EMBRACE WHO YOU TRULY ARE

Nory Horace is a sweet girl who possesses a special, magical talent. Although she has the ability to turn into an animal, she's unable to maintain its shape for very long.  Instead of turning into just a kitten, she'll turn into a 'bitten (beaver plus kitten) or a 'skunkephant' (skunk plus elephant').  What can be the cause of this?  By her father's request, Nory is sent away from home to attend a new school, one that offers a class to those who have upside-down magic.  Nory is frustrated with her abilities, but she soon finds hope when her teacher Ms. Staff shows her the secret to discovering her true self.

Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle, and Emily Jenkins are a great team of writers who show that unusual talents can also be quite special in Upside Down Magic.  

For 3rd-5th grade.

A NEARER MOON

A Nearer Moon written by Melanie Crowder is a story about a young girl, Luna, who is determined to save her little sister.  The story takes place in a village where over the years the swap water, as the elders say, has been cursed.  Luna’s mother had three rules never to be broken:  don’t go past the bend in the river;  don’t go below the dam; and steer far away from the slick.

The book touches on important topics such as sisterhood, environment and determination with Luna’s character portraying bravery and wholesomeness and amazing sisterly love.  

This book is for ages 8-12 but it is slow-paced and a little complex in the beginning.

THE MALONEYS' MAGICAL WEATHERBOX

The Maloney siblings Neil, Liz and Owen have a secret: their father is the Weatherbox keeper.  Right outside of the family's house is an old telephone booth.  Now this isn’t just any old telephone booth….this one is MAGICAL!  Mr. Maloney has a tough job.  Four times a year the phone rings and he must answer it to change the season, but when autumn comes and the phone doesn’t ring the Maloneys become anxious.

Will there still be a chance for the Maloneys to save the seasons? Maybe they should turn their attention to their new tourists.  After all, the chaos started after they showed up.  Or, maybe it’s the most mysterious character of all, Mrs. Fitzgerald, their neighbor.  Will the Maloneys and the rest of Midland Ireland be doomed forever?

The Maloneys’ Magical Weatherbox by Nigel Quinlan takes place in Ireland in this engaging tale full of unique characters all tangled up.  The book touches on gender bias, the climate and team work.

For ages 9-12

AN OLD STORY WITH A NEW TWIST

You would be wise not to anger the Brixen witch. But what if you make her angry by accident? Nope, doesn't matter. She is still going to haunt and hex you. That's what happens to Rudi when he stumbles upon a gold coin while he's out foraging around the forest. The next thing he knows he is being haunted by a creepy noise. Even after he puts the coin back on the mountain (sort of) a plague of rats infects the town! 

THE BRIXEN WITCH by Stacy DeKeyser will have you guessing about what happens next, and it's not what you expect! This is a retelling of the classic Pied Piper story, but with many great twists and a completely different ending. 

For 3rd - 6th grades.

IS GOOD LUCK ALL IT'S CRACKED UP TO BE?

Nate Harlow is about as unlucky as one kid can get. He has never once in his life won a coin toss, the toaster burns his toast every morning, and there's never a prize at the bottom of his Cracker Jacks. His best friend Gen Beam, the smartest person Nate knows, swears there's no such thing as luck at all--with the law of averages it's all bound to even out over time. Until then, though, Nate's stuck being a loser with just a single friend. 

But everything changes on Nate's 11th birthday--the day he's struck by lightning. Not only is he lucky enough to survive, all of a sudden Nate can't lose. Coin tosses, contests, and baseball games--he wins them all! Just when it seems like all his wishes are coming true, things start to get complicated, and all Nate's luck sets off some unintended consequences. Pretty soon Nate starts to wonder--is there such a thing as too much good luck? 

Bobbie Pyron's charming novel Lucky Strike, about family, friends, and fortune, will make a page-turning read for 4th to 6th graders. 

