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DOUBLE OR NOTHING WITH THE TWO AND ONLY KELLY TWINS by Johanna Hurwitz Candlwick Press, 2017 ISBN: 9780763688080 Early chapter book Ages 6-9 ABOUT THE BOOK What's the same about identical twins -- and what's different? Sleepovers, poetry projects, and new haircuts are in play as seven-year-old Arlene and Ilene start coming into their own. Arlene and Ilene love so many things about being identical twins. They like sharing a room, sharing friends, and wearing matching outfits. But they're in different classes at school, and one twin has a scar that the other one doesn't. One morning, their friends Monty and Joey point out a new difference that takes the sisters by surprise and gets them thinking: if they are identical twins, why are there differences between them at all? Their tongues must be the same, so why do they like different kinds of ice cream? Why does Arlene wear pink nail polish while Ilene thinks it's silly? Why is Ilene sleeping soundly when

SHARE, BIG BEAR, SHARE! by Maureen Wright, illustrated by Will Hillenbrand two lions, 2017 ISBN: 978-1503951006 Source: publisher for review Picture book Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Big Bear’s forest friends eye his berries hungrily, but he doesn’t notice as he digs into his delicious snack. When the old oak tree says, “Share, Big Bear, share,” he thinks the tree has said, “Hair, Big Bear, hair!” One comical scene follows another as Big Bear keeps misunderstanding the old oak tree’s message until things finally get sorted out. Whimsical illustrations highlight the humor in this gentle story about the importance of sharing something special with friends. ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR WILL HILLENBRAND has written and/or illustrated over 60 books for young readers including Down by the Barn, Mother Goose Picture Puzzles and the Bear and Mole series. He has lived almost all of his life in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he grew up as the younges

MAGIC IN THE CITY by Heather Dyer Kids Can Press, 2017 ISBN: 978-1-77138-203-8 Middle grade speculative (fantasy) Ages 7-9 Source: purchased All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Brothers Jake and Simon Grubb are not happy they have to leave their home in Canada to move in with their cousin Hannah and her family in England. But things get interesting for the boys when, on the way there, they encounter a retiring magician at a highway rest stop who presents them with three gifts he claims have magical properties: a carpet, a camera and a stopwatch. Unfortunately, the magician doesn't provide them with any instructions. So when the boys and Hannah find themselves being swept away on a wild adventure fueled by the magic in these curious objects, they have to learn as they go. But who cares when it's this exciting! Flying over London, traveling through time, meeting the queen --- what could possibly top this? Little do they know, the

STAYING A HIVE Super Happy Party Bears, #3 by Marcie Colleen Imprint, 2017 ISBN: 978-1-250-10047-4 Early Chapter books Ages 6-9 Source: purchased All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK The third book in a funny chapter book series filled with full color illustrations and adorable animals! When Queen Beetrice and her beehive opens for business in the Grumpy Woods, the Super Happy Party Bears are excited--they LOVE honey! But the other Grumpy Woods residents are very unhappy with all the noisy buzzing going on, and they boycott the bees! Too much sugar sends the bears into early hibernation and soon the woods are overflowing with uneaten honey. The townscritters need a fast solution to the sticky situation--and so they decide to throw an Un-Slumber Party to wake those bears up! REVIEW The Super Happy Party Bears are thrilled when they discover a hive of bees has moved into the Grumpy Woods and is happy to provide them with all the honey they

RAIN by Sam Usher Templar Publishing, 2017 ISBN: 978-0-7636-9296-4 Source: publisher for review Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Sam wants to go out but it's pouring with rain, so he and Grandpa decide to stay inside until the rain stops. Sam drinks hot chocolate and reads his books and dreams of adventures while Grandpa gets on with his important paperwork. Grandpa seems to have a VERY important letter to write. Then that very important letter has to be posted, despite the rain and floods. As they finally go outside, Sam and Grandpa have a magical adventure.     REVIEW  A young boy wakes up to pouring rain, but unlike many people, he's thrilled as he thinks of all the adventures he can have in the rain.  But his grandfather is not so eager to go out in the rain so he asks Sam to wait and wait and wait.  After each time the grandfather asks Sam to wait the illustrator presents a full two-page spread.  And the reader ge

HENRY AND THE CHALK DRAGON by Jennifer Trafton, illustrations by Benjamin Schipper Rabbit Room Press, 2017 ISBN:  978-0-9863818-8-1 Source: Blue Slip Media Middle grade fantasy Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK In the town of Squashbuckle, just about anything can happen, and when Henry Penwhistle draws a mighty Chalk Dragon on his door, the dragon does what Henry least expects--it runs away. Now Henry's art is out in the world for everyone to see, and it's causing trouble for him and his schoolmates Oscar and Jade. If they don't stop it, the entire town could be doomed! To vanquish the threat of a rampaging Chalk Dragon, Sir Henry Penwhistle, Knight of La Muncha Elementary School, is going to have to do more than just catch his art--he's going to have to let his imagination run wild. And THAT takes bravery. Praise for HENRY AND THE CHALK DRAGON: ★“A delicious face-off between forces of conformity and creativity

CAMP SO-AND-SO by Mary McCoy Carolrhoda LAB, 2017 ISBN: 978-1-5124-1597-1 Middle Grade Speculative (Horror) Ages 12 and up Source: purchased All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK The letters went out in mid-February. Each letter invited its recipient to spend a week at Camp So-and-So, a lakeside retreat for girls nestled high in the Starveling Mountains. Each letter came with a glossy brochure with photographs of young women climbing rocks, performing Shakespearean theatre under the stars, and spiking volleyballs. Each letter was signed in ink by the famed and reclusive businessman and philanthropist, Inge F. Yancey IV. By the end of the month, twenty-five applications had been completed, signed, and mailed to a post office box in an obscure Appalachian town. Had any of these girls tried to follow the directions in the brochure and visit the camp for themselves on that day in February, they would have discovered that there was no such town and

BLAZE OF EMBERS The Third Book of Ore by Cam Baity & Benny Zelkowicz ABOUT THE BOOK Phoebe Plumm and Micah Tanner are no longer the spoiled heiress and naïve servant boy who first stumbled upon the fiercely beautiful world  of  living metal known as Mehk. They have rallied to aid the mehkans and risked their lives fighting the relentless greed  of  the Foundry, a corporation that harvests the metal creatures to sell as products back home in Meridian. But the kids' mission to retrieve a mysterious relic ended in devastating tragedy and with Micah as a prisoner  of  the enemy. Shattered, he can only watch as an unthinkable new power rises in Mehk and international war erupts in Meridian. Trapped between the Foundry and this staggering mehkan threat, Micah has no choice but to work with dangerous humans and mehkans alike, each with their own agenda. As the path  of  destruction spreads and hope fades, Micah leads his unlikely allies in a desperate race back to M