The Life and Adventuers of Santa Claus

wikipedia
ARBookfinder
Rating 3.75 / 5

Summary: L Frank Baum explains how Santa Claus grew up and came to overcome electric stoves and other kinds of evils.

Science Fair

wikipedia
ARBookfinder
Rating: 4/5

summary: Sternabite detects a threat in the science fair, while Toby, the main character, has other problems of his own...

Dad comment: This book is medium high on the potty humor scale.  I mention this only because none of the other books blogged here have any crude humor, so this book sticks out.

The Phantom Tollboth

website: none
Wikipedia
ARBookfinder
rating: 4.5/5 

Summary: this guy named Milo is bored. One afternoon he goes home and finds a tollbooth. He assembles it.He gets out his old car and drives up to the tollbooth, deposits a coin that came with it and drives through.  He finds himself in the Kingdom of Knowledge, a very literal world. For example, he jumps to the island of conclusions. To quote a character, "it is better to know whether there will be weather, than to know what the weather will be."

A very interesting, humorous, and literal book. (rating by me)

Howl's Moving Castle

website: none
Wikipedia
ARBookfinder
rating: 3.75/5

summary: Sophie, the eldest of three daughters, is doomed to fail horribly if see seeks her fortune. She is turned into an old lady and  is forced to seek her fortune, lest her mother find her in such a state. She goes out and finds Wizard Howl, who has a bad reputation...

The Indian in the Cupboard

website: none
Wikipedia
ARBookfinder
rating: 4/5

Summary: a old cupboard and a unrelated key bring a unwanted plastic Indian to life. 

there are 4 more books that may be read and rated. 

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.

website: none
Wikipedia
ARBookfinder
Rating 4.5 / 5

summary: Timothy gets ill. His mouse family must move to their summer home or face almost certain death. Timothy cannot be moved. His mother, Mrs. Frisby, fortunately encounters the rats of NIMH, an extremely intelligent bred of rats.

FYI: NIMH stands for National Institute for Mental Heath.    

Peter and the Starcatchers

website
Wikipedia
AR page

rating: 4.75/5

Summary: Peter is an orphan, and sails on a ship that apparently has some 'starstuff' which can do very powerful things.  A pirate ship tries to steal the trunk of starstuff and is successful.  They get shipwrecked on an island and have an adventure and Peter recovers the starstuff.  Since he survived long seconds of contact with the star stuff, he will be a boy forever. He gets a fairy (tinkerbell).

Peter and the Shadow Thieves
AR bookfinder
Rating 4.5 / 5

Summary: The star stuff is transported to England and kept away from the evil hands of Lord Ombra; the star stuff is returned to the heavens.


Peter and the Secret of Rundoon
ARBookfinder
rating:4.5/5

Summary: Peter is captured and sent to Rundoon at the same time the Others are planning to end the universe.

Peter and the Sword of Mercy
AR Bookfinder
rating:4/5

Summary: 23 years later, Molly is mysteriously captured. Her daughter, Wendy Darling, steals her uncle's ornithopter. She gets peter to come and help her protect the catche, the first starstuff fall kept in case of emergency.  

The Heroes of Olympus

wikipedia
Website
Summery: Many heroes work to save Olympus.

Series rating:3.5/5

The Lost Hero
Rating:3.25/5

The Son of Neptune

Rating:4/5

more books in this series have not been read. they will be posted ASAP. 

the Kingdom Keepers

Wikipedia
website

Series Rating 4/5
Summary: five kids are made into DHIs(Daylight Hologram Imaging and/or Disney Host Interactive) and, when sleeping are transported as DHIs to the magic kingdom. they protect the parks at Disney World from a gang of Disney villains called the overtakers, lead by Chernabog (that bat-winged demon from fantasia).

