Review of Puddlejumpers (Hardcover)

"Puddlejumpers" is a thrilling mystery and a magnificent tale, and I didn't want it to end.Brilliantly written and conceived, it's full of kidnappings, rescues, daredevil escapes, evil Troggs, Red Grunts and indomitable Puddlejumpers, with a fantastic new and complex young protagonist, Ernie Banks, at the center of all the action.His sidekick Joey is one of the best-drawn young, female characters I've come across, full of conspiratorial spunk.Although this is a fast-paced fantasy adventure, I was surprised to discover that the novel also has great heart.A modern story with a tip o' the hat to the best family classics, this is a book you'll want to keep for the family library and pass down to future generations.Everybody is reading it at my house.A gem of a book.Harry who?

Product Description
Ernie Banks, named for the legendary Chicago Cub shortstop, is a troubled, 13-year-old juvenile delinquent. Abandoned on the doorstep of the Lakeside Home for Boys when he was three years old, he's now considered a "lifer," a permanent ward of the state. His only proof that he once belonged to somebody is a vintage Ernie Banks baseball card, a crystal acorn he wears on a string around his neck, and a strange spiral birthmark on the bottom of his right foot.

As a last reprieve before being sent to a juvenile detention facility, Ernie is allowed to spend three weeks on a working farm. When Ernie arrives at the home of Russ Frazier, he learns that the widower's baby was kidnapped years before. The single piece of evidence was a red quilt found in a puddle in the nearby woods.Fascinated by the town's famous "Quilt Baby" kidnapping, Ernie is determined to solve the case. He teams up with Joey, a local tomboy, to investigate clues that lead them on a dangerous journey into a forbidden world of dark secrets, magic puddles, and the cavernous underground kingdom of the Puddlejumpers- eleven-inch tall water creatures with whom Ernie has a mysterious connection.

When destiny summons, Ernie must find the courage to save the Puddlejumpers from the Most Dark and lead them in battle against their mortal enemies. Only then can he find his way home.




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Review of How Come? Every Kid's Science Questions Explained (Paperback)

I love science and read a lot of adult science books.My son, 7, is really into science too - so we run through a lot of kid's science books.I've never encountered a better one than this one."How Come?" never condescends and it never cuts corners in its explanations.It focuses in with razor sharpness on the questions and issues kids (and childlike minds) have and then answers them with clear and rational explanations that really inform and educate.I find myself reading this book and learning things - even on topics I'd covered many times before.I'd say that the age this book is pitched for is 8-14, but even smaller kids get something out of it - and few adults can resist it either.

Product Description
For every kid who really wants to know--and for every exasperated parent who simply doesn't know-here is a lively omnium-gatherum of explanations to the most frequently asked questions about our world, from "Why do stars twinkle?" to "What are hiccups? "Taken from Kathy Wollard's popular column, "How Come?" (seen for the past six years in Newsday and recently syndicated nationally through the Los Angeles Times), How Come? explains why cats can survive high falls (because of the way their bodies can act like a "parachute") and how black holes absorb light (intense gravity-if the Earth had the same density as a black hole, it would have to be compressed to the size of a marble!).Now you can know it all. Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club. Suitable for ages 9-12. 204,000 copies in print.Illustrations by Debra Solomon.



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