Book Blitz and Givaway: The Law of Cavities (Izzy Newton and the S.M.A.R.T. Squad #3) by Valerie Tripp

 

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Meet the characters, watch the book trailer and check out the Educator and Reader's Guides on the series website here!

The S.M.A.R.T. Squad is back to tackle more middle school mayhem with science, technology, engineering, math, and friendship!

In this third book in the S.M.A.R.T. Squad series, best friends Izzy Newton, Allie Einstein, Marie Curie, Charlie Darwin, and Gina Carver set out on a mystery-filled Outdoor Adventure Camp experience.

Now that Izzy’s finally found her voice in public speaking class and become an ice hockey star, she’s determined to conquer her “dizzy-Izzy-ness” in new situations―including caring for her brand-new braces on an outdoor education overnight and her friends’ good-natured teasing about her friend Trevor. But the forecast for fun turns cloudy when the girls discover their cabin chaperone is none other than Izzy’s tough public-speaking teacher, Ms. Martinez, and their junior counselor is eighth grade mean girl, Maddie Sharpe.

When an innocent exchange of harmless pranks with Maddie takes a turn for the worse, the Squad turns to science to prove their innocence. That’s nothing, though, compared with the terrifying swamp monster haunting their campsite, a catastrophe befalling Ms. Martinez, and a mysterious disaster threatening the future of camp itself.

With their very survival on the line, will science be enough to save the day?
 

Praise:

"Wholesome entertainment for preteens, offering positivity without didacticism."
― Kirkus

"It's one thing to have children's books about scientists or podcasts or stories about strong women in STEM, but it's another world entirely when your children get to feel represented by the characters they're reading about. The characters in the Izzy Newton and the S.M.A.R.T. Squad series are diverse, smart, and sure of themselves the way all middle school girls are---through their dreams and newly acquired skills they're still getting used to."
― Romper 

About the Creators

VALERIE TRIPP is the co-creator of the American Girl book series that includes titles featuring Felicity, Josefina, Kit, Maryellen, Molly, and Samantha. Tripp also wrote American Girl's Wellie Wishers titles, Hopscotch Hill School titles, numerous leveled readers, songs, stories, skills book pages, and plays for educational publishers. Tripp is writer and editorial director of the Boys Camp series, and a writer, editor, and art editor for Sterling Publishing Company. Tripp received a B.A. and honors as a member of the first co-educated class at Yale University and a master's of education degree from Harvard University.

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MILLIE LIU was born in sunny Pasadena, California, and has been drawing ever since she could hold a pencil. It did start with color pencils on walls but after some scolding, she decided paper was much better. She graduated from Otis College of Art and Design and went into the field of toy design shortly after, designing colorful toys for children the world over. Her favorite subject to draw is story-driven fantastical locations with a touch of magic. When not drawing, she loves to read, experiment with cooking, and keep up with her fierce, growing collection of house plants. She also makes a conscious effort to buy secondhand or used products, and tries to reduce her use of single-use plastic.

 

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GIVEAWAY

• Three (3) winners will receive the complete 3-book Izzy Newton and the S.M.A.R.T. Squad series: Absolute Hero, Newton's Flaw, and The Law of Cavities
• US/Canada only
• Ends 12/11 at 11:59pm ET
• Enter via the Rafflecopter below

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Blog Tour: The Great Caper Caper (Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast Book #5) by Josh Funk, illustrated by Brendan Kearney

 

The Great Caper Caper:

Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast #5

written by Josh Funk, illustrated by Brendan Kearney

Union Square & Co., 2022, 40 pages

I'm always up for a fun blog tour and books by Josh Funk are always a lot of fun to read to kids, and, true to form, the latest story about the adventures of Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast does not disappoint. Their newest caper all begins one night when Lady Pancake is suddenly awakened from a deep sleep in the refrigerator by a loud scream. Sir Pancake has just discovered that the refrigerator light is missing. But who would have taken their light? 

Everything was dark, except for a glowing light in the distance, just past Pita Plateau. Following the glow, Lady French Toast and Sir Pancake find themselves at the entrance to Fabulous Las Veggies, but barred from entering by security and taken to the office of Count Caper, the richest, more powerful food (or so he says). Denying that she stole the light, Lady French Toast and Sir Pancake are told to leave and never come back. They may be sure that Count Caper is the culprit, but how can they get their light back?

Ummm...how to get back their light now that they can't go back to Fabulous Las Veggies? Perhaps Lady Pancake can come up with a solution with the help of Sir French Toast and a few good friends like Barron von Waffle, Miss Brie, and Tofu, Professor Biscotti, the Fruitcake, the Beets, and Inspector Croissant, and maybe even a few Animal Crackers. 

Told in rhyming couplets that never falter together with colorfully amusing illustrations, The Great Caper Caper is sure to please fans of Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast, and to win over anyone meeting this delightful couple for the first time. The story focuses on problem solving, the importance of friends helping each other, and a clear message that crime does not pay, even when it looks like it does. 

I can't wait to share this book with my young readers. We have read all the other Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast books and they always enjoy them. They're funny, the characters are so appealing, and the situations they find themselves in are always relatable. Plus my young readers all tell me they love pancakes and french toast.  

One thing I did notice - when did Lady Pancake find time to take the curlers out of her hair and style it before running off to fight the missing refrigerator light? She was totally coiffed. Needless to say, your kiddos will find lots to explore and talk about in this book its endearing characters and detailed illustrations. This is definitely a book that will be revisited over and over again in my reading class.

Be sure to visit these other stops on The Great Caper Caper Blog Tour:

The Night Bus Hero by Onjali Q. Raúf

 

Hector, 10-years-old and a middle child, has always been a bully and a prankster. And subsequently spending a lot of time in the principal's office. From the beginning, it's clear that Hector thinks very little of most people, and often does what he does just to annoy them. For example, as the book opens, Hector is about to drop a second rubber snake into the school's lunch soup, and even as the principal warns him not to, Hector defiantly does it anyway, knowing he will be in trouble. He always to derive satisfaction knowing he's ruin something for someone with his pranks. But, for him, it's ok, after all, his friends Will and Katie always think his antics are funny.

On their way home, Will and Katie tease Hector about being slow and getting caught. Angered by the teasing, Hector decides to show them how wrong they are. Seeing a homeless man asleep on a bench next to his trolley full of what appears to be trash, Hector decides to steal the hat the old man always wears. But when he wakes up and catches at them, they run off with the hat. 

