Lily's Crossing By: Patricia Reilly Giff (4)

Every Summer lily goes to Rockaway New York. But this summer-the summer of 1944-it's different because of World War II. Lily's dad is off at war and her best friend has temporarily moved to Willow Run, Michigan-a wartime factory town. When Margaret left she gave Lily a key to her house. The reason Margaret gave Lily a key to her house is to get up in the attic. The reason that was so special is because that is where the two of them use to hang out and write books.

Because Lily's dad is at was she lives with her grandmother who makes her take piano lessons over the summer. So, they drag the piano all the wall there.

Since margaret has moved Lily has no friends to play with. But, later one she meets Albert and they both find out they have alot in common.

Because of Winn-Dixie by: Cate DiCamillo (4)

India Opal Bluoni has just moved to Naomi, Florida with her father who is the preacher at the Open Arms Church of Naomi. India finds a dog in the Winn-Dixie supermarket that is being destructive. One man shouts, "Send that dog to the pound!" Opal can not let that happen so, she shouts, "That's my dog!" And thinks of a name quick, the name of the supermarket-Winn-Dixie.

All the people she meets that summer-she meet because of Winn-Dixie-and that's why I think the book is called that. She meet Otis who works at the pet store, and Opal starts to work there too, to save up money for a red dog collar for Winn-Dixie. Outside the pet store she meets Sweetie pie Thomas. Sweetie Pie really likes India's dog and in time India gets invited to her party.

India also meet Miss Franny Block at the Library who is always telling her stories. At the library she meets Amanda Wilkinson who she doesn't like at first but grows to like a lot.

India also meets the Dewbarry boys-Dunlap and Stevie, who are twins. The Twins tell her that their nieghbor Gloria Dump is a witch, but when Winn-Dixie goes runnung into yard India had to go get him. Winn-Dixie is found licking peanut butter off her hand and she and Gloria become friends too.

In the end all the people India made friends with over the summer have a party at Gloria's house and everyone becomes friends.

Holes by: Louis Sacher (5)

Holes is about a boy named Stanly, his father is trying to fond a cure for smelly sneakers. One day Stanly is walking home from school when some sneakers 'fall from the sky.' Stanly picks them up and runs becausehe think they might be the answer to his dad's smelly shoe problem. Turns out the shoes were the shoes recently stolen from the homeless shelter, which were Clyde Livingstone's (a baseball player) shoes he donated.

So, Stanley has the choice, go to jail or Camp Green Lake, a camp for bad boys. At camp Green Lake the boys dig Holes to 'build character', and that's where Stanley ends up. After awhile at Camp he be-friends a boy named Zero. (his real name is Hector, but everybody at Camp has a nickname) Together, Stanley and Zero find out the real reason the Warden wants them to dig.

Stanley and Zero run away from camp, and take refuge under god's thumb, they eat unions and drink water they dug up. When they find what the Warden is looking for, she wants them dead. Luckily for the warden a red spotted lizard bites the two, but, they survive because they have unions in there system and can't die with a bite.

In the end all the boys get to go home and Camp Green Lake is turned into a Girl Scout Camp! Now you might be wondering how are the boys digging on a lake well, it isn't a lake anymore but used to be, and there is a hole other story behind that...

This book is really interesting and i think even an adult would enjoy it!

Dolphin song By; Lauren St. John (4)

Dolphin Song is the squeal to The White Giraffe which is a wonderful book.
Dolphin Song is about a girl Martine who is afraid of going in the water because one time she went in and got flipped over by a wave. I Dolphin Song Martine has to face her fear when she goes on a class trip to see the Sardine Run. On the trip something horrible happens, Martine and six of her classmates get thrown into the water in the horrible strom that night. Martine and her friend Ben were the only one thrown in without a life jacket. Luckily all seven get saved by dolphins. Cladius is being really annoying to everyone and he even wasted a conconut that he said was gross!
As you can imagin Martine goes exploring-she finds a ship callede the Dhow. Martine has reason to belive tha Sonar testing is being done wich counld reallt hurt dolpins. Martine tells everbody!
One night Martine gets really mad at Ben and starts being really mean to him. Ben walks away and is heading toards the Dhow. Martine goes and looks for him and they find each other! Then the seven find Dolphins lying on the beach-that means Sonar has made them leave the water. Martine and the others have to save the Dolphins!
After a long time at the island Cladius is found and trapped on an other island near by his friends try to save him but me likes it.
In the end the Dolphins, Martine and her classmates are all saved but you have to find out how they get off the island.

