The Tail of Emily Windsnap

I suppose some nostalgic part of me still loves the idea of mermaids, which is why I borrowed this from the library. It's a good book for a middle school-aged child. The story revolves around a young girl who suddenly discovers that she's a mermaid in the water and human on land, although for some reason she's never experienced the transformation in, say, the shower or bath. It encourages sneaking out at night, keeping secrets from adults, assuming your mother is a moron who needs to be cared for, and being suspicious of authority figures, but if you're okay with that, it's a decent story.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

I think I read this book too fast. I zipped through it while my daughter was taking a nap, which I think was only about an hour. It definitely is worth a re-read. I had just seen Jeff Kinney speak at my local bookstore; this book was hot off the press and inscribed with his John Hancock, and I was so inspired to get through this as quickly as possible. Seeing Jeff talk about his book was a real treat. The audience was full of bused-in children from local schools, all of whom were clutching their copies of Diary of a Wimpy kid close to their chest and raising their hands at every opportunity.

I was not surprised to learn that Jeff (I figured since he wrote "to Dejah" in my book inscription that we must be on a first name basis, see) did not intend to market this book as a children's novel. Instead, he said he wrote it to be of the "nostalgic adult" genre like Jean Shepherd's A Christmas Story, but that the publishers instantly saw it as a terrific read for younger children. It is most popular now, as I think I mentioned in my review of the first book, with so-called "reluctant readers". Awesome. With both books on the New York Time's best-seller's list, I doubt he's complaining.

The second book absolutely lived up to my expectations. There were no cheap punches or short-cuts taken that tried to cash-in on the first book's success; instead, the sequel took it to the next level and I felt I got to know Greg even better (and perhaps see why he is the way he is).

So, bravo, Jeff ol' pal. You rule!

Author: Jeff Kinney

The Mysterious Benedict Society

Fun, engaging. Slightly mysterious, well-drawn characters. Slightly disturbing twist at the end, at least from this mom's point of view, although I think it's supposed to be a little creepy. You want to know what it is? SPOILER ALERT!!!!!: one of the main characters is actually a two year old. I find this very bizzare. What is a two year old doing away from her mommy and daddy this whole time? See, that's what you get when you have a mom reviewing children's books.

Author: Trenton Lee Stewert