Hi, Fly Guy! by Tedd Arnold is funny sweet book about what makes a pet and what makes a friend. Done with trademark Tedd Arnold style and warmth, Fly Guy will swoop into your heart. The icky humor in the story will draw boys learning to read, as will the flasy cover. This is a great easy reader to offer to kids, because it manages to flow and avoid the sometimes stilted vocabulary and story of easy readers. Highly recommended.

The Minister’s Daughter by Julie Hearn is a book worthy of all the positive buzz it has been getting. It is set in seventeenth century England in a small village. Nell, the granddaughter of the local healer, is learning the craft at her grandmother’s side. But the new minister in the community is bringing new questions, including accusations of witchcraft and consorting with the Devil. The minister has two daughters, Patience and Grace. Both girls, but especially Grace, have things to hide from their father and their community. To protect themselves, they pretend to be ill from witchcraft in the community. Nell and her grandmother are natural targets for their accusations.
Combine this Salem-like story with true Wiccan beliefs and a setting where pixies and elves are real, and you have a magical book that will set a spell on anyone who reads it. The characters are well-drawn, but Nell stands out among them. She is the perfect foil for Grace, a vehicle for learning about the old ways, and she is also a richly created heroine. The writing is clever and quick-witted, carrying what could have been a much bleaker and desperate story along at a good pace. Patience’s testimony serves as a frame for the story, magnifying its significance into the world of Salem. Gorgeous.
Recommend this book to girls who enjoy historical fiction, those who enjoy witchcraft novels, and also those who like fantasy.

Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier is the first book in a trilogy where magic is real. Reason has been raised by her mother out in the Australian bush, running from her grandmother who tried to get custody when Reason was a small child. Reason’s mother, who started running at age twelve, has told Reason that her grandmother is an evil woman. But then Reason’s mother is taken to a mental institution and Reason is placed with her grandmother. Reason tries to reconcile the differences between what her mother told her about her grandmother and what she is seeing with her own eyes. Readers come to realize that Reason’s grandmother is truly magic, a fact that Reason realizes as well when she walks through a door and suddenly is in New York City.
My favorite part of the book is that fact that the lines between evil and good are blurred. No easy answers are given even in the end. The writing is well-done: clear combined with poetic images. There are no cardboard characters in the book, even the villian has reasons for his actions. I look forward to the next in the series, not hoping that more things are made clear but looking forward to more of the complex dance of good and evil, right and wrong.

NovelKnowledge is a site where kids can read reviews written by other kids. The genre categories are wide-ranging, including mystery, fantasy, action, historical, sports, and biography. You can even submit your own review. The only downside is that the pickings are pretty slim.

One Mitten by Kristine O’Connell George, illustrated by Maggie Smith is a great book for toddler story times. It tells the audience all sorts of ideas that a little girl comes up with to do with her one yellow mitten. Then she finds the mate to the mitten and we get another list of ideas of what you can do with two mittens. The text is short and fun, a perfect match with the colorful illustrations.
Share this with your toddler storytime for a winter theme. Best of all would be to have kids either bring their own mittens or supply the kids with mis-matched mittens to help act out the story. Even without the mittens, kids can pretend to have a mitten on and do the gestures along with the characters. A fun time indeed!

Rebel Angels is the second book in Libba Bray’s series that began with A Great and Terrible Beauty. In this book, Gemma Doyle returns to the Realms with her two friends Ann and Felicity, but things there are changing now that the magic has been unleashed. It is now Gemma’s task to try to find the Temple and bind the magic for the Order. But Gemma has personal demons of her own that she must struggle with, from her father’s addiction to laudanum to her own continuing self-doubt. Will she be able to find her way?
Both of the books in the series are must-haves for public libraries. They are not only well-written with vivid characters, terrible villiains and tangled storylines, but they are ripping good reads. You will find yourself caught up in this Victorian setting where magic rules though no one else realizes it. Recommend this series to girls who enjoy fantasy or romance and also those who like dark gothic books. Heck, any girl who reads books is going to enjoy this series!
Now I just have to wait for book three…

Nobody Laughs at a Lion by Paul Bright, illustrated by Matt Buckingham is one of those picture books that I picked up browsing in a neighboring library. It is the story of Lion trying to find what he is best at. He tries being the fastest runner but Cheetah beats him, the best tree climber is Monkey, the best one at sneaking through the grass is Snake, and the best at knocking down trees is Elephant. What could Lion possibly be best at? It is not until he is so frustrated that he ROARS that it is suddenly clear what makes Lion unique and the best.
The illustrations are bright colored and fun. The simple text makes this a perfect read-aloud for toddlers and preschoolers. Kids will anticipate the ending, but will enjoy the story along the way. There is even opportunity for gestures to be combined with the text and for restless kids to get up and move.

The Great Fuzz Frenzy by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel is a great read aloud. In fact, the book demands to be read aloud. It is the story of what happens when Violet the dog drops a tennis ball down into a prarie dog hole. The prairie dogs are cautious at first, but when the littlest dog reaches out and gets some of the fuzz on her claw, the entire community of prarie dogs goes fuzz crazy. Big Bark, the meanest prairie dog in town, tries to take control, but no one will listen to him. After the frenzy leaves all the dogs worn out and asleep, Big Bark takes all of the fuzz, but doesn’t realize what a dangerous position it puts him in. With rollicking language and great illustrations, this book is a lot of fun. The fold out pages that lead readers deeper into the prairie dog hole add so much to the story. I held three classes spellbound with this one and had repeat requests. This one has definitely made it onto my list of books I will read aloud again and again.

A Splendid Friend, Indeed by Suzanne Bloom is one of those picture books that has to be read aloud to be truly enjoyed. It is the story of an annoying duck and a studious bear. The bear is trying to read and is interrupted by the duck’s chatter. The bear tries to write instead and is again interrupted, and finally gets quite grumpy when he is trying to think and the duck again interrupts. Finally, the duck heads off merrily to get snacks and returns with a note that charms the bear out of his grumps and returns them to being splendid friends again.
The key to reading aloud this book is to give the duck a startlingly horrid voice and cuts through everything. This was the final book I read to a Kindergarten class and they loved it. They got the humor of being interrrupted. The humor of the ducks annoying voice. And then were charmed by the ending in the same way the bear was. It was a triumphant end to a story time. Great fun for both the reader and the listener.