A BIG MAN TOOK MY BALL

Willems, M. (2013). A big guy took my ball!. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.

Elephant is very upset when someone takes his friend Pig's ball.  He can't believe someone would pick on a smaller Piggy.  Elephant soon learns that the thief is a very polite whale who is just looking for friends.  The three make up a game that all can enjoy despite their size differences.

Wonderful story of friendship and acceptance despite physical differences.  

DEAR MR. HENSHAW

Cleary, B., & Zelinsky, P. O. (1983). Dear Mr. Henshaw. New York: Morrow.

Leigh Botts is dealing with a lot of issues in his young life.  He is the new kid in school, someone keeps stealing his lunch, and his parents have just divorced.  Leigh is having trouble adjusting to so many major changes. When Leigh is asked to write to his favorite author, he sends Mr. Henshaw 10 questions to answer.  He becomes frustrated because Mr. Henshaw does not respond quickly enough to his correspondence.  Mr. Henshaw recommends that Leigh keep a journal.  In writing in the journal over several years, Leigh matures and learns to cope with changes.  When his dad returns for a visit at the end of the story, Leigh is much more comfortable with the situation.

BABYMOUSE

Holm, J. L., & Holm, M. (2005). Babymouse: queen of the world!. New York: Random House.

 All  Babymouse is to get an invite to Felicia's slumber party, even thought Felicia is her nemesis. If she goes to the party, she will be missing movie time with her best friend Wilson.  However, Babymouse knows that an invitation to the slumber party will make her one of the in crowd.  Her creative imagination even imagines scenarios of her being a queen after obtaining her cool status. 

After getting the invitation, Babymouse realizes that the slumber party isn't really where she wants to be.  Felicia is not the type of person Babymouse wants to be friends with.  She decides that movie time with Wilson is how she wants to spend her time. Young readers will learn that being popular isn't always what it seems. 

RAPUNZEL'S REVENGE

Hale, S., & Hale, D. (2008). Rapunzel's revenge. New York, N.Y.: Bloomsbury.

This is not your typical helpless princess. Rapunzel leads a spoiled, privileged life in her village. However, she is curious about life outside the walls since her mother forbids her from leaving the confines of the the village.  When Rapunzel escapes, she see the poverty and mistreatment of the villagers outside of her village.  Rapunzel meets up with Jack and together they encounter several adventures.  The dialogue between Jack and Rapunzel are humorous and keep the reader engaged.  Rapunzel can hold her own against Jack. She does not depend on him, nor does she allow him to take charge simply because he is the male. 

This twist on the original is funny and entertaining.  Seeing Rapunzel use her hair as a lasso to rescue people rather than just herself is refreshing.  She is independent. A great read for young girls.  

THE GRAVEYARD BOOK

Appelt, K., & Small, D. (2008). The underneath. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

"There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife." This is the first line of the book  that will capture your attention.  Bod, short for Nobody, is a toddler when his family is murdered.  He escapes to a graveyard where he remains for year.  The ghosts, ghouls, and other inhabitants of the graveyard become his guardians.  The reader sees the ghosts as caretakers and not the scary creatures that are usually depicted in books.  They do their best to keep Bod in the graveyard throughout the years, fearing that the murderer is still out there lurking waiting for Bod.

The setting of the graveyard shows that though Bod has guardians watching over him, he is alone in the world. He even makes up an imaginary friend to play with. As the years go by, Bod begins to crave the real world more and more. Eventually, the guardians must let go and let Bod live in the real world.

THE UNDERNEATH

Appelt, K., & Small, D. (2008). The underneath. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

As an animal lover, I had a lot trouble reading this book.  The treatment of the animals is just horrible.  Just reading the first sentence, had me grabbing my pet cat and giving her a hug. The plot is of course believable because unfortunately, animals are abused and abandoned every day.  The reader can't help but feel for these two poor lost souls who luckily found each other.  Gar fac, the mean owner doesn't have a nice bone in his  body. He is a typical bully, who grew up torturing poor animals for the thrill of it.  
When the cat has kittens, she tries her hardest to keep him underneath where it's safe. Kittens however are curious creatures and one inevitably escapes.  

GOOD MASTERS, SWEET LADIES

Schlitz, L. A., & Byrd, R. (2007). Good masters! Sweet Ladies!: voices from a medieval village. Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press.

A story told in poem form about the life and occupations in medievil times.  The words may be hard for students to understand, but there are side bars with explanations on each page. Readers will learn about medieval times, the people, and jobs they had. Not an easy read for students. I don't see a student picking this up as a pleasure read.

Schlitz writes the story in poetry using vocabulary from medieval times.  The dialogue and vocabulary are wonderful and accurate, but may be hard for younger readers to comprehend.  This book should be read in class or discussed after each independent read.