Kid Book Reviewer - Home

A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting

1/21/2019

Reviewed by Helena Birbrower

Rating: High Four!

Who I'd recommend it to: Fans of the Percy Jackson series, The Girl Who Could Fly, The School for Good and Evil series, and the Half Magic series.

Synopsis (From amazon): When middle schooler Kelly Ferguson’s Halloween plans switch from party-going to babysitting, she thinks the scariest part of her night will be the death of her social life. But then Baby Jacob gets kidnapped by the Boogeyman’s minions and Kelly learns there’s a whole lot more to childcare than free snacks and Netflix. Like chasing shadow monsters, drop-kicking Toadies, and mastering monster-fighting moves like the Naptime Headlock and Playground Punch.
Now, with the help of an ancient handbook and a secret society of butt-kicking babysitters, Kelly sets out to destroy the Boogeyman before he brings Jacob’s nightmares to life. But when the monsters’ trail leads to her school’s big Halloween bash, Kelly will have to prove she can save the world--without totally embarrassing herself in front of her friends.

The Land Without Color Series

8/12/2018

The Land Without Color

Reviewed by Oscar

Rating: High Five

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of the Land of Stories, Heroes of the Distant Planets, and other exciting adventure books.

Synopsis (from Amazon): What If You Were Transported to a Land Without Color?
And the Only One Who Could Restore it Was You?

When Alvin gets a mysterious pack of gum for his birthday, he of course blows a bubble as large as he can. But when that bubble carries him away to a far-off land where everything is gray, he’s in for the adventure of his life, and more than a little danger. Because he’s the only one who can restore the Kingdom of Color to its former glory. To do it, Alvin has to battle man-eating plants, outsmart the bumbling Crimson Guards, cross the Sugar Dessert, overcome the two-headed dragon, and find the color-stealing goblins. It’s dangerous. Scary. Impossible! But it’s the only way to restore color to the kingdom.

The Great Sugar War

Reviewed by Oscar

Rating: High Five

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of the Land of Stories, Heroes of the Distant Planets, and other exciting adventure books.

Synopsis (from Amazon): What Would You Do If You Found Yourself In the Middle of An Epic War,
And You Were The Only One Who Knew The Way to Save the Kingdom?

When Otto’s 12th birthday present carries him across a strange sea, he finds himself in an astonishing land, smack dab in the middle of an epic war. A combat between the Kingdom of Color, and the Kingdom of Shapes. The ravages of war have stripped the land of color and Otto’s only hope of bringing the brilliant hues of light and life back to the land is to defeat the sugar soldiers. Escape from the gnome factory. Outwit the war inspectors. And of course, convince the grasshoppers the vital importance of eating their greens.

The Collapsing Kingdom

Reviewed by Oscar

Rating: High Five

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of the Land of Stories, Heroes of the Distant Planets, and other exciting adventure books.

Synopsis (from Amazon): All His Life, Brandon Has Heard Stories About The Kingdom of Color.
Now He’s About To Live One

Brandon grew up hearing stories about how his grandfather and great-great grandfather battled to free the Kingdom of Color from its enemies, but he never imagined that one day he’d have to risk his own life to save the kingdom. Grayness has returned to the kingdom. The land is collapsing beneath Brandon’s feet. Food has stopped growing. And his Grandpa Alvin, is missing. Brandon’s only chance is to team up with his best friend, and a giant eagle. Together they must elude the relentless Officer Reed, escape the nefarious Spider Riders, and of course rescue the twin princesses, Gwendolyn and Sapphire.

Lakes of Mars

8/5/2018

Reviewed by Oscar

Rating: High Five!

Who I'd Recommend to: Fan's of the Legends of Zero, and the Outer Bounds series.

Synopsis: Aaron Sheridan doesn’t want to live anymore. His entire family had just died in a shuttle crash and he’d been the one flying it. Unable to deal with the guilt, he signs up for the Fleet expecting a fatal deployment to the Rim War, but instead ends up at their most prestigious command school, Corinth Station.
Initially, he’s detached from the brutality of his instructors and the Machiavellian tactics of the other students there, but after he sticks up for his only friend he makes himself a target of the most feared cadet on the station, Caelus Erik. Unsure of whom to trust and worried that anything he does will make others on his flight team targets as well, Aaron retreats deeper and deeper inside himself. However, when he discovers that officer training is not the station’s only purpose, it becomes increasingly clear that risking everything is the safest thing he can do.

Lost on the Water: A Ghost Story

7/29/2018

Reviewed by Oscar

Rating: High Five!

