosquitoes (to Bug, mostly), but she is prejudiced in favor of scouts whose skills tend toward listening and following directions.

Bug's abilities, such as armpit farting and being a true Bigfoot Believer, seem unlikely badge producers. It doesn't help that Bug's mom packed his stuff in big sister Winnie's Sweet Dreams sleeping bag with the glitter-sprinkled pink cupcake on it. She also fails to pack toilet paper, of which there is a dire lack in the Camp Win Kee Noo, and the outhouse is already stinky enough to repell Bigfoot. Mom does, however, redeem herself by packing emergency supplies--Swamper Doodle chocolate cookies.

Since Bug has made paper airplanes out of his Swamp Camp Survival Guide, he has to wing it by composing his own camp manual, beginning with Rule #1...

Go to the bathroom BEFORE the bus ride.

It's a memorable day for Bug, his buddy, Louie, and the tenderfoot campers, with bug spray overkill, rubbery hot dogs, poison ivy, and a canoeing adventure in which Louie and Bug both lose their paddles and have to be rescued by the Buttercup Brigade girl scouts from across the lake, loudly chanting ...

"BUTTERCUPS RULE! SWAMP SCOUTS DROOL!"

At lights-out time Bugs and his best friend Louie decide to break out his cookies for a midnight snack for two, which tattletale Abner spies and says....

"You shouldn't eat sweets before bed, especially if you've already brushed your teeth!"

To which Bug replies...

"... Not a problem. We have no intention of brushing teeth or going to bed."

Bug and Louie have a daring plan: they use some of the cookies to set up an irresistible hairy monster trap and plan to pull an all-nighter waiting to capture Bigfoot. Just as they are about to fall asleep on stakeout, they hear woeful sounds coming from inside their trap. Is it Bigfoot? Or is it Abner Vanderpelt caught red-handed with Swamper Doodle crumbs all over his face?

It's Bug's best-of-a-lifetime chance to get even by ratting out goody-goody Abner to his freaked-out Marsh Mother. Should he?

But all's well that ends with Abner Vanderpelt's heartfelt nomination of Bug for the Steadfast Scout Award, in E. S. Redmond's forthcoming slapstick Blonsky saga, Bug Blonsky and His Swamp Scout Survival Guide (Candlewick Press, 2021). With type-cast cartoon characters and bad boy Bug Blonsky, still a believer in the powers of Bigfoot, coming together in Redmond's second book in series, this is a beginning chapter book just right for early elementary readers who go for wacky, boy-pleasing high jinks. E. S. Redmond's opener in this series is Bug Blonsky and His Very Long List of Don'ts.

Conflict Resolution! The Infamous Ratsos: Ratty Tattletale by Kara LaReau

The Bully Boys are at it again. No sooner has little Tiny declared that he loves Mondays than Kurt Musky and Sid Chatterer snatch him up to toss up and down the school hallway.

"Cut it out, guys!" yells Tiny.

"Aw, he's so cute when he's angry," says Sid.

"Stop being so uptight, Crawley," says Kurt.

Millicent is moved to call a teacher, but Tiny stops her, saying that will only make it worse. Ralphie's warnings to the rowdies don't help, until at last Mrs. Beaver, the third-grade teacher steps out of her door and dispatches the two bullies to the principal's office. But now Ralphie knows he'd better watch his back.

And he's right. At lunch Sid and Kurt flip his lunch, and Ralphie has to clean up the mess while the bullies snicker. Still Ralphie is mum about the bullying around his big brother Louie, hoping to handle the problem himself. But at recess Sid and Kurt gang up on Tiny in Bombardment, and when Ralphie nails them with two balls, one after the other, he and the two bullies are all O-U-T of the game! Now, Ralphie knows he's on the two troublemaker's hit list. And when school's out, he finds his backpack in the trash can with a note:

PREPARE TO GET TRASHED!

Still, Ralphie is determined to keep the harassment to himself. Walking home with his brother Louie, he suggests they take a new way home, one that takes them by Mrs. Porcupini's, who offers them some of her hot cookies and cold milk. Just as the famished Ralphie is about to take a bite, the two bullies appear.

"Well, well, well," said Kurt, cracking his knuckles. "If it isn't our old pal, Ratty Tattletale!"

Now Louie gets what's going on and tells his little brother he should report the bullies to the principal. Ralphie refuses, on the grounds that tattling is not cool.

