Weasel

As soon as you start reading, you can picture the setting of Weasel, by Cynthia DeFelice. It’s Ohio in 1939 and the first sentence of the book, will hook you right away, “The dogs were dozing in their usual places by the fire when the knock came.”

Who would knock so late at night, on the door of log cabin so deep in the woods. Where was Pa?

Pa is missing and the only person who may know what happened won’t (or can’t) talk. While reading this book, you may find yourself wondering if you’ve ever judged someone before you’ve really met them. This is an exciting book with lots of twists.

I give this book 4 ½ book worms.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

Do you think animals can talk to each other? Do you think they have feelings? Do you think they are capable of thought? Well this book may change your perceptions of rodents!

Robert C. O’Brien wrote the book Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH in 1971. Mr. O’Brien developed glaucoma when he was an adult, was unable to drive to work. Because of this his family moved closer to his office so he could just walk everyday. He had extra time on his hand since he now lived so close to work, so he started writing.

Mrs. Frisby is a mouse and widow whose son, Timothy has pneumonia. Mrs. Frisby must travel to the mouse doctor (Mr. Ages) to get medicine for her son. While she is with Mr. Ages she learns about her husband’s tragic death and the secret life he led before they were married. Mrs. Frisby finds out that her husband was part of an experimental group of mice who were injected daily with chemicals to make them smarter. She is shocked! Not only is that news startling enough, but she also finds out that her husband was a member of a community of mice who lived a luxurious life underground with books, electricity and plenty of food. The more Mrs. Frisby learns though, the more she realizes she must do something to help the community whose lifestyle and lives are about to be destroyed.

This book is exciting and makes you look at animals in a whole different way. I give this book five bookworms!

The Word Eater

I first read the Word Eater 5 years ago and have recommended it ever since. Imagine being able to destroy a word and destroy everything that goes with it: war (gone!), hunger (gone!), homework (gone!), friendship (gone!) WHAT! That is where the problem starts.

Lerner finds a worm and decides to make it her pet, and she names him Fip. As Fip crawls around on her schoolwork one day she realizes he is actually eating the words on her paper! She writes the word pencil and watches as the worm crawls right over it and poof! the pencil in her hand disappears.

Lerner is so excited about her magical worm, maybe Fip can help her get rid of all the troubles in her life. However, she soon realizes that feeding words to her worm isn’t as easy as she thought it would be.
I give this book by Mary Amato 4 ½ book worms out of 5.

The Fighting Ground

Chances are you’ve read a book by Avi, or atleast seen one on the shelf at the library. Avi is a very popular author who seems to prolifically produce a wide varies of books. One of his novels, Poppy, was a Book of the Week last year. Avi only goes by one name, Avi, because that’s what his twin sister called him when they were younger and it just stuck.

He says he was not a good writer when he was in school and in fact failed a lot of his classes when he was in high school. But when he was a senior in high school he decided he wanted to write for readers, not for teachers or for grades.

Avi wrote the historical fiction book, The Fighting Ground, in 1987. I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy a book about the Revolutionary War, but I really did. Jonathon is 13 years old and desperately wants to join the Americans in their fight against the British and Germans. However, his parents are adamant that he may not join the war.

One day the town bell rings and Jonathon asks his father if he can go hear what is going on. His father gives him permission only if Jonathon promises to return immediately, and not get involved in the war. Jonathon promises. However, once Jonathon arrives at the meeting, he gets caught up in the excitement and decides to disobey his father and go to battle.

Jonathan finds out that people he thought were good, are not always, and people he thought were bad, might not be.

This whole novel takes place in less than 48 hours. It is very fast moving because each chapter is a different time in the day, some chapters only being ½ page.

When I finished the novel I had a sickly feeling. Not because the book was bad, but because it left me with an uneasy feeling that the events particularly at the end of this novel could, and probably really did, happen during the war.

I give this book 4 bookworms.

A Dog Called Kitty

Who could be afraid of a tiny, furry little puppy? Ricky can. Ricky was attacked by a dog and severely injured when he was a little child, so any dog, any size, strikes fear in Ricky’s heart. One day when his mother is calling the cats from the barn for food, along comes this puppy.

After Ricky first meets the puppy and his mom scares it off, Ricky thinks that is the last he’ll see of the dog. Until one day when Ricky is out in the barn and he hears the whimper of a puppy nearly starved to death. Ricky decides it is best just to let the puppy die there, because after all he doesn’t like dogs. So Ricky leaves the pup in the barn to die.

Do you think Ricky goes back? Is that the end of the puppy? You’ll have to read this great book by Bill Wallace to find out.

I give this story of love, friendship and growth 4 ½ bookworms. It’s one you’ll never forget!

The City of Ember

I was always curious about this book since I first saw it. Its interesting cover with an intriguing light bulb made me add this book to my list a year ago. Well, I'm so glad I finally read it.

Jeanne DuPrau wrote The City of Ember and it was published in 2005. She was previously an English teacher and even worked for Apple Inc. There are three other books in this series. Now that I've read the first one I'm anxious to read the rest.

The City of Ember is about an underground city whose inhabitants do not know they are actually living underground. Colors are dull, supplies are limited and there is a limited amount of light each day. 241 years earlier, there was a terrible war and the best architects and engineers designed an underground city. The city is full of complex pipes and electrical systems. Now, 241 years after the first inhabitants arrived, the city is beginning to fail. Food is in short supply and high demand, along with other materials such as light bulbs.

Lina and Doon are determined to find a better life and Lina thinks her grandmother may have found something more valuable than she realizes.

The 3 introductory pages of this book are enough to get any reader hooked. I thought this was a great book and now I'm anxious to see the movie to compare. I give this book 4 1/2 out of 5 bookworms.

Island of the Blue Dolphins

Scott O’Dell was born Odell Gabriel Scott. When he was a young adult he wrote for a newspaper. The editeor accidentally transposed his name to Scott O’Dell. Mr. O’Dell liked it and changed his name. He wrote a total of 26 novels. His book, Island of the Blue Dolphins won the Newberry Award in 1961. This story is based upon and incredible and true story.

One day a ship of hunters arrives on the island off the coast of California where Karana, her family, and her tribe live. The hunters ask Karana’s father, the chief of the tribe, if they can hunter for sea otter and leave the village with precious items in trade. Karana’s father agrees and the hunters continue to hunt otter. One day the villagers notice the hunters are leaving without paying the villagers. After approaching the hunters there is a battle and many of the men in the village are killed. The hunters leave the island without paying.

Mostly women are left on the island with only a few men. Some of the men decide they will set sail in a canoe to find help. A long time later a ship arrives at the island to take the villagers to a better life. All of the villagers get aboard the ship and are ready to sail when Karana realizes her brother, Ramu, has returned to the island because he forgot something. Karana asks the ship to wait while she goes to get her brother. The captian says a storm is coming so she must hurry.

Karana returns to the island, find Ramu, and as they are heading back to the boat they realize the boat is sailing of without them. Karana and her brother as stuck alone on the island with the wild dogs to survive.

This story takes some very sad twists and also shows the strength of the human spirit. It’s fantastic book! I give it 4 ½ bookworms, but I’m tempted to give it 5.