Angry at the world, Hector decides to run off with the homeless man's trolley after school the next day. But the trolley quickly gains momentum and when Hector loses control, the trolley lands in the lake and sinks. Unfortunately, Mei-Li, the smartest girl in Hector's class, witnesses the whole thing, as does a woman walking her dog. Even though his friends think the cruel stunt is great, Hector can't celebrate - his plan went wrong, and that had never happened before. 

Meanwhile, at home, Hector learns his father is working on a new film about homeless people. And also that someone has been stealing statues and framing the homeless by leaving special marks that only they would understand. 

Skateboarding around Piccadilly Circus with a friend on afternoon, Hector decides to stay longer by himself, when his sees the homeless man, whose trolley he'd sunk and whose name he has learned is Thomas, suddenly appear and break into a run. Naturally, when another statue goes missing, Hector is convinced it's Thomas doing it, and decides to find him and turn him over to the police. And to do that, he needs to enlist the help of Mei-Li, but will she help someone who she clearly does not like? And together can Mei-Li and Thomas help Hector overcome his need to be bad?

There's a lot going on in this novel as Raúf tackles themes of bullying, homelessness, behavior, family dynamics, and a mystery. But Raúf is such a adept writer that none of these themes overwhelms the others, and never blurr Hector's selfish, cruel behavior. In fact, they all contribute to his redemption in such a believable way that it all happens almost unconsciously, for the reader and for Hector. And all the while, events inform reader and Hector of what it is like to live rough, to live where you aren't wanted, to feel the consequences of another person's cruel prank. 

Hector is a most unlikable protagonist, but then readers see his family's dynamics and the things he does are almost understandable in his need to get some attention his way. And while you may feel some empathy, it only lasts momentarily, as he commences his bad acts again. But, Hector is a boy who is and does deserve redemption. A clever artist who needs his talents redirected. 

I find that I am becoming quite a fan of Raúf. Her writing is refreshingly breezy and pulls the reader in immediately and compels them to stay to the end, to see what will become of her protagonists. Back matter consists of information about bullying and where to find information and resources about dealing with issues of bullying, and well as information about homelessness and where to find information. She has also included The Homeless Code, which may be different in Britain that in the US, symbols used by thieves, and an Author's Note. 

On a personal note, my grandmother went to Berea College in Kentucky and studied home economics. She made really great biscuits, and during the depression, despite having to feed six kids on a minister's salary, my grandmother got up every morning and made dozens and dozens of biscuits and lots of coffee to give to the homeless men who always stopped at their house. The house, my mother said, was marked showing that "a good woman lives here." 

Be sure to check out the other Marvelous Middle Grade Monday offerings, 

now being carried on by Greg at Always in the Middle

MMGM: Rescue at Lake Wild by Terry Lynn Johnson

 

I follow a bunch of animal rescue and rehabilitation sites, the goal of which is to eventually return the animals back into the wild, so I just knew this would be a book I wanted to share with young readers. And it did not disappoint.

Twelve-year-old Madison Lewis wants nothing more than to grow up and become the next Jane Goodall. Her beloved grandmother was a wildlife rehabilitator and now that her Nana is gone, Madi wants to carry on her work. But after she finds their parents dead, and even after she rescues their two beaver kits from their lodge Madi knows she's going to be in big trouble if she brings them home. Madi has been told no more rescues or she won't be able to go to the Jane Goodall Institute and meet her idol and find how she did her observations of animals in the wild.

So of course, Madi and her friends Jack and Aaron, along with Jack black Lab, Lid, rescue the kits and bring them to Madi's house. Hiding them in the shed turned clubhouse in the backyard, Madi realizes she has a lot to learn about the care and feeding of beaver kits. At least, she has Nana's notes to refer to, but even at that, it is a big job. Luckily, mom works a lot and dad is often away for a week at a time, but then there is older sister Marley, not much of an animal lover, to contend with.

Then Madi, Aaron, Jack, and, of course, Lid the tracking dog, discover that the dead beavers had built a dam that blocked the channel that flows from Lake Wild to Lake Little Hawk, and is now causing roads and bridges in their township of Willow Grove to flood. While Jack and Lid investigate to see if they can find the person who killed the two beavers, Madi works on caring for the kits. In the middle of all this, Madi finds another beaver kit. When Marley discovers the kits, she makes Madi an offer that she really can't refuse: if Marley keeps quiet about the kits, Madi won't say anything about the party Marley is planning when she is sure no parent will be home. 

Can Jack, Aaron and Lid solve the mystery of who shot the beavers? Can Madi figure out what to do with her beaver kits? And can a viable solution be found to prevent further flooding because of the beaver dams?

Rescue at Lake Wild is an entertaining, interesting and informative story for younger middle grade readers not quite ready for the Terry Lynn Johnson's wonderful but harrowing survival stories like Ice Dogs and Dog Driven. There's a lot of detail about beaver life, and especially about caring for them. Not everything Madi does goes well, but I like how she learns from her mistakes and also how the beaver kits, acting on their  natural instincts, are her best teachers. She certainly hones her observation skills watching and caring for them. 

Johnson really knows how to craft an exciting adventure story. She gives Madi and her friends a freedom of movement most kids don't have in today's world. They travel around in an ATV (all-terrain vehicle) and a small motor boat, but considering how little her parents are around, Madi does have a cell phone to check in with them. All in all, this make a nice way for young readers to have an outdoor adventure, even if it is only vicariously.

Whenever you read a Terry Lynn Johnson book, you know you are reading the words of a real animal lover, and her stories will hopefully inspire her readers to develop a strong love and respect for them, too. Do read the Author's Note for more information about this book and what inspired Johnson to write it. Besides the Author's Note, there is an important list called "The Dos of Wildlife" detailing what to do if you think a baby animal needs rescuing. Madi had the benefit of being her Nana's apprentice before she passed away, and has some experience with wildlife rescue, but as the head of the rehab facility that takes in the beavers kits tells Madi, people keeping wildlife does more harms to animals than good. 

Rescue at Lake Wild is an appealing book that should please animal and wildlife lovers looking for adventure and mystery.

