Queen of the Sea

Queen of the Sea by Dylan Meconis

     Margaret has spent her entire life living on an island.  She lives with the Elysian Sisters who have raised her since she was a baby.  She doesn't know who she is, who her family is, or why she is there.  But she does know that the Sisters love her, take care of her, and that she is safe and happy.  Every day was the same until a member of the upper class from the mainland arrived to live on the island with her young son who is about Margaret's age.  Margaret is about to make her first friend.  Through William, Margaret learns about the outside world and the wars that are happening.  William's family sided with the losing side during the war.  Now he and his mother have been banished to live the remainder of their lives on the island, and the rest of the family has been sent to jail.  Later, another upper class lady arrives to live on the island.  Eleanor is like no lady Margaret has ever met and Margaret learns that the island is not the loving place she grew up believing it was.  Now Margaret doesn't know who to believe or where she belongs.  I LOVE this book.  It has friendships, history, suspense, the potential of a sequel, AND it's a graphic novel.  As far as I'm concerned this book is about as close to perfect as possible.  This is the first book for younger readers by this author/illustrator; you can learn more about her and her other books by visiting https://www.dylanmeconis.com/.


This story is loosely based on the life of the first Queen Elizabeth.  To learn more about Queen Elizabeth:

• SORA (ebooks) has a book about Queen Elizabeth.
• Visit https://www.biography.com/royalty/queen-elizabeth-i.
• BrainPOP has a video about Queen Elizabeth I.

I Survived: The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 (The Graphic Novel)

I Survived: The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 (The Graphic Novel) by Lauren Tarshis with art by Haus Studio

     Most people know the story of the sinking of the Titanic, the "unsinkable" ship that hit an iceberg and sank on its first voyage.  And while that, of course, is terrible, the real tragedy was that there were not enough lifeboats to save every person on board.  Over one thousand people died as a result while only a few hundred survived.  This book is a retelling of the events of the night of the sinking.  George and his sister, Phoebe, are on a special trip with their aunt and end up on the Titanic on their way home to New York.  During the beginning of the voyage George and his sister meet many interesting people, but not everyone will survive.  The question is who will live and who will die?  Like all the I Survive books, most kids will have a hard time putting it down, especially since this version is in graphic novel form.  I'm hoping more of the I Survive books will soon be available in graphic novel format.  But, I'll admit, as an adult my favorite part of the book wasn't the graphic novel format...though I really did love it.  My favorite part of the book was all the facts at the end.  So, this is where I would normally share a good website to learn more about the Titanic.  For better of for worse there are a number of "official" Titanic museums with good websites.  I've decided to recommend two.  The Titanic Historical Society is located not too far from us in Springfield, MA (https://titanichistoricalsociety.org/) and it's supposed to have a large collection of survivor artifacts.  The other website I'd recommend is Titanic Belfast (https://www.titanicbelfast.com/)  because the Titanic was built in Ireland.  If you like this books I'd recommend other books in the I Survive series by Lauren Tarshis.  You can find her books at https://www.laurentarshis.com/.

Don't forget:

• SORA (ebooks) has a HUGE number of books, both fiction and non-fiction, related to the Titanic.
• BrainPOP has a video about the Titanic and the science issues related to the sinking.
• There's even a YouTube video, provided Scholastic, about the book.  Visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1GhqSf_MOk to watch the video.

When Sue Found Sue: Sue Henrickson Discovers Her T. Rex

When Sue Found Sue: Sue Henrickson Discovers Her T. Rex by Toni Buzzeo and illustrated by Diana Sudyka

