Kids Books - Tales

The Heroes of Olympus, Book One The Lost Hero (new cover)

The Heroes of Olympus, Book One The Lost Hero (new cover)

By Rick Riordan

Imagine if the greek gods were real, and were still alive today. Imagine if there were demigods, roaming the Earth, that we humans knew nothing about. Well, in The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan, you get to see what a world like that would be like; through the demigod’s points of view. In The Lost Hero, each character is facing a different conflict. Earlier in his life, Leo was tricked by the evil primordial god of the earth Gaea to use his fire powers (An attribute that is very rare for a son of Hephaestus to have) for bad. Gaea manipulated his firepower so that he burned down the mechanic shop his mom-owned, and his mom died in the fire. So now he doesn’t want to use his fire powers in fear that he will hurt someone again. Jason lost his memory, so he can’t remember anything that's happened before he woke up on a school bus. Piper is sad because she remembers that Jason and her were boyfriend and girlfriend, but none of the relationship was real, it was just a trick of the mist (the mist basically hides the gods, demigods and greek monsters from humans, although some humans have a gift to see through the mist). The setting of the book is in the USA, in modern times, and for most of the book at a camp called Camp Half-Blood; which is a camp for demigods of greek gods, which all of the main characters are. The main antagonist in the book series is Gaea. Gaea is the Greek primordial goddess of the Earth, which means she was created near the beginning of time. She has been asleep for eons but is now waking up to overthrow the gods. Basically, a lot of the enemies that the main characters face that aren’t Gaea are working for Gaea, like the giant Enceladus, who was keeping Piper's dad captive on Mount Diablo; that giant was working for Gaea. One of the most important memory moments of the book was when Jason got most of his memory back and remembered that he was a son of Jupiter, which is the roman version of Zeus, which means he is Roman and not Greek. This memory moment then makes all of the characters have the biggest aha-moment of the story that sets the scene for the next book in the series. Overall, The Lost Hero is a great book and I would recommend it to anyone who has finished the Percy Jackson series and is left with the feeling of wanting more, or, for anybody who is interested in greek mythology and a great and hard-to-put-down book.

The Ickabog

The Ickabog

By J K Rowling

The story of the Ickabog shows just how quickly a little lie can turn into a never-ending deception. In Cornucopia, each part of the kingdom is known for having a specialty food that they are the best at making, like cheeses or pastries. Best friends Daisy and Bert have heard the rumors and legend of the Ickabog, a massive monster that eats people, but they always knew they were just stories... or were they? When a shepherd from the Marshlands, a far out and rural part of the kingdom, says the Ickabog ate his dog, ruler King Fred the Fearless doesn't believe him at first. Fred thinks going to investigate the Ickabog would be the perfect opportunity to prove that he could be a good king with no risk after people had begun to call him selfish, vain, and cruel, since the Ickabog was only a myth... right? His advisors Spittleworth and Flapoon concoct a story of lies after an accident on the journey about encountering the real Ickabog with King Fred saving the day, and it spreads through Cornucopia faster than Bert can eat a Hopes-of-Heaven pastry. Taxes and defense brigades are put in place to help protect from the supposed Ickabog, even though Spittleworth knows he made it all up, and the only thing the defense brigade taxes were helping was the flow of money into his pockets. Daisy and Bert are determined to thwart Spittleworth after learning some shocking information, and they are ready to do whatever it takes to restore peace to the kingdom. But Spittleworth is dangerous, threatening to kill and imprison their families if they don't stay quiet. It's a battle of the wits to determine who will come out on top. This book was AMAZING! I love a good fairytale, and this book did not disappoint! J.K. Rowling worked her magic again into this page-turner that will keep your imagination running. The suspense, adventure, plot-twists and complex characters really made this book enjoyable, and I loved every minute of it. I was transported into a magical world with endless possibilities as I read this book! The colorful illustrations made by kids throughout the book were the cherry on top! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone in need of a great fairytale, and I would recommend it for ages 8+.

