Mudshark

Name of Book: Mudshark Author: Gary Paulsen Publisher:  Scholastic Books ISBN: 978-0-545-28407-3 Audience: Ages 8 – 12 Summary: Mudshark – real name Lyle Williams -  is a student blessed with perfect recall, a good heart, and lightning reflexes.  Whenever something goes missing, he’s the guy to find it.  When the librarian gets an all-seeing parrot, [...]

Follow the Drinking Gourd

Title:  Follow the Drinking Gourd Author and Illustrator: Jeannette Winter Publisher: Dragonfly Books, (Division. of Random House) ISBN:  0-978-1-4420-1461-9 Audience: 5-9 years as an easy reader.  Also useful for an adult faith discussion on Liberation Theology. Summary: This is a story about the Underground Railroad in the pre-civil war days of 1840 when Africans began [...]

I Hate Roland Roberts

Name of Book:  I Hate Roland Roberts Author:  Martina Selway Illustrator:  Martina Selway Publisher: Ideals Children’s Books Audience: Ages 5-12 Summary: Rosie writes to her Granddad about her new school which she does not like because of her classmate Roland Roberts. Rosie has to sit next to Roland in class and Roland has been assigned [...]

The Cool Cat

Name of Book:   The Cool Cat Authors:   Merrill Farnsworth, Kami Winngham, and Mac Pirkle Illustrator:  Brian Parker Publisher:  Abington Press Audience:  Ages 4-8 Summary:  Charlie is a “cool cat” living in the town of Catville.  One day he gets word that his country cousins have fallen on hard times.  Charlie buys a tuna and sets [...]

Don’t Laugh at Me

Name of Book: Don’t Laugh at Me Author: Steve Seskin & Allen Shamblin Illustrator: Glin Dibley Publisher: Tricycle Press Audience: All ages Summary: Don’t Laugh at Me is the poignant tale of children and adults who wear braces, are chosen last for teams, beg on street corners and yet plead for acceptance and understanding.  The [...]

Make Way for Ducklings

Name of Book: Make Way for Ducklings Author: Robert McCloskey Illustrator: Robert McCloskey Publisher: Penguin Group Audience: Ages 4-8 Summary: This is the story about a family of mallards (mom, dad and 8 ducklings) who move from one home to another. In the parents’ quest to find a hatching location, they meet a police officer [...]

Grandmother and I

Name of Book :  Grandmother and I Author :  Helen E. Buckley Illustrator:  Jan Ormerod Publisher:   Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books Audience :  Ages 3 to 8 Summary:     A child considers laps:  mother’s lap, father’s lap, brother and sister’s backs (because they won’t let her sit in their laps), grandfather’s lap.  But Grandmother’s lap [...]

Listen to the Wind

Name of Book: Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg & Three Cups of Tea Author: Greg Mortenson & Susan L. Roth Illustrator: Susan L. Roth Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers Audience: Ages 3-6 Summary: A story told from the perspective of the children present in the village when changes occurred, based [...]

Before You Were Mine

Name of Book: Before You Were Mine Author: Maribeth Boelts Illustrator: David Walker Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Audience: Ages 4 and up Summary: The story of a young boy and a stray puppy dog who end up together. The boy asks the puppy about his life before they became family, and the boy also tells [...]

The Bully and Me: Stories that Break the Cycle of Torment

Name of Book:  The Bully and Me:  Stories That Break the Cycle of Torment Author:  Helen Carmichael Porter Publisher:  Northstone (an imprint of Woodlake Books, Inc.) Audience:  Adults, teens Summary:  The Bully and Me explores the many faces of bullying from the point of view of both the bully and the victim.  The bullying takes [...]