Artemis Fowl by Gordon Korman

This is a great book. It is about a 13 year old criminal mastermind. It has lots of magic creatures included. If you like fantasies, you'll love this book.

It is really hard to know what will happen next--that's why I like this book.

Review by Matt A.

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

Three rich kids' house burns down and the parents died. Now they are orphans who have to live with their third terrible uncle who lives in a gross, dirty house. The uncle really wants their money but can he get it? You have to find out.

This is a great book because each chapter makes the story even better.The characters are Violet, who likes to invent things, Klaus, who reads a lot and Sunny who can never stop biting.

Review by Victoria M.

Bunnicula by Deborah Howe

There is a rabbit that likes to suck blood. It is stealing vegetables too. It has killer fangs. It looks scary to a cat and a dog, but they figure out that he is not bad.

It is a good story because it is very exciting to see what happens.

Review by Trevor M.

Caroline by Neil Gaiman

This book is about a girl named Caroline. She opens up her closet door and see's another house that looks the same as hers and another family the same. But her other family in the closet wants to put buttons on her face for eyes!!! She refuses. What will she do to them to make the forcing stop?

I liked this book because it has scary parts in it, like when her closet family sends a pack of wolves out to get her. The author puts so much detail into it, it seems like you're part of the story! Plus I liked how 50% of the characters were real.

Review by Kaitlyn B.

Deltora Quest: The Shifting Sands by Emily Rodda

Sixteen year old Lief and two of his companions are trying to recover the four stolen gems of Deltora. The Shadow Lord has hidden the fourth gem in the terrible lands of the shifting sands. After Lief, Barda and Jasmine left the City of Rats aflame, they continue to struggle along there quest to their goal. This takes them on a whole new adventure!

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

In this book Eragon, who is a farmboy finds a blue stone. It was not just any stone it was a dragon egg. When it hatches the dragon leads him in to life of sorrow, happiness and adventure. What made me want to read it was the dragon on the front cover.

What makes this book great I think is the adventures, the characters and how he puts all these ideas into the book. It's an excellent book.

Review by Liam F.

The Fire Within by Chris D'Lacey

The Fire Within is about a boy who goes to live with a woman and her daughter. There he has to find the mystery behind their dragons and at the same time find out how to catch and help an injured squirrel. This takes him into a world of adventure and he uncovers the mysteries.

I think it's a good book because it makes you want to keep reading. And it puts pictures in your mind. The author also makes me think oh no, or I never would have thought of that!

Review by Erin F.

The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker

Emeralda was an unfortunate princess who loved visiting the swamp. In the swamp, she met the frog who leads her to misfortune. When she kissed the frog, who claimed to be a prince, the spell backfired and she turned into a frog. On her crazy adventure to return to her rightful form, she meets many animals. She met a sassy bat, a loyal snake, an angry fairy, a selfish otter, and a loving horse. After all the trouble and misfortune a green witch explains almost everything. Read to see if Emeralda will return into a human or stay a frog forever.....

Frog Princess is a fantastic and grabbing book. It tells a story of a princess who turns into a frog and of her breathtaking and spine tingling adventure to turn back into a human! Everything locked together and seemed to have a reason and a place. Also, the characters are hilarious and that was a plus. Frog Princess kept you guessing too, when you thought it was all going to stop....bam, there is another surprise!

Review by Sharmila S.

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

This book is about a girl named Lyra who finds out about her life, her special talent, and how to stop a crime.

It has many, many cool details like how most people have demons.

Review by Madeline W.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter is staying at the Dursley's for yet another summer and planning to go back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy. He finally has had enough of them and runs away. He catches the Knight bus (a special transportation for wizards that can take you anywhere) and ends up in Diagon Alley. There he stays in a vacant room in the Leaky Cauldron, a pub for wizards, where he can do his homework, and visit the shops nearby. He meets his friends Ron and Hermione when they come to buy their school supplies. Hermione and Ron stay with him and board the train to Hogwarts, where you have adventures around every corner! If you have read the other Harry Potter books, or like adventure, I highly recommend this book!

Review by Sarah P.

