Peter is a normal 12-year-old kid living in a tiny New York apartment with his scientist parents. Thea lives in a mysterious underground world with her aunt. Peter has finally gotten the chance to go on an expedition to Greenland with his father and mother. He’ll get to participate in the adventures he had always heard about. Thea has started to worry about her secret home and its ability to sustain a growing population. As she tries to find a way to keep her people safe, Peter is trying to make sense of his new headaches and weird visions. First Light is Rebecca Stead’s first novel. People who like their science with a little bit of magic will like this book about two kids trying to save what is most important to them.

Holly Lisle has long been one of my favorite authors for adults, so I was thrilled to find out she has started a fantasy series for kids. The Ruby Key (Moon and Sun) is the first in the Moon & Sun series. Mankind and nightlings have a treaty: mankind “rules by the light” and nightlings “rule in the night.” They each have their own special magic. When Genna and her brother Dan venture into the woods at night to try to save their mother from a mysterious illness, they learn of an evil plot against their family and their whole village. With the help of a cat who is not a cat and a nightling who has secrets of her own, Genna must travel the moonroads to find the one person who can save them.

I really liked this book and recommend it to people who like to immerse themselves in a world where magic is real.

When three kids and their adult cousin are stranded by a fierce storm, their cousin tells a story about a tiny orphaned creature who is trying to discover his purpose in life. What-the-Dickens is a skibberee born in a tin can and adopted by a bird before discovering others like him. In this story, Maguire introduces us to the odd, secretive society of the skibbereen, who collect human teeth and plant them to create wishing candles. This book has gotten mixed reviews. I enjoyed it, though, especially the descriptions of the skibbereen society and the suspense of wondering if the kids would make it through the storm safely.

by Elise Broach

I wish this book existed when I was in fifth grade.  I know what it’s like to be Hero Netherfield, the weird new kid who is so easy to tease.  This move will be different for Hero, though.  She befriends the woman who lives next door and finds out that her family’s new house holds a big secret.  The secret might even be connected to the true identity of William Shakespeare! This is a fun puzzle to try to solve along with Hero.

by Linda Sue Park

Julia and Patrick have to do some kind of project for their agricultural club, but they don’t have enough space to do a typical farm project.   Patrick comes up with the idea of raising silkworms, but Julia really doesn’t want to do.  The project reminds her of Korea, where her parents came from.  She wants to do a more “American” project.

In the book, Julia shares her opinion of how the story is going with Ms. Park, the author.  You don’t see that very often in books!

Tonight, we watched the new Fox game show “Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?” My fifth-grade literary adviser believes the show will be canceled soon, and I agree. The pacing is terrible. The idea of the show is really fun, and we were looking forward to it. I think when they picked adult contestants, they picked the ones who missed more questions on the entry test!

Here is some information about this year’s Newbery Award and Honor books. The American Library Association’s Association for Library Service to Children gives out these awards every year. I was in Seattle for the conference until this weekend, but I didn’t get to see them announce the winners. The winner and honor books are:

The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron, illustrated by Matt Phelan (Simon & Schuster/Richard Jackson)

Honor Books

Penny from Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm (Random House)
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson (Delacorte Press)
Rules by Cynthia Lord (Scholastic)

My Cub Scout den is finishing up the last few requirements before they cross over into Boy Scouts. They’re finishing up their Showman badge this week. Here is an interesting site from the Folger Shakespeare library. This will help them for at least a few parts of the Showman badge. If you want to learn more about William Shakespeare, the Folger site would be a good place to go. I found it by searching Yahooligans.

By Scott Westerfield

Tally wants nothing more in life than to turn 16 and have the operation that will turn her from an Ugly to a Pretty.  Then she can move to New Pretty Town and have the time of her life.  Then she meets Shay, who doesn’t want to have the operation.  They find out the operation changes more than just a person’s looks.

If I talk about Pretties and Specials, it will give away the ending, so all I’m going to say is that you should read all three books, preferably in a row!

The target audience for these books is slightly older than tweens, but my 10-year-old literary advisor read them and loved them, especially the science fiction details.

by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Nothing happens in the town of Manod.  In fact, it’s so boring, the town newspaper only comes out once a month.  Dylan Hughes keeps the log book for his family’s petrol (gas) business, the Snowdonia Oasis Auto Marvel, but things are about to change for him and his family.  Mysterious white vans have begun passing the Oasis on their way to the abandoned slate quarry on the mountain, and Dylan wants to know what’s going on.

This book could be a bit challenging to American readers because of British terminology and some Welsh words, but it’s totally worth it.

A hint: if you liked Chasing Vermeer, you might like this one.