March 5, 2024 by Shadow Mountain
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Millie is a stray dog who lives on the street after a disastrous home experience where messing up the carpet and nipping at a young boy who was poking her with a stick got her driven out to the country and abandoned. She was befriended by Big Guy, who has disappeared, but has a companion in Little Pup, whom she is helping in the same way that Big Guy helped her; finding food and shelter for the younger dog. There is one alley near a bakery that is particularly nice, and Millie cautiously connects with a young girl, Tori. Sadly, Millie and the smaller dog are separated when Millie ends up in a shelter. She is very cautious, and the shelter despairs of placing her with a family. Luckily, Lee, who trains dogs and takes them to the local elementary school, sees the good in Millie and decides to take her home. She trains her along with another dog, Bella, and finally takes her on a visit to a school. Lee warns the students that this is Millie's first time, so they shouldn't approach her, but when Millie sees Tori and smells Little Pup on her, she is drawn to the little girl. Tori has problems of her own; she is living with her grandfather, who owns the bakery, because her mother is in rehab for a drug addiction brought on by a back injury. The grandfather doesn't want a dog, but Lee asks Tori to help train Millie. When another dog is brought into the shelter who needs help, Lee asks Tori's grandfather to take care of Millie for a few days. It goes fairly well, and Millie is glad that these new people are kind when she makes a small mess on the carpet. Little Pup lives not far away, and Millie sometimes sees her young friend. When Tori leaves one day, Millie follows her, and ends up having a terrible adventure after Tori shoos her away from the bakery. Eventually, Millie makes it back home. The two are so good for each other, and when Tori's poem wins a competition at an adoption event, her grandfather reluctantly agrees to adopt the dog.
Strengths: I liked how Tori's mother's addiction was in the background, important, but not the point of the story. The grandfather was appealing; I wouldn't have minded seeing more of him and the bakery! Millie has a similar background to Tori, with humans who have done them wrong, but they are both resilient and learn to go on and to befriend new people. The tips on dog training are good, and the notes at the back with further information are a good addition. The cover is adorable, and I know this one will be picked up quickly. I appreciate that this is not connected to the author's other two dog books, so can be read in any order.
Weaknesses: I would have preferred this more if it weren't written from Millie's point of view (why does Millie understand what bells are, but not what cell phones are?), but this won't bother my students.
What I really think: Stella and Just Gus both circulate well in my library, and I like this one a bit better than the other two, so I will buy it. It's always a good idea to buy a couple of dog books and a couple of horse books every year. Even if I don't currently have as many readers who want books about dogs, there will be some in the future, and need to keep the collection fresh. (Just realized that Ibbotson's One Dog and His Boy is now as old as most of my students! Twelve years is a long time for a book to survive in a middle school library.)
Weaknesses: I would have preferred this more if it weren't written from Millie's point of view (why does Millie understand what bells are, but not what cell phones are?), but this won't bother my students.
What I really think: Stella and Just Gus both circulate well in my library, and I like this one a bit better than the other two, so I will buy it. It's always a good idea to buy a couple of dog books and a couple of horse books every year. Even if I don't currently have as many readers who want books about dogs, there will be some in the future, and need to keep the collection fresh. (Just realized that Ibbotson's One Dog and His Boy is now as old as most of my students! Twelve years is a long time for a book to survive in a middle school library.)
March 12, 2024 by Andrews McMeel Publishing
E ARC provided by Netgalley
Runt seems like he knows everything that he could possibly need in order to vanquish illagers, villagers, and pillagers, but it's not enough! Along with Emerald, Ophelia, Stump, and Max he's heading off to the magical academy, where students receive training before they head off to save the kingdom, after meeting with the king and being assigned a job. The trip to the school is a long one, but luckily the group's bedrolls have a warming spell on them for when they are camping under the stars. There's a nice map of the kingdom, and the group finally arrives at Dawnsbloom, which is a good thing, because they run out of food. Eventually, they get to Dawnsbloom, which is very different from their village. At the school, Runt meets with an advisor who tells him he only has an MP of 3, but has some good skills. She also gives him some coins for the quest that he went on, which is a huge improvement from when he was a noob and had a single carrot. The dorm has a questboard, and Runt is super excited to be able to go on fairly safe quests in order to gain training, but he can't go quite yet. In true boarding school fashion, there is even a human who is very mean to him, Bayard. Runt often struggles to stay awake in class or answer questions, and gets very tired of always being with Emerald, especially when Stump and Breeze are away. When things start to go wrong in the kingdom, Runt learns about the evil wizard Herobrine, or the Eyeless One, who is causing destruction. He and Emerald learn that Otherworlders can be effective against him, and go in search of Mike and Steve, who are from Earth. They find Mike, but Steve has gone missing from the ruins under the city, most likely teleported far past the void by demons. Not only that, but Herobrine has a very evil plan involving monsters and experience points. Runt isn't able to solve that problem, but meets Elodi, the daughter of the King, and continues on with his education. It looks like his time at Greater Aetheria Academy isn't over yet, and I hope that we will see more adventures.
Strengths: My readers who want Minecraft books usually want stories that read like playing the game. Given how much food is discussed, and how many times Runt and his friends talk about different skill levels or items they have to acquire, I'm going to guess that this will fill the bill. It is fun that Runt gets out of the village and learns information about the world around him. The school is very ornate, and has all of the elements that magical academies usually have, so fans of that type of story will appreciate the Greater Aetheria Academy. The art seems a bit different from the other books, and this is another full color, heavily illustrated novel with Geronimo Stilton type font that is larger when words and phrases are emphasized.
Weaknesses: Runt still hasn't learned to think things through, so is goaded into doing silly things by Bayard the Bully. As much as he would like to be able to pick from the Questboard and increase him MP level, he doesn't seem to concentrate very well and use more discretion in his actions. I guess this makes him the quintessential middle schooler!
What I really think: I was sorry to hear that Cube Kid had experienced writer's block, but am glad to see him back. While these books are not my personal favorite (since I've never played Minecraft), my students enjoy them, and I'd rather have them reading the books than playing video games. They'll be glad to hear about this new volume. I always buy these in prebind, because they get a lot of use.
Weaknesses: Runt still hasn't learned to think things through, so is goaded into doing silly things by Bayard the Bully. As much as he would like to be able to pick from the Questboard and increase him MP level, he doesn't seem to concentrate very well and use more discretion in his actions. I guess this makes him the quintessential middle schooler!
What I really think: I was sorry to hear that Cube Kid had experienced writer's block, but am glad to see him back. While these books are not my personal favorite (since I've never played Minecraft), my students enjoy them, and I'd rather have them reading the books than playing video games. They'll be glad to hear about this new volume. I always buy these in prebind, because they get a lot of use.
Here are the reviews for most of the series:
Ultimate Warrior (#5)
Forging Destiny (#6)
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