DECLICIOUS CHOCOLATES ARE SPECIAL

The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop by Kate Saunders have  two of my favorite elements, chocolates and cats.  Twins, Oscar and Lily, move into a new home, in a new city that their father has inherited.  Long thought to be dead, their evil great uncle wants to capture the twins' magic in order to continue his diabolical plan to make a chocolate that would make other villains immortal.   Along with a secret sector of MI6, the twins are helped by Caydon, Demera and Spike, immortal cat and rat, to stop their great uncle's evil plans.  

This is a highly improbably story, especially when Demera, the cat, turns into a giant and  binges on McDonald burgers, but a lot of fun nonetheless.  
For readers in 4th -6th grade.  

SUPER COOL SOCIALLY MISFIT SPIES!

Braces. That's how Jackson, a once popular kid turns into one that the popular kids pick on. He loses his identity & cool standing but this gives him the opportunity to observe his classmates, discovering that the nerds are really spies operating right from inside the school! When Jackson himself accidentally becomes a spy and is reluctantly inducted into N.E.R.D.S. he realizes that all their supposed nerdish qualities have been retooled to become their greatest weapons and that includes his wicked new braces.

N.E.R.D.S: National Espionage, Defense and Rescue Society by Michael Buckley is very funny spy book with all the great gadgets and action of Alex Ryder and the humor of The Sisters Grimm. For readers in 5th -8th grade.

THE WHALES' EYES WILL LASER YOU

Just plain silliness abounds in WHALES ON STILTS by M.T. Anderson. I mean really - who ever heard of whales on stilts taking over the world?! Well, it may seem unbelievable to you, as it was to many grown-ups throughout this book, but to Lily, Katie & Jasper, the reality of the situation is that in a matter of days, there will be whales stomping across the city! It is up to them to save the world, and they don't have much time! Easy to read, funny and adventurous, this is a great book for 4th -7th grades.