Book Review: A Young Wizard's Handbook: How to Trap a Zombie, Track a Vampire, and Other Hands-on Activities for Monster Hunters by A. R. Rotruck

A Young Wizard's Handbook: How to Trap a Zombie, Track a Vampire, and Other Hands-on Activities for Monster Hunters
by A. R. Rotruck
Non-series

Wizards of the Coast Books for Young Readers
ISBN-10: 0-7869-5548-1
ISBN-13: 978-0-7869-5548-0
Publication Date: September, 2010
List Price: $12.95

Review: Have you ever wondered how to trap a zombie, or kill a medusa? If so, then you should read How to Trap a Zombie, Track a Vampire and Other Hands-On Activities for Monster Hunters by A.R Rotruck. As soon as you start flipping the very first pages in the book, you will immediately be pulled into the story.

Throughout this book, there is a wide variety of mythical creatures and the information you could ever want to know about them. One of the creatures in the book is the goblin. In the brief paragraphs about goblins, it reads "sometimes known as the mosquitoes of the monster world." On every page (including the goblin page), there is a fun activity you make and play, use, trap, etc. I liked this book mostly because of the fun activities tucked deep inside the book.

Not only does this book explains about a specific creature, but it also explains how to trap, kill, and banish a creature. Do you have an unfriendly ghost in your house? Or maybe you are curious as to how to track a vampire? Look deep inside this book and follow the directions EXACTLY to how they are written. You might even get lucky enough to catch a werewolf. This book is suitable to any person who can handle unusual creatures. I suggest this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy books involving the mythical creatures that live within feet of you. Also, to any child who has a mind that wanders. How to Trap a Zombie, Track a Vampire and Other Hands-On Activities for Monster Hunters taught me multiple useful and handy tips about the mythical creatures of the world and I think it will teach you too.

Review written by Krystyna (6th grade student).

We would like to thank Raab Associates for providing a copy of A Young Wizard's Handbook: How to Trap a Zombie, Track a Vampire, and Other Hands-on Activities for Monster Hunters for this review.

Have you read A Young Wizard's Handbook: How to Trap a Zombie, Track a Vampire, and Other Hands-on Activities for Monster Hunters? How would you rate it?

Book Review: The Coming of the Dragon by Rebecca Barnhouse

The Coming of the Dragon
by Rebecca Barnhouse
Non-series

Random House Books for Young Readers
ISBN-10: 0-375-86193-9
ISBN-13: 978-0-375-86193-2
Publication Date: October, 2010
List Price: $16.99

Review: Dragon! The Coming of the Dragon is written by Rebecca Barnhouse and it is not part of a series. The main character is Rune. The Coming of the Dragon is encouraged by the epic tale of Beowulf, and it takes place in the Kingdom of Geat which is the place in the epic poem of Beowulf. The Coming of the Dragon contains old English names and it is intended for readers' aged 14 years and younger.

Rune is a child who is thought to have a curse that will bring trouble to the kingdom of Geat. A stranger has awakened a dragon in the mountain and the villagers blame Rune for the bad luck. They thought Rune is an offering to the god when he was a baby found in a basket in the ocean. To them, it is wrong to save an offering. Amma, a foreseeing woman, somehow knew Rune is not an offering. The kingdom's people did not agree but, King Beowulf agreed to keep him. Now since the dragon has come, someone has to stop it. This dragon cannot be defeated by Beowulf alone. Who will the successor be if King Beowulf dies?

I thought The Coming of the Dragon was an okay book. I liked title of the book. It really suited the book. I first thought there would be only action and a little suspense. There is also romance in it. So if people like a little romance The Coming of the Dragon could appeal them. There if there were pictures in the book, I could visually see the characters. There was not very good description of characters and dragon. The descriptions of the characters were okay but, they were not described overly well, but they were not described horribly. In the end, I kind of liked The Coming of the Dragon.

Review written by Vraj (6th grade student).

We would like to thank Random House for providing a copy of The Coming of the Dragon for this review.

Have you read The Coming of the Dragon? How would you rate it?

Book Review: The Princess of Las Pulgas by C. Lee McKenzie

The Princess of Las Pulgas
by C. Lee McKenzie
Non-series

WestSide Books
ISBN-10: 1-934813-44-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-934813-44-7
Publication Date: December, 2010
List Price: $16.95

Review: "I should have stayed home sick." Don't you always feel this way when you don't want to go to school? This is what Carlie Edmund and her brother Keith Edmund feel after the death of their father in The Princess of Las Pulgas by C. Lee McKenzie. Carlie has grown up in the town of Channing. From time to time, their school's track team plays against Las Pulgas' team. The people from Channing have never liked Las Pulgas. Their track team isn't even as good as Channing's team. Carlie has bonds with people in Channing, and Keith is on their track team. When they find out that the death of their father results in a move to Las Pulgas, they aren't happy.