But when Ralphie tries to enter the arms race with Kurt and and Sid's pea shooters, things take a turn for the worst, resulting in the smashing of Mrs. Porcupini's window, and Ralphie agrees that it's time to 'fess up to their dad, Big Lou, about what's been going on, in Kara LaReau's latest in her The Infamous Ratsos series, The Infamous Ratsos: Ratty Tattletale (Candlewick Press, 2021). Choosing when to fight your own battles and when to ask for help is not easy, but in this Geisel Honor-winning series, all ends with a peaceful solution in what Ralphie calls "A smashing success." Along with Matt Myers' funny illustrations, author Kara LaReau's beginning chapter books offer comic considerations of those real-life early school days problems for developing readers.

Big Brother to the Rescue: Ellray Jakes the Dragon Slayer by Sally Warner

"Are you paying any attention to me at all, EllRay Jakes?” Mom asks from the driver’s seat of our car, a Toyota so old they don’t even make them anymore.

"Wait. What?" I said, turning off my video game.

"I was saying, go inside and sign Alfie out,” Mom says. “And tell her to hurry, please. I’m afraid to turn the engine off. Darn car battery,” she scowls.

Ellray dashes into the daycare center, and not finding Alfie with her class, he ducks out to the outdoor play area. Yep, Alfie is with her four friends. But as he gets closer, he sees three of the little girls are together and Alfie is by herself. One of the three, Suzette Monahan, pulls the others away and they start to play a game. Alfie has a funny look on her face.

Even her new pink coat looks sad.

"Alfie!" I call out, loud as I can. "Ice cream! After we go shopping for dolls!" I add, inspired. ("There! That ought to get 'em!" I think!)

Ellray Jakes is a third-grader, old enough to know four-year-old bullying when he sees it, and at home that night Alfie confides that Suzette Monahan is being mean to her, telling the other kids to pretend that she is invisible. Ellray knows a frienemy when he sees one. He checks his suspicions out with Mom after dinner.

"It's that Suzette Monahan, that little dickens," Mom says, scowling into the sink.

Suspicion confirmed. Suzette Monahan is the Dragon, and he, Ellray Jakes, has to be the big-brother dragon slayer.

And two can play at her game. In her Ellray Jakes the Dragon Slayer (Viking Books), author Sally Warner has her hero Ellray hoisting Suzette with her own petard to make sure that his little sister will not be shunned at nursery school ever again. And since what goes around comes around, Ellray suddenly finds himself the victim of the same sort of playground scheme. Author Warner's big brother Ellray gallantly rescues his little sister and stands up bravely for himself in this installment in Warner's successful series about the Jakes family. Author Warner skillfully portrays elementary school characters with honesty and insight, and illustrator Brian Biggs fills out the details with great good humor. Other titles in this popular beginning chapter fiction series are EllRay Jakes Stands Tall, EllRay Jakes the Recess King! and EllRay Jakes Is Not a Chicken.

The Zebra Box Mystery! Meet the Crew at the Zoo (Mystery on Zoo Lane Series #1) by Patricia Reilly Giff

The plane roared to a stop. Luke's throat burned. He told himself he was too old to cry.

"You'll love this place, Luke," said Dad. "With the new Zoo!"

Luke tried to nod. If only they were back with Abuelo, his grandfather, at the zoo in Florida.

Dad is so proud of his new job as a zoo physician in New York City that Luke doesn't want to let him know how unhappy he is with their move. His little sister Benita seems excited, but Luke's heart drops when they drive up in front of a row of rather shabby houses with the zoo right behind them. Their old house was nicer, and since Abuela was also a zoo doctor and Luke had a lot of good friends back in Florida, Luke can't see anything better here for him.

The next morning Dad rushes him out to the zoo, telling him a new black spider monkey was going to be born soon, and Luke trails along to the Baby Zoo House. On the way in, Luke notices a door that says STAY OUT. He starts to ask about the door, just as his dad calls him to see the baby spider monkey. On the way out he meets a lady cleaning the ponds who tells him about how anteaters use their long snouts for snorkels and tells her to call her Nana-Next-Door. On the way back home Luke spots a boy sweeping the walkway. Both of them see a striped box partly under a bush and reach for it at the same time.

They rolled in the path.

"Hey!" cried Luke. The boy yelled "hey," too! Were the kids terrible here?

WRONG!

"Sorry!" The boy let go of the box.

"Are you the new kid?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I'm the old kid. I've always lived here. Let's see what's in the box!"

Inside is a little green collar, Luke's favorite color, and a dollar bill with a note saying it was for lunch the first week. Just as the boys are puzzling over the contents of the stripped box, a girl named Tori comes by. It's not hers, she says. Mitchell tells Luke it may belong to a kid named Alex.

"He never stops talking," he warns Luke.

