Geronmo Stiton: Mousekings #1: Attack of the Dragons

Anyone who works with children's books knows that Geronimo Stilton is one of the hottest intermediate series out there. There are a lot of Stiton books, too.  There are the original Geronimo Stilton books, then the Thea Stilton books, the Fantasy, Spacemice, Cavemice, Creepella, and others.  There are more than 200 books in all published since 2000.  The extent of the series is probably only exceeded by the Daisy Meadow books.

The is the first book of the Mouseking series.  The setting for this series is like northern Europe, maybe German Barbarians or Vikings.  In the different series, the same main characters are made over to fit that setting.  In this one Geronimo (a mouse) is a brainy wimp among tough guys. When the best cook in the town gets sick, Geronimo and others set off on a quest to get some mint teach, which only grows in cave inhabited by dragons.

I think these books are written with ADHD kids in mind.  The text is typeset with key words in large and colorful font, so as you  read it, the highlighted words jump out at you, almost as if they are yelled at you.  If you were ADHD I think the creative typesetting would help you stay focused on the book.  There are funny black and white and colored cartoon drawing throughout that further make this a great choice for someone who struggles with reading.  (115p)

Inspector Flytrap by Tom Angleberger and Cece Bell

Inspector Flytrap is, you guessed it, a Venus flytrap.  He lives in a pot and has a goat assistant, Nina, who pushes him around on a skateboard.  He is always looking for "Big Deal" cases to solve, and he finds them. During the book Flytrap is able to solve several short mysteries, each taking one chapter of the book.  The only problem is that in solving the cases, Inspector Flytrap and Nina seem to make more enemies than satisfied customers. 

I was pretty excited to hear that Tom Angleberger and his wife, Cece Bell, had collaborated on an intermediate reader.  As I started to read it, my first impression was that this was just too silly for me. Come on, a talking venus flytrap and a goat that eats everything?   But I stuck with it, and was delighted how Angleberger pulled elements of each of the mysteries together into a fairly clever finale.  I think 2nd graders are going to love this.  The second in the series was just released.  (98 p.)

(Note to librarians.  When I was ordering it I couldn't tell if it was going to be a comic book or an illustrated book.  It is an illustrated book. Just fyi)

First Light by Rebecca Stead

Peter's father is a glaciologist and his mother is a microbiologist.  When Peter hears that his father is going to take the whole family with him to study a glacier in Greenland, Peter is pretty excited.  Once there, he starts to wonder if there is more than science that has brought his parents to this exact spot. He also wonders about a new ability he has begun experiencing that allows him to see things very far away.  Meanwhile, in a village closer than Peter could have imagined, another young person, Thea, is learning new things about her family and her community. When forces bring the two tweens together, they find that they hold the future of Thea's whole world in their hands. 

Rebecca Stead won the Newbery Medal for her book When You Reach Me,which I liked. I like this one as well, and they have a very similar feel.  In both the main character lives in the real world but has to adjust to the fact that the fantastic actually exists. This one doesn't have the mystery and emotional tension that When You Reach Me has, but it is a fun, light, sci-fi read for middle graders.  (328 p)

Tashi, by Anna Fienberg

Tashi is Jack's imaginary friend who wears a pointed hat and curly shoes. Jack and Tashi sneak away from Jack's parents and share wonderful stories about magical adventures in exotic lands. The writing is simple but lovely, and the book is illustrated with whimsical black and white line drawing on every page. I think it took me about 15 minutes to read. It is an older book, written in 1995 by an Australian author but the most recent Tashi adventure was written in 2014.  (57 p)

The Last Bogler by Catherine Jinks

This is the third and last in the series that started with How to Catch a Bogle. In this one Mr Bunce has a new apprentice, Ned Roach. The two of them are on a newly formed committee to rid the city of Bogles using scientific methods.  They meet with a representative from the Board of Sewers, an engineer, Birdie and Miss Eames, the folklorist.  Ned is not as good at singing as Birdie, and not as nimble as Jem, but he is analytical, and he keeps coming up with good ideas about how to approach the bogle problem on a large scale.  But will his ideas be clever enough to succeed in the final bogle show down?

I have enjoyed this series.  It is exciting and Jinks created a bunch of fun and interesting characters. I was, however, pretty disappointed with how this book ended.  All during the book they are coming up with grand plans of flushing the bogles out of the sewer system, or frightening them out with flash powder, but the final resolution was just silly.  It totally didn't fit with the way the story had been going through the rest of the series. I wonder why Jinks didn't let the characters just carry out their plans.  It would have been more fun and exciting.  The final little epilog was charming, and made me feel a little bit better about having spent so much time on the series. (319 p)

I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic by Lauren Tarshis

Here is another of the I Survived series.  In this one George is traveling with his sister and rich aunt returning from a trip broad.  George is a curious boy, and his curiosity sometimes gets him in trouble. He hears that one of the passengers is transporting a mummy in the ship's luggage compartment, so he sneaks from his cabin at night to try to see it.  While he is away the ship hits the iceberg. It takes a while for him and the rest of the passengers to realize the ship is sinking, and then he must struggle to find his family and a way off the ship.  As with the other I Survived book I read, it is easy to see why these are popular with otherwise reluctant readers.  They are short and exciting, and because of the title, there is never any worry that the main character will survive. Tarshis adds enough of sub-plot to make the story and characters interesting, and enough historical detail to make it feel a little authentic.  (96 p)

Saving Mr. Nibbles! by Patrick Carman

My intermediate chapter book for this week is the first in the Elliot's Park series.  Elliot is a squirrel who is good at solving problems.  He has a number of squirrel friends who each have their own personalities and talents. There are other animals that are friendly, and some that are not.  In this adventure Elliot and his friends see a strange squirrel given to a human boy for his birthday.  It only talks when they squeeze its ear, and it only knows how to say a few phrases.  Still, it is a squirrel and the other squirrels in the park feel that they must save it from being a prisoner in the human house.  Simple language, a short text and engaging illustrations make this a good transition book for kids that are moving from easy readers to chapter books. The story will appeal to kids as young as preschool and even the youngest readers/listeners will quickly figure out what the squirrels do not, that Mr. Nibbles is just a toy. (79 p.)