   When Sue Hendrickson was a little girl she loved to read, explore, and dream of adventures.  She would visit museums and wonder what it would be like to make discoveries of her own.  When she was old enough she left home and traveled in search of making discoveries.  After visiting places all over the world she ended up in South Dakota looking and digging for dinosaur bones.  She spent four summers in South Dakota looking for fossils.  On August 12, 1990 she decided to take a walk to stretch her legs.  After a few hours she found a few bones sticking out of the mountain she was exploring.  The bones were huge and she knew they must be from a tyrannosaurus rex.  Sue and her friends started to remove the bones from the mountain.  What they learned was that Sue had discovered the most complete tyrannosaurus rex fossil ever found.  Sue, her friends, and her fossil were becoming famous.  But there was a problem...who owned the dinosaur? You'll have to read the book to found out who currently has the fossils but I'll give you a clue.  Visit https://www.fieldmuseum.org/ to learn more about Sue.  Oh...are you a little confused?  The current owner of the tyrannosaurus rex named it Sue in honor of Sue Hendrickson, the little girl who grew up to make a huge discovery.  I highly recommend this non-fiction picture book especially if you love dinosaurs as much as I do.

Now for those of you stuck at home (ok...that's all of you) here are some other dinosaur ideas:

• SORA (ebooks) has lots of dinosaur books for all ages through the school and public libraries.
• CHAT WITH A DINOSAUR!!!  You read that right.  Sue the Dinosaur has a friend at the Field Museum named Maximo the Titanosaur and her answers your questions.  Visit https://www.fieldmuseum.org/exhibitions/maximo-titanosaur to chat with Maximo.
• Read about Sue the Dinosaur in the news.  https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/coronavirus-chicago-sue-dinosaur-trnd/index.html
• Watch TV.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Watch TV.  You can learn a lot about dinosaurs by watching documentaries.  There are a number of documentaries on Disney+ and don't forget Dinosaur Train on PBS Kids at https://pbskids.org/video/dinosaur-train/2365491553
• Finally, there is always ALL the different Jurassic Park movies...not what I'd call educational but definitely a fun series of movies for many families.  (But my favorite is still Dinosaur Train.)

Flora & Ulysses

Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated K. G. Campbell

Five paw prints

Flora is girl in need of a friend...she just doesn’t know it.  Her parents are divorced and her father lives on the other side of town.  An annoying boy has just moved into the house next door and he thinks he is blind.  Her mother is an author who writes romance novels and she wants Flora to read more books.  But her mother doesn’t want Flora to read comic books.  Unfortunately, Flora LOVES comic books, especially comic books with super heroes.  Flora would really like to meet a superhero.  Ulysses is a squirrel.  He was sucked into a vacuum cleaner.  Now he LOVES Flora.  And Flora...she thinks Ulysses IS a superhero.  Together they have some very interesting adventures.  This is such a sweet and wonderful book.  I never would have thought I would enjoy a book where one of the main characters is a squirrel, especially a squirrel with superpowers.  And while I believe this book can be read and enjoyed by oneself, I feel this book is best shared out loud with a little friend; a friend who loves a good animal book at bedtime.  To learn more about this book visit http://www.floraandulysses.com/home.html or http://www.katedicamillo.com/books/flora.html.

Tucky Jo and Little Heart

Tucky Jo and Little Heart by Patricia Polacco

Five paw prints

During World War II many young men from our country were sent to war after our country was attacked at Pearl Harbor.  Some young men were so determined to defend our country that they lied about their age saying they were older than they really were.  One of these young men was Johnnie Wallen from Kentucky.  When Johnnie heard about what was happening in the world he begged his parents to lie about his age.  He knew he was a sharpshooter (he had always been good with a gun) and he felt he could help his country.  Reluctantly, his parents agreed to lie about his age and soon after Johnnie found himself in the thick of fighting in the Pacific Islands.  It didn’t take long for Johnnie to realize that “there ain’t no glory in war” and he missed his home and family.  After over 200 hundred days of non-stop fighting Johnnie was on reconnaissance when he met a little girl from a nearby village.  She didn’t say anything, but she did help Johnnie calm down about where he was, and he decided he was going to do everything he could for her and her village.  Life for Johnnie, now called Tucky Jo by his young friend, was going as well as could be expected until the day the enemy came back to the island where he was stationed and where Little Heart, his name for his friend, lives.  The United States Army decided to relocate the soldiers from the island and fire bomb EVERYTHING!  What would Johnnie/Tucky Jo do...follow orders or save his friend?  This story, based on real people and events, is extremely moving.  I refuse to describe this book as “good” or “great” because I don’t like to use these words when describing war.  But it is definitely a book worth reading.  To learn more about the real Tucky Jo visit http://6thinfantry.com/6thinfantry/johnnie-wallen-wwii-veteran-6th-division-20th-infantry-lost-his-final-battle-jan-2010/.  To learn more about World War II visit http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii or http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history.  Please remember that war is not “glorious” and these websites should be visited only with permission from a parent or guardian.  A website that you can visit without an adult would be https://www.nps.gov/wwii/index.htm.  Finally, if you are related to a World War II veteran you can visit the National WWII Memorial website at https://www.wwiimemorial.com/Registry/Default.aspx to type in the name of a veteran and learn more about him or her.

