Clubs and Schools Books

My family has enjoyed listening to the Harry Potter audio books for several years. Jim Dale's readings include a host of characters with remarkably distinctive voices that carry over from the first book, the Sorcerer's Stone, to the last. He reads with fabulous energy and makes these great stories come to life like nothing I've ever heard before.
The Prisoner of Azkaban is no exception. This audiobook is a fabulous way to enjoy several afternoon in the car or in your favorite chair at home.

A fellow Potter fan pointed out that this book was longer than "Chamber"
My bad.
I must have been confusing the movies. DOH!!!
I blame it on age. :)
As for the book, ahem....
In short, it's brilliant.
All the action and drama of the first two with twists and turns that made it almost impossible to put down.
The Prisoner of Azkaban further advanced the series with slightly more mature themes and an absolutely haunting atmosphere.
This book solidified the series as a force to be reckoned with.
Same as the previous two, highly recommended.

Like the first two Harry Potter books this book is great, it is in this book that parents should beware; it starts to have a few more moments that might scare the younger reader, it takes on a darker side as Harry ages and Voldemort begins to gain his power back, Definately makes you want to continue to read the complete set, this is my second time thru the books and I never tire of reading them. Great Reading for all ages

I liked, is in good condition,parece nuevo, a mi sobrina le encanto thank you !!!! por tener todos estos tipos de libros.

It's a great story, with much more detail and interest than the movie that was based on it. Jim Dale's performance is excellent and really brings life to the characters.

I took off one star because one of the disks was scratched & Amazon cowered behind their policy that they would not allow an exchange of an audio product that was opened.

A must read for anyone with type 1 diabetes, or who knows someone with type 1 diabetes, or who likes to read a great book.

I was driving when my 8 year old daughter announced that "Stacy has type 1 too, mom!" "Who is Stacy?" I asked her. "Stacy, the babysitter..." she replied. I started to tell her she didn't have a sitter named Stacy when I realized she was talking about the book she was reading, The Truth about Stacy. How cool! My daughter has type 1 diabetes and had found a heroine who she could really relate to!

We got other BSC books from the old series to read (not the graphic novels), but they hadn't been updated the way the versions Raina Telgemeier illustrated and adapted. Kudos to Raina, who took the time to learn about type 1 and make sure the information was up to date and accurate.

I love the BSC, and the earliest books in the series are my favorites. Ann Martin is one heck of a writer, and this third book in the BSC series tackles some serious issues - Stacey's struggles with diabetes, moving to a new town and fitting in, the loss and re-gain of old friends. A subplot in this book is the girls dealing with a copycat club called the Baby-Sitters Agency that threatens to put them out of business.
Ann, I wish you had written every single book in the series and not used ghostwriters for so many of them!

Raina Telgemaier has outdone herself in this adaptation of a book from the incomparable Baby-sitters Club series!!

This book was one of the best books in the baby sitter club serious and you know there were a LOT! This book really got deep in to Staceys feelings about having deiabets and her strugles with that.
Also the whole club is faced with a problem...some one else has started there own baby sitters club!!!!!!!
Now this wouldn't be so bad if that club wasn't getting more people calling them....and then when that club pays a trick on them the baby sitters club knows the other club HAS to go!!!

I thought that this book was brillantly written! go AMM!I mean of course there is going to be compeition and everything with the club, and how sometimes parents can be so impossiable! even though we know that they do care they seem a little overprotective and dont really listen to what we have to say, so i like this book a lot. and i like it when stacey and charollete bonds, this book is realy good. and its so sad how stacey was upset because she cares about the babysitters club because she doesnt want to lose any of her friends, and i liked that her and laine[her former best friend] were cool again.

I love this book, it has to be my favorite book of all time. Abby is the new girl in town and she moved her from Long Island with her mom and twin sis, Anna.

Anyways Abby is made to write a bio about her life for English. I seriously think this is the best one out of the Portrait Collection. Abby is so down to earth, humorous, and down right honest it's hard not to like her.

There are painful siturations in the book such as the details of her father's death, and the way she and her family handled it. It was with such honestly, you felt for Abby really bad espeically if you lost someone you truly and honestly love.