ROSARIO'S FIG TREE

Rosario is a gardening magician according to his young neighbor next door.  Rosario knows exactly when to plant the vegetable seeds and she loves helping Rosario care for the garden. One day, Rosario decides to dig a hole for a potted fig tree he recently bought.  He takes the tree out of the pot and places it in the ground and watches it grow.  He gives figs to his friends and neighbors but when winter rolls around his young neighbor could not understand why Rosario would bury the tree.  

In Rosario’s Fig Tree, author Charis Wahl has written a simple story about the young neighbors' experience with gardening.

For ages K-2nd grade

OPERATION BUNNY

Emily Vole starts her life in a little hat box abandoned in an airport. When the wealthy and childless Dashwoods see the baby Emily on the news, they decide to adopt her. But when Emily turns five, Daisy Dashwood becomes pregnant with triplets, and Emily is banished to the laundry room and expected to be the Dashwoods' maid and babysitter. 

Emily's life as a housekeeper is not fun, until she meets their quirky neighbor Miss String, who has a large talking cat and believes in magic. Soon, Emily finds herself inheriting a set of magic keys with legs that open a secret shop, and attracts the wrath of the evil witch Harpella, who is known to steal souls and turn people into pink bunnies.

Operation Bunny is the first book of the Wings & Co. series by Sally Gardner, with wonderfully zany illustrations by David Roberts. Emily Vole is one smart cookie of a character, and it was fun to read about her wild adventures. Of course, the pink bunnies were also a big part of the allure. We will be looking forward to Emily's new adventures.
For grades 3 and up.

A BEWITCHING TALE OF MISSPELLING

Who doesn't love a good witch story? Well this is a good story about a bad witch. Not an evil witch, just a girl named Salem Hyde who isn't very good at being a witch. Enter Whammy, a talkative cat (who doesn't like flying) who serves as Salem's trainer and friend, and helps her become a better "speller." 

THE MISADVENTURES OF SALEM HYDE: SPELLING TROUBLE by Frank Cammuso is the first book in what might be a very amusing Graphic Novel series for 3rd - 6th grades.

NOVEMBER 2014

THE FORBIDDEN LIBRARY

Talking cats? Alice knew something strange was going on when she heard a talking cat. Intrigued, twelve-year-old Alice follows the strange feline and is eventually convinced into entering a mysterious library she was forbidden to enter and opens one of its books!  How could an obedient girl who had never been defiant brake such a rule? It was the love for reading that was so strong she could not resist. Upon entering the library, Alice also meets an arrogant boy who brings just as much trouble as the talking cat.  It did not take Alice long to figure out the book she opened was magical.  Accidentally, Alice and the cat are sucked inside the book.  But Alice’s troubles continue as she must now defeat a creature living within the book.  How did Alice get caught up in so much magic?  Well, it all started one night while Alice was sneaking around and she sees her father talking to a bumble bee fairy.  The following day Alice’s father disappears as the ship goes down at sea.  Alice is sent to live with an unheard of uncle named Geryon and it is Geryon who forbade Alice from going into his library. 

As the pages turn Alice becomes less and less trusting of the characters she meets.

The Forbidden Library by Django Wexler is a mix of genres of adventure, mystery and fantasy. The author incorporates magic just enough where it is not overwhelming. Wexler also brings the book to an end as he leads the reader towards the sequel.

Read the book and find out what happens to Alice.

For readers in 5th grade and up. 

SCHOOL OF MAGIC

There is a new wizard boy on the block.

And his name is Callum Hunt. Raised by his magic-hating father, Call grows up thinking that all magicians are evil, and were responsible for his mother's death when he was merely a baby. So when he is called to take the mandatory exams that might lead to his acceptance to the Magisterium, he is carefully coached by his father to do everything in order to fail. But although he tries very hard to fail (to fail), Call is picked nonetheless and has to attend his first year - the Iron Year - at the Magisterium. Together with his new friends Tamara and Aaron, Callum is coached by Master Rufus in magic skills in preparation for the Iron Trial, which will signify the end of the school year. But there is more to the world of magic than Callum knows, and he slowly starts to wonder if his father was right in cautioning him against it. There is an enemy that has been hidden for years waiting to resurface - calling himself the Enemy of Death -who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

The Iron Trial is the first book of a projected five-book series from popular children's and young adult literature writers Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. Readers will find many similarities with the Harry Potter series, but whether this is a bad or a good thing is up to the reader to decide.


