Early Book Review: Lucy and Company by Marianne Dubuc

Lucy and Company is a picturebook (or perhaps an early chapter book) by Marianne Dubuc which is scheduled for release on September 6 2016. This book features three, short, cozy stories features a little girl named Lucy and her four animal friends. The critters include Marcel the mouse, Henry the rabbit, Dot the turtle and Adrian the snail. (Anton the bear also makes two surprise appearances!) The friends share snacks on a picnic, celebrate a special birthday with a treasure hunt and find a new home for some lost baby chicks. Told with sweet humor and simple language, each of the bite-size stories contains its own complete adventure, with an unexpected twist at the end!

Lucy and Company is a sweet and simply pleasing series of stories about the small moments shared by a group of friends. The artwork is soft and subtle, resembling the works from the Winnie The Pooh series with it's birds eye view perspective. the friends and their adventures are fun and sweet, and the text is simple enough for the younger readers o follow, but not so basic to bore the more advanced readers. I liked that the social lessons that children need to understand before pre-school and kindergarten are expressed in a charming and understandable manner, getting the ideas of sharing and friendship across without making the readers feel like they are being taught.

Lucy and Company is a great book for story times or young readers that are ready to transition from picturebooks and basic easy readers to early chapterbooks and harder, more complicated, easy readers. It would work well for either story time sharing or independent exploration.

Book Review: The Inn Between by Marina Cohen, Sarah Watts

The Inn Between is a middle grade novel written by Marina Cohen, with illustrations by Sarah Watts. Eleven-year-old Quinn has had some bad experiences lately. She was caught cheating in school and her little sister Emma disappeared while walking home from school. She never returned. When Quinn's best friend Kara has to move away, she goes on one last trip with Kara and her family. They stop over at the first hotel they see, a Victorian inn that instantly gives Quinn the creeps, and she begins to notice strange things happening around them. When Kara's parents and then brother disappear without a trace, the girls are stranded in a hotel full of strange guests, hallways that twist back in on themselves, and a particularly nasty surprise lurking beneath the floorboards. Will the girls be able to solve the mystery of what happened to Kara's family before it's too late?

The Inn Between is a slow building story that takes readers on a unexpected journey. A road trip turns odd and dark when an unexpected stop at an inn starts and even stranger journey for two friends. Quinn is still struggling with self blame and the related stressors from her sister's disappearance. A final trip with a friend and her family to say goodbye is a bittersweet escape. However, the inn is creepy and so are many of its occupants. At first Quinn thinks she is the only one that sees the oddities around her, but soon more people are disappearing and Kara is along with her on the mission to figure out just what is going on. I will admit that I had a feeling as to what was going on briefly after the arrival at the inn, but the slow reveal and conclusion was so well done that there was still plenty of suspense and heartfelt moments to make the read more than worth my time.

The Inn Between is a thoughtful, sometimes creepy, but very poignant read. I think those dealing with trauma or loss will particularly see bits of themselves in the story, but that everyone can get something valuable from the read and enjoy it. 

Book Review: The Genius Factor: How to Capture an Invisible Cat by Paul Tobin

The Genius Factor: How to Capture an Invisible Cat is a middle grade novel written by Paul Tobin and illustrated by Thierry Lafontaine. Every Friday the 13th, 6th grade genius and inventor extraordinaire Nate Bannister does three not-so-smart things to keep life interesting. This time, he taught a caterpillar math, mailed a love letter, and super-sized his cat Proton before turning him invisible. As Nate and his new (well, only) friend Delphine race to stop Proton from crushing everyone and everything in town, they come face-to-face with Sir Jakob Maculte (the twenty-seventh lord of Mayberry Castle and leader of the nefarious Red Death Tea Society). Known for its criminal activity, killer tactics, and impressive tea brewing skills, the Red Death Tea Society will do anything to get in their way.  Nate and Delphine must pull out every mind-blowing gadget, half-perfected invention, and unproven but theoretically sound strategy they've got up their sleeves in order to survive to see Saturday the 14th!

The Genius Factor: How to Capture an Invisible Cat is quite an adventure. The story begins with Delphine being the quirky girl she is. She is bubbly and interesting and even though she is far from boring and often gets herself into trouble she makes friends easily with just about everyone. Nate tends to disappear into the background even though he is a genius. I liked his awkward brilliance, and how he thinks well outside of the box. The very different kids come together in friendship and work together to solve a giant, invisible problem, and manage to cooperate even when they do not completely understand each other. I like that while to two become friends, their relationship is as unique as the two in it rather than becoming instant and forever best friends. The action was fast, sometimes silly and other times made me nervous for the characters. The story was very creative and the characters unique while not being difficult to relate to, which is a tough balance to find. I believe this is the start of a series, and am looking forward to seeing what Nate does on the next Friday the 13th as well as what further fiascos from the Red Death Tea Society has in store.

The Genius Factor: How to Capture an Invisible Cat is a fantastic adventure with great characters and action. I think it will capture the attention of a wide variety of readers and might become a fast favorite for many.

Early Book Review: Ballet Cat: Dance! Dance! Underpants! by Bob Shea

Ballet Cat: Dance! Dance! Underpants! is the latest easy reader by Bob Shea. It is currently scheduled for release on February 2 2016. Ballet Cat is getting her friend Butter Bear ready for her big ballet debut. Butter Bear would prefer to just point her toe, rather than take big leaps like Cat. When Ballet Cat keeps pushing, Butter Bear gets hungry, then thirsty, then sleepy, making up all sorts of excuses. Butter Bear would rather do almost anything to avoid making a big leap. Why? Because her bottom is covered in silly underpants and she is afraid to be laughed at.

Ballet Cat: Dance! Dance! Underpants! is a funny easy reader, and holds up to my expectations of Shea. I like that Cat and Bear enjoy their rehearsing, and that in the end Cat understands Bear's fears and encourages her friend to ignore the peanut gallery and do what really makes her happy, and what is best for her. The fact that Bear's underpants are simply awesome and almost as cool as her big leap- and that Cat's underpants are just as colorful- make the story even better. The illustrations are typical Shea, which means they are a great match to the story and perfect in their cuteness and simplicity. 

Ballet Cat: Dance! Dance! Underpants! is the second book in Shea's Ballet Cat series. If you liked the first, or the author's style in any way, then this will be another fun read for you.