MIND YOUR MANNERS!

 

Mother feels that one must have good table manners at all times. You never know when you might get a dinner invitation from the Queen. When young Maya receives a surprise invitation to the Queen's palace she gets to display her idea of acceptable table manners, and the Queen's guests are in  for quite a surprise.

MAYA MAKES A MESS by RUTU MODAN is an amusing graphic novel.  For 3rd grade and up.

LOOKING FOR HAPPINESS

Is it possible to find happiness in death? If you were the one dying, what could you do to make your passing away less painful for others? These are just a few thoughts I had after reading THE HAPPINESS OF KATI by Jane Vejjajiva. Kati lives with her grandparents because her mother has Lou Gehrig's disease and feels she isn't able to take care of Kati. But Kati really knows nothing about her mother until after her death, through the paper trail her mother left her to follow. Recommended for grades 5 and up.

A SCARY GHOST STORY

If you liked the movies The Others or The Sixth Sense, then this is the book for you. Breathe: A Ghost Story by Cliff McNish.

Jack is still recovering from his most recent asthma attack and the loss of his father when his mother moves them to an old farm house. Jack loves things with a history, just touching them allows him to see glimpses of the past of the previous owners.

But there are also spirits trapped in this house. A malevolent spirit of a dead mother who wants him, a child to love and one who will love her back. She wants a child to replace her dead daughter.

A good scare for readers in 5th grade and older.