Summer reading fun!

It's so much fun to have time to read over the summer.  Here are some brand new ones you might want to look for!

The first one is called The Book of Fatal Errors.  It's targeted at middle graders and it's a really fun, exciting read.  It's about Rufus, who is just starting summer vacation after a tough year in 6th grade. He's a little worried about summer vacation because his mom is going to be gone, but he's hoping that means he'll get to spend all summer with his grandfather at his house, which is Rufus's happy place.  Except that his grandfather has an accident on the first day of vacation and his dad thinks Feylawn (which is what Grandpa's place is called) is not safe for anyone.  He wants Rufus to spend his summer learning new things, like his cousin Abigail, who has attended a number of different camps each summer, knows several languages and seems to spend all her time making sure the adults like her.  But it turns out Grandpa's accident wasn't exactly an accident.  He was sabotaged by a group of Fey Folk who are trying to get back underground.  They've been trapped there for a number of years and Rufus stumbles on to a pathway to their way back.  This is a very fun mystery/adventure with lots of exciting plot twists as well as scary and funny characters.  Dashka Slater has a real gift for dialogue and this one made me laugh out loud in spots. A most excellent summer (or winter!) read!

The second one is a graphic novel and I'm just going to tell you flat out, I'm not a big fan of graphic novels.  I like the art work of most graphic novels, but typically I like MY mental images better than the ones an artist can give me.  I LIKE the dialogue and descriptions of text based books.  But this one, the art work is so beautiful and so spirited, I was completely captivated.    It's called Kodi and it is written and illustrated by Jared Cullum.  It's about a girl named Katya who is staying with her grandmother for the summer at a cottage in rural Alaska.  Her grandmother encourages her to get outside instead of reading comic books, but Katya's not big on the outside.  She IS outside one day when she slips and falls and spills her soda and a bear licks it up.  At first she's terrified (it's a BEAR and it's big) but it turns out that the bear is also stuck.  So Katya decides to help.  They become fast friends and everything is awesome.  Until Katya has to go back to the big city with her grandmother.  Kodi the bear decides to follow her.  He can't find her immediately and makes friends with a fisherman who is down on his luck.  Together, they come up with a plan to get the fisherman back on his feet AND find Katya.  This is a wonderful story with lots of plot twists that make reading it a breathless adventure.  The art work is very textural for a graphic novel.  It's done with watercolors with gives it a really different feel from most graphic novels (that I've read) and I adore watercolors.  In some of the illustrations you can even see the texture of the paper.  SO COOL.  The characters show a lot of emotion and I wish I could have a bear for a best friend just like Kodi.  I think the kids are going to love this one and be annoyed that they have to wait for the next installment!  It's set to be released in August, so don't miss it! 

Here's the book trailer.