Nintendo Power

Summary of Contents:  This magazine is great for avid video game players.  Each issue contains a News section that highlights specific games and gives a detailed review of their features and pluses and minuses.  The two larger sections of each issue are the Previews section and Reviews section.  Previews covers new games that are coming out.  Each preview shows pictures from the actual game, and gives details on how the game operates.  It also provides information on the publisher, developer and the release date.  Reviews give a really in-depth look at current games as well as provide ratings. 

Power Profiles is a three page spread in the magazine that profiles and interviews a different game creator each month.  It's nice because the creators answer questions about how they got into the video game business.

At the end of each issue readers are given a preview of what's to come next month.

Format:  Magazine

Subjects/Themes:  Video games, wii, nintendo ds

Issues: Published monthly

Age Group:  All ages, but more specifically in demand by tweens.

High Interest Annotation:  This is a must for wii and ds players.  The information that Nintendo Power provides can give players a good idea of whether or not to purchase a game, as well as tips on how to play.

How To Train Your Dragon (2010)

Plot Summary:  Hiccup Horrendous is everything that a Viking isn't.  He just isn't cut out for dragon hunting.  When dragons attack the island at night, his dad tells him to stay inside so that he won't get hurt.  Hiccup wants to help, and using a slingshot of sorts,  Hiccup knocks a Night Fury dragon out of the sky.  The Night Fury is an elusive dragon that everyone has heard about, but nobody has actually seen or defeated.  While exploring the island, Hiccup finds the injured dragon and realizes that part of his tail is missing which is why he is unable to fly.  Hiccup tries to help him and eventually wins the trust of the dragon, who he names "Toothless." 

Hiccup works with the dragon secretly and rigs up a way for Toothless to fly with a substitute tail.  His dad wants him to train to be a Viking and learn how to slay dragons like the other kids his age, but Hiccup doesn't want to harm the dragons.  Especially since he realizes that they can be tamed, and even seems to have a talent for it.  But even Hiccup knows that you can't keep a secret for long.......  This movie is based on the hilarious series by Cressida Cowell.

Format:  DVD

Genre:  Fantasy

Rating:  PG

Series:  Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III  

1. How to train your dragon

2. How to be a pirate

3. How to speak dragonese

4. How to cheat a dragon's curse

5. How to twist a dragon's tale

6. A hero's guide to deadly dragons

7. How to ride a dragon's storm

8. How to break a dragon's heart

Age Group:  Ages 7 and up

Bridge to Terabithia (1996) by Katherine Paterson

Plot Summary:  This is a Newbery award winning novel by Katherine Paterson.  Jesse Aarons is a fifth grader who wants nothing more than to be the fastest kid in school.  He thinks that he has it in his pocket, until a new girl Leslie shows up and beats the pants off of him.  After his initial anger wears off, Jesse starts to realize that Leslie is pretty cool.  For one thing, she doesn't let anyone push her around.  Leslie also has no problem with standing up to the school buddy. 

These two form a friendship despite the huge differences in their family lives.  Jesse's family is poor and he has to wear his sister's hand me down girly sneakers, yet Leslie's family is well off and lives a different kind of lifestyle.  They get along and enjoy each other's company, fighting off the school bully together, and creating their magical make-believe world that they rule in the woods behind their houses.  In Terabithia, they defeat the monsters that try to get them and protect and conquer.  This story of friendship and tragedy is touching and real.

Subject/Themes: Friendship, bullying, death

Genre:  Realistic Fiction/Family

Rating: PG

Age Group:  Ages 10 and up

Chime by Franny Billingsley (2011)

Plot Summary: Briony Larkin knows that she is wicked.  She hates herself and is convinced that she is unable to love anyone.   This is all because she is a witch, and if it wasn't for her Stepmother helping her to hide her secret, Briony would have already been hanged.  Stepmother is now dead, killed by the very secret that she helped Briony to keep.  But now Eldric arrives and is convinced that there is more to Briony that she believes.........

Genre:  Fantasy


Subjects/Themes:  Witches,


Reviews:  Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, *Starred Review* in Booklist


Age Group: Grades 7 and up

The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith (1992)

Plot Summary:This collection of ten fractured fairy tales is classic Jon Scieszka.  Some of the titles include "The Princess and the Bowling Ball," "Little Red Running Shorts," "The Other Frog Prince," and "The Really Ugly Duckling." Readers will laugh out loud at the silly stories with their ridiculously funny illustrations. Humor abounds in this book!

Genre:  Humor/Fairy Tales


Subjects/Themes:  fractured fairy tales, humor


Reviews:  Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal & Booklist


Age Group:  Grades 2-6

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (1997)

Plot Summary:  This story is a creative version of Cinderella written for tweens.  Ella is born and bestowed a gift from her fairy godmother that is more like a curse.  She is given the gift of obedience.  This is a terrible gift, and although her godmother Lucinda does not see it that way, Ella is tormented by it.  Only her mother and the cook, Mandy, are aware of this gift.  When Ella's mother dies, she commands Ella not to tell anyone of her secret, in the fear that they may use it against her.  Ella, of course, must obey, and because of this is quite an unhappy child.  When her father pursues a woman that he thinks is rich in order to marry her, Ella realizes that she will be stuck with two horrible step-sisters and a mean stepmother. 

Ella meets Prince Charmot and they hit it off, much to the chagrin of her stalking stepsisters.  Ella decides to try to find her fairy godmother in order to get her to take the gift back.  She sets off on a long journey that involves fleeing ogres, dealing with elves and attending a wedding with many giants.  Ella also sees Prince Charmot, and it is obvious that they both are interested in each other.    Will Ella make it to the royal ball as Prince Charmot's date?  Or is she forever destined to live with this curse? This fairy tale is not your average one, and readers will enjoy its twists and turns. 

Genre:  Fantasy

Subjects/Themes: Enchantment, fairy tales, romance

Reviews:  Publishers Weekly Review, School Library Journal, and Booklist

Age Group:  Grades 5-8

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The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook by Dinah Bucholz (2010)

Summary:  This cookbook is sure to please Harry Potter fans of all ages.  Hogwarts is well known for the fabulous banquets  that are served in the large hall and this book tries to cover all of them.  It contains over 150 recipes that are featured in the series by J.K. Rowling.  Each recipe includes a description of where it appeared within the series, as well as historical snippets of the origins of the food.  It includes favorites such as Hagrid's Rock Cakes, Pumpkin Pasties from the Hogwarts Express snack witch, and don't forget Mrs. Weasley's Fudge.  The recipes within this cookbook are fun and easy for tweens to make, sometimes with a little help from an adult.  A great resource for those planning a Harry Potter party.

Genre:  Nonfiction (Cooking with Kids)

Ages: 9-12 years old