I recently read this book as a class assignment.   At first this book did
not appear promising. However, once I gave it a chance it really took off.  This
book will be appreciated by anyone who reads it.  It is a book about life, it’s
lessons, struggles, victories, and sorrows.  This book was a joy to read and
certainly will be remembered by this reader for a long time.

                  by  Thomas A.
 

Series: Goosebumps
Title: The Beast from the East
Author:  R.L. Stine

   This is a report from a series called Goosebumps and the book is The Beast from the East by R.L. Stine. The characters are Pat, Nat (they are twins) and
Ginger.
   It all began that same summer when Ginger and her family went camping.
While they were camping , they noticed that the place was strange. So
while they were unpacking Ginger and her brothers wanted to explore.
When they were exploring they came across a stream, and in that stream
were silver fish . On the way back they got lost.  Pat was taken away by
a hairy beast. Ginger and Nat had to play a deadly game of tag in order to save Pat. When they won the game, Pat came back and they all returned to their parents.
   I think this was a good book because it is interesting and exciting.

         by Kirill D.
 

Title: The Lost Planet
Author: Mark Strand

   One moonlit, starry night a little boy named Luke has a dream.  He is an astronaut in a silver suit.  Leaping from from his window sill in one slow bound to his spaceship below.  He soars through the solar system passing Mercury ....Venus......Mars.....   .
    Suddenly he sees a new planet.  Landing his spaceship, Luke investigates.  Here are all of the things lost on the earth.  Luke passes stacks of hats, scarfs, cats, dogs, balloons, keys, money, and all other lost things.
    I liked this book very much and found it exciting.  When you leave the planet of lost things you forget everything and that part I didn't like.   I would like to remember such a visit.   I recommend this book highly, but I must admit that it still isn't my favorite book.

           By Jennifer A.
 

Title: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Author: Jane Leslie Conly

    This book is about rats and mice being held in a mental health laboratory (a takeoff on the National Institute for Mental Health - NIMH).  The rats undergo experiments to make them smarter.  The experiments are such a great success that the rats and mice learn to read and plan a great escape!  That is when the story really takes off.  This was an enjoyable book that I highly recommend for students in grades three through six.  I think it should be required reading.

           By: Thomas A.

Title: The Beast from the East
Author: R.L. Stine

     It's AWESOME!   Ginger Wald and her identical twin brothers, Nat and Pat, are lost in the woods.  But these are no ordinary woods.  Rust colored grass, purple cabbage plants, and strange blue leaves that look like open umbrellas -- and then there are the beasts!   All those beasts want to do is play tag.   You win, you live; you lose, you're toast.
     I never had so much fun being scared!  A must read recommended for ages eight and up.

           By Thomas M.
 

Series:  Sweet Valley Kids
 Title:  Elizabeth and Jessica Run Away #31
 Author:  Francine Pascal
  In this book, sisters Jessica's and Elizabeth's friends from Oregon,
Eric and Wesley, come to visit for the weekend.  The boys turn out to be complete nuisances.  They put Jessica’s favorite toy koala that she sleeps with every night, in their car before their parents leave.   They also lock the girls in the bathroom with
hundreds of bugs.
   The girls soon are fed up with Eric's and Wesley’s tricks.  Elizabeth and
Jessica get so mad that they pack some food and clothing into a book
bag, write and note to their parents, and leave to stay in a tent in the
woods behind their backyard.  That night the girls’ parents and Eric and Wesley go looking for them.  Eric finally spots the tent with the girls in it.  Eric,
Wesley, Elizabeth, and Jessica become friends again.
   I like this book because it is exciting.  The only thing I dislike
about this book is how Eric and Wesley treat Jessica and Elizabeth.
Guests should treat the people who invite them nicely because it's a
very special treat to be invited to stay in someone’s  home.  I think
this book is appropriate for ages 7-11.

          By Madeline G.

Title: Big Brother's In Love!
Author:  Francine Pascal

    This book is from the series "Sweet Valley Twins".  Each book in the series is about the adventures of two very different sixth grade identical twin girls from a small California town.  Their names are Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield.  Jessica is in a special club called the Unicorns, who talk about boys, makeup, movie stars, and fashion.  Elizabeth, on the other hand, loves writing and reading.  She works on the school newspaper called The Sixers.  The book is about the girls' big brother, Steven, and his love life.  He has turned very strange recently because of a girl he likes whose name is Jill Hale.   Jill likes Steve's best friend, Joe Howell.  Joe's sister, Janet (president of the Unicorns),  makes a bet with the twins to give them both tickets to a late night show if they can prove within a week that Steven likes another girl.  That's a challenge because Steven barely knows any other girls except for Cath Connors.  Steven thinks she's just his pal until the girls hatch a plan to get Steven to like Cathy so they can win the bet.
    There are lots of surprises in this book including a "stupid stunt" by Elizabeth so that she can get on the show.  The great part is that in the end, everyone is happy, including Janel, Joe's sister. Find out more about this book fir 9 - 12 year olds.  Happy Reading!

          By Katrina-Mae T.
 

Title:  Amber Brown is not a Crayon
Author:  Paula Danziger

 Amber Brown and Justin Daniels were best friends. They sat next to
each other in school and helped each other with schoolwork. They stuck up
for one another and watched out for each other.  Justin’s father worked in a
different city and he and his family were moving to join their father. When
Justin found out that he was moving, everything began to change. Amber knew
she would miss Justin terribly and that she would have to find a
new best friend.
     I would recommend this book for girls ages 9-11. I enjoyed this book
because I have had friends who moved away and I could relate to how Amber felt. If you make a special effort to keep in touch with friends through phone calls and writing letters, good friendships will never end.

            By Dana C.

Title: Shiloh
Author: Phillis Reynolds Naylor

The best book I  read so far is called Shiloh by Phillis Reynolds
 Naylor. Its about an eleven year old boy named Marty Preston.  He finds a
little beagle that has run away from its owner.  Marty feels sure the dog is
being abused by its owner. Marty's parents want him to give the dog
 back to the owner.  Marty calls the dog Shiloh.  That same day the owner comes and takes back the dog.  The very next day Shiloh returns to Marty, but so does Shiloh's owner. Marty says that he would be willing to do anything to keep Shiloh. Does he get to keep Shiloh? Read this great book to find out. I think this book is for ages 8-12.  I liked this book and really recommend it.  (Hint:  It has a very good ending!)

        By Angela D.

Title: Clue Junior - THe Case of the Mysterious Ghost
Author: Parker C. Hinter

This book is about six  kids in fourth grade who solve mysteries every week. Their names are Wendy White, Mortimer Mustard, Samantha Scarlet, Polly Peacock, Peter Plum, and Georgie Green.  I’ll tell you about the case of the Winning Raffle
Ticket. One day the Clue Club members went to a school fair where there was
a raffle.  They decided to participate in the raffle.  It turns out that the monitors who gave out the raffle tickets cheated.  The way they cheated was to have big name tags
which also had big pins.  Each of the tickets had holes.  The cheating monitors  took the pins and put them through the holes on the ticket which was a way of marking them.  Then the tickets were placed in the jar.  By marking the tickets in a special way, the monitors were able to cheat people buying the raffle tickets.
I think this book is suitable for children ages 7 to 10.

             By: Lauren M.
 
 

  For more reviews by other "New York Kids", check out WNYC's "New York Kids" web site.  You can even send the Mighty Liz (also known as Book Woman) a review of your own.  Just click on her picture and we'll take you there!