FRINDLE by Andrew Clements Nick Allen likes to try and derail his teachers. If he can just get them off topic, maybe the class can steer clear of the planned lesson, and he won't have to put much effort into class. However, he seems to have met his match in Mrs. Granger. He can't seem to get the derailing trick to work with her. He's going to have to rethink his strategy. She really likes her dictionary and having kids look up words. Surely there's something he can do with that! How exactly are words made? What would happen if he created his own word for say...pen? Maybe, it could be a frindle. Before Nick knows it, the entire school is taken with the word, and Mrs. Granger seems to be a bit annoyed at the whole process. Did Nick bite off more than he could chew, or is Mrs. Granger playing him as much as he is playing her?

THE FINAL GAMBIT (BOOK 3 OF THE INHERITANCE GAMES) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes It's very easy to see why the Inheritance Games series is so popular. The books are based on a very unlikely protagonist (think modern day fairytale), the suspense is overwhelming, there are puzzles and games galore to be solved, and the prize is worth billions of dollars. There is so much to get into and enjoy. However, mixed into all of this are elements to be aware of. Avery Grambs is close to the end of her year requirement at Hawthorne House to inherit the estate. That doesn't mean the intensity of others trying to get their hands on the billions has lessened. If anything, it's grown exponentially. In fact, it seems as if what's happening now is the result of events that took place years ago, way before Avery's time. How in the world does she play into all of this? That's ultimately what she and the Hawthorne brothers have to find out. Was she chosen for a reason? She had to have been. After all, she is "A very risky gamble." HEADS UP- Language - is medium. No f-bombs. However, Avery's friend uses other words in place of profanities including the f-bomb. ("That faxing chick can go right to elf." )There is a gay couple. No intimate details, but their relationship comes up in conversation a few times. We know that Avery is sleeping with one of the Hawthorne Brothers. There are no details, but they wake up next to each other in bed, etc.

LET IT GROW by Mary Ann Fraser. Illustrated by Riley Samels.  I love pumpkin season! Let It Grow, is a fun picture book about a boy and his experience growing a pumpkin. The story begins with "A seed. A very special seed. Are you going to eat it? Oh no! I'll let it grow." The story doesn't end with growing the pumpkin. The boy takes it to the fair. That's still not where it ends. Next, he hollows out his pumpkin and launches it in the lake as a boat he rides in. He sails it in the Great Pumpkin Regatta.How cool is that? You will definitely want to check out the end notes. Included is information about the origins of the Atlantic Giant pumpkin (variety often used when growing these mammoth pumpkins), cool pumpkin facts, and info about the fun sounding pumpkin Regattas.

THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER by Mark Twain I recently read aloud Tom Sawyer to the family. There may have been some eye rolls at times and there may have been some groans, but when it was all said and done, this book scored above average with us, especially for my son who gave it a 4.5 out of 5. He truly enjoyed the boyish adventures and having a male figure at the heart of the story. Tom Sawyer is a boy that we can all relate to in some way but probably pray never lives in our house! (I have the same feelings about Ramona Quimby. ) He is what I would call a prime example of being "all boy" with an extra scoop of orneriness thrown in. An orphan, taken in by his Aunt Polly, Tom is always on the lookout for a grand adventure. Anything from running away for a few days to hunting for treasure to trying to steer clear of Injun Joe, Tom does. He's not above lying and being a bit conniving, but it comes back to bite him in the end. Tom (and his friend Huck) shows us the struggles of boyhood, at first shirking responsibility, but when it really matters coming through, even when his very life is in danger. This really is a fun read overall. The writing in the book can be a little complicated to decipher, so be prepared to stop and answer questions as you go along. We found the thread of the story to be evident and able to be followed even if the kids (mainly our youngest) may not have understood every word said. HEADS UP- We do have to discuss a couple of things. Tom Sawyer is a book that does use the word "n**ger" in it. It gave me an opportunity to talk to my kids about what a terrible word that is, what it means, how it was used in the past, and then as we came to the word, I substituted a more appropriate word. -There is a bit of lighthearted romance that may be a turn off to boys at certain ages. - There is murder that occurs. It is not gory, but it should be mentioned in case you have a sensitive child.

