Nick Gordon

If you enjoy short reads and scary tales, this is the book for you. A tale of an old castle filled with so called spirits that haunt it. A maiden, burned for witchcraft. An escapee, dumped down a rocky slope. A piper that disappeared into it's many tunnels. The tortured prisoners sentenced by Bloody Mackenzie. Do you believe in the spirits? Do you not? Do you have an explanation for the many visitors who saw and felt strange things? Want to know more? Read.

This book was a quick read so I could do other things and learn something rather interesting. Creepy stories, unexplained treachery, mystery noises. A slight tug on your sleeve when you're all alone. If these thrills and creepy stories are what you enjoy, and you don't have a lot of reading time, I highly suggest Edinburgh Castle. If you like it, there is a whole other series along with it, creepy places with strange stories. I would rate this book three and one-quarter stars.… (meer)

Grades 2-4

Students who want to broaden their knowledge of the US military will enjoy this high-interest series. The book opens with a chart that gives a basic overview, including year founded, headquarters locations, motto, size, magor engagements. Each 2-page spread has energetic photos with two or three sentences of text. Photographs include labels and/or captions. There is not much in the way of cultural diversity-- where the reader can see soldiers' faces, they all tend to be young white males. The font used on the chart and the labels is a bit blurry-- perhaps intentionally, since the publisher proclaims near the table of contents that "Epic Books are no ordinary books. They burst with intense action, high-speed heroics, and shadows of the unknown...." They may be slightly overselling the heroics, but the shadowy effect is definitely present. A serviceable choice for libraries that want to add to or update this part of the collection.
… (meer)