Books to Inspire, Thrill and Engage Children
Cassie Barnes can read people. She can tell who people are and what people want from the tiniest details. At 17, she uses this skill to earn better tips when waitressing, and to stay on the good side of her very large family. But the FBI has other plans. They’re putting together a team, called... Continue Reading →
When I picked up this audiobook in the library, I misread the title. I thought it was Pieces of Sky. Which explains my confusion during the first few chapters of the book. Confusion aside, Pieces of Why by K.L. Going follows the story of Tia, a twelve-year-old singer in New Orleans. Tia and her best... Continue Reading →
I recently read Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk with a book club. We all loved it so much that one of my friends decided to read all of Wolk’s books - and pass them on to me. (Thank you Jan! See also Echo Mountain.) Beyond the Bright Sea tells the story of Crow, a young... Continue Reading →
Lizzie Kennedy wants to be a doctor, like her dad. But this is San Fransisco in 1900, and girls go to finishing schools, not high schools. And definitely not colleges. Lizzie, her older brother and her father live in a house on her aunt and uncle’s property on Nobb Hill. They’re not wealthy, but her... Continue Reading →
Cedar thinks her mom might be crazy. They can’t afford a summer house on her mother’s teacher’s salary. But her mom feels a need to spend the summers in her home town, near her family. Cedar can understand that, since everyone desperately misses her Dad and brother Ben, who died in a car accident the... Continue Reading →
Karson and Korie King live in a small town - and have big aspirations. Karson plans to be a soldier, and Korie a lady. Unknown to them, their lives are interwoven with that of Talon, the son of the exiled prince. Elites, The island of Darkness by Kira M. Dewey is the first in a... Continue Reading →
I stayed up entirely too late to finish Echo Mountain another excellent story by Lauren Wolk, author of Wolf Hollow. Ellie has decided to make Echo Mountain home since her family lost everything in town during the Depression and had to learn how to make it in the wilderness. Her mother and older sister remember... Continue Reading →
I have picked up Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce several times in the library - and then put it down again. I wasn’t sure I would be interested. But when I heard Batty mention it as one of her favorite books while rellistening to The Penderwicks in Spring, I immediately picked up the audiobook. I... Continue Reading →
Penelope's life is scheduled down to the minutes. Even her summers. Her mom is an efficiency expert, and her dad follows the family schedule because it makes his life easier. Penelope feels quite alone in her wish for more free time, time to moodle, think and dream. But her mother's scheduling makes it impossible. Until... Continue Reading →
Nic wasn't always a slave in the mines of the Roman Empire. He remembers when his mother sold him and his sister to the wicked overseer, Sal. He determines to escape one day, and gives himself a freedman's name, Nic Calva, to prove to himself he won't be a slave forever. One day he finds... Continue Reading →
