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Secrets of the Seven: The Eagle’s Quill review

One of our favorite books of 2016 was Secrets of The Seven: The Eureka Key. It was a literary version of the Goonies with ties of National Treasure about a group of teen genius’ who were selected to solve puzzles, fight bad guys and preserve historical artifacts. That book left us very eager for the second one in the series. With Secrets of the Seven: The Eagle’s Quill the gang is back, but the book lacks a certain zip and charm that made the first one so much fun.

The first chapter starts off with the team bickering. They’re on the way to Glacier National Park to find the second in a series of seven ancient artifacts. When combined these artifacts are suppose to unlock a secret weapon that was created by the founding fathers. The artifacts are being protected by ancestors of the founding fathers and they’re being pursued by Gideon Arnold, descendant of Benedict Arnold.

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Kid Beowulf, The Song of Roland makes you want to read epic poetry, really

I never read Beowulf. The only thing I know about that book is that it’s a long poem that does not involve a wolf. With that in mind it’s all the more ironic that I really enjoyed Kid Beowulf, The Song of Roland by Alexis E. Fajardo. Much like its namesake there is not a wolf in the graphic novel and there is no theme song for Roland. Perhaps it’s because of-or in spite of these things that the book managed to do a difficult thing; it made me care about and want to read more about European history around the time of the crusades.

It even feels weird typing that. Kid Beowulf, The Song of Roland is a graphic novel that is based on the French poem of the same name. It centers on a battle that took place in 778 with King Charlemagne’s best warrior, Roland, plus some Christian armies, Saracens (Muslims), family and betrayal. This is potentially complex subject matter with a cast of dozens that are spread out over an entire country. It’s a big scale story with equal parts legend, lore and adventure where it’s just as likely that you’ll encounter a giant as you will a traitorous family member.

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Big Nate, What’s A Little Noogie Between Friends review

I’m laughing to myself in a coffee house. There are men and women in suits talking about insurance, retirement homes, closing loans and talking technology. And I’m reading a comic strip that makes our 7 year old laugh-and laughing as much as he does. Big Nate, What’s a Little Noogie Between Friends collects previously released comic strips from this seminal series and it’s hilarious.

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Dragonwatch by Brandon Mull lives up to the hype

So, this is our first Brandon Mull book. I can say that it ‘lives up the hype’ because the fandom’s pressure for this book is huge. Dragonwatch is the second book in the Fablehaven series, a 5-book series whose first entry Fablehaven was a massive success. Dragonwatch is a great book that will be of interest to middle school children, as opposed to it being a book aimed at the middle school audience. That also means that adult audiences will enjoy this book as much as its potential reluctant readers in middle school.

It’s all the more remarkable that I really enjoyed this book because it comes with a massive cast of characters, mythical beasts and fantastic settings. Mull sets up the world in such a way that a first time reader can pick up Dragonwatch and understand what’s happening as soon as the characters speak. The intricacies of their personalities establish themselves in time, but the first time audience’s hooks are baited and we eagerly take a bite.

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The Boxcar Children: Journey on a Runaway Train, 75 years and more

“You’ve never heard of The Boxcar Children? They’ve been around for 75 year, have been translated into dozen of languages, are one of the best early chapter books and loved by elementary school aged children everywhere”, she said. Granted, she worked for the publishing company, but she was clearly enthusiastic about finding someone who had never heard of The Boxcar Children. Journey on a Runaway Train celebrates the 75 anniversary with a new five-book miniseries.

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Sci-Fi Junior High reaches reluctant young readers

From the dedication page of Sci-Fi Junior High it’s obvious that its creators are devotees of the classic science fiction properties. From Stan Lee, Space Ghost, Chewbacca, Burt Ward and more they go about thanking all of them for what they contributed to society. Thanks, is also what 8 year old science fiction fans will be saying to the authors after they read Sci-Fi Junior High too.

This is story of Kelvin, a middle school aged boy whose family has just moved to a new space station. His mother is a neuroscientist and his father is a robotics engineer, but Kelvin is supposedly smarter than both of them. However, middle school is the same wherever you go, even if it’s in outer space. There are food fights, strange friendships, bad dad jokes, study groups, embarrassing parents and lots and lots of robots.

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Stinky Spike, early chapter books that boys will sniff out from the pack

We recently reviewed Agnes and Clarabelle, the first books in the Read & Bloom book series from Bloomsbury. They’re early chapter books with basic vocabulary and big illustrations to bring in young readers so that they want to read the books by themselves. That particular series will be more attractive to young girls. Stinky Spike is the next series of books in the Read & Bloom lineup and will be of interest to boys more than girls.

Stinky Spike is not exclusively for boys. I’ll approximate it as an 80/20 boy to girl preference. The first book is Stinky Spike, The Pirate Dog. In this one Spike is a dog that lives by the sea in a busy port with all manner of boats. Spike is known for his nose and his ability to correctly identify (usually horrible) smells. One day while sniffing around the docks he slips and is swept out to sea where he meets up with a band of pirates.

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NewsPrints is the first great original graphic novel of 2017

It’s great when you discover a new literary treat. For us it could be something that exceeds expectations or something that comes out of the blue. NewsPrints by Ru Xu is a combination of both of those. This is a story driven graphic novel with manga influences that is difficult, if not impossible to put down. It’s a blend of cold war, science fiction and intrigue that’s guided by a young girl’s secrets and friends.

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