Hoot
by Carl Hiaasen
Genre: Mystery/AR 5.2
Newbery Honor Book
Roy Eberhardt is a new kid again. Instead of trying to blend in with the crowd, he ignores the warnings of one of the school's biggest bullies to investigate the mysterious boy that avoids school and can be seen running around town barefooted. He soon finds himself in the middle of an ecological mystery involving pancakes, owls, and one barefooted boy. Should Roy and his friends let the adults sort it out? What would you do?
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My Side of the Mountain
by Jean Craighead George
Genre: Adventure/A.R. 5.2
Newbery Honor Book
With no malice or ill feelings toward his family, just a calling to the woods, Sam runs away from his city apartment home to live in the Catskill Mountains. He is going in search of his grandfather's abandoned farm. I'm happy to say that a kind librarian in town helps him locate the needed information in books and even draws maps to help him find the place. Leaving four sisters and four brothers behind, Sam is surprisingly not very lonely. He is also incredibly resourceful and lucky as he learns to build a home out of a tree, scout for food, and make friends of various woodland animals that help him by bringing food and alerting him to changing weather conditions in the mountains. Sam also maintains sporadic contact with humans as they come on hikes, hunts, and other exploration trips. Eventually, he becomes known in town as the wild boy that lives on nuts in the woods.
Upon learning that the publisher had first declined to publish this book, the author reported thinking "better to run to the woods than the city." You'll have to read it yourself to see if you agree.
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Harriet the Spy
by Louise Fitzhugh
Genre: Realistic Fiction/AR 6.1
I kept wanting to find a way to like Harriet. Ole Goody who lived with her everyday obviously saw something in her. I definitely liked wise, Ole Goody. Harriet, however, is a character with serious flaws. She not only spies on all of her "friends," she writes unkind, hypercritical things about them. But when Harriet's friends read her diary and find out all the hateful things she has written about them, she is unapologetic and incensed that they violated her privacy by reading her diary. Never does she appreciate the absurdity of her actions given that she has made a habit of invading other people's privacy. In the end, her two best friends return to her not because she has apologized or even been kind, but because she tricks them by setting their new alliances against each other through more sneaky spying. I'll find it hard to recommend this one to anyone. So, if it's your favorite, feel free to leave a comment defending it.
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39 Clues
various authors
Genre: Adventure/A.R. 4.3-4.9 range
Amy and Dan were already orphans when their grandmother, Grace, died and left them with a choice between 1 million dollars (to be handled and likely spent by their caregiver), or the secret to power beyond their imagination. Of course, there is a catch. They have to compete against members of 4 branches of the Cahill family to discover the secret. The challenge is not to become vicious and cruel in the process. Amy and Dan are desperate to find their identity and place in the world giving their quest much more heart than the other teams competing. It helps if you read this series in order, but the author provides the basic back story for anyone reading them out of order. These have been a hit in my summer read alouds at home. Check them out or see if you can find another series to ignite the reading bug you have at home.
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Tallyho, Pinkerton!
by Steven Kellogg
Genre: Animal Fantasy / AR 2.1
If you are familiar with Steven Kellogg's books, you already know that the illustrations are fantastic. Tallyho, Pinkerton has detailed, full page illustrations that are full of surprises. In fact, if you don't take the time to hunt for some of the hidden pictures, you will miss some of the story. Pinkerton is a loveable, great dane with a sympathetic owner that understands all of the mischief Pinkerton makes. In this story, Pinkerton accidentally takes a hot air balloon ride and stumbles into the middle of a fox hunt. It's up to the family to save Pinkerton again.
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Roly the Railroad Mouse
by Ruth Ainsworth
Illustrator: Jean Winslow
Genre: Fantasy / (not AR)
Roland, called Roly, is a small, brown mouse that lives in the train station with the rest of his family. They must scrounge for crumbs and keep quick watch out for multiple dangers, including a one-eyed cat, spring traps, and poisened sandwiches. Until, one day... the mice manage to scare away all the unsympathetic station workers who are replaced with a kindly sibling pair that somehow don't mind mice. The talking animals are one reason this book is considered a fantasy, but I find the friendly relationship between the brother and sister and the mice much more difficult to believe!
The black and white drawings are worth a closer examination. There is so much detail drawn in to these otherwise simple images. I can definitely see myself using them to teach students about the importance of light, shadows, and dimensions in drawing.
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A Lantern in Her Hand
by Bess Streeter Aldrich
Genre: Historical Fiction / AR 6.4
This work spans the lifetime of Abbie Mckinzie Deal and her husband, Will. It is above all a love story, or actually three love stories. The first, is the story of Abbie and Will's love. The second is the love of a mother for her children. The third, is the love of the prairie by the pioneers. Tieing all of them together is the theme of sacrifice, delayed rewards, and the unflinching devotion that comes from patience and duty through it all. This book is beyond the reading level of most of our students. I confess, it's hard to imagine how our young students could ever fully appreciate the depth of Abbie's character. I don't think it will hinder their enjoyment of the story, if they can only be convinced to give it a try. Aldrich pens many beautifully written passages filled with a charity of spirit and hopefulness that all should be able to respect.
The entire text can be read online courtesy of the Gutenberg project. One of my favorite passages is near the end. In this scene, Abbie's youngest daughter has invited her to travel abroad to Europe. When Abbie refuses, Grace accuses her mother of having lived a "narrow" life.
Unwittingly, as so often she did, Grace had hurt her Mother's feelings. For a moment Abbie nursed her little hurt, and then she said quietly, "You know, Grace, it's queer, but I don't feel narrow. I feel broad. How can I explain it to you, so you would understand? I've seen everything . . . and I've hardly been away from this yard. I've seen cathedrals in the snow on the Lombardy poplars. I've seen the sun set behind the Alps over there when the clouds have been piled up on the edge of the prairie. I've seen the ocean billows in the rise and the fall of the prairie grass. I've seen history in the making . . . three ugly wars flare up and die down. I've sent a lover and two brothers to one, a son and son-in-law to another, and two grandsons to the other. I've seen the feeble beginnings of a raw state and the civilization that developed there, and I've been part of the beginning and part of the growth. I've married . . . and borne children and looked into the face of death. Is childbirth narrow, Grace? Or marriage? Or death? When you've experienced all those things, Grace, the spirit has traveled although the body has been confined. I think travel is a rare privilege and I'm glad you can have it. But not every one who stays at home is narrow and not every one who travels is broad. I think if you can understand humanity . . . can sympathize with every creature . . . can put yourself into the personality of every one . . . you're not narrow . . . you're broad."
I've added the bold because I think it expresses such an elegant idea so simply. This book has a slow beginning and some sluggish parts (to me), but with writing like this throughout it is worth the time. I only hope I can convince some of our more advanced readers to give it a try.
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