Island of the Aunts by Eva Ibbotson

When Minette and Fabio find themselves on an island run by "the Aunts" Etta, Coral, and Myrtle they're ready for all sorts of torture. What they don't expect is oatmeal, push-ups and their job as assistant caretakers. Caretakers to not just seals and gulls, but to selkies, mermaids, some ghosts, a gigantic talking worm and a Boobrie that lays an egg that could make 72 omelets. Soon they love the island as much as the aunts do. So when a merciless millionaire wants to turn it into a theme park it's up to them, and an amazing creature to stop him.

With sharp wit, and sense of adventure she paints a marvelous picture with her words. The characters are so alive! And with a thrilling fantasy that charms the reader. You'll want to read it again and again!

Review by Sarah G.

Jimmy the Pickpocket of the Palace by Donna Jo Napoli

This book is about a frog who lives in a beautiful pond with his fawg, (a made up name for a frog) family. Jimmy, the frog loves to look at the horse that comes by almost every day with a prince on his big back. One day an ugly hag comes to the pond and fights with Jimmy's dad. The hag took him away! When the hag picked up Jimmy's dad, she dropped her magic ring. As if by magic, the prince came by and picked up the ring. What will happen when the hag comes back to the pond for her ring? I'll tell you this much, Jimmy will embark on a wonderful adventure! To find out what happens to Jimmy and the hag read this book.

This book is great! You can really feel like you're a frog in a brand new body. It makes you think what it would be like to not understand anything! The author has a great imagination.

Review by Sandra P.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe is a book about four children named Lucy, Peter, Susan and Edmund. One day they were playing hide-go-seek. While Susan was not looking, Lucy found a big wardrobe. She decided to go inside. Inside she found a fantasy world. When she came back, she told everyone but no one believed her. Soon after they all stomped across the room again and they all looked inside. There was the fantasy world Lucy was talking about. After getting inside they started a trip to a fawn's house. He was not there so they started to look for him. They first found a talking beaver. The beaver took to them his den and they were all excited because they had started their long journey in the so called land of Narnia.

I like the book because it is so interesting, and I love the descriptions of the creatures in it.

Review by Erin F.

Lord Brocktree by Brain Jacques

This is a great book about a Badger Lord who is fighting against a wildcat and his vermin. They are fighting for the mountain Salamandastron. To do this the badger Lord (Lord Brocktree) must make an army. This is a great book.

This is a good book because the author uses many points of view. It is a very exciting and good adventure book.

Review by Dillon B.

Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

This book is very exciting and my favorite characters are the elves, Gandolf, who is a wizard and the hobbit Frodo who is trying to destroy the powerful ring.

What made this a good book for me was all of the action of the wars and the characters.

Review by Mitko T.

Merlin by T. A. Barron

There is a boy that is washed ashore and when he woke up he could not remember any of his past. He started to walk down the shoreline when he found a girl that got washed a shore and was unconscious. He started to look around and he waw a boar. A few seconds after he saw the boar, it started straight at them with his horns ready to kill. Then a stag came from the side and body slammed the boar. The boy then took the girl to the only oak tree and ran into a half dome thing in the tree. The boy took the girl inside the oak tree and waited for for the boar to go away.

Once the girl became conscious she would not tell anything about the boys life to him. The only information she gave was she is his adopted mother and her name is Brandwen and his name was Merlin. They started to explore and found a village. Branwen got a job of healing. Merlin started to find that he had special power too. Then he burned his eyes in a fire and gave up his powers so he could see again. He wanted to sail back to where he came from and he did. When he arrived he met Rhia and Shim. On their journey to stop Stagmar they met a few people on the way to the castle of Stagmar. Now all of them are in for a good surprise.

I like this book because you wonder if he is going to use his powers ever again. I like the way the author spreads out what happens and makes it sound real.

Review by Anand S.

Merlin & the Dragons by Jane Yolen

This book is about a fatherless boy named Emrys. His mom is the daughter of the local king. Emrys has the ability to see the future in dreams. When the High King of Britain comes, he goes to the top of a mountain and builds a town to spot his enemies. But his tower keeps falling down. You have to read the book to find out the rest.

The book has beautiful illustrations that look just like real medieval times. Jane Yolen is a great author. She is descriptive, and makes you feel like you are really there.

Review by Mark P.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh is a really great book. Mrs. Frisby is a widow with four kids. Her youngest mouse, Timothy, wakes up with a really bad sickness. He can't put his head up or walk. Mrs. Frisby and her family live under a rock in the middle of a garden. She has to walk up to the barn and find a doctor. After she visited the doctor, she had to take this medicine to Timothy right away. On her way home she hears that the owner is going to start plowing in a few weeks. Read this book and you'll read how Mrs. Frisby figures out how to save her four kids.

