Enola Holmes (the much younger sister of Sherlock Holmes) wakes on her fourteenth birthday to find that her mother, the unconventional Lady Eudoria Holmes, has gone missing. She has left Enola some intriguing gifts, though, including a book of ciphers and a volume on the meaning of flowers. In The Case of the Missing Marquess, the first novel in the fascinating six-part Read More..
True, it may be snowy and windy, but soon the drab shades of winter will be replaced with the vibrant colors of spring. The crocus are already beginning to bloom, followed shortly by quince, forsythia, redbuds and others. It’s time to get outside and get dirty – in the garden. Whether you have a large yard, a small balcony, or just a narrow window sill, there’s a garden Read More..
What a great time it is to be an aspiring young artist! Picture books, comics and graphic novels are more popular than ever. Animation for both children and adults is regularly featured on television and in the movies as innovative technological advances now allow us to create nearly anything that we can imagine. But it all begins with an idea and the ability to bring Read More..
The Dangerous Book for Boys by brothers Conn and Hall Iggulden is a guide book for boys “from eight to eighty” that challenges the reader to “recapture Sunday afternoons and long summer days.” Though clearly inspired by what passes for play in the high-tech lives of many boys these days, this book can be a valuable resource for all members of the family. Read More..
Edgar Eager, well known children’s author of the 50’s and 60’s, discovered the works of E. Nesbit while searching for books to read to his son. He thought that Nesbit was the best children’s author of all time, and consistently acknowledged his debt to her. In fact, his novel Half Magic opens with the main characters Read More..
It is 1935 and the Great Depression is in full swing. Life is hard, especially for eleven-year-old Turtle and her mother, a live-in housekeeper. They have no place of their own and are forced to room in the homes of their clients. Unfortunately, her mother’s current employer, Mrs. Budnick, cannot abide children, so Turtle is sent to Key West, Florida to live with her aunt and boy cousins she has never met. Read More..
A boy named Jack, a girl named Jill, and a frog named Frog join forces in this hilarious and delightfully gory companion to A Tale Dark and Grimm, Adam Gidwitz’s award-winning debut novel. The characters are introduced separately in chapters loosely based on European folk and fairy tales before uniting in a fresh, funny, and very messy retelling of “Jack the Giant Killer” that kids will love. Read More..