“Seekers - Smoke Mountain,” by Erin Hunter

“Seekers - Smoke Mountain,” by Erin Hunter is the third book in the Seekers series, about a group of bears on a quest to save all bearkind from human damage to the environment.

In  “Seekers - The Quest Begins” and “Seekers - Great Bear Lake” Erin Hunter introduced readers to Kallik, an orphaned polar bear; and Lusa, a black bear who escaped from a human zoo to find Toklo, a grizzly bear cub.  The fourth bear in this diverse group, Ujurak, is truly unique.  He is shapeshifter who can take on the form of any other animal.  However he prefers to be a small bear cub. Read the rest »

“The Tale of Despereaux,” by Kate DiCamillo

“The Tale of Despereaux,” by Kate DiCamillo is a Newbery Award Medal winning tale about a young mouse who is in love with a human princess. From the day he was born his parents knew that something was wrong with Despereaux. Most mouse babies are born with their eyes closed, but Despereaux was born with his eyes wide open. He was also the runt of the litter, much smaller than all the other mice. And his ears were ridiculously large! Despereaux’s parent were sure that he would die soon after birth. But to their surprise Despereaux does survive, though he grows up to be very different from other mice. Read the rest »

“Zorgamazoo,” by Robert Paul Weston

“Zorgamazoo,” by Robert Paul Weston is a fantasy novel written in smooth, flawless verse.

The book begins with a delightful invitation:

Here is a story that’s stranger than strange.
Before we begin you may want to arrange:
A blanket, a cushion, a comfortable seat,
And maybe some cocoa and something to eat.

The main character in this poetical adventure is Katrina Katrell, a young girl with a strong sense of perception and the ability to see things that other people ignore. Read the rest »

“Seekers - Great Bear Lake” by Erin Hunter

“Seekers - Great Bear Lake” by Erin Hunter is the second book in a fascinating series about a group of bears who must face the results of climate change and human abuse of the environment.

In book one, “Seekers - The Quest Begins” readers were introduced to three young bear cubs, a polar bear named Kallik, a grizzly bear cub named Toklo, and a black bear cub named Lusa.

In a world under the control of humans the wild lands are shrinking as humans build more cities and roads where wilderness used to be. Read the rest »

“Emmy and the Home for Troubled Girls,” by Lynne Jonell

“Emmy and the Home for Troubled Girls,” by Lynne Jonell is a delightful book about a young girl named Emmy and her adventures with a group of intelligent rats that have mysterious powers. This book is the second in a series that began with “Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat.”

When Emmy first met Raston, he was a sulky and obnoxious classroom pet that liked to bite. But the first time Emmy was bitten by Raston she discovered an amazing thing about Raston: people who are bit by the rat can understand Rat speech.

Emmy helped Raston to escape, and later the strange powers of Raston and other unusual rats helped Emmy to free her household from the sneaky influence of Miss Barmy, an evil nanny who had been poisoning Emmy’s parents so that she could get the family fortune and send Emmy off to the Home for Troubled Girls. Read the rest »