Children's Book Week

Some local valley kids have dedicated themselves to making sure their peers know what's hot (and what's not) by reading new books ahead of time and giving us the scoop. 
 
Here's one such sneak peek courtesy of Cade Cyphers, age 9: 
 
Big Nate: In a Class by Himself - "One morning, Nate gets a fortune cookie from his friend Francis. Ever since then, Nate has been trying to "surpass all others" as the fortune cookie told him he would. But Nate has been working too hard at that, and at the end of the day he ends up in the detention room with seven detentions. The author of this book definitely has some imagination.  I'd give this book 5-stars! I like this one even more than Diary of Wimpy Kid!"

No one else can see the evil fairies that rouse Tanya from her sleep, torturing her at the slightest mention of their existence, but they are as real to the 13-year-old as anything she's ever known. She cannot rid herself of them, nor can she ignore them. But it is her insistence on responding to them that has her banished to her grandmother's secluded countryside manor.

 
There is much to explore and to fear in the woods surrounding the estate. But the forest isn't the only source of dark secrets, and Tanya soon finds herself entangled in a mystery that could trap her in the fairy realm forever. Middle grade kids will love this book!

Before there was the Baby-Sitters Club, there were four girls named Kristy Thomas, Mary Anne Spier, Claudia Kishi, and Stacey McGill. As they start the summer before seventh grade (also before they start the BSC), each of them is on the cusp of a big change. Kristy is still hung up on hoping that her father will return to her family. Mary Anne has to prove to her father that she's no longer a little girl who needs hundreds of rules. Claudia is navigating her first major crush on a boy. And Stacey is leaving her entire New York City life behind...