HURRICANE by John Rocco Part of our family recently got to witness the outside edge of Hurricane Helene while on vacation at the Gulf. To us, she was a tropical storm. Not knowing she was coming, but knowing that it's hurricane season, I packed John Rocco's book, Hurricane, in my stack and took it with us. I was so glad I did. It was really something to experience! After Helene passed, the beach was covered with jellyfish. There were several really big ones all the way down to small ones that looked like spilled ice cubes everywhere. You had to pay close attention to where you walked. Hurricane by John Rocco is a great picture book. Inside the cover is a simple picture of how hurricanes form. Then you enter into the world of a young boy whose favorite place in the whole world is a dock where he can swim and fish. One day he notices that the whole town is in massive preparation for a hurricane that is coming. The story goes through experiencing the hurricane and what it's like stepping out into the world the next day. There's quite a bit of damage including the loss of his dock. From there the story showcases people helping each other out. It's a beautiful story with a great ending!

THE ADVENTURES OF SOPHIE MOUSE: THE HIDDEN COTTAGE by Poppy Green. Illustrated by Jennifer A. Bell Another super sweet Sophie Mouse story that's perfect for fall. This time Sophie and her friends come across what appears to be an abandoned cottage. The timing couldn't be more perfect as they know a family that needs a home. They jump in and start fixing the place up, but suddenly there are little signs that maybe the cottage isn't as abandoned as they thought it was. This endearing little story continues this book series' commitment to showcasing good character traits in a fun, adventure tale for younger readers. This is the first book that references some of the previous stories. It isn't a breaker for reading the series out of order as it just briefly mentions some of the other adventures Sophie and her friends have been on.

POO-DUN IT? A FOREST FLOOR MYSTERY by Katelyn Aronson. Illustrated by Stephanie Laberis Are you looking for a book that is a little on the natural side with some humor and earthiness thrown in? Then you will want to grab this hilarious picture book. Mouse is beside herself. Someone has taken a mammoth dump right by her home, and she is suffering from the aroma that accompanies such a load. Who in the world dumps a load that big, and what in the world can she do with it? Told in lyrical form, this book will have you giggling through the pages while learning about different kinds of animal scat! Lots of fun! Might even make a fun Christmas gift for certain toilet filling friends and family if you know certain ones who are proud of their abilities like I do! Kudos to illustrator Stephanie Laberis for nailing the indignant to the proud faces of the questioned animals!

THE ANXIOUS GENERATION by Jonathan Haidt I closed this book and sat in silence for a moment. As a momma I feel like I am in constant battle for my family in today's world EVERY DAY, and I am. There is no doubt that there are a lot of big, shiny, agendas out there attached to hooks in the pond of life where our children swim. What's crazy is, half the time, the fishers aren't even trying to hide what they're doing. The Anxious Generation is a book that deals with the affects of social media, video gaming, and the loss of childhood play, and what it's doing to our children. The research, the scientific data is sandwiched right in alongside what everyone of us is observing: kids lost in mindless activity, throwing fits when disconnected, hopeless, anxious, depressed in numbers we've never seen before. It lays out the reasons why this is happening. It covers the hooks that are laid to capture kids, It explains what the difference is between my generation (who watched hours of TV and played video games) and what we're seeing today. I would tell you this is a MUST READ! Now, do I agree with everything that Haidt is saying in this book? I do not. He comes from an evolutionary mindset of how brains evolved over millions of years, what we were wired for, etc. He is also an atheist. However, this is a man who talks with lots of people in life. He has Christian friends and discusses things like the God shaped hole that everyone has and is trying to fill. His lack of belief and origins ideas do not change the studies and data that he has collected regarding our current situation. The technology is here, and we are going to have to learn how to live and navigate through it. Haidt's got some great suggestions to help us do that! Highly recommend this book!

THE POETRY OF BIRDS edited by Samuel Carr Often times you can recognize a book that has been published in England. There is just a classic beauty about it that is different than our traditional books. Such is the case with this gorgeous book of poetry dedicated to birds. The Poetry of Birds is a collection showcasing our feathery friends that bring us delight with their arrivals in spring, enthrall us with their nest building and attention to their young, amaze us with their long migration trips, chill us with their ominous presence in the fall months, and bring us lots of colorful cheer during the long, snowy months. Interspersed among the flowery words are John Jay Audubon's realistic paintings of these miraculous creatures. It truly is a delightful book if you are a lover of poetry and of birds.

