Aunt Eda and Samuel don't hit it off right away.  She has a lot of rules and Samuel means to break every single one of them as quickly as possible.  There's the rule about cheese (you'll have to read it to understand this one).  The rule about not going into the attic.  And then there is the big one:  don't go into the woods.  Samuel disrespects the cheese, heads up to the attic and ends up chasing his sister into the deep dark woods all in one short morning.  It turns out that his Aunt Eda really had good reasons to keep him out of the woods.  It's packed with strange and dangerous mythical Norse creatures who either want to eat him or blow him up or worse.

Samuel and his Aunt Eda's dog are lost in the forest and they have to figure out how to survive long enough to rescue Martha who has been captured by a group of the nastiest creatures in the forest.  Not only does he need to help his sister and escape from the wood but they all need to figure out what has gone wrong with the forbidden forest that has caused so many good creatures to go bad.  According to the Truth Pixie (who wants to blow him up) his chances are not good.

This is an action packed page turner with trolls, witches, pixies, evil geniuses and bad cheese.  You'll laugh and gasp and keep turning those pages.  Samuel Blink and the Forbidden Forest by Matt Haig is happily just the first in a series of unique and exciting adventure stories.

If you're a fan of Rebecca Stead (whose book When You Reach Me gets a mention in the story), I can almost guarantee The Center of Everything will touch you. Like Stead's books, it's intelligent, well-written, emotional, a little complicated in its plotting (in a way that keeps you turning the pages trying to figure it out), and told efficiently in just 200 pages.

This is not just a book about recovering from the loss of a loved one. Ruby's story explores universal themes like friendship, responsibility, and how we are all connected--as well as the geometry and mythology of the donut.

Jack grew up in Kansas. When his mother died, his father returned to his naval duties after leaving Jack at a boarding school in Maine.  At school Jack meets Early, an unusual boy who keeps to himself, rarely attending classes, and who has a keen understanding of numbers.  For Early, numbers have texture and color, landscapes...and words - words that tell the story of Pi's journey.  Pi's journey closely parallels the events of Early's quest and is told in short, interspersed chapters. These chapters make the book exceptional.  Without Pi's story, it would simply be a tale of two boys' adventure in the woods; but the tale of Pi as told by Early makes this a magical story.  It's also satisfying the way things wrap up neatly in the end. 
Hand this book to a middle grader or read it aloud at family time.

Hank's invisible friend Inkling, a bandapat, lives in his laundry basket. Inkling needs squash to survive and that's how he ended up in Brooklyn, NY.  Hank's family owns "Big Round Pumpkin", which is an ice cream shop but Inkling didn't realize that.  What a disappointment after traveling "miles and miles and miles" to eat the big round pumpkin.  Starving, he decides to try pizza, declaring it "cheesy goodness". It satisfies the bandapat for a while but eventually Hank needs to find him a squash (but not zucchini!) and that isn't an easy task for a boy in Brooklyn.

Hank has other concerns too.  Putting the soccer ball through the wrong goal post made him an enemy of Gillicut the bully.  Now Gillicut bothers him in the lunch room every day, demanding an ice cream "sprinkie tax".  Chin remains a loyal friend but she can't really help Hank with his problems and the teachers don't understand.  The advice Inkling gives Hank turns a bad situation worse - what works for a bandapat obviously doesn't work for a human.

Invisible Inkling is a fun read with just enough illustrations to make it even better.  Jenkins & Bliss are a perfect team!  Both have an awesome talent for recognizing and translating kids' behavior into hilarious situations.  Ages 8-12

It's another new school for sixth-grader Rory Landon.  Daughter of movie star parents and always moving to a new location, she knows how to avoid attention and talking about her parents.   After attending ten schools in the last three years, she is a "practiced new kid...practically a professional".  This time though, sixth grade will turn out to be different from any other year.  Her problem doesn't revolve around everyone treating her as the daughter of famous parents - it's the weird way people avoid looking at her and seem to expect she'll fulfill some strange destiny.

At first Rory thinks the afterschool program, Ever After School, is a themed day care; how could she know Snow White, Jack, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty are the real thing, and that she herself will play a critical role in the history of fairy tales?  She begins to realize important events are unfolding even before she climbs the beanstalk with Jack's son, Chase, and her new best friend, Lena.

A fun book for readers who love fairy tales, adventure, and fantasy.

Chet Roscoe is living with his uncle in a small town that is 20 miles from the Atlantic Ocean that hot July of 1916.  Why should they be worried about the newspaper articles they keep seeing about shark attacks along the Jersey shore?  How could a shark get anywhere near their swimming hole?  When Chet has a very close call with what is now thought to have been a bull shark he tries to convince the townsfolk that there's a giant shark in the creek but everyone just laughs it off.  The only person who does believe Chet is the local old crank who most people believe to be crazy.  Between the two of them they have to find a way to make people believe before it's too late.

This book is part of a newer series called I Survived and is written for the early chapter book audience.  But it will also appeal to the upper elementary kids who may be struggling with reading.  It has a great combination of high interest topics, accessible writing and an excellent author (Lauren Tarshis of Emma-Jean Lazarus fame).

The dialogue is pitch perfect, such as the time Mo tells Miss Rose about her son's accident. "Miss Rose, I hate to mention it, but your firstborn's crashed headfirst into a cement wall at maybe a hundred miles an hour, which we can all be grateful hard-headedness runs in your family...Doc Aikin says if he goes concussion, we got to rush him to the hospital. Dale and me are Doctor Appointed in this."

The characters are endearing and the story provides a host of clues as the chain of events unfold. It's a satisfying read for young mystery and humor enthusiasts.