The hightlights of the book were whenever her family decided to go to Florida for Winter Break, and they althrough started out in seperate ways, but ended up retelling their favorite holiday stories, and creating new ways to celebrate the holidays together as a new family.

If you haven't read this book you should have. You will not be dissappointed. The way the book was written you find it hard not to like Abby especially after all the tragic situration her and her family had to endure, makes her a winner in all levels.

This book was so sad, it went into alot of detail about Abby's dad's death and how her mum never really gets over it (well, thats my impression) and how and how she went through everything. You really start to feel bad for Abby in the end! Read it if you like serious books, but not if you dont!

This book is the best, since Abby's the best baby-sitter! I really miss her in the new series, Friends Forever! I wish that there was a real person like Abby, so I could meet her! Please write some more regular BSC books, Ann, I really miss Abby!

Abby is, without question, my favorite member of the BSC series. (Yes, folks, the BSC has a following of ALL ages). Abby is smart, funny, wonderfully clever and gifted with natural expression. She's great! I like the way she tells her story in a tone of unflinching honesty and the part about the deep bond she and her dad have is classic. I also loved the way Abby's twin, Anna used musical terms to name the chapters of her version of their lives together. The sisters balance one another well. Abby is a very distinct personality and she is sorely missed in the new series. I wish Ann M. Martin would bring her back. Abby rocks!

The book has some parts which are funny and sad. Abby tells us how she was born and how she lived on Long Island.

As an English professor and an avid reader, it's been a source of distress that one of my grandchildren doesn't like to read. He is fast-paced and doesn't like to slow down long enough to read; like so many of my students, he'll "wait for the movie." Recently he told me that his class at school had been reading THE SHADOW CLUB and that he had been reading ahead because he loved it. I bought it for him on the spot and purchased THE SHADOW CLUB RISING, the sequel, and two other books by Shusterman as well. He was excited to have them and has told me at length what he likes about the books: the constant action and drama, the characters sympathetic to his age group (11), etc. I thank Neal Shusterman for turning my grandson on to reading at long last!

Book Review
Shadow Club
By: Neal Shusterman

Jared and Cheryl always were second best, always living in someone else's shadow. Jared came in second at the races he was in and Cheryl's cousin would always upstage her. No one likes to lose especially all the time. Always being kicked into the dirt. They were sick of it so they decided to fight back. They gathered all the second-best people and went to their old hide out in the forest and formed a club, the Shadow Club was formed. At first it was just about pulling harmless pranks on their enemies and thinking of ways to hurt them but it went to far. Is someone trying to frame them? What will happen to the Shadow Club?
Shadow Club is a thrilling story that both boys and girls will love an maybe some adults. I wish it didn't have to end. It's filled with action, humor, suspense, and lots of mysteries. I recommend this book to any one who likes to get sucked into their book and forget about the world around them. Its so detailed that it feels like your really there in the story. It will have your eyes glued to it until the last pages have turned.

-Megan C.

Jared, a ninth-grader, is so sick of always being the second-best runner on his team. No matter how hard he pushes himself, he is always beaten by Austin. To make things worse, Austin loves to rub it in when he beats Jared.

Jared's best friend Cheryl knows how he feels. Her cousin Rebecca, who is a year younger than her, is a better singer than Cheryl and she seems to be constantly rubbing Cheryl's face in that fact. Jared and Cheryl are both fed up.

When they feel they can't take it anymore, Jared and Cheryl decide to start a secret club to vent their feelings--The Shadow Club. They invite Cheryl's little brother Randall, who is the number two swimmer on his team. They invite the second best trumpeter, the second prettiest girl in the class, the second best basketball player, and the second best student to join.

All of the members of the club get together and at first aren't sure what to do besides say bad things about those who are beating them all of the time. Then they decide that more needs to be done. Jared comes up with the idea of playing practical jokes on those students they detest. He thinks if no one knows about the club and no one plays a joke on his or her own enemy, all of the club members will escape being suspected of playing the jokes. So it starts.

Green slime shows up in a trumpet before a big solo. The best student's pet tarantula is put in the hood of the best runner's sweatshirt. The best swimmer has his toenails painted bright red while he's asleep.

The members of the Shadow Club are thrilled with their accomplishments. But then things start getting out of control. Jokes are being played that no one seems to know about, and they are getting meaner and more destructive by the day. Could someone be trying to frame the members of the club?

