The Cybrarian's Book Reviews

Frankie’s Perfect Home by Beverly Stowe McClure

Frankie wishes he had a perfect home. What exactly is a perfect home? ‘One that doesn’t have someone’s claw on his nose, or their tail in his eyes or their foot in his mouth’ he grumbles. Face it, with three brothers his mama and him, Frankie’s home is just too crowded.

The young armadillo makes up his mind that enough is enough and strikes out to find a perfect place to call his very own. He travels across the countryside exploring nooks and crannies everywhere: the muddy area beside the creek, a dark hole under a farmhouse, the corner of an old abandoned barn, the hollow log and even a tunnel secluded under the roots of an old tree that seems absolutely perfect until he discovers one small problem… it is already occupied…by someone really scary. On his adventure Frankie meets many of his neighbors, and some of them are not so friendly. He is sleepy and hungry…and very lonely.

Join Frankie on his quest and help him discover the most important thing he needs to make his new home positively perfect.

Ms. McClure is a talented storyteller and this well crafted tale will not disappoint. The illustrations by Alex Morris are a perfect compliment to this delightful story that children will enjoy over and over again.




Greenbrier Academy Cybrarian














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Matt, like many young boys, is fascinated by things that are creepy, crawly and captivatingly interesting. He loves to look through his books on backyard bugs and once was even able to identify a very interesting hickory horned devil caterpillar he found in his cellar.

It is easy to see how the news of the upcoming Bug-A-Fair excites the lad. After all, whoever wins this prestigious science fair is sure to capture the teacher’s praise and become the most popular kid in class. Matt is dreaming of that honor and his quest to become Student of the Year as he pulls a fine specimen off the grille of his father’s car – one that is sure will win him first prize at the Fair, but another bug bugs him as it travels throughout the third grade.

Join Matt and his class for a very exciting day in this very clever tale of more than one kind of bug causing havoc in the third grade classroom.

Ms. Calabrese’s rhyming tale is sure to be one that is read over and over. This witty story will tickle the funny bone of the young reader as they join Matt and his class on a day that turns much more exciting than anyone anticipates.

The full color illustrations by Chet Taylor are sure to delight their audience as they perfectly compliment this entertaining tale.

I highly recommend this book - it is definitely a story that will be read over and over again and sure to become a favorite story time request.

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)
By Rick Riordan

Publisher: Hyperion/Miramax
Genre: Fantasy, Mythology
ISBN: 978-0786838655
Paperback: 392
Recommended for Ages: 9+

I have just discovered this series and must say - I am a fan.

Initially Percy Jackson seems like your typical twelve year-old, with a closer look however, you begin to notice he has a few problems to deal with. He’s a little hyper, suffers from dyslexia, is a little hotheaded and, unfortunately, keeps getting expelled from school after school because strange (and dangerous) things always seem to happen to him. Trying to keep him safe, his mother desperately tries to get him to Camp Half Blood where Percy can be with other Half-Bloods (one parent is a god and the other mortal) and train to defend himself against the monsters that attack these heroes in the real world. The mystery begins to unravel and the adventure soars as the young hero learns his father is Poseidon, god of the sea, and one of the “big three” of the Olympian gods. Percy must battle mythological monsters like the Minotaur, Furies, and even Medusa.

The story is chock full of adventure tying in ancient Greek mythology with a fresh urban feel as the young demigod learns the fate of the mortal world is in his hands as he alone can solve the mystery of Zeus’ missing master lightening bolt and stop a war of epic proportion from erupting between the gods.

The book is exciting and suspenseful and I am ready to dive into the next book of this series. This adventure should translate well when it makes its theatrical debut currently scheduled for February 2010. It has great promise to be exciting and action packed.

Greenbrier Academy Cybrarian

The Lost Years of Merlin is the initial installment of the five book series chronicling Merlin’s life as a boy, a prequel to Arthurian legend. It follows the ambiguous details of Emry’s obscure youth and the path he followed leading to the emergence of his magic and the wizarding name he proclaimed of Merlin. Barron’s imagineering of this portion of the great wizard’s life gives new depth to the renowned character as we see his life through the eyes of a young boy.

The story opens with a dream sequence foreshadowing a time magic escaped his fingertips to unleash a fire kindled in Branwen’s defense (the woman claiming to be his mother) the very fire whose flames took his sight leaving him blind until he learned to use his gift of “second sight”.

