Beyond the Laughing Sky (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Michelle Cuevas (US)
PUBLISHED: Dial Books ; 2014.
PAGES/ILL: ~160 pages.

PLOT:
Ten-year-old Nashville doesn’t feel like he belongs with his family, in his town, or even in this world. He was hatched from an egg his father found on the sidewalk and has grown into something not quite boy and not quite bird. Despite the support of his loving parents and his adoring sister, Junebug, Nashville wishes more than anything that he could join his fellow birds up in the sky.

Some people in town understand him, but most don't. Children in his class are curious and can be cruel, but gradually they accept Nashville for who he is. Eventually, he builds himself some wings and flies away.

REVIEW:
This is a sweet little story about individual differences. It would be an appropriate read-aloud for a year 1 class.

AGE: 7+.
RATING: 3 1/2 stars.

Olive of Groves (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Louis Nowra (Aust)
PUBLISHED: HarperCollins ; 2015.
PAGES/ILL: 262 pages.

PLOT:
When Olive arrives at Mrs Groves' Boarding School for Naughty Boys, Talking Animals and Circus Performers, it is not the boarding school she thought it would be. However, she is determined to make the best of the situation and earn her place. She pretends to be an acrobat, and makes friends with her talking rat roommates.
She eventually earns a place in the heart of other Naughty Boys, Talking Animals and Circus Performers... All except Pig McKenzie, the most Dastardly Fiend who is Up to No Good.
Eventually she foils a Dastardly Plot, and Pig is kicked out of the school. And all ends well.

REVIEW:
This is a rather cute story about acceptance, belonging, friendship, and standing up against bullies. It is quite silly - maybe a little too much at times, and not quite to the sophistication of Roald Dahl's silliness, but young children will love it.

AGE: 7+.
GENRE: Realistic Fantasy fiction.
RATING: 3 1/2 - 4 stars.

Series: Rainbow Magic (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Daisy Meadows (UK) (2004)

PLOT: Two young girls help the fairies recover wands and other magic items stolen by Jack Frost, who uses them to wreak havoc across Fairyland and the real world.

NOTES: Linked to a website, there are several sub-series: 7 books for 13 types of fairies (Weather Fairies, Rainbow Fairies, Ocean Fairies, PetKeeper Fairies, Party Fairies, Dance Fairies, etc) and a 3-book series for a further three types of fairies (Holiday, Christmas, Special Fairies), etc. They are now published in "reader" format, too.

AGES: Girls aged 6-8.
GENRE: Fantasy.
RATING: 4 stars.

Series: Fairy Realm (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Emily Rodda (AUST) (2000)
PAGES: >100.

PLOT: A young girl discovers a door to a magic realm of fairies, unicorns, elves, etc at the bottom of her grandmother's garden. In each book she must show courage and solve problems to save the realm.

NOTES: Previously published as the Storytelling Charms series under the name Mary-Anne Dickinson. Multiple sub-series: 6 books in series 1; 4 in series 2.

AGES: Girls aged 6-9.
GENRE: Fantasy.
RATING: 4 stars.

Series: Scream Street (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Tommy Bonbavand (UK) (2008)
PAGES: ~150 pages, 13 chapters.

PLOT: A young boy who has recently transformed into a werewolf and his family are 'banished' to Scream Street. He befriends a wannabe-vampire and a young mummy, as well as a surfer-dude-zombie and witch, who help him in his quest to find a way for his 'normal' parents to go home.

REVIEW: Similar to Freak Street series, but more advanced in plot and language.
This is an 8-book series. Linked to a website.
Well-written.

AGES: 7+. Focus age would be about 8-9.
GENRE: Horror, Humor.
RATING: 5 stars.

Series: Ghost Hunters (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Cornelia Funke (UK)
PUBLISHED: Originally written and published in Germany by Loewe Verlag (2003) ; in the UK (2006+)
PAGES/ILL: ~15 chapters/100+pgs (short chapter books)

REVIEW: Currently a 4-book series about Tom and his grandmother's friend who help friendly ghosts, and hunt and capture/destroy/get rid of nasty ghosts. With each ghost having its own personality and likes and dislikes that can be used to help or hunt them, Hetty, a seasoned ghost hunter, begins to train Tom in the art of ghost hunting. Mixes horror and humour for a bit of a fun scare.
Not as scary or serious as Goosebumps.

AGE: 7+.
GENRE: Horror, Humour
RATING: 4 1/2 stars.

Series: Goosebumps (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: R.L. Stine (USA)
PAGES/ILL: 20+ chapters/100+ pgs per book : some ill.
REVIEW: This is a set of horror stories, dealing with every topic from voodoo and satanism, to haunted dolls, ghosts, vicious animals, and made-up animals/monsters, to simply kids playing tricks to scare others.

An endless series made up of 3 bands: "original", "HorrorLand", and "Choose-your-own-adventure"
some books "continue" into the next book.

Similar to The Midnight Library series and Anthony Horowitz Horror series.

AGE: 10+, but I know some 7 year olds who read them. Remember, some of the books ARE genuinely scary and may give sensitive children nightmares. Other kids will enjoy the adrenaline rush of reading thrillers.
GENRE: Horror.
RATING: 4 1/2-5 stars.