Raymie Nightingale

Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo

Four paw prints

Raymie is a girl on a mission.  Her father has left her and her mother to be with his new girlfriend.  Raymie is determined to encourage her father to come home.  She is convinced the only way to do this is to enter and win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition.  Raymie is also convinced that to win the competition she needs to learn how to twirl a baton.  While at baton twirling lessons Raymie meets two girl named Louisiana and Beverly.  Unfortunately they are also taking lessons in the hopes of winning the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition.  Though these girls are completely different from each other, through some unusual circumstances they become unlikely friends.  But can their friendship last through the competition and will Raymie be able to make her father come home?  Now I must say I did like this book; but I’ll admit it’s not my favorite book by Kate DiCamillio.  I liked the girl, I liked the “adventures” they did together, and I really felt for each of the girls and the problems they were experiencing in their lives.  I even read this book in one day because I did really enjoy it that much.  So, why isn’t it my favorite book by this author?  I really felt like the story ended too soon.  I want to know what happened to the girls after the competition.  But, I think the book was written this way to make you wonder.  And that’s OK too.  To learn more about Kate DiCamillo and her books (including my favorite The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane) visit http://www.katedicamillo.com/.

The Nutcracker Comes To America: How Three Ballet-Loving Brothers Created A Holiday Tradition

The Nutcracker Comes To America: How Three Ballet-Loving Brothers Created A Holiday Tradition by Chris Barton and illustrated by Cathy Gendron

Five Paw Prints

Shhh…  I have a secret to tell you.  You probably know that many girls and women love dancing especially ballet.  But did you know that many boys and men like ballet too?  It’s true and while you may not have heard of Christensen Brothers, they helped create yearly family traditions for our entire country.  So, who are the Christensen Brothers?  Willam, Harold, and Lew were three brothers who grew up in Utah in the early 1900s with a family that owned a dance school.  Whether they wanted to or not, dancing was in the family and they all became dancers.  One of their favorite types of dancing was ballet.  They ended up with the San Francisco Ballet during World War II, but due to the war, there wasn’t any money to maintain a proper ballet program.  The San Francisco Ballet Company was at risk of going out of business.  The brothers decided to have the dancers perform the full production of The Nutcracker.  Not only was the production successful, but it led to other dance companies doing their own productions every December.  Who would have thought that three boys from Utah could change the ballet world in the United States?  I really did love this book for a few reasons.  I love seeing a well done theater production, I love history books, and I especially love that this is a dance book that’s about BOYS!  I’ve read many books with dancing but very few with boys.  I especially like that these boys didn’t continue dancing as adults because they were forced to dance by their family, they danced because they truly enjoyed dancing and wanted to share that love and talent with others.  To learn more about the San Francisco Ballet visit https://www.sfballet.org/planyourvisit/learn/brief_history or https://www.sfballet.org/interact.  To learn more about the Christensen Brothers visit https://www.sfballet.org/planyourvisit/learn/christensen_brothers or http://www.danceheritage.org/treasures/christensenbros_essay_flatow.pdf.

