Brooke's Review: Bad Unicorn by Platte F. Clark

Brooke is my 10-year-old daughter who loves to read! She wants to review them, too, so her posts will be included from time to time. This is a book that a friend told her about and they were going to compete to see who could finish it first. He had to drop out, but Brooke was too involved in the story by then to quit. I haven't read this book so, obviously, I don't have a review to include this time.

Bad Unicorn, by Platte F. Clark
2013, 432p, Middle-grade Fantasy
Brooke's Rating=5 Stars
Source: Purchased a paperback copy



It wasn't Max Spencer's idea to fight robots, lead an army, or save the world—it just so happens that he's the only living person who can read the most fantastical book ever written: The Codex of Infinite Knowability. The Codex is no ordinary book, and among other things, it describes a unicorn named Princess the Destroyer.

Princess the Destroyer is no ordinary unicorn. She loves nothing more than hunting down, killing, and eating other creatures. After all, what's the point of having a sharp horn on your forehead if you don't use it for destructive purposes? And right now Princess has a very definite purpose: Find Max and retrieve the lost Codex for an evil sorcerer and his mysterious master. If she can do that, she's been promised an all-the-humans-you-can-eat buffet in Texas.

Stuck in another world and with a carnivorous unicorn on his trail, Max must find the courage to save himself, his friends, and, oh yeah...the entire human race

Max Spencer thinks he is a normal kid. His life is books, friends, video games and getting beat up by bullies. Dirk, Max's best friend, has about the same life. They meet a girl named Sarah and she becomes their friend. They meet Dwight and together they travel to the future.

Princess is a unicorn that has a taste for blood she will stop at nothing to eat all humans alive. She is fierce and was sent to the techrus (the human world) to retrieve the codex of infinite knowability. She eats all humans alive according to the future. Can Max and his friends save the human race or will they die along with the human race?

My favorite character is Sarah. She is amazing at judo and knows how to fight. She is smart and I admire her. I like that there's a lot of action so it held my attention the whole time. I'm looking forward to the next book!

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Platte F. Clark shares his first name with the midwestern Platte River, which he's been told means "wide and shallow." Despite that he was able to find a woman to marry and produce seven offspring with.

Platte graduated Cum Laude with a BS in Philosophy and an MS in English, and currently lives with his family in Utah.

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Brooke's Review: The Disneyland Quest by Matt Ainsworth

My daughter, Brooke, who is 10 years old, loves to read. A while ago, she wanted to blog weekly but that soon became a bit too much for her. She's ready to start back up again and will share her reviews when she's able. This is a book that she read to me, so we will both share our thoughts about it.

The Disneyland Quest, by Matt Ainsworth
2012, 197p, Middle-grade Fiction
Brooke's Rating=5 Stars
My Rating=4 Stars
Source: Bought a Kindle copy



15 year-old Dizzy Walker and his younger sister Ana are about to meet their mom's new boyfriend, Steve, and his son, Travis, for the first time. To make the introduction go smoothly, Steve offers to pay for Dizzy and his family to meet in Disneyland; Dizzy's favorite place in the world.
When they arrive at the theme park, they learn about a once in a lifetime treasure hunt called The Disneyland Quest.

Clues are hidden throughout Disneyland, leading the quest participants to the combination of a vault set up on Main Street and the $250,000 prize inside.

Dizzy, Ana, and Travis must work together in a race against the clock, thousands of opponents, and the mysterious man in red who follows them throughout the quest. Friendship, perseverance, and trust are all put to the test in The Disneyland Quest.

Brooke's Review:
Dizzy and Ana were so excited to go to Disneyland. Michelle’s new boyfriend Steve and his son Travis were paying for the trip. There the Disneyland quest was introduced. Dizzy, Travis and Ana entered as a group. They meet a boy named Justin and his friends and his sister Meagan. The quest is on for $250,000. Who will win? Read The Disneyland Quest to find out.

