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1. Great little Madison
Jean fritz
Non fiction
Biography of James Madison from birth until death includes detailed descriptions of early life, politics, revolution, the writing of the constitution, home life, and married life. See Madison as a person and as a politician as a husband and as a president.
I thought this was pretty dull but things started to speed up when he got married to Dolly because she was such an interesting person. It is a good reference book and well researched nonfiction piece. None of the dialog is fiction it is all taken directly from documents or personal letters.
I did not notice any controversial elements in the Great Little Madison. The book is approximately fifth grade reading level.

2. Ruby Bridges
Non fiction
Summary
Ruby Bridges is a nonfiction story of young girl in New Orleans. The court ruled that Ruby should be able to go to the same school as white children, but when Ruby went to school none of the white children came. Because none of the white parents would let their children go to school with Ruby, Ruby was the only child at her school. A mob stood outside the school and Ruby was escorted through the mod by Federal US Marshalls. Ruby never spoke to the mob but one day Ruby’s teacher saw her saying something to them. Her teacher asked what she had said. She said she was not speaking to the mob but was praying. Ruby told her teacher that everyday she prayed for the mob and that day she had forgotten until half way there.

I really liked this book. I thought the illustrations were beautiful. I loved the way Ruby grew in each illustration. I think this is a beautiful book that should be read in every classroom to teach about the struggle of desegregation. The controversial elements of this book are the discussion of racism and ruby’s prayer.

3. New Kid on the Block
Jack Prelutsky
Poetry
Illustrated by James Stevenson
Scholastic 1984
Fun and enjoyable poetry collection. Full of different type of poetry formats. This book is full of poems children will love. My personal favorite is Forty Performing Bananas .
I think this book is a must have when teaching about poetry in the class room, because it shows that poems can be fun.


4. Kiki’s delivery service
Eiko Kadono
This is a wonderful story of a young witch who according to family tradition sets out on her own at age 13.


5. Rangers’ apprentice
Modern fantasy
Will has always wanted to be a knight but is instead apprenticed to the mysterious ranger Holt. Will learns that the rangers are a special unit of law enforcers and spies who report directly to the king. Will and Holt are sent on a dangerous mission and suddenly Holt’s life is in danger and only Will can get help.

6. Bronze bow
Historical fiction
George Elizabeth Speare
Daniel is a Jewish zealot who wants to destroy the Romans. He fights with a band of freedom fighters hiding in the mountains lead by a man named Rolf. When Daniel has to leave the mountains to care for his sister after his grandmother’s death he meets the rabbi Jesus who tells him he must give up the anger and hatred in his heart.

7. Kenny and the dragon
Modern fantasy
Tony DiTerlizzi
Simon &Schuster 2008
Summary: Kenney is a young rabbit who likes to read and doesn’t have very many friends except George the bookseller in town. One day his father comes back from working on the farm and says he saw a dragon by the creek. Kenny sets off to slay the dragon but instead finds out the dragon likes to read books too. The dragon says his name is Grahame and soon they become best friends . When the village discovers a dragon George the bookseller comes out of knighthood retirement to slay Grahame. The whole village wants to kill Grahame and is coming to watch George do the deed. Can Kenny keep his two best friends from fighting? Can Kenny save his friends and maybe make some new ones along the way? Read and find out .
I thought this was an adorable book; perfect for 3rd or fourth grade. There are lovely black and white pictures throughout and the story is very engaging. What really made this book was the funny details that gave depth to the characters like Grahame’s fondness for Crème Brule.
A wonderful intermediate book great for both girls and boys

8. Number the stars
Lois Lowry
Historical fiction
Ellen and Annemarie are best friends living in Denmark during the nazi occupation. Ellen is Jewish and when the Nazis come looking for her she and Annemarie pretend to be sisters. Then they go to the sea to visit Annemarie’s uncle and smuggle Ellen and her family to Switzerland in her uncles fishing boat. Along the way Annemarie learns what it means to be brave and the burden of knowing the truth.
I loved this book it had a very real quality about it. Annemarie and Ellen are not brave story book heroes but real people with fears. The message of friendship and the story of the Danish people is one that should be heard in every classroom. Controversial elements in the book are the horrible reality of the holocaust and the different religious beliefs discussed.