Danger in the Darkest Hosue

Danger in the Darkest Hour by Mary Pope Osborn

Four paw prints.  The tree house is back and Jack and Annie are ready for a new adventure.  But, when they start their newest adventure they didn’t realize how much danger their lives would be in.  They land in England on June 5, 1944 and they are asked to enter France at night by an illegal parachute drop.  It’s World War II and Teddie has asked them to find and rescue Cathleen from inside Nazi occupied France.  This is an extremely dangerous job, probably their most dangerous job ever, and if they fail Cathleen could die.  Now, I usually enjoy all the Magic Treehouse Books, but I have always felt a little frustrated when the story ends.  The stories always feel too short to me and I want more.  Luckily, this is Magic Tree House Super Edition #1.  It is longer and more in depth and I’m sooo excited.  This has been by far my favorite Magic Tree House book in the series.  It probably helped that I love historical fiction, especially from World War II, but I already wanted “more” from this series and this book definitely didn’t disappoint.  To find more Magic Tree House fun, visit http://www.magictreehouse.com/#home.

Queen Victoria's Bathing Machine

Queen Victoria's Bathing Machine by Gloria Whelan and illustrated by Nancy Carpenter

Three paw prints.  What would you do if you loved to swim, but no one was supposed to see you in a bathing suit?  Well, this was the problem for Queen Victoria.  During the 1800s women, especially the Queen of England, were expected to be very proper in their looks and their behaviors.  It would have been very inappropriate for any woman to be seen wearing a bathing suit.  But, Queen Victoria loved to swim.  Luckily for her she had her own knight (err, prince) in shining armor to help with this problem.  This book was very interesting.  I had no idea that a woman going for an afternoon swim could be such a challenge.  I only had one problem.  This book tries to tell the story through rhyme.  I usually love a good rhyming book, but unfortunately these rhymes weren't very good.  Most of the time the rhymes felt and sounded forced.  It was not comfortable to read this book.  To learn more about Queen Victoria's bathing machine visit, http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/osborne/beach/queen-victoria.

The Princess in Black

The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale & Dean Hale and illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Four paw prints.  Somewhere in a land far away from here there lives a girl named Princess Magnolia.  Like all princesses, Princess Magnolia wears nothing but pink, knows how to make hot chocolate and sweet scones, and of course, she own a lovely unicorn.  But, Princess Magnolia has a secret.  She is really The Princess in Black and when no one is looking she defends her kingdom from danger, especially big blue monsters that like to eat goats.  Unfortunately, Duchess Wigtower is determined to discover ALL of Princess Magnolia’s secrets.  So, will Duchess Wigtower discover the secret, will the blue monster eat all the goats, will the goat boy trust his instincts about the Princess in Black, will Princess Magnolia be able to hide her black socks?  This is the first book in a new series by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale of Rapunzel’s Revenge fame.  This is an especially nice book because it shows that girls (princesses) can be smart, clever, strong, AND pretty and polite at the same time.  Girls don't need to choose to be one type of person or the other.  I realize there are more and more books showing that girls can be anything, but I feel this is one of the better examples for younger students.  To learn more about The Princess in Black visit, http://www.candlewick.com/book_files/076366510X.art.1.PDF.

