Bryan Chick

This read snuggles up somewhere between chapter books and middle grade with a humorous tone, while swinging in a little drama and, for all things, baseball.

Tommy is ready for middle grade and has a plan to join the best and most awesome group, the sports society. But to be a part of that crowd, he actually has to be prove his worth, and he's only played rec baseball up until that point. Tryouts for the real baseball team are serious business, which is why he's shocked when his friend Pel, who only loves video games, is forced by his mother to try out, too. With only a few open slots on the team, it's going to be hard for both to make it. Which could pose a problem.

Baseball sits at the center of this tale as it follows Tommy's and Pel's adventures through the tryouts and the aftermath of the final results. Fans of the sport will enjoy the tryout scenes as this does take the time to really sink into the game. The hopes, frustrations, determination, highs and lows come across with familiarity, and the terminology slides in naturally. There's even a love for sunflower seeds and nicknames, which adds a nice touch. All of this hits with humor and drama reminding of The Wimpy Kid and does a good job at setting the stage for the series.

This tale works well both for chapter book readers, who are edging toward longer reads, and for middle graders, who still enjoy the easier side. The font is larger and mixes in different styles, making in easy on the eyes while incorporating a little fun. It does weigh in at over 250 pages, but the text style and plentiful illustrations keep it from becoming overwhelming. The atmosphere hits on the first page with some fart humor, slides into fears of a 'turd tank', and continues on from there, leaning this one more toward the lower age group. Even the vocabulary fits well to this mid-age group and will delight more reluctant readers, too.

Baseball and sport fans are sure to appreciate and relate to the sport side, while the humor and sticky, middle grade situations are sure to delight other readers as well. I received a DRC and enjoyed the baseball angle and smiles.… (altro)

READING LEVEL: 4.7 AR POINTS: 7.0

What a great introduction to fantasy adventure reading for kids age 8-12, grades 3-7. This is the first of six in The Secret Zoo Series. I purchased this first book for one of my grandies. If she enjoys it, then we'll see about getting the rest of the series.

Megan has gone missing, and has been missing now for three weeks. Megan and her older brother, Noah, live right next to the Clarksville City Zoo, with a fourteen foot tall brick wall between their house and the zoo. They have built a clubhouse 25 feet up into the tree so they are able to watch the zoo animals anytime they want.

For some reason, Megan begins to secretly visit the zoo, studying and taking notes on all the different animals in different parts of the zoo near closing time when she suddenly disappears.

Noah is visited in the middle of the night by a strange Kingfisher bird named Marlo who leaves a note for him to visit Mr. Tall Tail, the monkey at the zoo. From there he begins to receive bits and pieces of notes written by Megan on her special stationary from different zoo animals that send clues to his sister's last whereabouts. Noah is convinced that the zoo animals have something to do with Megan's disappearance. But he will need the help of their best friends, Ella and Ritchie.

They discover that inside the zoo are tunnels that lead to a whole new mystical secret zoo deep inside. There, people and animals all get along. There, they discover animals that were supposedly extinct but were alive and well. There, they are able to communicate with the animals. Megan could be anywhere inside this Secret Zoo, but their greatest fear is that she could have ended up inside the Dark Lands, which has been sealed closed with the vicious sasquatches, for over eighty years. Noah and his friends would enter the Dark Lands, risking their very own lives in hopes of finding Megan.

What kid wouldn’t love an adventure like this one? There was a fairly slow spell at the end of the book. The author was a little long-winded in explaining the history of the Secret Zoo and how it came about. But, if a kid can get past that and back onto the adventure, then good to go.… (altro)