Powerless by Matthew Cody

We saw this book while we were looking around in Barnes and Noble before our trip. It looked really interesting - so mom got Powerless on her Kindle Fire for me to read in Spain. My favorite character was Eric because he was a good guy and he could fly! My least favorite character was "the Shroud" because he stole all of the powers away from the children. What a meanie! If I was a character in this book, I would be Rohan because he could hear bugs talking and the grass growing and I think super hearing would be an awesome super power. My favorite part was when Eric caught Daniel falling off a cliff. If this book was made into a movie, the best part would be the supers fighting "the Shroud." This book was excellent. It was funny and the subject really caught my interest. I think it would be great for 3rd through 5th graders. Z Z Z Z Z Z (Yes, 6/5 Z's here!) AR Level - 5.2 ***Please note, although Zack says 3rd-5th grade, the AR level suggests it might interest some middle schoolers as well.

Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell

Mom read Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat to us while we were in Santander, in the Bilboa airport, and on a train to Leon, France. It was 346 pages long - but we all really liked it. It kept us interested the whole time. We couldn't wait to see what would happen in the next chapter - especially at the end! There were lots of great characters in this book - Zoe and I liked them for different reasons. But our least favorite characters were easy to agree on. We did not like Miss Barmy (Emmy's awful nanny) or Chestwick Vole (the owner of the Antique Rat and general mean man). Some of our favorite parts were when Emmy decided that she wouldn't spear the Endear Mouse in the heart, when Miss Barmy and Chestwick were turned into rats, when the Addisons were nice to the old man in their bookstore, when Miss Barmy got "chinchilla-ed", and when Professor Capybara turned Emmy's parents normal. If this book were turned into a movie - we'd totally go see it! Also, the best "set design" (mom gave me that term) would happen when the movie people were trying to create the underground rat city and the dark, back room of the Antique Rat. Both scenes would be awesome! Zoe said that if she shrunk, she's go find Jack and have ratty bite him too so they could play. But if I got bit, I'd go be a spy at jails and help the police figure out all the bad stuff the people in jail did. We really liked this book. We're planning on going to the library to see if Lynne Jonell has written anything else. We recommend this book for 3rd through 5th graders to read alone, or as a read aloud for those in first grade on up. Z Z Z Z Z (5/5 Z's) AR Level 4.7

The Great Wide Sea by M.H. Herlong

My mom got "The Great Wide Sea" at the Scholastic Warehouse sale and I really enjoyed it. My favorite character was Gerry because he was a miracle maker. My least favorite character was Dad because he took away some things his boys loved without asking - which isn't something a good dad would do. If I was a character in the book, I would be Dylan because he knew a lot about stars and I think that would be cool to know about stars. My favorite part was when Gerry came to his brothers with a huge flounder when they were starving (one of his many miracles!). If the book was a movie, the best part would be when the brothers were in the storm without their dad. A good fit for this book would be 3rd through 5th grade. This book was exciting, funny and kid-friendly. Z Z Z Z Z - 5/5 Z's. AR Level 4.1 ****Mom's note - Read the back cover of this book to see if your son/daughter is ready for the subject matter. The dad and sons take this trip because the mom was killed in a car accident. During the course of the trip, the boys think the dad has died after going overboard. Zack said it was pretty scary at times, but ended up OK. He seemed to really enjoy it!

Danny Champion of the World by Roald Dahl

We read Danny Champion of the World by Roald Dahl mostly in the Philadelphia airport waiting for our flight to Madrid (to read more about this trip, visit our blog - www.thebenderzdoeurope.blogspot.com). We bought it a few days ago because it's pretty much the only Roald Dahl book we hadn't read. Roald Dahl is a family favorite - we love his books! Mom read Danny Champion of the World to both Zoe and I. Zoe says her favorite part was when Danny and his Dad made thier plan to poach all of Mr. Hazell's pheasants. She didn't think the plan would work. I figured it would! My favorite part of the book was when the pheasants escaped from the baby carriage and did their business all over Mr. Hazell's car. Mom says she likes the reminder at the end of the book to always be a sparky parent. Just like Dahl's other books, this way funny - and even though it was pretty long, it was never boring. We were even going to try making toad in the hole (which is Danny's Dad's favorite meal) but Mom's cousin Becca said it was "not delish!" We loved this book - another Dahl hit! Z Z Z Z Z (5/5 Z's) AR Level 4.7 We recommend this and all Roald Dahl books as great family read-alouds! ****Up next on our read-aloud list is Emmy The Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell. Anyone read it?

Shoot Out by Mike Lupica

Shoot-Out is the best Mike Lupica book I've read! I got this book as a Christmas present two years ago. I started it one other time, but didn't get very far. I'm really glad that I tried again. My favorite character is Jake because he is so much like me. Jake plays soccer to win - just like me. My least favorite character is Kevin because he is not a great friend - he just pushed everybody away! If I could be in the book, I would be Reid who has a strong head and always heads the ball, which I love to do. My favorite part is when Reid heads the ball into the top right corner. If this book was made into a movie, the best part would be the penalty shoot-out at the end of the book. This book was excellent. I loved that it was about soccer - I couldn't wish for more! Also, they talked about the World Cup and real players in the World Cup. I thought that was cool! I recommend this book for boys in 2nd - 5th grade. Z Z Z Z Z (5/5 Z's) AR Level - 5.1

The Hardy Boys: The Sinister Signpost by Franklin W. Dixon

This was one of the better Hardy Boys books. I wasn't as excited to read it as I was The Secret Warning, but it was better than I expected it to be. In The Sinister Signpost, the Hardy boys were trying to catch the people who were trying to steal Mr. Alden's racecar motor. At the same time, Topnotch (Mr. Alden's race horse) has been stolen and the thief wants $50,000 in ransom. The book ends like most Hardy Boys books end - with the bad guys behind bars. If The Sinister Signpost was a movie, the best part would be watching the Hardys ride Topnotch at top speed. In this book, I would be Joe, because he was the smarter Hardy. I would recommend this book for 3rd through 5th graders who enjoy adventure! Z Z Z Z Z (5/5 Z's) AR Level 5.1

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Little House in the Big Woods is not a book that I would have picked out to read. Ever. My mom remembers reading this book with her Grandmother on the beach in Hilton Head - she actually read the whole series one summer. Zoe and I were not sure what to expect when Mom started reading this book to us as our new read-aloud...but we both ended up really, really liking this book. One of the coolest things about this book was all the new stuff we learned from it. We learned about why horse-power is called horse-power, how people used to make cheese, how to make straw hats out of wheat stalks, and what a salt-lick is - and what it's used for. There was one story in the book that was a lot like the little boy who called wolf - except in this story, the boy who "cried wolf" got stung by a thousand bees! We also liked the story of Ma slapping a bear that she thought was Sukey (their cow), and Pa running at a tree stump that he thought was a bear in the woods. I liked this book because it took me to a different place and time and taught me a lot of new things...but I'm glad that Mom was reading this one out loud to us! Z Z Z Z Z...(5/5 Z's - can't wait to read the next one!). AR Level 5.3 ***** Note from Mom - I still remember reading this book - and remember the story of Ma slapping the bear and Pa running at the tree stump from 20+ years ago. I loved being able to share this read with my kiddos! We will be reading the rest of the series, but up next is "Danny, Champion of the World." Mom's ready to do some laughing - and we love Roald Dahl!