The other day, I talked about my top 5 favorite Halloween books for kids. Today I have a different type of Halloween tale for you, this one is for tweens.

I recently had the opportunity to check out Callie’s Rules by Naomi Zucker. It’s a wonderful book about a young ladies transition into junior high, learning to be herself, when to follow the rules, and when to make her own rules.
When the town council (led by one mom) decides to cancel Halloween and replace it with an Autumn Fest, Callie decides she has to take action, so she sets out to …read more

I have a copy of Goblins! by Royce Buckingham for one lucky Play Library reader. It would make a great summer reading book for older children.
Here’s the scoop on Goblins!
Goblins! explores the adventure of 12-year-old Sam, who seems to live a pretty boring life in a Washington state suburb.
This all changes when Sam and his friend PJ wander into the woods one day and come across a secret trap door, only to discover thousands of goblins living underground along with giant insects and swamp creatures. Sam and PJ must find a way to escape from the goblins and prevent them …read more

My 8 year old son is reading Racso and the Rats of NIMH and he says it’s the best book he has ever read. You have no idea how good it is to hear him say that because it’s pretty hard to get him to read most of the times.
His teacher gives them time every day to sit down with a book and read. She also challenges them to go beyond the reading level they think they can understand. He has really started to love books and thatmakes me one happy momma.
This book is the sequel to Mrs. Frisby …read more

I was watching the Martha Stewart show this morning and she was talking about the book The Fabulous Bouncing Chowder. I haven’t read any of the Chowder books and I don’t believe my kids have either. I’ll have to ask them, but this book sounds like one I will want to add to our library. This one is the second book in the series. The first one is just called Chowder. Here’s what the books are about:
Chowder: Chowder is not like most bulldogs. Instead of burying bones, he busily arranges them into a skeletal formation, as an archaeologist would. He …read more

My daughter has been reading Double Fudge by Judy Blume. I have not heard her laugh so hard while reading a book in a long time. She is just eating it up and finished the book in not time. She just couldn’t put it down. I love to see my kids read and I love it even better when I don’t have to tell them to read. That makes me one proud parent!
This book is geared towards kids 8 to 12. Here’s a description of the book from Amazon:
Fans of Superfudge and Fudge-a-Mania will welcome the return of seventh-grader Peter …read more

I’ll have to be honest here…I’ve never heard of Holly Claus before and have definitely never heard the story. I received an email about a website HollyClaus.com and I’ve been checking it out. I plan on having my kids take a look at it too and explore the world of Holly Claus.
So who and what is Holly Claus all about? Here are some bits and pieces from the press release:
New York, NY PRNewswire– October 16, 2007 – Forever Entertainment and Planetwide Media build a destination website where children of all ages can explore the world of Holly Claus and …read more

My son’s school had the good fortune to have children’s book author Antony Lishak visit yesterday. He read them Clickety-Clack, Something to Pack and signed books after school. It was a real treat!
In addition to Clickety-Clack, we also picked up Jumble the Puppy and it was a race to get home to see which we should read first. In Clickety-Clack, a counting storybook, I was also very impressed by Ian Penney’s artwork. Rich and detail-oriented, there’s lots to see and “feel.” And there’s no escaping the appeal of an adorable puppy up to mischief.
Antony Lishak is a former primary school …read more

The release date for the 7th and final volume in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling has been announced.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be available to the public on July 21, 2007. I guess this means I’d better hurry up and get volume 6 read!!! Do you think Harry will make it through to the end alive?

Looking for some inspiration in your home library? Searching for a character besides Junie B. Jones (though you love her dearly) to entertain your children?
The website Book Adventure allows you to generate a list of books that might be of interest to your child. You (or your child) enter the child’s reading level, areas of interest, and whether he/she prefers fiction or non-fiction. You also choose whether you want the list to represent books at his/her reading level, books that will challenge his/her reading level, or books that will be easier to read.
I’m thinking …read more

The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden is a huge hit in the UK (available this Spring in the U.S.) with all sorts of facts and figures that would and should interest girls as well, such as:

The solar system
Famous battles
Stories of courage and bravery
Teaching dogs tricks
Make a pinhole camera
Understand the laws of cricket

Girls shouldn’t feel left out. The Great Big Glorious Book for Girls will be published this summer in the UK and has tidbits like:

Homemade fudge
Pom-poms
French cricket
Making elderflower cordial
Playing cat’s cradle

If I were to purchase either book, I would purchase both just to maintain a semblance …read more