Inkheart

This story is about a girl named Meg. She didn't know that her Dad can make a book come alive when he reads them out loud. Later she founds out when Capricorn (a bad guy from the book Meg's Dad read) comes to kidnap her dad. The story goes on about how she rescued her dad from a storyland and to the second and third book.

Genre: Fantasy Author: Cornelia Funke Publisher: Scholastic Inc. Reading Grade Level: Grade 4 and up

Reviews

Heart-stopping language that impel the reader...a true feast for anyone who has ever been lost in a book. -- Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2003

With over 80 reader reviews for Inkheart at BookBrowse, with an average rating of 5 stars, it's clear that this engrossing literary fantasy is a hit with its target audience! Book Browse

School Library Journal - Sharon Rawlins
Grade 4-8. Characters from books literally leap off the page in this engrossing fantasy....This story within a story will delight not just fantasy fans, but all readers who like an exciting plot with larger-than-life characters.

Booklist - Carolyn Phelan
Gr. 6-12. Despite the presence of several well-developed, sympathetic characters, the plot is often driven by the decidedly menacing, less-convincing villains...Like many other fantasies, this will appeal to a broad age range, though the writing is far less child-centered than it is, for example, in the Harry Potter series.

Children's Literature - Sharon Salluzzo
Funke has created a fast paced mysterious adventure tale for book lovers. Well-developed characters (some humorous, others sympathetic, and some downright nasty in their deeds) and a strong sense of place will keep readers turning the pages. She begins each chapter with quotes from well-known children's books and successfully links them with the events of the chapters. 2003. Ages 10 to 14.

Amazon.com - Jennifer Hubert
Meggie’s father, Mo, has an wonderful and sometimes terrible ability. When he reads aloud from books, he brings the characters to life--literally. Mo discovered his power when Maggie was just a baby. He read so lyrically from the the book Inkheart, that several of the book’s wicked characters ended up blinking and cursing on his cottage floor. Then Mo discovered something even worse--when he read Capricorn and his henchmen out of Inkheart, he accidentally read Meggie’s mother in.....Cornelia Funke’s imaginative ode to books and book lovers is sure to be enjoyed by fans of her breakout debut, The Thief Lord.

"This is a good fantasy book to read kids to bed" - My Revies :-)

Fablehaven

Kendra and her brother Seth have no idea their grandfather is the current caretaker of Fablehaven. Inside the woods, ancient laws give relative order among greedy trolls, mischievous satyrs, plotting witches, spiteful imps, and jealous fairies. However, when the rules get broken, an arcane evil is unleashed, forcing Kendra and Seth to face the greatest challenge of their lives. To save her family, Fablehaven, and perhaps the world, Kendra must find the courage to do what she fears most. Genre: Fantasy Author: Brandon Mull
Reviews
"A gripping, beautifully crafted tale…Readers will find it hard to put this book down." -- Through The Looking Glass Children’s Book Review

"In an explosion of children's fantasy following the footsteps of Harry Potter…Fablehaven is a worthy addition to the crowd." -- SFRevu, Sam Lubell

Fablehaven is bursting with adventure, imagination, and heroism. -- Flamingnet.com

Fast paced, precise and perfect...a truly captivating tale. Look out J.K. Rowling...Mull, an outstanding new author to embrace. -- BookReview.com--Review by Heather Froeschl

"It's a lucky book that can hold this kind of story." -- Obert Skye, author of Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo

"Like Harry Potter, Fablehaven looks like a book for kids, but, like Harry Potter, Fablehaven can be read aloud in a family with as much pleasure for grownups as for children... Do yourself a favor and son't miss the first novel by a writer who is clearly going to be a major figure in popular fantasy." -- Orson Scott Card, author of Ender's Game.

"A good fantasy book and some parts action is abundant." - My Review :-)

Percy Jackson

Twelve year old Percy Jackson had been expelled from many schools. He later founds out that his is demigod. He founds out that he is the son of Poseidon. He goes to a Half-blood Camp to train. He made friends with Annabeth and Grover. Later one of the camper Luke betrays them and joins the bad guys. The story goes on about how they fight and an adventure.

