Benjamin Batholomew Piff Could Be So Much Better

If you look at his picture on the cover of You Wish, which is the first book in the series and which is shown here, you'd think Benjamin (I wish the author, Jason Lethcoe, hadn't shortened his name to Ben.) was a cute little kid of about 7 or 8.

It turns out that he's 12 going on 23.

In the first book, we find Benjamin in a home for wayward boys - not because he is one, but because his parents died in a plane crash.

Apparently he has no next of kin.

Eventually he makes his way into the magical world of wish fulfillment. He never really goes back to Earth, and no one seems to notice.

Baseball Card Adventures...& Me

You're probably wondering how books based on baseball cards can be adventurous.

They actually can be...to a point.

You do need to have some interest in baseball history, or these books will be as dry as dust for you.

Dan Gutman created a series of 12 books that all (I assume) revolve around a fictitious boy named Joey. The baseball players that Joey meets are definitely historical figures.

The adventurous part comes in that Joey has the magical ability to travel through time and space to where each of these players lives. He can do this simply by holding a baseball card of a player who lived before the 1960s or so.

Bad Kitty: Mostly Harmless. Mostly.

Bad Kitty is a series of 12 books by Nick Bruel. I read almost half of them - five, to be exact.

The ones I read were picked for no special reason. They might have been the only ones available at the library at the time.

Here is the full list. The books I read are in boldface.

Babymouse: Adult (and Kid) Approved

Babymouse is a series of 20 books by Jennifer Holm, in collaboration with her brother Matthew Holm.

The books have been written over a period of 11 years so far with the latest appearing in 2016. I don't know if others are planned, but I hope so.

The current books include these.

1. Queen of the World!
2. Our Hero
3. Beach Babe
4. Rock Star
5. Heartbreaker
6. Camp Babymouse
7. Skater Girl
8. Puppy Love
9. Monster Mash
10. Babymouse: The Musical

Awfully Beastly Business Awfully Written

The Awfully Beastly Business series is co-written by 3 authors - David Sinden, Matthew Morgan, and Guy Macdonald.

You'd think that amongst the three of them they could have gotten more things right in these books.

Let's start with the full series title, An Awfully Beastly Business. That's pretty decent, actually. It sounds intriguing - a little spooky, maybe a little ghastly.

Artemis Fowl - Fun with a 12-Year-Old Master Criminal

Most arch villains are a bit older than 12.

But who says they have to be?

Most master criminals are so evil you hate them.

But is that really necessary?

In the case of Artemis Fowl, a young lad of 12 who comes from a criminal family, I found him both intriguing and charming, in his own nasty way.

Animal Ark - Shoulda Let It Sink

Animal Ark is probably newer than this. Probably.

The Animal Ark series consists of an astounding 94 titles created by various authors.

Maybe the two I picked were among the weakest, but I kinda doubt it. I have the feeling that there are various authors because no single person wanted to be accused of writing them all.

The two I read were Kittens in the Kitchen and Pony on the Porch.

The books are set in England...supposedly. There isn't a thing about them that feels British.