Children's Books
Welcome to the Youth Services Children's Books blog. We encourage you to give feedback and share.
This very dark and disturbing book provides the back story explaining why Hansel and Gretel ran away from home and what happened after they escaped from the witch who tried to eat them. Additional familiar Grimm fairytales are woven together to produce this gruesome retelling. The author gives plenty of warning that this fairytale is not watered down, like many are today, which will only make it more appealing to kids looking for something a little scarier than the average fare.. Kids in grades 4-6, however, will still enjoy a happy ending when all is said and done. The very appealing cover can't help but attract an audience to this very fun and unexpected tale.
Fredle is a house mouse who lives behind the pantry with his family. Life is about foraging at night, sleeping during the day, keeping quiet, and avoiding the cat. Mice who are sick or can't keep up are forced to "went", or leave the nest. After becoming ill on peppermint patties, Fredle is went. He ends up outside the house in a world far more different and scarier than he has known. But he also finds that it can be a world of wonder and beauty. Through various adventures and meeting new animals, Fredle learns there are many ways of living, being, and doing. In the process he becomes a wiser, more open-minded mouse. This is a story that readers in grades 4-6 who like animal stories will find very entertaining. 
Owen Jester finds the best bullfrog in all of Carter, Georgia in the pond behind his grandfather's house and names him Tooley Graham. He keeps him in special tubs, both indoors and outdoors, but when he starts to look unhappy, he and his friends build a cage that may be kept in the pond. Meanwhile, Owen hears something fall off a train one evening and after searching for several days, discovers a small submersible. But he and his friends, along with pesky next-door neighbor Viola who has all the smarts, must figure out how to get the submarine to the pond to take it for a spin. This is a wonderful summer adventure for readers in grades 4-6 who also like to figure out a solution to a problem, and have the determination to keep going despite setbacks. 
After Lady LaMorna orders a new black velvet robe with many rows of skulls along the bottom, lined with blood red petticoats, she has the unpleasant surprise of finding her treasure box empty. She conceives a plan to kidnap all the royal princes and princesses who are attending an event in Fracture and turn them into frogs before ransoming them back to their families. Prince Marcus escapes this fate by purposefully not completing his school assignment and being left behind at the castle as his punishment, in the hopes of having a day for himself. But after accidentally overhearing the plot he decides he must save his twin, as well as the other royals. Others also know of the plan including a strange cast of characters of talking bats, the Ancient Crones, a “true heart” orphan who is often kept in a cellar, and her evil stepsister who is half wolf. This entertaining fairy tale bends the rules a bit. The evil stepsister is quite beautiful, the prince’s lazy twin is not a backstabber, the old crones are not bad, and the wicked old witch really just wants a new robe and to keep to herself. The many twists and turns come together in an unexpected and satisfying ending. This is the first book in the Tales of the Five Kingdoms series. Highly recommended for readers in grades 4-6.
Two cousins plan to spend 10 nights canoeing down the Big Bend River between Texas and Mexico, alone, after Rio’s father gets an unexpected job in Alaska during Dylan’s visit from North Carolina. The trip starts out smoothly enough but quickly becomes harrowing as effects from a hurricane causes record water highs. In addition, an encounter with a creepy man claiming to be smuggling a young boy to his mother in Chicago adds to their unplanned adventure. This extremely suspenseful adventure will appeal to readers who also like to canoe or raft,and can identify with the skills necessary to navigate the river.
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