Carlie and Keith have just lost their father from cancer. When their mom finds out that she can't pay for their house anymore, everyone is appalled. She finds an apartment, but it ends up being in Las Pulgas. Carlie and Keith are super angry with their mom, but that doesn't change anything. Finally the big day comes and the apartment is . . . a drab. The place is filled with cobwebs and is trashed with dust bunnies. It doesn't get much better when the find out that when their neighbor is not smoking, she is swearing at her husband. Carlie feels that with every day in Las Pulgas, she is drifting more and more away from her best friend, Lena. To top it all of, she doesn't favor being the new girl. Everyone is always staring at her.

I love The Princess of Las Pulgas. It explains the feeling you get when you hear someone's voice when they aren't actually there. This adds a sense of suspense. You know that Carlie is trying to talk to her dead father, but while this is all happening, what will happen next? I didn't have to wait long to find out. I like how this book kept moving and did not drag along. Also, when C. Lee McKenzie wants to show a time lapse in the story, she summarizes it, as if Carlie was speaking. It doesn't take up unnecessary space in the book. The best thing about this book is probably how fast I got hooked on. Just by reading the short first chapters made me wonder what is going on. It made me want to read more, and eventually finish the book. If you like realistic-fiction books and reading about someone's troubles and how they are fixed, you will love this book. I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. I suggest you read this book.

Review written by Sahaj (6th grade student).

We would like to thank JKSCommunications for providing a copy of The Princess of Las Pulgas for this review.

Have you read The Princess of Las Pulgas? How would you rate it?

Book Review: Rome Antics by David Macaulay

Rome Antics
by David Macaulay
Non-series

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN-10: 0-618-38007-8
ISBN-13: 978-0-618-38007-7
Publication Date: January, 2011
List Price: $9.99

Review: When in Rome, fly the scenic route. Rome Antics by David Macaulay is about a carrier pigeon who decides to stop and enjoy the view in Rome. Little does he know that things have changed in Rome, Italy. Rome Antics is a historical fiction picture book that is fun and educational for all ages!!! The main and only character in Rome Antics is a pigeon.

Set in present day, a carrier pigeon is delivering a message while he decides to go the long way and see the beautiful city of Rome. This pigeon sees many sights like the Coliseum and the Pantheon. But the poor pigeon doesn't know Rome, Italy has changed from old times. He runs into many hardships like dogs and cats trying to eat him. Also, children playing soccer hit him with soccer balls. Many clothes lines also get in his way of seeing where the pigeon is going, and cars are a big trouble. This pigeon is wishing he never took this route until he sees the beautiful country land and delivers the message.

Rome Antics is a great historical picture book. I loved the beautiful drawings of the architecture of Rome. It was like I was flying above Rome with the pigeon. I also like the end of the book. I would give this book 5 stars for wonderful pictures and funny quotes. This book is great for all ages. I loved how after the story there is a map and a few pages of the history of the places the carrier pigeon went. This story was educational and fun!!!

Review written by Kyle (6th grade student).

We would like to thank Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing a copy of Rome Antics for this review.

Have you read Rome Antics? How would you rate it?

Book Review: Lives of the Presidents: Fame, Shame (and What the Neighbors Thought) by Kathleen Krull

Lives of the Presidents: Fame, Shame (and What the Neighbors Thought)
by Kathleen Krull
Lives of . . .

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN-10: 0-547-49809-8
ISBN-13: 978-0-547-49809-6
Publication Date: January, 2011
List Price: $21.00

Review: Historical, interesting, and downright funny are some of the many different words that describe Lives of the PresidentsFame, Shame, (And What the Neighbors Thought) . This updated book by Kathleen Krull and Kathryn Hewitt makes you laugh when you hear what some of our presidents have done. Are you curious to find the odd things about each president? Then you have read the right review. Find out some of the most interesting historical facts to ever be published.

Our book starts with George Washington. I am not referring to it as a story because the book is made of a collection of small biographies of each president. The book goes in order of when the president took office. From the first president to the 44th president all are included. In each biography, you get some basic information. It includes schooling, family, historical accomplishments, and fun facts. Sometimes they include favorite sports, foods, bad habits, and renovations to the White House. Which president was the first to install electric lights? Who tailored his own suites? Which president is considered our worst president? These questions and many, many more are answered in this collection of biographies.

