Reviewed by Michelle Stanley for Readers' Favorite

Meet the Pops is a children’s adventure story by Belinda Barbieri. Coco is excited that she and her brother, Soda, are starting school today. But Soda doesn’t feel that way because he’s adopted and believes he won’t make any friends. No one wanted to make friends with Soda and he sat alone at lunch. But something changed when the special treat from his mother glowed brightly, making the other students surround him. Lolly, the kids’ father, checks to see if the wild cherry lollipops are ready to be picked for Halloween. The Pops live on a unique farm with a sugar-sweet river containing peppermint striped bass and gummy snakes. The hens lay marshmallows instead of eggs, and even the cows produce strawberry and chocolate milk.

The Pops’s farm is definitely one where children will love to spend their summers with so many treats and unusual wildlife surrounding them. Soda and Coco are cool kids and so are their parents, Lolly and Candy. Meet the Pops is from the amusing children's adventure series by Belinda Barbieri. It’s an entertaining story for children in the kindergarten to third-grade ages. The author uses her creative writing skills to teach children about good behavior, learning to share and being friendly to others. There are text messages from Candy and Coco to young readers. I love the artwork and am pleased that I was fortunate to review the other story in this series, Meet the Pops: Flag Day, Every Day. I recommend this lovely children’s novella by Belinda Barbieri.

Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

There is a house near the seawall that faces the shore. It has a porch and a sliding door. The people who live in the house stand by that door and look towards the sea. Smeagull the seagull knows that Valerie and Mark are there and he comes in the rain, snow, when icicles hang from the roof, and in spring, summer and fall. Smeagull knocks on the door at half past four and he knocks when he is hungry and wants more food. Smeagull's knock on the glass sliding door with his beak is always loud. Seagulls can be found everywhere and many people think they are smarter than the other birds. Smeagull likes fish so a new freezer was bought with a big shelf full of fish just for him. Valerie and Mark's lives become lonely and bleak when Smeagull disappears one day. Will Smeagull come back into their lives?

Smeagull the Seagull: A True Story by Mark Seth Lender is a beautiful story and the very fact that it is a true story makes it even more appealing for readers. The story of Smeagull the seagull will make readers aware about how animals and birds are also like humans and they also have feelings and needs like humans. The illustrations are fabulous and breathe life into the story and give Smeagull a distinct personality. It is an excellent book for children to help them understand how all living creatures need to be nurtured and loved because the Earth needs them too.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Cassie Pup Takes the Cake?? is a children’s picture book written by Sheri Poe-Pape and illustrated by Dasguptarts. Cassie Pup couldn’t wait to get started in her new position as Baker Bindi’s doggie helper. When she first entered Bindi’s Bakery, which was to be her new home, she was enthralled by all the delicious smells and delighted with her first meeting with Baker Bindi. Cassie was determined to be the best baker around and was awed when she saw the kitchen where she would bake her special muffins. She could feel the warmth of the oven, and loved looking at the chocolate fountain, and how the colorful frostings glowed and sparkled. Cassie got her own baker’s hat and apron and was soon ready to bake. Then she met Cordelia Cat, who was also a world-renowned baker of muffins. They would both be baking their muffins together, but suddenly they each decided that their muffins would have to be the best. Pretty soon, their competition got entirely out of hand.

Sheri Poe-Pape’s children’s picture book, Cassie Pup Takes the Cake??, addresses the rivalry and competitive spirit that can sometimes occur when a new pet is introduced into an established family setting. Cassie’s need to prove herself comes into conflict with Cordelia’s insecurity about having a rival, and Bindi Baker’s beautiful and gleaming kitchen is quickly covered in batter. While the two are bound to become fast friends and, I suspect, even help each other create even more elaborate muffins, watching their crazed competition is entertaining indeed. Dasguptarts’ illustrations are masterful. His bakery shelves are loaded with goodies that are guaranteed to have everyone wishing they could visit Bindi’s Bakery in person, and Cassie and Cordelia’s antics are eloquently displayed for all to admire. And, along the way, the two friends learn about sportsmanship, losing well and getting along. This book is an excellent story time selection as well as a challenging primer for young readers. Cassie Pup Takes the Cake?? is most highly recommended.

Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite

The Angry Dragon by Michael Gordon is a children’s picture book. George has an unusual pet – a dragon called Joe. Joe is an angry dragon who throws temper tantrums when things go wrong. One day, while playing with their toys, George broke one of Joe’s favorite toys. Joe loses his temper and George tries to help him understand that he shouldn’t get angry. Throughout the day, George continues helping Joe to overcome his anger and see that patience is good, greed is bad. Joe soon comes to understand that and peace reigns in the household.

The Angry Dragon by Michael Gordon is a great book for kids. The first thing that struck me was the color; it stands out with lots of bright and cheerful colors in the excellent illustrations that go along with the story. The second was the fact that it is written in rhyme and in nice-sized, easy to read print benefiting both children and the adults reading with them. The story is a simple one but carries a powerful message about how to behave and how not to behave. It teaches that anger doesn’t solve anything and that there is always another way to deal with situations, especially where the temper arises as a result of not getting what they want. I thought this was well written and to the point, although I thought that George perhaps acted a bit more grown-up than his age suggested. Overall, a good story, great for younger children to start learning right from wrong.

Reviewed by A. L. Peevey for Readers' Favorite

In Book II of D.E. Night’s The Crowns of Croswald, The Girl With The Whispering Shadow, Ivy Lovely’s adventures begin right at the end of the previous story. Ivy still has so much to learn, and despite the fact that the Dark Queen is looking for her, she wants to spend the summer with her best friend, Rebecca, whose family dwells in a castle. But, Ivy is troubled by a letter left behind by the scrivenist Derwin Edgar Night, whom she once freed. She must find her way to the hidden town of Belzebuthe, where she can hide from the Dark Queen, who wants her dead, and where she can also continue her quest to discover the next piece of the Kindred Stone. But, a shadowy presence has begun to haunt her. As time draws short, will she find what she needs?

D.E. Night gives us as much of an enchanting story in The Girl With The Whispering Shadow as she did in The Crowns of Croswald. This is an imaginative story with wonders and delights for readers at every turn. Croswald is about as fully conceived and realized as any of the other currently popular magical worlds without dumping too many details on us at once. This is one of the best put together books I have read in a while. The story advances from scene to scene smoothly. With her wide-eyed innocence, Ivy moves forward in her discovery of her natural magical ability and in her attempts to fulfill the destiny thrust upon her, in spite of her being mostly an untried teenager. This is an enjoyable read.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

The Journal of Angela Ashby is an action and adventure fantasy for preteens written by Liana Gardner and illustrated by Sam Shearon. Angela was ready and impatient to be off to the school carnival when she stopped by her best friend’s house to pick her up. Mallory, of course, was still not ready, and Angela hung out in her friend’s room while she got dressed. Mallory’s life seemed so much more harmonious than her own did right now. Ordinarily, her mom would have already taken her clothing shopping for the new year, but with her dad gone, her mom seemed to do nothing but work all the time. Angela couldn’t understand what had happened to break up their once happy family. She missed her dad, and she just couldn’t adapt to the idea that he was now with Holly instead of Angela’s mom and her.

The carnival had performed its yearly magic and transformed the athletic field of her school. Rides, games and vendors’ booths were everywhere Angela and Mallory looked, and the air was richly scented with the sweet smells of cotton candy, funnel cakes and kettle corn. Mallory’s mom had taken them and Mallory’s little brother to the carnival, and she gave them two hours to do some exploring on their own. Angela was an ace at the games; her pitching arm demolished the display at the baseball throw booth, and she managed to dunk the vice-principal, to his surprise. Then she and Mallory saw something odd -- a fortune teller’s tent that seemed strangely out of place. Angela wasn’t too sure about going in, but Mallory couldn’t resist. Angela finally gave in; after all, what could it hurt?