And Luke soon runs into Alex, who claims the box might be his. But when Alex can't describe what was in his box, Luke keeps walking, leaving Alex going on and on about how hard his whole name is to spell! Mitchell was right about Alex, Luke thinks.

Later that day Luke meets another kid, Omar, working with his dad in the Blue Zoo Stand. Omar points out the waste basket with lots of blue striped food boxes in it and says he is missing one of the boxes, too, but he has no idea what he put in it. A blue cookie? A pen? That solves the question of where the unusual box came from, but Luke feels no closer to solve the mystery of what is in the box. Still, he has managed to meet all the kids in the row of houses beside the zoo, except Tori's brother Ken. But Ken tells him he found his box, and Tori notices some faint writing on one side of the mystery box.

"SEE DAD!" it says.

And Dad takes him back to the Baby Zoo House and opens the door with the STAY OUT sign, and now Luke knows who the small collar is for!

All's well that ends with new puppies for Luke and for Benita. It's mystery solved, in two-time Newbery Award-winning author Patricia Reilly Giff's first book in her new beginner novels series, Meet the Crew at the Zoo (Mysteries on Zoo Lane) (Holiday House, 2020). The author of the top-selling Kids of the Polk Street School mysteries, Giff's return to the early chapter book genre will be well received, and with engaging illustrations by Abby Carter, a group of diverse characters, and a setting just right for intriguing mystery adventures, this one will be welcomed by young readers transitioning from picture books to chapter books.

The Aristotle Adventure: Season of the Sandstorms (Magic Tree House) by Mary Pope Osborne

Jack looks away from his unfinished homework, several pages filled with figures and more figures. For a diversion, he pulls out a small book, TEN MAGIC RHYMES FOR ANNIE AND JACK FROM TEDDY AND KATHLEEN. Jack and Annie had already used three of the rhymes on Merlin Missions. Jack is wishing he were on one of those missions instead of doing arithmetic, just as Annie bursts into his room.

The two rush to Frog Creek woods where the Magic Tree House is waiting in their oak tree. It seems they are called to a Merlin Mission to...BAGHDAD... to help the Caliph spread wisdom to the world. There is a letter of clues and a book to help: THE GOLDEN AGE OF BAGHDAD.

But Jack is not so sure this mission is going to be fun. He and Annie find themselves in a huge desert. Their instructions don't make a lot of sense-- to ride a ship of the desert through the starry night and find a horse who sees all and deliver a book to a friend. They turn to Teddy and Kathleen's rhymes and choose the one that seems to fit:

<

"MAKE HELPERS APPEAR!"

And soon they hear the bells of a camel caravan approaching. A kindly camel driver says his name is Mamoon and offers them water and asks them to shake date palms and gather the fruit for the group. Then Mamoon offers to take them to Baghdad, but says they must travel during the cool of the night, and he offers each of them a camel, Cutie and Beauty. The camels sway wildly from side to side, but as usual, Annie is up to it all.

"Isn't this fun?" she laughs.

"Sort of...," said Jack, shivering.

Actually he isn't having any fun at all. He feels seasick and is freezing in the night air. How could the Caliph spread wisdom? And how will they ever get back to the Magic Tree House?

"Jack!" says Annie, "We just solved the first mystery: Ride a ship of the desert through a cold starry night!"

But just as Jack begins to enjoy the ride, the little caravan is attacked by bandits. Mamoon tosses a small wooden chest to him and tells them to protect it and take it to the caliph in Baghdad. Cutie and Beauty veer away through the dunes and race for what seems like miles. When their camels finally stop, Jack decides to bury the precious chest in the sand, just as Mamoon rides up again. When Annie asks if the chest is magic, Mamoon says what it contains is better than magic--it has knowledge of science inside in a special book of writings by a philosopher named Aristotle. But just as they mount their camels to continue their journey, a terrible sandstorm surrounds them, and when it is over, Jack and Annie see the towers of a strange city gleaming in the first rays of the sun. They have reached Baghdad!

Leaving their camels inside a stable, the two make their way toward the palace of the all powerful Caliph, still wondering how they can help him spread wisdom to the world. But then Jack remembers that he left the box with the the book, THE WRITINGS OF ARISTOTLE, in his bag hanging from his camel's saddle. And back in the stable, Jack and Annie see something dreadful.

Jack's bag lay at Beauty's feet. The THE WRITINGS OF ARISTOTLE was open. Wet pages hung in shreds from Beauty's mouth as she happily chewed the precious treasure.

Is there a magical rhyme in the book given to Annie and Jack by Merlin's helpers, Teddy and Kathleen, to help them? Jack opens the rhyme book and they look down the list of spells. Aha!