My favorite character is Ana, she is young and has a passion for Disneyland. I love that she is ready to face her fears, and take on the Disneyland quest. My favorite part of the book is the very end. I love this book and love that it shows passion for Disney. I love going there and love all the rides. I love this book and hopefully you will too.

My Review:
This is a fun read, especially if you love Disneyland! I enjoy it but am not a fanatic so there was some trivia that I was definitely not aware of. Dizzy, Travis and Ana work their way through the clues. There is a time limit and some of the groups are serious competition so the pressure is on. I was impressed with how well they worked together. Not everything goes their way but they are supportive of and kind to each other. We're going to start reading the second book right away and I'm glad to hear that there will even be a third! 

Amazon

Matt Ainsworth is the author of The Disneyland Quest series. He, along with his wife and two daughters, are regular visitors to Disneyland and his love of the parks shows throughout his novels. The series began as a bedtime story to his daughters about a wild treasure hunt through Disneyland. With every visit to the park, the story continued to grow with more clues being added and eventually resulted in The Disneyland Quest. After the success of the first book and overwhelming positive reviews, The Disneyland Quest 2: Dizzy's California Adventure was released. Creating clues and quests in the newly updated California Adventure park was a challenge, as the multi-year construction of Cars Land and Buena Vista Street featured prominently in the sequel.

Follow him on Twitter @DisneylandQuest for announcements, giveaways, and information on upcoming The Disneyland Quest 3!

Brooke's Review: The Unwanteds, by Lisa McMann

My 9-year-old daughter, Brooke, loves to read and wants to have a blog of her own one day. She has committed to review one book a week and they will be featured on Fridays. This is the first in a series we recently picked up at the library.

The Unwanteds (Unwanteds #1), by Lisa McMann
2011, 390p, Middle-grade Fiction
Brooke's Rating=5 Stars
Source: Borrowed from the library

Every year in Quill, thirteen-year-olds are sorted into categories: the strong, intelligent Wanteds go to university, and the artistic Unwanteds are sent to their deaths.

Thirteen-year-old Alex tries his hardest to be stoic when his fate is announced as Unwanted, even while leaving behind his twin, Aaron, a Wanted. Upon arrival at the destination where he expected to be eliminated, however, Alex discovers a stunning secret— behind the mirage of the "death farm" there is instead a place called Artime.

In Artime, each child is taught to cultivate their creative abilities and learn how to use them magically, weaving spells through paintbrushes and musical instruments. Everything Alex has ever known changes before his eyes, and it's a wondrous transformation.

But it's a rare, unique occurence for twins to be separated between Wanted and Unwanted, and as Alex and Aaron's bond stretches across their separation, a threat arises for the survival of Artime that will pit brother against brother in an ultimate, magical battle.

Quill is a dull place. There is no art, no thinking about things, it's just boring. In Quill they have Unwanteds and Wanteds and the purge. The purge is where the Unwanteds and Wanteds are decided. Unwanteds are put to their death and Wanteds are sent off to school to become very important people. Alex and Aaron Stowe are at the purge and Alex is Unwanted and Aaron is Wanted. Alex is sent off with a bunch of people he doesn’t know and a few he does. When they make it to the death farm they are all sent into a room where they will be sent to their deaths. There is a lot more to this book.

I loved this book and thought it was amazing. I like the characters in the book and they all do some wild things. They all learn a lot more about life and the world when they leave Quill. My favorite character is a girl named Lani who was on the bus to be sent off to the death farm. She is smart and catches on to what's happening pretty fast. She and Alex become friends and she's able to help him. This book was hard to put down. I liked it all from beginning to end and had to go back to the library to get books 2 and 3!

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Lisa McMann lives and writes in the Phoenix area. Her books include the NYT bestselling paranormal WAKE trilogy, CRYER'S CROSS, DEAD TO YOU, and the dystopian fantasy series beginning with THE UNWANTEDS. (Book 2, Unwanteds: ISLAND OF SILENCE, comes out Sept 4, 2012).