Disney After Dark
Rating 4/5
ARbookfinder (book 1)

Disney at Dawn
Rating 4.5 / 5
AR bookfinder

Disney in Shadow
Rating 4/5
ARbookfinder

Power Play
Rating: 4/5
AR bookfinder

Shell Game
rating: 4/5
ARbookfinder

Other books in the series have not been published.  I will update this page when I get and read them.

The 39 Clues

Wikipedia
website
ARbookfinder (first book)
Series Rating 3.75 / 5

Summary:

The maze of bones
Rating 3.75 / 5

One false note
Rating 3.5 / 5

The sword thief
Rating 3.75 / 5

Beyond the grave
Rating 4 / 5

The Black Circle
Rating 4 / 5

In too deep
Rating 3.5 / 5

The viper's nest
Rating 3.5 / 5

The Emperor's code
Rating 3.5 / 5

Storm Warning
Rating 3.25 / 5

Into the Gauntlet
Rating 4.5 / 5

Vespers rising
Rating 3.75 / 5
This book is a bridge between this series and the Vespers vs. Cahills series

the Bridge to Never Land

website
Wikipedia
AR page

rating:4.5/5 stars

This book is an offshoot of the Starcatchers series
Summary: Aidan and Sarah find 'starstuff' and use a stable wormhole (a.k.a. Eisenstein-Rosen bridge) to get to Never Land and hide the 'starstuff' and go home.

Snow Treasure

no website
no Wikipedia page
Scholastic publishers link
AR page

Summery: Peter Lundstrum's  village is invaded by Germans. peter and his friends have to sled past the germans with gold bullion (metal not yet made into money) on there sleds, to be shipped to america for safekeeping.

rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

how to train your dragon

wikipedia
website
AR page
series rating:4/5 stars
summary: a viking kid becomes a hero the hard way.

How to Train Your Dragon
(3.75/5)

How to Be a Pirate
(3.5/5)

How to Speak Dragonese
(4/5)

How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse
(4/5)

A Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons
(4/5)

A Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons
(4/5)

How to Ride a Dragon's Storm
(4/5)

How to Break a Dragon's Heart
(4.125/5 )

Additional books in the series exist, but I have not read them.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians

website
Wikipedia 
AR page
series rating:4.25/5 stars
Summary: Percy Jackson fights and protects the gods.  He fights gods such as Ares and protects gods such as his father Poseidon.
the Lightning Thief
(4/5)

the Sea of Monsters
(4/5)

the Titan's Curse
(4/5)

the Battle of the Labyrinth
(4/5)

the Last Olympian  
(4.25/5)

Harriet the Spy

no website
wikipedia
AR page
rating  3.25 / 5

Summary: Harriet spies on a lot of people in her neighborhood.  Eventually she looses her notebook to her classmates, and they find out what stuff she wrote about them.  The friendship is broken and Harriet is elected the school newspaper editor for the trimester and writes nasty things about the anti-spy club. In the last newspaper, she includes the fact that all the previous newspapers were lies. Her friendships are brought together again.

adventurers wanted

website
(Wikipedia page does not exist)
AR page
series rating: 4.5 / 5

this series is about a young boy who finds his way into the magical world of adventurers.

slathbogs gold(4/5)

the horn of moran(4.25/5)

the tomb of alberk(4.75/5)

the homework machine

website
wikipedia page for author
AR page
rating 4 / 5

Summary: Brenton would look like a geek, but actually has a homework machine at his home disguised as a copier/printer. And so Judy, Sam, and another friend find out about the homework machine.  They code name it belch, and use it to do their homework.  But it gives them a lot of trouble.  They unplug it but it does not turn off.  So they load it into a catapult and fire it off the South Rim of the Grand Canyon

Harry Potter

website
wikipedia
AR page
Series rating: 4 / 5 stars
This series of books is about a young magician named Harry Potter. That's the best I can overview seven different 300-700 page books.  They are great.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (rating 3.75 / 5)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (rating 4 / 5)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (rating 4 / 5)

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (rating 4 / 5)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (rating 4.25 / 5)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (rating 4 / 5)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (rating 4.5 / 5)