MEND WHAT CANNOT BE MENDED!

And after restoring the scientific writings of Aristotle to the Caliph of Baghdad to preserve them for the future, Jack and Annie find the Magic Tree House settling down into the big oak tree back in the Frog Creek woods, and Jack finds himself with his homework still waiting for him--but this time he smiles when he realizes that he is doing his math with Arabic numerals from Baghdad, part of the wisdom of the world, in Mary Pope Osborne's time-travel adventure, Season of the Sandstorms (Magic Tree House (R) Merlin Mission) (Random House), Book VI in the Merlin Missions series. Nobody combines magic and mystery, history and science, and the fun of reading beginning chapter adventures that kids love quite like Mary Pope Osborne's long and notable series.

Mary Pope Osborne's and illustrator Sal Murdocca's latest in this series is Hurricane Heroes in Texas (Magic Tree House (R)) (see review here.)

To Find A Friend: My Friend Hedgehog: The Story of Us by Lauren Castillo

<There was a series of events that brought us together

Between the great forests, in the center of a river, on a teeny, tiny island, lived two dear friends, Hedgehog and Mutty. Life was good. Until the night of the Terrible Storm. A wind swooped down and carried Hedgehog's friend away. Hedgehog is alone.

The next morning Hedgehog knows that she must find her stuffed dog friend. She bravely dives into the stormy river and makes the difficult swim to the other side. There she entered the deep forest. It was scary, but she had to find Mutty. Very tired, Hedgehog finds a pile of not-too-wet leaves to rest in, but when she lies down... she feels herself falling, down, down into a hole.

It was Mole's Hole. "Bonjour, Dearie!" said Mole.

At first Hedgehog just sobs, but Mole seems so kindly that finally she is able to explain. "I lost my friend," she whimpered. Mole understands loneliness, and takes her to Owl for advice. Owl gets the drift immediately and offers to use his sharp eyes to help her find her friend. Hedgehog draws Owl a picture of Mutty, and Owl takes them downstream to see if Mutty has washed up at Beaver's dam. And Hedgehog recognizes Mutty's red scarf that Beaver is just tying around his neck at a jaunty angle.

"I found it! Look how dapper I am!" Beaver says, possessively.

Wisely, Owl compliments Beaver on his appearance and asks where he found the scarf. Beaver leads them to the marshy area where Hen and her chicks live and find her happily collecting the flotsam and jetsam of the storm which she calls her treasures! And there, along with pizza boxes and bottles and a soggy red notebook is a photograph--a photo of Mutty in front of a strange house. Hen is happy to show them the way to the place she found the photo--so long as she gets to keep the picture and the notebook. With her chicks trailing and peeping behind, Hen leads them up Tall Hill to a tall house, where a girl named Annika Mae is busy taking pictures of everything, including them, with her new Polaroid camera. Owl explains that they are searching for Hedgehog's friend, and shows Annika the photo of Mutty.

"My Polaroid!" Annika Mae cries. "His name is not Polaroid. It's Mutty!" said Hedgehog. "He's your dog? Does he have a chocolate brown stitched nose?" Annika Mae asks. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out ... MUTTY!

Hedgehog has her old friend back and some new friends and many more adventures ahead, in Lauren Castillo's latest, Our Friend Hedgehog: The Story of Us (Alfred A. Knopf, 2020). In a cozy little chapter book of an only child, a stuffed animal, and whimsical animal friends written with all the warmth and gentle humor of A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh, this latest one by the Caldecott-winning author-illustrator is a delightful addition to any bookshelf, home or library. Every character, right down to the bouncy chicks, are skillfully delineated with personalities of their own, and this story of friendships found in the midst of adventure makes this a lively read-aloud book for lower grades and an amusing and exciting early chapter book for primary readers, all in the spirit of Kenneth Grahame's classic The Wind in the Willows (Sterling Illustrated Classics). Says Kirkus Reviews in their starred review, "An outstanding new chapter book with the cozy feel of a classic.”

Save the Tiger! Tigers at Twilight (Magic Tree House) by Mary Pope Osborne

Jack and Annie walked past the Frog Creek Woods on the way back from the library.

"I miss Teddy!" said Annie."He is a really smart dog."

Jack agreed.

"And here!" said Annie.

"ARF! ARF!" The small dog barked from behind a bush. "Is it time to get our third gift?" asked Jack.

Teddy sneezed, as if to say "YES!"

Teddy leads them into the woods where inside their tree house they find a note from Morgan Le Fay.

"Now we have to get a gift from a faraway forest," Annie reads.

