When you Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Title:   When You Reach Me

Author:  Rebecca Stead

Reader: Cynthia Holloway

Publisher: Listening Library  Year:  2009

ISBN:  978-0739380727

Media: Digital Download

Genre: Fiction/Science Fiction/Realistic Fiction

This book is for Ages: 10 – adult

Awards: Newbery Medal; SLJ Best Book, YALSA Top Ten

AR Points:     6.0

Subjects/Themes: Time Travel, Family Life, Friendship, Bullies.

Plot Summary:  6^th graders, Miranda and Sal have been best friends for a long time.  One day on the way home from school, Sal gets punched by a strange boy in a camouflage coat.  Sal doesn’t want to hang out with Miranda anymore. Miranda’s life is made even stranger when the spare key to her apartment is stolen, and she starts finding mysterious notes around her apartment, notes about someone coming to save her friend’s life.  Miranda is scared.  Which friend’s life need saving?  Who has been in her apartment?  How does the mysterious note writer know so much about her life?

Review:  Depicting the quiet growth of Miranda, this book is strongly related to Madeline L’Engle’s Wrinkle in Time.  Stead’s characters will remind you of friends from school.  The story is well paced and builds to reveal the mystery.  The real story is about the possibilities and travel we can take as we journey through life.  Stead has created a book with depth and heart that is worth reading more than once. 

If you like this book you may also like:  A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle.

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman

Title:   The Whipping Boy

Author:  Sid Fleischman

Illustrator: Peter Sis

Publisher: Greenwillow Books          Year:  1986

ISBN:  0-688-06216-4

Genre: Fiction/Adventure

This book is for Ages: 8-12

Awards:  Newbery Medal; SLJ Best Book; ALA Notable Book

AR Points:     2.0

Subjects/Themes: Adventure/Robbers and Outlaws/Family Life/Orphans

Plot Summary:  A young orphan boy named Jemmy used to live in the sewers catching rats until he became the Whipping Boy.  Whenever Prince Brat, I mean, Prince Horace is bad Jemmy is whipped.  Jemmy can’t understand why Prince Brat is such a rotten kid.  Prince Brat forces Jemmy to run away with him.  The boys are captured by cutthroat bandits, encounter gigantic roaring bears and seek shelter in the sewer filled with rats. 

Review:   This book is fun and full of adventure.  Prince Brat is a horrible child.   Jemmy doesn’t realize how lucky he is.  They both learn about who they are in this wonderful and wild story.  Sid Fleishman melds humor, adventure and understanding into his story.  The black and white illustrations created by Peter Sis are captivating.

If you like this book you may also like:  Shield of Stars by Hilari Bell, The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by W.R. Philbrick, or   The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Sleznick,

Shiloh by Phyliss Reynolds Naylor

Title:  Shiloh

Author:  Phylllis Reynolds Naylor

Publisher:  Atheneum Books for Young Readers     Year:  2000

ISBN:  978-0-689-31614-2

Genre: Fiction/Realistic

This book is for Ages: 10 - 14

Awards:  Newbery Medal

AR Points: 4.0

Series:   Shiloh

Subjects/Themes: Dogs/West Virginia/Trust/Small Towns

Plot Summary:  11-year-old Marty is out for a walk practicing shooting when a young beagle begins following him.  The beagle is so thin you can see his ribs, and he has tics.  When the beagle follows Marty home, Marty decides to call him Shiloh.  Judd Travers is Marty’s ill-tempered neighbor; he kicks his dogs and shoots deer out of season.  Shiloh is Judd’s dog.  Marty’s father makes him return Shiloh even though Marty is sure Shiloh is unhappy and abused by Travers.  When Shiloh runs away again Marty must choose between right and wrong.  Is it right to take the dog back to Judd when he thinks it is being abused?  Is it wrong to keep the dog and lie to his mama and papa?  What is Marty going to do?

Review:   Marty is a good boy.  He cares for his little sisters; he loves his mother and respects his father.  He is faced with a tough question about right and wrong when he finds Shiloh.  Judd is mean, but Naylor gives us enough of a glimpse into his life to make us wonder what abuses he has suffered. Naylor’s description of Marty’s relationship with Shiloh is pure puppy love. Shiloh will warm your heart.

If you like this book you may also like: Shiloh Season, and Saving Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor or Old Yeller by Fred Gipson.

Bud, Not Buddy by Christoper Paul Curtis

Title:   Bud, Not Buddy

Author:  Christopher Paul Curtis

Publisher: Scholastic Year:  2002 c

ISBN:  0-439-22188-9

Genre: Fiction/Adventure/Historical

This book is for Ages: 8-12

Awards: Newbery Medal; Coretta Scott King Award

AR Points:  8.0 

Subjects/Themes: Family, Finding Your Place in the World,

Plot Summary:  After his mother’s death, Bud Caldwell is shuffled from the orphanage to foster home after foster home.  He finally has his fill of the cruel treatment and abuse.  Bud decides to go “on the lam.”  First he decides to “ride the rails.”   When Bud decides to go to Grand Rapids to find his father he meets a strange man who might be a vampire.  Bud also gets to hear Jazz music when he gets to the club of Herman E. Calloway.  Calloway says he is not Bud’s father and wants to send him away.  Will Bud ever find his family?

Review:  This is a great story.  Bud’s rules and things to remember help him to get through the rough spots in his world.  Bud is ingenious.  His character has all the fears of a 10-year-old on the run.  Bud is courageous.  He takes his control over his life.  While Bud cannot drive a car, he finds a way to steer himself on the right path.   Christopher Paul Curtis’ detailed descriptions are as delicious as sweet potato pie with whipped cream.

If you like this book you may also like:  Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis and Esperanza Rising