I thought this book captured the attitude of many junior high school students--it highlighted the feelings of competition and the petty nastiness that occurs in students of this age. I thought Jared should have been able to see when things were getting out of control, though, and should have been able to stop the club before anything bad happened.

The Shadow Club
By: Neal Shusterman

Review done by: A Mid-Prairie Teen Student

You would have no idea what you would be expecting if you got a book titled The Shadow Club, I sure didn't. The Shadow Club is a great book having middle school to high schooled aged students making mistakes and seeing the consequences in the end.
Jared, a middle school aged kid, is the main kid in this story. He is the second best runner in his school and hates being second best. He absolutely hates Eric, the best runner in school, and would do absolutely anything he could to be better than Eric. This is where the trouble started.
Jared's friend Cheryl, the second best singer, wanted to start a club called the Shadow Club. This means for people to come to this club if they're second best in something. Like second best singer, second smartest person in school, and even second prettiest girl in school. All these second best kids formed this club and got themselves into trouble without even knowing it.
This is quite a story and it is written by Neal Shusterman a fantastic author. He is an American author of books for young readers, and also a screenwriter. He has won and award called the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for The Schwa Was Here, and he was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He now lives in Orange County, California with his four children. So as you have seen he has a busy life but he has certainly used some of his time to write great books.
This is an amazing book but I'm not going to tell you what happened in the end. Once you read it, it will shock you incredibly as you will see. I will tell you though that it teaches great things like making friends, the trouble you can get yourself into with just starting little things, and how much hate can really hurt someone else's life.
I dare you to read this book even if you think you're the best person in your school. Just go and read this book so that you can see the secrets some second best people may be thinking right now.

I have been reading the Shadow Club to my 7th graders for more than 10 years. The humor, especially in the character of Ralphy Sherman, keeps the class listening. The suspense builds to the point that I have students begging me not to stop reading. Many students tried to buy the book because they just couldn't wait for me to finish reading. I was happy for a few years that it was out of print, so they couldn't find it to read ahead of me.
There are many lessons that apply directly to children of middle school age, and my favorite is looking at how the students laughed at Tyson McGaw at the beginning, but feel for him at the end of the book. Hopefully they will look closer at individuals and not make fun of them because they are different.
I have never had a student who didn't like this book and it is the only one that I have read that when I finish, the students applaud.

I could not believe Stacey,AT ALL!She is so boy-crazy,such a snob,and she always seems to get what she wants. Cluadia wants to be her friend again...or at least tries to. And all Stacey does is act like a big b-word! It's like she doesn't care about Claudia anymore,only Jeremy. Claudia and Jemery were made for eachother. I can't believe Stacey has him. Well,Claudia's found a new friend. Erica. She's adopted and she wants to know who are her biological parents. And Claud totaly understands how she feels because she used to think she was adopted. They become good friends...until Cluad calls her "Stacey" by mistake and can sometimes only talk about Stacey. Claud and Stace almost made up but then Stacey screwed up.

This was the first Friends Forever book I've read, and I liked this really much! This books was more realistic than the BSC series (and definitely more realistic than the Super Special series) and so good!!! I like that Claudia's got a new friend, Erica.I also like the other baby-sitters got new friends outside the club (Claudia and Erica, Stacey and Rachel, ect.) But I didn't like that Claud & Stace are fighting over a boy. I think Jeremy is better for Stacey, but I'm in Claudia's side at the Friendship Feud.

In this book (number 4), you see the huge fight with Claudia and Stacey in Claudia's point of view (just so you know- if you aggreed with Stacey in book #2, you'll probably change your opinion).

Claudia gets a new friend- her name is Erica. (In the last book, Stacey became friends with Claudia's old enemy, Rachel.) Stacey also gets WAY more over-protective with Jeremy when he starts hanging out with Claudia more. Mary Anne is still kind of sad about breaking up with Logan, especially when she sees him noticing other girls.

My thoughts on this book: I thought it was great! I'd read the Stacey version of "the fight" earlier, and it makes you see "the fight" in a totally different perspective. As always, the book was fun to read, well-written, and kept true to Claudia-the-character... though Stacey DID seem to be quite a bit more mean than usual. All in all- a great book!

