From Norvelt to Nowhere

From Norvelt to Nowhere by Jack Gantos

If you liked the Newbery Winner, Dead End in Norvelt, you will love this sequel! After an explosion and a new crime by an old crook Jack finds himself on a mission that takes him hundreds of miles away, escorting his slightly mental elderly mentor, Miss Volker, on her relentless pursuit of the oddest of outlaws. 

I loved every page of this book!

Junonia

Junonia

By, Kevin Henkes

The week of her tenth birthday, Alice and her parents go to Sanibel Island, Florida, just as they do every year, but this time some of the people who are always there are missing and some new people have come, which unsettles Alice, who wants things to be exactly the same as they always are.

Hostage

by:  Willo Davis Roberts

Kaci's family is moving into a new home in a new subdivision called Lofty Cedars.  The main reason for the move is to keep the family safer.  What a joke.  The scariest thing ever to happen to Kaci happens because of the move.  You know what it is by the title of the book!

Good book!

So B. It

by:  Sarah Weeks

Heidi's mom's brain was kind of like a broken watch.  All of the parts didn't work right.  That's how Bernie explained it.  Thank goodness for Bernie, the neighbor that took care of Heidi and her mom.  Her mom only knew 23 words but one word was a total mystery... "soof."

The Janitor's Boy by Andrew Clements

Jack commits the perfect crime, which unfortunately leads to the perfect punishment. Having "gum patrol" is no fun, especially when your dad is the head janitor. Jack doesn't like that his dad is the janitor, you might even say he hates it. It's embarrassing. That all changes when Jack becomes an assistant janitor and is forced to get to know his dad better. 

This was a great book. I felt like I really got to know both Jack and his dad.

Born to Fly by Michael Ferrari

Bird McGill has dreamed of flying all of her eleven years. The fact that she's a girl never mattered to her. WWII is raging and Bird's dad gets sent off to fight. When a Japanese American boy comes to school, everyone is sure he is a traitor or a spy. But one night, after he saves her from drowning, Kenji and Bird accidentally discover a real spy. Will they become friends or enemies, heroes or criminals? This was an exciting page turner of a read!

Love That Dog

by:  Sharon Creech

Jack's class has to write a poem.

This is Jack's first poem:
    I don't want to
    because boys
    don't write poetry.
    Girls do.

Very very good - quick read.

Ida B

by:  Katherine Hannigan

Ida B eats the exact same thing for breakfast and lunch everyday.  Her dad says, "Why don't you try something different?"

Ida B says, "There are too many things to think about in this world besides what I'm going to eat."  Then her dad looks at her like she is a true mystery.

Excellent!

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

by:  Gary D. Schmidt
2005 Newbery Honor Book

Growing up.
Becoming friends with someone you never thought you would.
Prejudice.
Injustice.
Standing up for what you believe in and for what is right.


Awesome!

Brian's Return


by:  Gary Paulsen

This is the 4th book in the Hatchet series.  People wrote to Gary Paulsen wanting to know what happened to Brian after he went back to civilization.  This book answers those questions.  Brian has a hard time dealing with High School back in the real world.  As a matter of fact, he has a hard time dealing with people at all and the noise.

Brian decides he must return to the woods to find what he left there.

Project Mulberry


by:  Linda Sue Park

Julia Song and her friend, Patrick, would love to win a blue ribbon, maybe even two, at the state fair.

First, they need a project... raise silkworms and make something with the silk?  Problem... silkworms only eat mulberry leaves and they have to be fresh.  Problem... Julia is Korean, she was hoping to do an American-type project not something so Korean.

Excellent!

Basketball (or something like it)


by:  Nora Raleigh Baskin

Ever since Jeremy moved into the suburbs from the city, the basketball court is the only place he feels at home.

The team isn't very good, and coach after coach gets fired or quits.

It's just a game... right?

Wolf Brother


by:  Michelle Paver

Six thousand years ago, evil stalks the land.  Only 12 year old Torak and his wolf-cub companion can defeat it.  Their journey takes them through deep forests, across giant glaciers, and into dangers they never imagined.

Very good - graphic.

Bread and Roses, Too


by:  Katherine Paterson

Everyone is tired of working in the mills (factories) for terrible low pay.  So in 1912, one of the largest strikes ever, was started.  If you don't work however, how will you get money to buy food?

Some families had to send their children to live with strangers who promised to feed and take care of them until the strike was over.  Rosa and Jake were two of those children and this book tells their story.

Slow start - then excellent!

Where the Red Fern Grows


by:  Wilson Rawls

Awesome!

A loving threesome, they ranged the dark hills and river bottoms of Cherokee country.  Billy had the best two coon dogs around and the best two friends a boy could have!

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
1968 Newbery Winner

by:  E. L. Konigsburg

Claudia and Jamie run away from home to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Claudia hopes to teach her parents a lesson in Claudia appreciation and she needs her brother because he has money.


Claudia still feels the same after running away.  And she was hoping to feel different.  When the statue of the angel comes to the museum surrounded by mystery, Claudia just knows if she can solve the mystery she will become different.  That's where Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler come in.

The Ghost in Room 11

by:  Betty Ren Wright

Matt is the new kid in school and attempts to make friends by telling outrageous lies about his life.  The only problem with lies is that when you need someone to believe the truth, maybe they will and maybe they wont.

Pictures of Hollis Woods

by:  Patricia Reilly Giff
2003 Newbery Honor Book

Great Read !!

Hollis Woods... is the place where a baby was abandoned
... is the baby's name
... is an artist
... is now 12 and has been in so many foster homes she has lost track.  
Will she get her wish - to belong to a real family?

Because of Anya

by:  Margaret Peterson Haddix

Why is Anya wearing a wig?

Everyone figures she must have cancer.  Anya however, is perfectly healthy - except her hair is falling out in clumps.  Just when Anya thinks she might be able to deal with wearing a wig the unthinkable happens - it falls off in gym class.

Very good book!

Esperanza Rising

by:  Pam Munoz Ryan

Esperanza has the life of a very rich young girl.  She lives in Mexico and has beautiful dresses and goes to fancy parties.

Tragedy changes everything forcing Esperanza to run from Mexico to California.  In California she is forced to live in a Mexican farm labor camp and to work long, hard days.

Esperanza had never had to work a day in her life.  This new life is not fun and not fair.

Read to see if Esperanza will rise to the occasion.