Greetings from Somewhere : The Mystery of the Gold Coin AND Greetings from Somewhere: The Mystery of the Mosaic, by Harper Paris and illustrated by Marcos Calo, 166 pp, RL 2

-


First, The Kingdom of Wrenly, a fantastic new Bridge Chapter Book series with the rare (for this reading level) traditional fantasy setting and now Greetings from Somewhere. This mystery series for emerging readers, written by Harper Paris and illustrated by Marcos Calo, takes place in locations all over the world! It is definitely a great time to be a reader making the leap from leveled readers to chapter books!

Greetings from Somewhere begins with a premise that is similar to The Magic Treehouse series. Second graders Ethan and Ella Briar are twins who are about to travel the world when their mother, a newspaper reporter who has a new assignment. Early on in the first book in the series, The Mystery of the Gold Coin, Ethan and Ella even retreat to their treehouse. But the similarities end there, especially since there is no magic in Greetings from Somewhere - but there definitely is mystery!

In Book 1 we learn that Mr. Briar, a history professor, will home school Ella and Ethan while the Briars are traveling the world so Mrs. Briar can write her "Journeys with Jo!" column. Grandpa Harry, Mrs. Briar's father, was an archaeologist who also traveled the world and he comes to visit, reassuring the twins that they will enjoy their travels. And, for their travels, Grandpa Harry gives Ella a brand new journal to write in (she loves to write poems and mysteries, "The Case of the Missing Diamond" being her latest) and a gold coin with a globe on one side and a hawk on the other for Ethan. When this coin goes missing the day that the Briars are due to leave, Ella and Ethan retrace their steps from the day before to track it down.  Ella takes notes at all the places they search and, with minutes to spare, they solve the mystery! Harper Paris does a great job of creating a genuine mystery that is believably solved by two kids.

In the second book in the series, The Mystery of the Mosaic, the Briars arrive in Venice, Italy and the mysteries, thanks to Grandpa Harry, begin right away, with an email titled, "Two Clues." But when Ella and Ethan notice a red haired man sneaking into a gondola, a gondola that belongs to a new Venetian friend, they find themselves with two mysteries on their hands. Like The Magic Treehouse series,  The Mystery of the Mosaic is peppered with historical, geographical and cultural facts, which is fantastic, and each book even has a glossary at the end. I can't wait to read the next books in this superb new series as the Briars travel to France, China and Africa!

More Greetings from Somewhere 
titles coming soon!


Coming May, 2014!   Coming August, 2014!


Coming September, 2014!



Source: Review Copy






Popular posts from this blog

Fox + Chick: The Sleepover and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier

-
Image
Fox + Chick : The Sleepover and Other Stories  by Sergio Ruzzier Review Copy from Chronicle Books Friends. Opposites. Inhabitants of a pastel-hued, water color world that is vaguely surreal, Fox and Chick are back for a third installment of their inviting, if curious, easy-to-read stories. In "The Sleepover," "The Hammer," and "The Surprise," Chick's odd logic is once again upending Fox's life. Happily, Fox responds with patience and even wisdom at times. To these unforgettable characters and luminous illustrations, Ruzzier brings a sublime simplicity that makes this series perfect for emerging readers, adding books with character and intelligence to the often dull world of beginning reader books. If you aren't familiar with this delightful duo, definitely check out my reviews of the first two books (links below) where I put the greatness of Ruzzier's work into historical ( Frog & Toad ) context. Then check out ALL of Ruzzier's p
Read more

Be a Tree! by Maria Gianferrari illustrated by Felicita Sala

-
Image
Be a Tree! by Maria Gianferrari illustrated by Felicita Sala Review Copy from Abrams Kids I picture-walked Be a Tree! three times before I actually read the words. Felicita Sala's illustrations for Maria Gianferrari's poetic text are mesmerizingly immersive and richly colorful within a palette of earth tones. Throughout the text, Gianferrari, who shares her inspiration for this book in the author's note ( Peter Wohleben's The Hidden Life of Trees ), gently maintains the human connection to trees and the connections (and communications) trees share with each other.  Be a Tree!  begins exuberantly, inviting the reader to "Be a tree! Stand tall. Stretch your branches to the sun. Let your roots curl, coil in the soil to ground you." From your spine/trunk to your skin/bark and your heart/pith, the words carry you inward and then zoom outward and up to the canopy and ultimately, the forest. "You are one of many trees," and our roots "twine with fung
Read more

Reading Levels: A Quick Guide to Determining if a Book Is Right for Your Reader

-
Image
While I wrote an article titled Reading Levels: How I Assign Reading Levels to Books, How the Publishers Do It and How You Can Help Your Reader Find the Right Book at the Right Time that discusses how reading levels are determined by professionals and amateurs like myself, there is more on this subject to discuss. Determining the reading level of a book from the children's section is never easy, mostly because there are several different standardized methods of determining reading levels. Add to this the fact that knowing their children's reading level is most often the only tool a parent is armed with when exploring the bookstore, library, website, etc, and the job becomes even more difficult. While I think that knowing a child's reading level is a very valuable tool if your child is reading below grade level, I think that it is a secondary consideration when finding books for children reading above, especially well above, grade level because, in most cases, content app
Read more