Piper Reed: Navy Brat, by Kimberly Holt & illustrated by Christine Davenier

This is a good chapter book for early readers. Children who have just moved or are part of a military family would really be able to relate to the story. The book is a little but long (160 pages) but the simple text is meant for younger readers. The main character is 9, so I would say kids older than this would most likely think it was too immature for them.

The book tells a humorous story of a girl named Piper and her family. Her mother is a painter and her father is in the Navy, so the family is always traveling from place to place. Piper has to learn to adjust to a new place and finds a lot of adventure along the way.

The story talks about a lot of things that kids can relate to and seems to be very true to life - bossy older siblings, whiny younger siblings, disagreeing with parents, long car rides, meeting new friends, among some. I really enjoyed the book, as I read, I noticed that I was getting anxious to know what was coming next. Holt's descriptive writing style definitely pulls in the reader, and gets them involved in the text. The illustrations add a little bit to the story, and seem to match up with Piper's personality and what's happening in the story.

A Series of Unfortunate Events #1: The Bad Beginning, by Lemony Snicket and illustrated by Brett Helquist

This short children's fiction novel is appealing right off the bat. The book looks old fashioned and mysterious. Snicket begins the book with a warning to potential readers explaining that if they like happy endings then this is not the book for them because there is no happy ending just misfortune, despair, and sadness. I know that this immediately fed into my own curiosity, and I was wondering if the author was serious about the dark nature of the book.

The book introduces in detail the characters that will be present in the thirteen-book series. The three Baudelaire orphan children (their parents were killed in a "horrible accident") are the main characters. The children are sent to live with the most awful of all relatives and the story just keeps getting more and more dark and "unfortunate." It seems like just as things are starting to brighten up for the Baudelaire's, things all of a sudden get worse.

Although the series may be too dark and depressing for some readers, they really are page-turners. The book is not all negative either, the text reinforces the positive habits and outlooks of the children. For instance, reading is an important pastime for the children in their dire environment and they become very creative attempting to plan their escape.

No matter how horrid life seems for the Baudelaire children, they always see the light at the end of the tunnel - NOTHING IS COMPLETELY HOPELESS.

Charlie & Lola - But excuse ME THAT is my book, by Lauren Child

This book by Lauren Child is wonderful for younger elementary children, probably K-2. Something I personally like about this specific book is that it is part of a series so it can be an ongoing read-a-loud in the classroom. All books in the series include the characters Charlie and Lola (brother and sister). In this particular book, kids can learn about libraries and what they have to offer. The illustrations as well as the sing-song style of Child's writing is very engaging.