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Life As We Knew It 53 reviews
Susan Beth Pfeffer
Harcourt Paperbacks, 2008
Got me thinking...
I loved this book. As a school librarian who does a lot of summer reading, this title has stayed in the back of my mind more than most (in fact, Costco is benefiting from my recent stocking up tendencies!) The author's descriptions are easy to visualize, the majority of the characters seem realistic, and the science may or may not be accurate, but the premise of world disasters seems ever more ...
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Once Upon a Marigold96 reviews
Jean Ferris
Harcourt Paperbacks, 2004
Very good book!
This book was absolutely WONDERFUL!! I think that anyone who reads this book (of ANY age) would LOVE it because it is funny, charming, EVERYTHING!! What it says on the front is completely right: "Part love story, part comedy, part everything-but-the-kitchen-sink."
Jean Ferris really knows how to write a good book, and I am anxious to read her other books. This is truly a book worth 5 stars ...
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A Northern Light132 reviews
Jennifer Donnelly
Harcourt Paperbacks, 2004
Beautifully written and believable
This is a beautifully written story filled with endearing, believable characters. It's rich with historical details about 1906, but the heart of the story is the main character, Mattie, as she struggles to make the right choices for herself and the people she loves. The story opens with a dead body, then takes a step backward and unfolds gracefully, drawing the reader into Mattie's life. I ...
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Tangerine458 reviews
Edward Bloor
Harcourt Paperbacks, 2006
Excellent book - especially for middle school boys
I'm a 46 year-old Mom and I bought this book because of the great reviews, but I didn't know which son to give it to. My 4th grader falls into the age-range mentioned here at amazon, but based on the plot synopses here I felt it was more a book my 7th grader would like.
So I read it myself first. I LOVED it. What a great, moving, inspiring, different book. As stay-with-you as Hoot, or ...
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The Hundred Dresses94 reviews
Eleanor Estes
Harcourt Paperbacks, 2004
Beautiful Story!!
This is a beautiful story!! It is about a little girl who immigrates from Poland to America with her brother and her father. She is met with some unkind treatment from students in her class. Eventually, they realize their behavior was inappropriate. I teach first grade and my students LOVED this story! It is a longer book and I had to read it to my students and I updated some of the terms ...
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I Am David 39 reviews
Anne Holm
Harcourt Paperbacks, 2004
A beautiful read
This story is about David, a boy who has spent most of his life in concentration camps of Eastern Europe. When he is given a chance to escape, he does so with the expectation that he will be caught and returned to the camps at any moment. Eventually, he accepts that he has finally gained his freedom. His journey to this realization and beyond is one of enlightenment and revelation as he discovers ...
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The Llama Who Had No Pajama: 100 Favorite Poems6 reviews
Mary Ann Hoberman
Harcourt Paperbacks, 2006
Outstanding!
We borrow a lot of books from the library, and not many stand out. But this one is a winner! My 4 year old and I love this one so much that I am going to buy a copy for us. It has wonderfully clever rhymes about topics that interest kids. I highly recommend it.
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Evil Genius 18 reviews
Catherine Jinks
Harcourt Paperbacks, 2008
Addicting!
This book was tough to put down. I really enjoyed it and I enjoy many books but I was always excited reading it. The plot was very interesting with twists and turns and smart characters. Characters are always what I find most interesting about a story though and this one didn't let me down. At first I wasn't sure what to think of the main character but as he developed I really liked him. It had a ...
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Harris and Me177 reviews
Gary Paulsen
Harcourt Paperbacks, 2007
Not Your Typical Children's Writer
Gary Paulsen never shuns writing about real life to spare your kiddies' artificial innocence. His books deal with the pains and joys of childhood - parental quarrels, alcoholism, abusive behavior, etc. - more forthrightly than any other children's writer I encountered with my own son as he was learning to read, and my son loved Paulsen's book enough to choose them for himself.
"Harris and Me" ...
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The Whale Rider32 reviews
Witi Ihimaera
Harcourt Paperbacks, 2003
Excellent coming of age story
This is an excellent coming of age story for a young girl, or boy! Readers will find delightful lore and learn something of New Zealand. The movie wasn't a disappointment, though I'm glad I read the book first.
