BOOK NEWS: April 30, 2019

It’s the last week for an April release day Tuesday. Let’s see what some of the books are that are out this week!

Books for Kids


How to Care for Your T-Rex – How to babysit a dinosaur. This sounds hilarious!
Most Marshmallows – Most marshmallows do all the things marshmallows do. Some marshmallows were born to stand out!
You’re Missing It! – While a kid enjoys the neighborhood park, he admonishes his dad that he’s missing everything because he is on his phone. Timely!
Handimals: Animals in Art and Nature – This may be the coolest book I have seen in awhile! Filled with animal facts, it’s the pictures of animals painted on human hands that left me with my mouth hanging open. Stunning!
Little People Big Dreams Mahatma Gandhi – Picture book biography
Do You Like My Bike? – It’s no secret around here that I adore the Branches line of transitional chapter books from Scholastic. Now they have a new series for slightly younger readers called ACORN which is also fabulous. I haven’t read this story yet, about a hedgehog and his friend, but I have read a few of the others and loved them.
A Friend For Dragon – Scholastic is reissuing this story from Dav Pilkey (Dogman, Captain Underpants) as part of their Acorn line.
Hello Crabby! – This was my FAVORITE of the new Acorn books I read this spring. It’s SO funny!
Sparkly New Friends – This darling story of a Yeti and a Unicorn is the last of the Acorn books out this week. It’s so cute!
Brute-Cake – Scholastic Branches kicks off a spin off of the Notebook of Doom series, the Binder of Doom. As before, this includes weird monsters and the kids who have sworn to protect their town.
Eye of the Earthquake Dragon – Book 13 in the Dragon Masters series from Branches. None of the other series in this line have gone on this long! (Owl Diaries is closest with 10 books so far, and two more due out this year.) There are two more books out later this year, too. This is a fun dragon series for kids ready to dive into chapter books!
Bentley – Speaking of long-running series, this is book 53 in the Puppy Place series!
Dragons of Krad – Book 4 in the Dragonling series. This is another reissue, but with new cover art. I haven’t checked the latest books, but my thoughts on the first one were that the story was terrific but the interior art could use an update as well as the covers.

Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults


Aru Shah and the Song of Death – Book 2 in the Pandava series, part of Rick Riordan’s publishing imprint for mythology stories. I have’t read book one yet, but this series has been a huge hit with readers!
Bigger, Badder, Nerdier – Geeked Out, book 2. A team of geeks have decided to fight back against the cliques and bullies at school in a familiar sounding plot with a dystopian twist. I have GOT to read book one. This sounds like a fantastic and fun series!
A Dog’s Porpoise – A porpoise thrown off course and lost from his pod teams up with a puppy who was rescued after being knocked off a boat and a local girl in this story full of heart. I can’t wait to read this one.
A Kind of Paradise – After a BIG mistake at the end of the school year, a girl has to spend her summer volunteering at the library as punishment. I already have this on hold at the library.
The Library of Ever – An act of protective kindness opens a new world to a girl who ducked into the library to escape the boredom perpetrated on her by a negligent nanny. I’ll be reviewing this one tomorrow.
Spill the Beans – Book 13 in the Whatever After series tackles the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. This is a fun fractured fairy tale series.
Spy School British Invasion – Book 7 in the Spy School series. The Spy School kids are going rogue and joining up with MI6 to try to take down SPYDER.
Share Your Smile: Raina’s Guide to Telling Your Own Story – How to make your own graphic novel from the author of Smile. Includes a sneak peek at her new book, Guts, out this fall.
Where Is Broadway?

 

Books for Adults


Avengers: Infinity Prose Novel (Hardcover) – This is NOT related to the Avengers Infinity War movie but instead based on a graphic novel line. While the Avengers are away, trying to protect the galaxy, Thanos decides to attack Earth. The Inhumans, Doctor Strange, Black Panther and the X-Men must protect the planet. I adored the prose novel of Planet Hulk, so I’d like to try this story out, too.
Bitter Brew (Hardcover) – Book 24 in the delightful Savannah Reid Mystery series.  This time, Savannah’s medical examiner friend is the one asking for a favor when a choice she made to help a dying friend could be helping someone hide a murder. This sounds fantastic!
Getting Hot with the Scot (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 1 in the new  Sometimes in Love series. Scottish Highlander meets a pop-culture reporter. The second book in the series (Smitten by the Brit, May 28) is the one that is primarily on my radar from this series.
Knit One, Die Two (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 3 in the Knit and Nibbles series, which I have on my TBR list – look at those adorable cats on the cover!! A newcomer to the community – and to the knitting club – is killed when she threatens to dish dirt on others in the community theater. I need to carve out some cozy mystery time this summer to get started on this series.
Murder in the Reading Room (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 5 in the Book Retreat Mystery series. Retreat manager Jane leaves Storyton on the hunt for her missing boyfriend. One dead body later, she finds him, but she also finds a ton of trouble which could lead to another victim. This sounds so good. I need to get caught up on this series, too!
A Prince on Paper (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 3 in the Reluctant Royals series. I adored book one – A Princess in Theory – and I have book two on my TBR shelves (A Duke by Default). In this new book, my favorite trope – fake relationship – is at work when a woman returns home and stumbles into a fake engagement with the bad boy step-prince. There are also two novellas that are part of this series.
Prologue to Murder (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 2 in the Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery series. Trying to launch a new life in a new town proves difficult when Addie is accused of murder. I’m looking forward to digging into this series, too.
Sweet on You (Trade Paperback) – Book 3 in the Bradford Sisters series after Falling for You. Old friends team up to look into a mysterious death while also trying to deny the feelings between them.
Wed, Read & Dead (Trade Paperback) – Book 4 in the Bookshop Mystery series. Bookstore owner and mystery writer Sam has a new mystery on her hands when the wedding planner working on her mom’s wedding is killed. I have this series on my shelves too.
Jesus, King of Strangers: What the Bible Really Says about Immigration (Trade Paperback, May 1) – Looks at how Christians, people who have been described as “aliens and strangers” should respond to the questions of immigration.
So the Next Generation Will Know: Preparing Young Christians in a Challenging World (Trade Paperback, May 1) – Research-based training for those who work with young people and are dismayed to see so many leaving the church.

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