Zeus the Mighty: The Quest for the Golden Fleas (Book 1)

Zeus the Mighty: The Quest for the Golden Fleas (Book 1)

By Crispin Boyer

If you like Greek mythology (and cute pets), then this is the book for you! Zeus the hamster has to go on a quest of epic proportions to try to obtain the golden fleece (fleas), which is a symbol of power. While he is on his journey, he faces many dangers, including vicious Harpies, a sea monster, and a 'dragon'! And, to make matters worse, Zeus's fellow gods might start a mutiny! Can Zeus get the fleece to enforce his position or, a better question, can he make it out alive? Read this book to find out! Personally, I enjoyed reading this novel and, even if it could get slightly boring at times, overall it was a great read.

The Never Girls Volume 3: Books 7-9 (Disney: The Never Girls)

The Never Girls Volume 3: Books 7-9 (Disney: The Never Girls)

By Kiki Thorpe

I love this book so much I would read it every day if I would

Black Beauty (100 Copy Limited Edition)

Black Beauty (100 Copy Limited Edition)

By Anna Sewell

The story about Black Beauty had been started when he was just a foal. He was described as a horse with black coat, along with the black mane. But once when he got older, he got sold to many different hands (people who works with horses) such like; Squire and Lady Gordon, Miss W--, Miss Anna, etc. Beauty also friends with other horses; Merrylegs, Ginger, and Captain. Even though this book is fictional but the way the author, Anna Sewell wrote about Black Beauty has just felt so real. I had really enjoyed this book and this book would be perfect for any horses-lovers. - Happy Reading!

Darkness of Dragons (Wings of Fire, Book 10)

Darkness of Dragons (Wings of Fire, Book 10)

By Tui T. Sutherland

A terribly displeasing ending to one of my favorite series ever. I understand that Tui T. Sutherland had backed herself into a corner with the major plot holes in Talons of Power, but she only digs herself deeper. At this point, I don’t think it was an accident or a poorly thought plan, just simply a bad idea executed pretty well. All things considered, I am extremely disappointed with this book, I was so connected to it, I had dreams of it, wrote fanfictions of it, was inspired by it, and its characters were always in my head…I’m not sure I will ever get over how upset I am with this. **SPOILER WARNING** If you have not read the book yet, please stop here. Firstly, it was bad enough that readers had to follow Turtle in Talons of Power, with his sadly pathetic demeanor and slow dopey train of thought, despite his obvious capabilities. But then we get a book with Qibli, whose cleverness and cunning I for one have been greatly looking forward to, only to find someone who thinks along the same lines. “Oh, woe is me, I’m useless and the world hates me…” Secondly, Tui has been showing signs of failing in the exact same place as many other authors, something as a critic I cannot stress enough-- character consistency. First shown in the fleeting glimpses of our beloved characters in Talons of Power, and now given as a blast to the face here. Thirdly-- and this is mostly due to Talons of Power, not inherently this book-- Darkstalker’s defeat was so…dumb. One of the unspoken laws of writing is to never, ever make any character-- good or evil-- all-powerful because then there is no really good way to get rid of them. I mean seriously, he teleported all animus dragons all over the world to his throne room in a second (by the way, where on earth is the animus enchanting in that spell?), and he supposedly made himself invulnerable to animus magic, yet both with Turtle's stick and with his defeat it didn't seem to work... Fourth, the greatest plot hole in the book, how did Darkstalker even get his power back or how did the piece of his scroll that Moon and Qibli used to defeat him have any power? The animus magic can only be in one place-- otherwise, it makes absolutely no sense-- but when they "destroyed" the scroll with his animus magic he got his power back, yet there was part of his scroll still left with magic in it. How does Tui explain this? She doesn't, which is the worst thing she could do. Fifth and finally-- and this one is about the character pairing in the book-- why the heck did Tui decide to do Moon and Qibli? Although I suppose it was obvious since she announced that the last book was going to be on Qibli. And this isn’t all about personal opinion! If you think about it, how many times before this book did Moon and Qibli even speak to each other, let alone exchange special looks, or were even alone together? In Winter Turning I would say that Winter and Moon had some romantically tense moments, which were very exciting to read about. On top of that, and this last part doesn’t matter as much but it is still significant, there were polls on what pair the readers wanted in several places on the internet, including Scholastic’s official website, and readers voted incontestably for Moon and Winter, with the polls going at an average of 76% to 24%. **End of Spoilers** All in all, a complete flunk from my point of view. I understand that the vast majority will be happy with whatever they are given, but I’m not. I only ask for three simple things: A good story. Consistent characters. And a good ending to the series. That’s it. Nothing more. I’m not asking for perfection, just decency, and although this was one of my favorite series ever, this book couldn’t even nearly reach those simple standards. And for that, my 2-Star Rating.