Chrissy K. McVay
author of 'Souls of the North Wind'
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Troy 53 reviews
Adèle Geras
Harcourt Paperbacks, 2002
Troy From A New Perspective
This book is a beautiful, poignant retelling of one of the most ancient and enduring stories of all time. The tragic events that have haunted and thrilled us for generations are brought brilliantly to life under the skilled hand of Adèle Geras, and made fresh by an interesting new perspective. The story is romantic and utterly exquisite, the language poetic and lovely but easy to understand.
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Peak16 reviews
Roland Smith
Harcourt Paperbacks, 2008
PCE Student Review
My favorite book is Peak by Roland Smith. Peak is the main character. Peak has not seen his long lost father because he got a divorce with Peak's mom. His dad asks him if he wants to climb Mt. Everest. Peak says yes. But the reason that he is going is because he has to. First he was climbing a NY skyscraper and people found out. So they told the Police. So then he has two decisions, 1-go to Juvey ...
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Mr. Putter & Tabby Make a Wish (Mr. Putter & Tabby)5 reviews
Cynthia Rylant
Harcourt Paperbacks, 2006
Another good Mr. Putter & Tabby book
My son and I loved Mr. Putter & Tabby Make a Wish. Like all of the other Mr. Putter & Tabby stories, the book focuses on the kindness of friendship, and points out that no matter how old a person gets, they still feel like a kid inside.
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Dogzilla (digest)25 reviews
Dav Pilkey
Harcourt Paperbacks, 2003
Fun
I love this book. It is so much fun. I put it out for my fifth grade students and now I can't keep track of it and I constantly have students asking for it. Students are excited about taking it home to read to parents and younger siblings. I am all in favor of anything that makes an 11 year old want to read.
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Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy (Bloody Jack ...52 reviews
L. A. Meyer
Harcourt Paperbacks, 2004
Delightful
Wow. It's been a long time since I've read a YA book I liked so much. Bloody Jack is historical fiction set in the Age of Sail and obviously draws heavily upon the influence of Patrick O'Brian's books (our heroes even cross paths with a ship called The Surprise), yet it is also thoroughly original. The tale follows the adventures of an 8 year old girl whose parents die of infectious disease. She ...
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Baseball in April and Other Stories13 reviews
Gary Soto
Harcourt Paperbacks, 2000
Great storytelling
I discovered Gary Soto's poetry in a public library in Nebraska. Then I read his short stories, my favorite being "Baseball in April." Like his poetry, these stories are beautiful in that they reveal a child's inner thought life; they also show the challenges that teenagers go through.
Soto takes us back to his childhood in California. The stories occur in sunny Fresno, which is in the Central ...
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In the Belly of the Bloodhound: Being an Account of a Particularly Peculiar Adventure in the Life of Jacky ...19 reviews
Louis A. Meyer
Harcourt Paperbacks, 2008
The Best Jack yet!
I have been in love with this series and its heroine since I first picked up the paperback of "Bloody Jack" and saw the incredible string of rave reviews on the back.
"In the Belly of the Bloodhound" takes on the issue of slavery from a totally new slant and still ties in with the series. Better yet, in this book, Meyer brings his villainness, Clarissa Worthington Howe, into full and sharp ...
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If I Should Die Before I Wake82 reviews
Han Nolan
Harcourt Paperbacks, 2003
VERY REALISTIC and a great insight into the minds of both Neo-Nazi's and Jews (at the time of WWII)
It is the story of a young teenage girl named Hillary who was speeding on a motorcycle with her boyfriend, Brad, when they "crashed and burned," leaving Brad unharmed, but Hillary inches from death. She was rushed to a Jewish hospital, where she is slipping back and forth through consciousness, unable to contact anyone around her for the time she is in bed.
When she is "unconscious," she is ...
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Timothy of the Cay30 reviews
Theodore Taylor
Harcourt Paperbacks, 2007
Good classic for young teens
This is a good story for young teens. Unfortunately WW II is ancient history for most of them, but the storyline intrigues most.
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Each Little Bird That Sings34 reviews
Deborah Wiles
Harcourt Paperbacks, 2006
Each Little Bird That Sings
This book begins with the truth and a fact that I agree with which is what makes this book so strong: It doesn't matter how you die; it matters how you live your life. This is my favorite book ever!
It's about a girl named Comfort and her family who run a funeral home. It tells how she and her family deal with death. When her aunt dies, her family comes to the funeral, and then when her ...
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