Snow & Rose

Snow & Rose
By Emily Winfield Martin

Two sisters, Snow and Rose, once lived a fancy life with their loving parents in a fancy house with a beautiful garden. But their father disappears one day, and the girls and their grieving mom move to a tiny cottage in the mysterious and possibly dangerous woods. Snow and Rose meet a quirky boy named Ivo, who has a vast knowledge of mushrooms, and they discover a library in the woods filled with magical objects (instead of books!). There is also a bear who befriends the girls and helps them out of some trouble...
This fairy tale is illustrated with gorgeous pictures and is full of mystery, magic, and bonds of friendship and sisterhood.

Skellig

Skellig

By David Almond

In this mysterious story, a soccer-playing boy named Michael moves into an old fixer-upper house with his family. While his mother is in the hospital with his new baby sister--who is very sick--Michael discovers a strange, sickly, ghost-like man in their run-down garage. Michael takes care of this man, who has wings, by bringing him Chinese food and medicine as often as he can. With the help of a neighbor and new friend, Mina, Michael eventually moves "Skellig" to a  more secret, safer place so he can grow stronger. In this mystical novel there are many unanswered questions that make you think about the story long after it ends.

Wishtree

Wishtree

By Katherine Applegate

This is a sweet and funny but also very poignant tale of a changing neighborhood, told from the perspective of a 216-year-old oak tree named Red.
After a new family--who happens to be Muslim--moves into the neighborhood, a vandal carves a mean-spirited "Leave" into the tree's trunk. Red and their animal companions try to help the new family feel more acceptance by coming up with an action plan or two (or three) that involves some real creativity!  

Wildwood

Wildwood
By Colin Meloy
Illustrated by Carson Ellis

Since I used to live in Portland, Oregon, I particularly loved the setting of Wildwood. And since I love the music of the band The Decemberists, I had a hunch I would enjoy the writing by that band's lead singer and lyricist, Colin Meloy. And I did!
Wildwood is the first book in a trilogy of fantasy stories involving two 12-year-old kids, Prue and Curtis, who accidentally wander into an enchanted wood that borders the city of Portland. In these woods, talking forest animals and humans, some with (dark) magical abilities are preparing for a war--and Prue and Curtis find themselves more involved in the civil unrest than they could have imagined!
Full of adventure and wit, Wildwood will keep you reading and wondering how it will all work out...

The illustrations throughout the book by Carson Ellis are wonderful, too!

grayson

grayson

By Lynne Cox

A lovely little book! Lynne Cox recalls an incredible experience she had as a 17-year-old long-distance ocean swimmer: a baby grey whale, separated from its mom and lost, followed her around as she swam in the ocean near Long Beach, CA one morning.
The author describes the amazing ocean animals she saw and the wild experiences of that day in vivid detail, sharing the magic of the Pacific ocean with those of us who usually stay on the beach!

Chained

Chained 
By Lynn Kelly

In northern India, Hastin lives with his mother and younger sister in a small village. After his sister contracts a serious illness from mosquitoes, Hastin decides to leave home to work off his family's debt for the hospital bill. Unfortunately, the circus master who "hires" Hastin has no intention of actually paying him anything, and treats him terribly. Hastin's job as the elephant keeper for a baby elephant he helped trap is the only thing that provides any comfort; he and the elephant develop a strong bond, and protect each other from the cruelty of the awful circus master.
Hastin must escape and get back to his home--but he can't leave the young elephant at the circus...he must figure out a way to save them both. It seems impossible!
A real page-turner for animal lovers.

The Thickety

The Thickety: A Path Begins
By J.A. White

Witchcraft, fantasy, horror, magic...this first book in the Thickety series (4 books altogether) is pretty gripping!

Kara Westfall, a young witch, must figure out whether her powers are evil or for good--or some strange combination of the two... Long ago her mother was murdered before her eyes by the community for being a witch, and Kara has always wondered about her mother's powers and how they were used. The community watches Kara closely to determine whether she should share the same fate as her mother.

