-
Sherlock Bones and the Sea-Creature Feature
In this humorous, mystery-solving graphic novel series Sherlock Bones and his ragtag team hunt down a swamp monster!
Sherlock Bones’ home, the Natural History Museum, has added an exciting new exhibit, Reef to Shore, that includes a mangrove forest and shallow coral reef habitat, with touch tanks in between. When Sherlock overhears a that a swamp monster has been sighted, he gathers his team to investigate. At first Sherlock Bones suspects Nivlac, a quirky octopus with a talent for camouflage—and tank pranks.
But then, loud bellowing leads Bones and team to the mangroves, where they find a horrifying long-haired green beast! Can they escape the creature—or is it too late for our frogmouth bird skeleton and his ragtag mystery-solving team?
Great for readers 8-12.
-
Little Sisters and Horses
I was a horse-crazy little sister that always got in the way of my older sister and brother when they wanted to do anything that involved horses. I only sort of felt bad when Mom made them drag me along.
I especially remember one time when my sister, nearly three years older than me, was getting ready to go somewhere. I think I was about seven. I remember because of what happened.
“Where ya’ goin’?” I asked my sister.
“I’m going to see a horse get shooed.”
Shooed? Why would someone want to shoo a horse away? Maybe I could catch it when they shooed it. Then it would be mine.
“I want to go too,” I wheedled.
“No! This is for my Girl Scout Badge. You’re just a Brownie.”
Mom overheard us. “You can’t go unless Teresa goes too.”
My sister huffed and puffed. “I don’t see why Teresa has to go everywhere with me.” She stomped her feet and headed for the door.
I ran after her, out the door and down the street.
To my surprise we ended up at my friend’s house. Holly was the luckiest girl in the world because her family had two horses, right in their own backyard! My family had a pool and everyone said I was lucky, but I would’ve traded in a minute for a horse.
I traipsed after my sister back to the horse barn. A man had one of Holly’s horses tied up by his truck. It was Penny Boy, a palomino gelding with big brown eyes and a sweet face. My favorite.
My sister joined the group of her Girl Scout friends gathered near Penny Boy, said something, then I heard them giggle. I stayed by myself, ready to burst into action whenever someone shooed the horse. Where is that horse anyway? I fidgeted in the hot sun.
Clang, clang, clang. The man banged a hammer on some big old iron thing set up by his truck. He held up something metal up in the air, squinting at it, then nodded his head before walking over to Penny Boy. He picked up one of Penny Boy’s front legs and held the metal thing against the bottom of his hoof.
I trotted over to my sister and the other girls. I whispered, “When are they going to shoo the horse? What horse are they going to shoo anyway?” There were only Holly’s two horses there and I was pretty sure she wouldn’t shoo either of them.
My sister looked at me like I was a creature from Mars. “That’s what he’s doing –he’s shooing Penny Boy now.”
“But why are they shooing Penny Boy? Don’t they want him anymore?”
Again, the look from my sister. “No—they are putting shoes ON him. See, that man is the shoer, and that’s a horseshoe he’s going to put on Penny Boy.”
Thud, thud, thud. The man hammered the shoe onto Penny Boy’s hoof.
Ouch! I moved closer to see if it hurt Penny Boy.
“Teresa,” my sister said, “he puts the nails into the hoof wall—that’s the outer part of the hoof. It’s just like our fingernails. You don’t hurt when Mom clips your nails, right? So Penny Boy doesn´t feel any pain when the nails get hammered in the hoof wall.”
“Oh, so that’s what you meant when you said a horse was going to get shooed today?” My heart and my hopes were shattered, as only a seven-year-old’s can be.
There were a few titters among the older girls. One of them spoke up. “Well actually it’s called getting ‘shod’. That’s what we’re learning today. And that man is a farrier.”
“Oh.”
So I never did get to chase after a shooed horse that day. But I did learn a lot, and I had many wonderful adventures with Penny Boy in the years ahead.
-
Houdini and Me
Harry has always admired the famous escape artist Houdini. And when Houdini asks for help in coming back to life, it seems like an amazing chance…or could it be Houdini’s greatest trick of all?
Eleven-year-old Harry Mancini is NOT Harry Houdini–the famous escape artist who died in 1926. But Harry DOES live in Houdini’s old New York City home, and he definitely knows everything there is to know about Houdini’s life. What is he supposed to do, then, when someone starts texting him claiming that they’re Houdini, communicating from beyond the grave? Respond, of course.
It’s hard for Harry to believe that Houdini is really contacting him, but this Houdini texts the secrets to all of the escape tricks the dead Houdini used to do. What’s more, Houdini’s offering Harry a chance to go back in time and experience it for himself. Should Harry ignore what must be a hoax? Or should he give it a try and take Houdini up on this death-defying offer?
Author Dan Gutman is the award-winning author of series including My Weird School, The Genius Files, and the baseball card series, including Honus & Me. He uses his writing powers for good once again in this exciting new middle grade novel.
Houdini and Me is for readers 8-12.
-
Homemade Play Dough
When my children were young, making homemade play dough was one of our favorite activities. It was even more fun when they had friends over, so everyone got their own dough to knead and color. The thing about this recipe is that the dough lasts longer than the store-bought kind and you can make large amounts very cheaply!
This recipe involves cooking, so please make sure a responsible older person does the cooking. When you are cooking the dough, you can add flavorings such as vanilla extract, or lemon, or banana, or almond. It will smell great! But no taste-testing. It actually tastes pretty gross.
Here is what you will need before you start:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup salt (yes, that’s a lot!)
- 4 teaspoons cream of tartar (not everyone has this in their cupboard—make sure you have some before starting the recipe)
- 2 cups lukewarm water
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Food coloring
Steps:
- Stir together the flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a large pot. You can double the recipe, but make sure you have lots of room in the pot.
- Next add the water and oil
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Keep stirring until the dough thickens and it gets hard to stir. It will begin to form into a ball.
- Remove from heat and then place inside a bowl, gallon sized plastic bag or onto wax paper.
- Allow to cool slightly
- Knead until smooth
- If you’re adding colors after, divide the dough into balls (for how many colors you want) and then add the dough into the quart-sized bags. Start with 3 or 4 drops of color, then keep adding until it is the color you want.
- You can knead the dough while inside the plastic bag to keep your hands clean.
It is fun to use cookie cutters, rolling pins, smashers, and other kitchen utensils to make play dough food and objects. You can also add some glitter if you have some around. Have fun with your homemade play dough!
