“J.J. Tully Mystery” series by Doreen Cronin

1. The Trouble with Chickens
2. The Legend of Diamond Lil
3. The Chicken Squad
4. The Case of the Weird Blue Chicken (Chicken Squad)

Chapter Books (for 8 – 10 year olds).

Fun, silly stories about an overly self-important guard dog and some chicks who are too smart for their own good.

Recommended age: 6 – 8; 8 – 10; 10 – 12.

In the first book, Trouble¸ J.J. is outsmarted by the evil housedog, Vince.   But good wins out in the end and Vince is caught in his own trap.  In Diamond Lil¸ J.J. finds an opossum raiding the dog house.   Then he finds beautiful Diamond Lil who has moved in next door.   But things are more complicated than they seem. In The Chicken Squad¸ Tail the squirrel comes in with the story of a great flying danger.   The chicks decide it is a UFO come to steal their mother.  In the end, J.J. needs to come and rescue them.    In the Weird Blue Chicken, the chicks solve a mystery for a blue jay, but everything is not what it seems.

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Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein

An intriguing story full of puzzles, books, mysteries, and games, which teaches a lot about teamwork, honesty, and playing fair.

Recommended age: 12 – 14; 14 – 16.

Kyle Keeley is only good at one thing: games. He couldn’t be happier when Mr. Lemoncello, the greatest game maker in the world, creates the most amazing library in the world. Right in his hometown! And to top it off, the twelve-year-olds of his town (including Kyle) are offered an amazing opportunity. Each kid may write an essay about the library, and the twelve with the best essays are invited to stay the night before the opening of the library in the library. Kyle is determined to get in. But getting in is the easy part; the hard part is getting out again.  Kyle is caught up in a game called “get out of the library.” The first one to do it gets a prize, but it might be beyond even Kyle’s ability escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library.

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Faithful to the End

“The Last Dogs” series by Christopher Holt

1. The Vanishing
2. Dark Waters
3. The Long Road
4. Journey’s End

A story of three dogs trying to find their owners who have disappeared for an unknown reason.

Recommended age: 10 – 12; 12 – 14

Their owners have disappeared, and they don’t know why.   Max and his two friends have set off to find their masters.  Fleeing starving wolves and seeking their owners, they run into the Corporation — dogs who are much more dangerous than the wolves.   It takes all their courage and resourcefulness to escape and bring freedom to the captives of the Corporation.   In the subsequent books, they continue their journey down river, learning some important information on the way.

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“The Seven Sleepers” series by Gilbert L. Morris

1. Flight of the Eagles
2. The Gates of Neptune
3. The Sword of Camelot
4. The Caves that Time Forgot
5. Winged Raiders of the Desert
6. Empress of the Underworld
7. Voyage of the Dolphin
8. Attack of the Amazons
9. Escape with the Dream Maker
10. The Final Kingdom

Fun fantasy stories about seven young people battling to defeat evil.

Recommended age: 10 – 12; 12 – 14.   Winged Raiders: 12 – 14

The world has been destroyed by nuclear war.   But before the war, seven young children were placed into suspended animation.   Fifty years later, they have been awakened and given a quest — to defeat the evil that is ruling in the land and restore God’s House.

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What We Found in the Sofa and How it Saved the World by Henry Clark

An entertaining book with tessering sofas, Lord of the Rings spoofs, talking dominoes, belly-buttonless clones, and alternate dimensions.

Recommended age: 10– 12; 12 – 14; 14 – 16; 16 – 18.

When a mysterious sofa appears in front of the bus stop, River, Freak and Fiona thinks it’s a good place to sit while they wait for the bus. Not much more. But when they search under the cushions, they come up with a two-headed coin, a flattened peanut shell, a chewing gum wrapper, a plaid sock, a fishhook (which of course gets stuck in River’s hand), an old wooden double-six domino, and a green crayon with a label that says ZUCCHINI. It turns out that this is likely the only zucchini crayon in existence. And that means it’s valuable. Of course, if you found a multi-hundred-dollar crayon, what would you do? Sell it on e-bay, of course! But when the auction goes startlingly high, and when they meet the owner of the mysterious sofa, they realize they’re into something a lot bigger than they could ever imagine. So come along, catch a ride and find out what they found in the sofa and how it saved the world.

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“Alec Flint Super Sleuth” series by Jill Santopolo

1. Alec Flint Super Sleuth – The Nina, the Pinta, and the Vanishing Treasure
2. The Ransom Note Blues: An Alec Flint Mystery (Not reviewed)

Fun kid detective series

Recommended age: 10 – 12; 12 – 14

A museum exhibit regarding the Voyage of Christopher Colombus has been stolen.  Fourth grader Alec Flint and his friend, Gina, figure out some interesting information about the exhibit, catch the criminal and rescue someone.

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