This book is recommended for readers age 8+

This book was an eARC gratefully received from Barbara Fisch at Blue Slip Media

I haven't done a MMGM in a long time and it's good to be back. You can see all of this week's wonderful MMGM books thanks to Greg at Always in the Middle

Sophie Washington: Secret Santa (Sophie Washington #7) written and illustrated by Tonya Duncan Ellis

This is the 7th Sophie Washington book, but it is the first one I've read (but won't be the last). Sophie, 11, is a middle school African American girl who lives in Houston, Texas with her parents and younger brother Cole, 8. Dad is a dentist, mom works as his office manager, and both kids attend a private school. 

It's three weeks before Christmas and the kids are looking forward to Granny Washington's upcoming visit. But before that happens, a package filled with all of her favorites candies arrives for Sophie and is simply signed Your Secret Santa. But who could that be?

The next day at school, friends Mariama, Chloe, and Valentina think it must be from a boy at their school, but who? After school, another Secret Santa present arrives, this time it's a gingerbread house and Granny Washington arrives just in time to put it together.

Meantime, Cole, who loves to play basketball after school, comes in with a black eye. Two boys from down the street, Rhythm, 8 and his brother Blu, 7, Brown (yes, their dad is a jazz musician, but he's never around) have been picking on Cole and finally decked him. Sophie helps him cover his black and blue eye while promising to figure out what to do about the brothers and still trying to solve the Secret Santa mystery.

When Sophie discovers that Nathan, a school friend, has also been receiving Secret Santa gifts, she can at least rule him out of the suspects list. But when he mentions something he noticed in the last present he received, they wonder if that could be a lead to the real Secret Santa. Will they finally be able to solve the mystery? 

Sophie Washington: Secret Santa is a great holiday chapter book for kids in the lower middle school grades. Sophie is a great role model, a girl who has a nice relationship with her brother, looking out for him and helping him when he needs it, but getting annoyed when his sweet tooth is aimed at her sweets. Sophie gets along with her parents and Granny Washington, but isn't spoiled. She also isn't perfect which makes her realistic.  

As I said, Sophie Washington: Secret Santa is the seventh book in the Sophie Washington series and that I had not as yet read any others. So, you may be wondering, did it work as a stand alone story? Yes, it did, simply because anything you needed to know from prior stories was explained just enough to keep the reader from being confused and getting lost. 

If kids enjoy this story, they might want to circle back to the beginning of the series and catch up on all of Sophie Washington's adventures, beginning with Sophie Washington: Queen of the Bee. I should mention that these chapter books would make a great stocking stuffer, along with the Sophie Washington Super Fun Activity Book, filled with crosswords, word searches, coloring pages, mazes, writing prompts and more. 

Meet the Author:

Tonya Duncan Ellis loves to travel and has visited 49 American states, 20 countries, and three continents, but some of her best journeys have been between the pages of a novel. As a girl she could always be found with a book in her hand, and reading is still one of her favorite hobbies. When she's not reading or writing, the author likes to ride her bike, swim, and spend time with her husband and three children. She lives in Hauston, TX

You can find out more at https://tonyaduncanellis.com/

This book is recommended for readers age 8+

This book was gratefully received from the author and Penny Sansevieri at Author Marketing Experts 

Where is Our Library? (A Story of Patience & Fortitude #2) by Josh Funk, illustrated by Stevie Lewis

Where is Our Library? (A Story of Patience & Fortitude #2)

written by Josh Funk, illustrated by Stevie Lewis

Henry Holt & Company, 2020, 40 pages

I just love a good New York story and what could be better than a New York City story about the New York Public Library? And that is just what Josh Funk has written. Where is Our Library? is his second book starring those two lovable library lions Patience and Fortitude and a love letter to the NYPL's 92 library branches, as well as a visit to some iconic bookish landmarks in NYC.

 

It all begins late one night when most New Yorkers are asleep. Patience and Fortitude leave their perch and begin their nightly visit to the children's reading room in the 42nd Street library, anticipating a night of reading some good books, but when they arrive, much to their surprise and dismay, the books are all gone.

Baffled and disappointed, Fortitude immediately comes up with a plan and the two companions head out the library door and stealthily take to the streets, heading toward Times Square. No finding the library's books there, they head uptown to Central Park, through the zoo, past the carousel, arriving at the Alice in Wonderland statue, where Alice points them in the direction of the Hans Christian Anderson statue. Hans' suggestion: a list of branch libraries they should visit. Which they do, traveling from Harlem to Chinatown, and even along the High Line, but they still have no luck finding their books. By now, dawn is breaking and Patience and Fortitude need to return to their perch in front of the Schwartzman Building.

Do our literary lions find their missing books before the sun comes up? Yes, indeed. They have been moved across the street to the newly renovated Mid-Manhatten branch on Fifth Avenue and East 41st Street. That branch, Patience and Fortitude learn, now houses the Children's Library.  

Where is Our Library? is a mystery, an adventure, and an announcement. It is written in a rhyme that never loses its rhythm, an important point for a read aloud. Not only does this story make a good read aloud, but kids will really like seeing some of their favorite books on display in the various branches that the two lions visit. You might also notice that the plays shown on the Times Square pages are all kidlit related, even if the timing of their being performed and the present is a little off. And, thanks to COVID-19, most people never even knew that the renovated Mid-Manhatten branch has been renamed the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library until recently.

 

I read Where is Our Library? as an eARC but I still found the illustrations fun and energetic. I loved Lewis' depictions of the city at night, but I think my favorite is the two page layout of Patience and Fortitude walking through Central Park and all the familiar places they pass though. For those who aren't familiar with New York, the author has included an informative list of all the places the library lions visit.

You can also download a fun 12-page activity kit courtesy of the publisher HERE 

AND you can register for a storytime event WITH author Josh Funk and illustrator Stevie Lewis. Click HERE for details and to register.

This book is recommended for readers age 4+

This book was gratefully received from the author, Josh Funk 

🎂 HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY 🎂

WHERE IS OUR LIBRARY?

OCTOBER 27, 2020

⚾️Ballpark Mysteries Super Special #3: Subway Series Surprise by David A. Kelly, illustrated by Mark Meyers

The yearly Subway Series between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets may have been cancelled once again for the 2020 season, but young baseball fans can still enjoy some Subway Series excitement, thanks to David A. Kelly's Ballpark Mysteries Super Special #3: Subway Series Surprise. 