Website  * Facebook * Twitter

Brooke's Review: School is a Nightmare #4: Yuck Mouth and the Thanksgiving Miracle, by Raymond Bean

My 9-year-old daughter, Brooke, loves to read and wants to have a blog of her own one day. She has committed to review one book a week and they will be featured on Fridays. This is book 4 of a 5 book series so next week will be the final one!

School is a Nightmare #4: Yuck Mouth and the Thanksgiving Miracle, by Raymond Bean
2012, 110p, Middle-grade Fiction
Brooke's Rating=5 Stars
Source: Own a Copy

Justin is not a fan of Thanksgiving. He feels like it's a "non-holiday," but it's November, and his teacher is in full blown Thanksgiving mode. She's determined to help him learn the true meaning of Thanksgiving, but he's just looking forward to a few days off from school. To earn them he'll have to research Thanksgiving, dress up like a pilgrim, and suffer through countless lessons about the holiday. Unfortunately for Justin, there's no relief at home because his cousin Darwin is in town. He only met his cousin one time when he was real little, and the only thing he remembers about him is his horrific breath. Darwin is a proud, "non-brusher" and the stench is enough to clear a room. Will Justin survive the big class feast at school? Can he handle sharing his room with his cousin Darwin "Yuck Mouth" McGee? Will he learn the true meaning of Thanksgiving? Find out in the latest installment of the School Is A Nightmare Series, Yuck Mouth And The Thanksgiving Miracle.

School is a Nightmare 4 is my favorite book so far. Justin doesn’t understand the real meaning of Thanksgiving. He thinks Thanksgiving means telling the truth. But everybody else doesn’t think so. He hates having Thanksgiving and for this Thanksgiving his cousin Darwin aka Yuck Mouth is coming. Darwin has the worst breath in world. They go Thanksgiving shopping and he gets to use the scanner. He is excited (and bored) so he plays a game of guess the price. Where he guesses how much it would cost then he scans it and looks at the price then would delete it. After they leave they realize that Justin pushed the wrong button and had spent $7000. Their cousin comes and they go look for snakes out in the woods. But instead they find a turkey and they catch it. In the morning Darwin has poison ivy all over his body. In school they're having a feast and they have to dress up. Justin invites Darwin to the feast and Darwin walks there even though its raining outside. Everybody lets Darwin stay and they have a good time……….almost.

I love this series and all the characters. They interest me and I love to read about how they have troubles but work through them all. His cousin Darwin is different but I like how Justin gives him a chance and still is nice to him no matter how bad his breath is.

About the Author

Raymond  Bean is a dad, a  teacher, and the Amazon best-selling author of the  Sweet Farts and  School Is A Nightmare series. His books have ranked #1  in Children's  Humor, Humorous Series, and Fantasy and Adventure. They  often rank among  Amazon's top 100 books for children.
 
Baseball: A Ticket To The Bigs releases August 23 and Benji Franklin: Kid Zillionaire comes out January 2014.

Website

Brooke's Review: School is a Nightmare #3: Shocktober, by Raymond Bean

My 9-year-old daughter, Brooke, loves to read and wants to have a blog of her own one day. She has committed to review one book a week and they will be featured on Fridays. This is book 3 of a 5 book series so there are a few more of these to go!

School is a Nightmare #3: Shocktober, by Raymond Bean
2012, 102p, Middle-grade Fiction
Brooke's Rating=4 Stars
Source: Own a Copy

Justin is a huge fan of Halloween, and it's the first one that his Mom is allowing him to wear a cool costume: a Clone Trooper. Unfortunately, he can't seem to stay out of trouble, and his parents have threatened to keep him home while the other kids go trick-or-treat if he can't get his act together. His teacher took away his recess for the entire month, and he's been grounded every weekend. If that's not bad enough, the rest of the classes at school are busy planning fun parties and activities, and his teacher has him doing research! His troubles started when he accidentally let the class pet, Myrtle the mouse, loose in the classroom. The Myrtle situation created loads of other problems at school and may even ruin what should be the best Halloween ever. Will be able to be able to go trick-or-treating? Can he help find the Myrtle the mouse? Will it be the worst Halloween ever? Find out in the latest installment of the School Is A Nightmare Series, Shocktober!