This book was so good, I could read it over and over again. Why this book makes me like it so much is because there is one problem after another and the author makes sure she solves all of them. I bet if you like those kind of books, you'll like this one.

Review by Caitlin C.

Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

This book is about an orphan named Peter. Peter embarks on a mystical journey. He was put on a ship to sail across the sea to serve a king. Their ship was called Never Land. During his trip aboard the Never Land, Peter discovers a magical trunk. When he went to investigate the trunk, he found a rat suspended in the air. Peter also finds out that a girl on board the Never Land knows about the trunk.

At first she refuses to tell him anything, but then she changes her mind. She explained that stardust is in the trunk. Stardust is literally magic dust that falls from shooting stars. It is very powerful, magical, and it can be dangerous. The girl said, "I am a starcatcher in training, but my father is a grown starcatcher." She also said, "Starcatchers have enemies, they are called others." Others use stardust to create power for themselves, and it can make them do evil things." The king is an other. So, will Peter and the girl figure out how to get the trunk off the boat so that the kind won't get it or will the king capture the stardust for evil deeds?

I thought this was a good book because the plot was interesting to me. I like to read about werewolves and other creatures.

Review by Aviva S.

The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson

There is a secret island inside a gump at a train station. Three maids who live on the island come out of the gump with a new born baby prince. The tree maids loose the baby! A filthy rich self centered lady steels him. Nine years later when the gump opens again, four rescurers go on a search for the prince. Will he come back?

I like this book because it is not only fantasy, it is also an adventure. It's very exciting. I like how the author was very descriptive.

Review by Katie C.

The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

Will lives with his mother who thinks she has to do certain things. Later Will finds out she might have been caught by spectors which are almost invisible mist creatures. Will finds a secret passage to another world in which he finds Lyra. They both help each other get to their goals. When they are working to get to Lyra's goal they are sent to get the subtle knife.

You have your mind thinking of different characters problems all at once. It makes it very exciting.

Review by Madeline W.

The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler

This book is a story about a young girl named Emily. She lives on a houseboat (a boat made into a house) with her mother. Even though she lives by the water, she is never allowed to swim in it. But one day her mom lets her go to swim class and as soon as she goes under water her legs join together and become scaly. She has a tail. She's a mermaid!

My favorite thing about this book is it's characters. I keep wanting to read on and see how long Emily can keep her secret hidden. And if somebody will find out. It's so suspenseful.

Review by Madison B.

Veltora Quest (Lake of Tears) by Emily Rodda

Lief is a boy who is sent on a quest and is soon joined by two other companions Barda and Jasmine. Barda is a big man who grew up in Del. Jasmine is about the same age as Leif and grew up in the dreaded Forest of Silence. The three companions have heard rumors that Theagan the beast of the Lake of Tears has possession of the next gem, the ruby. Will they get the ruby or go down trying?

This is a good book because there is a lot of adventure and weird looking beasts. The beasts are lizard like and trying to stop the companions from possessing the powerful ruby. The ruby is a symbol of happiness and is a blood red in the presence of good and pale in the presence of evil.

Review by Brandon H.

Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger by Louis Sachar

Mrs. Jewels went away to have her baby and when she was away her class had three subs. The first one took away all the kids voices. The second one was Louis' old teacher and the third one could listen to their thoughts with her third ear. She made everyone miserable.

I liked this book because I like the humor and all the things Wayside school kids do.

Review by Katie F.

Well Wished by Franny Billingsley

A guy makes a wish on the wishing well for the children and their families to come back to Bishop, Maine. The well is a dangerous thing and now a smoke face is following Nuria and that means a dangerous wish is about to be released from Nuria's mouth. "I wish Catty had a body like mine."

The way Franny Billingsley writes it makes you feel like you are the one in her stories. They are adventurous and cliff hanging.

Review by Rachael G.

Wolfman Sam by Elizabeth Levy

Sam Bamford thinks he's a werewolf from reading a book that tells you if you are a werewolf. Sam is asked to a dance by a pretty girl, but he is not sure if he should go because the dance is on a full moon and he is afraid of what might happen.

I thought this was a good book because the plot was interesting to me. I like to read about werewolves and other creatures.

Review by Joanna T.