This was a great book-a little scary at times but great!!!!!!!!!

The Tales of Beedle the Bard By: JK Rowling (4)

The tales of Beedle the Bard is a book with six short tales. It says that the tales are translated by Hermion Granger-a character in Harry Potter. Plus Albus Dumbuldoor a character in Harry Potter gives a commentary at the end of each tale. The tales are:

The Wizard and the Hopping Pot
The Fountain of Fair fortune
The Warlock's Hairy Heart
Babbity Rabbity and her Crackling Stump
The Tale of the Three Brothers

some of the stories are tricky to understand or sometimes a little in tense. My favorite tale is the The Tale of the Three Brothers witch is the last tale in the book. I can't tell you what happens in all of the tales but I will tell you in one-The Tale of the Three Brothers.

There are three brothers walking one day and on a bridge they meet a man in a cloak, the man asks each one "what do you want the most?" One brother says he wants a wand that will always let him win duels. The second brother says he wants something to bring back the dead. Then, the last youngest smartest brother didn't trust death so, he asked for something that would let him go forth in his life without having death follow him. So, death gave him an inadvisability cloak and left. The two older brothers died young because of their 'gift', but the youngest brother died old and had a happy life.

Overall this is a great book. Although it gets confusing because it is high level it's a great book. I also like it because it's kind of like a book in the Harry Potter series-I've read the first five.

The White Giraffe By: Luran St. John (5)

The White Giraffe is a book about a girl named Martine who just turned eleven when the book starts. Martine lives in London with her parents and that night everything will change.

The night of her Birthday she has a weird dream where she is climbing up a mountain and it's really hot. Later that night the hotness wakes her up and she finds that's hot in her room. She realizes that there is a fire at her house. Martine has to think fast because the fire could devourer her room in a second! So, she decides that if she ties her bed sheets together it will be like a rope and she could get out. So with having tested it before she does it, and gets out safely. Her parents were not so lucky though-they were killed in the fire.

Martine only has one living grandmother-Gwyn Tomas. Martine never knew about Gwyn Tomas, but Gwyn Tomas knew about her. Her mother had actually been receiving letters from her to. The twist is that Gwyn Tomas lives on an animal reserve near Cape town Africa, and Martine doesn't want to leave at all.

But later she gets there and her Grandmother doesn't seem to like and frankly neither does Martine, she misses her parents and just wants to go home.
One night Martine sees a White giraffe outside when there is a thunder Storm outside. Later in the story Martine goes outside to find the Giraffe and it saves her life from a yellow cobra. Martine and the White Giraffe become best friends.

Maratine doesn't fit in at her school. Everybody makes fun of her love for animals. Martine saves a wild goose and is made fun of again just like she is for everything she does.

Martine saves the life of the White giraffe after he was captured by poachers who trespassed in the animal reserve. Martine goes to the ship yard where the ship with the white giraffe on it is. She saves him ans rides om is back home.

This is overall a great book, and is perfect for animal lovers.

Coraline by: Neil Gaiman (4)

Coraline is a book about a girl who just moved to a house that is spilt between three 'families'. One is Mr. Bobinskee-he has a circus of mice, and Ms. Forcible and Ms. Spink who used to be acrobats. Coraline feels like her parents never listen to her! Coraline finds a doll that strangely looks just like her. She finds a little doors but when she opens it up there is nothing there but brick wall.

That night Coraline goes back to the little door and there is a passage there. She goes there and finds her same house and everything. Her parents were there too. But something was different about them-they had buttons for eyes. There in that weird little world her parents listen to her.

Later she has to rescue her parents because they were caught bye her other mother so that Coraline would go back to save them. The other mother wants Coraline to stay with her for ever and sew buttons in her eyes. So, they play a game-Coraline has to find the souls of the other kids who have been trapped in that other world and her parents. She finds her parents and the souls.