This book is hard to explain so I’m going to tell what I thought about the book. I love Justin and his family. Justin’s always getting in trouble so that helps me feel better that in some books the kids are not perfect.  Justin is adventurous and is not really afraid to do anything. He takes dares, he plays with snakes, he picks up mice. I like his sisters too. In some ways I’m like them I’m always getting into my brothers business. I get my brother in trouble (not that much but sometimes). 

I like his parents too. Sometimes I feel they go over board with the punishment, but in this book I feel he got what he deserved. For all the times he got in trouble. Sometimes it wasn’t all him but I feel the other kids should have got in trouble too. I loved this book and can’t wait to read the next. I love this series and hope that he keeps coming out with more. It was funny and adventurous. There are five books out currently and I’m reviewing them all. Justin loves having fun and it’s hard for him to be in a different class from all his friends.    

About the Author

Raymond Bean is a dad, a teacher, and the Amazon best-selling author of the Sweet Farts and School Is A Nightmare series. His books have ranked #1 in Children's Humor, Humorous Series, and Fantasy and Adventure. They often rank among Amazon's top 100 books for children.
Baseball: A Ticket To The Bigs releases August 23 and Benji Franklin: Kid Zillionaire comes out January 2014.

Website

Brooke's Review: School Is a Nightmare #2: The Field Trip, by Raymond Bean

School is a Nightmare #2: The Field Trip, by Raymond Bean
2012, 96p, Middle-Grade Fiction
Brooke's Rating=5 Stars
Source: Own a Copy

Do you have trouble selecting a book and then sticking with it? Do you start a book, read a few pages, and then put it back? Do you have to read for a set amount of time each night and can't seem to find a book you like? If you answered yes to any of these questions then The School Is A Nightmare Series might be right for you. The books are written with you in mind. They're fast paced, have quick chapters (we promise), and are shorter than the average book (you're welcome). Book #2, The Field Trip is a quick and fun read. Give it a try. It will be over before you know it. Justin's first week of school was a complete nightmare, and he's thankful it's over. He may not be a fan of school, but he's a huge fan of field trips. It's finally the day of the first school trip of the year. All week he's been looking forward to pumping his fist so truckers will honk their horns, sneaking loads of candy, and having a fun day off. It's only the second week of school, but he's already exhausted and needs a break.

Unfortunately for him, his day off isn't exactly what he had in mind. He's bitten by a snake, attacked by bees, and blamed for making the whole grade late. Even worse, he's sent to the hospital and may not even get a chance to finish the trip with the rest of the kids.

It was supposed to be the perfect trip, but it was a total nightmare.

In School is a Nightmare 2 Justin goes on a school field trip. He wakes up super early in the morning and goes into the woods to hunt for snakes. He gets bit and doesn’t tell his mom about it. They get into the car and Justin didn’t pack his lunch. They had to stop at a gas station for a sandwich. And ended up getting there late and had to take a school bus instead of a coach bus. The whole class is not happy with him when they have to take the crummy bus. They get on and within a while he texts his friend that’s on the other bus. And Mrs. Cliff catches him and takes his sister's phone and she whines that she can't listen to the new Jason Freeber album.  And after their first stop Becky and Mindy scream and point to his ear. In his ear were three ticks. Mrs Cliff his teacher pulls them out and notices his bite. They get back on the bus and they crash into a fire hydrant. The police and firemen and people from the emergency room come. And insist that they take him to the ER, and there he meets Jason Freeber the pop star. And he needs to take the pressure off his ankle. So Justin gives him his shoes. He goes to Time Square and dances with Becky and Mindy. When you read this you can learn about the rest of his day.

I thought this book was better than book 1. I liked the storyline better and thought it was more interesting since he was on a field trip and not just at the school. Justin messes up a lot and I thought his mom was kinder to him in this book. He fights with his sisters all the time. I fight with my brother so it's good to see that other brothers and sisters fight too. They work through their problems and I like that. These books also make me laugh. I'm planning to keep reading these books so I'll be sharing book 3 next week.

