Shabanu: Daughter of the Winds is the coming-of-age tale of a young Muslim girl who lives in the Cholistan desert in Pakistan. Suzanne Fisher Staples tells a poignant story portraying the life and cu…
Lily’s Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff is a beautiful tale of a young girl’s experiences one summer during World War II. Giff has a great talent for making the characters in her stories feel very au…
A very simple read yet with a thought-provoking twist is exactly what Lois Lowry's book The Giver offers to the reader. Care, trust, unity and happiness dwell in the dystopian town that Jonas lives in…
Airborn is narrated by Matt Cruse, the 15 year-old protagonist and resourceful cabin boy on the airship Aurora. Set in a world that echoes ours, where oceans named the Pacificus and the Atlanticus are…
Children have long had many excellent choices in the fantasy genre, but few accessible, outstanding science fiction options so it is refreshing to see a first-rate science fiction contribution from Re…
I know very well what it’s like to be the new kid in school. I wish I would have had Roy’s courage and presence of mind as he stood up to all the bullies and stuck to his ideals and new friendsh…
A writer who can turn a nice phrase is a craftsman, but an author who slips you inside a character’s skin without you noticing is an artist. Christopher Paul Curtis is a master artist in the Newbery-…
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy is a very special book. It is by no means a ‘feel-good’ book, but it is one of the most amazing books I’ve ever read. Everything in this book is …
Penny's idea of Heaven involves butter pecan ice cream, the Dodgers, and her big, loud, Italian family. But this summer isn't exactly heaven. She's living through a horrible haircut, days filled wit…
I considered myself a pretty mature sixteen-year-old, but I had nothing on Hattie Inez Brooks, the protagonist of Kirby Larson's beautifully-crafted novel Hattie Big Sky! At sixteen, orphan Hattie (…
Like Jake and Me is a fabulous example of a book that says a lot with very few words. Little Alex is trying to help his step-father, Jake, but is usually brushed off with that age-old phrase, “Maybe …
Set against the stirring backdrop of the early days of the American Revolution, Johnny Tremain is the story of a young apprentice silversmith whose talent is surpassed only by his high opinion of hims…