It all begins one Friday afternoon at Brooklyn's  Cyclone Stadium just off the Coney Island boardwalk. The Cyclones are a minor league team and during the seventh inning stretch, there's going to be a hot dog eating contest between Met fans and Yankee fans. And cousins Mike Walsh and Kate Hopkins are the lucky kids who get to help out. After helping out, they are given a hot dog paid for by a mysterious fan - one wearing a Mets jersey AND a Yankee hat, who left a puzzle on their napkin for them to figure out.  

Later, when Kate's mom picks them up, they are off to Mets stadium in Queens, where the first game of the Series is scheduled. Mrs. Hopkins, a sports reporter, tells them that someone has broken into the press box there. Then they discover that the only thing taken are Mrs. Hopkins' research notes. And it seems that the person who was last seen leaving the press box was wearing a Mets jersey and a Yankee hat. But the one person who fits that description is Rocco Sampson, the Mets Apple Manager, who has invited Kate and Mike to visit him if they are around for game 3. And he seems to have an airtight reason for mixing his teams, after all, it is the Subway Series.

But when Kate and Mike overhear someone they recognize talking on a cell phone in Grand Central Station's Whispering Gallery, suddenly all the pieces seem to fall into place so they can figure out who took the research notes, but not why? Boy, are they in for a surprise!

Subway Series Surprise is really a fun book for young readers. It has everything that makes a book exciting. There's a mystery, lots of baseball playing, some interesting baseball history, and a few New York City fun facts - like why Mike and Kate could hear a conversation even though they weren't near the speakers. At the back of the book, fans will find even more information about the New York Yankees and New York Mets, as well as the Whispering Gallery in Grand Central Station. 

Kelly really knows how to craft a book so that is ideal for the target age. The vocabulary is perfect for them, the story isn't so complicated that they got lost or bored, and the characters are believable and relatable.  

I read this to some 6- and 7-year-olds. Most of them aren't baseball fans yet, but have parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, and older cousins who are so I know it's just a matter of time. And what could be more complimentary then to have a young reader ask for more books in a series, which is just what happened. 

This book is recommended for readers age 8+

This book was purchased for my personal library

I come from a family that has a serious Mets and Yankees rivalry going on, so I know what a disappointment it is for them to have to forfeit the Subway Series twice in one summer. 

MMGM: Chirp by Kate Messner

                     **Contains Spoilers** 

It's the beginning of summer and twelve-year-old Mia Barnes couldn't be happier about moving away from Boston with her family. Mia had been a talented gymnast until she fell off the balance beam, broke her arm, and lost interest in gymnastics. While on the mend, Mia had binged on American Warrior, a reality TV show to avoid thinking about gymnastics. Now, there would be her beloved Gram and her Green Mountain Cricket Farm, the dream business she had begun a few years ago as an alternative source of protein, to think about. Because of a mild stroke, however, Gram is supposed to retire.

No sooner do they arrive, and Gram tells them her cricket farm is being sabotaged probably by a guy named Chet Potsworth, who wants to buy the cricket farm. Instead of selling and retiring, though, Gram introduces them to her new employee Daniel and her new dog Syd. Knowing that her Gram's retirement and the sale of the cricket farm are going to be an obsession with her mother, Mia agrees to attend two different summer camps. One is Launch Camp, a young entrepreneur program, and other, Warrior Camp, a place for Mia's body to heal and strengthen again. It doesn't take long and Mia has made two new friends - Anna, a computer whiz, and Clover, who is a warrior whiz.

Mia believes her Gram when she says her cricket farm is being sabotaged, after all, it's just too much of a coincidence that seagulls, beetles, and fruit flies, enemies of the crickets, suddenly invade the farm, or when most of them die from someone tampering with the temperature controls. Clover, a Nancy Drew fan who loves solving mysteries, is gun-ho about getting to the bottom of this mystery. And while Mia and Clover are working on that, they are also working with Anna to come up with an entrepreneurial plan for increasing business at the cricket farm.

But as much as Mia is enjoying being in Vermont and getting to know her new friends, she has a secret of her own, one she can't bring herself to talk about. Little by little, readers will piece together just what happened to Mia in gymnastics in Boston. But, when Launch Camp has a field trip to UVM to hear a successful businesswoman, Anne Marie Spangler, talking about launching her business, Mia overs her talking afterward about how a former boss has sexually harassed her. Here was a strong, successful woman who had faced the same kind of inappropriate behavior in a man that Mia had faced with her gymnastics coach. After talking to Mia, Anne Marie advises her to talk to her parents or another trusted adult. But can Mia find the strength within herself to do that? It becomes an easier decision when she hears that her younger cousin in Boston is signed up with the same gymnastics coach.

When readers first meet Mia, she's subdued, fearful, and distrustful, no longer the strong, fearless gymnast she was before she broke her arm. At first, it seems that this is all the result of Mia's fall from the balance beam, but slowly readers begin to realize the fall might not have been completely accidental as Mia allows herself to begin thinking about her coach's inappropriate behavior more and more. Messner has done a masterful job of building up the full story of his violation. I felt Mia's shame, her self-blame, her questioning - did it really happen the way she remembered it? Did coach give her that Olympic pin because she was a truly gifted gymnast or to buy her complicity? 

Little by little the fearful girl Mia once was begins to come back, thanks to new friends, new achievements and a loving family. But as she discovers, her #MeToo story has changed her forever and she can never really be the same girl she once was. But, as her Gram tells her: 

"You've been carrying around what happened all this time, getting up every morning, going to school, going to camp, making friends. Do you realize how brave that is?...That's what brave women do. We keep going.Somehow we manage to grieve over things that have happened to up at the same time we're saving the world and running businesses and practicing law and raising families."

Chirp is kind of a mixed bag. It's a book about family, friendship, and the mystery of who is trying to ruin Gram's dream. But it is also a #MeToo story about finding your voice and the courage to speak up. And it is also a story about hope. That may sound like too much going on for a Middle Grade novel, but this is a well crafted story and nothing is gratuitous.

    

And yes, the girls solve the mystery of who is sabotaging the cricket farm. It was fun to read about and  it was not who I expected at all.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+

This book was an eARC gratefully received from NetGalley

Be sure to check out the other Marvelous Middle Grade Monday offerings, now being carried on by Greg at Always in the Middle.