In the world of Cat's Cradle, the only thing separating the humans from the monsters is a mountain range. The thing is, sometimes dangerous monsters sneak through a pass called the Cat's Cradle. In this dangerous world, Suri wants the most glamorous of jobs: monster tamer.  But for now, she's just a scraggly orphan stowing away on a traveling caravan, and she spends most of her days hiding from the owner and earning coins telling scary stories to townspeople.

Suri is getting along just fine in this hardscrabble life until she meets a nervous and mysterious boy who seems to be hiding something. He accidentally gives her a magical object, and before she knows it, Suri is being chased down by some seriously scary "caitsiths," which I can best describe as hungry, creepy cat-people. Thankfully, though, Suri has a friend or two waiting in the wings.

This is a fast-paced graphic novel with adventure, humor, and a few scary moments. The illustrations are fantastic at depicting the action and humor, and I sometimes found myself looking back at them for clues. My only complaint is that, like many books that are first in a series, this one raises more questions than it answers. It is a quick read that left me anxiously awaiting the next in the series. I highly recommend The Golden Twine for fans of Jeff Smith's Bone, or the Sam & Friends Mystery series, which are also illustrated by this author.

I'm working my way through the Sasquatch Award Nominees and just finished A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park.  This was a great perspective changer.  There are two stories:

Salva one of the "Lost Boys" of Sudan, flees his village in the 1980s Sudanese Civil War. Salva travels across vast deserts and over the Nile in a homemade boat to reach a refugee camp. He experiences hunger, thirst, robbery, murder, and genocide.  When his Uncle is shot by bandits, he is sure that his entire family is gone and that he is all alone in the world.  He must walk first to Ethiopia and then to Kenya as leader of 1,500 orphans aka: the "Lost Boys."  When he is finally adopted by an American family, he is determined to work hard in school to do something for his country. 

Nya, a modern day Sudanese girl is charged with the grueling daily task of fetching water for her family. Nya must give up her dream of going to school so she can carry the water that will allow her family to survive.  

This novel for middle grade readers is based on a true story as told by Newbery Award winner, Linda Sue Park.  In the end, these stories come together in an unexpected way as both Salva and Nya literally and figuratively "walk" to water.

Find more books like this one on our Children's Contemporary World Fiction Booklist.

It was a day like any other day.  They were downstairs watching TV when Kevin cruised past a channel with dog agility championships.  Cromwell woke up, took notice (even though Kevin insisted that according to scientists Cromwell can't see the TV images) and started running an imaginary obstacle course in the basement.  It was just like the dogs on TV except that Cromwell wasn't used to moving around much so once he got going he had a hard time stopping... or turning.  Kevin thought his dog would get over it but he didn't.  Every time Cromwell sees the backyard tire swing he loses his mind all over again and tries to jump through it.  Unfortunately his short legs and very round belly make that nearly impossible.  But Cromwell keeps trying (and trying and trying). 

Slowly but surely Kevin is inspired by his dog to make big changes in his life.  Now all he has to do is convince his dad that the changes are good and that dog agility is a real sport worthy of champions.  It's a tough (and very funny) process.  You will laugh and cheer Kevin and Cromwell along as they drag themselves to the top of the dog agility championships.

The Fast and the Furriest by Andy Behrens is a great summer read about Dreaming Big and reaching for the stars.  Ages 8-12

Same Sun Here

Meena is a girl from India who has recently immigrated to New York City; River lives with his mother and grandmother in the coal mining hills of Kentucky. When these two 12-year olds are made pen pals for a school assignment, they decide to take the old-fashioned approach and write letters in pen and ink, rather than resort to instant communication via email.

It is August 2008, and the Obama-McCain presidential election is looming. At first, these children occupy very different worlds, highlighting their national origins, primary languages, even favorite foods, but soon their similarities come to light: both have mothers who are absent most of the day, and who pine for their husbands working elsewhere; they've been raised by nature-loving grandmothers; and there are threats to their homes through poverty, environmental disasters or eviction, even the death or arrest of family members. Meena and River share first factual, then gradually very intimate worries of growing up, fitting in, and caring for family and friends, supporting each other through trying times. Eventually they embrace personal causes which demand activism: Meena's family lives in a rent-controlled apartment and under constant threat of eviction by a negligent and harassing landlord, and River's community is being polluted by MTR: Mountain Top Removal mining. These are kids who could live in our own communities, part of the 99% of America who might not have much to look forward to, but find satisfaction through school, family, sports, and their budding friendship that hints at the shared experiences of a multicultural nation.

Told through letters, both authors bring a fresh voice to a cross-cultural study written in distinct voices. I looked forward to each development in turn, revealing common but trying lives which demonstrate a passion for justice. While the ending was somewhat dissatisfying, and we don't find out if they ever meet, this was an interesting read, recommended for grades 4 to 7.

Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin

Sasha is ten years old and his life feels secure. He is excited to join the young communist pioneers club, worships his father, and feels like he can trust in his country's leader, Stalin. All of this changes over the course of just two days. After his father is arrested and Sasha is suddenly homeless, Sasha decides to go to school as usual and hopefully still join the young pioneers club. But his classroom is really just a microcosm of the larger society in which he lives. The same bullying, racism, and tension between the tyrrany of the majority versus the rights of the individual are playing out in front of his eyes in his own classroom. Sasha quickly is in a position where he has to make a choice and take a stand.

This is a moving story about courage, losing innocence, and growing up in extraordinary circumstances in a dark time of history. It is gripping historical fiction about a place and time not mentioned much in children's literature- Stalinist Russia.  This would also be a great book for group or class discussion. It works very well as a read aloud, and has wonderful illustrations too. For grades 5 and up.