The Man Who Walked Between The Towers by Mordicai Gerstein

Reviewed by Miss Dewey at Orenda

Four paw prints.  Once there was a young man named Philippe Petit.  He was born and raised in France, and he was expected to be a good student and eventually have a good job.  But, this is NOT what Philippe Petit had in mind.  Philippe was not interested in school (he was kicked out of a number of schools) but he was interested in circus acts.  He was interested in things like magic, juggling, and tightrope walking.  He knew he didn't want to be in the circus so he taught himself everything he felt he wanted to learn.  Soon he was doing his own shows and "stunts".  This led to many interesting tightrope performances.  One of his most famous shows/stunts was in New York City, which is where the story in this book takes place.  In the early 1970s two new skyscrapers were being built.  Most people were interested in the towers, but Philippe was interested in the space between the towers.  He wanted to walk between the towers.  With the help of friends, he was able to sneak into one of the towers, string strong cable across to the other tower, and walk/dance/bow to the people on the ground.  Though his show was beautiful (at least to some) to see, it was illegal.  In the end, Philippe was punished for his crime, but it was a very interesting punishment.  Strangely enough, I like this book because of the way it handles the events of 9/11.  The events of this day are mentioned but they have little to do with the story.
Yet, this is what makes the story work so well.  The story is about an important event in New York City history without letting the events of 9/11 overshadow Philippe and his unique accomplishment.  This is a (dare I say) wonderful way to introduce young students to the events of 9/11 without focusing on just the sadness of that horrible day.  To find more books by Mordicai Gerstein, visit http://www.mordicaigerstein.com/.
791.3 Ger

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

Reviewed by Miss Dewey at Orenda
Five paw prints! Minli lives a hard, simple, but happy life. She works in the field during the day and at night she lives with her parents who love her and take care of her. Though they are very poor and can't afford gifts for her, Minli's father gives her gifts by telling her wonderful stories about animals, emperors, dragons, and mountains. Minli believes these stories about talking animals to be true and as a result she buys a goldfish. Minli's mother is very upset that Minli would spend what little money she had on a goldfish, but Minli loves her fish and in return the goldfish also tells Minli stories. Minli comes to believe that if she leaves her home and finds the Old Man of the Moon she will learn how to make her family wealthy and then her parents wouldn't have to worry so much about money. On her trip Minli meets many new people and has many more questions for the Old Man of the Moon, but in the end he will only give her one answer. It's not the answer to the question she left home to ask, but it's the only answer she needs. This book was wonderful. If words can be described as beautiful, then this was a beautiful book. I think all children should read this book, but, more importantly, I think all children should have the chance to read this book with an adult they love and trust. It's definitely a book that should be shared as a family. If you want to read other books by this author then visit http://www.gracelin.com/ to see what other wonderful stories she has created.
Fic Lin

The Sons of Liberty created and written by Alexander Lagos and Joseph Lagos, art by Steve Walker, color by Oren Kramek

Reviewed by Miss Dewey at Orenda

One paw print--and that is being nice. Imagine, it is the late 1700s and the American colonies are on the verge of declaring their independence from England and the rule of the King. No one likes being told what to do or how to live, and no one knows how terrible this feels as much as a slave. There are two young slaves, Graham and Brody, who have decided they have had enough of slavery and escape from their master. Along the way they meet some people who want to help them and some people who want to hurt them. One of the people who wants to help them is the famous Benjamin Franklin. One of the people who wants to hurt them is Benjamin's son, William Franklin. William is just as interested in science experiments as his father, but he likes to test his theories on living creatures, including humans. During these experiments, Graham and Brody are hurt and they will never be the same again. Now the question is...Who will be hurt next? Run, don't walk, away from this book. This was one of the worst books I have ever read. British soldiers scared of slaves, William Franklin conducting science experiments on humans, ancient African martial arts... WHAT?!?! American history is fascinating and full of great stories with LOTS of real adventures without anyone having to make up such terrible lies. I believe in and encourage GOOD historical fiction but this isn't it. If you want to read a good historical book about the Revolutionary War then visit the library because there are plenty. Some of the titles are even in graphic novel format. Don't get me wrong, I will be putting this book on the library shelves, and I know it will be very popular. But being popular doesn't always mean being good. To learn more about this new series of books visit, http://www.thesonsoflibertybooks.com/. The website is a slightly better than the book.