Isolated on an island, the town Kara lives in with her dad and little brother borders a creepy forest, the "Thickety." In this magical forest live horrific beasts and strange beings. Kara must enter the Thickety in order to find out the answers she needs to know...

The One and Only Ivan

The One and Only Ivan

By Katherine Applegate

Just finished this one last night...sniffling, wiping my eyes a little, I'll admit. I can understand why it was selected for a Newberry medal.
Told simply but powerfully, from the perspective of a gorilla locked in a cage (for 27 years!) in a shopping mall, this novel is based--sadly--on a true story.
But author Katherine Applegate gives Ivan some special friends to keep him company in her story, including a stray dog and a couple of amazing elephants...and Ivan, who is a dedicated artist, really perseveres against all odds.

Bluefish

Bluefish
By Pat Schmatz

Travis is in middle school and can't read.
He's just moved to a new town with his alcoholic grandpa, and is missing like crazy his beloved old dog, Rosco, who disappeared just before the move. School and life feel unbearable a lot of the time--until he meets Velveeta.

Full of spirit and life, Velveeta basically forces Travis into a friendship that they both need. Velveeta, with sad secrets of her own, helps Travis find the strength he needs to learn to read.

With the support of a really great teacher, Mr. McQueen, and a geeky misfit named Bradley, both Velveeta and Travis find ways to stand up to the difficulties in their lives.

This book is a nominee for the 2014-2015 California Young Reader Medal (CYRM)...I hope it wins!

Charlie Bone

Midnight for Charlie Bone
By Jenny Nimmo

I have heard for a while about how the Charlie Bone series is great for people who loved Harry Potter (like me)...but I haven't seen these books checked out much in the library for some reason...

So I thought I'd read the first one to see what it was all about.

And it was great! And I do think Harry Potter fans would enjoy the magic and mystery Charlie encounters in his bizarre boarding school for kids with "special (magical) abilities".

The series, called Children of the Red King, includes 8 books, beginning with this one. Give it a try! And let me know what you think of it!

The Real Boy

The Real Boy 
By Anne Ursu

This novel just arrived in our library, and since I hadn't read any fantasy books in a while I checked it out.

It's an interesting story--sort of a fairy tale, a little dystopian, too--that asks the question: can you have magic without monsters?

The Magician's orphaned helper, Oscar, is struggling to figure out why the seemingly perfect magic-infused world he lives in is breaking down. And the people he knows are suddenly not who he thinks they are.

Oscar is an awkward, shy boy, and wonders if he himself was just magically fabricated from wood. Luckily he is befriended by Callie, a strong girl who is the Healer's apprentice...together the two of them unravel a dark mystery that is destroying their community, and they find great strength in friendship.

The Underneath

The Underneath
By Kathi Appelt

For those who love stories about animals, The Underneath is that, but also much, much more. Set in an East Texas bayou, it's a story of abuse and betrayal, but also deep friendship and love. The characters are an old hound dog, chained to a porch in the middle of a swamp, and his horrible, alligator-hunting owner named Gar-Face. There are also two kittens that somehow survive in this enchanted swampy forest, their calico mama, and a giant snake trapped in a clay jar. Stories of ancient people and beings, and magic, are all mixed up together in this fairy-tale-like novel.

Blood and Chocolate

 

Blood and Chocolate
By Annette Curtis Klause

16-year-old Vivian is a beautiful, strong and confident high school student--and a sleek werewolf by night.  When she falls in love with a boy at school, a "meat-boy," her life gets more complicated.  She must decide whether or not to share her real identity with gentle Aiden, and what consequences this could have for the rest of her pack...
Recommended for ages 13 and up.

Notes from a Liar and her Dog

Notes from a Liar and her Dog
By Gennifer Choldenko

I really enjoyed this funny, realistic story about a girl struggling with her place in her family, and who loves her dog above all else.  Here's a brief summary from KidsReads.com:
Twelve-year-old Antonia MacPherson, better known as Ant, is having a tough time. She's the middle child, right in between older sister "Your Highness Elizabeth" and younger sibling "Katherine the Great." At this point, Ant's dog Pistachio and her best friend Harrison are the only beings that matter to her. And it certainly helps that Ant is a quick thinker and a great liar --- skills that get her through and create some good laughs. But one of Ant's teachers suspects there's some hidden truth behind the lies. Will she discover it? 

