Calvin Sparks and the Crossing to Cambria

 by Rusty Anderson
Rated PG

  Calvin Sparks and the Crossing to Cambria, by new author Rusty Anderson, is the first in a series of fantasy adventure books.

Obviously, Calvin Sparks is the luckiest kid in the world. Not only does he come from a lineage full of magical powers  - powers that he has inherited - but he also has access to Cambria, a world hidden from most people, a secret land full of magical creatures, incredible powers, and loyal dragons.

As Calvin and his two best friends spend more and more time in Cambria, Calvin begins to realize that he has a crucial role to play in the intense battle of good vs. evil that is going on in the land, a battle that was fought before him by the father he never knew.

Calvin Sparks is whistle clean, the PG rating is for some mild violence. As I read the book, I kept thinking that, because it is so clean, it's a great candidate for a read-aloud with your kids. Tweens and young teens will also appreciate it.

Sisters

by Raina Telgemeier
Rated PG

This graphic novel is extremely popular in my daughter's 4th grade world, so I thought I'd check it out.

It looks and reads like a book-length comic strip, which is one of the reasons it's so appealing to kids. And, I'm delighted to say, it's clean :)

The book follows real-life sisters Raina and Amara as they embark on a family road trip. The sisters are about 14 and 9, and most kids will relate to their emotions as they worry about fitting in, and how a person can love their siblings but also want to kill them most of the time.

Sound familiar?

:)

Rated PG for some mature themes like wondering if Mom and Dad are getting divorced.

The Magic Half

by Annie Barrows
Rated PG

By the author of the Ivy & Bean books, this is a great little time travel book for young readers, and actually, this old reader enjoyed it too!

When Miri moves into an old house and finds a broken bit of an eyeglass, she has no idea it will transport her back to...the exact same house, but in the 1930s.

Not only does she have to find her way back to her own time and family, but she also has to try to rescue Molly, her 1930s doppelganger, who lives like a prisoner, terrorized by relatives who don't want her.

Rated PG because the relatives are kinda scary, and the suspense might get to you, too ;)

The One and Only Ivan

by Katherine Applegate
Rated: PG

"Come to the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, Home of the One and Only Ivan, Mighty Silverback!"
Although born in the wild, Ivan has lived in a mall for the past twenty-seven years, surrounded by glass walls so shoppers can see him. He is the only gorilla but his good friend Stella - an elephant - is in the neighboring cage and Bob - a stray dog - enjoys sleeping on Ivan's chest at night. And of course, he has his art. When a new baby elephant, Ruby, arrives at the mall, Ivan cannot imagine how she will change his life.

This story, told from Ivan's perspective, is a sweet, heartwarming story of friendship and freedom. There are a couple of spots where the animals discuss their wild childhood including how their parents died and they were captured. I am not really a fan of stories featuring anthropomorphic animals but while not to my personal taste, the story was cute and I think kids would really enjoy it.

"Series" Books for Summer

We love summer Mondays at our house. Since we live in AZ and can't really do anything outside all summer long, we plan a lot of indoor activities. One of our favorites is Library Monday. Every Monday we go to the library, visit great-grandma, and then hit Sonic on the way home for half price slushies.

I know...cheap thrills, but still.

I have a 2nd grader who inhales books like air. I never have enough around to keep her satisfied. My older kids like to read, too, but maybe not at the same pace, or maybe they're just reading longer books! Anyway, we like books that come in a series, because if you like one, you'll probably like the rest, and it keeps you in reading material a little longer.

Book Series' We'll Be Reading This Summer (and the approximate grade level):

A-Z Mysteries (grades 1-4)


Encyclopedia Brown (grades 2-5)


The Name of This Book is Secret (grades 5+)


Bobbsey Twins (grades 2-5)


Nancy Drew (grades 4-7)


Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites (grades 5+)


Books I Want to Read Together:

E.B. White books, like Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little


A Little Princess, my favorite childhood book


Little House on the Prairie series


We hope you get the chance to enjoy reading lots and lots of clean books this summer!

