​ The Cookie Fiasco
Written & Illustrated by Dan Santat & Mo Willems
Age Level: 6 - 8                                                                                                    
Grade Level: 1 – 3
 
OMG – Oh My Gosh – this book is kid, AND teacher good! Their pitch, and the promise to the reader . . . Four Friends. Three Cookies. One Problem .
 
Brilliant! A great story! Plus it helps kids understand fractions, even equivalent fractions. Brilliant! I am sending this title to my teacher friends in 3rd and 4th grades. Brilliant!

Hippos are Huge
Written by Jonathan London
Illustrated by Matthew Trueman
Age Level: 5 - 8                                                  
​Grade Level: K – 3
 
I absolutely love this book! It’s nonfiction, and each spread is so well put together. Each one starts with a general fact in big  print. Then a specific one is in smaller type. The illustrations are perfect for both.
 
This pair fits the front cover –
General fact – Hippos are huge!
 Specific fact – It’s so big that  a baseball bat could fit in its mouth.

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!