(3) 1-3 Magic School Bus Rides Again series. Keesha is applying to astronaut camp, so a trip into space on the Magic School Bus to fix a satellite sounds perfect. Disaster strikes, though, when Keesha tries to take a selfie for her application and accidentally bumps the satellite out of orbit. The latest episode in the rebooted series offers early-chapter-book readers humorous adventure with a good dose of STEM education. Glos.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(3) 1-3 Eerie Elementary series. Illustrated by Matt Loveridge. In Canceled, a planned demolition of Eerie Elementary could spread the spirit Orson Eerie's power through the whole town. In Fired, the school's resident ghost gets the hall-monitor protagonists fired from their duties in an attempt to devour students at the Kickball Showdown. Mild frights abound in these seventh and eighth installments; the creepy atmosphere is bolstered by black-and-white illustrations throughout. Review covers these Eerie Elementary titles: Classes Are Canceled! and The Hall Monitors Are Fired!.

Reviewer: Russell Perry

(3) 1-3 Hilde Cracks the Case series. Illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff. Nine-year-old "serious reporter" Hilde continues "hunting down the news" in her neighborhood. In these capers, Hilde reports on strange damage from a tornado and investigates a supposed UFO landing. Aspiring reporters will enjoy learning journalistic nuts and bolts from this affable kid-newshound. Pen-and-ink illustrations closely follow the texts, increasing accessibility. "Questions and Activities" are appended. Review covers these Hilde Cracks the Case titles: Tornado Hits and UFO Spotted.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(3) 1-3 Hilde Cracks the Case series. Illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff. Nine-year-old "serious reporter" Hilde continues "hunting down the news" in her neighborhood. In these capers, Hilde reports on strange damage from a tornado and investigates a supposed UFO landing. Aspiring reporters will enjoy learning journalistic nuts and bolts from this affable kid-newshound. Pen-and-ink illustrations closely follow the texts, increasing accessibility. "Questions and Activities" are appended. Review covers these Hilde Cracks the Case titles: Tornado Hits and UFO Spotted.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(4) 1-3 Dragon Masters series. Illustrated by Damien Jones. In Thunder, a former dragon master attacks during the king's wedding and breaks up the Dragon Master group, ending with a cliffhanger. In Rainbow, the team must psychically connect a new dragon and master to the Rainbow Dragon, who needs help. The high-interest fantasy story lines are commonplace and formulaic, but quick chapters and abundant illustrations make these good for newly independent readers. Review covers these Dragon Masters titles: Roar of the Thunder Dragon and Waking the Rainbow Dragon.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) 1-3 Eerie Elementary series. Illustrated by Matt Loveridge. In Canceled, a planned demolition of Eerie Elementary could spread the spirit Orson Eerie's power through the whole town. In Fired, the school's resident ghost gets the hall-monitor protagonists fired from their duties in an attempt to devour students at the Kickball Showdown. Mild frights abound in these seventh and eighth installments; the creepy atmosphere is bolstered by black-and-white illustrations throughout. Review covers these Eerie Elementary titles: Classes Are Canceled! and The Hall Monitors Are Fired!.

Reviewer: Russell Perry

(3) 1-3 Eerie Elementary series. Illustrated by Sam Ricks. Hall monitor Sam and his friends join forces with the great-great-grandson of mad scientist Orson Eerie, the man behind the vengeful spirit possessing their school. When they attempt to use Orson's old invention against him, Orson's spirit inhabits the machine and re-creates himself as a giant robot. This sixth chapter book is filled with age-appropriate scares; black-and-white illustrations throughout add to the creepy atmosphere.

Reviewer: Russell Perry

(3) 1-3 Notebook of Doom series. Alexander and the Super Secret Monster Patrol scheme to recover their monster notebook from the villainous boss-monster, whom they believe is actually their own principal, Ms. Vanderpants, in disguise. Fast, funny plotting and a twist ending will please series fans. Energetic black-and-white illustrations--along with the Patrol's notes and secret plans--supplement the mildly spooky tale. Questions and activities are appended.

Reviewer: Russell Perry

(3) 1-3 Owl Diaries series. Owlet Eva Wingdale and her classmates work together to find her lost pet bat, Baxter (Missing); and they raise money for an owl who needs a special chair to fly (Bakery). Eva's weekly adventures are recorded in an enthusiastic voice in her visually appealing diaries, each a young-reader-perfect mix of prose, speech bubbles, and colorful patterned illustrations. Discussion questions are appended. Review covers these Owl Diaries titles: Baxter Is Missing and The Wildwood Bakery.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(3) 1-3 Owl Diaries series. Owlet Eva Wingdale and her classmates work together to find her lost pet bat, Baxter (Missing); and they raise money for an owl who needs a special chair to fly (Bakery). Eva's weekly adventures are recorded in an enthusiastic voice in her visually appealing diaries, each a young-reader-perfect mix of prose, speech bubbles, and colorful patterned illustrations. Discussion questions are appended. Review covers these Owl Diaries titles: Baxter Is Missing and The Wildwood Bakery.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(3) 1-3 Press Start! series. A cartoony scene shows three children playing a racing video game reminiscent of Mario Cart. Within the game, the kids are Super Rabbit Boy, Jody Racer, and Nugget, in competition with villain King Viking for the Super Cup. Bright pixelated illustrations successfully mimic video-game play in the dual-universe story line. The metafictive video-game-within-a-story conceit will appeal to young gamers and encourage independent reading.

