Night of the Howling Dogs

By Graham Salisbury

Rating: 3 3/4 stars

Reviewed by Noelle

Dylan and his scout troop are headed out to Halape, an isolated bit of lava beach on the island of Hawaii on one side of the volcano. The only cloud on Dylan's adventure is Louie, an older "tough" kid who recently joined the scouts. Dylan feels like Louie has it in for him. But Halape is amazing, better than the scouts thought it would be, even with having to drink catchment water and watching out for the shark swimming offshore. Then disaster hits one night when a huge earthquake and following tsunami wave wipe out the camp and the campers. In the ensuing chaos, Dylan must team up with Louie to search for survivors because they may be all there is between them and death. Based on a true story that happened to the author's cousin during the 1975 earthquake, readers will be gripped by the horrible details and stark realism of surviving after a natural disaster when you are miles from civilization.

The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio

By Lloyd Alexander

Rating: 4 stars

Reviewed by Noelle

Carlo is an orphan and considered a "chooch" to his merchant uncle--a useless, family idiot. But when Carlo finds an old map inside a book of fairy tales, he is inspired to look for the treasure it surely points to. So Carlo makes his bumbling, funny way to the famed trade Road of Golden Dreams. Along the way he gains many companions, including: a camel puller named Baksheesh, an ex-thief who speaks little but lies and does as little work as possible; Salamon, a man with an affinity for animals who reveals many pearls of wisdom; and Shira, the girl of his dreams, who was kidnapped and looks to seek revenge on her kidnapper as she heads back home. Carlo and his gang will travel the perilous road, getting ambushed by bandits, rescued from certain death, mistaken for royalty and a host of other adventures as they make their way towards their goals. Readers will laugh as our cast of characters get into and out of trouble in the rough and tumble world of the desert country of Keshavar. An enjoyable adventure story.