The Evil Wizard Smallbone by Delia Sherman

Magic, young apprentice...evil wizard...seems pretty straightforward right?  Well not so much. Set in a coastal Maine town, Sherman's novel mixes realistic fiction with fantasy in just the right amount to enthrall both lovers of fantasy as well as realistic fiction in equal measure.

Nick is a tough cookie. he has to be, he lives with a bully older cousin and an uncle who doesn't know how to spare the rod. Could Nick help his case by not getting into trouble at school so much? Sure. Nick doesn't learn his lesson though so he seizes his chance one bitterly cold night and runs away and ends up in a strange house with an even stranger old dude who just so happens to be a wizard-an evil wizard if you believe the denizens of Smallbone Cove.

Before long Nick is learning a thing or three about magic and beginning to tolerate life with Smallbone, his quick temper and his menagerie of animals. Journeys to Smallbone Cove are exciting too and You can't escape your past though and Nick finds he has big choices to make when his former life catches up to him.

This is a slightly irreverent read as you may expect. Insults and barbs fly back and forth regularly so I would recommend it for ages 9+ simply because I think most kids at that age have enough sense to know not to go around repeating the stuff they read in books. Some read alikes are Rick Riordan's Magnus Chase series, Kelly Barnhill's The Girl Who Drank the Moon and Holly Webb's Rose.

I Am Drums by Mike Grosso

 I judged this book by its cover (really cool, vibrant and eye-catching).  Plus, I love books about kids who are into music. I think there is just so much boy/girl drama that one can take. Not that this book doesn't have any...but more on that later.

Girls aren't into drums right? I used to think so years ago until I saw a music video with Lenny Kravitz's drummer (will never forget how cool she looked in one of his videos, afro flowing and drumsticks flying). Some of the characters in this book think girls shouldn't play drums either. It's a good thing that the protagonist is no shrinking violet

 Sam (short for Samantha) is a sixth grade drummer who  desperately wants to get better at the drums. However all is not well with her family and her dad is always mad...the last thing he wants to hear about is noisy (and expensive) practice. Sam chances upon a drum tutor and thinks up ingenious ways of earning cash.

Sam has other issues at school however, some of which  she may not be able to solve by herself. My take away from this book is that it is never too late to ask for help. I think even as adults we sometimes hesitate to ask for help lest we be perceived as weak or a screw up. This book is apt for kids in grades 4 and up.  Some read alikes are Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo, A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban and Ten Good and Bad Things About My Life (So Far) by Ann M, Martin.

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

I am part of a committee at my library system that plans social book talks- we find books that speak to pressing social issues and then we host an event inviting the public to come in and discuss the book and the issues. This month we partnered with a local book store and  we were able to bring in the authors of All American Boys last Saturday for an inspiring conversation. Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds are two great guys. Reynolds in particular is on a hot streak and  his latest book is Ghost.

Set in the city it deals with a young tween called Castle Crenshaw who describes himself as having "mad and sad feelings" which sometimes leads to altercations at school.. He has had a hard life and now he and his mom eke out a hardscrabble existence in a less than desirable neighborhood. His mother works long hours to provide for them both and she has high expectations for him.

He is a tough kid but not tough enough to escape frequent taunts at school from a bully. He stumbles into a track meet one day and although he isn't impressed by the coach's gruff manner and reptilian appearance (Castle thinks he has a "turtle face") he tries out. Lo and behold he discovers that he is a runner. Coach invites him to join the team and thus begins a new phase in Castle's life.

This book covers a lot of topics. I like it's hopeful tone however. Castle is a kid with many flaws but he is resilient, he knows right from wrong and works hard. With those qualities he will go far in life. This is the first in Reynolds' Track series so I will definitely keep my eyes open for future installments. I recommend this book for ages 9 and up. Some read alikes are Coe Booth' s Kinda Like Brothers and  Andrew Clements' The Jacket.

Trouble Next Door by Karen English

Trouble Next Door by Karen English is an installment in a great little series called The Carver Chronicles. The characters are for the most part people of color but the setting isn't necessarily urban. The series is set in Carver Elementary school in

In this book,we meet an ordinary kid who sometimes has trouble doing his homework and who is having even more trouble thinking of a great idea for the science fair (something he desperately wants to win). At school he sometimes has to evade a big, gruff kid everyone calls Monster Boy. Then one day Calvin gets a new neighbor-Monster Boy!

