“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 »

“Seekers – The Quest Begins,” by Erin Hunter

“Seekers – The Quest Begins,” by Erin Hunter is the story of three bears who must embark on a long quest to find the solution to global climate change.

Kallik is a young polar bear from North Canada. Times are beginning to get difficult for polar bears, because the ice is melting earlier and earlier every year, forcing the bears to get off the ice, where they can hunt, and onto the land before they are ready. When Kallik’s mother is eaten by orcas while swimming between two ice sheets Kallik must continue the journey to land alone. Read the rest »

“Un Lun Dun” by China Miéville

“Un Lun Dun” by China Miéville is a fantastic story with all the allure and mystery of Lewis Carrol’s “Through the Looking Glass.”

Twelve year old Zanna and her friend Deeba knew that something strange was going on. Not only did they see a cloud that looked suspiciously like Zanna’s face but animals started behaving strangely around the two girls, bowing to Zanna and seemingly going out of their way just to see her.

It all begins one night when Zanna and Deeba find a secret entrance that takes them out of modern day London to a parallel universe called Un Lun Dun by the locals. Read the rest »

“Alex and the Ironic Gentleman,” by Adrienne Kress

“Alex and the Ironic Gentleman,” by Adrienne Kress is a mesmerizing adventure story about a young heroine on a mission to save her sixth grade teacher from a group of deadly pirates.

Alex is a ten-and-a-half year old girl who attends the Wigpowder-Steele Academy, a prestigious institution noteworthy for its stuffy personalities and ancient teachers. Needless to say Alex doesn’t exactly enjoy attending school, that is, until her class gets a new teacher. Mr. Underwood knows how to teach lessons in a way that makes them interesting, and he always answers the student’s questions. Not only that, but for P.E. he teaches the students how to fence! Read the rest »

“Once Upon a Marigold” by Jean Ferris

“Once Upon a Marigold” by Jean Ferris is a modern fairy tale with a classic happy ending. The cover of my edition pretty much describes the story in one pithy phrase: “part comedy, part love story, part everything-but-the-kitchen-sink.” I’ll admit that it is not as deep as my usual book selections, but it makes for a very satisfying and peaceful read for those times when you’re just tired of suspense and deep plots.

“Once Upon a Marigold” is the story of a young orphan named Christian.  When Christian is rescued by a reluctant troll named Edric it is only because Edric feels sorry for Christian. Young Christian grows up with his adoptive father Edric, but he longs to have more association with other humans. Read the rest »