Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Billy Clikk - Creatch Battler

Billy thinks he's got a normal, boring life. He goes to school. He has a dog. To spice things up a little, he's into extreme sports. His parents are insect exterminators that are gone for periods of time on "skeeter gigs." One night, Billy is flipping through the tv channels when he notices a couple that look just like his parents being honored with a parade in the Philippines. A parade! The Philippines! What is going on? After some snooping around in his house, a phony phone call, and five men crashing in through his bedroom window, Billy finds out that his parents aren't really insect exterminators. They are agents for a secret organization called AFMEC, the Allied Forces for the Management of Extraterritoral Creatches. His parents are monster chasers. Turns out, there really are monsters, but there's an agreement that humans and monsters will live peacefully and seperately. However, some monsters don't follow the rules and that's when AFMEC steps in. Guess who wants to be AFMEC's newest junior agent? I'm sure another Billy Clikk book will soon follow... I'll be waiting. [Mark Crilley - creator of Akiko]

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Each little bird that sings

You would think that a book about a girl whose family runs the town's funeral home would be depressing. You'd be wrong. Comfort Snowberger is a character you want to get to know. Her dog Dismay is a true friend. Her little sister Merry is a hoot. Her cousin Peach is a pain. Get to know them all in this new book by Deborah Wiles.

Saturday, July 16, 2005

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter Book 6 is out. 'Nuff said.

Thursday, July 14, 2005

The Anybodies

The mysterious author N. E. Bode has created a story that is an interesting mix of Harry Potter, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Roald Dahl. Meet a girl, Fern, who feels like she is in the wrong family. She doesn't look or act like her parents, and some strange things have happened to her in her eleven years. So is it any surprise that there was a switch made on the day Fern was born and that one day a man claiming to be her real father would show up with the boy that Fern was switched with as babies? Not in this book! Join Fern as she learns about the family she doesn't know and why unusual occurrences like crickets hopping out of picture books, bats turning into marbles, and nuns turning into lampposts really aren't that peculiar, at least in Fern's new life. Not to spoil anything, but the next title by this author is called The Nobodies...

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Agnes Parker...Girl in Progress

Summer is almost over for 11-year-old Agnes. She has big hopes for 6th grade: she hopes she doesn't get tough Mrs. Libonati as her teacher; she wants to get the local bully Peggy Neidermeyer to leave her alone; and she thinks she can become a whole new person this year, or at least a better version of herself. Little does she know that this year will be unlike any she's had before...
If you enjoy this one, then check out Agnes Parker...Happy Camper?, the sequel to Girl in Progress. [Kathleen O'Dell]