9. The Willoughby’s
Modern fantasy
Lois Lowry
A silly story about a good old fashioned group of siblings who decided they should be orphans at the same time their parents decide they should be rid of them. The story is full of such remarkable preposterous character that make it an incredible fantasy. The book is a great laugh out loud read. It is very controversial considering that the parents are trying to get rid off their children and the children want their parents to die. I loved it.



10. The princess and the goblin
George Macdonald
Modern fantasy
The goblins are trying to steal the Princess Irene for the goblin prince’s bride. Fortunately the brave and smart miner’s son Curide saves the day and gets a kiss from the princess.
I liked the plot and the idea a lot but the writing style itself was old fashioned and strange. There is an allegory throughout the story about faith that I didn’t think was done very well. I wouldn’t recommend this book because it was okay but not very great.

11. Never trust a dead man
Vivian Vande Velde
Modern fantasy
Accused of murder and condemned to die, the Only one who can clear Selwyn’s name is Farold, the man who was killed. Striking a deal with a witch Selwyn brings Farold’s spirit back to this world to tell him the real killer . However Farold doesn’t know who killed him or who would want to.








12. Amelia Bedelia and the baby
By Peggy Parish pictures by Lynn Sweat.
Avon, 1982
Picture book
Summary: Amelia goes to baby sit even though she doesn’t know anything about babies. She follows the instructions on the list all quite literally. She makes a lot of mistakes

13. Magic tree house Merlin missions Night of the New Magicians
by Mary Pope Osborne; illustrated by Sal Murdocca
Summary: Merlin sends Jack and Annie on a mission to prove they are worthy of magic. They must find four magicians before an evil sorcerer does. Jack and Annie explore the Paris worlds fair trying to find the new magicians and save them from the sorcerer. Along the way they have some strange help could it be their friends Teddy and Kathryn? Jack and Annie learn that the four magicians are all really great inventors of the industrial age. Who have all been invited by a strange man in a cloak to a party at the Eiffel tower, but who is this evil sorcerer and how will jack and Annie get there in time.
I think magic tree house is a good book series for kids both boys and girls . the thing that bothers me is that since there are so many books in the series some children try to read all of them and end up reading nothing but magic tree house.

14. Junie B Jones and the dumb bunny
Realistic fiction
Barbara Park illustrated by Denise Brunkus.
Random House, c2007
Junie b is invited to an Easter egg hunt at Lucile’s and wins a prize. She gets to wear a bunny costume and be a celebrity . The prize every one really wants is the golden egg so when junie B. trips on her bunny costume and see the golden egg on the ground in front of her why does she give it Sheldon .

15. Archers quest
Linda sue park
Yearling 2008
Modern fantasy
Summary Kevin is an ordinary Korean American kid. When suddenly a king from ancient history appears in his bedroom and starts shooting arrows. Kevin cant remember the kings full name Koh Chu-mong so he calls him Archer because he is really good at archery. Kevin and the Archer go looking for a way for Archer to get home . They figure out that it is a Chinese zodiac tiger year in both Kevin’s and archer’s time but today is the last day of the tiger year and they have to find a way for archer to get home.
I really liked this book especially because the magic wasn’t overly complicated or explained why it worked or came from it just happened. At the end of the book it tells how Archer really existed there are records of a Koh Chu-mong a Chinese prince who became a king in ancient Korea. It lists a few facts and a few legends about Koh Chu mong which are very interesting to the reader. This is a great book for both boys and girls but is leaning more towards being a guy book. Controversial elements I would say it is a bit weird that Kevin goes all over town with a guy who has been through time travel and is armed but the audience should understand that it is fiction and just go with the flo.

16. Wind in the willows
By Kenneth Grahame; abridged and illustrated by Inga Moore.
Candlewick Press, 2003
The adventures of the folk of the river bank and their friends . Mole, Water Rat ,Badger and Mister Toad all have adventures together and when toad gets into trouble with the law and loses his house his friends are there to help him out. A classic this edition is beautifully illuastrated and even though long and a little old

17. Forest born
Shannon hale
Modern fantasy
Bloomsbury USA, 2009
Fourth in the books of Brayen series Rin struggles inside her self to find who she really is and how to control her powers. Rin feels there is a darkness in side her and that she must be a bad person. She calls herself a shadow and always tries to act like those around her but doesn’t know who she is by herself. When Rin meets her brothers friend the queen and her friends who all have special powers she hopes that the fire sisters can heal her or that she can become good like the queen. Rin follows the queen to the kingdom of Kel where they meet an old adversary Selia who is trying to start a war between kel and brayen. Selia has the power of people speaking and rin realizes that she does too. Rin is afraid that being a people speaker will make her evil like Selia. Her friends help her realize that she is her own person and isn’t crazy like Selia. Rin finds a balance between the gifts of people speaking and tree speaking.
Not hales best the self hatred and depression aren’t the best reading time spent. The dialogue also seems some how forced or fake. An okay read if your bored but certainly not a must buy. Controversial topics suicide and manipulative relationships.

