Mimi and the Cutie Catastrophe by Shauna J. Grant

Ruthie is okay, Poppy ends up with plenty of food for the winter, and the two discover skiing…which Cornbread loves so much, he decides to ski instead of shoveling his walkway. Without spoiling the ending too much, there is an owl, Ms. Cornbread is too good a friend to let Ruthie go alone, so the two head off on their adventure together. Ruthie went up the mountain a few years back and was never seen again. All the usual sources of food have already been foraged, so Poppy decides to go up Holler Mountain, a foreboding place rumored to have owls that hunt mice. So when it starts to get cold, Cornbread is in good shape, but Poppy is not.

His friend Poppy, on the other hand, prefers to live in the moment, having fun adventures, and not worrying about the future. Summary: Cornbread is a mouse who likes to plan ahead, particularly when winter is coming. It’s a promising series starter with interesting characters and just the right amount of spookiness mixed with scientific skepticism.Ĭons: It’s unclear how Rokshar’s brothers go from being bullies to allies so quickly. Pros: This illustrated chapter book will appeal to the many kids who like scary stories, but who may not be ready for horror. Includes an author’s note about the Guyanese folklore that inspired the story and a sneak peek at book #2. When their teacher, Mx Hudson, is also negatively affected by the tree, Asim, Rokshar, and some of their friends have to figure out a way to destroy the tree–even if it puts them in danger. Later, he befriends Rokshar, a girl in his class who aspires to be a scientist and takes a more skeptical view of events that Asim interprets as supernatural. He witnesses a construction worker touch the tree and undergo a complete personality change. On his first day of school, Asim discovers a mysterious tree in the cemetery that grows unusually fast and seems to be destroying other life around it. Summary: Asim is new in the island town of Lion’s Gate, Washington, where both of his parents work at the island’s somewhat mysterious lab.

Mimi and the Cutie Catastrophe by Shauna J. Grant