by Will James This book is the story of a wild range horse, Smoky, from birth through his time helping his favorite cowboy wrangle cattle and beyond, offering a look at cowboy culture and the life of a horse in the west from a horse’s perspective. Despite the fact that the horse’s perspective is very […]
by Gail Carson Levine Evie, a 15-year-old healer, isn’t expecting her best friend Wormy to propose, nor that a fairy will punish her for refusing. Yet suddenly she is an ogre, with only 62 days to accept another marriage proposal if she ever wants to be human again. She has to rely on her wits […]
by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi Three siblings move to their crazy great-aunt’s odd house after their parents’ divorce and find a field guide in the attic, full of pictures and descriptions of fairies. They discover that a) the fairies from the guide are real and b) there are more than one living in and […]
by Eric P. Kelly When Joseph’s family home is destroyed by enemies, he and his family must flee to Krakow. But why are evil men after them, and who is really behind it? And what is the family secret that is for the king of Poland’s ears alone? I was pleasantly surprised by this story. […]
by Jacqueline West When her family moves into the big stone house, Olive can tell it’s creepy. But she doesn’t expect to meet three talking cats or find a pair of spectacles that allow her to climb into and out of the paintings. The truth of the previous owners is even stranger—and more awful—than she […]
by Adam Gidwitz and David Bowles In another fun adventure of the Unicorn Rescue Society, Elliot and Uchenna travel across the country with Professor Fauna to rescue a chupacabras—essentially a vampire coyote. They make friends, see old enemies, and learn about these fascinating and terrifying creatures and the borderlands they live on. I enjoyed this […]
by Gail Carson Levine Writing Magic is a collection of writing advice geared specifically for young writers, covering everything from voice to characters to dialogue to point of view, using examples from her own books and others to illustrate her point. Carson Levine is thorough, addressing nearly every aspect of storytelling, while keeping chapters short, […]
by Gail Carson Levine This collection of false apology poems (where the poem comes from someone who is not sorry at all) covers a range of topics from sibling fights to fairy tales to nursery rhymes and beyond. I didn’t know what to expect when I discovered this book at my library, but I thought […]
by Hugh Lofting This is one volume of the classic story of Dr. Dolittle, the English naturalist who can talk to animals. He and his young protegee Tommy Stubbins go on an epic adventure, meeting many interesting people and creatures along the way. I found this book light, funny, and an easy read, but at […]
by Gail Carson Levine Fairest is Levine’s retelling of the story of Snow White, set in the world of Ella Enchanted. I was hooked from the start—I loved seeing the occasional cameo appearance by characters from Ella Enchanted, and the narrative voice was wonderful. The characters were fully formed, the setting was beautifully described, and […]