​Wei To Go
Written by Lee Y. Miao
Age Level: 8 – 12
Grade Level: 2 – 6
 
Are you looking for adventure? That’s what you get when your mom wins a free trip to Hong Kong, but your dad’s business is in trouble. Black Turtle, a Hong Kong company, wants to take over. Follow Ellie Wai Pettit and her brother Kipp to Hong Kong. They have four days to explore the city and to save dad’s company. Can they do both? You’ll have to read and find out how this adventure ends.
 
My favorite part – how Ellie thinks and talks to her family. This line made me chuckle, “A kid never wants to scare her parents.” Truth! Teenagers are happier without parents knowing their business, especially the adventurous kind.

Dodging Dinosaurs: Time Jumpers #4
Written by Wendy Mass
Illustrated by Oriol Vidal
Age Level:  6 – 8
Grade Level: 1 – 3   

​I loved this story, and I think young readers will too. Its plot – Dynomite! It features kids traveling back in time to save a baby dinosaur. Its egg was switched, and the wrong dinosaur skeleton is in the museum. Can Chase and Ava make things right? You’ll have to read to find out!
 
Dodging Dinosaurs is #4, the last in the Time Jumpers series. I loved it so much it makes me want to check out the other three books.    

​Heidi Heckelbeck Pool Party
Written by Wanda Coven
Illustrated by Priscilla Burris
Age Level: 5 – 9
Grade Level: K – 4
 
A pool party?! With magic?! Yes, please! The plot revolves around Heidi, her swim team, and a party to raise money for equipment. The beginning is a little teachy-preachy, but the rest of the story is as fun as its cover. And the ending . . . Heidi nailed it! I bet kids will love it as much as I did . . . Pool Party is #29 out of a series of 34 books.

​Picture Perfect
Written by Jenny Goebel
Age Level: 8 – 12
Grade Level: P – 3

​ LOVED this book! I couldn’t imagine a pig as a pet, let alone as a therapy animal, but now I can. And the characters in this story – they’re so well done! Grace is a 12-year-old girl whose mother just got married. There are so many kids who can identify with Grace and the adjustments she’s making to start this new family. This is her first Christmas to share her mom with anyone else. Poor Grace! She can’t even decide what to call her new stepfather.
 
It gets even worse when Mr. P, her stepdad, gives her a pig for Christmas. Grace was absolutely sure she was finally going to get that doodle dog she’d always wanted. NOT! This book is full of great themes for tweens and teens, stepfamilies, boys, friends, and even for understanding yourself. I hope teens and tweens will love it like I did.

​​Don’t Check Out This Book!
Written by Kate Klise
Illustrated by M. Sarah Klise
Age Level: 8 – 12
Grade Level: 3 – 7

​Please check this one out! It’s so well done! The plot, the characters, especially their names! Rita B. Danjerous or May B. Danjerous – so clever! It’s also a graphic novel, done with text messages, emails, and newspaper articles. Warning – there’s so much to read that I needed reading glasses . . . I didn’t want to miss a detail, and I don’t think kids will either! This book is TOO much fun!

​Mrs. Noodlekugel
Written by Daniel Pinkwater
Illustrated by Adam Stower
Age Level: 5 – 9
Grade Level: K – 4

​Mrs. Noodlekugel was one of the first books I recorded in my reading journal back when it was a new book. It’s been a while!
 
I loved the story from cover to cover! The setting – a tiny house in the center of New York City. The characters – a little old lady, her pet mice, and a few gingerbread ones too. The genre – fantasy with a gingerbread man, a little magic, plus a modern twist. It’s an early reader that doesn’t talk down to its audience, and it’s also the first book in a series of three. It’s perfect for young readers who are looking for an adventure!

Cat Stronauts: Digital Disaster
Written by Drew Brockington
Age Level: 6 – 10
Grade Level: 1 – 5

​This is a great graphic novel! It’s Book 6 in this series! The Cat Stronauts have been sent to check out the Space Hotel before the grand opening. The top kittens at Space Camp are invited too. Everything’s on track until AVA (Advanced Artificial Intelligence) meets Cat-Stro-Bot. AVA wants to escape so she quits the hotel system and takes over Cat-Stro-Bot’s circuits. Can you imagine the disasters! Can the cats save the hotel? You’ll have to read to find out.
 
BTW – I was sure this story was written by someone who understood space. Drew did! He flew in the space shuttle – at Space Camp! 

​​Our Friend Hedgehog: The Story of Us
Written & Illustrated by Lauren Castillo
Age Level: 5 – 8
Grade Level: K – 4

​I love this story of friendship and teamwork! Hedgehog lives on an island, alone with his best friend Mutty. When a storm hits, they’re washed away. Hedgehog makes it to safety, but not Mutty. Follow the search as Hedgehog finds new friends. The best part – they all work together to find the missing Mutty. This is a new series of friendship adventures for Hedgehog. 

​Bear Country
Written by Doreen Cronin
Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin
Age Level: 7 – 10
Grade Level: 2 – 5

Who doesn’t love a good mystery? The chicks from the  Chicken Squad sure do! This is the 6th book in their crime solving series. The day starts off with Anna McClanahanahan’s missing hamster. Things get worse when Barbara disappears before she feeds them breakfast. Then the unimaginable – a headless bear’s roaming the neighborhood. So many mysteries! Can the Chicken Squad  solve any of them, AND get fed? 
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​Claws
Written by Mike and Rachel Grinti
Age Level: 10 and up
Grade Level: 5 – 9 

​This book was so clever I couldn’t put  it down. Emma’s sister is missing. It looks impossible . . . until a talking cat, Jack, tells Emma that her sister has been kidnapped by fairies. The kind who use human eyes to see. Follow Emma and Jack into a forest filled with harpies and hags, trolls and crags. Will Emma and Jack return with her sister, and their eyes intact? You’ll have to read to find out!
 
PS – My favorite part was the Crag fact that started each chapter. They led me deeper into the fantasy of this story.