(3) 4-6 Book of Tamarind series. On a mission for her aging grandmother, Penny (a baby in The Lost Island of Tamarind) finds herself back on the magical island, where she undergoes trials to become the one to dive into a great wave and keep Tamarind--and her grandmother--safe. With its richly developed world, believable characters, and increasing intensity, this fine conclusion to the trilogy can also stand alone.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(4) K-3 A+ Books: My First Animal Kingdom Encyclopedias series. Broad information on mammals is arranged by subject--e.g., life cycle, habitat, diet--in two-page sections. Each busy spread includes a sampling of related words and their definitions and small but clear stock photos printed over a large background photo. Some terms may need further context for understanding, but the cursory volume provides a good starting point for gleaning information. Reading list.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(3) K-3 Teacher Mrs. Best brings eggs into the classroom for an incubation project with her kindergartners. Clear, informative text details the hatching process, and further egg/chick information is provided in captions and sidebars. Some of Arnold's bright, sharp photos of beady-eyed chicks and wide-eyed children span across spreads, enhancing this thorough, well-designed book. Additional questions and answers are appended. Reading list, websites. Glos.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(3) 4-6 Escaping from a dark grave, young shape-shifter Serafina (Serafina and the Black Cloak; Serafina and the Twisted Staff) finds herself--and the world she knows--changed. Invisible, Serafina can only watch as a terrible evil wreaks havoc, threatening her beloved Biltmore Estate, the Blue Ridge Mountain region, and its inhabitants with catastrophic storms. Suspense and tension build steadily in this gripping trilogy-closer.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(3) 4-6 Uncommoners series. Illustrated by Karl James Mountford. A fall sends Ivy's grandmother to the hospital and starts a chain of events that lands Ivy and her older brother Seb in Lundinor, a world of marketplaces underneath London where common objects have uncommon magical properties. Evil beings have taken over Lundinor, and Ivy and Seb must unravel their grandmother's connection to it all in this well-crafted, action-packed new fantasy series.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(4) K-3 A+ Books: My First Animal Kingdom Encyclopedias series. Broad information on amphibians is arranged by subject--e.g., life cycle, habitat, skin--in two-page sections. Each busy spread includes a sampling of related words and their definitions and small stock photos (a few are dark and unclear) printed over a large background photo. Some terms may need further context for understanding, but the cursory volume provides a good starting point for gleaning information. Reading list.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(3) 4-6 Maddie's been waiting forever for her end-of-the-year sixth-grade dance. But the night doesn't go as planned: the boy she likes asks another girl to dance, and then Maddie's Massachusetts town is hit by a tornado. An eventful summer ensues for Maddie, with crushes, changing friendships, and more serious subjects of disaster and loss all handled sensitively and realistically.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Dennis Nolan. When an aunt gives her niece, the narrator, a tiny white horse, the girl and the horse she names Pegasus form a bond. But even as Pegasus grows, develops wings, and takes the girl on nighttime flights, she knows that "you cannot own magic." Hazy, richly colored paintings add a dreamlike quality to an otherwise ponderous tale of loving and letting go.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(3) 4-6 Extraordinary Journeys of Clockwork Charlie series. Fleeing London, clockwork boy Charlie (The Kidnap Plot) heads to Wales with a warning for his murdered father's friend. Separated from his traveling companions, Charlie teams up with a band of dwarfs in a race to arrive before the evil organization that killed his father does. A worthy sequel chock-full of intricate world-building, plot twists, and an amusing assortment of new and familiar characters.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(4) 4-6 Fizzopolis series. Illustrated by Brian Sheesley. Harold Fuzzwonker returns in this third book about Fizzopolis, the plant where Fuzzwonker Fizz is made (The Trouble with Fuzzwonker Fizz; Floozombies). Bottles of the soda are disappearing, and Harold, along with pals Sammy and Fizzy Floyd, must outsmart his family's archrivals, the candy-making Snoods. The wild antics continue for series fans, though the over-the-top black-and-white cartoon art can be too chaotic.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(3) 4-6 When a donor heart becomes available for her younger brother, Alice must stay with her stern grandmother, Nell, in the English countryside. There she meets a mysterious girl who insists there are fairies in the woods--woods Nell is determined to cut down. Interspersing WWI-era letters between a brother and sister with Alice's present-day voice, Carroll weaves a powerful magical-realism tale of hope and healing.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(3) 4-6 At Freestone's Guildculling ceremony, half-elf Zed hopes to join the Mages Guild, while his human friend Brock aspires for the Merchants Guild. But the terrifying woman who leads the Adventurers Guild--charged with defending the walled town against the Dangers (monsters that have overrun the world)--forcibly recruits Zed, and Brock follows. A compelling post-apocalyptic/fantasy series-starter filled with strong characters, intrigue, and plenty of action.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Celia Kaspar. Ivy and her grandmother, a healer of real and magical creatures, live in an overgrown cottage in the otherwise clean, orderly village of Broomsweep. A kingdom-wide contest for best town leads the angry villagers to insist the pair clean up and get rid of the animals. Likable characters, plentiful black-and-white illustrations, and a happy ending make this a good choice for fantasy-loving young readers.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(4) K-3 A+ Books: My First Animal Kingdom Encyclopedias series. Broad information on birds is arranged by subject--e.g, classification, diet, migration--in two-page sections. Each busy spread includes a sampling of related words and their definitions and small but clear stock photos printed over a large background photo. Some terms may need further context for understanding, but the cursory volume provides a good starting point for gleaning information. Reading list.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(4) 4-6 When twelve-year-old Keira writes a story with a magic pen and wins a fairy-tale stay at a French castle, she must figure out the connections between history, ghosts, and her family story before she becomes trapped in her own fairy tale. Although the story is occasionally dense and a bit confusing, the plot twists and action should keep readers engaged. Glos.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(4) 4-6 An ancient curse keeps humans unaware of the mythical creatures living in U.S. national parks. When this secret is threatened, twelve-year-old Sam London is recruited by a special government agency to keep the information safe. The story features an interesting assortment of mythological and folkloric creatures and includes some clever twists, but its pacing suffers from Gallicano's excessive wordiness. Includes a glossary of creatures.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(3) 4-6 Brian unexpectedly finds himself spending his summer with his cousin Nora and her family in Boring, Illinois. And boring it is, until the kids make an amazing discovery in the woods: an incredible seven-story, dilapidated maze of a house inhabited by a delightfully eccentric family. This inventive story is action packed and delivers an entertaining, wild adventure.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(4) 4-6 Microsaurs series. Nine-year-old Danny and his skateboarding friend Lin follow a tiny pterodactyl and wind up miniaturized at a scientist's home, where they meet the fellow shrunken human scientist and new dino friends. Although the characters are two-dimensional, the fast-paced action and engaging cartoonlike illustrations should ensure an audience for this series-starter. Appended facts about pterosaurs are a welcome addition.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(4) 4-6 Microsaurs series. In Follow That Tiny-Dactyl, friends Danny and Lin discovered Professor Penrod's secret lab. Now they are caring for the professor's miniaturized dinosaurs while he's away, but the arrival of a tiny package creates big trouble. The fast-paced action, plentiful cartoonlike illustrations, and an appended section of oviraptor facts should appeal to series fans, who will likely overlook the exaggerated writing and flat characters.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Colin Jack. Buck and his friend Lizzie are fans of the much-loved fantasy series Triumphant Gnome Syndicate. When they attend the third book's release party, strange things happen, and the kids find themselves in the land of the stories, where it seems Buck himself just might be the hero. Buck's first-person narrative is sharp and funny, and the clever ending (with a girl-power twist) assures a sequel.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan