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39 Clues “The Dead of Night” Book Review and AWESOME Giveaway!

2 Apr

39 CLUES FANS!!

 I AM SUPER EXCITED to tell you I have some great giveaway things that the AWESOME people at Scholastic Books sent me to give away on my blog in honor of Book 3 – Cahills vs. Vespers “The Dead of Night” by Peter Lerangis.

 Read on to the bottom of the review to see how you can enter to win some great prizes!

But first, my review!

39 Clues Cahills vs. Vespers, Book 3 - The Dead of Night Book

By Peter Lerangis

190 pages – ages 9+

Published  by Scholastic Inc. March 6th 2012

Dan and Amy Cahill didn’t want to be criminals. They didn’t want to steal priceless works of art and valuable historical objects. They just wanted to be “normal” kids, but they were Cahills and that meant they weren’t just like other kids. They were now the head of the most powerful family in the world and they are now facing their worst enemy, the Vespers. The Vespers have kidnapped seven of the Cahill family members and bad things will happen if Dan and Amy don’t do what Vesper 1 wants. In the last book, “A King’s Ransom” (read my review HERE), Dan and Amy were left in The Czech Republic just as one of their allies is being kidnapped by a couple of Vespers. Vesper 1 sends instructions to steal ANOTHER priceless artifact in a riddle. Now the Cahill kids have to figure out the riddle, get to Uzbekistan, steal the artifact, rescue their ally in Turkey and all before time runs out. What makes matters WORSE is that INTERPOL is after them too! Will Dan and Amy complete the mission, or will time run out?

I think this book is totally AWESOME! In case you don’t get the idea, I really like the 39 Clues series. It is a great action / adventure series for younger kids. Besides all the action, it takes place all over the world so you learn about geography and different cultures and you also learn some history. In this book I really liked Nellie, even though she was barely in the book, she did something that was VERY important to the plot so you know she is super smart. Mr. Lerangis made the book very exciting and left the book in a cliff hanger – **NOTE OFFICIAL PROTEST - Mr. Lerangis, I have to wait until AUGUST to find out what happens next ;)   One thing that worries me about the Cahill vs. Vespers series is Dan. He was always goofy and funny and in the new series he is being more serious because he is obsessed with the 39 Clues formula. So far it’s been OK but I am finding that I don’t like Dan as much as in the first series. I hope he doesn’t get too weird. I want to say more of what I liked about the book, but I don’t want to give too much away :)

I recommend this book and series to kids 9+ because of some non-graphic violence and some tense situations. There isn’t any bad language in the books. To learn more about Mr. Lerangis, please visit his website HERE. To learn more about The 39 Clues and the online game (it’s a cool kid friendly game) please check out the 39 Clues official website HERE.

Five out of five bookworms for “The Dead of Night”

NOW THE GIVE AWAYS!!!

All you have to do is comment to enter! MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS SO I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN! Emails aren’t published if you put it in the email box on the comment form. I will pick (actually my sister Josie picks) four names out of a hat of all the commentors. Of those four names Josie will pick one out of the hat for first prize and the other 3 will also win a prize! You have until Friday April 6th to enter and the winners will be announced on Saturday the 7th. If you are under 18 ask your parents if you can enter! Here are the prizes -

First Prize gets 

1.  ”The Dead of Night” book !

2. A set of Author Agent Cards (not available in stores). Each pack has seven Author Agent Cards from the original 39 Clues series. You get the Agent Cards and codes for Rick Riordan, Jude Watson, Peter Lerangis, Linda Sue Park, Gordon Korman, Margaret Peterson Haddix and Patrick Carman! Very cool for 39 Clues fans!

3. PLUS a page of 39 Clues Branch stickers!

The three other winners will get a set of the author agent cards and a page of stickers.

COMMENT TO ENTER!

Check back in August for my review of Book 4 “Shatterproof” by the AWESOME Roland Smith!

I get NERDy at the Harelysville Books Boy’s Book Club

19 Nov

***KSHHHHHH*** (Static)

“H.Q., Come in – do you read me?”

