Cherry Valley Elem. School Library

Oh, what a sad book. I just finished reading How to Steal a Dog one of this year’s Literary High Tea books about a homeless girl living with her mom and brother in a car. It makes me stop and rethink what I’ve believed about homeless people. I finished reading it last night and in today’s Seattle  is an article about a homeless girl who’s been in 12 schools in 12 years and is going to Harvard University.  What an inspiring story.

King County Library www.kcls.org has several of the high tea books available in mp3 format (Not for iPOD) available. You may download them if you have a library card. You will need some additional software. The King County Library webpage will walk you through getting it downloaded, but be sure you parents are helping you and know it is going on your home computer.

The books that are available in mp3 format are:

• Heat
• Elijah of Buxton
• Igraine the Brave
• Mysterious Benedict Society

SUMMARY:  From 1939, when Syvia is four and a half years old, to 1945 when she has just turned ten, a Jewish girl and her family struggle to survive in Poland’s Lodz ghetto during the Nazi occupation. What a sad story. This is historical fiction and is based on the story of the author’s aunt. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. I learn so much about history reading historical fiction.

Learn more about the author, Jennifer Roy and her books, at:

http://www.jenniferroy.com/

SUMMARY:  Ten-year-old Sprig no longer gets along with her twelve-year-old sister, Dakota, but the two pull together during their father’s extended business trip to Afghanistan, sharing concerns about his safety, an elderly neighbor’s health, fights with their best friends, and boys. This was a fun book to read. The author got the relationship between two sisters correct. Sisters don’t always get along.

SUMMARY:  When twelve-year-old Stephanie inherits her weird uncle’s estate, she must join forces with Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton mage, to save the world from the Faceless Ones. This was one of the more unusual books in the High Tea list. I can’t decide if I liked it.  What do you think?

Learn more about Skulduggery Pleasant at:

http://www.skulduggerypleasant.com/

SUMMARY:  Tuffy the pet cat narrates his escapades as he attempts to escape his family’s cat-sitter and suffers through a humiliating episode of mistaken identity. When Ellie tells Tuffy the family is leaving for the week, Tuffy couldn’t be more thrilled.  A whole blissful week of rolling around in the flower bed and lounging on top of the TV?, Tuffy can’t wait! But the cat sitter the family procures doesn’t understand Tuffy’s refined feline palate, and Little Miss Soppy next door seems intent on dressing Tuffy in a nightie and calling him Janet. To get out of such a terrible mess, Tuffy is going to have to rely on his comical killer instincts.  This is a nice easy chapter book. I like cats, but I didn’t like Tuffy.

To find out more about this British author, Anne Fine, go to:

http://www.annefine.co.uk/

Summary:  The noisy fifth grade boys of Laketon Elementary School challenge the equally loud fifth grade girls to a “no talking” contest. Has Andrew Clements ever written a book that isn’t worth reading? He chooses subjects that can be fun, but make you think as well.

To find out more about Andrew Clements, the author, go to:

http://www.andrewclements.com/

Summary:  After passing a series of mind-bending tests, four children are selected for a secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules. This is one of the harder books in the Literary High Tea List. If you like long books, let me know what you think of this one. There is a sequal to it and we have it in the library.

SUMMARY:  An account of the tragic voyage of the British ship to the island of Tahiti. I learned a lot about the Mutiny on the ship, Bounty. This is a great picture book for older readers.

To find out more about the author, Patrick O’Brien, go to:

http://www.patrickobrienstudio.com/