This world is so real, even though it's peopled with goblins, witches and people made of gears and wheels, you feel as if you are there! Oh, in this story, goblins are good guys!

What books appeal to every kid? Fantasy well told. Ages 8 and up. For boys and girls.

This isn't as scary as it looks. It's a rousing fantasy/ghost/adventure. Upper elementary and Middle school are the appropriate ages.
This isn't as scary as it looks. It's a rousing fantasy/ghost/adventure. Upper elementary and Middle school are the appropriate ages.

Great Book for Boys and Girls ages 8 and up

Jinx

Sage Blackwood
As soon as I turned the last page of Jinx, I googled the author, Sage Blackwood, to find more of his books.
What makes this book so special is that the characters are both good and evil and evil and good. Just like real life. Here, though, the real world has man-eating trolls, devious witches and wizards. There's also a magic portal to another world.
Jinx, in Hansel and Gretel style, is taken out into the woods to be abandoned by his stepfather. It’s the stepfather, though, who disappears, not Jinx. Jinx is taken under the care of a wizard named Simon. Does Simon mean Jinx good or evil? You won’t know until the very end of the book.
 Oh, this is Blackwood’s first book, so I’ ll have to wait for his next one. I, for one, am hoping it will be soon.
Ages 8 and up
Good for both boys and girls

The Ogre of Oglefort

 Eva Ibbotson’s books twist and tangle fairy tales. So, when I picked up The Ogle of Oglefort, I knew the Ogre wouldn’t be a flesh-eating villain. But, I didn’t expect him to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown! Happily, Ivo, the boy hero, is every bit as brave and resourceful as any orphan should be, and the other characters (a princess, hag, banshee, troll, and mad scientist) are zany and fun.

PS I’ll write about more of her books. She is one of my favorite writers.

Do you ever get cravings? I do, for Jane Austen. I’d say it was a guilty pleasure, but it seems a lot of other readers love her, too. I listen to Nancy Pearl’s reviews on NPR and she recommended Keeping the Castle  (by Patricia Kindl) for Jane Austen fanatics. I read it in one night. Evil stepsisters, two handsome eligible men, a castle falling to ruin, and the need for a rich match to save the family’s crumbing castle. The heroine is a bit too full of herself to see clearly, like most Austen women. I got hooked when Althea’s mouth acts before her brain does. A pumpkin headed, yet very wealthy suitor murmurs, “You’re so beautiful,” and she answers, “And you’re so rich.” You won’t be able to resist this.

Ages: Girl romantics of any age

Dinosaur! was a big hit in the bookstore (Anderson’s Bookshop)I worked at when it came out in 2000. So, I was happy to stumble across it in the library. It begins quietly. A little boy takes a bath with his plastic dinosaur. But, within a page, they’re joined by a Jurassic cast of pteranodon, iguanodon, stegosaurus and more. What I loved best was when the cartoon creatures morphed into the beautiful artwork Peter Sis is known for. All I can say is,what a way to take a bath!
Ages: 2 and up