Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

This book is such a delightful read! In my opinion, the highlight of the book was the combination of the illustrations and child-like thought process present in the text. For instance, one page of the book portrays a letter that the main character wrote to Santa. Part of it states, “I feel like maybe I should have asked for a different present, and you want to swap, that would be OK.” Instead of simply telling Santa what he wants, the kind hearted and innocent main character adorably show more fails at hiding his true intentions. The text is heart-warming, but so are the illustrations, especially on the page where the main character is depicted with his messy morning hair, pajamas, and tongue sticking out in reaction to the gross pile of fish that Osbert, his pet penguin, enjoys eating. Overall, I enjoyed reading about a child who got what he asked for, learned that his wish was poorly planned, and learned to relinquish his treasured friend for the friend’s sake. Everything about this book was charming and heart filling; I would definitely include it in my future collection of show less

Moxie Roosevelt has always had a life far too ordinary and boring for her crazy name. When she goes to the Eaton Academy for Girls boarding school on a music scholarship, she decides this is the perfect time to try out being someone different, including Mysterious Earth Goddess (MEG), Hale and Hearty Sports Enthusiast (HHSE), and Detached, Unique, Coolly Knowing Individual (DUCKI). She keeps a notebook detailing which personality she tried out with different people, and after a few weeks she show more realizes keeping up with all of this is EXHAUSTING! When the notebook goes missing, she realizes that she's got to figure out who she really is... and maybe that's little bits of all of the other "people" she's been. Moxie is a funny, delightful character who makes a lot of mistakes "reinventing" herself, and also makes some good friends along the way. Lots of humor and fun, good for 6th grade and up. show less

Kat just wants to be a regular junior high student but that's tricky when her mom is a medium. Things only get more out of hand when Kat turns 13 and starts seeing ghosts herself!

In the first of these two books, Kat and her entourage of family, friends, and school mates are introduced. I thought this book was interesting and compelling. The characters felt realistic and well-rounded (with the exception of Kat's mother who is a little too stereotypical new age). Kat's relationship with her show more mother was sweet and positive. The ghost story was well done, being nicely wrapped up and not too scary. There is a little bit of open-endness to the conclusion, leaving the door open for more titles in the series, but on the whole it feels complete.

The second book, however, was not quite as good. While the other title was supernatural without being over the top, this one got too bogged down in spirit orbs, blocked chakras, and negative energy. It was a little much for me. The main story with Tank was fine, but there was a lot of extraneous stuff going on, some of which was not resolved.

Some of the references were a little dated (e.g., Punked) but on the whole this book holds up pretty well. There is a lack of diversity, which isn't great, but it's better than harmful representations. show less

I enjoyed this book for two reasons. First, I really love the development of Balto’s character throughout the book. With lines like, “Balto knew what was expected of him. In the past, Kaasen had sometimes noticed Balto acting with wisdom and understanding. But, Balto had never seemed more aware of what was expected of him than on this day,” and “Balto leaned forward in his harness, straining to be on his way. He leaned, without being told, in the direction of Nome. He remembered what show more they had left behind in that town and why they needed to return.” These lines give Balto a personal touch and allow readers to understand the development of his leadership. I also like the illustrations in this transition chapter book. The illustrations help readers, who most likely, have no prior knowledge on mushing or Alaska, to have a visual. One of the pictures shows Balto and his team mushing. To simply describe this sport with words, lacks meaning. To accompany the words with a realistic illustration creates a more meaningful read. The main idea of this book is that anyone can be a leader. show less