(4) 4-6 Get Real series. Following her nose for news, investigative reporter Casey Smith is chasing down two big stories for her middle school's newspaper--who or what is "haunting" Purser Cemetery, and who is sabotaging the student government elections. The chatty tone strains for authenticity, but Casey is an appealing protagonist.

Reviewer: Erica L. Stahler

(4) 4-6 Get Real series. Following her nose for news, investigative reporter Casey Smith is chasing down two big stories for her middle school's newspaper--who or what is "haunting" Purser Cemetery, and who is sabotaging the student government elections. The chatty tone strains for authenticity, but Casey is an appealing protagonist.

Reviewer: Erica L. Stahler

(4) 4-6 Thirteen-year-old Joe, who time traveled into baseball's past in two previous books, visits 1932 to learn if Babe Ruth really predicted his legendary World Series homer. Joe's father comes along, too, hoping to make a financial profit from the experience. The book convincingly captures Babe's oversized personality, but nearly every plot turn is contrived to get Joe smack in the center of things.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by C. B. Mordan. In 1828, the Damron family leave their Illinois homestead and set off for Kentucky. Mama and Papa both die early in the trip, leaving Jesse and her siblings to travel the rest of the way alone. Originally published as a newspaper serial, the fast-paced, present-tense narrative is written in short, cliffhanger chapters, each accompanied by an effective illustration; an author's note contains historical background material.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(4) YA Troubles with his obsessive dad, troubles with his failing math grade, troubles with his crush on lovely Phelicia, and trouble getting trounced in basketball by Phelicia's overprotective thug of a twin brother--eighth-grader Jason Hodges can't win. Some one-note secondary characters only slightly mar this amusing first-person tale with a math-to-the-rescue finish.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Brian Floca. In this prequel to Poppy, Ragweed tries out life in the big city, where he meets some nice mice and a couple of very nasty cats. The with-it lingo of Ragweed's friend Clutch becomes tiresome, and characterization seems more ordained than developed, but there's plenty of well-paced action and a satisfying victory over the feline forces.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Eric Brace. Once again, Ozymandias the cat narrates the adventures of his wacky human family members, each of whom has a magical ability or characteristic. As Auntie Varvara, the vegetarian vampire, prepares to marry a wealthy werewolf, the rest of the Fantoras grapple with their own problems in unique ways. Although some of the humor is geared toward adults, the family's outrageous antics are sure to please.

Reviewer: Anne St. John

(4) 4-6 Joe Stoshack, who traveled into baseball's past in Honus and Me, decides to study Jackie Robinson for Black History Month. Traveling back to 1947, Joe meets Robinson and observes the racism the Brooklyn Dodger encounters as the first African-American major leaguer. Illustrated with historic photographs, this overly purposeful novel tries to compare Robinson's 1947 experiences to the milder prejudice Joe feels when he's called a "Polack."

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(4) 4-6 In 1836, Roxana's servant and closest friend, Joss, becomes engaged to a runaway slave. Facing her own fear of water, Roxana pretends to be a slave holder and accompanies the couple up the Ohio River by boat, where they seek assistance from "Miss Hattie" (Harriet Beecher Stowe), Roxana's former schoolteacher. Overemotional prose takes the edge off this historical novel, which includes an extraneous appendix of recipes.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by M. Sarah Klise. When a summer camp--designed to promote harmonious brother-sister relationships--turns out to be a sham, six campers join forces and expose their crooked counselors. Told through a series of letters, postcards, memos, and illustrations, the quirky mystery simultaneously lampoons the camping experience, sibling conflicts, and over-serious correspondence-based texts à la Griffin and Sabine.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Anna Divito. Beginning with the text of the Bill of Rights and an overview of its history and importance, the book is divided into chapters that focus on each amendment. Legal cases (often involving children's rights) are well explained, and helpful websites and phone numbers are included. Final chapters discuss later amendments and constitutional controversies. The casual prose and amusing illustrations make this a kid-friendly introduction. Bib.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(3) 4-6 Jin-Ha fails her math test, but her Korean immigrant parents believe her when she says an F is a good mark. Guilty and desperate to make up her grade, she gets tutoring from Grant Hartwig, a hockey player with family expectations to live up to as well. Cross-cultural confusions are delicately portrayed, the pressures Jin-Ha faces are realistic, and the tentative junior-high attraction is sweet.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) 4-6 After his mother's death, twelve-year-old Kendall makes his first visit to the pueblo where she grew up and finally learns from his great-grandfather, an Acoma Indian, about the inherited "magic" that compels him to run. Although the prose is sometimes stilted, the story provides a respectful look at a Native culture and at a boy trying to discover where he belongs.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann

(2) 4-6 Mike Pillsbury, a seventh-grade nerd, is haunted by images of spending his early childhood on a spaceship but isn't quite sure if he's remembering the past or fantasizing. In a self-deprecating narrative, Mike relates what happens when aliens really do arrive on Earth to take him away. Readers who like their sci-fi with a laugh track will enjoy opening this can of worms.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 1999

(4) 4-6 Kate's canal boat family has changed now that her mother has remarried. While her stepfather is fighting in the Civil War and her stepsiblings are stealing her mother's affections, Kate decides to make the long annual canal trip alone, with only her stepbrother for help. The characters are realistic, and the story is interesting, but Kate's coming to appreciate her new family is not conveyed with much punch.

Reviewer: Juliet Stebbins

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Eric Brace. Ozymandias the cat narrates a lighthearted novel about the family he lives with, who each have unique traits that get them in and out of difficulties. Grandma Filomena, for example, tells the future in the fabric she knits. In two amusing episodes, Marco, who can turn invisible, and Bianca, who can bring inanimate objects to life, deal out vengeance to the school bullies and have fun at the art museum.

Reviewer: Anne St. John

(4) 4-6 A Hawaiian girl looks for traditional remedies to keep her new friend's cancer from returning while at the same time taking steps toward mending her relationship with her estranged father. Although the depiction of Hawaiian culture and the vividly evoked island setting leave a memorable impression, both plot and character development are somewhat sketchy.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann

(3) YA Sienna's feelings of isolation and estrangement from her parents echo movingly through the story of how she comes to know a more vulnerable side of her famous sculptor father after he contracts brain cancer. The convincing first-person narrative also deals with both characters' fear of expressing themselves fully in their artwork versus creating work that is innocuous and, in the father's case, critically acclaimed.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann

(3) 4-6 The summer after sixth grade, Lupe Garc_a invites her best friend Mi-Sun and her brother Ju-Won to spend two months of their vacation in Mexico with Lupe's uncle. Once there, the children enjoy new experiences, but after hearing scary stories about vampire-like chupacabras they begin to suspect the new housekeeper. Despite an abrupt solution to the mystery, this is a lively and engaging story.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee