Martin Bridge Out of Orbit! and Goof-Off Goalie

Martin Bridge Out of Orbit! and Goof-Off Goalie are two solid pieces of realistic fiction for younger readers.

Martin Bridge Out of Orbit! is a part of the Martin Bridge series. The series is kinda like a Junie B. Jones for boys, an easy to read chapter book with a male character boys can identify with. The book contained two plot lines one about organizing a parade and the other about a visit from a comic book artist. Each of the stories ends with Martin learning valuable lesson of some sort. The message was always relevant without being overly preachy or heavy-handed, I liked it. For grades 1-4.

Goof-Off Goalie is a sports story for young readers. The main character Goose wants to play goalie more than anything else, but the coach says he needs to pay attention to the game if he's going to play goalie. "Focus Goose," his coach tells him over again. Over the course of the story Goose learns the value of hard work and persistence. Like Martin Bridge there was a moral, but not a heavy handed one, so I was okay w/ it. Recommend this one to young sports enthusiasts.
For grades 1-4.

Ranger's Apprentice The Burning Bridge and the Icebound Land

These are two great books, the second and third installment of the Ranger's Apprentice series. The books feature Will, a ranger's apprentice, as he learns the ranger's craft from Halt a legendary ranger during tumultuous times in his home kingdom of Araulen. In The Burning Bridge Morgarath is threatening the kingdom once more. So Will travels to Celtica with Horace and Gilan a Ranger and former apprentice of Halt. Along the way our heroes manage to encounter a healthy helping of adventure not to mention the bandits, mysterious empty villages and of course, the burning bridge.

In the Icebound Land Will is taken prisoner and held captive in distant Skandia. Meanwhile, Halt and Horace travel over land in search of Will. This book was slower paced than the first two; mostly because it features the ever popular (and highly cliché) captured and held prisoner plot line (actually two separate captured plot lines if you can believe it). Another thing that bothered me about this book was a somewhat heavy-handed anti-drug message. However, the characters are still very engaging and the book still manages to pack in the action (I particularly enjoyed the jousting).

Both books are full of adventure and should surely hold the attention of fans of the fantasy genre. If you like the middle ages, high action books or even cloak and dagger type spy books this series is a must read. For grades 5-9.