Student Saturday - No Safety In Numbers - Dayna Lorentz

Student Saturday is a day I post reviews written by other students.  The review that follows is written by Meaghan

This book is from the point of view of five teenagers who have (along with many other people) been quarantined in a mall on account that some kid had found a suspicious item in the air ducts of the mall. Some people are trying to keep their own lives from falling apart rather than saving others. Some were forced to be there and would have much rather been at home. Others were just hanging out with friends having a typical day at the mall.

This ‘bomb’ was unfamiliar territory for the local police so the bomb squad and the F.B.I. were all called in, it looked like they were going to be there for a while. At first it was pretty comical being locked in a mall with hundreds of shops and restaurants. After days though it’s no laughing matter. The restaurants have almost completely run out of everything. Enraged rioters have raided stores and shops and everyone is in hysterics. Then the people start getting sick. A hospital has to be set up in an office supply store. Hazmat doctors wheel in two or three patients an hour with al the same symptoms, blue fingers, ears and noses. When the scientists determine what is happening to all these people it is too late. Most of the mall population has been contaminated and even the hazmats can no longer stay to help.

This book is one of my most recommended books.  It has you on a gruesome and twisted roller coaster from the start. I don’t recommend this book to anyone who is squeamish to medical science. No safety in numbers thrust you into a futuristic atmosphere where our government is dealing with different kinds of terrorists, the kind that knows the human race’s weakness, itself.

I recommend not starting this book until close to the end of school because it gets you wrapped up in it and doesn’t give you an ending. The sequel doesn’t come out until July.

SPRING READING CHALLENGE GIFT CARD WINNERS!!!

The winner of the $20 Amazon gift card is Tanya @ Mom's Small Victories

 

The winner of the $10 Amazon gift card is Gina @ Book Dragon's Lair

 

Please send me your email address.

Student Saturday - Unwanteds - Lisa McMann

Student Saturday is a day I post reviews written by other students.  The review that follows is written by Elizabeth

Alex Stow and his twin brother, Aaron Stow face an ugly betrayal on this exciting creative adventure. Alex is thirteen and Alex knows that he will be an unwanted, but his brother is hoping that he will become a wanted and go to Wanted University in Quill.  Alex has curly brown hair, and he has an outgoing creative mind. In Quill, creativity is a death sentence and you will be executed. Alex soon discovers a place called, “Artimé” a fantastic world full of creativity…and mischief. He also meets some new friends on the way. When they meet Mr. Today, a kind, understanding man, they find themselves happy to live in the mansion he owns. They will soon find out how they will defend themselves using the magic of art, including theater, dancing, music, and art itself against Quill. Alex will unravel the truth that has been kept from him and his family in Quill.

With the help of his friends, Alex will be able to face the most challenging obstacles. Alex uses his gift to defend the lovely land of Artimé, and all the creatures, statues, and people who live in it. Alex discovers his connections with his brother and so does Mr. Today. Alex makes new friends and new enemies. Later on Alex realizes that he does not need his brother and family he already has a family in the wonderful, mystical world of Artimé. He also learns to not hold on to something he cannot keep forever. Alex and his friends will soon come face to face with their most cruel, betraying enemies. Alex and his friends have an amazing adventure in the world of Artimé. An extraordinarily fun adventure happens all in the pates of this book. Magic is mixed with fantastic creatures and mystical statues in it.

The book will have your mid go racing with ideas of your own and creativity jumps out at every page. It is an exciting, new adventure with imagination running wild right before your very eyes, all you have to do is read the marvelous book. I enjoyed the book very much; it is a very fun, hilarious, fantasy book. You will not forget the amazing creativity you will experience. It is full of interesting descriptions you could picture very clearly in your head that is if you have the creativity that it takes. Unwanteds takes you to another level of crazy, cool fantasy and it will have you on the edge of your seat. I like that it had magic and mystery in every single pate. I recommend it to those who love, “Harry Potter” and, “The Hunger Game”. I also recommend it to my teacher and fellow classmates who love to read fantasy and mystery. This book also reminded me of “Percy Jackson”.

Hunt and the Hunted

These were the last two books I had read for the Spring Into Reading Challenge.  I had not had a chance to write and post their reviews until today.  I have to say that this was definitely the way to end the challenge.

