The Penderwicks

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

The Penderwicks is a National Book Award Winner and is a lovely story about four sisters who travel to the Berkshire Mountains with their father for a summer vacation.  The sisters have many adventures and run into many tricky situations which require a convening of the sisters in a meeting of the MOOPS.  The MOOPS must find solutions to some of their dilemmas including what to do about their friend Jeffrey who's mother insists upon sending him away to military school.  Read about the adventures the sisters have with Jeffrey, Cagney the gardener, Cagney's pet rabbits (one of whom almost dies), and the fearful Mrs. Tifton.  This is a great book for students in second grade and up.

the higher power of lucky

the higher power of lucky by Susan Patron

The higher power of lucky, a Newbury Award winner by Susan Patron is set in the dry west, deep in poverty.  Lucky is a ward and depends on Bridgitte to care for her but worries that Bridgitte is going to go back to France and abandon Lucky.  Bridgitte loves France.  It is her home and where her mother lives and because of Lucky, Bridgitte is living in a metal trailer amongst sand squalls.  Lucky eavesdrops on an Alcoholics Anonymous group and learns about seeking your higher power.  Throughout the entire book Lucky is trying to seek her higher power so that no matter what, she’ll be ok.  Then she decides to run away during a sand storm.  Carrying her mother’s ashes she finds herself content to take shelter in a small cave and survive on canned beans.  Lucky is a lovable and very real character.  Join her on her journey to seeking higher power.  This book is great for students in grades 4 and up.  

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, a Newbury Honor book by Jacqueline Kelly is a refreshing story about a young lady coming of age at the turn of the twentieth century.  She is expected to be prim and embody certain feminine qualities such as knitting socks and sewing.  However, Calpurnia would rather swim in the river and collect specimens to study with her grandfather.  One day she and her grandfather discover a new plant and send in required documents to the Smithsonian Institution to verify that it is indeed a new plant.  While the plant is being verified the pressure from Calpurnia’s parents becomes nearly unbearable as they seem to be molding her into a housewife rather than a scientist.  Do Calpurnia and her grandfather discover a new plant?  And can Calpurnia break through societal expectations to pave a new path for herself as a woman scientist?  Kelly’s writing is wonderful and the story is great for students in grades 4-8. 

Princess Academy

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

This book isn't all sparkles and pretty rainbows as the title might suggest.  Princess Academy is about the most rugged community of girls you'll ever meet.  These girls can throw rocks farther than your dad can (unless he's an Olympic shot putter) and they aren't afraid to work hard.  They are mountain girls.

Suddenly they are summoned to the Princess Academy where they are to be educated and trained as a princess so that the Prince can select his bride at the ball the next year.  Olana, a fearfully strict tutor, keeps the girls silent nearly all of the time and if they disobey, it's to the rat-infested closet for them!

Miri, a particularly small mountain girl, who is insecure about her size finds herself excelling in her studies and discovering quarry-speech.  A method of speaking for those who have the linder stone in their blood.  (People who live on the mountain, eat, sleep, and breath linder).  With this speech she is able to communicate with her peers and she learns more about herself and others who live on the mountain.

Throughout the story Miri in unsure whether she would like to marry the prince and move away from her family.  She is smitten with Peder, a mountain boy, and can't help wondering if he feels the same way. Then, on the day they are to return home, bandits capture and hold the girls hostage.  Can Miri, the smallest one of the bunch, find a way to get help?  And what will she do if the prince selects her?  What about Peder?

This is a great book for children ages 8-12.  Highly recommended for those young mountain girls out there!

The Sisters Grimm

The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley is an adventure story with two heroines.  Sabrina and Daphne have been mysteriously abandoned by their parents and left to the foster care system.  After a few bad experiences and creating a grisly Sabrina in response, a woman who claims to be their long-lost grandmother shows up and takes the girls home.  Sabrina attempts to escape and Daphne, being younger and therefore a little too innocent, according to Sabrina, befriends the elderly woman and to Sabrina's dismay the girls end up on a quest to save their "grandmother."  After a few harrowing events involving giants, fairy dust, and Prince Charming, the girls, especially Sabrina, begin to believe their may be some truth to their grandmother's story, but now the problem is: can they save their grandmother from the giant and can they get to her before the three fat pigs?  Grades 3 and up.