WANDERING ( DAUGHTER OF ARDEN BOOK 2) by Loren G. Warnemuende Wandering is the continuation of the retelling of Grimm's Fairytale story, "Maid Maleen." After three long years of living in the tower, the sounds of war have stopped and Princess Maleen and her maidservant, Marietta, are ready to get out. They are unprepared for the devastation that meets their eyes. Where are the people? Where is her father? Where is Prince Melanor who promised to come and rescue her? In search of answers to these questions, Maleen and Marietta set out on a perilous journey in which it is necessary to keep their true identities secret. As they travel, long planned treachery becomes evident and help is found in the most unexpected places. Through it all, Maleen is learning to follow The Mighty One and developing a love for her people. However, by the time all of this is done, there might not be a people left for her to love. I have really enjoyed Book 1 and Book 2 so far of this series. There is 1 more to round it out! HEADS UP- There is one point where an attempted rape happens. There are no explicit details.

COYOTE LOST AND FOUND by Dan Gemeinhart Recently, I came across a recommendation for this book. I need to throw in here that there is a first book in the series,The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, and I did not read it. While the second book is clearly a continuation of Coyote's story, I never felt lost starting with it, but in order to understand the totality of Coyote's journey you would want to begin with the first book. Coyote Sunrise is a girl that is trying to return to normal life after the death of her mother and two sisters in a car crash. Initially, she and her dad spent some time traveling around the country in a converted bus, but now it's time to settle back down and go back to school. The only problem is no matter what she does, Coyote struggles to fit in. One afternoon while hanging out in the bus reading, Coyote stumbles across a box that contains the ashes of her mother. This really throws her for a loop, because she remembers a funeral and burial. When she confronts her dad about it, her dad tells her that on a whim once, he and her mom shared their final resting place wishes. They both decided to be cremated and each wrote in a favorite book of poetry where they wanted their ashes scattered. Then they each taped those pages of the book closed only to be opened if and when needed. Coyote's father has been unable to look inside the book for his wife's last wishes, let alone let go of her ashes. When he tells Coyote the name of the book, she inwardly panics knowing that she donated that book somewhere along the way of their cross country trip. How in the world can she ever get it back and honor her mom's wishes? Then COVID hits. School and about everything else is closed, so Coyote convinces her dad to go on a bus trip to honor her mom's desire without telling him the real purpose - to find that book. If that sounds easy enough, don't worry, there are a few more complications thrown in. Yes, healing and bringing her mom to her final resting place are the goals. However, there's something else even bigger that comes about from this journey. Overall, the concept for the story is a good one. Who doesn't appreciate the idea of a journey to hopefully bring about some much needed healing. However, I seriously dislike running into COVID in a plot. I understand the perfect fit that it created to make this trip a possibility, but it is such a turn off for me. The other thing is that with COVID, we had to have a situation with an Asian friend on the receiving end of a verbal attack=a hate crime. I am convinced that there was another avenue available to take without revisiting COVID. HEADS UP- There is some language in this book including 2 times that Coyote uses G**D***. One time the dad uses a word in place of the f-bomb. SPOILER ALERT Dad brings his new girlfriend on the trip. There are no uncomfortable references.

SMALL THINGS MENDED by Casey W. Robinson. Illustrated by Nancy Whitesides. Cecil is a lonely, older man that we can assume the world has forgotten about. One day as he sits at his kitchen table, he hears the laughter of a child outside playing. Opening the door and stepping outside, Cecil sees Lily doing cartwheels in her front yard. As he watches, a pocket watch flies out of her pocket and lands on his driveway. It breaks, but Cecil remembers how much he used to enjoy fixing things, so he sets about repairing the watch. Before long, the neighborhood kids are bringing all kinds of things that need worked on, but one child brings him a problem that will take a little more than tools to fix. Overall this is a really sweet read about an older man that finds purpose and a place to belong in his life. It is sort of reminiscent of the wonderful book by Eileen Spinelli, Somebody Loves You Mr. Hatch. HEADS UP- When the community gathers at his home there are two women standing with arms around each other and a child.