The Secret Underground by Natalie Bahm

Twelve year old Ally, and her irritating little brother Eric are surprised on their way home from the movies one night when Ally comes across a bank robbery in progress. Terrified by the dreams of the "Gauze Men", especially the robber with his scary light blue eyes who knocked Ally over, she starts isolating herself from the group of girls in her class and joins her brother and the other boys in the neighborhood who start digging holes in the backyard. Except, they aren't just building a hole! It's a series of tunnels which run all around the neighborhood. The final goal of the boys is to enter the forbidden and long abandoned steel mill across the field. What boy doesn't dream of building tunnels in your backyard to exciting destinations?  But the boys and Ally are not the only ones who know about the tunnels or the abandon steel mill.  Those exciting adventures can have terrible consequences!

100% of proceeds from this book will be donated to help a baby boy named Jayden, and contribute toward his family's massive medical expenses. Jayden suffers from a combination of congenital problems including Hirschsprung's disease.

This book was a treat to read! I would highly recommend it to any boy or girl who doesn't mind dirt under their fingernails and has a sense of adventure! Thrilling, adventurous and terrifying all in one! 

 Publisher: NLA Digital Liaison Platform LLC (September 28, 2012)
 Print Length: 136 pages

disclosure: received galley copy through www.netgalley.com 

Poseidon by George O'Connor

Poseidon by George O'Connor

This is the 5th is the graphic novel series by George O'Connor. 

The Greek Gods comes to life with the 5th in George O'Connor's dynamic graphic novel series. In this book we learn of the illusive and often misunderstood Poseidon, King of the Seas. Readers will learn the stories of the minotaur, cyclops and founding of Athens. A treat for readers 9 and up.

Part of the Olympians Series including: Hades, Zeus, Hera, Athena and Perseus.

Publication Date: March 19, 2013  

disclosure: received galley copy through www.netgalley.com

The Island Horse by Susan Hughes

Susan Hughes transports us back in time with her new novel, "The Island Horse".

Ellie loses her mother to an illness and her father loses his job while caring for her.  Life is difficult for Ellie and her father but coastal Nova Scotia is home and she can visit her mother's grave on the bluff. Then everything changes when her father finds a job on the remote off the coast of Nova Scotia. Sable Island, basically a sandbar manned to rescue sailors, passengers and cargo of the ship's that have run aground. It's a dangerous job for her father and a strange, isolating place.  Not much survives on the island but the families, hardy grasses and the wild horses. Ellie feels anger and grief for having to leave her mother and all she's ever known to live on a the remote Sable Island. She doesn't like this new place or Sarah, the new spirited girl who lives on the island. While her father works Ellie begins to explore the island, forming a trusting relationship with one of the wild stallions she names Orchid and his herd.  When Orchid and his family are threatened, it's up to Ellie and Sarah to form a friendship and save the herd.


This book is a gem for anyone who grew up dreaming of horses. Susan Hughes' detailed description of life on Sable Island helps visualize life on the remote islands off Nova Scotia at the early half of the 19th century. Although the characters are fictitious, the island and wild horses are not. Sable Island is now protected by the Canadian government. 

The Island Horse, 160 pages is suitable for readers seven to 10 years old (grades 2-5).
disclosure: galley copy received through www.netgalley.com