The Hunt – Andrew Fukuda

Pages: 293
Source:Review copy in exchange for my honest review of the book
Genre:  Young Adult Fantasy

If you like vampire stories then sit back and enjoy this one.  This is not your “Dracula” or “Twilight” vampire story.  No this one is full of descriptive gore.  Imagine living in a society where you are human and must pretend that you are a vampire just to survive.  That is exactly what Gene does.  He’s been trained well to blend in.  He must shave his body every day and make sure he has absolutely no human odor.  He polish his fake fangs.  The problem I saw was that Gene has lived among them for so long that when they talk of humans, called hepers, he has trouble understanding a heper’s point of view, even though he is one. Ashley June is a girl at his school.  She is quick  thinking and definitely has a thing for Gene.  He feels the same way but was always taught to show no emotion.

Ten years have passed since “The Ruler” has had a heper hunt.  He has just announced they have enough humans for a heper hunt and that seven  people will be chosen by lottery to participate.  Gene is one of those unlucky ones.  Now he is to be locked up with the other winners to train for this hunt, along with Ashley June.  He keeps referring to the humans as hepers and the vampires as the people.

One of my favorite parts of the training was when the Director was giving a lecture about hepers .  She droned on about things like the reason hepers sing is because they had a mistaken belief that it helped their food grow.  It showed a weakness on the part of the vampires.  Gene chalks it up to the fact that hepers have become almost extinct so the only thing the vampires can do is speculate.  He makes a comparison to vampires becoming extinct and humans making assumptions such as vampires sleeping in coffins instead of hanging from ceilings in footholds, they would have no reflections, and even made a comment about heper-people romances.  The author’s allusion to “The Twilight Series” and “Dracula” stories made me laugh.

But Gene has another problem. He is a heper, he has met the hepers in the dome and he knows what is to become of them.  Should he share that knowledge or should he continue to play the role of a vampire to save himself?  Lots of twists and turns in this book.  There are a couple of surprises as well.  This was probably one of the best vampire books I’ve read and I can’t wait to read the sequel “The Prey”.  Move over “Hunger Games”.  For those who love dystopian fiction, and vampires, this is the best of both worlds.

Children of the Fog – Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Pages: 278
Source:  purchased
Genre:  Adult Mystery, Thriller

I was captured by the prologue of this book.  I entered to win a copy and did not win, so I purchased it.  From the moment you read the prologue where you find Sadie, an alcoholic determined to commit suicide to the moment she sees the faces of children out side her window as she places the gun to her head, you are caught.  Why does she want to kill herself? What happened to her son? Who are the children outside the window and what do they want?  These were the questions that popped into my head as I began the journey of reading a book that I KNOW I will re-read several more times. 

We find out that Sadie is an author and is currently writing and illustrating a story about bats for her son.  Her illustrative abilities will help and hurt her situation when the notorious “Fog” kidnaps her son in his own bedroom.  She hears a noise and goes to check on him only to catch him in the act. No one has ever seen his face until Sadie.  He gives her a choice, let him leave with her son and he lives or he will kill him right there in front of her.  I kept thinking what I as a mother would do.  One part of me kept thinking I’d rather he kill him so that I knew it would be quick and over because if he took him I had no idea what type of torture he would go through.  The other side of me said, let him  go because I would not want to witness my  child’s murder.  Sadie does just that, lets him go. She is warned she will never see her son again if any details about what he looks like gets out. 

We go from this situation to her husband coming in late.  Right away we know there is a big rift in their marriage.  That helps ramp  up the tension.  When he finds a sketch she has made of the kidnapper, we know from his personality that things have gone from bad to worse.  Throw in the legal troubles he is having and that would be enough for anyone to want to throw in the towel.  Sadie decides to go off into the woods, rent a cabin, get her affairs in order and then take her life.  However, she is getting nightly visits from children who keep telling her they need her help.

There were so many eloquently executed twists and turns in this story. I kept flying through the pages to find out what happened next.  I was frustrated when my husband woke up and told me I had to put the book down because I only had two hours until I had to get ready to go to work. I solved that problem though.  I assigned a silent reading day in class so I could finish the book.  I guess I got pretty involved because I looked up and my students were watching me.  I was making noises as I read the book.  They figured it must be really good if I was “that into it”.  I told them it was and that if I could find a middle grade/young adult book that was as suspenseful, I’d have several copies on my shelves.  This is a definite must read for anyone who loves mysteries, suspense, a good thriller.  This is definitely a great author, one whose works I will continue to read.  I love it when I can find a new author.

