First Light by Rebecca Stead

First Light is written by Rebecca Stead.  She also wrote When You Reach Me, which was the Newbery Medal Winner in 2010.  This is the second of Stead's books that I have read and I enjoyed both of them immensely.  This is another adventurous tale with magical elements.  One of the main character's Peter, is a young boy who goes to Greenland, a land of snow and ice.  Peter's scientific parents are studying the effects of global warming.  At first, the book seems to be about this rather ordinary topic, but then Stead introduces Thea, who we learn lives beneath the surface of ice in Greenland with her people.  Why they are there, and why their existence is a secret, is something you will have to read the book to find out!  Does it have anything to do with what is wrong with Peter?  Why does his vision keep wavering, and why does he keep passing out?

Reviewed by Mrs. Castro

The Boy at the End of the World by Greg Van Eekhout

The Boy at the End of the World by Greg Van Eekhout is a very interesting book. The author imagined what a future world might look like.  A world where humans are almost extinct and machines have evolved to destroy life.  The story begins with the main character's awakening to this very scary world, and follows him through his attempts to survive against the machines.  Great characters and a fast moving plot will help you enjoy this book.  If you like futuristic fantasy stories, you'll love this.  I'd like to hear who your favorite character is.

Reviewed by Mrs. Castro

Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz

Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz is one of the 2013 Newbery Honor Books.  I would call this a "dark" book, best for sixth grade readers.  Two very poor, orphaned children named Lizzie Rose and Parsefall are taken in and taught how to work puppets by a man named Grisini.  They go to the home of a rich girl named Clara Wintermute to perform a puppet show for her birthday party.  Shortly after the party, Clara is missing.  Although Grisini's apartment is searched, there is no sign of Clara.  Parsefall and Lizzie Rose become involved in the search for Clara and make a surprising discovery on her whereabouts.  Can they save her before it's too late?   I love books about magic and evil witches.  This book is a page turner and definitely deserves it's place as one of the year's best books.

Reviewed by Mrs. Castro

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage

One of this year's Newbery Honor books, Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage is a great mystery.  The story is about a young girl named Mo, short for Moses because she was found as a baby floating on a river after a hurricane.  Luckily, she is taken in by Miss Lana and the Colonel, a man who lost his memory due to a car accident during the hurricane.  She spends her time looking for her "Upstream Mother", but is side-tracked from her search when a stranger turns up at her family's diner.  The stranger is Detective Starr, who is trying to solve a murder that happened in a nearby town.  Unfortunately, the next person that is murdered is Mr. Jesse, a patron of the diner, and now the story really starts rolling.  Read along as Mo and her best friend Dale start gathering clues to help solve the mystery and protect their families from danger.

Reviewed by Mrs. Castro

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage is an amazing book! It is about two kids named Dale and Mo. Just on an average day for the two kids they figure out that someone in their small town in North Carolina has been murdered. As they try to figure out who the murderer is, a mysterious man comes to solve the murder mystery. Read the book to find out who will really solve the crime first. I haven't really read lots of mystery books but my mom and I sometimes watch mystery shows and they kind of remind me of this book, because of the mysterious murders.

What I really like about the book is you don't know what is going to happen next. At one moment you may think that you know who the murderer is, but the next thing that happens may change your guess about who is the murderer. Once you read this book you'll know why I love it so much!    

Reviewed By: Sunset Baller

An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo

An Elephant in the Garden is written by Michael Morpurgo.  You may know him as the author of War Horse, which was recently made into a movie.  This story is set in World War II Germany, in the city of Dresden, right before it is bombed by the Allied forces.  It is a tale of a family fleeing the city accompanied by an elephant, a young elephant, named Marlene, whom the family took home from the zoo to protect her from the bombing they knew was about to happen.  Along the way they come across a Canadian bomber who ejected from his plane when it was hit by the Germans.  Will they be able to help each other survive despite the positions their countries have taken as enemies?  I have always been fond of World War II stories.  I began reading them in school as a child, and have never really stopped.  This is a wonderful story inspired by true events.  Yes, the elephant really happened...  Enjoy!

Reviewed by Mrs. Castro

The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis

If you like gutsy girl characters, The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis might be the book for you.  Set in the time of the Great Depression, you can revisit Deza Malone, who Curtis introduced in his Newbery Medal winning book Bud, Not Buddy.  The book revolves around Deza, a plucky, smart, African American girl.  Her family is beset with problems, but it seems that nothing makes Deza stop fighting back, not bullies, not moving away, not illness, not poverty.  Read along and watch her triumph over the issues of her time.

Reviewed by Mrs. Castro

Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate

Do you know what it means when your teacher tells you your writing has "voice"?  He or she is letting you know that they can hear your personality shining through your words.  It is as if the writer is speaking directly to the reader.  With Home of the Brave, Katherine Applegate speaks with the clear, heartwarming voice of her character Kek.  He is a young boy chased from his home in Africa by men "with their knives and their guns and their mysterious hate."  But despite all Kek has to be sad about, (he doesn't even know if his mother is still alive), he struggles to fit in to his new life in the cold winter of Minnesota and never gives up hope.  This is a "must read" book!  First you must read it, and second you must tell me if you loved it as much as I did!  And if you still need convincing, it's a fast read, written in short unrhymed poems.  K.A. Applegate is also the author of The One and Only Ivan and the Animorph series.

Reviewed by Mrs. Castro

The PS Brothers by Maribeth Boelts

The PS Brothers by Maribeth Boelts will make a great classroom read aloud.  Basically it's about two boys, Shawn and Russ, who want a dog to protect them from all the bullies in school that pick on them because of the clothes they wear, and the fact that their families don't have much money.  Russ lives in a pop-up camper behind his Uncle's house, because his father is in jail.  Their lives are hard, but the friendship between the two boys is heartwarming.  The boys come up with a scheme to raise money to buy a puppy, and yes, it involves poop!  They also make a frightening discovery about the guy who is selling them the puppy.  With so much stacked against these two young heros, can they beat the odds and win out in the end?  Read the book and find out!

Reviewed by Mrs. Castro

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes is Jonathan Auxier's first novel and it's a good one.  If you like fantasy books, as I'm sure you know I do, you'll like this one.  Honestly it took me a little while to get in to it.  I think I was grossed out by the beginning of the book, when it explains that Peter Nimble is blind, found as an infant floating on the sea with his eyeballs pecked out by a raven.  See what I mean, gross!  But there is a reason for everything in a book and in the end you'll understand the strange beginning.  This is an adventure story, Peter, a thief and orphan is sent on a quest to find someone who needs his help.   He must follow the clues left on a note that was placed in a bottle and sent adrift on the sea.  There is magic and mystery, danger and swashbuckling fight scenes, monsters and of course a maiden in distress.  Are you interested yet?

Reviewed by Mrs. Castro

Small as an Elephant by Jennifer Jacobson

Small as an Elephant by Jennifer Jacobson is a gripping story about a boy named Jack, who is left at a campground in Maine by his mother.  He attempts to make it home to Boston by himself, and keeps the fact that his mother is gone a secret.  Two big problems are that he's only eleven years old and the campground is three states away from his home.  How will he survive with no place to sleep, no food, almost no money, and no adult to take care of him? I felt so sorry for Jack as I read this story and was touched by the love and understanding he had for his mother and her "spinning" problems.

Reviewed by Mrs. Castro