Edward Tulane

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
By Kate DiCamillo
Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline

Oh, oh!  This sweet/sad fairy tale of sorts really just pretty much broke my heart.  Edward Tulane, a china rabbit, begins life in a fancy house, with expensive silk clothes, and a little girl who loves him more than anything.  But he doesn't realize how lucky he is, or what it means to love someone back.
Edward ends up, by chance, going through a series of wild adventures with various characters--some kinder than others--and he discovers what it is like to feel the beauty and pain of love.
And such gorgeous pictures in this book!  Enjoy!

Laika

Laika
By Nick Abadzis

Illustrated by Hilary Sycamore

Even if you're not a dog lover, you will probably enjoy this bittersweet graphic novel.  It's based on the true story of the first animal to orbit the Earth--launched there by the Soviet Union in 1957 on Sputnik 2.  This little stray, named Kudryavka but known to the world as Laika the Soviet Space Dog, was also the first animal to die in orbit. 
Read the story of the scientists and caretakers of Kudryavka, and experience the tension between a competetive drive for scientific understanding and a respect for life...you might need some kleenex.  I did.

The Wildlife of Star Wars

The Wildlife of Star Wars;  A Field Guide
By Terryl Whitlatch and Bob Carrau

For any Star Wars lover, or even someone who is not, this lovely illustrated field guide will give you all the information you'd ever care to know about the beasts of the Star Wars universe.  From hot, dry Tatooine to icy Hoth and more, the habitats and creatures are sketched in pencil and watercolor and explained in detail. 
(ISBN: 978-0-8118-4736-0)

Mega-Beasts

Encyclopedia Prehistorica;  Mega-Beasts
By Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart

This ultra-sophisticated pop-up book will really wow you, guaranteed.  Not only is it chock-full of incredible facts about prehistoric mega-beasts, but the illustrations literally jump out at you each time you turn the page. 
(ISBN: 978-0-7636-2230-5)

Love That Dog

Love That Dog
By Sharon Creech

Sharon Creech is such a good writer.  Love That Dog is a seemingly simple story told through the journal of a boy named Jack.  We only get to read his entries, but it's easy to figure out he is writing to his teacher and she is replying to his comments, and mostly the theme is that Jack doesn't like the poetry they are reading and writing in class.  Not as simple is the underlying story--that Jack doesn't think boys write poetry, that he doesn't think he has anything to write about, and he has undergone some traumatic incident involving a mysterious speeding car (he keeps mentioning it in his journal).
Eventually Jack starts to realize that some of the poetry they're studying in class is kind of interesting, and he begins to have more confidence writing his own.  He gradually allows his teacher to post his poetry on the classroom wall, first anonymously, then with his name.
The great Walter Dean Myers is one of the poets the class is learning about.  Full of sounds and rhythm, Myers' poetry resonates with Jack, and when Walter Dean Myers is actually invited to the school to speak Jack can hardly wait for the day.  In the end, Jack is inspired to reveal his voice and his own difficult story through poetry.
Sharon Creech gives us a short, sweet-sad story of inspiration, self-confidence, and dealing with loss.  The journal style of the narrative invites the reader to infer a lot about what is actually going on, and gives the book a mysterious air.  A lovely quick read for boys and girls alike.  
(ISBN: 0-439-44242-7)

Because of Winn-Dixie

Because of Winn-Dixie
By Kate DiCamillo

Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni moves to small town Florida with her preacher dad.  She's lonely, and thinks a lot about her mom who walked out on them years before.  A stray dog befriends India Opal and changes the course of her first summer in her new home...together they meet all kinds of characters who become friends, and by the end of the book India Opal understands much more about her life and her dad and herself.  Wonderful and funny and sad, too.
(ISBN: 0-7636-0776-2)