Submitted by Alex, Age 11 from New York
Rating: 
This book is great! It is about the gods of ancient Egypt. Carter and Sadie, siblings, are trying to stop the evil god Set from causing complete chaos on North America.
It is very thrilling and exciting. I recommend you read it!
Submitted by Bailim, Age 12 from Ohio
Rating:
The Red Pyramid is about 2 siblings (Sadie and Carter) that have been apart forever, but on a visit their dad surprises them by trying to resurrect their dead mother by being the host of Osiris and accidentally release Osiris’ 4 brothers and sisters, and one of them Set, traps their dad and Osiris trying to turn the whole world into a desert, now Sadie and Carter have to try to save their father.
A perilous ocean voyage from Britain to America. A trip to Africa to cure monkeys. An around-the-world chase to battle a god. And a nightmare plane ride, sitting next to total strangers… Okay, that last one is just Nancy complaining. But in our latest podcast, all about globe-trotting adventures, we do feature books with some actually terrifying and dangerous exploits. And yet, we still whine about how freezing it is on an airplane. Hey, we get cold easily, okay?
Also, don’t forget: our new theme is summer camp. But instead of postcards, send us a review of your favorite summer camp book! And check out our picks for summer camp books.
— Karen and Nancy
It’s good to be queen! At least, that’s how Karen felt while recording our latest podcast — because Nancy was sick in bed and refused to participate! Excuses, excuses… No matter; Karen still had plenty to say, all about books involving royalty:
Also, don’t forget: our new theme is war stories, in honor of Memorial Day. So send us a review of your favorite book related to war and check out these books about war.
— Karen (and Nancy in absentia)
For a larger version, click on the book cover and pore over it like I did: O_O
A month ago I posted breaking book news about Rick Riordan’s new series, The Kane Chronicles… along with my mock-up of the cover art. Unfortunately, the publishers didn’t think mine was that great (how dare they?!) — and now they’ve released their own cover, plus a mini-excerpt!
We only have a few hours, so listen carefully. If you’re hearing this story, you’re already in danger. Sadie and I might be your only chance.
Go to the school. Find the locker. I won’t tell you which school or which locker, because if you’re the right person, you’ll find it. The combination is 13/32/33. By the time you finish listening, you’ll know what those numbers mean. Just remember the story we’re about to tell you isn’t complete yet. How it ends will depend on you.
The most important thing: when you open the package and find what’s inside, don’t keep it longer than a week. Sure, it’ll be tempting. I mean, it will grant you almost unlimited power. But if you possess it too long, it will consume you. Learn its secrets quickly and pass it on. Hide it for the next person, the way Sadie and I did for you. Then be prepared for your life to get very interesting.
Okay, Sadie is telling me to stop stalling and get on with the story. Fine. I guess it started in London, the night our dad blew up the British Museum.
OMG! This sounds amazing. WHAT-IS-IN-THAT-PACKAGE?! I bet those numbers mean something! HE-BLEW-UP-THE-BRITISH-MUSEUM?! What are these secrets? UNLIMITED-POWER?! OMG-egghhhhh-cough-cough-cough.
(“egghhhhh” is the sound of me choking on my own spit, out of excitement.)
Check back tomorrow for Part 2 of my coverage of The Red Pyramid, where I dissect the book cover — I’ll be spending a lot of time examining the interactive book cover on the official website.
— Nancy
NOTE: This mini-excerpt was given exclusively to The Wall Street Journal, but we wanted to reproduce it here for you guys. If you’re reading WSJ on your own, well, more power to you. But we’re certainly not on their site every day. No time to read about finance — must read kids’ books…
UPDATE: Here’s Part 2!