Finally, after a long winter of dissatisfying-to-outright-bad novels, a DELIGHTFUL new fantasy has appeared!
Tom is used to living his ordinary (but happy) life with his parents, running their deli and hanging out with his friend Charlie. One day, though he awakens to a shocking discovery: his father is a fairy. A real, live, MAGICAL fairy. Which means that, he, Tom is a demisprite: demisprites are illegal, and the fairy authorities are trying to find Tom and his family to arrest and even execute them!
Tom’s father goes on the run, Tom’s mother is hidden somewhere (hilariously) magical, and Tom himself is spirited away by his surprisingly non-fairy-like godmother, Lorna Mustard, the owner of a scrapyard in Scotland. In the course of just a few days, Tom is introduced to his other (even more non-fairy-like) godmothers, his unexpected cousin Pindar, a number of revolutionary genies, and the hottest new fairy rock star (singer of the smash hit: Old Fairies Suck).
That might be enough to overwhelm an ordinary person, but Tom’s not ordinary (and neither are his friends) and he plans to rescue his family if it’s the last thing he does–even if it means that he has to completely change fairy society.
This book is a delightful romp full of truly original moments and laugh-out-loud characters, and it’s impossible to read it without a huge smile on one’s face. I enjoyed Kate Saunders’ last book, Beswitched, but I LOVED this one, and I hope all of you will, too.
Posted by: Sarah
Lorelei’s life use to be pretty good, until her mom died. Now her father is remarried to the wicked Molly, her brother has grown cold and distant, and her best friend seems to have abandoned her just when she needs her the most. If that isn’t enough, now Lorelei has to start at a strange new school called Splendid Academy that seemed to appear out of nowhere mere days before the old school suspiciously burned down.
What is not to love about a book that features high seas adventures AND delicious meals? Climb aboard the Traveling Restaurant! The Traveling Restaurant takes place in a fantastical land that has lost the use of magic after a “great accident.” In fact, the main character, twelve year old Jasper and his baby sister Sabilla have never even seen magic. Ever since the “great accident”, Fontania has been ruled by the Provisional Monarch, Lady Gall, a vain woman that does not take criticism well. Lady Gaill is obsessed with her own beauty and popularity and keeps everyone in the kingdom on pins and needles with her extreme measures to keep order in the kingdom. Jasper finally has his fill of Lady Gall when he discovers that she tried to poison his baby sister Sabilla at an event. When he tells his parents, they decide it is time to tell Jasper the secrets of his family’s past, including why Lady Gall would be threatened by the one-year-old Sabilla. Jasper’s parents also decide it is time to flee the kingdom.
It’s the season for spooky books, and for kids who want a scare, ONLY a spooky book will do. Some children, though, want their creepy books to be creepy with a difference–not just cheap scares and cliffhangers, but something atmospheric that draws a reader fully into the world of the book. Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz is perfect for those readers. Schlitz takes us into the Gothic, foggy 150-years-ago world of Lizzie Rose and Parsifal, two children who work for Grisini, a not-at-all-nice puppeteer. When Grisini is hired to perform for the birthday party of rich Clara, a girl who seems to have everything (except siblings, all of whom have died), Lizzie Rose and Parsifal think their fortunes are looking up. Unfortunately, first Clara, and then Grisini disappear, and their lives take a turn for the desperate.
Blanche is a young witch who belongs to a special scurry of witches known for its beautiful flight formation. Some witches might think she isn’t fit for such a distinguished scurry – Blanche is young and scatterbrained, and despite her best efforts she always manages to be late. But she also has a very special bright blue nose which she can flash on and off at will, and that counts for a lot. Even so, Blanche realizes she cannot be late for the most important flight of the year on Halloween night. Her efforts to be early work a little too well, though, and Blanche finds herself awake hours before midnight, fallen in with a group of human children out for trick-or-treating. The children are charmed by Blanche’s fantastic blue nose, her flying broom, and her little black cat named Brockett, so they invite her to join them – and that is how Blanche the little witch has a Halloween adventure unlike any her fellow scurry-members have ever had. 
Joy Wells loves Spooking. It is a dark and spooky town built on a hill and her parents bought a house there because they could get a great big house for the price of a little boxy house in the neighboring bright and modern Darlington. Joy inherited a book when the oldest resident of Spooking died and became fascinated with the author, E. A. Peugeot, and his frightening tales about the Bog Fiend. Joy believes that the bog fiend lives in the bog next to Spooking and is horrified that the good citizens of Darlington want to drain the bog and build a water park. While investigating the bog, Joy meets Madame Portia, the only bog resident.
Tara’s family has always moved constantly and Tara has never developed any friends. In attempting to connect with some girls at school, Tara gets caught in a school caper and her mom sends her off to live with her Aunt, Uncle and cousin who live in her parents’ hometown of Willow Falls. At the same time her parents will be out of the country on a research project and they have left her behind. 
Chocolate! Sweets! Candy! Many of us have a sweet tooth or even an entire mouth full of sweet teeth. I know I do. So did John Midas. John is known for his love of all candy, but most especially chocolate. He eats it anytime of the day, all day long much to his parent’s dismay. His love of candy prevents him from eating a variety of good foods that would help him grow big and strong. John doesn’t really care because he simply has a passion for candy. He is also known for his greedy ways because he never, ever shares his sweets. One day something wonderful happens when John finds a curious gold coin on the street that he is able to trade it in for a fancy box of chocolates the he finds in a brand new candy store. Imagine his delight to have an entire box of chocolates all for himself. That night he eagerly opens the chocolate box, only to be disappointed to discover just one piece of chocolate which he promptly pops into his mouth. Oh, it was good! It was the most chocolaty chocolate that John had ever tasted. As many of us know, It is possible to have too much of a good thing. It seems that the one delicious chocolate was more than a just a tasty sweet – it was also a magical sweet. John’s world suddenly takes a sweet turn – or is it really such a sweet turn?? After reading this tasty book you may find yourself craving a nice crunchy apple which you are willing to cut in half and share with someone! Posted by: Wendy
What if your favorite cereal company had more in mind than just making sure you got a tasty breakfast?
If you are looking for a scary ghost story with blood thirsty, terrifying ghosts this story is not for you, though you will get a little peek into the after life. This is a rather sweet ghost story. There are some very evil, dangerous, and unlikeable characters in this story, however. One of them is the ugly stepmother who has locked her stepdaughter, Liesl, up in the attic. Another is the wicked alchemist who has taken a lot of the life, beauty and sunshine from the world in order to make a magic potion for the Lady Premiere, also a nasty character. The alchemist has an apprentice whom he uses to run his errands. He is an orphan and his name is Will. 
