The Beast of Seabourne by Rhys A. Jones

                The Beast of Seabourne is book two in a series called the Artifact Series. The target audience of readers are middle schoolers but, much like the Harry Potter series, even adults will enjoy this action packed magical adventure. The author states in the back of the book that some of his inspirations are J.K. Rowling and Neil Gaiman, among others, which I found interesting because as I read the book I thought about how it reminded me of those authors’ works. I haven’t read book one yet and although it would be enjoyable and beneficial to do so, it’s not necessary in order to read book two because the author does a great job of giving just enough back story to know what is going on without ruining the story of book one. The friendship between the three friends is realistic and heartwarming as they argue and stick up for each other whether against bullying classmates or the terrifying beast that has been terrorizing Oz’s classmates. There’s also lots of science tidbits written in such a way that a kid reading this book may actually learn something from it. There is lots of action that will keep even the most reluctant reader interested. I read this on my ereader and the formatting was perfect. The cover is a good representation of the story. This is an excellent book and it’s worth checking out the rest of the series.

Tales from Little Lump: Night of the Undead Snow Monkeys by Jeff Folschinsky

                Tales From Little Lump is a series of short tales (this particular one is around fifty-four pages) about the town of Little Lump, named after lumpy coal, and the extremely strange residents whose antics are so funny I found myself giggling out loud and I am definitely not a giggler. This is book two in the series and aptly titled Night of the Undead Snow Monkeys. Without giving book one away, a colony of snow monkeys are contaminated, killed and come back from the dead in zombie form, hell bent on eating and killing the residents of Little Lump. The story follows Gertie and Cousin Tommy as they try to find cover from these marauding zombies. This is a great short tale with hilarious characters. The dialogue is funny and the whole series belongs on television. This book is perfect on my ereader format wise and the cover is as funny as the book. I can’t wait for more Tales From Little Lump and, except for the marauding monkeys, wouldn’t mind living in Little Lump myself.

Gertrude and the Magical Fish by Angela Emily Neveins

                Gertrude and the Magical Fish is a sweet little children’s book written by first time author Angela Emily Neveins and illustrated by Mahfuja Selim. Gertrude is an elderly lady who lives in the magical kingdom of Avalon with her cat Mr. Whiskers. She is very lonely and one day comes across a talking fish that turns into a little girl. This is a lovely little story that teaches the idea that sometimes giving up someone you love to make them happy will end up with you being happy as well. The book explains it much better than I do. The vocabulary is appropriate for children to have the book read to them and the illustrations are bright and cheerful. I read this on my ereader which doesn’t always work well for picture books but Gertrude and the Magical Fish turned out not too bad although the actual book would be more entertaining for a child. The cover is appealing and attractive. This is a delightful book with a subtle yet lovely message.