All right, this is how it goes. Stacey stole Jeremy and I have to say I despise her for it. Claudia saw and met him first. Also, I can't believe Stacey would want to make an attempt to apologize to Claudia and then say, ''Okay, Claudia, I will not allow you to get anywhere near Jeremy." What right does she have to say that! Claudia can choose her own friends, but obviously Stacey can't see that! The book was good, except now I know I am on Claudia's side in the friendship feud. I'm glad Claudia is friends with Erica now, too. Erica is much, much, MUCH cooler than Stacey. If you want to find out more, read "Claudia and the Friendship Feud." That book is awesome, and I'm sure #5: Kristy Power! will be just as awesome!

This book is one of my favorites in the BSC Friends Forever Series so far! A great job you're doing, Ms. Martin! Keep up the good work! I will certainly try to be the first one in line to recieve Kristy Power!

Claudia thinks her ex-best friend Stacey is a liar, a cheat, and a boyfriend-stealer. Sure, she misses Stacey... but she isn't about to talk to her. Instead she's finding new friends, like Erica Blumberg. And the most unexpected friend of all--Jeremy Rudolph, the boy who Stacey stole. Things are about to get very complicated...Will the friendship feud ever end? Read this book to find out!

THIS BOOK IS AN EXCELLENT LEARNING TOOL. IT IS A CHRISTMAS PRESENT AND I AM SURE IT WILL BE READ AND EACH CHILD WILL LEARN FROM IT!

An excellent message and a good chapter book for those readers who are starting to gain confidence.

I just got this book yesterday for my son who just turned 3 years old. He really enjoyed it and after reading it, he kept asking me to read it over. He was very interested because he started asking questions at the end. He just started preschool and I wanted to introduce him to possible situations he might go through while in school. This story gives a great lesson on how to handle a situation when someone says something mean to you. My son also enjoyed it because the situation takes place in school and at a basketball court, which he can relate to because he started school and he loves to play basketball.

I was looking for a book to help my 9 year-old deal with other kids who say cruel and demeaning things. My son and I sat down and read the book together and then discussed how saying "so" when mean things are said takes away the bullies power. We decided that "so" was his new secret weapon.

My son was so excited when the very next day at school he used his secret weapon and it worked. He has also shared the book with a few of his classmates and it has helped them too.

GREAT BOOK!

The Meanest Thing To Say is not about saying mean things back to mean people. And it isn't even about mean people. What it IS about is children learning self-control, level-headedness and heart. When the new kid, Michael, calls Little Bill names, and says he has to think of the meanest things to say back the next day, Bill is frustrated and anxious. This comes up at home and his dad tells him to just say, "So?" to everything. Little Bill does this and it halts Michael. It takes two people to fight. But the moral of the story doesn't stop here. Bill observes Michael is a new student and maybe just needs a friend. So he invites him to play basketball with him and they become friends.

Unfortunately it is reality that children can be very mean and hurtful. As parents, we need to teach our children how to handle bullies and it's equally as important to teach them not to BE a bully. Also, just ignoring mean actions and words doesn't always work. Everyone has good in them and we all, ages 2-102 need to offer kindness instead of anger. Great job, Cosby! Thank you and please keep writing. Peace & Soar!o8E

I didn't think this book was so good. It was only ok. Mallory has to baby-sit for twins. The twins wear the same things, share a room, ( they even have the same stuff) In the end The twin realize that they need their own space. If you are a Mallory fan.... you should read this book.

This is definetly one of the best BSC books. Its about Mallory getting a job for twins Marilyn and Carolyn Arnold Mal thinks it will be easy money but the twins are little brats when Mallory finds out the truth about the feelings about being identical twins will she help them out?