And with a tap of Morgan's magic book, the tree house rises above the trees and spins away, finally coming down to rest in what is indeed a forest, with two langur monkeys, Kah and Ko, waiting in the tree to guide them. Kah places his little paw in Jack's hand and leads him into the beautiful forest. Jack and Annie are amazed at the bright birds and flowers, but frightened by a giant python and a tree marked by the deep scratches left by a huge tiger. And then they spot a real tiger, unconscious with his foot caught in a steel trap. Jack and Annie spring the trap, and dash up a tree, afraid of the tiger.

Kah and Ko show them how to swing from the vines in the tree to the back of a patient elephant. Safe for the moment, they meet a hermit seated by a blue pool who asks Annie to pick him a lily from the pond. It's a beautiful bloom, but its stem ends in a muddy smelly root. Annie wonders how can anything as beautiful as the lily and the tiger can be so ugly at the same time?

"When you saved the tiger, you saved all of him, his graceful beauty and his fierce nature. This perfect lotus blossom grows from dark, thick mud," said the wise man. "It's beauty cannot live without its ugliness. Do you understand?

Take this lotus." he said.

"A gift from a faraway forest.... Our third gift," said Annie, thoughtfully.

Their task is complete and with a tap of the magic book the Magic Tree House returns them to its place in Frog Creek Woods, with only more task and gift left to free Teddy from his spell, in Mary Pope Osborne's book from her best-selling series, Tigers at Twilight (Magic Tree House, No. 19) (Random House). As she always does, Osborne also includes an appendix which explains much about the folklore and animals of India's tropical forest

Jack and Annie have only one last task to perform to free Teddy from his spell. For that transformation, see Osborne's Magic Tree House #20, Dingoes at Dinnertime (Magic Tree House, No. 20)

Taking a Break with the Bard! Stink--Hamlet and Cheese by Megan McDonald

It's school break time, and Stink has a choice to make. Shall he hang around the house all week and listen to his big sister Judy Moody babble about how superior she is, or go over to his friend Sophie's house and see what she's got planned for the week. It's an easy decision. Sophie's just got her latest yard-sale finds, including one unusual action figure:

"Here's the best one." She held up a balding guy with a big collar and puffy pumpkin pants.< "Hey!" said Stink. "Isn't that... ? It's William Shakesbeard!"
Sophie cracked up. "Close! It's William Shakespeare. I can't wait for Shakespeare camp. It's called Shakespeare Sprites." "You get to drink soda at camp?" asked Stink.

Sophie explains that a sprite is like a fairy, and that everyone in the group gets a part. And, Sophie points out, there are some other perks Stink might enjoy about the camp.

"Everybody gets a speaking part. Also, there's mad kings and murders and storms and shipwrecks and sword fights in Shakespeare. Oh, and I almost forgot the best part!"Sophie added. "At Shakespeare camp, you get to swear like people did in Shakespeare's time."

Swords AND swearing? Stink is sold! He signs up for the camp. He's unhappy about being the only boy there, but happy that that means that he gets to do most of the swearing and sword fighting and play Hamlet, with his own fake mustache and pumpkin-shaped shorts. But Fie! There be one fly in ye olde ointment! Stink's nemesis Riley Rottenberger is there, still determined to kiss him and embarrass him in front of a live audience. Riley even has a Shakespearean knock-knock kissing joke awaiting Stink!

"Knock Knock" "Who's there?" "Puck." "Puck Who?" "Pucker up, Stink!" Riley puckered up her lips! MWAH!
"Fie on thee, fly-faced maggot pie!"

But "All's well that ends well," and with a dose of "eye of newt and toe of frog" Stink manages to elude a Riley Rottenberger smoocharooney, tosses off some erudite Elizabethan swearing, and his Hamlet death scene brings down the house at the camp finale, in Megan McDonald's Stink: Hamlet and Cheese (Candlewick Books, 2019 ed.) With the comely comedic artwork of Peter H. Reynolds, young independent readers will find much merry-making indeed as Stink Moody treads the boards, hits the histrionic heights, and bests the Bard in another of of McDonald's novels packed with laughs and lower grade humor that will have the pages turning fast in the beginning chapter book for Judy and Stink Moody fans.

The Adventures of an Artist! Here Comes Lolo by Niki Daly

Friday was always the day of the Star Awards.

Lolo has a red star for neat writing, and a blue star for clean hands, but she is a girl with higher aspirations. She hopes today will be the day she gets the Gold Star for reading. She finds it hard to concentrate all day, but at the end of the day at "Free Time," she loses track of time, reading book after book and adding them to her list. Suddenly it's Awards Time, and Mrs. McKenzie praises her for reading so many books and puts a Gold Star on her forehead!