Reviewer: Jessica Bushore

(3) 1-3 Press Start! series. In these early chapter books, Super Rabbit Boy is unaware he exists within a video game. Bright pixelated illustrations mimic video-game play, but the books occasionally pull back to reveal the child controlling the game in more cartoony scenes. This general conceit of a story within a story following video-game conventions will appeal to young gamers and encourage independent reading. Review includes these Press Start titles: Game Over, Super Rabbit Boy! and Super Rabbit Boy Powers Up!.

Reviewer: Jessica Bushore

(3) 1-3 Press Start! series. In these early chapter books, Super Rabbit Boy is unaware he exists within a video game. Bright pixelated illustrations mimic video-game play, but the books occasionally pull back to reveal the child controlling the game in more cartoony scenes. This general conceit of a story within a story following video-game conventions will appeal to young gamers and encourage independent reading. Review includes these Press Start titles: Game Over, Super Rabbit Boy! and Super Rabbit Boy Powers Up!.

Reviewer: Jessica Bushore

(3) 1-3 Magic School Bus Rides Again series. Teacher Fiona Frizzle takes her class on a camping trip via the magic school bus. Student Arnold's fear of monsters leads him to look for ways to power up lights in the woods. The kids explore renewable energy sources such as wind, water, and solar. Humor, scientific explanations, and frequent illustrations mean this second series installment should have plenty of appeal. Glos.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(3) 1-3 Magic School Bus Rides Again series. Ms. Frizzle's younger sister, Fiona, has taken over the class and takes the familiar group of kids on an undersea adventure. They learn some fish biology as they elude sharks in individual fish-shaped submarine pods. Ample illustrations and a mix of humor and scientific information make this first entry in a new chapter-book series accessible to young readers. Glos.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(3) 1-3 Hilde Cracks the Case series. Illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff. Nine-year-old "serious reporter" Hilde knows "being a reporter means going out and hunting down the news." As Hilde investigates a spree of baked-goods robberies (Hero) and tracks down a bear cub roaming the neighborhood (Bear), aspiring reporters learn relevant vocabulary and get an insider's scoop on the journalistic process. Pen-and-ink illustrations closely follow the texts, increasing accessibility. "Questions and Activities" are appended. Review covers these Hilde Cracks the Case titles: Bear on the Loose and Hero Dog!.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(3) 1-3 Hilde Cracks the Case series. Illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff. Nine-year-old "serious reporter" Hilde knows "being a reporter means going out and hunting down the news." As Hilde investigates a spree of baked-goods robberies (Hero) and tracks down a bear cub roaming the neighborhood (Bear), aspiring reporters learn relevant vocabulary and get an insider's scoop on the journalistic process. Pen-and-ink illustrations closely follow the texts, increasing accessibility. "Questions and Activities" are appended. Review covers these Hilde Cracks the Case titles: Bear on the Loose and Hero Dog!.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) 1-3 Dragon Masters series. Illustrated by Damien Jones. In Thunder, a former dragon master attacks during the king's wedding and breaks up the Dragon Master group, ending with a cliffhanger. In Rainbow, the team must psychically connect a new dragon and master to the Rainbow Dragon, who needs help. The high-interest fantasy story lines are commonplace and formulaic, but quick chapters and abundant illustrations make these good for newly independent readers. Review covers these Dragon Masters titles: Roar of the Thunder Dragon and Waking the Rainbow Dragon.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(4) 1-3 Dragon Masters series. Illustrated by Damien Jones. Picking up right where book six (Flight of the Moon Dragon) left off, the Dragon Masters must find the newly hatched Lightning Dragon; its destined Dragon Master, Carlos, is key--but where is Carlos? As usual, a brisk if formulaic plot ends in a cliffhanger. This heavily illustrated chapter-book series is suited to emerging readers interested in fantasy.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) 1-3 Haggis and Tank Unleashed series. Illustrated by James Burks. Tank the Great Dane reads a book on castles and decides to takes her friend Haggis the Scotty on an imaginary trip to Scotland, where they enjoy high tea in a castle belonging to Prince Pants-A-Lot (who might be a werewolf...). In this third comics-style adventure, the dogs' lively dialogue includes homophones and other wordplay; appended questions help readers with comprehension.

Reviewer: David Elzey