About the Author

Raymond Bean is a dad, a teacher, and the Amazon best-selling author of the Sweet Farts and School Is A Nightmare series. His books have ranked #1 in Children's Humor, Humorous Series, and Fantasy and Adventure. They often rank among Amazon's top 100 books for children.
Baseball: A Ticket To The Bigs releases August 23 and Benji Franklin: Kid Zillionaire comes out January 2014.

Website

Brooke's Review: School is a Nightmare #1: First Week, Worst Week, by Raymond Bean

School is a Nightmare #1: First Week, Worst Week, by Raymond Bean
2011, 100p, Middle-Grade Fiction
Brooke's Rating=4.5 Stars
Source: Own a Copy

Do you have trouble selecting a book and then sticking with it? Do you start a book, read a few pages, and then put it back?

Do you have to read for a set amount of time each night and can't seem to find a book you like?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then The School Is A Nightmare Series might be right for you. The books are written with you in mind. They're fast paced, have quick chapters (we promise), and are shorter than the average book (you're welcome).

Book # 1, First Week, Worst Week is a quick and fun read. Give it a try. It will be over before you know it.

Justin is not a fan of school. The last few days of summer are quickly vanishing. His mom is in full blown back to school mode, and he can't do anything to stop it. Over the final forty eight hours of summer he's been dragged shoe shopping, clothes shopping, and the worst store shopping of all, school supply shopping.

The first three days of school only get worse when he loses his pet snake, all the money in his savings account, and nearly his own life.

Oh, and he has the meanest teacher in the whole school, Mrs. Cliff. She's been around so long she taught his dad when he was a kid. The thought of spending a whole school year in her class makes him want to hop the first bus to Canada. Unfortunately, he can't afford a bus ticket to Canada, so he'll just have to suck it up.

In School is a Nightmare Justin doesn't want to go back to school. He and his sisters Becky and Mindy and his mom go school shopping. He wants a pair of shoes but his mom is afraid he will break his neck in them, so she picks out a taller pair of shoes for him. And he picks out a wardrobe and his mom doesn’t like it so she picks out a new wardrobe. The next day he hears Becky scream he rushes down to find out that his pet snake (Mr. Squeeze) got out and his parents were making him get rid of it. And Mindy was singing about it in the shower and so he dumped onion soup mix all over her. They missed the bus and he would get his punishment later. He goes to school and sees that he is in Mrs. Cliff's class and all his friends were in Ms. Fiesta's class. He gets there and doesn’t have any supplies so his day is getting pretty bad and in Mrs. Cliff's class she has antique glasses that are filled with marbles. At home they give him his punishment and he has to get beef taco mix poured on him. They dump it on him and then he had to shower. The next day at school he tripped getting on the bus and getting off the bus. Then he made it inside the class room and did something bad and had to put a marble in one of the other jars and he tripped and broke the glass. 

I liked Justin because he made me laugh. I felt sorry for him because I think his parents were a little harsh with their punishment since he already lost his snake. I liked this book a lot and I would read it again. When I finished it, I wanted to read all the other books too.

About the Author

Raymond Bean is a dad, a teacher, and the Amazon best-selling author of the Sweet Farts and School Is A Nightmare series. His books have ranked #1 in Children's Humor, Humorous Series, and Fantasy and Adventure. They often rank among Amazon's top 100 books for children.
Baseball: A Ticket To The Bigs releases August 23 and Benji Franklin: Kid Zillionaire comes out January 2014.

Website 

Guest Review: Judy Moody Predicts the Future by Megan McDonald

Judy Moody Predicts the Future, by Megan McDonald, 
2003, 143p, Brooke's Rating=5 stars, Middle-grade fiction

With the help of a mood ring, a Magic 8 Ball, and some old-fashioned intuition, Judy Moody is convinced that she can foretell the future in a new episode that's funnier than ever.
 
Judy Moody ate one, two, three bowls of cereal. No prize. She poured four, five, six bowls of cereal. Nothing. Seven. Out fell the Mystery Prize. . . .

Judy definitely has a mood for every occasion. And now she has a mood ring to prove it The mood ring's Extra Special Powers have put Judy in a predicting mood, and her outrageous predictions have everyone wondering if Judy really is psychic. According to "Madame M" (for Moody), the Toad Pee Club's long-lost mascot will reappear, Judy will earn the coveted Thomas Jefferson tricorn-hat sticker for Great Job, Good Thinking--and love may be the real reason behind her teacher's new eyeglasses. Will Judy's latest adventures put kids in a very Judy Moody mood? (Signs point to yes )

My daughter is currently obsessed with all things Judy Moody. Some friends moved a couple of months ago and were selling some of their possessions so we went to check it out. She had three Judy Moody books so we bought one. Brooke devoured it and begged for the other books but they only had one left. She devoured that one, too, and begged for more. Her birthday was coming up so I bought her the set of books 1-9 and she also now has the 10th one. She gave the two books we bought previously to her best friend and she's now interested in Judy Moody, too! We have the movie and she's made posters and games based on events she's read about in Judy Moody. Basically, if Judy Moody talks about it, Brooke is interested in it (good thing she's not wild or anything). Here's Brooke's review of one of her favorite books:

Judy Moody ate seven bowls of cereal before her prize came out. "It's a mood ring!" yelled Judy. Judy put on the ring and it changed to light blue. That meant happy/glad. So she went around the house trying to put herself in a bad mood. When she got to Stink (her brother), she tried to get him to put her in a bad mood, but it didn't work. Judy throws her mood ring in the trash can and Stink picked up the ring and put it on and it turned a different color. So Judy wanted her mood ring back but Stink wouldn't give it back. Judy goes outside and finds a toad that looks just like Toady. Toady is Stink's pet toad that Judy let go (in an earlier book). She tells Stink she has super powers and showed him Toady. Stink gave her back the mood ring for finding Toady.

The next day at school, she showed off her mood ring to everybody and said she can predict the future. When Judy sent the mood ring flying at Mr. Todd by accident, it fell at his feet and he picked it up and kept it for the rest of the day. So before he puts in in his desk, he tries it on and it turns red for in love. Mr. Todd is not married. 

Frank and Judy go to the library and find a sleeping speller book because Judy lost her spelling test. She put a dictionary under her pillow and went to sleep.The next day at class she predicts that she will get 100% on her spelling test but instead she goes to Antarctica which is the shame desk behind Mr. Todd's desk (she got caught focusing on her mood ring more than her spelling test). At recess, Jessica tells her about the happy 8 ball. Jessica brings her happy 8 ball the next day. Judy asks it some questions and all it will give her is happy answers. The next day, she went to the store and bought the magic 8 ball.

Judy goes to the library the next day to check out a book on how you know you're in love. The next day, Judy put a bowl of water on Mr. Todd's desk with the letters of the alphabet face down in the bowl. So by the time class was over, the letters that turned over were faded. So the next day, Judy brought an apple seed to school and told Mr. Todd to put the seed on his head and sing the alphabet. When the seed fell off, the letter was T. The next day, the crayon lady came to school and talked about crayons. Judy handed Mr. Todd and the crayon lady the candle and the wax dripped to both sides. That meant they were in love. You have to read the book to find out what happens next.

Mom Note: Brooke also now has a mood ring, but is not currently trying to play matchmaker with it!

