Publisher: Puffin Books
Published: 1996
Age Group: 10+
Price: $6.99
Taylor Dunlop
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Jip His Story is a great children's novel that revolves around a boy named Jip who was abandoned as an infant. Jip accepts his fate on a Vermont poor farm until a series of unfortunate events and disturbing changes dealing with the people around him. Mentally ill residents are housed where jip works. One of the residents Putnam Nelson is a lunatic, however Jip discovers that Putnam is a very wise and intelligent man, but does have a mental health problem. Jip finds out he is part black and is the child of an escaped slave, and has been claimed as the property of a slave owning farmer. Jim and his new friend Putnam escape the farm together to an underground railroad. Publisher: Puffin Books Published: 1996 Age Group: 10+ Price: $6.99 Taylor Dunlop
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This thrilling children's novel is about a boy named Stanley Yelnats, whose family suffers from bad luck due to a curse put on there family. Stanley is sent to a juvenile detention camp, where he and others are forced to dig large holes in the ground everyday. Stanley comes to the conclusion that the warden is digging these holes for a reason and he is going to figure out what it is. Stanley's great great grandfather did not fulfill his promise of carrying Madam Zeroni up the mountain, and to sing her the song she had taught him; therefore she put a curse on his family. One hundred years before Stanley arrives to the camp, Camp Green Lake was a beautiful place where a school teacher named Katherine falls in love with a black onion seller named Sam. Because racism was a problem during this time Sam and Katherine try to escape, but while out on the lake Sam is shot and killed. After Sam was killed the rain stops there and dries up the land. While digging a hole Stanley finds a lipstick with the initials KB on it. Stanley befriends a boy named Zero at the camp, where we later find out he is the great great grandson of Madam Zeroni. Zero escapes from camp and Stanley goes after to find him. They then climb to the top of the mountain where they find Sam's onion field and survive off the onions for over a week. Stanley then realizes the treasure must be in the same hole where he found the lipstick. They return to camp that night and find the suitcase that has Stanley Yelnats engraved in it. The warden tries to take the suitcase from him, but when Stanley's lawyer shows up she declares that it is his and him and Zero are innocent and are free to leave the camp. At the end of the novel we find out that the families curse has been lifted. Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux Published: 1997 Price: $7.99 Age Group: 10+ Taylor Dunlop This story goes threw the elementary and part of Donald Zinkoff's middle school career. He loves school and is at first always happy. He doesn't really understand when people are being mean to him. As his school years go on he is labeled as a 'loser' he accepts this and becomes more layed back at school but is still his happy self. When middle school comes along instead of a loser Zinkoff is just invisible, but when a little girl named Claudia runs away Zinkoff goes out into the snow storm to search for her. Not knowing she has been found safe Zinkoff himself almost freezes to death but is found in time and now has the title of 'hero'. This is a great story that shows the struggles of being a child. Zinkoff never gave up on who he was, a lesson everyone should learn. School will change you but don't let it change you from being a kind hearted good person. Even being bullied his whole career Zinkoff still shows in the end what a good person he is and always has been. Published: 2003 HarperCollins Publishers Price: $6.99 Grades:4-8 Haley Burdette Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles
This story is about two boys who are a lot alike, but one difference separates them apart from one another. They both love shooting marbles. They both want to be firemen and they both are swimmers. The difference that separates them is that Joe is white and John Henry is black. Today we wouldn’t see this as a big boundary or difference, but in the South in 1964, that means John Henry isn't allowed to do everything his best friend is. They spend their summers laughing and playing together, but they can’t go to places in public together though because they aren’t the same race. The two boys want to swim in the public pool together, but when they get there they can’t because it is being filled in. The boys decide they are tired of not being able to do things together so they go into a corner store to get ice pops together. A law is passed that forbids segregation. The boys are excited, but it takes more than a new law to change people's hearts. Interest Level:k-2 Grade Level Equivalent:3.2 Reviewer: Jessica Rago All great racehorses come from great pedigrees. Sham, is a golden bay Arabian stallion that finds him-self on multiple journeys between different owners, and across different countries. A long for the ride is Agba, a mute horse-boy whose life is devoted to caring for him. The Sultan of Morocco gives six of his finest stallions of all different colors to Louis XV, the boy king of France as gifts. Sham is one to be chosen. Once there the Arabians are overlooked, and all except one is to be sent away. Sham and Agba are soon tossed between all different likes of owners. They both survive torture, and abuse. At one point Agba even finds himself separated from Sham when he is forced into jail for trying to sneak back to see him when he was tossed out. At last Sham and Agba find a home in England with The Earl of Godolphin. First Sham is once again overlooked, but not for long. A mare of noble birth provides multiple colts, sired by Sham. From there all three of Sham’s colts become legends on the racetrack, and save The Earl of Godolphin from financial ruin. Sham’s great colts begin the breed line of future thoroughbreds, America’s racehorse. Due to Sham’s great swiftness, and ultimate combination of speed and stamina, his line of offspring starts the beginning. When you look into any great thoroughbred racehorse today, you will find Sham at the beginning of them all. King of the Wind is an amazing story that comes from true events. Without Sham, we may not have the great thoroughbred breed we have today. His story will not only capture the hearts of readers, but also leave you wanting to know more about how he survived his journey to stardom. The illustrations go hand in hand with the text by providing subtle insights into Sham and Agba’s journey, and give life to The Great Godolphin Arabian, the king of the wind, Sham.