Lolo is so proud that she runs all the way home, excited to show off her Gold Star to Mama and Grandma Gogo.

But when she gets home and points proudly to her forehead, there's nothing there!

Gogo and Lolo go back to look for it, but at the stall where she stopped for a donut, the owner's little girl Sharifa is wearing it on her forehead and protests so loudly that Lolo lets her keep the star.

Mama gives Lolo a kiss for being such an understanding big girl, and at bedtime Gogo has a hair clip with a big golden star for Lolo.

Lola's love for art pays off the next week when her friend Makalima buys the hat Lolo wanted, but suddenly agrees to swap the real hat for a portrait of her wearing the hat painted by Lolo. And when Lolo finds a lost engagement ring, she designs a standout Lost and Found poster, and a young woman named Belinda  calls with the description of her lost ring, and gratefully invites Lolo to come to her art classes every Saturday for free. She even invites Lolo, Mama, and Gogo to her wedding.

And when Lolo spots a mistreated and starving old dog tied in a neighbor's backyard, Belinda notifies Animal Rescue to take the dog to the shelter. She soon adopts the dog and names her "Hope," and brings her every Saturday morning to her art class.

And Hope always goes to Lolo first.

Niki Daly's upbeat beginning chapter book about budding artist Lolo, Here Comes Lolo (LOLO (1)) (Catalyst Press, 2019) introduces an aspiring and artistic young protagonist who makes good things happen around her. Lolo puts her art skills to work to help herself and others, and this first chapter book about the enterprising Lolo earns a gold star for author-illustrator Daly. Daly's second book about Lolo is Hooray for Lolo (Lolo (2))

Making the Sale: Mindy Kim and the Yummy Seaweed Business by Lyla Lee

I'm seven and one-half years old--not old enough to have a puppy--or at least, that's what my dad says.

Our apartment in California wasn't big enough for a puppy. I looked it up and the internet says that puppies need lots of room to run outside. Now that we have moved into a house with a big backyard, we can really get a puppy!

Mandy Kim has got her work cut out for her. Her mom had been sick for a while and died only a few months ago and her dad is still sad and seems overwhelmed with everything. Their old things look unfamiliar and lost in their new house. Mindy is sad, too, and worried about starting at a new school in Florida. Dad says they both need a fresh start, but Mindy feels a little lost in this new place, too.

Wishbone School looks nice, but her best friend Diya is not there. And the kids all look the same, and no one looks like Mindy. And lunch is terrible. One kid says her kimchi smells bad, and all the boys laugh at her seaweed snacks.

But she likes her after-school babysitter, Unni. Her mom makes kimchi. amd she has an adorable Maltese dog to play with. Mindy feels much better about her new life, so the next day she asks the one girl she knows if she can sit with her, and when she opens her first packet of seaweed snacks, Sally asks to try one. All the other kids try them out, and only one doesn't like them.

Suddenly I had a brilliant plan. A very yummy seaweed business plan!

Mindy stocks up on seaweed snacks and next day at lunch she trades them to her table-mates instead of giving them away. And then Sally gives her another idea.

"Did you ever think of selling your snacks?"

Hey! ... "Maybe I could sell my snacks! Then I could buy a puppy for dad and me!"

I didn't even know it was against the rules to sell food at school! Nobody told me!

On only her her third day at Wishbone School, Mindy finds herself in the principal's office. Dr. Mortimer lets her off with a stern warning and orders her to study the rules for the school on-line over the weekend. Sally is angry because she is blamed for telling Mindy to sell snacks, and now Mindy has no money for a puppy and no friends either.

The only thing to do is to tell her dad everything. He understands and tells her he's sure she will do the right thing, in Lyla Lee's first book in her new beginning chapter book series, Mindy Kim and the Yummy Seaweed Business (1) (Aladdin Books, 2020). Being the new kid in school is always hard, especially when her new school is so different from her old school, but Mindy is soon on her way, with a new friend and perhaps a new puppy to look forward to. Author Lee's realistic chapter fiction has her doughty character take on tough issues, dealing with problems of diversity and death of a parent with honesty and strength. Share this one with Lyla Lee's next in this series, Mindy Kim and the Lunar New Year Parade (2)

Brainy Bookathon! Stink and the Midnight Zombie Walk by Megan McDonald

"Brains! Take that! You're dead, Fred Zombie!"

"I'm not dead! I'm un-dead!" said Voodoo Zombie.

Stink and Webster were playing Attack of the Knitting-Needle Zombies when Fred Zombie's eyeball fell off.