For grades 5 and up.

A MAGICICAL SATURDAY AFTERNOON

Jay Leslie* will astound you with his incredible feats of magic this coming Saturday at 2PM. Join us for a post Halloween treat.
For Ages 4 and older.

Central Library
Auditorium
2 p.m.
Call 818-548-2035 for more information.

* Jay Leslie will perform in place of Arty Loon.

ODESSA AGAIN!

Odessa is a smart, funny and a very generous person who is worried about her family, her parents’ divorce and how she is going to make it through fourth grade.  Above all else, what she really wishes is a way she will be able to turn back the time to fix all that is bothering her.  If only she could have this super power! 

Well, there is a saying which goes something like this…”be careful of what you wish for” because, your wish might come true and you might not be able to handle the outcome of those particular wishes…

One day she finds herself having that same particular power of turning back time and ‘fixing’ things…She succeeds in fixing the easer things in her life of course, and every time she fixes a smaller problem, she feels more in control of her faith… But of course, she is way too young to see that sometimes, in life you have to let nature and your own fate to guide and lead you to the right direction.   Hence, her realizing that perhaps there is a reason why her parents are divorced or why her own brother needs to be selective when it comes to finding friends. 

Literally, this enchanted story will make fall in love with Odessa and her adventures.  

Odessa Again by Dana Reinhardt is truly a fun read that will make your heart a little fuzzier and your smile a little brighter. 

For grades 5th and up.

VENETIAN MYSTERIES

Jared, Shireen and Miranda are three kids forced to live in Venice, Italy for their Dad's job. At first, Miranda is the only one enjoying herself. But an accidental visit to a strange bookstore shines a whole new light on the city on the water. Talking animal statues and creatures jumping out of paintings are just some of the mysterious things that happen to them, and it all seems to parallel a story their Dad is reading to them in a book that is centuries old. How is it possible? 

THROUGH THE SKYLIGHT by Ian Baucom, is a very detailed mystery that has lots of danger and impossibility at every turn. You never know what is going to happen next! 

For grades 5 and up.

July 2014

SOARING AND OTHER MATTERS

If you like a bit of adventure, magic and the possibility of people flying on their own in your stories, then The Art of Flying by Judy Hoffman is for you. 

It all starts when Fortuna Dalliance’s mother sends the eleven-year-old off to help the very old and strange pair of ladies who live down the street. Not your typical neighbors, the live not only in a very unusual and creepy house but also may possess magic powers. Though this encounter with the sisters, or should we say witches, Fortuna becomes involved in a fantastical adventure that includes birds that have been transformed into boys, cats that are not what they seem and a question of friendship.

For readers in 5th-8th grades.

OOH-YUM-YUM!

Alfie and his sister Emilia have the best great-aunt Zia ever.  When she visits, she makes them feel loved, cooks delicious foods, and adds a little magic to their lives.  Zia's magic lands Alfie and Emilia in the middle of Paris and straight into a French Cooking School where they must pass their lessons and eat delicious foods while trying to figure out how to get back home to America before Alfie's big soccer game on Saturday.

In the spirit of the Magic Tree House series, kids in 3rd and 4th grade can become a foodie along with Alfie and Emilia in Giada De Laurentiis's new series, Recipe for Adventure.  The first two books, Naples! and Paris! can be found in the J Paperbacks under the letter D.  Each book also comes with two recipe cards in the back for you to enjoy the same Zia creations as Alfie and Emilia.

