Over the summer I read a book called, Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, by Jonathan Auxier. This book takes place in The Vanished Kingdom. The Vanished Kingdom is a hidden palace in the middle of a prison called The Just Deserts. Peter Nimble, the main character, is an orphan thief who is blind. He is a really good thief because all of his other senses are stronger. People also don’t suspect him as a thief because of his handicap. One day Peter steals a box. The box contains three pairs of magical eyes. One pair is emerald, one pair is onyx, and the last pair is golden. The golden eyes send Peter to the last place they saw. The onyx eyes turn Peter into the last animal he touched. The emerald pair…I can not reveal.

The novel is about his journey to The Vanished Kingdom. On his travels, he meets Sir Tode. Sir Tode is a mix between a knight, a cat, and a horse. “I am a human knight ,  Sir Tode corrected,  who has been trapped inside the body of a cat… and a horse.” Together they battle to save the slaves and defeat the evil king of The Vanished Kingdom.

Peter  and Sir Tode find themselves in a lot of dangerous situations.  Peter is an amazing lock pick. He once picked 12 locks within an hour. “It took the better part of an hour for Peter to pick the locks on the Haberdashers carriage.” He uses this skill to take down the king.

This book was really surprising and suspenseful. It had action, and a little bit of mystery. I would recommend this book to ages 9+. People who like fantasy will love Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes. I would rate this book 10 stars. I hope Jonathan Auxier writes another one.

Alan Mendelsohn The Boy From Mars By Daniel M. Pinkwater

I read a book called Alan Mendelsohn The Boy From Mars by Daniel M. Pinkwater over spring break. Alan Mendelsohn The Boy From Mars  is about well, you guessed it Alan Mendelsohn a boy from Mars. It is told from the point of view of Leonard Neeble, Alan Mendelsohn’s best friend. My dad read this book when he was a kid. So, he found a copy on Ebay and bought it for me. I really enjoyed this book. Alan is weird for example, he says he is from Mars and there is what looks like an U.F.O. in his backyard. Leonard is just an average kid. He like reading comics and playing sports. This book takes place in Hogboro, a fictitious city.

Alan Mendelsohn and Leonard Neeble are both pretty smart. They are one of the very few people who can use mind control, and they have thought their way out of very sticky situations. The problem in this book is Alan and Leonard trying to figure out the secrets of mind control. There is one character who sort of helps them throughout the book and that is Samuel Klugarsh. Samuel Klugarsh is the creator of Klugarsh Mind Control  which is his “How To for mind control. Uncle Boris is Leonard’s uncle and this is how he describes Klugarsh, “ Samuel Klugarsh has always been regarded by some as a swindler. I myself have always thought of him as someone who sells people things they don’t really need for more money than they’re worth. If that’s your definition of a swindler, then he is one.”

I enjoyed this book because it is weird. There are aliens, and mind control. For example,  Alan and Leonard read Clarence Yojimbo’s Japanese to English Dictionary backwards, and find out that mind control is easier if you use metal. The main characters use mind control to cause mischief by making people take off their hats and rub their stomachs and doing a little jig.

 My favorite character is Alan Mendelsohn. Alan Mendelsohn claims  that he is from Mars. Alan is a genius, like if someone said “What does this word mean?” he would use the definition from the dictionary just by thinking about it. He is so smart that barely ever has homework.

Leonard Neeble was just a normal kid who had very few friends until Alan Mendelsohn moved to Hogboro. Alan started to make friends with Leonard. They buy a mind control set which works pretty well. They start using it after school at Alan’s house. Later in the book Alan starts acting weird. For example, he announces to the whole school that he is from Mars. Find out the rest in Alan Mendelsohn The Boy From Mars.

I would rate this book 10 stars out of 5. Once you read the first page you can’t put it down. I would recommend this book to people 7+.