Only one more week!" said Stink.

"Till what?" asked Judy Moody, poking her head in Stink's door. Sometimes she was a Nosy Parker!

"DUH! The Midnight Zombie Walk!" said Stink and Webster together.

And it's a Zombie-craZy week for Stink and his big sister Judy Moody and all the kids at Virginia Dare Elementary School. The whole school is having a monster readathon, going for one million minutes of reading, to be celebrated Friday at a Zooper Zombie Bash!

ZOMBIES INVADE BLUE FROG BOOKSTORE THIS SATURDAY 9 P.M.
Book Release Party for Nightmare on Zombie Street, Book 5
MIDNIGHT ZOMBIE WALK

Between totaling up their minutes of reading, the kids have a zombie-licious week. "Everything in Zombie starts with Z," said Stink, er, Zink, to Webzter." So Stink and Webster try to raise some cash to buy Book 5 of the Zombie zeries by having a Blowout Yard Zombie Sale and a Zmellatorium Ztand on their front sidewalk. Stink and Webster turn Stink's ventriloquist's dummy into Charlie Vampire, and Mrs. Moody appears, dressed in bloody-hand printed apron as the school Zombie Lunch Lady, to dish out servings of Scrambled Brainz (eggs) and Soppy Toes (mini-franks in red sauce) in the renamed school "Vomiteria;" and the two pranksterz scare the witz out of Judy with their talking Charlie Vampire, while the third graders sponsor a definitely un-dead Read-Aloud-athon for the first graders on Friday.

In Megan McDonald's Zombie-riferous Stink and the Midnight Zombie Walk (Candlewick Press), there's a strong plug for the joy of reading and hardly a moment without a zombie giggle, in this title in the author's best-selling series of beginning chapter books for young readers. "Gross, creepy, and hilarious, zayz Booklizt.

No Book Killers Allowed? Jasper John Dooley Public Library Enemy #1 by Carolyn Addison

After school Jasper John Dooley and his friend Ori rode their bikes to the library with Jasper's mom.

"I'll be back in ten minutes," Mom said. "Stay in the children's area, okay?"

Jasper and Ori weren't really listening. They were reading a new sign:

PRACTICE YOUR READING WITH MOLLY THE DOG
3:30 TO 4:30 P.M., Monday, Wednesday, Friday

Molly the Dog was frowning. Jasper decided he was going to pick a book to read that would make Molly look happy.

He picked a very interesting book about making things out of toilet paper tubes. He couldn't wait to start reading it so he would be ready for the next chance to read to Molly. He was in such a hurry that he decides to read in the bathtub. Bad idea!"

Jasper knocked the book into the suds. Dad tried to help by drying the book in the oven with his cheese nachos, but while they are trying out the nachos, the oven made a funny sound:

BLEEEEEP!

Smoke was pouring out. The book was burning and Dad grabbed the fire extinguisher. When the book kept on burning, Dad shoveled it out the back door into the rain.

Nobody would ever read that book again!

The book was toast! The only thing readable about the book was its price tag--$25.00!

Ori offered to help Jasper come up with the money to pay for the book. They decide to set up a stand in the front yard to make money.

"TOAST RESTERANT!
With butter $1--With butter and Jam $1.50

They had some customers, but their profits did not rise to their projected expectations.

Nobody paid.

Will Jasper ever raise $25.00? Will he ever get to read to Molly the Dog?

Or will he forever be banned in the library as THE BOOK KILLER?

But Jasper John Dooley and best buddy Ori Spivak had learned a few things about business ventures and come up with a KILLER DILLER fund raiser called the READ TO A PET FIESTA HOOPLA CELEBRATION (with Toast!), and all's well that ends well, in Carolyn Addison's laugh-filled installment in this beginning chapter book series, Jasper John Dooley: Public Library Enemy 1 (Kids Can Press). With a bow to helpful and forgiving librarians, this one, filled with Mike Shiell's numerous clever cartoon illustrations, is a great salute to libraries, books, reading, and private enterprise.

Says Kirkus Reviews, "Another winning entry in an altogether satisfying series."

The Duo Does It All! The Two and Only Kelly Twins by Johanna Hurwitz

Arlene Kelly and Ilene Kelly were sisters. In fact, they were identical twins. That meant they looked exactly alike.

But there was one difference. Arlene had been born at 11:55 P.M. on July 17, and Ilene had been born at 12:03 A.M.on July 18.

"We must be the only identical twins who have different birthdays," said Arlene.

Despite that one difference, they were very much alike. They both liked the same clothes and colors, so they had identical outfits to wear for every day. But then, on their not-quite identical seventh birthdays, they didn't have identical choices for a pet.

