Skeleton for Dinner
Written by Margery Cuyler
Illustrated by Will Terry
Age Level: 4 - 8                                
​Grade Level: P – 3

​This book is as cute as the cover! Poor Skeleton hears the witches want to have him for dinner, but he’s afraid he’ll be on the menu. He turns to Ghost and Ghoul. Their best advice – hide.  That won’t solve the problem, but, at least Skeleton won’t be dinner. Can anyone help? There is a little birdie, and they always seem to have the inside scoop. However dinner turns out, this is one cute story!

Mr. Lemoncello and the Titanium Ticket
Written by Chris Grabenstein
Age Level: 8 - 12                                                          
​Grade Level: 3 – 7

​I loved this book, but the prologue threw me off. I’m new to this series, and I was expecting to see the characters I met in the prologue back in chapter 1. Evidently they’ve been in books 1-4.
 
Instead I met Simon Skrindle. He’s a great main character. Super intelligent with logic and riddles. Talented at building things. The problem? He’s the only kid in town who can’t play Mr. Lemoncello’s games. He’s also bullied because of his geeky appearance and interests.
 
The plot reminds me a little of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Mr. Lemoncello is looking forward to retirement, and he wants to find the perfect child to hand his game empire to. Kids will love the twists and turns as each character fights to win the first titanium ticket, plus Mr. Lemoncello’s versions of  games like Candyland. It’s Nickoledeon, but with more slime! I can’t wait to see where the games go in the next Lemoncello book!

Dino-Halloween
Written by Lisa Wheeler
Illustrated by Barry Gott
Age Level: 5 - 9                                               
​Grade Level: K – 3

​If you love Lisa Wheeler’s other dinosaur books, you are in for a treat! This is the first holiday book I’ve seen. You can
celebrate Halloween by carving pumpkins and picking costumes, dinosaur-style. I can’t wait for Thanksgiving and Christmas with my favorite rhyming dinosaurs.

Morris . . . the Downside-Up Bat
Written & Illustrated by H.R. Karpes
Age Level: 3 - 6                                   
​Grade Level: PS – 1

​This is a cute story about adapting to change and staying true to yourself! An owl thinks Morris looks like a tasty dinner. But when he strikes a new pose, the owl changes his mind.
 
Hanging from his hands gives Morris a new view on bugs, and rock music. The other bats bully him about it. They fight to keep him out of the talent show. Read how Morris finds his way onstage, to his own rock and roll dreams.

Upside Down Magic
Written by   Sarah Mlynowski,   Lauren Myracle, 
​                    &   Emily Jenkins
Age Level: 8 - 12                                                             
Grade Level: 3 – 7

​I loved this book! It was so unexpected! I knew it’d be about mixed-up magic, but I never guessed it’d be about a group of misfit magicians.
 
When Nory is tested for her dad’s school, her magic goes wonky. She doesn’t turn into a dragon (advanced magic), or a kitten (regular). She changes into a dritten (half of each). Her father sends her away without a word. He won’t even let her brother or sister contact her.
 
Nory is sent to live with her aunt, to go to a regular school, to the dummy class. The misfits are bullied, but they learn to work together, to recognize it’s OK to be different. You’ll have to read to find out how they solved their own problems. If you liked this story, check out the other 6 books in the series.

​ Over and Under the Pond
Written by Kate Messner
Illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
Age Level: 5 - 8                                                                   
​Grade Level: 1 – 2

I loved this book as much as I did OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW. I was fascinated by what was down there, animals that I never, ever would have guessed.
 
This one is just as beautifully done. It shows kids what they can see and do above the pond. But even more suprising for this retired teacher, was what was going on below, unsuspected, unimagined.
 
The Back Matter includes a paragraph and a small picture about each animal. There’s also Further Reading listed for interested kids that includes both books and websites. THIS, is so well done. No wonder there are 4 books in the Over and Under series!

Glamourpuss
Written by Sarah Weeks
Illustrated by David Small
Age Level: 4 - 6                                                           
​Grade Level: PS – 1

​Meet Glamourpuss! She’s one spoiled kitty. She even has  millionaire owners, Mr. and Mrs. Highhorsen. (Love those names!) Life is good until Mr. H’s sister visits, AND brings her dog. The drama goes into overdrive when that dog dares to appear in finer, more dazzling clothing than Glamourpuss is wearing. She even starts to doubt her own fashion sense until she makes an important discovery. Sorry, I can’t give it away. It would ruin the ending. But, I can tell you the pictures are out-of-this-world. David Small even used glitter! 

Just Grace and the Super Sleepover
Written by Charise Mericle Harper
Illustrated by Rachel Clowes
Age Level: 6 - 9                                                            
Grade Level: 1 – 4

I loved this story! Grace is such a great character! She’s invited to a camp-out sleepover, but she’s terrified. Grace ties herself into knots, forgets to buy a card for the birthday girl, and then blames a ghost for taking it. Grace reminds me of Junie B. She’s very kid-like, makes lots of mistakes, but has a great heart. Kids will love the cartoonish/graphic novel illustrations. No wonder this is book 11 from a 12 book series!

Always Remember
Written by Cece Meng
Illustrated by Jago
Age Level: 3 - 7                                                        
​Grade Level: PS – 2

​This picture book is as beautiful as the cover. The story inside shows kids how to deal with death, through kindness and friendship. When Old Turtle dies, one by one, his friends step forward to share their favorite memories. People and animals die, but friendships and good memories can last forever.

Ratscalibur (Chronicles of the Low Realm)
Written by Josh Lieb
Age Level: 8 – 12                                                                
Grade Level: 3 – 7 

​I read this story a few years ago. It was #22 out of the 111 chapter books/middle grade novels I’ve read and recorded in my Picture Book Journal. I still remember this book, even though it was 89 books ago.
 
Why? It’s a great story, and it’s unusual. A boy moves to the city, and an uncle gives him a rat (not my kind of gift), but the Rat is a ragician (rat magician. He bites the boy and turns him into a rat too. Our hero is sent to deliver a message to King Uther, the King of Avalon. The rat kingdom is in danger, and it needs a hero. Our hero sees a spork stuck in a hard biscuit. He pulls it out, and becomes a hero. Then the real adventure begins! Can our hero rescue the rat kingdom from the evil crows? Can he change back into a boy again? I can’t answer, but I can tell you there’s a happy ending.
 
I can also tell you this book was reviewed and loved by Jimmy Fallon (from TV), Daniel Pinkwater (one of my favorite authors), and Richard Peck (2001 Newberry winner). Wow! It’s like the triple crown of reviews!