SIXTEEN middle-grade books stood out to me last year! When I looked at my list, I did a quick count of how many books I read in all. I lost count at sixty! Of course, that includes picture books and chapter books that make for quicker reads. Here's my list, beginning with the books I gave five stars and then moving to those with 4.5. Willodeen What can one say about Katherine Applegate's writing that hasn't been said before? Willodeen is a stunning book, richly textured and beautifully detailed. It's a work of fantasy that brilliantly touches upon ideas and themes that are relevant to our very real world. Through hummingbears and screechers, she shows us what havoc we're wreaking on the world around us. Book review Gossamer Gossamer by Lois Lowry is another gorgeous book. I often find myself thinking that I … [Read more...]
Leeva at Last
If you like Roald Dahl’s Matilda, you’re sure to enjoy Leeva at Last by Sara Pennypacker!Leeva’s parents, in a perfectly Roald Dahl-esque way are impossibly cruel. They have all kinds of rules for Leeva. She can’t go to school; in fact she isn’t even permitted to step out of her yard.When, one day, she breaks through the hedge around her yard and makes her way to the library that lies just beyond, a whole world opens for her. A world that is in equal parts fascinating and terrifying.Leeva is a lovely character with a question she must answer. The best place to find answers is, of course, a library. And she slowly does find answers to that impossible question: What are people for? As she meets more people (secretly, of course, for her parents must never know that she steps out), she finds more answers.At the same time, though, she discovers how much people hate her … [Read more...]