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Families

THE PENDERWICKS AT POINT MOUETTE

Penderwicks in Maine
Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Birdsall
Author's First Name: 
Jeanne
Publisher: 
Random House
Publication Date: 
2011
2013 Nomination (not yet selected): 

With Rosalind away on a holiday in New Jersey, Skye is the oldest available Penderwick, responsible for her sisters Jane and Batty while on an eventful vacation in Maine with Aunt Claire and their good friend and neighbor Jeffrey. You do not have to have read the first two to come to know and care about these well-drawn characters. Birdsall smoothly shifts points of view without confusing the reader. A perfect summer reading adventure with a moving sub-plot very satisfactorily resolved. Seven to Ten.

 See the annotation under "Audio."

PEAK

Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Smith
Author's First Name: 
Roland
Publisher: 
Harcourt
Publication Date: 
2007

Caught in the act of scaling a skyscraper, 14-year-old Peak goes to Thailand with his mountain-climbing father, a man determined to lead the youngest-ever climber to the top of Mount Everest.  Nail-biting suspense and terrific climbing details abound.

THE NIGHT TOURIST

Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Marsh
Author's First Name: 
Katherine
Publisher: 
Hyperion
Publication Date: 
2007

After an accident, motherless Jack is sent to New York to see a specialist. There he is pulled into a ghostly underworld where he hopes to rejoin his mother. This new take on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice makes rewarding reading.

ELIJAH OF BUXTON

Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Curtis
Author's First Name: 
Christopher Paul
Publisher: 
Scholastic
Publication Date: 
2007

Elijah, the first child born in a settlement of former slaves in Canada, finds his uneventful life disrupted when he attempts to locate the corrupt preacher who has stolen funds intended to purchase a family’s freedom.

REVOLUTION IS NOT A DINNER PARTY

Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Compestine
Author's First Name: 
Ying Chang
Publisher: 
Henry Holt
Publication Date: 
2007

In this novel set during the Chinese Communist Revolution and based on the author's own experiences, a young girl discovers within herself a steely core of self-respect after losing almost everything she ever knew, including her family.

AS SIMPLE AS IT SEEMS

AS SIMPLE AS IT SEEMS
Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Weeks
Author's First Name: 
Sarah
Publisher: 
Laura Geringer
Publication Date: 
2010

Eleven-year-old Verbena, angry at learning of her adoption along with other family secrets, befriends a gullible neighbor boy by pretending to be a ghost.  Although a near-disaster reveals Verbie’s deceit, it also cements an enduring friendship.
 

A CROOKED KIND OF PERFECT

Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Urban
Author's First Name: 
Linda
Publisher: 
Harcourt
Publication Date: 
2007

Zoe wants to play at Carnegie Hall, but first she must convince her parents to provide both piano and lessons. The would-be prodigy faces multiple surprises in this warm, funny chapter book.

THE TALENTED CLEMENTINE

Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Pennypacker
Author's First Name: 
Sara
Illustrator's First Name: 
Marla
Illustrator's Last Name: 
Frazee
Publisher: 
Hyperion
Publication Date: 
2007

With the talent show looming and the class brimming over with ideas, Clementine struggles to find her own hidden gifts. Loosely limned line drawings add the perfect comic touch to this second story about the irrepressible imp.

17 THINGS I'M NOT ALLOWED TO DO ANYMORE

Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Offill
Author's First Name: 
Jenny
Illustrator's First Name: 
Nancy
Illustrator's Last Name: 
Carpenter
Publisher: 
Schwartz & Wade
Publication Date: 
2007

The exploits of an incorrigible little girl create an entertaining list of rule-breaking antics brought to life through playful and inventive mixed-media illustrations.

MOXY MAXWELL DOES NOT LOVE STUART LITTLE

Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Gifford
Author's First Name: 
Peggy
Illustrator's First Name: 
Valorie
Illustrator's Last Name: 
Fisher
Publisher: 
Schwartz & Wade
Publication Date: 
2007

Hour by hour, minute by minute, excuse by excuse, Moxy has not done her summer reading and it's the last day of vacation. Short chapters, wacky “photographs” taken by her brother, and a cheeky heroine add zippy appeal to this beginning chapter book.

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