The Mysterious Benedict Society

The Mysterious Benedict Society is written by Trenton Lee Stewart and published in 2007.  This book is an adorable adventure story and joy of all joys, it is the beginning of a series!! Four children are selected by Mr. Benedict to form a team of spies who are to go undercover at a private school isolated by water on all sides.  The children make astounding discoveries, as only children can, and as the reader gets to know each of the four characters, we find out how each child is an essential part of the team, even cranky little Constance Contraire who has a secret of her own.  As the children make discoveries and use morse code to relay messages back and forth with Mr. Benedict the situation becomes more and more dangerous and the impending Emergency more dire.  Will the children escape with their lives and can they save the world from the Emergency??  Read to find out.  Really.  Read this book!  Grades 3 and up.

Freddy and the Baseball Team From Mars

Freddy and the Baseball Team From Mars by Walter R. Brooks was published in 1955 and while there are some antiquated terms and phrases, the content of the story is excellent for that youthful reader seeking mystery, a little bit of fright, sports, and science fiction.  Freddy is a walking, talking pig, who mingles among animals and humans alike.  He is such a nice and intelligent pig that the aliens who have recently settled in town have long since befriended Freddy and ask him to help them find their missing friend.  The mystery unfolds as Freddy decides to investigate the missing critter by building a baseball team and competing with suspects.  The book holds all those key elements young readers are looking for as well as the gentlemanly behaviors and etiquette of the mid-20th Century, among animals no less.  Grades 3 and up.

Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation

Pinkney, A.D., Pinkney, B. (2008). Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation. Greenwillow Books.

Boycott Blues is a story of Rosa Parks told in a bluesy, jazzy narration.  In the background of the illustrations the reader can find a hound dog strumming his old guitar and imagine the sound of him telling this story in a sing-songing voice.  The story is inspirational and relays the struggles of Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as they lead African Americans in a fight for equal laws and treatment against the Jim Crow laws.  Imagine yourself reading this story out loud and you might best picture yourself standing on stage with a guitar and jazz band behind you as you read the rythmic lyrics.  Some of you readers out there, if you're brave like Rosa Parks, might make a podcast for the rest of us to enjoy!

The Firefly Letters

Engle, M. (2010). The Firefly Letters. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 

This book peeks in the lives of four young people in mid-nineteenth century Cuba.  The bulk of the story revolves around Cecilia, a young slave who was sold by her father for a stolen cow.  Fredrika is a young Swedish suffragette who travels to Cuba to exercise her freedom as a woman and demonstrates how much a woman can do when she steps outside the expected societal path.  Fredrika and Cecilia, while living difficult lives, appeal to Elena who is young, pampered and wealthy.  But when Cecilia is pregnant and due to have a baby born into slavery, what can be done about it? (Grades 5 and up). 

Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors

Sidman, J. (2010). Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature’s Survivors. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 

This book is half poems, half informational essays.  The poetry is flowing and rythmic, making the book easy to read and share with youngsters.  The informational sections are full of facts and details about life forms which have survived the enormous changes brought about since the beginning of life.  The illustrations are beautiful, spreading across pages and allowing the poems to flow through them.  The book is created with sparks of information for all readers from the very young who will appreciate the colors and rhythmic poem to the older learners who will appreciate the immense amounts of information about life that has beat the odds.  (Grade 3 and up).

Inside Out and Back Again

Lai, Thanhha. (2011). Inside Out and Back Again.  New York: Harper Collins Children’s Books.  

A National Book Award Winner, this books introduces a topic rare to American literature.  Set in the aftermath of the Vietnam war in Vietnam, a young girl adjusts to life without a father and in increasing poverty.  The story travels to Atlanta where the family attempts to settle into a new way of life.  She and her brothers find their way, keeping their interests ranging from kung-fu to medical sciences intact along the way.  Written in poetic prose, the author tells a story of struggle and conquest through illuminating language. (Grade 3 and up).

We Are in a Book!

Willems, M. (2010). We Are in a Book!  New York: Hyperion Books for Children. 

This silly story is about a pig and an elephant who realize they are being read in a book.   The content is lighthearted and humorous for all young readers and humorous enough that struggling readers will enjoy reading the story again and again. (Kindergarten and up).  

Mercy Watson

DiCamillo, K. (2008). Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. 

The illustrations in this early reader, by Chris Van Dusen, are bright, colorful and entertaining.  Another book in the series won the Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor Book Award.  The story is full of silly characters like Mr. and Mrs. Watson who are Mercy’s proud and doting “parents,” and who like to make her toast.  Mercy is a hopelessly hungry pig and will do anything, including joining tea parties for the reward of food.  The writing is humorous, the illustrations vibrant, it is sure to capture the attention of all readers.  (Grade 1 and up). 

