chrisholliman

Children's Librarian

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Category: Book Reviews

  • “Last Meeting Of The Gorilla Club” by Sara Nickerson

    The Plot In 5 Sentences Or Less:  Josh has had his imaginary friend Big Brother since kindergarten.  They stayed close and played together until mom lost patience and forced Josh to perform a burial ceremony for Big Brother in the backyard.  He hasn’t seen Big Brother since then, but now, entering 5th grade at a…

  • “My Life As A Book” by Janet Tashjian

    The Plot In Five Sentences Or Less: As the school year winds down, Derek Fallon finds a newspaper clipping in the attic about a girl who drowned 12 years ago off of Martha’s Vineyard.  Derek is curious to find out more about the girl but is stonewalled by his parents.  On top of that, because…

  • “Caterpillar Summer” by Gillian McDunn

    The Plot In Five Sentences Or Less:  Due to a last minute change of plans, Cat and her younger brother Chicken must spend 3 weeks of their summer vacation with grandparents whom they have never met.  They live on an island in North Carolina, which is at once an idyllic setting, but also presents challenges…

  • “Shiloh” by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    The Plot In Five Sentences Or Less:  Marty Preston is an 11 year old who lives in the hill country of  West Virginia.  While out exploring the countryside, he encounters a beagle who follows him home.  Marty immediately takes to the animal and names it Shiloh.  He is soon disappointed when he learns that Shiloh…

  • “Shouting At The Rain” by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

    The Plot In 5 Sentences Or Less:  Delsie enjoys so many things about her life on Cape Cod:  the fishing, the storms that roll in off the ocean, and the close knit community of her small neighborhood.  Still, she can’t help but think about her mom who left her years before with her grandmother and…

  • “Orphan Island” by Laurel Snyder

    The Plot In 5 Sentences Or Less:  The green boat comes to the island once a year with a new child and then ferries the eldest child on the island away — thereby obeying the rule that only 9 children may live on the island at a time.  But this year seems different for Jinny…

  • “Pax” by Sarah Pennypacker

    The Plot In 5 Sentences Or Less:  War is approaching and Peter’s father must go off to fight.  Before he leaves, he forces Peter to leave his pet fox, Pax, in the woods; it is not welcome at his grandfather’s house where Peter must stay for the time being.  After leaving Pax and traveling to…

  • “Liar & Spy” by Rebecca Stead

    The Plot In 5 Sentences Or Less: Georges is a 7th grader in Brooklyn whose family has just experienced job loss and moved from a house to an apartment building. Life at school isn’t much better because he is lately the target of the class bullies.  At the new apartment building, a strange boy named Safer…

  • “Greenglass House” by Kate Milford

    The Plot In Five Sentences Or Less:  It is Christmas break and Milo is hoping to use his time off from school to rest and relax.  Unfortunately, he lives with his parents in an old house turned inn located in the town of Nagspeake.  As soon as he settles in with his books and hot…

  • “Wishtree” by Katherine Applegate

    The Plot In Five Sentences Or Less:  Red is a scarlet oak that has stood in a neighborhood for 216 years.  The local people use Red as a wishtree, writing wishes onto scraps of paper or cloth and tying them onto the branches.  When a Muslim family moves into a house close by, Red and its…