Genre: Fantasy Author: Rick Riordan Publisher: Disney Hyperion Books Reading Grade Level: Grade 4 and up

Reviews

"An adventure-quest with a hip edge. Readers will be eager to follow the young protagonist’s next move."

-- School Library Journal, starred review

"Perfectly paced, with electrifying moments chasing each other like heartbeats."

-- New York Times Book Review

"One need not be an expert in Greek mythology to enjoy Percy’s journey. The narrator’s voice lends a refreshing air of realism to this riotously paced quest tale of heroism that questions the realities of our world, family, friendship and loyalty."

-- Kirkus, starred review

"Packed with humorous allusions to Greek mythology and clever updates of the old stories, along with rip-snorting action sequences, the book really shines in the depiction of Percy -- wry, impatient, academically hopeless, with a cut-to-the-chase bluntness one would wish for in a hero of old."

-- Horn Book

"I definitely recommend this book. It is filled with adventure and the events are far from predictable! It is suspenseful and creative. An incredible book."

-- TIME for Kids

"Riordan impresses with crisp, quick language and superhero style action and he amusingly recasts the Greek gods and demigods as they might live in modern-day America. [The Lightning Thief] reveals how an ordinary boy can learn to believe he’s special and reach unexpected heights of heroism."

-- Time Out New York Kids

"Riordan's fast-paced adventure is fresh, dangerous and funny."

-- Booklist

"A fantastic blend of myth and modern."

-- Eoin Colfer, author of Artemis Fowl

"This swift and humorous adventure will leave many readers eager for the next installment."

-- Publishers Weekly

"The start of an exhilarating new series."

-- The Financial Times

"In his first novel for the younger set, Riordan has mixed Greek mythology and the vagaries of modern-day childhood—with fun, fantastical results. Riordan creates rich characters and puts a slyly humorous, contemporary spin on the classic quest storyline. Bring on book two!"

-- BookPage, notable title

"A really charming and funny thriller which will be especially appealing to boys. Percy Jackson and the Olympians will prove a huge hit for turning the high school into the stuff of myth."

-- The London Times

"The Lightning Thief is just as good, if not better, than The Sorcerer's Stone. It's rare that I'll actually dare to compare something to Potter, but this definitely warrants the invocation; once I started reading, I couldn't stop."

-- Science Fiction Chronicle

“[A] delightful premise. Who can resist the idea of a secret elevator to Mount Olympus lodged in the Empire State Building, of Ares on a Harley, or of Hades' modern underworld accessed through a recording studio in Los Angeles?”

-- Newsday

"This debut fantasy is a hit! This page-turner is especially perfect for fifth-graders, because sixth grade is usually when Greek mythology is introduced in language arts classes. It's so clever you might want to give The Lightning Thief a read yourself."

-- Detroit Free Press, Summer Book Club for Kids

"An exciting and funny tale written by a man who taught middle school for 15 years and has his audience down cold."

-- Newark Ledger

"The Holy Grail for a children's editor would be finding the 'next Harry Potter.' Publishers have been touting such books for years. Not even [the most enjoyable of them] succeeds in capturing the fun and spirit embodied in the Potter books as well as Rick Riordan's new series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians."

-- Spectrum Children's Book Club

"A fast thrilling adventure -- proof that the Greek gods are just as dangerous to humans -- and their children -- now as they were in the past."

-- Tamora Pierce, author of Trickster's Queen

"Great summer reading -- a very clever adventure story. I'll be eager to read the next Percy Jackson story when it comes along."

-- Louisville Courier-Journal

"Loved it. This book is fantastic."

-- Mark Macey, BBC Radio

"Riordan hits the ball out of the park with his first young adult story. The engaging plot and witty writing makes this a winner even for older teenagers and, yes, adults."

-- Portland Tribune

"Not only is there a new Harry Potter, but no self-respecting bookstore will be out of it."

-- Molly Ivins, syndicated columnist

"Rick Riordan is a brilliant author who has made this book as exciting and funny as possible. It is one of those books that makes you believe the unbelievable."

-- The Hindu, National Newspaper of India

"Fun and clever, part of a great adventure series."

