Weerdest Day Ever by Richard Scrimger

The Seven Series is where my blog began.  It was also my first published book review in my local newspaper.  I LOVE this series!  I have driven dark snowy roads to see the seven authors on stage-if the seven appear near you - definitely go and bring the kids.  I've tracked them down at book festivals for autographs - they are all friendly!  I also sport a Seven shirt down the school halls.  I keep the series front and centre at my library for everyone to gravitate too and easy to point and recommend.  I've also convinced a few non-reading adult men to give the series a try.  For the back story of this series check out my first blog post here.

In the first series Richard Scrimger introduced us to Bunny through Ink Me.  Bunny's beloved grandfather has just passed away and left a series of tasks for all his grandsons.  Bunny is going to get the tattoo that his grandfather never did.

In the second book the seven cousins have met at their grandfather's cottage to discuss all their adventures while completing the tasks.  While they are there though they discover some secrets about their grandfather that lead the cousins off on another set of adventures.  Read more about this book on my  The Wolf and Me blog post here.

In the Weerdest Day Ever, Bunny is older and for a school assignment he writes the story of a weekend camping trip with his grandfather.  Bunny's grandfather has promised a big surprise for the weekend.  It doesn't take Bunny long to find out that there is a war planned between Canada and the United States and it's taking place at the campsite this weekend!  Everyone seems so excited about it but Bunny finds it scary.  Bunny makes some new friends and enemies while they wait for the big battle to begin.

While maintaining the innocence of Bunny, I am happy to say that his spelling has improved with age.  I look forward to reading the other cousins stories of experiences they had with their grandfather.

The most series are prequels and will be published by Orca Book Publishers in September 2016.

The Wolf and Me by Richard Scrimger

Things don't come easy for Bunny O'Toole.  He has a hard time understanding things that people say and  he takes everything quite literally.  He tries so hard though and he has a good heart.  But the bad guys are always attracted to him and trouble is like a magnet to poor Bunny.  

In The Wolf and Me, Bunny is out on parole for Christmas vacation.  Him and his brother Spencer decide to go skating.  Sounds innocent enough.  His brother turns his back for a minute and Bunny is kidnapped.  This sets off quite the chain of events.  All Bunny wants to do is get back to the safety of his jail.  

The Wolf and Me is written as though Bunny himself is writing the story.  Bunny's not a great speller but he's working on it.  It can be a bit tough to read at first but if you give it a chance and stick with it you will quickly catch on to reading through the spelling errors and be caught up in all Bunny's misadventures.

Readers may remember Bunny from reading Ink Me by Richard Scrimger.  The Wolf and Me is part of the Seven Sequels.  I love Seven the series and was so excited to get an advance reader copy of The Wolf and Me.  This will definitely be on my fall shopping list for my school library.  If I can get the kids to read one, they'll read them all.

Sleeper by Eric Walters

In October 2014, seven of the best Canadian children authors will release seven sequels to their popular Seven series published in 2012.  I can't say enough about how much I love this series.  I was very fortunate to receive an ARC of Sleeper by Eric Walters from Orca Book Publishers.

Sleeper begins with some of the cousins meeting at their deceased grandfather's cottage.  Within the first few pages a mystery is uncovered and the action begins.  With a puzzle to solve, the cousins don't even have time to get settled at the cottage, before they each grab a pile of the hidden cash they've discovered and jet off to locations all around the world.  In Sleeper, DJ, now known as David, heads off to England to visit his friend, Doris, from his Mount Kilimanjaro climb.  While he is there, he also hopes to figure out the truth about who is grandfather really was.

Sleeper will be the answer to all 'Which book should I read next?' questions this upcoming school year.  It has something for everyone - strong male character, strong female character, mystery, spies, action, travel, fast cars, good role models, history and, yes, even a touch of a love story.  Everyone should read Sleeper and when you read one, you'll be sure to read them all!

Close to the Heel by Norah McClintock

Close to the Heel is the story of Rennie, a teenager who has recently lost his mother but discovered a long lost grandfather he didn't know he had.  When his grandfather dies he leaves behind a final request for each of his seven grandsons.  Rennie's is requested to take a journal to Iceland.  Rennie is ready for an adventure and to his escape his tough military father.  In Iceland he discovers he's a pretty tough guy as well.

This past Monday I attended an event at a high school in Guelph where I got to meet all 7 authors of the Seven series.  I was quite excited and brought my oldest son with me.  It was great to see how many young readers turned up on a cold Monday night to hear them speak.  The authors all spent a great deal of time speaking with everyone individually.  Many authographs were given.  It was a great night.  I loved seeing how excited the students were.

There will be a sequel to Close to the Heel published October 1st, 2014.