Art2-D2’s Guide to Folding and Doodling by Tom Angleberger J Ang

I liked this book because it taught drawing and origami.  It also has comics in it. It tells the story of Origami Yoda.  The other characters are Harvey, Tommy, Kellen, and Dwight. It is part of the Origami Yoda series.  It is also a how-to book that teaches you how to fold origami Princess Leia, Admiral Akbar, and R2-D2.  I would recommend this book to anyone who loves origami, drawing, and Star Wars.  I liked this book because it was awesome and would like you to, too.

 by Ethan, fourth-grade reader

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein J Gra

Luigii Lemoncello is the gazillionaire creator of every kind of game a 12-year-old could want, from board games to computer games. He has used his enormous wealth to build a new library for his hometown of Alexandriaville, Ohio. Everything about the library is top-secret, so the entire town is itching for the grand opening. But Mr. Lemoncello can't let such an occasion pass without creating a little dramatic flair himself, so he has devised a contest to select 12 12-year-olds from town to be the first to explore the new library during an overnight lock-in.
When the next morning comes, however, the doors remain locked and the real game begins. The twelve participants, should they accept the challenge, must figure out a secret way out of the library. ("The way out is not the way you came in.") Clues are all over the library and individuals soon realize that working together is better than working separately. Two teams emerge.
The main character is Kyle Keeley, super-competitor and avid game player who knows just about everything there is to know about Mr. Lemoncello's games. He's at a real disadvantage, though, when it comes to book experience and library know-how. He first teams up with his best friend, super-smart Akimi Hughes. With Kyle's problem-solving know-how, and Akimi's book smarts, they form a plan to find and decipher the clues.
I like to play games and to solve puzzles. This book was written so that I could kind of play the game along with the characters and try to figure out how all the clues came together to provide the secret escape route. It kept me thinking and reading. I also liked the way the author included references to other books for young people, and not just the ones included by title in the story. There are also a lot of references to the Dewey Decimal system, worked in in sort of an incidental way.
This book was fast-paced with likable characters. There was only one thing that didn't really make sense to me. The new library was built because the old one had been torn down 12 years before -- and never replaced! I can't believe any city or town would go without a library for so long -- or would tear one down without already having a new one ready to move into. Okay, so maybe I'm a bit partial to the importance of libraries. I think the author could have used the same story line with a new building that was just replacing an old one. Regardless, Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library was a lot of fun.

AR Level: 4.5
AR Points: 7

Mister Max: Book One, The Book of Lost Things by Cynthia Voigt J Voi

Mister Max by Cynthia Voigt: Book One, The book of Lost things, in which Max misses the boat. No, really. Twelve-year-old Max is to meet his parents at the harbor after his art lesson. They would all board the boat Flower of Kashmir and depart for an extended stay in India, where Max's parents would develop a theatre company at the request of the Maharajah of Kashmir. But when Max arrives, there is no sign of his parents or a boat named the Flower of Kashmir. In fact, there has never been such a boat in the harbor, according to the harbormaster. But he does have a note for Max from his father, a note that doesn't really explain what had happened and even adds to the mystery of his parents' disappearance.

After the realization has sunk in that he has been left alone, Max makes his way to the library, where his Grammie works, and tells her the news. Of course Max will stay with her, she decides. But Max knows that Grammie can't really afford another person living on her small librarian's salary. So in addition to trying to solve the mystery of his parents' whereabouts, he also needs to find a way to make some money.

So begin Max's adventures, through a series of chance encounters with people who just happen to be in the right place at the right time to help him solve some of their mysteries, if not his own.

This is the first of a three-book series by award-winning author Cynthia Voigt. Voigt usually writes for an older audience, but this one hits its mark with a slightly younger set who may envy Max his independence and chance to prove he can manage on his own. There are enough characters whose lives overlap, intertwine and impact each other's and Max's, and a few small clues dropped throughout the story that it is just hard to put it down.

I read an advance reader's copy; the book will be released September 10. Already I'm eager to read book two. Put this title on your list and put a hold on it at the library. You won't be disappointed.