Mini Review: The Color of the Sun by David Almond

The Color of the Sun by David Almond

Candlewick Press, 2019, 224 pages

I’ve always liked David Almond’s writing because of his unique way of looking at things. But as I read The Color of the Sun I felt like I was re-reading a story I already knew but didn’t remember clearly. Then it came to me - this is similar, perhaps too similar, to Joe Quinn’s Poltergeist. So it’s not that The Color of the Sun isn’t good, it’s absolutely David Almond excellent.

Almond sets young Davie off an an odyssey through his hometown of Tyneside on a hot summer day. As he wanders, Davie thinks about his father, who has recently passed away. While walking, he is told that a boy has been murdered, and Davie heads to the place the body was found. It turns out to be a boy Davie knows, who was also the town bully, part of a gang. Davie decides he knows who probably killed the boy, and heads to a nearby hill, believing the murderer also headed
 that way. As he goes, he meets a variety of different townspeople, a dog, the girl he may grow up to love, and the spirit of his father. As Davie explore questions about life and what it means, and if love can help you though hard times and heartbreak. Needless to say, by the time he returns home at the end of the day, Davie is a changed person.

Davie’s odyssey is a metaphor for trying to find his place in the world now that his dad is gone, making this a true coming of age tale as Davie tries to find his way back home.

This book is recommended for readers age 13+
This book was a eARC gratefully received from NetGalley

MMGM: The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser

After a very busy Christmas Eve, I decided to take it easy on Christmas day and just spend the afternoon reading a book. And The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street seemed the perfect book to spend the day with. It's a delightful New York story about a big biracial family and it begins five days before Christmas and ends on Christmas day.

The Vanderbeekers children, twins Jessie and Isa, 12, Oliver, 9 and the only boy, Hyacinth, 6, and Laney, 4 1/2, have occupied the basement and two floors of a Harlem brownstone most of their lives, along with Mama, Papa, Franz the dog, George Washington, a cat, and Paganini, a lop-eared bunny. Above them live Miss Josie and her husband Mr. Jeet, who recently suffered a stroke, and on the top floor lives Mr. Beiderman, their landlord. The Vanderbeeker children couldn't be happier living where they live. They know everyone in the neighborhood, and everyone knows them, with the exception of the reclusive Mr. Beiderman, whom they have never seen.

You can imagination the devastation the Vanderbeeker children must have felt when, five days before Christmas, they were told that Mr. Beiderman would not be renewing their lease and they would have to move by the end of the year. The children may be stunned, disappointed, angry, hurt, and perplexed, but it doesn't stop them from coming up with "Operation Beiderman," a plan to win the mysterious and mean landlord over in the hope of changing his mind. And Mr. Beiderman is an enigma to them. He hasn't left his apartment in the six years the Vanderbeekers have lived in his brownstone, he periodically has frozen meals delivered, and he keeps his windows covered with dark curtains. Papa is the only one who has seen Mr. Beiderman, since he does superintendent duties around the brownstone.

And Mr. Beiderman proves to be a hard nut to crack. Enticing him to change his mind with delicious chocolate croissants for the local bakery doesn't work, nor does the wonderful old Duke Ellington record they leave for him after learning that he likes jazz. Nor does Hyacinth's hand stitched holiday place mat, or the petition signed by everyone they know in the neighborhood. As the time until moving day gets closer and closer, will the Vanderbeeker children come up with a plan that will finally work? Or are they destined to leave behind everyone and everything they love about living in a brownstone on 141st Street in Harlem forever?

I have to admit I have a weakness for middle grade books about large, loving families like the Vanderbeekers (and of course, the Penderwicks). And I really enjoyed reading this book and I'm looking forward to reading more about the Vanderbeekers.

Some of the things I really liked about this book are:
I thought all the characters were believable and well drawn. Everyone had just the right amount of eccentricity, so that who they are feels authentic and not forced. The kids felt like real kids. They know their way around the neighborhood and they know things about their home that the adults have not idea about - how to get up to the Roof of Epic Proportions via fire escape for secret meetings, the secret floorboard in the twins bedroom, how to avoid squeaky stairs.

I loved that there were no screens - none of the Vanderbeekers kids have a cell phone, and because of the move, even their Internet is turned off. Which means - no easy answers about the mysterious Mr. Beiderman. Learning he has once been at City College, they had to walk to the college in the hope of finding information.

The main message the Vanderbeekers learned is to never never assume a person is who they appear to be. Jessie has to learn this about her twin sister Isa the hard way, and all of the kids have to learn it about Mr. Beiderman.

My favorite part, however, is this - if it takes a village to raise children, this book shows us that the village can easily be the neighborhood right outside our front doors. This is a lesson I learned when my Kiddo was growing up and so many friends and neighbors added so much to her life. And Karina Yan Glaser depicted it so perfectly, it was like a gift on Christmas day.

If you haven't read The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street, you might want to give it a read. If you have already read it, lucky you.

Be sure to check out the other Marvelous Middle Grade Monday offerings, now being carried on by Greg at Always in the Middle. 

This book is recommended for readers 9+
This book was purchased for my personal library

MMGM: Malamander (Malamander #1) by Thomas Taylor, illustrated by Tom Booth

It's bitter cold winter in Eerie-on-Sea, a coastal resort town, and there aren't many guests staying at the Grand Nautilus Hotel, which means that Herbert "Herbie" Lemon, 12 and in charge of the hotel's Lost and Foundry, isn't terribly busy either. That is until Violet Parma, also 12, enters his life climbing through the window of his small cubbyhole in the reception lobby asking to be hidden.

Violet is being chased by a sailor with a boat hook in place of a hand that was somehow lost. On the other hand, Violet is looking for her parents who had disappeared while staying in the Grand Nautilus when she was a baby and now she's come to enlist the services of Herbie Lemon, who is, after all, the hotel's Lost and Founder. The only clue Violet has is a card with some numbers on one side and a picture of a mermonkey in a top hat on the other side. It's a picture Herbie recognizes and so the two set off for the Eerie Book Dispensary.

At the Eerie Book Dispensary, which is owned by Mrs. Jenny Hanniver, they run into Sebastian Eels, an author and a local celebrity. Mrs. Hanniver recognizes Violet's name because she used to know her father, Peter Parma, also a writer. At the Book Dispensary, the book choses the reader by feeding the mechanical mermonkey a coin, which then issues a card, similar to the one Violet already has, and by following the code on the back, the reader finds the book that has been chosen for them. A book called Malamander by Captain K is chosen for Violet.