The Journal of Angela Ashby is an engaging and fun coming-of-age story about a twelve-year-old girl who is suddenly the possessor of great power. I loved following as Angela began to appreciate her journal’s powers and realized the importance of carefully considering everything she wished for. Throughout the story, Gardner addresses the issue of bullies and bullying, which is something all kids and most adults have to deal with at some point, and she shows how Angela learns to differentiate between solving the problem and descending into bullying behavior herself. Gardner also admirably addresses the stress and confusion felt by kids and tweens when their mom and dad get divorced. The Journal of Angela Ashby is a marvelous fantasy that brings up real-life issues without lowering the magic and fun potential for a moment, and Sam Shearon’s illustrations really make it all come alive most brilliantly. The Journal of Angela Ashby is most highly recommended.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

The Squeezor is Coming! is a children’s picture book written by Becky Benishek and illustrated by Matt Fiss. Life for the Squeezor was sad and lonely. No one dared go near the monster whose sharp fangs and claws seemed to scare everyone away, and no one ever wanted to be hugged by his wrap-around-you-twice arms. When he went into Ghastly Gigapolis to do his shopping, all the inhabitants would go into hiding. They’d watch, terror-stricken, from behind closed doors and peek out through the slats in cellar doors. Poor Squeezor. He was so lonely and just wanted a friend or two. He spent hours reading self-improvement books, but nothing seemed to work. Then he had a thought as he was looking at his grandmother’s portrait. Maybe it wasn’t about him after all? The next time he went into town, he went into his favorite shop, and something really amazing happened.

Becky Benishek’s The Squeezor is Coming! is suitably creepy and filled with gross and funny things that are guaranteed to make kids and their caregivers giggle with delight. It also sends a wonderful message to those kids, and there are an awful lot of them, who feel different or have trouble making friends. Far too many kids feel as unlovable as The Squeezor, and this story is for them. Benishek’s droll and humorous story will please everyone in the room and maybe especially those adults who are still kids at heart. Matt Fiss’s brilliantly grotesque illustrations make this book one to linger over and read again and again and again. Literally. It’s that good. Heck, if The Squeezor can make friends, why not that kid in the corner? The Squeezor is Coming! is most highly recommended.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Brown Bear & Oofie Present: The Lost Identity is a children’s social issues picture book written and illustrated by Masami S.C. Brown Bear and Oofie had just been playing with their friend, Herman. Oofie mentioned how much she liked Herman’s freckles, which made Brown Bear pause and think a bit. Were the marks on Herman’s face freckles? As Oofie began talking, Brown Bear seemed to lose focus and get involved in her own thoughts. Suddenly she left the room and came back a little later looking just a bit different. Oofie wondered what happened to Brown Bear; then she started laughing. Silly Brown Bear, she looks fine just the way she is. Brown Bear is unique and special. So are Herman and Oofie. Each of them has their own identity, made up of how they think, behave and look.

Masami S.C.’s children’s social issues picture book, Brown Bear & Oofie Present: The Lost Identity, has the two iconic friends discussing an issue many kids grapple with in social settings, especially in school and playgrounds. While it may seem cool to look or act like other kids, especially very popular ones, it’s really best of all to just be yourself as Brown Bear discovers when her attempt to make freckles goes awry. The author’s characters are both wise and funny, and her illustrations, which are brightly colored and upbeat, will make this a very popular selection with young readers and for story time sessions. I also appreciated how Masami highlights the featured words used in the story and includes a glossary of them at the end of the book. Brown Bear & Oofie Present: The Lost Identity is most highly recommended.