Emrys, now 12, is desperate to know of his past and why he has no memory of a time before five years ago when he and Branwen washed upon the shore. She claimed to be his mother but would not speak of their past or where they came from. Instead she taught him the lore of the Celts, Druids and those more ancient. She felt his lost memory was a blessing, the young boy considered it more of a curse. The pair shared a lowly hut they constructed themselves on the outskirts of a small village. Whenever anyone from the village was ill or injured, they would come to Branwen bartering for her services as a gifted healer as she was well acquainted with the old ways and herbal remedies. When in need of her services the villagers sang praises to her unique talents, but the truth of the matter was, they were afraid and thought her to be a sorceress or demon. One day the village bully came to their hut and set fire in an attempt to free the village of this “she-demon”, as he and two of his minions grabbed Branwen by the legs and began dragging her into the fire, Emrys’ fear and rage swelled within, coursing and raging as he ran forward trying to help his mother. He could not control it any longer and felt the bully, Dinatius, should burn for this. He could envision the fires and wished they would consume the bully. At the thought, an enormous tree branch shuddered and cracked as if struck by lightening; it fell upon the young bully trapping him as the branches exploded into flames. As the spine shivering shrieks erupted from the inferno Emrys knew what he had done as he plunged into the flames trying to save the boy. His dream vision had come to pass.

As the young half-blind Emrys struggles to learn the secrets of his past, the magic within him, and his true identity he comes to the realization he must leave this place, returning to the place he had washed upon the shore to make the attempt to voyage back to the mist-shrouded isle of Fincayra, an enchanted isle that lies between earth and sky. He asks the woman who calls herself his mother to join him in his quest. With great sadness she declines, but takes a jeweled pendant from her neck, presenting it to him. She calls it the Galator and tells him its power is great – if it cannot keep him safe it is only because nothing outside of heaven can. Mighty waves crashed over his feeble raft tossing it about as a mere twig on the outraged sea. The storm swelled and he thought about calling upon his powers to save him but after the last fiery encounter with his magic, he became less afraid of the violent storm than trying to unleash a magic he might not be able to control. The waves pounded over him and when he felt he could hold onto his little wooden raft no more the mysterious shrouded isle appeared and he is again washed upon the shore.

As he comes to and regains a bit of strength he ventures further into the strange land. The colors are so vivacious he can sense them, even through his half-blinded eyes. He can feel the plushness of the forest floor and he meets a merlin, its wing broken in battle with a rat, a strange girl of the forest called Rhia, and a tiny but brave giant named Shim. Emrys discovers that blight has come upon the isle that is somehow entwined with his own destiny. He must decipher the riddle of the dance of the giants to change the fate of this land and discover the secrets within himself.

This is an engaging and enjoyable tale you will want to experience many times over. It explains the roots of the greatest wizard of legend and myth in an epic saga filled with wonder and adventure.

THE LOST YEARS OF MERLIN (book 1)
By TA Barron

Publisher: Philomel
Genre: Juvenile Fantasy
ISBN: 978-0399250200
Hardback: 336 pages
Recommended for Ages: 9-12




Greenbrier Academy Cybrarian

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If Wishes Were Fishes is a new release from 4RV Publishing, written by NA Sharpe and illustrated by Ginger Nielson. It is the humorous tale of what can happen when people do not say what they mean....clearly.

JT Trumanowski is a six-year old with a BIG problem…his grandparents! How do you survive a whole weekend alone with them when you do exactly what they say and still end up in so much trouble?!

JT adores his grandparents and is thrilled to be invited to spend the weekend with them. He tries hard to follow their requests to a “T” with one disastrously humorous result after another. “Why can’t they just say what they mean?” he wonders. Talk about a failure to communicate! Join JT as he discovers people may mean what they say, they just don’t always say what they mean…clearly.

This is a delightful story that follows the life of a very hungry caterpillar from the moment he hatches from his tiny egg in a beautiful meadow. He travels through the meadow and meets many helpful friends along the way.

This heartwarming tale teaches life lessons of friendship, selflessness and sharing, caring, and kindness. Ms. Burkhart's charming tale is one little ones will want to hear over and over again and they will be enchanted by the adorable illustrations from the talented illustrator, Stephen Macquignon.

Millicent Prendergild, Cybrarian
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