The malamander is a local legend, a monstrous half man, half fish creature with hideous spikes and steely scales protecting it. The creature lays one magical egg every year on midwinter night, which is fast approaching. The  egg is said to grant the dearest wish of whomever can get it. But to get the egg, the malamander has to be defeated, no easy task. And at the end of midwinter night, if a mate doesn't show up, the malamander eats the magical egg and seekers have to wait another year for another chance at the egg.

And there are a whole bunch of shady characters who would dearly love to get their hands on this magical egg, including a watery ghost, and they all seem to think Violet Parma has the secret to defeating the malamander, putting her and now Herbie in a very dangerous and most precarious position.

Malamander is a fun, quirky fantasy novel, narrated by the very lively and likable Herbie, who, like Violet is an orphan and has a story of his own, which we don't fully know...yet. The mystery of how and why Violet's parents disappeared keeps the action moving, mostly because Violet is fearless and determined and not above taking off on her own, despite the danger.

There are lots of plot twists and wordplay to be found among the adventures and different characters making the whole story feel very tongue-in-cheek at times. Adding to the fun and the idiosyncratic human characters is a cat named Erwin, who can speak when he wants to. He takes an instant liking to Violet, which proves to be a life-saving good thing.

Malamander is a fun fantasy for anyone who is looking for an offbeat mystery/adventure story that is the beginning of a new series.

You can find an excellent Teacher's Guide for the Malamander courtesy of the publisher HERE
You can find fun Activity pages to download courtesy of the publisher HERE

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was received with gratitude from Candlewick Press and NetGalley

Be sure to check out the other Marvelous Middle Grade Monday offerings, now being carried on by Greg at Always in the Middle. 

Amanda in Holland: Missing in Action (Amanda Travels Book #7) by Darlene Foster

This is the third Amanda Travels I've read, and in it, Amanda, 12, is heading to the Netherlands to join her British friend Leah Anderson and her father, who is there on business. Of course, the girls are there to see the sights, learn about Holland's history and culture, but Amanda has another purpose to be there. She would like to solve the mystery of what happened to her great uncle Harold, who went to the Netherlands with the Canadian army during World War II and never return home.

No sooner do the girls meet up in Amsterdam, then Amanda spots a cardboard box sitting beside some smelly garbage after hearing a cry come from it. Inside is a little brown and white puppy. When they ask a girl named Lisa working in a nearby cheese shop if she knows anything, she tells them no but it has been happening to dogs a lot lately.

Amanda and Leah decide to try and find a home for the puppy, now named Joey, which leads to meeting Jan. In fact, they seem to run into Jan everywhere they go, even giving him a ride to his grandparents home in the country when Mr. Anderson heads that way for a business meeting. Once in the country, the plot thickens and soon Amanda is involved in solving the mystery of a missing gardener, the theft of some rare tulip bulbs, and the mysterious woman bike-riding woman who keeps turning up. And is Jan involved in the tulip bulb mystery, despite his wonderful, welcoming family?

I didn't find the mysteries in this book as interesting as in previous books. They felt a little forced and therefore convoluted. I think solving the mystery of what happened to Uncle Harold would have been sufficient, given what Amanda discovers about him. And just finding a home for Joey would a nice subplot that exposed the cruelty of puppy farms. Added to these, sightseeing and accompanying information about the Anne Frank House, the tour of the wooden shoe factory, the visit to a windmill, the magic of the tulip fields, and rides through Hollands famous canals in a long boat really make the story interesting and gives readers a nice armchair journey to the Netherlands.

And that is what I like about the Amanda Travels series. It take young readers to places of interest, and provides usual and unusual sightseeing as Amanda meets different people and learns about their culture, and enjoys traditional foods in each place. In Holland, she ties such things as Hotchpotch Stamppot, a "Dutch dish of mashed potatoes mixed with carrots and onions, a meatball, sausages, and bacon," a meal I wouldn't mind trying.

So even though the mystery in Amanda in Holland is just ok, I would still recommend it, but especially to any readers interested in travel and mysteries, family, and friendship.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was provided by the publisher, Central Avenue Publishing, through NetGalley

August Isle by Ali Standish

When her mom, a freelance photographer, gets a job in Argentina, and her dad has a big law case to prepare for, it is decided that Miranda, 12, would be sent to stay with her mother's old friend, Aunt Clare on August Isle, where her mother had spent her summers growing up. Miranda has always wondered why her mother threw away the postcards Aunt Clare periodically sent and now that she will be on August Isle, she is determined to find out. And then maybe she can figure out why her mother suddenly began to distance herself from Miranda a few years ago.

Miranda had met Aunt Clare and her daughter Sammy four years ago, and the two girls quickly bond again once Miranda arrives on August Isle. Aunt Clare has signed them up for sailing lessons every morning, not knowing that Miranda is deathly afraid of water. And that's where she meets Caleb, who at first makes fun of Miranda for her fear, but soon she, Sammy and Caleb are fast friends.

Pretty soon, mysteries are uncovered. First, the three discover an old abandoned house and Miranda is dared to go in. Which she does, but gets caught by an elderly man who is now living there. As punishment for breaking and entering, the three friends have to spend afternoons helping Mr. Taylor unpack his many books, acquired on a sailing trip around the world and writing down the  stories he collected from different people and places.

They discover the second mystery while walking down the street. There, carved into the sidewalk cement are three names - Clare, Beth, Ben. They know Clare is Sammy's mother, Beth is Miranda's mother, but who is Ben and why have they never heard of him?

The third mystery is who is in the lighthouse on Keeper's Island across the water from August Isle. Legend has it that it's haunted, but someone is definitely there at night.

While these are the main threads of the story, like summer days, there are other things going on as well. There are the turtle eggs that are getting ready to hatch and be gently guided to the ocean; there are problems between Caleb's parents at home; and my favorite is Miranda learning to bake pies with Aunt Clare's help, something she had always wanted to do with her mother.

I've always loved books set in the summer, so August Isle was right up my alley. I particularly liked the companionable way the three kids hung out together, getting ice cream after sailing lessons, and sitting under an old tree eating it, and their secret afternoon visits to Mr. Taylor (this part is never creepy, there is a housekeeper named Betsy always present). I also like how kind the young sailing instructor was about Miranda's fear of water, letting her do it all at her own pace. This is the kind of book my 11-year-old self would have loved to read during the summer when I could whatever I wanted (confession - I still look forward to reading exactly this kind of summer book).

