The Penderwicks

The Penderwicks
By Jeanne Birdsall

I enjoyed this summery novel about 4 sisters who live with their dad (their mom has died) and their loyal dog, Hound. They have many adventures while staying in a rented cottage on the grounds of a mansion.

New friends are discovered (the eldest sister develops a huge crush) and enemies are made while the girls find themselves frequently getting into trouble.

But they stick together and manage to get out of crazy predicaments, learning a few lessons along the way.

This story is kind of old-fashioned, but in a good way!

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 Humming Room

The Humming Room
A Novel Inspired by The Secret Garden
By Ellen Potter

Since The Secret Garden was one of my favorite books when I was growing up, I was curious about this book by Ellen Potter.
In The Humming Room, 12-year-old Roo Fanshaw is sent to a foster home after her father dies in a drug-related shooting...but an estranged, very rich uncle agrees to take her in to his desolate children's-hospital-turned-mansion on a tiny island (Cough Rock) in the St. Lawrence River.
There is indeed an almost-dead, haunted secret garden in the house, which Roo revives along with some mysterious new friends.
This is a shorter, modern version of Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic novel.

Seedfolks

Seedfolks
By Paul Fleischman

Told through short chapters and many different perspectives, this is a sweet story of a diverse group of Cleveland neighbors coming together to build an urban community garden.  Thirteen different voices include a pregnant teenager, an old man, recent immigrants with tough stories, and a young girl trying to connect with her deceased father.
(ISBN: 978-0-06-027471-9)

Edible Schoolyard

Edible Schoolyard;  A Universal Idea
By Alice Waters

With lots of beautiful, colorful photographs, this book explains how Alice Waters' dream to transform a Berkeley public middle school lunch program really happened...and it started a food revolution just across the Bay.  I hope we're next!
(ISBN: 978-0-8118-6280-6)