SEPTEMBER, A GIRL, AND SATURDAY, AN "ALMOST HUMAN" BOY

I like adventure. I like traveling to new and exciting places I've never been before. I do not, however, want to solve all the problems when I get somewhere. Maybe one or two small problems, like giving some first aid cream to a kid with diaper rash, or food for a homeless person. This is how September felt when she ended up in Fairyland, hoping for a nice, calm, relaxing adventure. Instead she is faced with evil creatures and a bunch of Fairyland problems that she is asked to help with. She meets a dragon who loves books more than she does (reading them, not eating them), and a boy named Saturday who is blue. Like blue as in color, not as in he's sad. Together they defeat evil and triumph over Fairyland. 

If you like Alice in Wonderland or The Chronicles of Narnia, you will definitely love THE GIRL WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED FAIRYLAND IN A SHIP OF HER OWN MAKING by Catherynne Valente. For grades 5 and up.

JULY 2013

MAGIC AND MYSTERY

Remember Stuart Horten? Tiny Stuart from Lissa Evans' first book Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms: Magic, Mystery & a Very Strange Adventure? Well, now that he's located his Uncle's miraculous mechanisms, he's back in a new book called HORTEN'S INCREDIBLE ILLUSIONS: MAGIC, MYSTERY & ANOTHER VERY STRANGE ADVENTURE to see what those mechanisms do. As usual, his friend and neighbor April is by his side helping him unravel the mysteries that lie waiting for discovery. But danger is around every turn with these kids, and you never know what's going to happen next! This is a great continuation of an intriguing, quick-paced series. 

For 4th-8th grades.

MAY 2013

I NEED A KID'S OPINION!!!

So, I read a book recently called SUMMER AND BIRD by Katherine Catmull, and I have to say I am not so sure kids will like it. The Accelerated Reader program has given it a 5th grade reading level, and I would say there aren't many words that are too difficult. But there are parts to this book that just don't make sense. It talks about a great swan who used to lead all the birds to a special place every year, kind of like when birds fly south for the winter. But the great swan hasn't been around for 13 years because a man fell in love with her, and they had two girls - Summer and Bird. One day, the parents disappear and Summer and Bird go on this strange adventure to find them. I would like to hear if any 5th graders have read this book, or maybe get some 5th graders to read this book, to see if it makes sense or if some crazy person in the land of publishing made a mistake. Is this book really for kids? Let me know... For grades 5 and up?

APRIL 2013

THERE ARE A LOT OF WEIRD BOOKS IN THE WORLD...

Katherine Paterson, author of well-known books like Bridge to Terabithia and Jacob Have I Loved, has stepped into the world of English fairy tales with her new book THE FLINT HEART. Actually, the story itself is based on a book from over 100 years ago by someone named Eden Phillpott. This book starts in the time of "Early Man" (a long, long, LONG time ago) and ends up in what seems to be present day. It does take place in Dartmoor, England and it involves fairies and "jacky toads" and badgers and "Zagabogs". Things you've never heard of, I'm sure, but you'll be glad to know them once you read about them. Oh, and you'll absolutely love Charles and Unity who save the day from the evil flint heart that ruins everyone's lives! You may want a dictionary nearby because there's a lot of new words to learn...for grades 4-8.

JANUARY 2013

IT'S NOT EASY SEEING INTO THE FUTURE

Lizzy Mortimer is hoping her English teacher will let her pass her English class, even though she has neglected to turn in her final project. In the world's longest letter, Lizzy explains the mysterious and exciting adventure that's prevented her from turning in her project, and adventure that harkens onto the days of Arthurian legend - include some creepy encounters with Vivienne le Mort and Morgan le Faye! Could it be that one of the town members has the mark of Arthur? What does that mean? Well, it's Lizzy's job to figure it out, and to prevent one very handsome boy from being killed!

THE DEATH CATCHERS by Jennifer Anne Kogler is an exciting story for magic and historical fiction fans alike! For 6th grade and up.