RISE OF THE EARTH DRAGON by Tracey West

Drake is taken from his family home to be a dragon master. But his dragon can't do what the others do. Bo's dragon is Shu who can spew water. Ana's dragon is Kepie who emits light. Rori's dragon, Vulcan, is huge, strong and spits fire. Drake's dragon, Worm, looks like a snake and doesn't fly or anything.  But Drake may be more powerful than any other dragon master and Worm has secret of his own, too.

I enjoyed this addition to the Branches line of colorful, illustrated transitional chapter books for developing readers. I believe my students will enjoy this one - a great dragon story for readers not quite ready for the Wings of Fire series. Essentially, this is a pet story, and it's a great one. Book 2 releases in November 2014 and Book 3 releases in February 2015.

4 out of 5 stars

   

* I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher for free in the hope that I would review it honestly on my blog. Regardless, I only review books I enjoyed. I don’t believe in passing on negative reviews. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

MONKEY ME AND THE GOLDEN MONKEY by Timothy Roland

Clyde eats a banana that was part of a science experiment. Now, any time he gets excited, he turns into a monkey. This power could come in handy to get Clyde out of trouble sometimes - and maybe to even solve a mysterious theft!

I am a fan of the Branches line of transitional chapter books from Scholastic and this seems to be one of the new series in that line. It has more text and fewer pictures than some of the other books, like Boris and Missy. Everything is in black and white in this story, too. So this will appeal to kids ready to tackle fun chapter books.

3 out of 5 stars
AR reading level of 2.4

Other books in the series:
      
       AR: 2.2                               Release in June

JUDY MOODY AND FRIENDS by Megan McDonald

  

Megan McDonald introduces a new transitional chapter book series starring Judy Moody and her friends. The first book focuses on Jessica Finch, her love of pigs, and a misunderstanding between Jessica and Judy (AR reading level of 2.5). The second book focuses on Rocky Zang, a magic show, and his not-so-fabulous assistant, Judy Moody (AR reading level of 2.7). The stories are fun and address the ups and downs that can come in friendships. I am excited to introduce these to my younger students who are ready to stretch their reading skills but aren't quite ready for the length of a full chapter book. Students who enjoy the Mercy Watson series and the Branches line of transitional chapter books might enjoy these. Two more books in the series will release in September. Pictures of those covers are posted below.

4 out of 5 stars

  

LOTUS LANE SERIES by Kyla May

       

Cute series for elementary age students in a diary format. Includes black and white drawings. Stories focus on this group of girls as they become friends, enjoy sleepovers and movies, deal with school projects and family issues, etc.

Books are written at a third to fourth grade reading level (according to the Accelerated Reader system) and are appropriate for kids as young as first grade all the way up to young tweens. I've been really pleased with this Branches line from Scholastic. It has appropriate content for my younger readers but the books are written at a level that allows them to grow as readers.

4 out of 5 stars for the series

MOLDYLOCKS AND THE THREE BEARDS by Noah Z. Jones

Princess (a girl who is not a princess and who doesn't like pink or anything princess-y) falls through a portal in her fridge and lands in the Land of Fake-Believe. There she meets a girl named Moldylocks, and they go to the house of the Three Beards in search of food. What Princess finds is just a shade off from what someone familiar with the Goldilocks story might expect - and that is exactly the point of this new series in the Branches line of transitional chapter books. When I told my students about the story, the ones who are into princess-y stories weren't quite sure what to do with this one. Other kids really got a kick out of a girl named Princess who liked mud puddles and monster trucks, and they thought the "three beards" was hilarious. I think this has appeal for both groups of readers.

3 out of 5 stars
No AR reading level at this time.

Book 2, Little Read Quackinghood releases in August 2014

KUNG POW CHICKEN: LET'S GET CRACKING! by Cyndi Marko

* I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher for free in the hope that I would review it honestly on my blog. Regardless, I only review books I enjoyed. I don’t believe in passing on negative reviews. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Gordon the chicken (a second grader) and his little brother Benny fell in a vat of toxic sludge and became superheroes - Kung Pow Chicken and Egg Drop. At the Fall Festival, someone is selling weird cookies that make everyone's feathers fall out! Kung Pow Chicken notices a little old lady selling itchy sweaters to all the naked chickens, and she is making a killing. Something is not right!

This was cute, colorful and fun! This pokes fun at some of the superhero staples like toxic sludge and leotards. This is a fun, simple mystery. My students will love this! This is a new piece in the Branches line of books by Scholastic that targets the earliest readers. There are more books planned for the series - they are pictured below. Book 2 releases in March and book 3 comes out in June.