Spring Reading Thing Challenge - The End

Well it is that time when we have to say goodbye to a great challenge.  I hope all of you were successful in reaching some or all of your reading goals.  I also hope to see all of you for the "Fall Into Reading Challenge".  Hopefully Katrina will be back to host this  challenge.  If not and no one else is willing to do so then I will host it in the fall.  Please place the link to your final post in Mr. Linky below.  You have until midnight Eastern time to post your link.  I will draw two names early the following morning and post those names on my blog.  You will have 48 hours to contact me with your email address or I will need to draw a new name.  Thank you for participating.  Please link up below.

Spring Reading Thing Wrap-Up

This has been a wonderful  Challenge.  As always I enjoyed forcing myself to read more.  It was a great success for my students as well.  I had more students join this challenge and stick to it. I have a couple of books I must post reviews for this week.  The Hunt, and Children of the Fog will be posted tomorrow. I finished the Hunt about 20 minutes before I started this post.

Below is my original list.  I've drawn lines through those I read.  Those in red were added to the list.  I started with 16  books.  I read a total of 30 books.  However 17  of those books were picture books.  Of the remaining 13 books 2 were adult books,the other 11 were a combination of MG, MG/YA, or YA/Adult.  I had about a quarter of The Musicians to read but stopped because I am finishing up the book Balance by Nik Wallenda in time for his walk across the Grand Canyon this Sunday.  My plans are to have the post up on Saturday, one week after I spoke with him.  My husband and I live in Sarasota, FL and went out and watched him practice on Saturday and were able to talk with both him and his beautiful wife.  I gave them my card so they could read the review after his walk.  As for all of the picture books.  It seems that I have had lots of authors who have written picture books (especially about monsters and farts) that have asked me to read and review their books.  Expect more picture books next week.  I do hope you had as much fun  as I did with this challenge and I hope to see you in the Fall.

Books to Finish:

The Musicians – Liam McAuley 

The Hunt – Andrew Fukida (YA/Adult, Fantasy)

St. Viper’s School for Super Villains – Kim Donevan (MG, Fantasy)

New Books to Read:

Everville: The First Pillar – Roy Huff

A Time For Everthing – David Bond

At Drake’s Command – David Wesley Hill (Adult, HF)

Babel's First Light – Sherry Chamblee

Brain on Fire – Susannah Cahalan

Children of the Fog – Cheryl Kaye Tardif (Adult, Mystery, Suspense)

Dead Man’s Hand – Eddie Jones (MG/YA, Mystery)

Beholding Bee – Kimberly Newton Fusco (MG/YA, Realistic Fantasy)

Children’s Books:

Adventures of Blue Ocean Bob – Brooks Olbrys (picture book)

Alphabet Anatomy – Linda Ann Jones (picture book)

Candy and the Cankersaur - Jason Sandberg (picture book)

Counting to Ten and Sharing My Easter Eggs - David Chuka (picture book)

Circle and Square - Ms. Sally O. Lee (picture book)

Wiggle Jiggle - Alan Dapre  (picture book)
When Monsters Come Out to Play - Samantha Foster (picture book)
Billy and the Monster Who Ate All the Easter Eggs - David Chuka (picture book)
The Boy and the Ocean - Max Lucado (picture book)
Aberrant - Ruth Silver (YA, dystopian)
The Golden Scarab - S.W. Lothian (MG, Fantasy)
The Cursed Nile  - S.W. Lothian (MG, Fantasy)
The Fallen Pharoah - S.W. Lothian (MG, Fantasy)
The Black Duckling - D. Edgar Henneking (picture book)
Froggie - Jeremy Goodison (picture book)
Skippyjon Jones Shape Up - Judy Sachner (picture book)
Froggy Goes to Hawaii - Jonathan London (picture book)
Billy and Monster The Superhero With Fart Powers - David Chuka (picture book)
Billy and Monsters New Neighbor Has a Secret - David Chuka (picture book)
Thompson Twins Call the Cops - Lesa Hammond (MG, Realistic Fiction)
Oh Brother! - Kimberly Sentek (picture book)
Hello Bella - Nicole J. Foster (picture book)
Harold the High Knight and Princess Megan - Micheal Andrisano (MG, Fantasy)
Impostors & One Far Out Flying Machine - Sands Hetherington (MG, Fantasy)

Link Up Below:

SPRING READING THING REMINDER - Time is almost up!

