Once again, I've found another page turner. It's always so exciting for me to find books that I know kids of all ages will really enjoy! Remember to help them keep their interests open to all kinds of writing genre. My theory is, if it's a well-written book that kids won't want to put down until the end, the type of book doesn't really matter.

“Drift House: The First Voyage” , by Dale Peck, has all of the elements of an exceptional book that's well written, packed with excitement and adventure and containing a chain of events that culminate in a climax you won't soon forget. Three siblings are sent to live with their uncle for a short period of time. He lives on the east coast of Canada in a large old house that's situated right on the sea front. The house is very peculiar with walls that seem to curve upwards and few windows and hallways that are narrow and long. Charles, the 9 year old, discovers an old radio that seems to work without electricity - or batteries. As he listens to the old-time music that's blasting out of it, he can hear something very faint that's not music. As he listens more carefully, he hears a voice. It seems to be calling from some sailing vessel and the radio appears to be transmitting a location. But, just as quickly as the voice is heard, the radio becomes silent. Susan, who is in eighth grade, soon discovers a panoramic painting on all four walls of the drawing room. The scene completely encompassed a sandy beach and an ocean beyond. Upon close inspection, the picture seems to completely envelop her. “She could practically smell the damp air....hear the waves lap over the sand.” It was then that she saw a mermaid. “She was a beautiful girl with long copper-colored hair and an iridescent tail sunning herself on a rock…”. The detail of the painting surprised Susan because even though the mermaid is painted in the far-off distance, she senses that the mermaid is looking right at her with an “impatient expression”. The detail of the mermaid was amazing. She could even see each and every scale visible from her tail.

Susan and her brothers are about to discover that the painting continually changes and only now they can see images of themselves in the far off distance. They begin to wonder if this painting foretells the future and what is about to happen to them. They also discover that the rain that has been falling very forcefully is now sweeping their house out to sea. Perhaps the reason for the unusual structure of the house is because it really is a ship! As the ship drifts away from the shore, the children soon discover that they are nearing dangerously close to "The Great Drain", a viciously swirling whirlpool that will surely take them to their death.

The story takes you upon episodes of magic, mermaids and precarious danger that will drive you even more quickly through the story. Susan has to perform a heroic feat in order to save her family and ship from falling into The Great Drain. The climax of the story will reach new heights as you, along with the children, discover that they are on a voyage unlike any other and are about to be swallowed up in “The Sea of Time” . Mr. Peck has filled the book with vivid descriptions of this expedition and uses vocabulary that will stretch the mind. There's even a glossary located in the back that defines the wonderful words that are unfamiliar to most of us. This is the first in a series that will follow these children to other adventures. This would be a perfect read aloud for all ages. If read alone, the 424-page book would be better suited for ages 8 through adult.

Caldecott winner, Mo Willems, has recently written a picture book full of life's lessons. "Leonardo the Terrible Monster” has his signature style pictures and text that are simple, leaving much of the pages filled with space. And yet the story has a powerful message! Leonardo is a furry little monster who desperately wants to scare someone. He compares himself with Tony (a monster), who has over a thousand teeth and Hector who is “...just plain weird”. But he just can't seem to find anyone whom he can scare until he comes upon young Sam. He sneaks up on Sam and scares him so much that Sam begins to cry. This makes Leonardo feeling very happy and successful, telling himself that he finally scared someone. But this lone boy retorts that it didn't scare him and proceeds to tell him all that is bothering him and finally ending his tirade with the fact that he has no friends. This last statement made Leonardo realize that he wanted to become Sam's friend. The simple drawings, also done by Willems, go perfectly with the text. The drawing of the monster, Tony, completely fills the page and is hilarious and anything but scary with his rows upon rows of teeth. (There's even an asterisk declaring that not all of the teeth are shown.) Children will enjoy Leonardo as he tries to be scary. His antics will give more laughs than frights. And the amount of space the author gives some pages only add to the impact of the moment as on the full spread after Sam exclaims why he cried. On one page you see Sam dwarfed on the bottom of the left side and a small and shocked Leonardo on the other side of the full spread. Friendship has never seemed so important! This is a great read aloud for children ages 3 to 8. Be prepared for many revisits!