A to Z Mysteries: The Canary Caper

by Ron Roy

This book is about three kid detectives named Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose. Three pets go missing in the town of Green Lawn. You may not think that's strange, but when they all disappear on the same day, it is! Also, the day after their pets go missing, their houses get robbed. The kids are on the trail.

Does it have something to do with the circus that's come to town? Who knows?

This is definitely one of my favorite A to Z mystery books. I like the fact that the kids use their brains to solve all types of confusing cases. These books are a good first step on the path to mystery books for older kids, like the Nancy Drew books (my all time favorites!) It's intended for kids of any age, and it's easy to read. Kids who can't read well yet might like for their parents to read it to them. It's less than 100 pages.

Spiderwick Chronicles - The Movie

This web site is mostly about books, but I'll occasionally review a movie that came from a popular kid's book.

This time I'm going to review the Spiderwick Chronicles. I liked the movie, but not as much as I like the book. I looks like they combined some of the books together to make the movie. The movie is actually scarier than the book. There is a big, mean ugly Goblin named Mulgarath, who tries to steal the field guide, and take over the world.

Since I've only read the first Spiderwick book, I can't tell you how close the movie was to the book series yet. When I read more of the books in the future, I'll tell you my opinions. The first thirty minutes of the movie are like Book 1: the Field Guide.
They stick pretty close to the actual story, like when Mallory's hair is tied to the bed, and she screams "cut it off!", or when Jared rides up to the secret room in the dumbwaiter.

Kids 6 and under might get scared watching this movie, because it has dark scenery and scary monsters. Kidlitnut, signing off.

UPDATE: Here's the official trailer:

Clever way to get Mom and Dad to buy you more books.

Have you ever seen those Coinstar coin couting machines in the grocery stores? I've seen my Dad take all his spare change to the coinstar machine, and instead of getting cash, he gets a gift certificate to Amazon.com. I can usually get a couple of nice new books when he does this. It's almost like getting free books, since they come from the loose coins that rattle around in your pocket every night. Good tip, huh?

Wedding Crasher

by Geronimo Stilton

This is a humerous book. It's about a mouse named Geronimo Stilton, who goes to the house of his stingy uncle for his son's wedding. When he's there, he discovers a plot to find Patience Plainpaws, the bride-to-be's hidden fortune. Uncle Stingysnout really lives up to his stingy name.

This book can be read to kids as young as 5, and kids 7 to 9 shouldn't have a problem reading it for themselves.

This book was not actually my favorite. I thought they tried to be too funny, but not very clever. I wouldn't recommend that you run out and get this one, but if you have it in your library, it's worth a read.

The Million Dollar Putt

by Dan Gutman

This is a book that was actually read to us in school by our teacher. Everyone enjoyed this wonderful tale. I'd say that anyone between 8 and 13 years old would like it.

This book is about Bogie, a boy who is blind, but likes to take chances. He finds out one day that he seems to have a gift for golf. His father is not particularly happy about this, for reasons you find out later in the book.

There's one thing he's missing, however. A coach. This role is filled by his odd neighbor girl, Birdie. With Birdie's help, and a copy of "Golf for Morons" from the library, they set about making him a great golfer. Along the way, Bogie learns more about his family, and his history. Bogie ends up in a golf tournament with a million dollar prize.

I like this book. It's a tale of friendship between two kids, who each have their own challenges and differences. Bogey is blind, and Birdie is ... weird.

Look for this book at your local library, or follow this link to Amazon, and buy it. There, you'll also find Dan Gutman's latest blog posts about his other books.

SpiderWick Chronicles, Book 1

The Field Guide
by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black

This book is about three children named Jared, Simon, and Mallory who found themselves living in their crazy aunt Lucy's house, only to discover a mythical creature who lured them into a great adventure. The creature harasses them at night, tying Mallory's hair to her headboard, and taking Simon's beloved tadpoles, and freezing them. They must stop the Boggart, but how? Find out in this outrageously exciting book.

This is the first in a very popular series of books for kids. It's meant for both boys and girls aged 8-12 years. The Spiderwick Chronicles has now been made into a movie. I'll review the movie on this blog after I see it, and I'll compare it to the book.

If you want to try this book, here's a link to Amazon.com. I think it's one you'll enjoy.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that one of the best things about this book, are the breathtaking illustrations. Every few pages, you get a nice black and white sketch of what's happening at this point in the story. Also, here's an interesting interview with the authors over at Kidsreads.com