(4) K-3 Illustrated by Garry Parsons. A pirate crew ready for a sea-faring adventure seeks a captain. Young Hugh asks various townspeople who seem to fit the bill; "Are you the Pirate Captain?" But no one is quite right. Finally, the pirates realize that Hugh is the captain they've been searching for. The rhyming text stumbles in places, but the feisty illustrations are sea-worthy. Two sea shanties are included.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Garry Parsons. A boy is invited to the dinosaurs' party and almost becomes their dinner. Awkward rhymes detail the games, food, and long bathroom line. The story doesn't contain any real information about these dinosaurs besides their names and that they eat meat, but the bright and silly (see the dinosaurs doing the pee dance) illustrations are sure to appeal to little dino lovers' sensibilities.

Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth

(4) YA When a new girl shows up in Wellcome Valley, the most boring place in the world, Eddie finds himself drawn into a time-travel experiment that forces him to relive the same two days over and over again. While general readers may find this concept-driven book's convoluted storytelling off-putting, die-hard science fiction fans should enjoy the premise of multiple timelines.

Reviewer: Barratt Miller

(3) 4-6 In this ghoulish Victorian pot-boiler, young Sam Toop--an undertaker's son who can communicate with ghosts--finds his services required when the Black Rot begins to infest London's haunted buildings. Who has been exorcising London's amiable ghost population, and why? A fast-paced mash-up of the grislier edge of Victorian London--mourning practices, spiritualism, haunted buildings, and serial murderers.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker