Beastly Bones: Jackaby, Book 2

Parents need to know that Beastly Bones is the second novel in a potentially limitless fantasy series begun with Jackaby. Reading the first volume will deepen kids' appreciation of the characters, but it's not strictly necessary to understand what's going on here. Violence is infrequent and not gory, although a scary fantasy creature kills livestock for food and one minor but important character. Blood is mentioned but not described beyond color. Abigail and Jackaby live with a friendly but sometimes eerie ghost. A final battle with the fantasy creature narrates fighting with firearms, and a fiery explosion with injuries is mentioned but not described in detail. There's one kiss and some mild flirtation. "Damn" and "hell" are used a couple of times, and there's one use of "ornery bastard." A range of brief facts are provided about several ancient mythologies. Some advanced vocabulary is defined, but kids may be encouraged to look up those that aren't clear from the context. A fictitious "Supplemental Material" section in the back tells about a secret dossier of Charles Darwin that documents fantasy creatures he discovered, which big kids and tweens may find believable.