Fic Lag

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone

Reviewed by Miss Dewey at Orenda

Five paw prints. Have you heard of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, or Michael Collins? Probably. They were famous astronauts and while Michael Collins piloted the command module, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were becoming the first men to ever walk on the moon. But have you ever heard of Jerrie Cobb, Jan Dietrich, or Rhea Hurrie. No? I'm not surprised. In the 1960s, while NASA was testing and training seven men to see if they had the "right stuff" to go into space, there were 13 women who were taking many of the same tests. Not only were these 13 women taking many of the same tests as the men, but in many cases the women were doing better than the men on the same tests. But one day the women were told they were not going to be allowed to finish taking the tests, and only people who took, and passed, all the tests would be allowed into space. It would be almost another 20 years before women would, again, have the chance to go into space. So why did it take so long for women to be allowed into space? There were a number of reasons, but the main reason was they were women. In the early 1960s, when NASA was beginning its space program, ALL the people in charge of making the decisions were men. The men liked to believe they were stronger than women and that women should stay at home, take care of the home, raise the children, and be waiting for their husbands to come home from work. The men wanted to believe they were superior to the women, and the men didn't want to change their ways or their thinking. This was a great book. It had everything I enjoy in a good story: history; drama; and underdogs who may not have won the battle but they certainly won the war. There are so many websites that go along with this book that there is not enough room to list them all, so I will list two here, but you will have to look at the back of the book for the full list of recommended websites. The two websites I would recommend starting with are The International Women's Air & Space Museum at http://www.iwasm.org/ and NASA Kids' Club at http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/index.html. 629.45 Sto

Candy Bomber: The Story of the Berlin Airlift's "Chocolate Pilot" by Michael O. Tunnell

Reviewed by Miss Dewey at Orenda

Five paw prints. At the end of World War II the allies (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union) had defeated the Nazis in Germany and Germany was left in ruins. In the hopes of preventing another war, Germany was divided into two pieces. The eastern part of Germany was controlled by the Soviet Union while the western part of Germany was controlled by the remaining allies. Not only was the country divided, but so was Berlin, the capital of Germany. Berlin was deep inside the Soviet controlled section of Germany and the Soviet government did not like Berlin being controlled by two different groups. The Soviet government decided it was going to try to "discourage" the United States, the United Kingdom, and France from supporting West Berlin by blocking all road, water, and rail access to the city. The Soviets hoped by cutting off supplies to Berlin residents, the western part of the city would have to agree to Soviet control. But the Soviets underestimated the response the people of West Berlin received from its supporters. The United States, the United Kingdom, and France created the Berlin Airlift to bring supplies to the city 24 hours a day for seven days a week. The Berlin Airlift took hundreds of people to make it successful, but there was only one person the children of Berlin cared about: he had many names, including Uncle Wiggly Wings, but his name was Lieutenant Gail Halvorsen. During one of his days off, Lt. Halvorsen visited what was left of West Berlin, and near the airport runway he meet some children. These children had spent their young lives knowing of nothing but war and Lt. Halvorsen wanted to give them something special. He promised to drop chocolate from his airplane. Since all the airplanes looked the same, he told the children to look for the airplane with wiggling wings. That one gift of candy led to much more candy from people from across the United States offering to help Lt. Halvorsen deliver candy. This book is Lt. Halvorsen's story. I loved this story. It's one of those rare true stories where there is a "good" guy (the Western Allies) and a "bad" guy (the Soviets) but the "good" guys win without ever having to hurt another person. The Western Allies could have tried to help the people by using force against the Soviets but instead used food. And one soldier in particular who decided to use candy to make a difference in the lives of a few children. Now those children try to teach their children about kindness because of this one man. It seems (to me anyway) that many people could learn something about kindness from Lt. Halvorsen. To learn more about Lt. Halvorsen and the Berlin Air Drop visit, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/airlift/sfeature/candy.html, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/airlift, and http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/berlin_airlift/large/.

943 Tun

The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Adam Rex

Reviewed by Miss Dewey at Orenda

Four paw prints. Steve has a problem. It's Friday, his teacher just assigned a report, and the report is due on Monday. This is bad enough, but his topic is quilting (he hates quilts) and his friend's topic is detectives (Steve wants to be a detective when he grows up). Life is just too unfair. For most kids this would be a huge problem, but Steve's life is about to get worse. He ends up spending his weekend trying to escape evil thugs, secret agent librarians (it seems they are mad he borrowed a quilt book from the public library), and he needs to find a missing quilt that holds the key to national security. Oh, did I mention Steve is only 12 years old? I love this book. It has mystery, action, adventure, humor, quilting, and some very intertesting librarians. What more does a good book need? How about a good sequel? It's coming...this book is the first book in a new series called The Brixton Brothers. If you want to learn more about books by Mac Barnett visit: http://www.macbarnett.com/.