I loved this book! It is about Mallory who gets a job to babysit for twins! She thinks it will be easy, but when the mother leaves, the twins go crazy. While Mallory is struggling, Claudia also has to battle them. Finally,using a special method, the twins are acting normal, but they tell Mallory that they want to be different. And with saying that, their life and Mallory's life changes just a little bit. :)

this was definitely one of my favourite books and it has one of the best covers too. Basically Mallory is sitting for the Arnold twins and they are terrors, but it turns out that they just wanted to be individual people instead of dressing alike all the time. My favourite parts were the birthday party, the shopping trip where they bought new sophisticated clothes with their birthday money, and when the club members go on a shopping trip and most of them get their ears pierced after Mal & Jessi got permission and also the part where they got new earrings. But honestly, who waits that long to have them pierced at an older age? Most people I know, including myself were not old enough to remember getting our ears pierced, so it seemed really strange to me that most of them weren't allowed until them and some of them not being allowed until they're older. Anyways back to the book, it was well written descriptively and definitely worth a read. Enjoy

When 11 year old Mallory baby sits for Marilyn and Carolyn Arnold, she thinks it's going to be okay. But when Mrs. Arnold leaves, the twins turn into horrible brats. Taking care of The Arnold Twins is a baby sitting nightmare. But Mallory's a responsible member of the BSC- and she's not giving up!

I have always loved the books on Mary Ann. I am, like Mary Ann, also very shy and sensitive. After reading this book I walked away feeling braver and stronger. I love the new Mary Ann because she is not only her caring old self but also a new more confident person. This book is really an insperation. It also shows you that when you belive in yourself, with a little help from your friends, you can do anything. This book is a true treasure.

I love this book! Somehow,as I was reading along,it made me feel stonger about myself. I didn't know how to stick up for myself,but after reading it,I did. A so must read.

By far this is the best book in the bscff series. Mary Annedefinately proved she not just meek shy girl always behind someone todefend her. This time that punk Cokie finally was cut down to size, by Mary Anne. First Cokie made fun her by her big breakup with Logan,then lied about Logan saying that she begged him to get back with him. Also said he going with another girl{which was true}, then she sabotaged the yearbook ballots! . That's when Mary Anne did her own scheming as well, along with the BSC's rival, Cary.In this book you could see Mary Anne try on new attitudes and maturing from the old quiet Mary Anne! She even snuck out of her house! Now that's major improvement! Also in this book Mary Anne and her parents settled long overdue conflicts.Mary Anne has proven herself to Logan, BSC, Cokie, the whole school,... and herself that she is here and here to stay!

Here's the deal. MaryAnne, as you know, has broken up with Logan. Cokie is still after Logan, and she's also still attacking MaryAnne (you know what I mean).

Both MaryAnne and Cokie are on the yearbook team, or whatever you call it (I read this a few days ago). Cokie is in charge, and she's most enthusiastic about the parts like "Most sporty", "Most likely to be seen in Beverly Hills", etc. Cokie is convinced that she fits in most of this categories, and is being mean to MaryAnne, spreading rumours and everything.

MaryAnne teams up (sort of) with Cary Retlin to get her revenge on Cokie. But in the end...
It really is Sweet Revenge. Read it and find out. The Real New MaryAnne is much better than the Old MaryAnne or the Not Good New MaryAnne. Hope you liked this review.Br

This is book number eight in the series.

In this installment, Mary Anne, Cokie, and some other people are on the yearbook commitee at school. The school nominated categories are being updated this year- so in addition to all the categories like best dressed and most likely to succeed, they have other categories like Most Artistic and Most Likely to Be Seen in Hollywood. Cokie, unfortunately, sabotages the votes so that she and her friends will get all the categories to themselves. Mary Anne and Abby figure this out, though, and go to the vice-principal to get a recount.

Cokie, furious (as always), spreads a rumor around the school that Mary Anne begged Logan to take her back, sending him e-mail messages and hundreds of messages on his answering machines. Logan, reportedly, had said 'no, there is another girl, and I don't like you any more'. This isn't true, and Mary Anne and the BSC get Cary Retlin to help them think up a way to pay her back just in time for the huge party that Cokie's throwing.

Mary Anne's dad grounds Mary Anne just before the party, so Mary Anne sneaks out and arrives there, where she tells the truth to Cokie once and for all- that Cokie's a brat that no one likes and that even though she thinks that telling lies about other people will make her seem cool, they don't.

Mary Anne finally gets over her nightmares, and learns that her dad had recently been experiencing the same flashbacks to the night of the fire.

A good book, and a lot more serious and realistic than the original BSC series.

I am a pediatrician and have copies of this book in my exam rooms. It is the book most commonly commented on by parents as being a wonderful children's book.