Just two more days until the Spring Reading Thing Comes to an end.  I am sorry I've not been on here promoting it more.  School is finally out and I have put behind me one of the busiest years of my life.
Remember to put up a final post letting us know how your reading went.  My students had to end their challenge early due to school ending.  However. I managed to give away 85 books to students who participated.  Looking forward to next year's students.  We must do whatever it takes to keep the reading love going.  I look forward to seeing how your reading went.  Remember, there are two Amazon cards that will be given away.  You must have your final post up by the 24th.

5 Picture Books, 4 Middle Grade Books

Source:  I received a review copy of each of these books in exchange for my honest review.

Thompson Twins Call the Cops – Lesa Hammond

Pages: 136
Genre: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction

 This is the second book I have read by this author.  This one definitely has a message my students could relate to.  Fifth grade twins Letty and Carlos Thompson live in Oakland, California with their mother.  They don’t live in the best area of town.  One night they hear gunshots, which is not uncommon in their neighborhood.  They end up huddling together in a bedroom farthest from the street to avoid any stray bullets.  This scene brought to mind when my sister lived in Indianapolis.  Her college dorm faced a street where there were often shootings.  They were often moved across the hall to rooms on the other side to avoid stray bullets.

On the way to school the next day the twins are confronted by Hector, a former friend who has hooked up with a gang.  They harass the kids at the store and take whatever they have in their pockets.  They make comments to the girls that make them feel very uncomfortable.  As they are all standing in front of the store they witness a speeding white car almost hit a cat.  They rescue the cat and take it to school.  At school they have a guest speaker.  The officer is there to talk with all of them.  Manuel, one of the students has had other run-ins with the law.  Many of his own family members have been arrested.  Everyone in the class judges him and assumes he is just like his family, never giving him a chance. 

When they get home that afternoon they find there mother there because her car has been stolen.  They assume that it was Hector and his friends responsible for all of this.  They decided to get the evidence or confession out of him.  Overheard by a friends grandmother, they are persuaded to call the cops instead.  They learn some valuable lessons throughout this story.  They learn that you can’t judge people by their family, and that you shouldn’t take matters into your own hands.

These books are full of life lessons that are written mostly for the inner city kid, but will appeal to middle school children everywhere. I have students who live this lifestyle every day.  It is important to have books like this that they can relate to. I look forward to reading future books by this author.

Circle and Square –Sally O. Lee
Pages:  34
Genre: Children’s Picture Book

Sally O. Lee has written another simple book with a simple message and wonderful illustrations. The story is about a circle and a square. They are different from each other. The circle asks the square if it is still a square when it bounces a ball. The circle understands after asking several similar questions that one doesn’t change who they are by doing different activities. It also has a message of being different but, being friends and sharing different likes because of those differences.

Candy and the Cankersaur – Jason Sandberg
Pages:  32
Genre:  Children’s Picture book

Candace Courtney lived in a mansion with her father. Everyone called her Candy. Her father was always traveling on business trips so she didn’t get to spend a lot of time with him. She was constantly sent outside to play. Candy’s neighbor Chucky always tried to outdo whatever toy Candy got.

Candy’s father decided to get her a pet to keep her company. Her pet arrived by helicopter. Her father opened the crate and out came a Cankersaurus Rex. At first, Candy was scared. Then she decided to train him. She named him Cank and began training him. She had one rule, “No Biting”. She taught him to fetch a stick. He liked the taste of the stick so he bit into a bigger one, a tree. When they played hide and seek they couldn’t hide in the rose bush because he would eat the roses.

Candy’s neighbor Chucky became jealous and stole Candy’s Cankersaurus Rex and sold him to the circus. Chucky returned home and saw how sad Candy was. Could he fix the he created? This was a great story and one I believe EVERY PARENT should read with their child. It is a reminder that there is nothing more important than spending time with their children and know that you can’t buy their love.

Alphabet Anatomy: Meet the Capital Letters – Linda Ann Jones

Pages:  32
Genre:  Children’s Picture Book

Author Linda Jones and her illustrator son Branson Jones has created a wonderful pre-k/kindergarten book to teach kids the capital letters. The wonderful rhyming descriptions explain how to draw the letters, gives a word to help remember the letter.  As a teacher who started out teaching kindergarten I can definitely see the value in having this book on your shelf.  If I was teaching kindergarten today I would project one letter at a time, read the rhyme and have the students practice drawing the letter.  I think this should be on every kindergarten classroom shelf.