Published: 1948 Company: Aladdin Paperbacks Ages: 9-12 Price: $6.99 Category: Juvenile Fiction Natalie Hoeksema Beezus and Ramona are sisters that don’t always get along with each other. Beezus is a proper and responsible older sister that has to look after her younger more devious and destructive sister, Ramona. It is Beezus’s job to entertain her sister and babysit her while their parents are working or doing other things. This leads to Beezus getting often frustrated with Ramona and her antics. This is a book that both younger siblings and older siblings will be able to relate to and enjoy as the characters go through everyday situations in a hilarious way. Louis Darling illustrates to book with pictures that express the characters emotions and reactions to each other in perfect pencil ink sketches. This book should be adopted by all children’s library collections, as well as the other books about the Quimby’s, so that all children can enjoy the shenanigans of the two lovable siblings. BIBLIO: 1955, William Marrow & Company, Ages 6 to 9, $6.99. REVIEWER: Alyssa Daney FORMAT: Middle Reader Wonder is a fascinating novel about a 10 year old boy named August. He has a face that horrifies most, and he has had several surgeries before entering a real school. He finally starts fifth grade at a new school where two kids are nice to him but the rest either make fun of him or refuse to be around him. His new friend Jack stays with him during all his classes, and his new friend Summer sits with him at lunch. August enjoys school until Halloween night he over hears Jack tell a bunch of people from the school he doesn't want to be friends with August. While August is struggling to fit into school his sister is struggling as well to find herself in high school. Jack finds out that August overheard what he was saying to the other kids, and he realizes he does want to be friends with August. Once they makeup kids start to make fun of Jack as well for hanging out and associating with August. While on a class retreat strange kids begin to make fun of August, and his classmates stand up for him. This creates a new bond for him and all of his classmates. They start to include him and hangout with him. When it is finally time for August to graduate fifth grade he wins the most prestigious award where everyone cheers him on. When leaving the graduation he thanks his mom for making him go to school. Published: February 14th, 2012 Publisher: Random house publishing Age Group: 12-18 Price: $10.99 Taylor Dunlop Jerry Spinelli’s Loser tells the story of a boy named Zinkoff, who has always been a bit different than his other classmates, from 1st grade to 6th grade. He starts off to be excited, anxious and happy about school. As he gets older, his classmates and other kids in school start to become more critical of each other, calling each other names and making fun of one another. Zinkoff is always eager to participate and try new things, however he begins getting made fun of for the mistakes he sometimes makes. Being completely unaware of his differences, he also begins to get rejected by other kids at school that he wants to make friends with. By the end of 3rd grade, Zinkoff still has no friends. In 4th grade his teacher sees something in him that makes the other students start to look for something good in him too, but does not last very long, as Zinkoff fails at the school Field Day and is teased because of it. Through the rest of 4th and 5th grade he is mocked and signified to as a “loser.” Once he hits 6th grade he has basically become invisible to both himself and his peers. Soon after this, Zinkoff does something absolutely astonishing. He hears that a young girl is missing, and immediately he goes searching for her. (Meanwhile it is the dead of winter; it is snowy, cold and unpleasant.) He looks for the girl for seven hours, nearly freezing to death. It is soon after he is found, he discovers the girl he was searching for had been found and returned home safely just a few hours earlier. The kids at school all hear of how brave was Zinkoff to risk his life to help save this little girl. They begin to recognize that he is a kind and loving boy. This makes them become more accepting of him, and finally Zinkoff goes from being treated like a “nobody” and a “loser” to being treated just like all the other students. This is a really powerful book, and would be great to teach students about what bullying is and how it can affect a person. Realistic Fiction. Published 2002, HarperCollins, Ages 8-12, $14.99. Reviewer: Deidre Schneider by scott o'dell This wonderful story of survival follows Karana, a young lady apart of an island tribe. Karana’s father is chief of their people and when the Aleuts land on their island Karana is worried about what will happen now that these strangers have landed to hunt their otter. Karana is right be afraid when the Aleuts refuse to pay the dues for hunting on their island fights break out resulting in the death of most of Karana’s people. Those who survive flee the island in fear and Karana and her brother Ramos are left behind. Sadly, shortly after everyone else has left, Ramos is killed by the wild dogs that inhabit the island. Left completely alone on the island, Karana is left to figure out how to live isolated. This creative and inspiring survival story is great because it features a female protagonist unlike a lot of survival stories that have already been written. 1960, Houghton Mifflin Company Boston. $3.95. Ages 10 and up. Kelsey Means |
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AuthorStudents from Kutztown University enrolled in LIB 221 and LIB 222
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