"I want a kitten," said Arlene.

"I want a puppy," said Ilene.

The disagreement went unresolved until one night Dad brings home a box from work--with two ferrets inside. They look exactly alike, so that even the twins can't tell them apart. They name them Frankie and Fannie Ferret, and of course the ferrets are identical, too.

But when school starts, the twins discover that they are no longer so special. There are now triplets in second grade--two identical twin girls named Claudia and Roberta Best and a brother named Simon Best. Roberta boasts that they are the "Best identicals" ever.

Ilene is so annoyed with Roberta that she makes up an identical triplet, too, covering her story by saying their identical sister Marlene goes to a different school for young geniuses. But the twins soon see that keeping up their cover story is going be hard, and after one playdate when Ilene has to be pretend being both herself and "Marleen," the twins finally agree to confess their "joke" to the Bests.

When Halloween rolls around, naturally Ilene and Arlene both want to dress as witches. But the moms with the kids on their block decide to split the trick-or-treaters into two groups, so the twins go separate ways. And then, on their second street Arlene runs into a problem at every house.

"You have enough!" said one lady.

"You again? Don't be so piggy!" said a teenaged girl.

Being identical twins in the same costume can be a problem. But when Arlene wakes up with appendicitis in the middle of the night, Ilene has to go it alone at school and at karate class all week, and finds that it's not altogether a bad thing. Dressing alike and fooling people is fun, but sometimes it's easier to make new friends as just yourself, as both girls learn during their separation, in veteran author Johanna Hurwitz's first in her new beginner chapter book series,The Two and Only Kelly Twins (Candlewick Press, 2018). For double the fun, pair this one with Hurwitz's companion chapter book, Double or Nothing with the Two and Only Kelly Twins. Says School Library Journal, "This gentle twin story explores big questions about identity in an approachable way for budding chapter book readers."

Not Your Usual Day at the Beach: Roxie and the Hooligans at Buzzard's Roost by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Since Roxie's daring adventure foiled the bank robbers with the help of her town's notorious Hooligans, Roxie has hoped for a truce with that scruffy, ragtag gang of misfits.

But Roxie underestimates the Hooligans. Even when her Uncle Dangerfoot takes her and her bespectacled friend Norman along to his beach house, hoping to work on his hush-hush invention with his friend Lord Thistlebottom far from prying eyes and the press, they find a way to stowaway.

It was almost five hours later, and evening when they reached a large old house that sat back a bit from the ocean. Roxie and Norman were very stiff.

Uncle Dangerfoot reached for the latch on the trailer and opened the door. "What in thunder...?" he bellowed.

Roxie stared as Helvetia Hagus, Simon Surly, Freddy Filch, and Smoky Jo came tumbling out.

It seems as if Roxie cannot escape the Hooligans. Uncle Dangerfoot inexplicably accepts their story that their parents will not come to fetch them, and although the housekeeper and cook, Mrs. Tumbledry, is kindly, the other tenant, the Widow Bittersweet, veiled and gowned in heavy brown mourning garb, is scary weird. Rosie and Norman resolve to make the best of the uninvited guests, and Uncle Dangerfoot and Lord Thistlebottom seem totally absorbed in their secret invention... until the larcenous Helvetia, always on the lookout for a source of lucre, manages to swipe it.

The kids discover that the covert contraption is a rocket-powered jet pack, and Helvetia seizes the opportunity to try it out. Apparently the device is not quite ready for prime time, but Helvetia survives soaring above the beach, followed by a dive into the sand. The cat is out of the bag, and Uncle Dangerfoot is forced to explain the real purpose of his hideaway. He and Thistlebottom conceal their device in the Widow's baby's crib, where the petite Smoky Joe has elected to sleep, and, swathed in a baby blanket, she winds up being mistaken for the jet pack and kidnapped by the nefarious villain, Alfred Applejack.

Can Rosie and the remaining Hooligans combine forces to save Smokie Jo, or will she have to rescue them, in Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's second rip-roaring, harem scarem comic adventure, Roxie and the Hooligans at Buzzard's Roost (Atheneum Books, 2018).  In this series, Naylor's delightful ability to combine colorful and perilous adventures with picaresque humor is reminiscent of John Bellairs in his quaint and comic Gothic series which include The House with a Clock in Its Walls (Lewis Barnavelt) and his The Mummy, the Will, and the Crypt (Johnny Dixon). Naylor, Newbery Award winner for Shiloh (The Shiloh Quartet), never fails to delight and enthrall readers, and this easy reading adventure novel is just right for summer nights.