Reviewed by Liz Konkel for Readers' Favorite

The Circle: Taken by Sage Sask is an exciting dystopian adventure about survival. Alexia was found on the beach when she was just eleven years old with no memory of anything that came before. She's spent her life since then living under a name given to her by the government and doing what she can to help care for the younger kids at the orphanage. Upon turning sixteen, she goes to get evaluated the way everyone else her age does and that's when everything goes south. She's quickly carted off to train among other teens like herself and gets the opportunity to have a place among them. That is if she can survive their test. And she'll only be able to do that if she can keep her ability to read people's pasts and futures with a single touch from being revealed. The more she trains under the Circle's guidance, the more about her past is revealed but she doesn't know how much is true or who she can trust. Soon her loyalty is tested when she has the chance to have everything she's ever wanted, but only if she's willing to betray those who trust her.

The story is full of action and challenges with training and tests that are about endurance and survival. The mystery is an important aspect of the plot as the enigma of her lost memories and the Circle is what drives Alexia forward. The Circle has its secrets and the more she digs, the more uncertainty she has if she can trust anyone there. Her life before is a blank which her time with the Circle begins to fill in for her but she has to learn if she can trust the ties she's forming or a life she's been told she had. This explores an intriguing mystery that's bigger than Alexia's past and opens up other aspects of a conspiracy that runs deep between two sides. She doesn't get to be a normal teenager, spending every second apprehensive or just surviving, but Sask incorporates a few gentler moments such as dancing. These moments give calmness to Alexia and allow for her to build connections with the others and with agents while also letting you see the characters as teenagers and allowing you to bond with them. The Circle: Taken is a brilliant read with an addictive plot, well-rounded characters, a gritty world, and a journey of survival.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

The Translucent Boy and the Girl Who Saw Him is an epic fantasy novel for young adults written by Tom Hoffman. Being the translucent boy was all Odo Whitley had ever known. A seemingly random gift of perfume sent to his mother, Petunia, when she was pregnant sixteen years earlier, had come with the warning about the side effects possible with use during pregnancy. But the scent was her favorite of all, and the perfume’s name, Little Dove, was the pet name her father had given her. Surely it was a gift from him from beyond? Neither Petunia nor her husband, Albert, knew what Translucent Child Syndrome was, but Odo came to know what it was rather well. Being translucent meant being invisible, standing in the school bus rather than risk having a burly football player mistake your presence for an empty seat. That had happened once years before, and Odo had learned from that experience. No one could see him, and no one seemed concerned about that fact. His life consisted of being ignored and having to let people know that, yes, he was right there in front of them. His teachers were all too accomplished at making believe his desk in their classes was empty. No challenges were set before him, no one ever called on him for an answer.

Being translucent hadn’t meant being wise, as his father had mistakenly thought. Odo was fortunate at least in that he had intelligence and curiosity. While teachers droned on about subjects far below his capacity, he was able to continue his studies of neurophysiology undisturbed. He was also gifted with extraordinary peripheral vision, which was why in class one day he was stunned to realize that he was being stared at. No one had ever done that before. Sephie Crumb, she of the bright orange hair who had swiftly been dubbed Creepy Crumb by her crueler classmates, was intently studying his head. He figured he must be mistaken, but, then, as she left the classroom, the folded note she tossed on his desk confirmed the impossible -- she could see him.

The Translucent Boy and the Girl Who Saw Him is a wise and ineffably lovely coming of age tale that comes complete with vast galaxies, alien beings and a tasty helping of metaphysics as dessert. Watching Odo become complete, as it were, on becoming visible to Sephie is moving and unforgettable; following the two as they set off on amazing, terrifying and exhilarating adventures is an unforgettable experience. Odo and Sephie are marvelous characters; their interactions and their coming of age are joys to behold. Hoffman’s story is gorgeously written and a dream to read. Hoffman deftly toys with infinite possibilities and orchestrates the most amazing stories. Once again, he’s surprised and delighted me. The Translucent Boy and the Girl Who Saw Him is most highly recommended.