But the weird thing is that when she gets back home her parents don't remember ANYTHING-being trapped, Coraline saving her-all that. But now for some strange reason her parents listen to her!

The Diamond of Darkhold by: Jeanne DuPrau (4)

The Diamond of Darkhold is another one of Lina and Doon's adventures. This time they are trying to find a diamond. A roamer stops at Sparks and trade Lina and Doon a book for a match. With that book the two figure out clues and are led back to their old city-The City of Ember. There Doon gets captured and Lina tries to help Doon bye going back to Sparks.

On the way Lina sees the same roamer that came to Sparks to trade them that book. Lina camps with the roamer too because it is about to rain. The roamer doesn't know how to write, she wants to write a note to her family-the Troggs witch live where Ember used to be-that is where Doon is trapped! So, Lina really writes a note that basically says get Doon out -L (L for Lina).

Later, Doon is given the note by the person that captured him-Trogg. He sees that Lina is going for help.

After a while Doon gets out, with the help of the other prisoner. Lina and Doon sooner meet up and make their way back to Sparks. After they are there for a while Troggs comes to their city-and is furious at Doon for escaping! After some talk the Trogg family is part of Sparks!

The Prophet of Yonwood by: Jeanne DuPrau (5)

The Prophet of Yonwood is a prequel to the City of Ember. The Prophet of Yonwood is not about Lina and Doon-it is about a girl named Nickie! Nickie lives in Philadelphia with her mother and father. Her great-grandfather lives at Green Haven, and then he dies, so, Nickie and her aunt stay at Green Haven for a little while to try to sell it to someone. Her father is on a secret business trip and her mother is working.

At Green Haven Nickie has three goals:

1.Stay at Green Haven
2.Fall in love
3.Help the world

While they stay there Nickie has many adventures. While Nickie is there at Green Haven she finds a girl in the closet. She has a dog named Otis! Mrs. Beeson walks in (someone Nickie does not know) and asks the girl in the closet to come work for the Prophet! You will have to find out why this person is called the Prophet!!! Nickie now takes care of Otis.

Nickie finds a weird picture and a diary entry out of her great-grandfather's diary. The picture of the people (specifically the men that look the same) looks strange!

Grover is another character in this book. He has snakes and he is told to let them go-he doesn't let the snakes go, so, he has to have a bracelet on him. Grover runs into the woods and hides from the town because he thinks people will be distracted by the bracelet's humming. And he is embraced!!

All the dogs have something bad happen to them-you will have to find out in the book though. But in the end all the dogs come back!!!!

Nickie finds out that her father built an underground city because the world is falling apart!! When they go there Nickie is a full grown person. Also Nickie fulfills all three goals she set up for herself!!

People of Sparks by: Jeanne DuPrau (3)

The People of Sparks is a sequel to the City of Ember. It is also about Lina and Doon and their adventures. They come out from Ember and now are staying in the village of Sparks. Lina stays with the town doctor and her nephew-Torren. Doon stayed in the Plaza like mostly everybody else except for the sick of elderly (Lina's sister was sick so she stayed in the doctor's house).

One day Torren's older brother came to town with surprise-(he is a roamer) a partner for his roamer work-Maddy! Torren wants to be a roamer when he becomes his older brother Casper's age.

Lina overhears Casper and Maddy talking about their trip they are going on tomorrow (roamers business) to an old city. Lina thinks that is where the refuges of Ember are going to go when there time in Sparks is up (6 months). Lina wants to see what it looks like first, so she goes with the two secretly. On the way they find her, Casper and Maddy are both upset but Casper in very upset!

Lina, Maddy and Casper meet a starving roamer-they do not feed him because "Casper said so." The next day the find that the roamer payed them a visit!

While exploring the City Casper is left behind while Maddy and Lina ride bikes far enough to see a roamer heading the way they are going so they hitch a ride with him and he brings them back safely!

At Sparks the next day something horrible happens-and Lina saves the day! Doon helps too!! Later because Lina and Doon and the rest of the Ember citizens helped Sparks decided they could stay in their City!

This is a great book-and a great series!!