Introducing Hartland's Page Turners

March is reading month and it's important that our young people dive in and if they don't already, learn to love to read.

Reading isn't just work, it's an adventure. A good book can take you places you have never dreamed of going.  A good book can teach you something you did not know, and a good book can be your friend.

This week, Emma Smith, a fifth-grade student at and Cameron Roach, a third-grade student at , submitted book reviews to share their thoughts.

Emma introduces us to book one in The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan.  The Last Hero was released in October 2010 and is the first of five books.  The next installment, The Son of Neptune will hit stores this Fall.

Cameron reviewed No. 8 in the American Chillers series by Johnathan Rand.  Minnesota Mall Mannequins is one stop in the series that will travel through all 50 states. The Nevada Nightmare Novel, No. 31 will be released this year.

Hopefully by reading Emma and Cameron's reviews our young page turners in Hartland will discover a book that they, too, would like to read.  It's one thing to hear a suggestion from Mom or Dad, but it's much better when it comes from someone similar to yourself.

Both The Lost Hero and Minnesota Mall Mannequins are available at both locations of the Cromaine District Library.

The Heroes of Olympus, Book One: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

• Reviewer: Emma Smith
• Age, grade: 11, 5th grade
• School:
• Parents: Tim and Theresa Smith
• Hobbies: Reading, Skiing, Soccer, Crocheting
• Favorite genre: Fantasy

The Lost Hero is a wonderful book written by Rick Riordan. It’s based on Greek mythology and is related to the Percy Jackson series. It’s about three teenagers named Jason, Piper, and Leo who are demigods which mean that they’re half Greek god, and half “mortal.” Jason, Piper, and Leo start out at wilderness school which is a school for “bad kids” as Leo puts it. But there’s a problem. It all starts when Jason can’t figure out who he is and a trip to the Grand Canyon reveals some nasty storm spirits that try to kill Jason and his friends. It’s a great book and I recommend reading it. 

American Chillers #8: Minnesota Mall Mannequins by Johnathan Rand

• Reviewer: Cameron Roach
• Age, grade: 9, third grade
• School:
• Parents: Jerry and Amy Roach
• Hobbies: Swimming, Pokemon, DS, Chess
• Favorite genre: Mystery Fiction and Science Fiction

I think that this is a scary book. It is about two girls that live in Minnesota. The book starts out with them going on a field trip to the Mall of America. Their names are Jessica and Rachel. They were caught snooping around the mall without their class by a Security guard. The guard took them and locked them in a room where they found a vent that they crawled through to escape. In the story, the mannequins in the mall suddenly come alive everywhere and the girls had to take shelter in an unlikely place, a coat rack, to keep from being seen. I think it is a great book that is full of adventure but, little kids — read with your parents.