I enjoyed watching the mysteries get solved, even though parts of them were very sad, but I really liked Miranda's resolve that from now on she is going to be "Miranda - brave and bold," facing her fears and learning to speak up for herself, even though sometimes it was really hard. Sammy, who is part Indian, part white, has always felt too white in India and too Indian in America, struggles to come to terms with her identity, even though she has always being proud of her Indian heritage.

On the whole, August Isle was a wonderfully inspiring book to read and although Standish has used the usual tropes of family, identity, overcoming fear, and finding courage, she's managed to give them all a new look. Young readers are sure to count Miranda, Sammy, and Caleb among their book friends at summer's end.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL

Be sure to check out the other Marvelous Middle Grade Monday offerings, now being carried on by Greg at Always in the Middle.

The 2018 Cybils MG Fiction Winner: The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson

Candice Miller, 12, isn't too happy to be spending the summer in her deceased grandmother's house in Lambert, South Carolina with her mom and away from her dad in Atlanta, especially now that her parents are divorced. Candice's grandmother Abigail Caldwell had been Lamert's first African American city manager but her notoriety came from being the person who ordered the town's historic tennis courts dug up while looking for a hidden treasure, a/k/a the Parker inheritance. Needless to say, Abigail lost her job as town manager.

Candice has been missing her friends back home, and the only possible would-be friend is shy Brandon Jones, the 11-year-old bookish kid living across the street. They don't really click at first, but when Brandon is picked on by two boys who get a little rough, he finds himself in Candice's house. With nothing else to do, they head up to the attic looking for books. While rummaging around up there, Candice finds a letter containing the first challenge that began her grandmother's search for the buried treasure ten years earlier, and it was in a box marked For Candice. After the reading the letter, Candice is also convinced that there is buried treasure somewhere in Lambert and she sure would like to find it, then maybe they wouldn't have to sell their house in Atlanta. But who are the people mentioned in the letter: Enoch, Leanne, and Siobhan Washington, and the Allen family? And why did the letter writer want to ruin the Allen family? And why did certain people in Lambert fail to protect the Washingtons and against what? And how could Abigail Caldwell have made right what once went so utterly wrong? Oh, yes, and who wrote the letter in the first place?

Most importantly, how was Candice supposed to find the answers to her questions with only her father's old iPod and not cell phone or computer to connect to the internet? Candice decides it's time to share her discovery with Brandon, and as the two investigate the mystery of the buried treasure, they also begin to become friends.

Candice also has her grandmother to thank for sending her all those puzzle books year after year or was she being primed for this mystery? And then there's her grandmother's guiding words of wisdom: "Just because you don't see the path doesn't mean it's not there." (pg. 28).  The more Candice and Brandon research, the more they discover, and the puzzle surrounding the mystery of the buried treasure in Lambert, South Carolina reveals the the town's racial history of bigotry, segregation, and hate, attitudes that are still present among some of its citizens. So, why would anyone ever want to leave a treasure worth $40,000,000 to this town?

The Parker Inheritance is one of those books that will keep you reading simply because you can't put it down. I love a good mystery and I particularly loved this one because to the way it shows readers that, as William Faulkner once wrote, "the past is never dead. It's not even past," it may just be buried as Lamber had buried its past until two determined, smart kids come along and dig it up, forcing the citizens to finally really look at their past history. As each new puzzle piece is solved, a flashback to earlier times reveals the backstory of those people mentioned in the letter, including the mysterious letter writer.

Candice and Brandon are great characters. Candice's desire to solve the mystery and hopefully save the house she grew up in and her parent's marriage and her wish to clear her beloved grandmother's name are the driving factors for her obsession with the hidden treasure. She is a nicely flawed protagonist, as is Brandon, who is bullied by kids who believe he is gay. The town of Lambert is a third character, a place of hidden secrets under a thin deceptive, decorative veneer just waiting to be exposed.

The interjection of Lambert's history and its treatment of the Washington family give depth to Candice and Brandon's discoveries, and also provides a very realistic picture of what live was life for African Americans in living there. Johnson explores themes of race relations, racial identity, social injustice, preconceived ideas, acceptance, divorce, and sexual identity. This makes it sound like an issue-heavy book, but Johnson expertly keeps a light touch when needed. Also, you may wish to read or reread The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, which gets more than a passing shoutout.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was purchased for my personal library

Mark of the Plague (a Blackthorn Key Adventure #2) by Kevin Sands

In 2015, The Blackthorn Key, the first book in the Blackthorn Key series, not only received starred reviews, but it was also the Middle Grade Fiction Cybils winner and for good reason. It is a fascinating action-packed mystery. Christopher Rowe, 14, an orphan, is chosen to be an apprentice to apothecary Benedict Blackthorn. But when Master Benedict is murdered, Christopher sets out to discover who did it and why. It's a mystery that requires Christopher to use his knowledge of Latin, puzzles, ciphers, and codes, taught to him by Master Benedict. The action takes place over the course of six days - Thursday, May 28, 1665 to Tuesday, June 2, 1665, important dates for the story. Now, just a few months later, Christopher is faced with a new mystery in Book 2, Mark of the Plague.

Having inherited Master Benedict's home and apothecary shop doesn't help Christopher very much when the plague returns to London in early September 1665 - Christopher can't sell any possible remedies because he is an apprentice without a master or license of his own. And without any business, Christopher has no money to buy food until given some coins to tide him over by Isaac Chandler, an old friend of Master Benedict. But Isaac also gives Christopher two pieces of news - first, that there is a prophet in London who claims he can predict the course of the plague and who it will infect next, and second, that Master Benedict has left Christopher a treasure. But where or what the treasure is no one knows. It becomes another of Master Benedict's coded mysteries for Christopher to solve.

After buying some food with Isaac's money, Christopher and Tom, his best friend and the son of the baker, find themselves in the middle of a riot. A quack selling a cure for the plague is brought down by an apothecary named Galen, who claims he has also found a cure and plans on giving it out free of change if the Lord Mayor and magistrates of London accept it. In the midst of the riot, Chrisopher witnesses a young girl being beaten by two men. Recognizing her as Sally from Cripplegate, the same orphanage he had been in, Christopher and Tom take her back to the apothecary shop. And that's when Christopher notices that his jars of ingredients that are always kept in meticulous order have been moved around. But why and by whom?

