Geo Librarian

DEADLANDS: HUNTED by See Melki-Wegner Henry Holt & Co. (BYR), 2023 ISBN:   9781250827692 Source: eARC from publisher through NetGalley Middle grade animal fantasy Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover provided by publisher through Goodreads.com. REVIEW Young readers who enjoy Erin Hunter's Warriors series are bound to be fans of this new series focused on dinosaurs. Based on the premise that the dinosaurs evolved intelligence and language after being exposed to the remnants of a fallen star. While many dinosaurs died after the star hit and devastated the landscape, some survived and changed. But a war over territory rages between the plains dinosaurs (triceratops, ankylosaurs) and the mountain dinosaurs (oryctodromeus, iguanodons, and stegoceras). Eleri, a young oryctodromeus, stumbles into a conspiracy just before being exiled for inadvertently saving an enemy soldier. Struggling to survive in the Deadlands, the area devastated by the fallen star, Eler...

ODDER by Katherine Applegate Fewer and Friends, 2022 ISBN: 978-1-250-14742-4 Source: purchased Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK Now a #1 New York Times bestseller! A touching and lyrical tale about a remarkable sea otter, from Newbery Medalist Katherine Applegate, author of Wishtree. Meet Odder, the Queen of Play: Nobody has her moves. She doesn’t just swim to the bottom, she dive-bombs. She doesn’t just somersault, she triple-doughnuts. She doesn’t just ride the waves, she makes them. Odder spends her days off the coast of central California, practicing her underwater acrobatics and spinning the quirky stories for which she’s known. She’s a fearless daredevil, curious to a fault. But when Odder comes face-to-face with a hungry great white shark, her life takes a dramatic turn, one that will challenge everything she believes about herself—and about the humans who hope to save her. In...

ONCE UPON A CAMEL by Kathi Appelt, pictures by Eric Rohmann Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2021 ISBN: 978-1-5344-9871-6 Source: Blue Slip Media Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK An old camel is out to save two baby kestrel chicks during a massive storm in the Texas desert. Zada is a camel with a treasure trove of stories to tell. She’s won camel races for the royal Pasha of Smyrna, crossed treacherous oceans to new land, led army missions with her best camel friend by her side, and outsmarted a far too pompous mountain lion. But those stories were from before. Now, Zada wanders the desert as the last camel in Texas. But she’s not alone. Two tiny kestrel chicks are nestled in the fluff of fur between her ears—kee-killy-keeing for their missing parents—and a dust storm the size of a mountain is taking Zada on one more grand adventure. And it could lead to this achy old camel’s most brilliant story yet. REVIEW Eric Rohmann's lush paints highlight th...

SECONDHAND DOGS by Carolyn Crimi Balzer + Bray, 2021 ISBN: 978-0-06-298920-8 Source: Blue Slip Media Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK A heartwarming—and heart-tugging—middle grade novel about love, loyalty, and what to means to be part of a family, featuring a motley pack of rescue dogs—from author Carolyn Crimi, with adorable illustrations by Melissa Manwill. Perfect for fans of A Dog’s Life and Because of Winn-Dixie. Miss Lottie’s home was for second chances. When she adopted Gus, Roo, Tank, and Moon Pie, Miss Lottie rescued each member of the pack—including herself, her helper, Quinn, and her reclusive cat, Ghost—and turned them into a family. But when a new dog, Decker, arrives and tries to hoard Miss Lottie’s heart and home for himself, the pack’s future is threatened. At first, Gus, the insecure pack leader, only notices little things, like tiny Moon Pie being kicked out of the bed and Ghost acting spooked (then again…Ghost is a cat). But things ...

STELLA by McCall Hoyle Shadow Mountain, 2021 ISBN: 978-1-62972-901-5 Source: ARC from publisher for review (Thanks!) Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own.   ABOUT THE BOOK   Even dogs deserve a second chance. Ever since she was a puppy, Stella was trained to use her powerful beagle nose to sniff out dangerous chemicals and help her handler keep people safe. But during a routine security inspection, Stella misses the scent of an explosive. The sound of the blast is loud and scary. Unable to go back to work because of her anxiety, Stella is retired as a working dog. When a young girl named Cloe wants to adopt Stella, the beagle knows this is her last chance to prove her worth. But how? When Stella smells a strange chemical inside Cloe’s body, a scent that surges just before the girl has a seizure, Stella’s nose makes the connection. But how can Stella warn her new family without them thinking she’s having an anxiety attack? How can she convince others t...