Splendors & Glooms

by Laura Amy Schlitz
Rated PG

This slightly spooky book includes:
*  A puppetmaster with magic powers
* Two orphan children
* A rich but lonely little girl, Clara
* Grief-stricken parents
* A witch on her deathbed

When the orphans suspect that the evil puppetmaster they unwillingly serve has turned Clara into a puppet, they realize they must not only save themselves, they must save her too. Fleeing London, they run straight into a trap set by the dying witch, a witch who is determined to lift a curse off herself by passing it onto someone else.

If your tweens enjoy magic, mystery or suspense, they will really enjoy this book. This book is suspenseful but not super scary, so I'd say it's appropriate for ages 9+.

There is just a small amount of language from one of the orphans. Rated PG


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Calli Be Gold

by Michele Weber Hurwitz
Rated G

11-year-old Calli Gold is the quiet one in a family of over-achievers. It seems like all her parents care about is being the best at something, and Calli is definitely not the best at anything. In fact, sometimes it seems like she's not even good at anything.

When Calli volunteers to be paired with second grade student Noah for a Friendship Fair, life gets even more complicated. All the other kids think Noah is a little weird, and now Calli has to try to design a great booth for the Friendship Fair with a kid who hides under his desk most of the time.

But, as secrets come out and friendships are tested, Calli and Noah learn that talents come in all colors, not just Gold. Now if only Calli could figure out to make her parents understand that.

When I first picked up this book, I thought it would have a gymnastics-olympic type theme (based on the title and cover photo). But I was really pleasantly surprised by this unique, humorous, clean book with a really great message.

My 11-year-old daughter enjoyed this book very much, too! I highly recommend it, and it's totally clean.


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Shelve Under C: A Tale of Used Books and Cats

by Jenny Kalahar
Rated G

Guest Review by blog reader Judy:

Hi! I just finished reading a great, clean and sweet book for ages ten through adult, but it is even good for littler kids if you read it aloud to them. It is called Shelve Under C: A Tale of Used Books and Cats by Jenny Kalahar.

It's cheap, too, which is great... No rough stuff, no swearing, no tragedy, no violence or any of that. Just a cute, sweet and light story that is funny and fun and emotional and uplifting. It has a great message about being sweet to animals and about (animal) foster care.



Thanks for your guest review Judy! We always appreciate it!


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Summer Titles for Children

We don't review children's books too often, but if you are looking for clean books for your younger children to read this summer, consider any of the following:

Junie B. Jones series
Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo series
Horrible Harry series
Little House on the Prairie series (these make great read-aloud-together books)
The Magic Treehouse series
Any of the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books
Arthur chapter books

Adam Canfield, Watch Your Back!

by Michael Winerip
Rated PG

Overscheduled student & newspaper co-editor Adam Canfield's life becomes more complicated than ever when he suddenly becomes his own front page story. After being mugged for a little snow shoveling money, Adam's story makes the news, and his own paper, The Slash, decides to run a story naming the top ten bullies at school.

In the meantime, Adam's to-do list includes saving a 300-year-old tree, keeping a corrupt millionaire from taking over the city, and putting the 'fair' back in science fair, all without knowing if there are any adults left that he can trust or confide in.

Watch Your Back is the second of three Adam Canfield books. If you want to read all three, the first is Adam Canfield of the Slash, and the third is Adam Canfield: The Last Reporter. I have read only book two so far, but if the other two are similar, I definitely recommend them.

Adam's life as a middle-school investigative reporter comes off as interesting, suspenseful, and sometimes funny. I think your kids age 8-13ish will enjoy the series.

This book was very clean. Zero bad language, zero inappropriate situations or references. I only rated it PG due to some suspenseful or mildly violent situations (like the mugging).



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A Long Walk to Water

by Linda Sue Park
                              Rated G

If the question you're asking is, "How do I get my kids to be thankful for what they have?", the answer is, "Have them read this book."

In A Long Walk to Water, Ms. Park weaves together the story of two children who are growing up in Sudan at two different times. One, Nya, spends eight hours each day doing nothing but collecting water for her family. The other, Salva, must run from his schoolhouse in the middle of the day to escape rebel fighting that has broken out. Separated from his family, and walking for months from one refugee camp to another, it seems like Salva's string of heartbreaks will never end. He is a Lost Boy, in every sense of the word, yet somehow finds an amazing strength of spirit that allows him to persevere.