Calvin must decide whether or not to accept Monster Boy as his friend as his dad wants him to or to completely ignore him despite the fact that they're neighbors. His friends would recommend the latter option.  Doing so would go against everything his parents taught him and besides...it's hard to avoid him when their bedroom windows face each other!


This book covers a lot of subjects (such as different families, bullies, science among others) but in a nice understated manner that is just right for  kids in grades 3 and up. I reckon it has some hi-lo potential as well. Highly recommended and I am going to check out the rest of the series as soon as I get a chance. Some read alikes are The Buried Bones Mystery by Sharon M. Draper, Nikki & Deja by Karen English and Sally Warner's EllRay Jakes series.

Unbound: A Novel in Verse by Ann E. Burg

Novels in verse have surged in popularity over the last few years and this is another excellent addition to the genre. Set in pre-Civil War America we meet Grace just as she is told she has to go to the Big House and leave her family whom she loves very much.  Her light skin is the reason she has been chosen for this new job.

At the Big House she meets some other slaves including Jordon, the man servant; Anna, a girl who sleeps on the floor of the master bedroom to help the Mistress and Aunt Tempie the cook. Aunt Tempie takes Grace under her wing and teachers her about the duties in the kitchen as well as the whims of the masters.

Grace is by nature a passionate person who has a strong sense of justice and this sometimes gets her into trouble. At the Big House she is exposed to many slights and microaggressions in a more direct way than when she was in the field and she finds it hard to contain her emotions. Of course impudence can lead to serious consequences and soon she finds that she must grow up a lot faster than she would like.

Aunt Tempie and Grace's mother are, to me, the voices of reason and it is their example that Grace ends up following in the end. Though at first she is tempted to blame all whites for the bad things done to herself and other slaves she soon realizes that such thinking is dangerous. To the author's credit she does introduce one person, Ms Charlotte, who is sympathetic to the slaves' plight. This may be a hard book to read for some but it is well-written. Some read alikes to it are Lisa Fowler's Snakes and Stones and Running Out of Night by Sharon Lovejoy.

The Great Shelby Holmes by Elizabeth Eulberg

    I don't judge books by their covers but this book by Elizabeth Eulberg not only has two children of different ethnicity but the title is also a nod the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.  John Watson is new to the great metropolis and just as he and his mother are settling in to their new digs on Baker Street he meets a quirky kid called Shelby Holmes.

 Shelby is a preternaturally gifted child and she spends her time solving various petty crimes in the neighborhood, something which has made her somewhat of a celebrity.  Watson is amazed at the way grown ups treat her. Most grown ups that is, except police officer Lestrade...

 Mixing themes such as non-traditional families, current events, urban decay and so forth. Eulberg captures the atmosphere of the city of New York. There are various other nods to the great detective throughout the book that I won't reveal, I will say though that they add to the story and provide a good chuckle for Holmes fans.

    Holmes is awkward to say the least but Watson has his own health challenges and I liked that Eulberg incorporated that into the story as well. In the end this is a book that a variety of kids can relate to because these are not perfect kids. Some read alikes to it would be Sharon M. Draper's The Buried Bones Mystery, The Harlem Charade by Natasha Tarpley and Elise Broach's The Wolf Keepers.

The Misadventures of Max Crumbly; Locker Room Hero by Rachel Renée Russell

Rachel Renee Russell's ubiquitous Dork Diaries fly off the shelves at most libraries and bookshelves. Not to have the boys feeling left out, she has a new illustrated series aimed at middle grades. The Misadventures of Max Crumbly-Locker Room Hero introduces us to another lovable loser.

As is now standard practice in most of these books, our hero is a quirky kid (in this case an eighth grader) who has the usual issues (bullies, parents and girls) although not in that order. Max doesn't take himself too seriously at all and some of his flashback revelations are hilarious.


Max is new at his school and is not adjusting well to the social cues as well as to the overall structure of the institution. Worse, he soon draws the ire of the school bully, Doug Thurston. It is while fleeing his nemesis that poor Max winds up trapped with no seeming escape in sight. I can't wait to see how Max gets out of this jam.

This is another excellent addition to the burgeoning middle grade illustrated novel field. Read alikes to this would be Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Lenore Look's Alvin Ho, James Patterson's Middle School series and Stephan Pastis' Timmy Failure.