Oh Brother! - Kimberly Sentek

Pages: 28
Children’s Picture Book

This was an interesting book.  The story is actually told from two perspectives.  We first hear from Nico. He was the only dog in his house for a long time.  Then one day his family brought home another dog. The new dog’s name was Tugger. He got on Nico’s nerves because he cried and took his toys.  Just like all new members to a family, Tugger got most of the attention.  He doesn’t understand why they don’t love him anymore.  He also tells of playing with Tugger and laughing at all of his puppy antics.  As Tugger begins to grow up they begin to get along and Nico decides he likes having Tugger around.  The second half of the story is told from Tugger’s perspective.  Tugger wants to play with Nico but Nico ignores him.  The solution?  He begins to take and play with Nico’s toys.  He tries everything he can think of to get Nico to play with him, but Nico gets grumpier until he rolls a red ball to him.  He lets Nico go first. They both begin enjoying each other’s company.  The underlying story is about accepting new family members and fighting the jealousy.  I read this to my grand-daughter and then gave it to her to share with her brother.  She has just learned she has a new step-sister.  She’s not met her yet.  She was angry with her father feeling like he didn’t love them anymore and so she wasn’t going to like the new baby.  After reading the book she changed her mind.  She’s decided it’s not the new baby’s fault and that maybe when the baby gets older they can be friends.  I would say that this book was a great success.  Yes my grand-daughter has always thought things through in a more mature way.  But, I saw a tough lesson taught in such a simple manner.  I think this should be a book given to families finding them self suddenly in change whether it is from the birth of a new child or the blending of families.

The Riotous Rocket Ship Robbery – Kim Donovan

Pages:  160
Genre:  Upper Elementary/Middle Grade Fantasy

 Imagine going to school inside a volcano where you learn to be bad, and get extra points for being extra bad.  That’s right, you get to take classes such as World domination taught by Dr. Super Evil, The Super Simulator in the evil hands of Vera Vile and Sinister Science by Professor Plutonium.  Well, If you attended St. Viper’s School For Super Villains you would be doing that and much more. 

Demon Kid is one of the lucky attendees along with his friends Stacey Stretch, Wolfgang, a young werewolf, and others.  However, this school is similar to our very own schools.  They have bullies just like we do.  The difference is that these bullies are super villains who also bully other super villains, namely Demon Kid and his friends.   For a bad guy Demon Kid is always trying to help his friends. Now he has to find a way to stop the super villains who are constantly picking on them, all the while learning to dominate the world.  This is a cute book and one I could see my reluctant readers picking up.  It is full of action and humor.

Hello Bella – Nicole J. Foster

Genre: Children’s Picture Book
Source:  review copy from publisher

This cute little book would be a great intro for your preschool children. Ages 2 and up will not only be enchanted with a simple story and wonderful pictures, but will learn how to say hello in several languages. Bella is a cute dog who is taken for a walk. As she passes the pizzaria, bakery and other places along her walk she is greeted in different languages. I imagine you could make the repetition a game with younger children. Either way I definitely look forward to sharing this with my grand...moreThis cute little book would be a great intro for your preschool children. Ages 2 and up will not only be enchanted with a simple story and wonderful pictures, but will learn how to say hello in several languages. Bella is a cute dog who is taken for a walk. As she passes the pizzaria, bakery and other places along her walk she is greeted in different languages. I imagine you could make the repetition a game with younger children. Either way I definitely look forward to sharing this with my grandkids.

HAROLD THE HIGH KNIGHT AND PRINCESS MEGAN by Michael Andrisano
Pages: 222
Genre:  Children’s Fantasy

Brother and sister Harold and Megan have lost their father.  Harold is awakened on night by a ghostly visitor who explains to Harold that he must save his father.  His dad is being held  by gnome named Gagledormius.  He must solve a riddle to help find his father.  The problem is that Harold is terrible at puzzles.  His mom doesn’t believe him when he tells her about the visit.  His sister does.  When mom refuses to help they try their classmates.  They realize they must convince their mom and go to Ireland to figure all of this out.  Along the way they will meet fairies and leprechauns and find plenty adventure on their path to finding their father.

This is a cute fantasy for those who love reading about Irish figures.  However, as a middle school teacher I recognized some of the problems my students have when writing.  The paragraphs go on and on. There are a couple of places where we go from one point of view to another and back again.  This was distracting for me.  However, the story line makes up for these few mistakes.  I believe this would be a great book for reluctant readers.