Based on Salva's true story, this novel was written for children, and as such, it evokes the emotions of living in a war-torn country, without the horror that you find in books such as Left to Tell. There is sadness, but also hope.

Not only is this book clean in language and theme, but I also think it's important. I can almost guarantee that no matter what your circumstances are, your family has a much higher standard of living and convenience than the families in this book. It was a good reminder for me, and hopefully it will be for my kids, also.

BONUS! The book is also interesting and short :)


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Abby Carnelia's One & Only Magical Power

by David Pogue
                               Rated G

When 11-year-old Abby Carnelia attends Magic Camp over the summer, it's not because she wants to learn card tricks. Secretly, she's hoping to find other kids like herself - kids who have...actual magic powers. But Abby's not the only one looking for kids like her, and when a handful of campers are selected to be moved to so-called Super Camp, Abby's has to wonder if something more sinister is going on.

A good read for the 9-12 set, this book will appeal to both boys and girls with it's mix of magic, mystery, and an annoying little brother!

This book is really clean, with no language or romance. There are a couple parts that are a little scary in a suspenseful way, but nothing violent.


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On The Blue Comet

by Rosemary Wells
                           Rated PG

This children's novel was a fun and exciting read. It tells the story of 11-year-old Oscar, a young boy living through the Depression. As a result of the hard economic times, Oscar's father is forced sell off their beloved train set and go to California to find work, leaving Oscar to live with a dour aunt. When Oscar meets a kindly  stranger named Mr. Applegate, they wind up in a bank during a violent robbery, and Oscar escapes harm by boarding the bank's model train through magic he didn't know existed. The train takes him to California and his father. The only catch is that they have both aged ten years: Oscar is now an 11-year-old boy in a 21-year-old body! His dad and others must help him get back to his time before he is drafted into the army at the height of WWII.

This book is squeaky clean. The robbers in the story try to use a couple swear words, but the author out-wits them by putting only the first letter of the word and dashing out the rest (dash, as in ----).


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Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

by Gary D. Schmidt

Rated PG

Recommended for age 9+

This is the best children's book I've read in a long time. Based loosely on a true story, this Newberry Honor-winning novel is about the life of a preacher's son who stands up to the racist town he lives in.

Turner Buckminster is the new kid in town, and it's not going well. He's already in trouble with his father's parishioners because his behavior is not the perfection they expect, and he's not getting along with the neighborhood kids either.

But his luck changes when he meets Lizzie Bright, who lives with her grandfather on nearby Malaga Island. The two children become fast friends, but when Turner finds out that the white authorities in his town plan to tear down all the shacks on Malaga Island to get rid of the "blight", he has to decide where he stands, even if it means defying his own father. This is not a book where everything has a happy ending, and I think your young readers will find that compelling. I encourage parents to read it, too - it's a great opener to having some meaningful conversations with your kids.

This book is rated PG for some violence and the mature subject of racism.

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A Little Princess

by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Rated G
Grades 3-7
My favorite children's book from my youth! The title will be off-putting to your boys, but the story is infinitely interesting for boys and girls alike. Born and raised in India, young Sara Crewe is the wonderful combination of intelligent, wealthy, and kind. When her father enrolls her in an English boarding school, she finds herself suddenly surrounded by students and teachers who are everything but kind. When a disastrous turn of events leaves Sara impoverished, her situation becomes even worse. Watch what unfolds as Sara receives help from friends both seen and unseen, and proves that being a princess has nothing to do with money.
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Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle

By Betty MacDonald

Rated G

Grades 3-7

I have loved Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle since I was a child, and I highly recommend this series of books as summer reading for your little ones (up to age 11).

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is a zany lady who has magical cures for everything that ails the children in her neighborhood. And I'm not talking measles! Her cures are for things like talking back, being a picky eater, not taking your bath, etc. Just wait until you see how she "cures" these ailments!

There are several books in this series. Read them all! This is one that your kids will love and you'll love reading with them.

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