Summer 2006
The Princess Knight Cornelia Funke, The Chicken House, 2003. 28 pages
Point Orange F954p
Ages 5 to 8
Princess Violetta was taught to be a knight just like her brothers. But her
brothers made fun of her for being smaller and weaker. However Violetta did not
give up – she was determined to become the best knight of the kingdom.
Gus & Gertie and the Missing Pearl
Joan Lowery Nixon, SeaStar Books, 2000. 48 pagesGus and Gertie were all set for a wonderful vacation at the
elegant Hotel de View. Unfortunately they have ended up at the OTEL, the meeting
place of rascally rowdies, riffraff and ruffians. Before you know it, Gertie’s
valuable deep-sea pearl is missing. Can you find the culprit?
Martin Bridge Ready for Takeoff!
Jessica Scott Kerrin, Kids Can Press, 2005. 120 pagesMartin wanted to paint flames on his model rocket. But Alex stole his idea! Now Martin has to think of a better idea before the rocket launch on Saturday. Meet Martin Bridge in these three stories about rockets, a substitute bus driver and a very old hamster. Martin has further adventures in Martin Bridge On the Lookout!
The Gadget War
Betsy Duffey, Puffin Books, 1991. 74 pagesKelly Sparks had already invented 43 gadgets and she was only in grade three! Then Albert Einstein Jones walked into Kelly’s class. He had been to Young Inventor’s Camp and claimed to be the Real Gadget Wiz. Kelly was out to proof him wrong!
Secret Identity
Wendelin Van Draanen, Alfred A Knofp, 2004. 138 pagesBubba is the school bully. He steals, pushes, calls the kids names and is basically nasty. Nolan believes that only a superhero could make Bubba behave. But what Bubba doesn’t know, is that a superhero is lurking inside Nolan. Bubba better watch out!
Ned Mouse Breaks Away Tim Wynne-Jones, Groundwood Books, 2003. 68 pages
Fiction W988n
Ages 7 and up
Ned Mouse is in prison because he wrote in his spinach " the government is unfair to mice ". Ned does not like jail, does not like the food and does not like wearing stripes. And so he tries over and over again to escape. Every time he is caught by the dim-witted guard. This continues until the day Ned gets a letter from his friend Morty and Ned comes up with his most daring escape plan.
Truly Winnie
Jennifer Richard Jacobson, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003. 105 pagesWinnie’s off to summer camp with her two best buddies. She discovers new friends, rock climbing, floating lunches and sliding down falls. But Winnie isn’t always having fun. She has told a fib and finds out that she can’t stop lying!
Ghostly Beasts
Joan Aiken, Jonathan Cape, 2002. 143 pagesEnjoy a book of animal stories with a twist. For these animal tales are of a ghostly nature. Meet a family dog that only a boy and his grandmother can see, a snow horse that rescues a boy from an evil master and a pair of glasses that let you see things as they really are.
For
those who gobble up books...
Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days! Stephen Manes, Bantam
Books, 1982. 76 pages
Fiction M274b
Ages 8 to 11
Have you ever wanted to be perfect? Milo Crinkley did after he
discovered the book Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days! in the school
library. All Milo had to do was follow the instructions in the book. But who
ever heard of wearing a stalk of broccoli around your neck for twenty-four hours?
And that was only the first day…
Amber: The Story of a Red Fox
Shirley Woods, Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2004. 96 pagesWhen the young fox is born, she is blind, deaf and covered with
soft grey fur. For the first month she lives in a den with her mother and four
brothers. But Amber grows quickly and is soon exploring the world outside with
the other kits. After six months Amber is on her own. Has she learned enough to
survive the dangers she’ll encounter?
The Scarecrow and His Servant
Philip Pullman, Knopf, 2005. 229 pagesThe scarecrow stands in the field in the middle of a
thunderstorm. Suddenly a lightening bolt hits him - the scarecrow opens his eyes
and comes to life. So begins the adventures of Lord Scarecrow and his trusty
servant Jack. A tale of adventure, bad guys, surprises and silliness.
Ida B : …and Her Plans to Maximize fun, Avoid Disaster and (Possibly) Save the
World Katherine Hannigan, Greenwillow Books, 2004. 246 pages
Fiction H245i
Ages 9 to 12
For Ida B there is just not enough time to do all the things she
wants to do. Her days are filled with visiting the trees, following the brook,
playing with her dog and learning from her mom and dad. But when disaster
strikes, Ida B’s world seems terribly wrong. Will she find a way to get things
back to almost perfect?
Midnight for Charlie Bone
Jenny Nimmo, Orchard Books, 2002. 410 pagesCharlie is not pleased when he finds that he can hear the people
in photographs talking. His miserable aunts and grouchy grandmother are
delighted to learn that Charlie has a gift. He is immediately sent off to
Bloor’s Academy, a school for gifted children and the few who are endowed with
powers. It doesn’t take long for Charlie to discover that all is not right at
his new school.
Charlie’s adventures continue in Charlie Bone and the Time Twister, Charlie
Bone and the Invisible Boy and Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors.
Everything on a Waffle Polly Horvath, Groundwood Books, 2001. 179 pages
Fiction H823e
Ages 10 and up
Primrose Squarp’s parents are lost at sea but Primrose knows,
without a doubt, that they are still alive somewhere. She just can’t convince
anyone else in Coal Harbour – they all believe her to be an orphan. Primrose is
shuffled around form her mothball-smelling babysitter to her ambitious Uncle
Jack. Primrose describes her many misadventures, the characters in her town and
as an added bonus throws in some of her mother’s recipes. A funny laugh-out-loud
story.
Chasing Vermeer
Blue Balliett, Scholastic Press, 2003. 254 pages
Fiction B157c
Ages 11 to 13.
An adventure, a mystery, a world full of coincidences…Can Petra
Andalee and Calder Pillay solve the mystery? Petra and Calder follow the twisted
trail of a stolen Vermeer painting. A book of strange occurrences and
unexplained coincidences has these two connecting unrelated events and
discovering puzzles within puzzles, to solve a crime that has even the FBI
baffled.
The House With a Clock in Its Walls John Bellairs, Puffin Books, 2004.
179 pages
Fiction B438h
Ages 10 to 13
Lewis Barnavelt, an orphaned 10 year old, comes to live with his
Uncle Jonathon. Lewis soon discovers that Uncle Jonathan and his neighbour Mrs.
Zimmerman are both witches. But that’s not all. There’s something odd going on -
a strange ticking noise in the walls of the house. Lewis finds himself involved
in a struggle between the Barnavelt’s white magic and the evil Izards, former
owners of the house and now deceased. For those who love ghost stories.
Lewis’ adventures continue in: The Figure in the Shadows, The Letter,
the Witch and the Ring and The Ghost in the Mirror.
