Wishtree by Katherine Applegate

One way to decide what to read is to pick an author you have enjoyed previously. Since I liked The Endling and The One and Only Ivan, I decided to try Wishtree, Katherine Applegate's newest book. The book is a quick read with very short chapters. Applegate writes from the perspective of Red, a wise old oak who serves as the neighborhood "wish tree." For generations people have written their wishes and tied them to Red's branches with the hope that they will come true. 

The focus of this story is on Samar's wish for a friend. Samar is a kind and gentle Muslim girl whose family has recently moved to the neighborhood from another country. She spends much of her time quietly sitting beneath Red's branches getting to know the animals who live in his tree hollows, roots, and branches. Unfortunately, not everyone is as welcoming to Samar as Red and the animals. One day the ugliness of discrimination is carved into Red's bark.

If you are in 3rd grade or above and enjoy combining fantasy with realistic fiction, read Wishtree and find out if Red can make Samar's wish come true.

Mrs. N.

Storm Run by Libby Riddles

I come by books to read in many different ways. Storm Run: The Story of the First Woman to Win the Iditarod Sled Dog Race was a gift to our library from my mother-in-law's summer trip to Alaska. She even had it signed by the author/first woman to win the Iditarod!

Author and sled dog racer Libby Riddles starts the story of her amazing accomplishment with her childhood, explaining her deep love and appreciation for animals, adventure, and the great outdoors. She moved to Alaska (by herself!) when she was only 16 and learned to live "bush-style," surviving on her own skills in the wilds of the state. Soon she became fascinated by sled dog racing and began acquiring and training her own team of huskies. After early success with short-distance racing, Libby set her sights on the ultimate challenge...the Iditarod, a 1,100-mile sled dog race across the Alaskan wilderness.

While Storm Run is not a story by a seasoned writer, it is a writer's amazing true story of the determination it takes to make dreams come true. Readers will appreciate the picture book format, which includes an interesting combination of drawings and photographs.

I recommend this book to upper elementary dog and/or nature lovers who enjoy reading nonfiction adventure stories and relish a lot of details.

Mrs. N.

Northbounders by Karen Lord Rutter

Last Saturday I traveled to what is now my absolute favorite bookstore, The Story Shop in Madison, Georgia. The Story Shop is an independent children's bookstore filled with the creativity and magic of stories. I chose that particular Saturday because author Karen Rutter was performing an author visit there. After stepping through the wardrobe (think C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe), I entered the story time room where Mrs. Rutter was waiting to get started.

Northbounders is Karen Rutter's first book. She used to be a teacher and a principal! The book was inspired by her son David's hike of the Appalachian Trail. For those of you who don't know, the Appalachian Trail is a 2,186-mile trail that runs from north Georgia to Maine. What makes her story even more interesting is that David's hiking partner was the family's 10-year-old golden retriever Copper, and Mrs. Rutter tells the tale from Copper's point of view!

I recommend the book for those upper grade students who appreciate nature, love animals, and enjoy reading nonfiction. Oh, I almost forgot; Mrs. Rutter accepted my invitation to visit our school this year!

Mrs. N.

Drawn Together by Minh Le

Drawn Together is a perfectly titled picture book about how a shared talent for drawing brings a grandfather and his grandson closer together. Language is the barrier between them: grandfather speaks Vietnamese and grandson speaks English. Finally, during yet another dreaded, silent visit with his grandfather, the two stumble upon "a world beyond words"...drawing. They spend a wonderful afternoon drawing together and start to finally get to know each other, without words.

The pictures by Caldecott-winning illustrator Dan Santat are wonderfully unique and detailed. Since the book has very few words, the illustrations play an extra important role in telling the story. Comparing the grandfather's artistic style to the grandson's enabled me as a reader to get to know these two characters.

Le's message in this book is a beautiful one that offers hope to anyone separated from another because of a language barrier. It opened my mind to the fact that talking is only one of many ways we can communicate with each other.

Mrs. N.

Endling The Last by Katherine Applegate

This summer I discovered a new series by Katherine Applegate, the author of two books I like...The One and Only Ivan and Crenshaw. 

Endling is a fantasy that takes place in the kingdom of Nedarra, which is under the evil rule of the Murdano. The main characters are a motley crew of species: Byx (believed to be the last living dairne), Tobble (a wobbyk), Gambler (a felivet), Vallino (a horse), Renzo, and Khara (humans). The story begins with what is believed to be the extermination of the dairne species; however, one dairne secretly survives...Byx, the endling.  This begins Byx's adventures and a quest to locate Dairneholm, a fabled moving island that hides the remaining dairne population.

Since I am only a moderate fan of the fantasy genre, I was surprised to find myself enjoying this book. I found the author's creativity inspirational. I loved Applegate's  invented names of animal species and places in the fictional kingdom. Also, the story was action-packed.

If you are an upper grade student who likes talking animals, a little magic, and reading about heroic quests, I recommend that you read Endling The Last and escape into Byx's world for awhile. You will be glad you did and eager to return when the second book is released.

Mrs. N.

We Will Not Be Silent: The White Rose Student Resistance Movement That Defied Adolf Hitler by Russell Freedman

I chose to read We Will Not Be Silent because it is written by renowned nonfiction author Russell Freedman and because it won the Robert F. Sibert Honor for nonfiction this year. Thanks to Mr. Freedman and the many historic photographs he included in this book, I learned a great deal about an aspect of WWII that I can never remember being taught.

Have you ever stopped to wonder if all Germans agreed with Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime?  They most certainly did not! This is the true story of a group of German students who were brave enough to organize an effective movement against Hitler. Theirs is a fascinating story.

Because the subject matter of this book is intense and includes real violence, I only recommend this book to mature 5th or 6th graders with background knowledge of WWII. It is most definitely a disturbing, albeit important, read.

Mrs. N.

Giant Squid by Candace Fleming

What is as big as a bus yet has rarely ever been seen? The Giant Squid! Despite the fact that this creature is largely unknown, author Candace Fleming does a magnificent job of describing fascinating facts about the Giant Squid. For example, I never knew that the squid's tentacle suckers are lined with teeth or that the squid has a beak like a parrot in between all those tentacles! This book peaked my desire to find out more about these mysterious creatures of the deep, and I hungrily read the extra information provided at the end of the book. Website recommendations are included!

Artist Eric Rohman does a great job with the book's illustrations, giving close-ups of the parts of the squid that Fleming is describing while maintaining a dark velvety blue background that communicates its deep water home.

I highly recommend this award winning picture book to students of all ages, especially those with an interest in ocean life.

Mrs. N.