Kevin Delecki

Who hasn’t imagined a new life, with new parents, in an exciting place? And a castle—definitely a castle! With chefs and maids and servants—everything you could ever want. In Flights and Chimes and Mysterious Times, written by Emma Trevayne, 10-year-old Jack gets exactly this. Unfortunately, things are not as wonderful as they may seem. Jack’s new life takes him out of London to Londinium, a parallel city where the pollution is so bad that people have filters installed in their nostrils, and non-functioning body parts are replaced by devices both mechanical and magical.

Jack first discovers Londinium by accident. All he did was follow Lorcan, the strange man who wanted to take Jack on as an apprentice, through a door at the base of Big Ben. When Jack emerges from the other side, he finds himself surrounded by clockwork and wind-up dolls who can think. The Lady, ruler of Londinium, wants a new son, and Jack is to be that boy. The persistent queen will do anything to have her new, perfect, flesh-and-blood son. Jack receives help from the most unlikely of sources, and must decide whether life in luxury with the Lady is worth the terrible sacrifices it requires.

Flights and Chimes and Mysterious Times is set in a world that draws heavily from the burgeoning steampunk culture—intricate clockwork, detailed mechanized creations, elaborate clothing and accessories. It is a visually rich novel with a unique setting, full of fascinating, complex characters who hold the reader’s attention until the very end. Flights and Chimes and Mysterious Times is a refreshingly distinct voice in middle-grade literature, and will be enjoyed by fans of adventure, steampunk, fantasy and mystery.

It all started with an email—an email that Wade and Darrell, stepbrothers and best friends who are as different as possible, were never meant to read. It was a coded email addressed to Wade’s father, written by Wade’s Uncle Henry shortly before he died under very mysterious circumstances. In The Forbidden Stone, the first book in Tony Abbott’s Copernicus Legacy series, Wade and Darrell—along with Wade’s father, Darrell’s cousin Lily and Lily’s friend Becca—travel to Germany to attend Henry’s funeral. However, once they arrive, they are drawn into a frantic race to uncover secrets guarded for hundreds of years.

But they are not running this race alone. A dangerous organization will stop at nothing to uncover the mysterious relics first. Wade, Darrell, Lily and Becca must stay one step ahead, solving mysteries, cracking codes and piecing together puzzles, many of which date back more than 500 years. They must travel throughout Europe and then the world, into places well known and forgotten, and follow the path that Nicholas Copernicus set for them, in order to gain the first of 12 artifacts.

Intricately written, meticulously researched and full of wit and humor, The Forbidden Stone is a thrilling start to what will surely become a must-read series.

It was just a quick trip down to the shop on the corner, to buy some milk for cereal. And tea. Definitely tea. Nothing out of the ordinary would happen on a trip like that, especially with two children waiting at home to eat their cereal, and their mom gone to a conference. In Fortunately, The Milk, by Newbery Award-winning author Neil Gaiman, the father thinks it should only take a few minutes to walk out of the house, down the street, into the store and back home again, with the milk. Unless . . .

It might take a little longer if he were to be abducted by aliens who intended to remodel the planet. But escaping from them through the space-time continuum shouldn’t take too long, and as long as he still has the milk everything should end happily. Unless he falls through the space-time continuum and ends up on an 18th-century Spanish pirate ship captained by the Queen of the Pirates. However, that adventure would end quickly as well, so long as he were rescued by Professor Steg’s Floaty-Ball-Person-Carrier, and still had the milk in his pocket. Unless Professor Steg was a giant Stegosaurus from the future who could only transport him home in his tempermental time-machine. Though really, as long as he has the milk, everything should work out just fine.

Fortunately, The Milk is a fast-paced, zany story, made even more entertaining by the expressive illustrations of Skottie Young. Gaiman crafts the kind of tale that any parent who has had to come up with a creative on-the-spot defense will recognize. Kids will be in on the joke from nearly the beginning, and will delight in watching the children gain the upper hand and expose their father’s story as nothing but an elaborate excuse. Unless, of course, it isn’t. . . .

