THE GRIFFIN'S RIDDLE

If you could travel to the imaginary world to find a cure, would you? Ben and Pearl from Buttonville do!  Ben is a ten-year-old whose parents are going through a rough patch and Pearl is Ben’s new friend who loves adventure and allows her curiosity to get her in trouble.  When Mrs. Mulberry, the snoopy committee president, needed to visit Dr. Woo the duo knew they were in trouble.  

Ben and Pearl could not allow anyone to find out that there was a portal to the imaginary world inside Dr. Woo’s hospital but that was not the only problem the two faced. Ben and Pearl learn that both Dr. Woo and the Sasquatch have fallen ill with Troll Tonsillitis which can spread throughout the town within hours. Now it’s up to Ben and Pearl to find a cure from the imaginary world.

Read the Griffin’s Riddle by Susanne Selfors to find out if the duo was able to help the Dr. Woo and the Sasquatch or did the entire town of Buttonville catch Troll Tonsillitis. The fifth book of the Imaginary Veterinary is filled with mythical creatures and fun riddles.

For grades 3-6

DOWN ON THE BAYOU - SOUTHERN GOTHIC FOR KIDS

There are many emotional animal stories dealing with adventure and tragedy, but none as poetically beautiful as THE UNDERNEATH by Kathi Appelt. Many creatures lurk in dark places, waiting to come out into the light. Some are evil, but some, like two frisky kittens and their mom, are innocent and curious. Unfortunately, from their home underneath the porch of a mean old man called Gar Face, the cat family and their trusty watch dog and companion Ranger rarely get to experience the light. When they dare to risk it, their lives are changed forever. Written with captivating imagery and the dark enchanting tone of a much more mature novel, this story will draw readers in to its tangled web of raw feelings and vivd personification of the many animal characters. Appropriate for grades 6 and up.

CREEPY, AND CREEPIER

Courtney has just moved into her uncle's mansion with her clueless and self absorbed parents when she realizes there's something strange about her uncle's mansion. The kids in the new school are weird but the mansion and her uncle are seriously creepy. Curiosity gets the better of Courtney and all is not as it seems in the Crumrin mansion or the 'burbs. her uncle catches her going through his things and she sees that he's not the creepy one but he's just private and trying to protect her from a cast of creepier characters living in another world alongside the human world. She discovers the talking cat, a wolf, and other magical and dark beings whom she must conquer in order to survive.

Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things by Ted Naifeh is truly creepy graphic novel for those who like Cirque Du Freak or those too old for Goosebumps. Just looking at the blank eyes of the characters in the book are enough to give you the shivers.

For 6th & up.

A NEW AND IMPROVED MAGICAL ORPHAN!

He lives in an orphanage. He doesn't have a scar, but he does have a strange spiral birthmark on the bottom of his foot. He thinks his name is Ernie Banks, but it's not. He doesn't have a magic wand, but he does have a mysterious crystal acorn that's hung on his neck ever since the mean orphanage mother found him on the doorstep. There's a history to his life that he doesn't even know about. Not until he happens to get sent to a farm for a few weeks in summer, and strange coincidences intermix with crazy monsters, small elf-like creatures, and the first humans to ever show Ernie what it feels like to be loved. PUDDLEJUMPERS by Mark Jean & Christopher C. Carlson is a great story about what one boy does to save an entire species without even knowing it. For 6th grade and up.

JELLABY BELLABY

Awakened by a mysterious dream, Portia discovers what she presumes is a lost purple dragon like creature in the woods behind her home. Hiding her new secret companion becomes very hard since Jellaby keeps following her wherever she goes. After seeing a photograph of a door, Portia decides that must be where Jellaby came from, and sets off on a journey to the city to take him home.


An unusual graphic adventure for readers in 4th grade and older.
Jellaby by Kean Soo.