The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread

The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread

By Kate DiCamillo

The Tale Of Despereaux is a very heart warming story of a mouse who is not liked by others and is different from a mouse in many ways. When Despereaux continues to not help his brothers and sisters find food and does not do what is is supposed to do, the mouse community decides to put him into the dungeon. When he is put into the dungeon, Despereaux does everything to get out of it. This is also the story of a Princess. I love this book!

Winter Turning (Wings of Fire, Book 7)

Winter Turning (Wings of Fire, Book 7)

By Tui T. Sutherland

Not The best of the series. But still quite good. The writing is wonderful. The world Sutherland has created is vibrant and complex and oh so amazing well thought out for a middle grade series. Or frankly, for ANY epic fantasy series. I loved finally getting to see the Icewing culture, even though it was terribly depressing & must be so hard on all those poor Icewing dragonets. I'm loving how far the Darkstalker legend has come, has been expanded for the ghost stories of the terrified Nightwings in book 5. And it was great getting to know these new dragonets better. (Although I still can't figure out why they are suddenly so loyal to each other after knowing each other for like 5 days.) The story itself was well crafted and fun, with hints of "oh my god, this stuff is kinda dark, why is it for kids?" Thrown in. Like all the other "Wings of Fire" books. But, sadly, I didn't find "Winter Turning" QUITE as enjoyable as previous books. And again, sadly, I had to give it only 3 stars instead of a super excited 5 or 4. Mostly, due to Winter himself. It was painful, being stuck in his head. :( so sad, because I usually love the tortured soul, angry & sad type heroes. I found him annoying and whiney and mean. Why did Moon spend so much time telling how good & great he is? All I saw was a super whiny little dragon. A hateful dragon. I get that he spent his whole life being told to basically hate all other tribes, (& having unpleasable parents) but come on. It was a bit over the top.... And then the over the top-ness of it was undermined by how quickly he got over it all. Although I did feel how much he missed and loved Hailstorm so that was good. He just wasn't a very likable character. :( I know that they don't always have to be, but I was so looking forward to this book and this character & I felt so let down. :/ It wasn't a bad book really. It just wasn't as great as it could have been. I felt Winter could have been a great character. But really he was just obnoxious. At least I only had to deal with one book in his point of view. The series is still one of my favorites, so I look forward to reading and reviewing the next book "Escaping Peril" Recommended to fans of dragons, the rest of the series, and lovers of epic fantasy.

Mighty Jack

Mighty Jack

By Ben Hatke

I'm really glad I got this book! I haven't read this book in a while. Mighty Jack is the first book in the series that Ben Hatke is making. It's about how Jack and his sister, Maddy, are trying to support there single mom, who is working hard to support her family, while they are secretly growing a garden with mysterious seeds they got from a strange man at a farmer's market. I would rate this 9/10!

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Ultimate Guide

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Ultimate Guide

By Mary-Jane Knight

this book was amazing, it really helps bring percy jackson to life and it even includes things like report cards and it explains myths that percy has been told. i definitely recomend it to any percy jackson fans!

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