I absolutely love this book! I found it very interesting. There are so many things that I never knew about that happened in the White House. All sorts of unknown things about their childhood are brought to your attention. Abraham Lincoln walked six miles to borrow a grammar book when he was young. Lots of interesting things like that are in Lives of the Presidents. You never know what is coming next in the book. Of course, there are some known facts and accomplishments. George Washington being a general in the Revolutionary War is an example. We all know that but the authors elaborate on details of the event. The book is all about the unknown details of our presidents' lives. I could not keep myself from laughing at some of the things our presidents did. Such as barking like a dog. Lives of the Presidents also made me realize how much I do not know about history. It made me want to learn more about things I have not experienced and have not learned. If only the rating scale went to six stars!

Review written by Kathryn (6th grade student).

We would like to thank Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing a copy of Lives of the Presidents: Fame, Shame (and What the Neighbors Thought) for this review.

Have you read Lives of the Presidents: Fame, Shame (and What the Neighbors Thought)? How would you rate it?

Book Review: Jake by Audrey Couloumbis

Jake
by Audrey Couloumbis
Non-series

A Random House Books for Young Readers
ISBN-10: 0-375-85630-7
ISBN-13: 978-0-375-85630-3
Publication Date: September, 2010
List Price: $15.99

Review: MOM! said Jake as his mom fell. Jakes life will never be the same in this book titled Jake. It is the only book in its series. It is written by Audrey Couloumbis. This book is exiting, heartbreaking and caring. The main character is Jake who is 10 years old.

One day Jake and his mom are walking out of the grocery store, and when they get to the car, Jake's mom slips on ice and blacks out. She is taken to the hospital by ambulance where she finds out that she has a broken leg. Jake finds a person who will take care of him while his mom is in the hospital, but he is mad that she might miss Christmas. His Granddad comes to help and gets Jakes mom a better doctor. But even so, she still is in the hospital and not in good shape. Will Jakes life ever be normal again?

The ending is very good and has a special pizzazz. It doesn't make that much sense, but you get a good feeling about it. The farther you get into the book, the better it gets, and eventually you start to fall in love with it, and you want to read it over and over again. That's why I read it faster then you can say Jake. It's hard for Jake because his mother is hurt and he wants to help as much as he can, but there is not much he can do but hope. Jake is phenomenal and has great meaning to it. If you ever see this book in the bookstore or anywhere else, then definitely take a chance with it.

Review written by Carson (6th grade student).

We would like to thank Random House for providing a copy of Jake for this review.

Have you read Jake? How would you rate it?

Book Review: A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

A Long Walk to Water
by Linda Sue Park
Non-series

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN-10: 0-547-25127-0
ISBN-13: 978-0-547-25127-1
Publication Date: November, 2010
List Price: $16.00

Review: Imagine being in the middle of a shoot out and being separated from your family. You would probably dread it. Salva could not dread, it was pure reality. Oh how I could just feel the pain and sorrow of Salva. A Long Walk to Water is about how Salva gets separated from his beloved family by countries away. This tragedy is because the Muslims want the people from Sudan to become Muslim. So Salva is on a quest to freedom. Will he survive or not?

Salva has to cross unbearable deserts just to get food and water. However, he does have one companion, his uncle. Though he and his uncle were not the only ones struck by the war. Hundreds were affected. Salva felt as if all of the people were coming to join his "group". Now with all the strangers surrounding Salva and his uncle it makes life much harder. Triple the amount of food but wait no water. Crossing lion-infested desserts with no water what so ever was going to be impossible. A couple months later the huge group made it to a refuge camp, but on the way a soldier kills Salva's uncle. Alone, after some years at the camp Salva is forced to leave and go to Kenya. His journey now starts with being in another refugee camp and ends with living in a cozy home in New York.

A Long Walk to Water is fantastic but also sorrowful. After reading this book I rate it a four stars out of five. It was extremely suspenseful, like when Salva was getting out of the shootout I thought he was going to get hurt. That just kept me reading. However when the refugee camp got repeated the book got less interesting. In the end, I recommend this book for eight and up because of the killing (it might be inappropriate). I have never read a more interesting book ever!

Review written by Zain (6th grade student).

We would like to thank Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing a copy of A Long Walk to Water for this review.

Have you read A Long Walk to Water? How would you rate it?