Echo

Echo 
By:  Pam Munoz Ryan

Lost and alone in a forbidden forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and suddenly finds himself entwined in a puzzling quest involving a prophecy, a promies, and a harmonica.

I'll be honest, fantasy isn't my favorite genre and I was reluctant to read this book at first. WOW, am I glad I did. This book shot right to the top of my favorites! Yes, there is an element of fantasy, but there is also a lot of historical fiction woven in, which happens to be one of my favorite genres. This book looks big and intimidating, but the words on the page are spaces and it's so good that you'll be turning the pages quickly! This is a must read!

Navigating Early

Navigating Early
By:  Clare Vanderpool

This is a must read! I love historical fiction and Clare Vanderpool is a master story-teller! After his mother's death at the end of WW II, Jack is uprooted from his home and put in a boarding school for boys. There he meets Early Auden, the strangest of boys, who reads the number pi as an unending story and collects clippings about sightings of a black bear in the nearby mountains. You will not be disappointed as you read about the adventures of Jack and Early!

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!

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!

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.

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.

Black Duck
by:  Janet Taylor Lisle

Good 5th grade "read aloud".

What happened next that spring afternoon is something I know Jeddy remembers.  I can see us standing there by the bootleg crate.  We wandered toward the pool and it came into view with no more drama thank if it had been a sodden piece of driftwood lying on the sand, a naked human leg.

Chains
by:  Laurie Halse Anderson

Set at the time of the Revolutionary War.  Isabell is a young slave who was promised freedom.  When that promise gets broken, it's up to Isabel to wage her own war to get her freedom back.  This is an amazing story of the life of a very brave girl that will leave you wanting to read the sequel, Forge!

Crispin : the cross of lead

by:  Avi
2003 Newbery Winner

Asta's son is the only name he has.  He and his mom are nothing but poor peasants in 14th century medieval England.

Accused of something he didn't do, Asta's son gets declared a wolf's head.  This means anyone who sees him may kill him.

He knows he must run away if he is to survive.  With his newly revealed name - Crispin - and his mother's cross of lead he runs!

Very good book!

One Crazy Summer
by:  Rita Williams-Garcia
2011 Newbery Honor Book

Delphine is the oldest of 3 girls.  She is only 11 years old but acts 25 by the way she has to watch out for her sisters.  They were abandoned by their mother when the youngest was just a baby. This summer they are going on a big trip on an airplane to visit their long lost mother.  It turns out to be one crazy summer!

Awesome!

Elephant Run
by:  Roland Smith

Nick is sent from London, where his mom lived, to Burma (now called Myanmar) in Asia.

His father is in charge of a plantation and several mahouts or elephant drivers.  The elephants are trained to do work in the jungle.

With World War II raging, Nick turns out to be in just as much danger in Burma as he was in London.

This is a page turner!

Turtle in Paradise
by:  Jennifer L. Holm
2011 Newbery Honor Book

It's 1935 and times are hard.  Turtle's mother needs a job and Turtle can't come with her.  Turtle is sent to Key West, Florida to stay with relatives she has never met.  Thrown in with a bunch of rough and tumble boy cousins isn't easy.  Turtle may be a girl, but she is tough and she will prove it - tough as the shell on a turtle.

Best historical fiction I'v read in a long time!

The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs
by:  Betty Birney

When Eben read about the Seven Wonders of the World, he longed to escape his small farming community and do some exploring of his own.

Eben's dad gives him a challenge. If Eben can find seven wonders in his own town he will let him go all the way to Colorado on a train to visit relatives. Eben has 7 days to find 7 wonders!

Awesome book!

A Season of Gifts

by:  Richard Peck

This is the companion to  Down Yonder and A Long Way From Chicago.  If you liked those two books, you'll love this one!

It's 1958 and a new family has moved in next to Mrs. Dowdel.  She is the kind of grandma every kid wishes they had.  There's never a dull moment with Mrs. Dowdel around.

A fabulous holiday read!

Anne of Green Gables
by:  L.M. Montgomery

Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert are "older." They are brother and sister, and live together on a beautiful, large farm.

They decide to adopt a 10-12 year-old by and give him a nice home. In return, the boy would be a great help on the farm.

They accidentally end up with a girl - Anne. They plan to return her, but end up loving her and keeping her.

Number the Stars

by:  Lois Lowry
1990 Newbery Winner

Through Annemarie's eyes, we see the Danish Resistance as they manage to smuggle almost the entire Jewish population (7900) across the sea to Sweden.

The Teacher's Funeral : A Comedy in Three Parts
by:  Richard Peck

"If your teacher has to die, August isn't a bad time of year for it."  School is only standing in the way of Russell Culver's Dakota dreams. Maybe Hominy Ridge School will shut down for good.

Very good book. 

The Sign of the Beaver
by:  Elizabeth George Speare

1984 Newbery Honor Book

Matt is just 13 years old.  Yet he is left to guard his family's new cabin in the wilderness.  His father has to get the rest of the family.  It's only after Matt meets a resourceful Indian boy that he begins to discover new ways to survive in the forest.
Will his family ever return?

Jason's Gold 
by:  Will Hobbs

Fifteen-year-old Jason hears the news of the Alaskan gold rush and decides to take the money his father left him to go get rich. When Jason returns home after being gone for 10 months to share his news with the 2 brothers and collect his money, he gets a brutal surprise. His brothers took off for Alaska 2 days ago and took his share of the money with a promise to share their millions when they find gold. Jason sets out after them and boy what an adventure he is in for.

A Year Down Yonder
by: Richard Peck

Joey and Mary Alice used to go to grandma's house for one week every summer when they were kids. This time is different. Mary is  going because times are hard for her parents at the end of the depression.  Times are hard everywhere, but Grandma Dowdel is more than resourceful, she is very creative at getting money and food and clothing.  Although she acts tough and people fear her, grandma has a soft center and looks out for those that don't have anyone else. Mary learns a lot from grandma and the two grow close.