On top of everything else, Christopher learns that his apothecary shop has been chosen by the magistrates for Galen to produce his plague cure along with pretty ample funding. Galen insists on choosing his own assistants, and Christopher soon finds himself barred from his own shop.

It doesn't take long for Christopher, Tom, and Sally to become suspicious of both Galen and the prophet Melchior, and soon the three friends are on a mission to solve the mystery of who they are and what they want. And after Melchior predicts that someone Christopher loves will soon die, and Tom becomes sick, his distrust of the prophet increases, especially when he finds Tom's house guarded by one of Melchior's men.

Christopher has a full plate of mysteries to figure out and it seems his circle of helpers is getting smaller and smaller as the plague is claiming more and more lived every day. But why do both Galen and Melchior light on Blackthorn's apothecary? Could Master Benedict have been working on a plague cure or perhaps they know something about his treasure?

I am happy to say that Mark of the Plague is every bit as exciting as The Blackthorn Key. Once again, Sands has set the story within a relatively short time span - Monday, August 31, 1665 to Thursday, September 10, 1665 - and gives the total death toll for each day. No coincidence in the time - the 1665 plague hit its peak in London in September.

Christopher remains the same great character we met in Book 1, and fans will be glad to see Tom is back and to meet Sally, both characters add a sense of humor to what could otherwise bee too a story for middle grade readers. Let's face it, life in the 1600s wasn't easy, particularly is you are an orphan and the plague has come to town, so having loyal best friends really does help.

There were lots of codes and ciphers to solve in the first book, but not so many in this one. It's more like a straight mystery, but of course, when it comes to figuring out what and where Master Benedict's treasure is, Christoper has to put his puzzle solving skills to good use.

I did think Sands did a much better job with the historical facts in this novel. The plague brought out a lot of charlatans looking to capitalize on people's fears and Sands makes it is easy to see how they were able to pull of their scams in the face of an virulent disease that no one knew the cause of or even how it spread. One interesting fact is Sally describing Melchior as the Bird Man, because he wears a mask that looks like a bird. In fact, that is exactly what plague doctors did do:

A plague doctor wearing his 'beak mask'. This mask would have been filled with lavender or other strong smelling substances which were thought to protect him from disease
(source: https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/LondonPlaguePits/) 

So, it you are looking for a historically accurate, exciting mystery, look no further than Mark of the Plague and the adventures of Christopher Rowe. And if you don't like series books, no problem, this works well as a stand alone novel.

The publisher, Simon & Schuster, has provided is a useful Reading Group Guide for both Books 1 & 2 that can be printed from the publisher's website

This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was bought for my personal library

Amanda in New Mexico: Ghosts in the Wind (Amanda Travels #6) by Darlene Foster

Sixth-grader Amanda Ross is a girl who loves to travel, so she’s pretty excited about her class trip from Calgary, Canada to Taos, New Mexico. But no sooner does their plane land in the Albuquerque airport than Amanda’s friend Cleo begins to tremble, wishing she were home, and asking if Amanda believes in ghosts. 

Staying at a famous Taos hotel, the Mable Dodge Luhan House, Amanda and Cleo share a room, but Cleo is still anxious. Even their room feels spooky to her, and she believes she saw someone when she opened the closet. Nevertheless, Amanda is determined to make the most of this trip and enjoy their short stay, learning as much about the history of the area as possible and recording her impressions and stories on the school's Kidblog. 

As the class visits sights such as the Governor Bent Museum, the Hacienda de los Martinez, the Taos Pueblo, where they also stopped to try some wonderful Fry Bread, the *Rio Grande Gorge and Bridge, the Ojo Caliente hot springs, Palisade Sills, the St. James Hotel, and the Enchanted Circle Pottery,  and ending with a Day of the Dead celebration, Amanda and Cleo hook up with another classmate to go exploring together. Cleo, however, is still anxious about ghosts, insisting she keeps seeing the ghost of young girl in a white dress, and it seems that everyplace they visit is haunted. After a while, even Amanda begins to feel unsettled and begins to question her own believes about ghosts and the supernatural.

Then, on a visit to the historic Ranchos de Taos Plaza and the church of Saint Francis of Assisi, Amanda, Caleb, and Cleo run into a very angry man named Jim, when Cleo gets injured in an empty building, where once again she thought she saw a ghost.

And indeed, strange things to seem to be happening to Cleo on this trip. It seems everywhere she goes, she sees the ghost of the same young girl who appears to be trying to tell her something. But who might this girl be? Is she really a ghost or just Cleo’s imagination playing tricks on her? And what does angry Jim, whom they run into more than once, have to do with it all? Can Amanda solve the mystery of Cleo’s ghostly companion.

Ghosts in the Wind is the second Amanda Travels book I've read, and I found it just as interesting as Amanda on the Danube: The Sounds of Music. Everywhere Amanda travels to seems to have a mystery just right for a curious 12 year-old to solve. And Ghosts in the Wind is no different. I lived in the southwest for four years and there is a certain kind of atmosphere there that does carry a bit of a supernatural feel to it, and Darlene Foster has captured that feeling and infused it throughout the places Amanda and her school mates visit. 

I have to admit that I did find Amanda a little annoying, going off and doing what she wants even when told by the adults around her not to. She's also a little impatient with Cleo, a relatively new girl in school and one that Amanda doesn't really know much about. She really upsets Cleo when she posts a story about Cleo's ghost in the closet for everyone to read on Kidblog. Cleo has her own backstory that eventually does help Amanda understand her better when she finally talks about her life. Cleo likes to draw and records everything she sees by illustrating it, including the ghost in one of her scenes. Caleb is very much fun character. He carries a camera everywhere he goes and records his adventures that way. He also provides some comic relief when things get serious and some help when Amanda needs it. 

The Amanda Travels series is a really nice way of introducing young readers to different places around the world through the eyes of girl around their age and it's perfect for kids who like a good mystery. Each mystery surrounding each story is build around the particular place that Amanda is visiting so readers learn about the history, the food, famous sights, celebrations, and the geography, including the landscape.

Amanda in New Mexico: Ghosts in the Wind has a lot of offer readers and just might wake up the wanderlust in some.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was an EARC received from NetGalley

*Rio Grande Gorge is one of 10 National Parks the present administration has targeted for possible oil and gas exploration, mining, timber harvesting, and commercial fishing. This will ruin the natural beauty of these parks. You can find out more about the 10 parks on the NPCA (National Parks Conservation Association) website.