Imagine, if you will, a perfect city, filled with perfect, almost glowing people, who lead perfect, happy lives. Now imagine that the magic they need to maintain that perfection is unavailable within their walls.

In The Real Boy, by Anne Ursu, Oscar is a shop boy who toils in the cellar preparing herbs for Caleb, a magician who provides magic to the residents of Asteri. The Barrow, where Oscar and Caleb live, is the center of a powerfully magical area. But now, the Barrow is being threatened by something sinister, and children in Asteri are falling ill.

Oscar doesn’t quite fit in this world, and he spends as much time as possible away from other people and their worries. That all changes, though, when Caleb departs for the mainland, leaving Oscar to run the shop. With the help of Callie, the healer’s apprentice, Oscar begins to discover why the children of Asteri are getting sick. And that discovery may teach Oscar more about himself than he anticipates.

In the overflowing category of books about magic and wizards, The Real Boy stands apart. Filled with rich characters, a fascinating backstory and an exciting conclusion, Ursu’s latest is a worthy successor to her immensely popular novel Breadcrumbs.

It‘s impossible to read The Real Boy and not be captivated by the magical spell of Oscar, Callie and the very special world of the Barrow.

Kyle Keeley just doesn’t stand out. He’s not as strong as his brother Mike, and he’s not as smart as his brother Curtis. However, there’s one thing that can level the playing field between him and his brothers: board games—specifically, board games created by the famous Mr. Lemoncello. Winning board games depends on a good card, a lucky roll of the dice or some quick thinking. In Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, written by Chris Grabenstein, Kyle learns that his hometown’s new library was designed by Mr. Lemoncello himself, and he plans on doing whatever he can to get inside.

By using some quick thinking and ingenuity, Kyle is invited to the invitation-only lock-in at the new library, along with 11 other children. They anticipate an evening of snacks, books, games and fun. What they don’t expect is to be locked in the library and told that they must win a game created by Mr. Lemoncello himself to escape—with the winner starring in advertisements for Mr. Lemoncello’s games! If there is one thing Kyle is good at, it’s games, and he is determined to win this one. Kyle must decide, however, if he can win this game alone, or if he must work with others to decipher the clues, puzzles and tricks laid out for them.

Young readers will find themselves flying through the pages of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library wanting to know what happens next, all while jumping in surprise at what leaps off the page. A mix between playing a game of “Clue” and reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library is a fun, fast-paced story, filled with interesting characters and complex puzzles that will keep just about any reader rolling the dice, spinning the spinner and flipping the cards all the way to the end.

It’s tough being Benji Wendell Barnsworth. As if being born prematurely, fainting on a regular basis and missing school all the time because of illness wasn’t enough, Benji has now ended up in the hospital after having a major seizure at school. In Jenny Lee’s Elvis and the Underdogs, Benji is faced with an impossible choice: Wear a huge, hideous helmet to protect his fragile head from falls or convince his mom to let him have a dog that can sense seizures. However, getting a dog doesn’t turn out exactly as Benji imagined.

The first clue that Elvis is not an ordinary dog is his size. He’s big—no, not just big, but HUGE! The second, and more obvious, clue, is that Elvis introduces himself to Benji as Parker Elvis Pembroke IV, the dog trained to assist the president of the United States. As in, actually introduces himself with words that Benji can understand, even though no one else seems to be able to. Unfortunately, Elvis decides that until the mistake is corrected and he is sent to help the president, he is going to use his voice to boss Benji around. This, however, begins to lead to some unintended consequences and new experiences.

Elvis manages, through stubbornness and determination, to break through the defenses of some surprising people and teach Benji that talking to new people and making friends may not be as awful as he thought.

Elvis and the Underdogs explores the hidden side of people, making the reader look at bullies, athletes and outcasts in an entirely new way. Convincingly told in Benji’s appealing voice and filled with strong, empathetic and fun characters, this heart-warming story will be enjoyed by readers trying to figure out who they really are, and where they fit in the world.