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All Four Stars

All Four Stars - Great middle school children's book

Published: 2014 Theme: Passion for Cooking Best for: 8 and up "Gladys's dad didn't believe in recipes, so if Gladys left him alone for even one minute, he'd start throwing in random stuff, saying that experimenting always made a dish taste better. It didn't...Worst of all, Gladys's parents... just nuked things in the microwave." In a lovely role reversal, it's 11-year-old Gladys who is aching for quality prepared food, while her parents are into take-out pizza, junk food, and worse.

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Twelve Kinds of Ice

Children's Book: Twelve Kinds of Ice

Published: 2012 Theme: Ice Skating and Nature Best for: 7 and up "The first ice came on the sheep pails in the barn- a skim of ice so thin that it broke when we touched it." Twelve Kinds of Ice is a small, inspiring ode to the beauty and simplicity of ice, ice-skating, children, nature, and simple living.

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The Second Mrs. Giaconda

Historical Fiction Children's Book: The Second Mrs. Giaconda

Published: 1975 Theme: Historical Fiction Best for: 12 to 14 "Why, people ask, why did Leonardo da Vinci choose to paint the portrait of the second wife of an unimportant Florentine merchant when dukes and duchesses all over Italy and the King of France as well, were all begging for a portrait by his hand? Why, they ask, why?" This is quite a lovely way to introduce older children to the world of Leonardo da Vinci, and his painting of the Mona Lisa, and history of the Renaissance.

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The Cat Who Got Carried Away

Children's Book: The Cat Who Got Carried Away

Published: 2003 Theme: First Chapter Book Best for: 6 to 9 "And the strange thing was - which Horace noticed- the strange thing was, the baby carriage...was barking." This "first chapter book" is a treat - it has some humor, as well as unusual elements such as maps and timetables for the reader to follow. It has a simple plot, with an attempt for the story to be a mystery to be solved, but the clues are present on every page.

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Esperanza Rising

Children's Book - Esperanza Rising

Published: 2000 Theme: Social Justice Best for: 9 and up "Abuelita smiled, reached over, and pulled the yarn, unraveling all of Esperanza's rows. "Do not be afraid to start over," she said." What better way for children to become true citizens of the world than by reading honestly written books about serious issues, in this case the treatment of Mexican immigrant farmworkers during the depression...

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Echo

Children's Book: Echo

Published: 2015 Theme: Power of Music Best for: ages 10 and up "Have you ever considered that one person might play the mouth harp and pass along her strength and vision and knowledge? So that the next musician who plays it might feel the same? It is true..." The thread that weaves the three main characters together is the power of music to redeem even the darkest of situations...

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The Dreamer

Children's Book - The Dreamer

Published: 2010 Theme: Live your dream Best for: 8 and up "He peeked out... and saw that the wind had also possessed his mittens. They looked like ghostly hands waving good-bye in the Chilean sky. Where were they headed? Whose hands would they cover next? ..'Where is the storehouse of lost and found?'" As I put this exquisite children's book down, I wiped my eyes, and marveled at the quick journey I had just taken into the heart and mind of Pablo Neruda...

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Julie of the Wolves

Children's Book: Julie of the Wolves

Published: 1972 Theme: Cultural Survival Best for: 9 and up "Miyax pushed back the hood of her sealskin parka and looked at the Arctic sun. It was a yellow disk in a lime-green sky; the colors of six o'clock in the evening and the time when the wolves awoke." Part of the fifth grade Waldorf curriculum, this authentic story allows a glimpse into a world where people were one with wild nature.

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The Impossible Journey

Children's Book: The Impossible Journey

Published: 2003 Theme: Faith in Goodness Best for: 9 and up "Tears spilled out of my eyes. With no more thought of caution, I poured out our story. "My parents have both been arrested and sent to Siberia. My papa has been sent to a coal mine, and my mama has been exiled to Dudinka... We are going to her..." In this riveting historical fiction children's book, we journey across Russia to Siberia, in search of Mayra and Georgi's exiled parents during Stalin's regime.

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Chu Ju’s House

Children's Book - Chu Ju's House

Published: 2005 Theme: Genuine Sacrifice Best for: 10 and up "In so loud a voice I was sure her words carried over the hills, Nai Nai said, "Send us a boy to care for us in our old age and not another worthless girl." I, Chu Ju, was that worthless girl. Nai Nia's harsh words made my eyes sting with tears." In another beautifully written children's book of historical fiction, Whelan brings alive a foreign culture and foreign era, making us live and breathe with it.