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Ida B., anything by Katherine Applegate, Kira-Kira, Be Light Like a Bird, Wonder, and other inspiring stories.

Synopsis (from Amazon): One girl’s adventure begins as she tries to survive a scary night alone on the water. Forced to leave the California beach behind to spend the summer with her grandma in rural Tennessee, Dannie is certain this will be the most boring summer of her life. Things start looking up when a group of local kids, mistaking her short hair and boyish figure, invite her on their ‘no girls allowed’ overnight kayaking trip. Obviously, her grandma refuses to let her go. But Dannie suspects the real reason is that the woman is afraid of the lake, only she won't tell Dannie why. Longing for freedom and adventure, Dannie finds an old rowboat hidden behind the shed and sneaks off on her own to catch up to her new friends. It seems like a simple solution … until everything goes wrong. Dannie soon discovers this lake is more than just vast. It’s full of danger, family secrets, and ghosts.

The Three Hares: Bloodline

7/21/2018

Reviewed by Oscar

Rating: High Five

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Blood Ninja, and other fun, exciting, nature books.

Synopsis (from Amazon):The Adventure of a Lifetime . . .
Ethan Drake is a living legend. If only his late father had mentioned it. Ethan and his friends decode a series of cryptic riddles from an ancient treasure map. Their discovery entangles them in a centuries-old struggle between warring secret societies. It soon becomes clear that Ethan is not just an adventurous teen who accidentally stumbles upon a shadowy world. He is a catalyst… a spark which ignites the resurgence.

The Lost Continent

7/20/2018

Reviewed by Oscar

Rating: High Five

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Erin Hunter, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and Cornelia Funke.

Synopsis (from Amazon): Blue the SilkWing is content. Life in his Hive is safe; he loves his family; he has enough to eat. And Pantala has been at peace for as long as he can remember -- SilkWings and HiveWings live and work together in harmony, and because they stay vigilant, no one has seen a dangerous LeafWing in years. Now that Blue's sister, Luna, is undergoing her Metamorphosis, Blue knows things are going to change. Luna will have her wings and her silk, be assigned a partner and a work order, and move to another Hive. A few days later, Blue's own wings and silk will come in. But nothing could prepare Blue for what happens when Luna's wings start to grow. Suddenly his world is turned upside down, throwing him into dangers he never knew existed. Pantala isn't as peaceful as it seems, and Blue isn't safe. Whether he's ready or not, it's time to adapt -- and fight for his life.

Surviving Horse Island

7/4/2018

Reviewed by Oscar

Rating: High Five!

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Land of Stories, Unicorn Quest, and other fun other worldly books

Synopsis (from Amazon): Josh and three of his classmates have proven they can survive a forest and a desert, but what about an island? Can they finish a third mission and make it home alive?

Wings of Fire books 1-10

7/1/2018

Reviewed by Oscar and Olivia

Rating: High Five

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Erin Hunter, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and Cornelia Funke.

Synopsis (from Amazon): The seven dragon tribes have been at war for generations, locked in an endless battle over an ancient, lost treasure. A secret movement called the Talons of Peace is determined to bring an end to the fighting, with the help of a prophecy -- a foretelling that calls for great sacrifice. Five dragonets are collected to fulfill the prophecy, raised in a hidden cave and enlisted, against their will, to end the terrible war. But not every dragonet wants a destiny. And when the select five escape their underground captors to look for their original homes, what has been unleashed on the dragon world may be far more than the revolutionary planners intended . . .

Genesis II

6/27/2018

Reviewed by Oscar

Rating: High Five

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of the Lunar Chronicles, Outer Bounds, and Legends of Zero

Synopsis: Set in near-future San Francisco. Humans have mastered space travel and interspecies genetic engineering. Governments are in shambles, and corporations operate as nation-states with paid militia. Lisa, a scientist researching ground-breaking – and potentially world-ending – technology, has attracted the attention of a malevolent corporate tyrant. Daniel, along with his GMO animal hybrid guardians, fights to save Lisa and prevent global genocide.

Surviving Desert View

6/26/2018

Reviewed by Oscar

Rating: High Five!

Who I'd Recommend to: Fan's of Land of Stories, Unicorn Quest, and other fun other worldly books

Synopsis (from Amazon): Josh and three of his sixth-grade classmates find themselves stranded in the wilderness, again. Surviving in a forest was one thing. Can they survive a desert too? Their situation takes a turn for the worse when they realize that their previous wilderness adventure was not an isolated experience. Not only do they need to complete another mission to get back home, but they need to find a way to prevent any more missions from happening.