18. Piggins
Picture book
Jane Yolen & Jane Dyer

Harcourt books 1987
Great picture book a family of high society London foxes have a dinner party where all the plans are over seen by Piggins the butler. When the hostess diamond necklace is stolen in the middle of dinner it is Piggins who solves the mystery. Wonderful illustrations of the humanoid animal characters and visual clues of the mystery make this a fun read.

19. east of the sun and west of the moon and other tales collected by P.C. Abjornsen and Jorgen E Moe ,Macmillan Company 1966
East of the sun west of the moon the most famous of these fairy tales A story of a girl and a magical white bear. One girl’s incredible journey to save her true love. Elements of the story remind me of cupid and psyche and beauty and the beast.

The lad who went to the north wind a story of a boy who went to the powerful north wind for help and is given magical gifts only to have them stolen by his landlord. The landlord loses control over the magical objects because he doesn’t know the password and the boy and his mother get back their gifts and live in comfort the rest of their lives.

The princess and the glass hill is a sort of male Cinderella story except instead of dancing in three balls he completes a three knightly challenges and wins the hand of the princess.
P.C. Abjornsen and Jorgen E Moe have an interesting sense of humor that I found hilarious.

20. Louise The adventures of a chicken
Kate DiCamillo & harry bliss
Joanna Coulter books 2008
Picture book
Louise feels the need for excitement in her life and sails across oceans performs in circus meets pirates and rides a camel. Each time she comes back to the hen house she dreams the dreams of a true adventurer. When Louise tells her fellow chickens all about her adventures they become true adventurers too.
An absolutely adorable book with great illustrations and tone in the writing style I laughed out loud. An excellent bedtime story to read to any child.

21. The princess and the pizza
By Mary Jane and Herm Arch
Holiday house 2002
Picture book
A Great story of a princess who wants to be in the spotlight. She enters a competition to marry a prince by passing a series of tests. When her invention of the pizza wins her the hand of the prince she says no thanks and opens her own pizza parlor. The way this book alludes to other fairy tales is hilarious. The art and story is inventive fresh and fun a great read for early readers.

22. Front and Center
Catherine Murdock
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2009
The third book in the dairy queen series about a teenage athlete who struggles with confidence and relationships. After a season of playing on the boys football team D.J. is happy to fade into the background and play some girls basket ball. But she cant seem to stop thinking about her ex brain even though she’s dating Beaner now.
This book was not a personal favorite but an okay read. Controversial elements include references to sex, suicide, underage drinking and homosexuality. More of a high school level read about a junior trying to decided where to go to college and what to do about boys.

23. Constance A Story of Early Plymouth
Patricia Clapp
Peter Smith Publisher Inc 1993
Historical fiction
A diary of a young woman on the mayflower and the beginnings of the Plymouth colony

24. Scarlett pimpernel
Baroness Orczy

25. Tales of Grimm and Andersen
The modern library 1952
The twelve dancing princesses

The goose girl
The three children of fortune

26. Jacobs More English Fairy tales
Dover publications 1967

27. The Andrew Lang fairy tale treasury
Crown publishers



29. knights and castles Seymour Simon
See more readers 2006

30. Abraham Lincoln lets read biography
Houghton Mifflin 1997

31. the story of Monticello Norman
Richards children’s press 1970

33. At Her Majesties Request
An Africa princess in Victorian England
Walter Dean Myers
Scholastic press 1999

34. The sisters Grimm
Amulet 2007
Michael Buckley
Sabrina and Daphne have been in foster care since their parents disappeared a year ago until the day social services find their grandmother Grimm. Grandmother Grimm tells them that the Grimm fairy tales are real and that Grimm’s solve mysteries about everafters fairy tale creatures. Sabrina thinks she’s crazy and tries to run away . when she sees a giant kidnap her grandmother she realizes she was wrong. is it too late have Sabrina and Daphne lost the only family they have left? With the help of the trickster puck and jack the giant killer Daphne and Sabrina hatch a plan to rescue their grandmother.