THE ONLY ONE CLUB by, Jane Naliboff
Reviewed by, Joshua


The Only One Club by, Jane Naliboff is an exciting children's book. I liked this book because its about a little girl name Jennifer who is Jewish and everybody isn't. So she goes home and makes The Only One Club because she feels left out. In addition she made the club badge and I liked that.


The plot is interesting. Then Jennifer was happy now that she made a club but nobody was in it. So, everyone asked to be in it and she said, "no." I really didn't like that part.


The setting is at her house and classroom. That's not really exciting but the classroom is a little.
This book doesn't have any slang so that's why it's a good children's book.


The best part was at the end when Jennifer gave everyone a club badge. She then at the very end gave her teacher a badge too. So now, nobody was left out. Now everybody was happy even though they were different.


This was a great book overall but I didn't like the theme of the book. But I liked the very end when the teacher got the badge. This book is fun for kids 5-8. This story is good for kids who are left out in school. This story teaches kids a lesson not to leave other kids out.

The Only One Club explores our innate desires to be part of a group, all while we wish to celebrate our individuality.

Jennifer is in first grade and all the children are making Christmas decorations. When Jennifer wants to make Hanukah decorations her teacher encourages her in her project and allows her to proudly display her art. When she goes home that night she decides to start the "Only One Club" of which she is the only member.

"I want to be in it, too," Steven whined. "I must be the only one of something."

Soon all the children want to be in the club and start wearing badges to proclaim their individuality.

The Only One Club is a lovely book to teach children about diversity in a school setting. The art creates a multicultural setting and the true-to-life dialogue is creative and comforting.

~The Rebecca Review

Differences in race, religion, politics, ideas and lifestyles have given birth to such an enormous amount of negative media these days. In the newspapers we read and the news programs we watch, we are suffocated by it all. What an absolute pleasure to read such a positive expression of being different. Jane Naliboff creates a beautiful story wonderfully written which should be required reading for all!

Engagingly written by Jane Nailboff and nicely illustrated by Jeff Hopkins, The Only One Club is the story of a young girl named Jennifer, who is the only Jewish student in her first-grade class. When the other first graders are making Christmas decorations, the teacher tells jennifer that she can make Hanukah decorations instead, and be the first to hang them on the classroom windows. Happy to be singled out, Jennifer creates "The Only One Club". When her classmates want to join her exclusive club, she resists at first - then realizes each of her friends is also "the only one" at something, and makes badges for everyone, celebrating each person's unique qualities. The friendly illustrations emphasize an upbeat and positive message about the value of differences and the importance of tolerance and acceptance.

I'm the mom of two boys (13 and 10) who usually hate to read. The only books they have devoured are Harry Potter and the Stinky Boys Club series! And the Stinky Boys Club books are amazing because I think four year olds would like them, too. My kids cannot get enough, and even FIGHT over who gets to read them in the car. My 13 year old thinks they are hilarious (he writes his own humor); my ten year old loves to read about burps and farts. These authors know kids!

Our son, age 8, is addicted to the Stinky Boys Club! He cant get enough. He re-reads each of these books...which is a huge achievement for a boy who didnt want to read. He will even sit down and read to his little sister! He loves all of the gross and cool things the stinky boys do (who wouldnt love a throw-up recipe?). Sam and MJ are so good at coming up with pranks, kids of all ages will laugh.

I am a parent of two children who loved this book. It was very fun and funny to read... and even funnier when my kids read it to me. The character descriptions are particularly cool and interesting, we loved all the characters. A really good start to what I hope is a nice, long series. I look forward to more.

One of my friends recommended The Stinky Boys Club because her two kids loved it. So I read them to my 7 and 9 year old boys and they thought the Stinky Boys were the best! They loved the characters and to hear Mom say 'poop' and 'fart', oh they thought that was the highlight. The nicest thing I can say about The Stinky Boys Club is after I was done reading, I noticed both my boys picking them back up and reading the books on their own, what more could a parent hope for! I think the stories are great fun and I highly recommend them for young readers.

I have a six year old boy and a ten year old girl. My daughter loved the full page illustrations with desriptions of kids at the school. My son was interested in the throw up recipe, but really loved being able to read the word FART. Fun reading for all.