Books to Inspire, Thrill and Engage Children
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 →
Peter has an unusual pet. He rescued Pax as a kit, and raised him into the fox he is today. But Peter’s father enlisted in the military to fight in the war, so Peter has to go live with Grandfather. Peter’s father insists Grandfather will not want a pet fox, and forces Peter to release... Continue Reading →
Lynda Mullaly Hunt wrote One for the Murphys, an audiobook I enjoyed. So when I saw she had written Fish in a Tree, I immediately picked it up to read. I was not disappointed. Ally, the main character, has never done well in school. Usually, she’s able to distract the teacher by acting out. Plus,... Continue Reading →
Felix has lived through quite a lot, as you can imagine any Jewish boy has during World War Two. Now that the war is over, he is struggling to survive in the midst of the destruction in Poland after the war. He has his best friend, and his work. But even though the war is... Continue Reading →
Overnight, Gerta finds her family divided. One night, her father and next older brother went to West Berlin to find supplies for her family. The next morning, she finds East German soldiers building a massive concrete wall, sealing her, her oldest brother and their mother inside East Berlin. Gerta tries to live her life, but... Continue Reading →
Carley Connors has learned to be tough. But now she’s in a situation she never thought she’d be in. After a painful betrayal by her fun-loving mother, Carley finds herself entering a strange house to live with a strange family. She’s in foster care. One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt is a thoughtful,... Continue Reading →
Esther is determined to join her father in Cuba and work to get the rest of her family out of Poland. She is the oldest child, after all, even if she is a girl. Papa agrees, and Esther travels alone across Europe and the Atlantic to join him in Cuba. Her new home enchants Esther,... Continue Reading →
Note: I wrote this review about six years ago, before the #MeToo movement, and am just publishing it now. This is one of those books I wish we didn’t need. But since we do, I am glad that Laurie Halse Anderson wrote Speak. Melinda Sordino is entering high school as an outcast. Everyone hates her... Continue Reading →
Joana has been walking for days. She’s gathered around her others fleeing the Russian troops advancing through the eastern lands of the Third Reich. There’s Eva, a giantess of a woman, Poet, who is a shoemaker and waxes poetical about shoes, boots and feet, and Ingrid, a blind girl Joana found lost at a train... Continue Reading →
Lina regrets missing the signs. She was not prepared, so Stalin’s men grabbed her from her apartment in her nightgown. Lina was one of millions of Lithuanians falsely charged with crimes and resettled to Sibera. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys tells her story, that of her family and that of those with whom... Continue Reading →
Cultivating Readers 