Category: childrens

The Boxcar Children Halloween Special created by Gerturde Chandler Warner From the back: #31 The Mystery of the Singing Ghost The Boxcar Children are helping to fix up the house that their cousins have bought. But the house seems to be haunted by a ghost who sings! Will an old diary explain the house's secrets? #88 The Mystery of the Mummy's Curse Strange things have been happening at the Greenfeld Musem ever since an Egyptian mummy arrived for a special exhibit. Could an ancient curse be to blame for all the bad luck? #91 The Mystery at Skeleton Point The mansion the Aldens are visiting is not only spooky and deserted, it's filled with bones! Rumor has it that a skeleton comes alive at night. Is the legend of the Walking Skeleton for real? My thoughts: These were my favorites of the Boxcar Children series so far. There is actually a semi-spooky mystery in each of the stories, complete with suspects, clues and red herrings. Amber enjoyed them too...

Surprise Island (The Boxcar Children #2) by Gertrude Chandler Warner From the Cover: The Alden children have a home with their grandfather now - but their adventures are just beginning! Their first surprise comes when they learn they'll be spending the summer on their own private island. The kind stranger who lives there is always happy to help the children out, but does this new friend have a secret? My thoughts: I can see why Amber likes this series. The kids have little to no adult supervision, but they manage quite well on their own, cooking, cleaning and exploring, always helping each other out. There are adults on the island, the handyman, Joe, and Captain Daniel, but they only provide assistance or guidance when the children ask them to.  And of course Joe's secret is a good one; that 's the kind of stories these are. For me, the books seem kind of bland. I would not read them, if Amber didn't enjoy them so much, but...

The Frandidate (Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist) by Jim Benton Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist, has always had her eye on world domination, but she has to start somewhere...like her class elections! If people voted for her, they were giving her all the control she wanted. But Franny's platform doesn't have the same appeal as her competitors who are offering new playground equipment, so she finds another platform...The Frandidate. Made of DNA samples from a dog, a chameleon and a parrot, along with a scrap of carpet (so she'll know where people stand), Franny creates the perfect candidate who says and does exactly what people want to hear! But soon her suit starts making promises she knows she won't be able to keep and Franny realizes she might have gone too far. The Frandidate will give you everything you want, science, humor and some old fashioned politics! I think I got more of a kick out of this one than Amber did....

The Fran with Four Brains (Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist #6) by Jim Benton Being a mad scientist in the modern world is very hard work. With so much that needs to be done in such a short period of time, multitasking can get way out of hand. Franny needs some additional help. But for Franny there is only one person in the world she trusts to help her with her experiments -- herself.  So she acquires assistance the mad-scientist way, by building a few real, live, steel-plated Franbots. Another great Franny K. Stein adventure. Amber absolutely loves this series, mostly because it's about a girl who loves science and gross things, just like Amber. Her favorite part of this one was the food ray, one of the Franbot accessories. Amber is almost 9 and this series is a little below her reading level, but that makes it fun. She doesn't have to worry about the actual reading, she can just breeze...