“Your transmission is coming through”

“This is Techno reporting. We had our N.E.R.D.S. (National Espionage Rescues and Defense Society) meeting Thursday night at Harleysville Books.  The customers in the store thought we were just talking about Michael Buckley’s book N.E.R.D.S. (Book 1, see my review HERE)! HA! Little did they know we were recruiting new members. Unit coordinator Pete, called our meeting to order and showed us a video from our Supreme Commander Michael Buckley, code name Beanpole. Mr. Buckley introduced our new recruits to the N.E.R.D.S. organization and its founding members - code names, Pufferfish, Gluestick, Flinch, Wheezer and Braceface. The recruits learned that being a “nerd” is the coolest thing ever because you can use your nerdy powers for good just like in our original training manual N.E.R.D.S. book 1.”

“Did the recruits have any special nerdy abilities?”

“Yes. Unit coordinator Pete had us all reveal something nerdy about ourselves. I, of course, said I had a great love of books and technology and that’s why my code name is Techno. The other recruits were Sensor (abilities of super hearing and super vision), Block (abilities to build ANYTHING out of LEGOs – AWESOME!) and another recruit that could grow to be taller than his opponent, has laser vision and a bazooka (very useful). There was also a new weapon designed at the meeting, a bazooka that can shoot bazookas. This was a failure because we realized the enemies we were shooting at now had bazookas.”

“Did you do any training?”

“We sharpened our skills, and our pencils, by fencing with our pencils, don’t worry none of the recruits got injured in the training. We then used our pencils to write things down about ourselves, things that people in the meeting didn’t know about us so we could learn what other nerdy abilities we may have. Unit Coordinator Pete said that he had 2 sisters.”

“Two sisters? WOW. No wonder Unit Coordinator Pete is so tough.”

“Unit Coordinator Pete then passed out illustrations from the training manual N.E.R.D.S. book 1 and had us write captions for the illustrations. Unit Coordinator Pete got the creative exercise from the N.E.R.D.S. training site www.teamnerds.com . The recruits started talking about the thumb scanner described in the training manual and the customers in Harleysville Books started to get suspicious so Unit Coordinator Pete called the meeting to an end.”

“That was very smart of Agent Pete. The recruits will be a great addition to our team.”

“Yes, I think we have a great nerdy team!”

***END TRANSMISSION***

For more information on Supreme Commander Buckley please visit his Facebook fan page HERE.  You can read my reviews of N.E.R.D.S. book 2 “M is for Mama’s Boy” HERE and N.E.R.D.S. book 3 “The Cheerleaders of DOOM” HERE.

A Guest Review On “Marvin Redpost: A Flying Birthday Cake?” From Ethan

3 Sep

Today a friend of mine (Ethan) is doing a guest review on my blog! Ethan just started the third grade and this is his first “official” book review :)

Marvin Redpost: A Flying Birthday Cake?

By Louis Sachar

80 Pages – Ages 5 +

Published by Random House Books for Young Readers in 1999

Marvin had a weird dream at night. He thought it meant something. It did. But what? A new kid (Joe) came to Marvin’s school. All the kids made fun of Joe. But when he shared a game they didn’t make fun of him anymore.

I like it because it has good illustrations. I like Joe and Marvin because they are good friends. This is a great book for all ages!

Ethan gives it 5 out of 5 book worms!

Thanks Ethan For The Great Review!

- Erik’s Notes -

Marvin Redpost is a series of books. To learn more about the series click HERE. I’ve read a couple of the books and I think they’re pretty good (like three book worms out of five). I think they are good books for kids starting to read chapter books.

The 39 Clues Series books 1-10

3 Apr

 Amy and Dan never wanted to be powerful. Ever since their parents died, they became very close to their grandmother Grace Cahill. When Grace died and her will was read, they had a choice join the hunt for the 39 clues or take a million dollars each (all the members of the family had the same choice). They would have chosen the million dollars but they realized that Grace really wanted them to do the hunt and that all the time they spend with her, she was training them for the hunt. In each book Amy and Dan Cahill find out that some very famous people are Cahills including Benjamin Franklin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Thomas Edison, Amelia Earhart and William Shakespeare. Soon they find out that the 39 clues isn’t just about clues it’s also very dangerous. They battle fires, poisonous snakes, sharks, ninjas and the most dangerous thing….their realatives!

This series is awesome! Every time I finished a book in the series, I couldn’t wait to pick up the next volume. It’s cool how there are “book clues” which the reader can try to figure out. Some of them are easier than others. A couple of characters die in the books so it may not be great for young kids. It’s also cool that each book in the series is written by different authors and you can actually see some difference in how they write. The books also give you facts about some famous people and places that Dan and Amy travel so you end up learning things. The books come with game cards that you can collect and play an online game. The online game is OK, but the books are better.

The Whole Series get a HUGE 5 out of 5 Book Worms!!

I can’t wait for the next book “The Vespers Rising” to be released on April 5th!

CHECK OUT MY 39 CLUES CONTEST BY CLICKING HERE! WIN AUTHOR AGENT CARDS NOT AVAILABLE IN STORES!!

Book 1: The Maze of Bones

Author Rick Riordan

Pages 220 Ages 9+

Published in 2008 By Scholastic

Dan and Amy start the clue hunt in Paris and have to go through the catacombs underneath the city.

Book 2: One False Note

Author Gordon Korman

Pages 174 Ages 9+

Published in 2008 by Scholastic

Dan and Amy go to Vienna Austria and have a run-in with the Benedictine monks!

Book 3: The Sword Thief

Author: Peter Larangis

Pages 156 Ages 9+

Published in 2009 by Scholastic

First Dan and Amy are off to Japan then they get trapped in a cave-in in Seoul, Korea and are double crossed by some nasty relatives.

This is one of my favorite books in the series. The clues that they had to follow were very interesting. I kept telling Dan and Amy not to trust their family…but they did anyway!

Book 4: Beyond the Grave

By Jude Watson

Pages 190 Ages 9+

Published in 2009 by Scholastic

Now it’s off to Egypt and the next clue…..and SUPRISE - Dan and Amy are double-crossed again -this time NOT by a relative!

Book 5: The Black Circle

By Patrick Carman

Pages 168 Ages 9+

Published in 2009 by Scholastic

Dan and Amy go to Russia and team up with unlikely allies.

Book 6: In too Deep

By Jude Watson

Pages 206 Ages 9+

Published in 2009 by Scholastic

G’Day MATE! Dan and Amy find themselves in Australia and meet  up with their Uncle Shep (which Dan and Amy are happy that he’s NOT a Cahill so he’s NOT trying to deceive them).

This is one of my favorite books in the series. It’s really action packed!

Book 7: The Vipers Nest

by Peter Lerangis

Pages 190 Ages 9+

Published in 2010 by Scholastic

Dan and Amy travel to South Africa and start to unravel the biggest mystery -which branch of the family they belong to….

I really like how this book starts exactly where the last book left off.

Book 8: The Emperor’s Code

By Gordon Korman

Pages 190 Ages 9+

Published in 2010 by Scholastic

Dan and Amy have a fight and  are separated in Bejing CHINA!

This book is also one of my favorite books. I liked learning about China and I just really liked the story.

Book 9: Storm Warning

By Linda Sue Park

Pages 190 Ages 9+

Published in 2010 by Scholastic

Dan and Amy go to the Carribean and have to face down the evil Kabra’s and the mysterious Man in Black.

Book 10: Into the Gauntlet

By Margaret Peterson Haddix

Pages  327 Ages 9+

Published in 2010 by Scholastic

 The race is near the end. The family branches must somehow learn to work together -but can they? Can Dan and Amy trust anyone?

This was my very favorite book of the series so far. Everyone involved in the clue hunt figured out where the last clue was and it was interesting (to say the least) when they all met up at the same place at the same time!

 

THE BOXCAR CHILDREN SERIES

27 Feb

THE BOXCAR CHILDREN SERIES

By Gertrude Chandler Warner

Ages 9+

Published Originally published in 1924 by Rand McNally. The copy I have was published by Albert Whitman & Company in 1989.

The boxcar children series is HUGE, so I’m going to tell you about the first book. It’ll probably make you want to read the rest. But first, I’m going to tell you a little about the series:

  1. They are not violent.
  2. They are not really scary books, they are more adventure books.

There are over 100 books in this series(I don’t have all of them, but I have 103). The first 16 books are by Gertrude Chandler Warner and the rest are by different authors but they are written similarly.