Bink & Gollie

DiCamillo, K., McGhee, A. (2010). Bink & Gollie. New York: Candlewick Press. 

Bink and Gollie are two young girls who have a similar relationship with each other that Frog and Toad share in Arnold Lobel’s series.  The wonderful thing about Bink and Gollie is that they are illustrated in an attractive and modern fashion which will no doubt draw young girls to the series.  The other great thing about this easy reader book is that it includes some high-level vocabulary words.  The combined use of humor in the writing, bright and fun illustrations, and intelligent vocabulary make this book a wonderful read for that upper level early reader.  

Saltypie: A Choctaw Journey From Darkness Into Light

Tingle, T. (2010). Saltypie: A Choctaw Journey From Darkness Into Light. El, Paso, Texas: Cinco Puntos Press.

This non-fiction book written by a Choctaw member about his grandmother portrays a modern Native American family.  The title “Saltypie,” compromises the pain and turmoil usually accompanied by discrimination when the boys grandmother teaches him how to use it to ease difficult situations.  The boy is also surprised to learn of his grandmother’s blindness and learns of a subtle method she uses to cope with the disability.  The book is honest and pleasant to read.  (Grade 2 and up).

January's Sparrow

Polacco, P. (2009). January’s Sparrow. New York: Penguin Group. 

This is heart-wringing story of a young girl’s family as they travel the Underground Railroad.  It begins with a slave named January who carves a sparrow for the young girl, named Sadie.  Readers may be appalled to read and see what happens to January through the text and illustrations.  When Sadie’s family begins their journey the wooden sparrow is left behind.  This story is written in the dialect of the slave families and the content of the story is emotional and best shared with older elementary or middle school students. (Grade 5 and up).  

Black Elk's Vision

Nelson, S.D. (2010). Black Elk’s Vision: A Lakota Story. New York: Abrams.

Black Elk has a vision at an early age that he is unable to understand, process, or share with his tribe.  He keeps it to himself until it becomes clear that the people need to hear his vision as it contains words of inspiration and wisdom which could be light in a moment of dark peril.  The book contains several photographs which document the era and bring the book to live while grounding it in history.  Black Elk becomes a member of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show and travels to New York City and abroad until he returns home a few years later.  As he ages and matures his message finally resonates with him and becomes the motto for how he lives his life.  Highly informative and told from the perspective of a Native American at a time when Native Americans were gathered onto reservations against their will, this book is sure to captivate readers of all ages.  (Grades 3 and up). 

Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space

Pilkey, D. (1999). Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space. New York: Scholastic, Inc. 

A combination of comic strips, illustrated picture book, and novel this book reaches out to those youngsters with adventurous imaginations and a wonderful sense of humor.  This episode of Captain Underpants revolves around the conquest of alien invaders by the school troublemakers.  George and Harold demonstrate their cleverness and trickery early in the novel but by the end, readers may be sucked into liking them and perhaps even adoring them as we see exactly how far they will go to save them world.  This is a great book for the lacksadaisical reader. (Grade 3 and up).

Big Nate Strikes Again

Peirce, L. (2010). Big Nate Strikes Again. New York: Harper Collins Children’s Books. 

Nate is an adorable and ambitious boy with passions for excitement and sports.  He has a couple of best friends and together the boys harangue each other in good humor while going through typical school days filled with boring lectures, assignments, and stinky cafeteria food.  In this novel Nate is assigned a research project with the detestable Gina about Benjamin Franklin.  Nate accidently begins his research project and finds Benjamin Franklin to be a fascinating subject and with Nate’s creativity and enthusiasm he creates an awesome comic book.  However, Gina disagrees with the format and the two remain unresolved.  Read the book to find out what happens!  Nate is hilarious and readers are sure to enjoy the cartoons embedded in the text.  (Grades 2 and up).  

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Alexie, S. (2007). The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Hachette Book Group. 

Arnold Spirit, or preferably Junior, is a courageous young teenager who takes the advice of a teacher to leave the reservation for his education.  This decision results in a lot of beef for a kid who is used to fist fights, including the abandonment of his best friend, Rowdy.  Junior plows his way into the school for white kids, 22 miles off the reservation, a distance he occasionally has to walk due to circumstances revolving around extreme poverty.  A cartoonist, Junior, understands everything about the world in pictures and does an incredible job narrating the story of his year of transition from the school on the reservation to the white kids' school.  After his move, he realizes he belongs neither here nor there and as certain events begin to spiral out of control, Junior makes sweeping discoveries about his heritage and his chosen path in life.  An excellent read and highly recommended for readers 5th grade and up.