This summer vacation adventure novel tells the story of Owen Jester, his best friends Travis and Stumpy, and their "frenemy" Viola. Owen and his family live with his ailing grandfather and his nasty housekeeper Earlene in rural Georgia. Owen recently captured a bullfrog in the family pond and he is struggling to find a way to keep the bullfrog alive and happy. One night while Owen is falling asleep listening to the sounds of the "free" bullfrogs in Graham Pond, he hears a mysterious thud, and then a crack and then a tumble, tumble, tumble as the nightly train rattles through the field behind his house. Owen convinces his friends to help him look for the source of the mysterious sound he heard as the train passed by in the middle of the night. What they find is beyond imagination and what they do with it is truly amazing.
I thought this book would be a cute little story about a girl and her summer vacation. Wow, was I wrong! The main
character, eleven-year-old Lily is allowed to do what she wants at school and at home because of something that happened in the past that has left her mute and “not quite right in the head.” Since we are in Lily’s head in the book it
becomes clear that Lily is just fine and could talk if she wanted. She just doesn’t want to. Then Tinny arrives. Tinny sees Lily secretly reading a book and realizes that Lily is keeping her abilities from her family and friends. Tinny is a mystery to Lily and she comes to this small town with her own big secret. Lily loves a good mystery (Nancy Drew is her favorite) and sets out to figure out what Tinny’s secret is. So, this is not a cute little summer story. These characters have big problems to solve. I guarantee this book will surprise you in the end.
Some of you may know that I love books about chickens. Chickens are always funny characters in books! The chickens in this J. J. Tully mystery do not disappoint. The chicks, Dirt and Sugar, and mom, Moosh are hilarious as they try to get J.J., a retired search-and-rescue dog, to search for their missing siblings. They eventually get him to agree to help with the promise of a cheeseburger. This will book will keep you wondering and laughing and most important the chickens are super funny!
Have you ever dreamed of living near the ocean or even on an island? Do you think it would be neat to go fishing every day with your father? Then this book is for you! Touch Blue by Cynthia Lord tells the story of 11 year-old Tess Brooks who lives on the island of Bethsaida off the coast of Maine. The state is going to shut down the island school due to lack of students so the island families decide to take in foster children to boost their numbers and save their school. Tess’s family takes in 13 year-old Aaron who plays both the trumpet and the piano. He has bounced from foster home to foster home and is a very angry teenager. Tess does everything she can to try to make him feel comfortable, at first to save the school, but soon she realizes that she loves having an older “brother” and hopes Aaron will love island life and want to stay with them. Will she succeed? Read the book to discover her grand plan!
Mr. Terupt is the new teacher in fifth grade and the students can tell right away that he is not like the rest of the teachers. This realistic fiction novel is told from the point of view of seven of his students.There is Jessica, the new girl; Alexia, the bully; Luke, the brain; Danielle, the religious chubby girl who is alternately teased and included by Alexia; Anna, the quiet ostracized one; Peter, the class clown; and Jeffrey, who just hates school. These students realize that this school year is going to be different. Mr. Terupt trusts them. He lets them work things out. He encourages them to take chances. He says things to them that no other teacher would ever say. Partially because of this freedom the students have, an incident occurs which changes everything and everybody. I cannot tell you more than this. Everyone needs to read this book!
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