"A great adventure book funny and action." -My review :-)

Artemis Fowl

Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is the most ingenious criminal mastermind in history. With two trusty sidekicks in tow, he hatches a cunning plot to divest the fairyfolk of their pot of gold. Of course, he isn't foolish enough to believe in all that "gold at the end of the rainbow" nonsense. Rather, he knows that the only way to separate the little people from their stash is to kidnap one of them and wait for the ransom to arrive. But when the time comes to put his plan into action, he doesn't count on the appearance of the extrasmall, pointy-eared Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police Reconnaisance) Unit--and her senior officer, Commander Root, a man (sorry, elf) who will stop at nothing to get her back. Genre: Fantasy Author: Eoin Colfer
Reviews
"A new thriller fairy tale that will grab your interest, no matter your age." -- Liz Smith, The New York Post

"Action-packed, it's perfect for long, lazy summer days." -- Family Life magazine

"Artemis Fowl is pacy, playful, and very funny, an inventive mix of myth and modernity, magic and crime." -- Time.com

"Colfer has done enormously, explosively well." -- The New York Times Book Review

"Hilarious and exciting story." -- Denver Post

"It's smart, it's funny, and even contains some nuggets of wisdom about the human condition." -- Buffalo News

"Kids absolutely love it." -- Diane Sawyer, Good Morning America

"Savagely funny page-turner." -- Kirkus Reviews

Darkside

Jonathan Starling's home has been attacked, his dad is in an asylum, he's running for his life, and there's nowhere to hide. Jonathan has stumbled upon London's greatest secret: Darkside. Incredibly dangerous and unimaginably exciting, Darkside is the creepiest place Jonathan has ever seen. It's a world of nightmares and secrets, where fear and evil rule, and Jonathan has to find a way out.... Genre: Fantasy Author: Tom Becker

Book of Time

This book is fast-paced and thriller for young readers. Dramatic cover art will draw readers to this time-travel story, and the fast-paced adventure will hold their interest. Sam's father has been missing for 10 days. Searching a dusty bookstore for clues, Sam discovers a hidden room containing an old book, a strange coin, and an oddly carved stone that send him on a gut-wrenching journey back to medieval Iona, just in time for a Viking invasion. Next, he lands in France during World War I, then in ancient Egypt. After he returns, Sam struggles to understand how the time-travel device works and what it all means. The book ends as he discovers that his father, imprisoned in the castle of Vlad Tepes (a.k.a. Dracula), has sent him a message across six centuries: Help Me, Sam. The appeal of the novel, which is translated from French, comes from both well-drawn characters and a swiftly moving story. With the central mystery as yet unsolved, a villain still unmasked, and Sam's father in peril at the end, readers will be scrambling for the second book of the planned trilogy. A statue; a coin; an old book. They look as dusty as everything else in the Faulkner Antiquarian Bookstore, where 14-year-old Sam Faulkner seeks his father, who's been missing for days. But when Sam slips the coin into the statue, he's swept back in time -- to Scotland in 800 A.D. -- where he must find both the statue and another coin in order to return to the present. It's the first step in an adventure that will take him to ancient Egypt, World War I, even Dracula's castle -- and a mystery that will end only when Sam saves his father, or loses him in time . . . Genre: Adventure. Author: Guillaume Prevost

Elephant Run

This is an awesome book. In 1941, bombs drop from the night skies of London, demolishing the apartment Nick Freestone lives in with his mother. Deciding the situation in England is too unstable, Nick's mother sends him to live with his father in Burma, hoping he will be safer living on the family's teak plantation. But as soon as Nick arrives, trouble erupts in this remote Burmese elephant village. Japanese soldiers invade, and Nick's father is taken prisoner. Nick is stranded on the plantation, forced to work as a servant to the new rulers. As life in the village grows more dangerous for Nick and his young friend, Mya, they plan their daring escape. Setting off on elephant back, they will risk their lives to save Nick's father and Mya's brother from a Japanese POW camp. In this thrilling journey through the jungles of Burma, Roland Smith explores the far-reaching effects of World War II, while introducing readers to the fascinating world of wild timber elephants and their mahouts. Cool Book. Genre: Historical Fiction. Author: Roland Smith