BOOK #1: THE BOXCAR CHILDREN

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny were orphans. They were running from their grandfather who they thought was mean. When they slept in a bakery they heard that the baker’s wife was going to give them to an orphanage. You would think that they would like that, but they didn’t. They ran away that night while the baker and his wife were asleep. Now the children were running not only from their grandfather, but the baker and his wife, too. Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny found an abandoned boxcar to live in. They were close to a dump, town, and a doctor. Henry found a job in the town, while Jessie took care of Violet and Benny at the boxcar. One day while Henry was working they heard a rustling noise. A hurt dog came out of the bushes. The kids adopted the dog and cured him and he became their protector. The story is about their life in a box car and how they managed to live there. In the end, the kids grandfather really isn’t a mean guy and they end up living with him, but their adventures continue for many more books. They are interesting and pretty easy to read.

 This is a great series (from my opinion)! The first book is good, but as they get further into the series, they get even better! I would recommend this series to anyone!

I give this series 5 out of 5 book worms!

THE CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS SERIES

23 Feb

(<-the 1st book) The adventures of Captain Underpants Series

By Dav Pilkey

The books average about 120 pages -ages 6+

Published by Scholastic

George Beard and Harold Hutchkins never expected that when they hypnotized their mean principal Mr. Krupp, they would regret it as soon as they did it. At first, they were joking around with the hypnotism ring and made Mr. Krupp act like a monkey and a chicken. But then they got serious and made him their best handmade superhero comic character Captain Underpants!!! Mr. Krupp actually looked like Captain Underpants only in his underwear and without his toupee on. Soon enough, “Captain Underpants” went out to fight crime. In the books George and Harold are helping “Captain Underpants” against villains including a mad scientist wearing a diaper (book 1), another scientist named Prof. Pippy P. Poopypants(book 4), and aliens from outer space(book 3). Oh. I forgot the good little kid who’s in every book who tells his mother everything that’s happening in the book but the mother never believes a word he says.

This is a series that is extremely funny! The titles of the books in the series are below. Any child who reads any book of this series is going to want to read the next book! They are pretty easy to read and have lots of great pictures to go with the story. Parents don’t be turned off by the titles, the books are not rude or offensive. They are good books for kids who may not like to read a lot because the stories are so funny!

PS My science teacher’s name is Mr. Krupp, but he’s not really Captain Underpants……or maybe he is………

THE BOOKS IN THE SERIES:

  • The Adventures of Captain Underpants: An Epic Novel
  • Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets
  • Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space
  • Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants
  • Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman
  • Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy Part 1
  • Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy Part 2
  • The Captain Underpants Extra-Crunchy Book O’ Fun
  • The All New Captain Underpants Extra Crunchy Book of Fun 2

    • I give this series 5 out 5 book worms!

    Percy Jackson and The Olympians – The Series

    20 Jan

    PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS SERIES

    By Rick Riordan

    Ages 9+

    Percy knew he was different than the other kids in his boarding school, he got expelled from a bunch of other schools and was hoping that this time would be different. One day he discovers his math teacher is a fury (a kind of monster), his best friend, Grover, is a satyr and Mr. Brunner (his Latin teacher) is a centaur named Chiron. Percy Jackson finds out he is a demigod also called a “half-blood” (his parents were a mortal and a god). Percy finds out that all the Greek mythology that he was learning about from Mr. Brunner was REAL and that satyrs, centaurs, half bloods, and even monsters live among us in the mortal world. It’s now up to Percy Jackson to stop Kronos ,the king of the titans, and all the monsters he controls, from destroying Olympus (the home of the gods), all the demigods and the mortal world.

    Each of the 5 books in the series has an exciting new adventure. I think it’s better to start reading the series from book one (The lightning Thief), but you could also read any of the books by itself (I’ll also tell you a little about each book below). At first I was a little scared when Percy’s math teacher turned into the fury and attacked him, but I kept reading and found that many times when frightening things happen in the books Rick Riordan makes it not so scary by adding funny things that happen. I learned a lot about Greek mythology from the books and I wanted to learn even more so I checked out all sorts of books on Greek mythology from our school library. This series is one of my favorites and I would recommend the books!!

    PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS BOOK 1: THE LIGHTNING THIEF

    By Rick Riordan

    Published in 2006 (paperback) by Hyperion

    375 pages – ages 9+

    All in the same day 12-Year-old Percy Jackson discovers he is a demigod or “half-blood” which means he’s the son of a god and a mortal human, his best friend is a satyr, his Latin teacher is a centaur, his pre-algebra teacher is a monster and his mother is captured by a minotaur! Percy goes to camp Half-Blood, a camp for demigods to get training, where he finds out who his (god) father is and that Kronos, the king of the titans is awakening and is going to destroy the world. On top of that, all the gods won’t unite to fight Kronos because someone stole Zeus’ lightning bolt (that’s why the story is called the Lightning Thief) and they’re blaming it on Percy! So Percy, Grover (the satyr) and his new friend Annabeth (daughter of Athena) set out to bring the lightning bolt back to Zeus and save Percy’s mother.

    This was a great book and I couldn’t wait to read the next book in the series after reading this one. I read the book in 2 days because I couldn’t put it down! Some parents may not like the book because there is some fighting in the book and a few scary parts, but I think it really was not too bad in that way.  My favorite character in the book was the camp counselor, Mr. D also known as Dionysus also known as “the wine dude”.

    I give this book five out of five book worms!

    PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS BOOK 2: THE SEA OF MONSTERS

    By Rick Riordan

    Published in 2008 (paperback) by Hyperion

    279 pages – ages 9+

    Something bad  is happening at Camp Half-Blood. The magic that protects the camp isn’t working. Kronos’(the evil Titan king) minions poisoned the camp’s borders to weaken it so they can attack the camp and destroy it. The only thing that can heal the magic is the Golden Fleece that is on an island in the Sea of Monsters (the Bermuda Triangle) and is protected by Polyphemus (a giant Cyclops). Percy and his friends must travel to get the fleece and save camp Half-Blood.

    This book was a good continuation of the first book. I really liked when Percy was playing dodge ball at his mortal school and it turned out he was playing against cannibal giants! My favorite characters in this book were the party ponies (centaurs that always were joking around).

    I give this book five out of five book worms.

    PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS BOOK 3: THE TITAN’S CURSE

    By Rick Riordan

    Published in 2008 (paperback) by Hyperion

    312 pages – ages 9+

    Percy, Annabeth, Grover and their new friend Thalia race to bring two new Half-Bloods to camp before they are captured by monsters and brought to Kronos, the evil Titan king. But Kronos set a trap for the campers and they fall right into it! Annabeth gets kidnapped by Kronos and it’s up to the others to kick some monster butt to get her back.

    This book had a lot of funny moments along with all of the action. Porkpie the  Pegasus and his friend Blackjack were two of my favorite characters in this book.

    I give this book five out of five book worms!

    PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS BOOK 4: THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH

    By Rick Riordan

    Published in 2009 (paperback) by Hyperion

    361 pages – ages 9+

    Kronos, the evil Titan lord is getting stronger and his army found a way to penetrate the border of Camp Half-Blood. There is a secret entrance to the Labyrinth (the giant maze built by Daedalus for King Minos to hold the Minotaur) in Camp Half-Blood and that is how Kronos is going to attack. Percy and his friends have to go into the Labyrinth without getting lost and find Daedalus’ work shop to solve the puzzle of the Labyrinth and close the entrance in Camp Half-Blood.

    This was my favorite book in the series. My favorite part in the book was the huge battle near the end when all the campers have to push back Kronos’ army. The most funny part of all the books happen in this book when Rachel Elizabeth Dare ( a mortal friend of the campers) stops Kronos in his path by chucking a plastic purple hairbrush at his eye…..imagine the King of the Titans being beaten by a plastic hairbrush thrown by a mortal girl!

    I give this book six out of five (kidding!) five out of five book worms!

    PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS BOOK 5: THE LAST OLYMPIAN

    By Rick Riordan

    Published in 2010 (paperback) by Hyperion

    416 pages – ages 9+

    While all the gods of Olympus are out battling Typhon, a HUGE monster sent by Kronos to destroy Olympus and the gods……no one is at Olympus protecting it. While the gods are away Kronos is planning a sneak attack on Olympus. It is up to Percy and ALL the Campers to hold off the army until the gods get back.

    This book has the best action in it with a HUGE battle right in the middle of New York City!! It was a great ending to the series (although I was sad for it to end).

    I give this book five out of five book worms.

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