Fiction

One

Author(s): 
Kathryn Otoshi

Our own Number Seven has read this new picture book aloud to me countless times since I picked it up at the library last week. She loves it! Perhaps it is because the numbers in the story stop at seven... or more likely it is because the book gives the colors personality and emotion, creating interesting twists to a fun story.

Product Description:

The Last Straw

Book cover: The Last Straw
Author(s): 
Frederick Thury
Illustrator(s): 
Vlasta Van Kampen

To celebrate Christmas, in addition to baking Christmas cookies, setting up the manger scene, decorating the tree, and numerous other seasonal activities, we also like to pause in out preparations to cozy up together and read good books that encapsulate the true meaning of Christmas. The Last Straw by Frederick H. Thury is one such book.

The Trees Kneel At Christmas

Book cover: The Trees Kneel at Christmas
Author(s): 
Maud Hart Lovelace
Illustrator(s): 
Marie-Claude Monchaux

Maud Hart Lovelace is famous for her Betsy-Tacy series of chapter books. The Trees Kneel At Christmas is a delightful story of two Lebanese-American children in 1951 Brooklyn. Their grandmother tells them how the trees kneel on Christmas in their homeland of Lebanon, but in their new home of Brooklyn the people do not have enough faith for the trees to kneel.

The Bears on Hemlock Mountain

Book cover: The Bears on Hemlock Mountain
Author(s): 
Alice Dalgliesh

Jonathan must go over Hemlock Mountain alone to borrow a large iron cooking pot from Aunt Emma. Jonathan's mother is preparing a meal for a cousin's christening party, and his father is very busy with springtime chores on the farm. Jonathan is concerned that he will cross paths with a bear, but he is reassured that there are NO bears on Hemlock Mountain. His adventure includes a visit with small woodland animals on his way up the mountain, a snack and nap at Aunt Emma's house, and an encounter with some large woodland animals on his journey back down the mountain.

The Magic Tree House Series

Book cover: 'The Magic Tree House Series'
Author(s): 
Mary Pope Osborne

In this series, 8 year old Jack and his 7 year old sister Annie travel to a different time period in each installment. The series begins with Dinosaurs Before Dark in which Jack and Annie find a tree house that has mysteriously appeared near their home in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania. In the tree are lots of books. In one particular book, Jack and Annie see scenes of various places and time periods. At the page of the dinosaurs, they say they wish they could go there. Then, presto-magic, the tree house plops down in the middle of dinosaur time.

Blue Willow

Book cover: Blue Willow
Author(s): 
Doris Gates
Blue Willow is the sweet story of ten-year-old Janey Larkin, whose family is struggling to make ends meet in California's Central Valley during the Great Depression. Janey and her family have a few treasured possessions which they've dragged along with them from place to place because of the difficulties in finding work.

Sense and Sensibility

Book cover: 'Sense and Sensibility'

Adapted from the novel by Jane Austen

Though more serious in nature than Emma, Sense and Sensibility portrays life in a more beautiful, if not always more fair, time. Three sisters and their mother are being turned out of their family estate upon their father's death because of the laws of succession to their half-brother, whose scheming wife prevents him from helping them out financially. After they move to a small cottage in the country, the family find friends and happiness in unexpected places.

Much Ado About Nothing

Book cover: 'Much Ado About Nothing'

This is an admirable portrayal of one of Shakespeare's great comedies beautifully filmed on location in Italy. It is a love story that also laughs at love and a drama that ends up being "Much Ado About Nothing." It is so refreshing to see that Kenneth Branagh (director, adapter and co-leading man) appreciates Shakespeare as Shakespeare rather than trying to add on modern nonsense to make it more accessible. Instead, Branagh assists in making Shakespeare's timeless story accessible through good acting, beautiful scenery and an amazingly faithful script.

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