Fic Rex

The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

Reviewed by Miss Dewey at Orenda

Four paw prints. Amy and Dan have just lost the one family member who cared about them, Grace, their grandmother. Their parents died when they were young and Grace had been raising them until recently when they had been sent to live with Grace’s sister. Great Aunt Beatrice has no interest in children, refuses to live with them, and is constantly hiring and firing au pairs who take care of them. Aunt Beatrice has no interest in them until Grace dies. Grace doesn’t single Amy and Dan out (to their disappointment) for any special inheritance but instead leaves a number of relatives the same “opportunity”. They can each inherit one million dollars OR a clue that “might lead you to the most important treasure in the world and make you powerful beyond belief”. Unfortunately, if you accept the clue you might get killed. To escape from Aunt Beatrice, Amy and Dan turn down the money and accept the clue. This mystery is part of a new series that will be stretched out over 10 books with 10 different authors. The most interesting part of the mystery is you can try to solve clues with Amy and Dan. There is a 39 Clues website where readers can read and solve clues. The website is http://www.the39clues.com/ and if you want to solve clues with Miss Dewey see Mrs. Manore in the media center for the Orenda username and password.
Fic Rio

The Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H. A. Rey by Louise Borden and illustrated by Allan Drummond

Reviewed by Miss Dewey at Orenda

Five paw prints. Did you know Curious George was originally named FiFi? It’s true. Margret and Hans each grew up in Germany during the early 1900’s. Life was very good when they were children. Eventually they met each other (while living and working in Brazil), fell in love, and married. While living in Brazil they would write and draw to earn money. They even became citizens of Brazil because they loved the country so much. AND…they had a pet monkey. Eventually they returned to Europe to visit their families and they decided to stay in Paris, France for a few years. While there a man named Hitler became the leader of Germany and he started to invade countries, including France. This made the Rey’s nervous because Hitler hated people who were Jewish and the Rey’s were Jewish. The majority of the book is about the Rey’s escape from France and how they saved their children’s stories during this escape. Told with words, illustrations, and photographs, this book is great for anyone who loves history, adventure, or Curious George. If you love Curious George as much as I do visit http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/features/cgsite/ you’ll love this website.
921 Rey

Dark Day in the Deep Sea by Mary Pope Osborne

Reviewed by Miss Dewey at Orenda

THREE paw prints. I must admit I usually love any Magic Tree House book so I was really looking forward to #39. In this new adventure, Jack and Annie land on an island during the 1870s. While on the island they meet some sailors who are traveling the world to study the ocean and the creatures who live in the ocean. In the process Jack and Annie try to teach the sailors how to learn from ocean creatures without hurting them. As I said earlier I love the Magic Tree House series but unfortunately I didn’t think this particular book was very good. It felt like there wasn’t enough information. I think I wanted to learn more about life as a scientist/sailor on the ship. Of course, this doesn’t mean I won’t read any new Magic Tree House books in the future and I would like to see the Magic Tree House show coming to Proctors Theater next year. You can learn more about the show by visiting www.proctors.org/events/2305. But in the mean time I will have to content myself with the Magic Tree House website at www.randomhouse.com/kids/magictreehouse. I highly recommend the website (5 paw prints)…it’s lots of fun.

E Osb

Shen Kids Read!

Your Orenda Elementary School library teacher (Mrs. Manore) and her library mascot (Miss Dewey) want to share good books with you! Take a look at what we are reading and often adding to the shelves of YOUR school library! If you would like, post a comment, but remember to use only your first name and last initial and the name of your school in order to keep safe on the web. Enjoy your summer reading.