Cellar Door Mysteries: Escape

"Cellar Door Mysteries: Escape" is book # 2 in the "Cellar Door Mysteries" series. This book continues following siblings Darius and Veronika and the adventures they encounter on their quest to uncover the truth about their parents mysterious death. (Amazon)

Last month, my 9-year-old daughter shared her review of Cellar Door: Secret Room and she was anxious to read part 2. She has now read it and wrote another report, so this is her take on the story. She left her first review on a cliffhanger, so reading this review will spoil the end of part one. To read her review on Cellar Door: Secret Room, look here

So they are down in the cellar with all the gold. They smell smoke so they come up and see their Aunt Sylvair crying, "The children! The children!" When the officer came, Aunt Sylvair said, "We were eating breakfast and I went to go get the mail and when I turned around, the house was on fire." The kids ran out of the forest. "Officer, she is lying," said Veronika. "We were in the forest," said Darius. "What were you doing in the forest?" asked Aunt Sylvair. The officer said, "Everyone come with me." The kids turned around and ran into the forest. They ran into the cellar door with Officer Parks running after them. They got into the cellar and went down and Officer Parks didn't see them. They grabbed the ladder and walked down the hall and put the ladder against the wall and climbed up. They went looking for a way out. They kicked the floor, pushing the walls until they pushed on one wall and it opened. 

They ran inside and closed the door and were standing in a big room. Veronika looked in the fridge and it was full. She looked inside the cupboards and they were full. She looked in the pantry and it was full. So they decided to go back and get their backpacks full of gold. So when they looked at the gold, they saw a receipt that their parents had purchased the gold from Eloise Parks. They went back to the big room and felt around for another way out. They moved the bookcase and there was a different paint color. They pushed on the wall and it opened. They went inside and saw it was blocked by a metal door. "Look up, look down," said Veronika. Two rods were there. They each pulled on one and it opened. They ran forward until they came outside. Then they went back and got their backpacks. 

So they went until they got to where Eloise worked. They went in and Eloise took them to her office and they talked and she convinced them to come to her house. So she closed up work and they went to her house and saw their rooms, which looked just like theirs at home. Eloise left them in their rooms. She went downstairs. Ring! Ring! Ring! Eloise picked up the phone and you have to read the book to find out what she says on the phone.

This book is 60 pages, so it's a little longer than the first book, but there weren't any chapters so it felt like one long chapter to her. She didn't like that at all. But she is enjoying the story. It's really hard to find out if there will be any more installments in this series. The first two were released a month apart and then nothing.

Her rating: 4 stars

I haven't yet had a chance to read this so I don't have a rating for it.


 

Cellar Door Mysteries: Secret Room

I found this book, Cellar Door Mysteries: Secret Room, by Brian Clayton, as a Kindle freebie and picked it up for my daughter since she loves mysteries. She is almost 9 and has been reading for many years. She's an old soul and sometimes I forget how young she really is. She's fascinated with blogging and has asked me several times if she can have one (um, no). She read this book and loved it and did a write up on it which I think is really good so I'm going to post her review, which she is excited to share (I've helped some with editing, but kept in some of her "so's"):

In the beginning, a policeman comes to the door and tells Aunt Sylvair that Mr. and Mrs. Domitreus are dead. So the kids (Darius, 10, and Veronika, 11) get told that their parents are dead and do not take it well. So that night the kids go exploring through the house. They go to the attic and find a box and in it are some numbers and the numbers are 1917, and they find a journal with it. In the journal is a message. And it says, "Sylvair Domitreus, within these walls, a great treasure is hidden, a clue is carved that will lead you back within these walls, a room with no doors, no windows, or halls." The next morning they go into the yard. They looked for a tree and finally they found one with writing that says, "Ten rocks right IT will be in your sight." So they followed a trail of rocks that Darius had tripped over until they don't see any more. There they find a cellar door. So they open it and see that it's dark down there. They go down and start feeling for anything. As they are feeling around, they find a light switch and a box. They try to open the box but it would not open. They punched in the numbers 1917 and it opened. Inside the box was a key so they started feeling around and found a keyhole that they put the key into and a door opened. And you have to read the book to find out what's behind the door.

This is a very short book (17 pages) and is part of a series. The second book is also out and she has already started it because she just couldn't wait! I couldn't find any information about how many there will be and how frequently they will come out, but we'll be keeping our eye on these!

Her Rating:  4 stars
My Rating: 3.5 stars