Impostors & One Far-Out Flying Machine - Sands Hetherington
Pages: 320
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Crosley is a bright red crocodile that lives under the bed of John Degraffenreidt. Why? John has so much energy he has difficulty going to sleep. He and Crosley go on night-time adventures called programs. His boss or handler is named Crenwinkle. In the first book they had to find out who was stealing all of the pineapple cheesecakes. This time the adventure is one that affects Crosley. There are several impostors running around town as red crocodiles, and they are doing bad things. Crosley's boss and brother Crenwinkle along with John must get help to solve this mystery. They rely on a friend from the first book to help. Along the way they must get help from Rodney Oglesby who runs a very unique hotdog stand. he sells sauerkraut and jelly bean hotdogs.  Come along on this adventure and find out how they solve this new mystery. Thebook teaches kids about obeying rules and laws, teamwork, honesty and many more lessons.

At Drake’s Command – David Wesley Hill

Publisher: Temurlone Presss
Pages:  424
Source:  I received a review copy in exchange for my honest review
Genre:  Adult, Historical Fiction

My Thoughts:
For those of you who love historical fiction this just might be the book for you.  David Wesley Hill has created a character that is very believable.  Young Perry James is found at the beginning of the book tied to a whipping post, preparing to be whipped for a crime of which he was innocent.  He convinces Sir Francis Drake to take him onboard as a cooks helper.  From this point on the adventures for young Perry grow.  As the adventures grow we see him mature and grow.  The use of metaphors helps paint a picture that uses all of the senses to bring the reader along for the ride.  I believe this was most important as the book would be difficult to understand if you did not have a vast nautical vocabulary.  The writing was so artfully done that I, a landlubber, was able to picture this vast ship.  I could feel the breezes blowing through my hair and feel myself being tossed as the ship’s sails billowed pulling the ship forward.  The adventure of the travel keeps you on the edge of the seat waiting to see what would happen next.  For this reason I was please to realize there is a second book coming.  All I can say at this point is let the adventure continue.

Classics to Farts, Six Children's Books

The Black Duckling - D. Edgar Henneking
This is a wonderful re-telling of "The Ugly Duckling". What made this book unique was that instead of hand-drawn or painted illustrations the book is full of realistic photographs.  I love this story and love to share it with my grandkids.  We talk about how words hurt and how there is always beauty in every person.  I definitely recommend this book to parents of young children.

Froggie - Jeremy Goodison
Froggie is the King of Frongland. While telling the reader what it is like in Frogland where he is king, children learn important lessons such as eating right, brushing their teeth, taking naps and of course my favorite, the benefits of reading books to make you smart.

Skippyjon Jones Shape Up - Judy Sachner
Skippyjon takes the child age 0-4 and teaches them shapes in a fun way. Skippyjon stays in shape by running in a circle or dancing on a square. This is a fun and simple way to discuss and teach basic shapes. I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.







                                                      Froggy Goes to Hawaii - Jonathan London
Wonderful Pictures and a Wonderful Story.  Froggy and his family is getting ready to go on vacation to Hawaii.  When mom wakes Froggie up he is having difficulty settling down.  He is told to pack and reminded to pack his swimsuit.  He packs his toy plane, boat and his ukelele into his bag and runs outside in his pajamas.  Once dressed they head off to the airport where we see he is still hyper.  He has difficulty waiting in line, waiting to get there and thinking what he is doing before he does it. Froggie and his family have a lot of adventure on their vacation.  Read the book to see what type of adventures he has.  I read this book on the site "wegivebooks.org

Billy and Monster The Superhero with Fart Powers - David Chuka
Billy and Monster have one wish, they would love to be superheroes.  They day dream of this in school.  Billy's dad is reading the paper at the table one night when he tells them about a jewelry thief who is stealing jewelry from rich, fancy dinner parties.  The mayor has promised a reward.  The next day Billy and Monster attend a fancy dinner party with his parents.  The jewelry thief shows up.  It is up to Billy and Monster to use their super power to save the day. You must read the book to find out how they do it.

Billy and Monster's New Neighbor Has a Secret - David Chuka

Billy knows most of the neighbors on his street.  For years there has been no one living in the house next door.  One day Billy and Monster are playing race cars in the livingroom when there is a knock at their front door.  They have new neighbors in the house next door.  Billy's dad invites them in.  Sally is trying to be friends with Billy but Billy thinks she is just being a pest and yells at her.  Billy is sent to his room.  The next day he goes over to apologize.  Sally's father takes Billy into the back yard where Sally is.  It is here that Billy discovers that Sally has a secret.  You really need to read this book to find out what the secret it.  I mean, it wouldn't be a secret if I told you.