My Christmas holiday reading pile

Here is a small selection of the books on my huge pile of holiday reading. I have selected five of the newer titles for tonight and I will list another five tomorrow.  I am also planning to read some older books which I pulled out of our library as we were packing our shelves in preparation for new carpet. My pile, as you may have guessed, is huge.

In 2009 I talked about Rules by Cynthia Lord so I am quite excited to read Half a chance.  Here is an extract from the blurb :

" ...slowly  her camera reveals what her new friend doesn't want to see: His family is changing in ways that threaten what he treasures most."
Kirkus says : Lord brings the same sensitivity to the subject of dementia that she bought to autism in her Newbery Honor book Rules.

If you have been following this blog you will know I have talked about the classic book The secret Garden in the past. I talked about the audio book and The Humming Room which is based on The Secret Garden.  Now we have Return to the Secret Garden.  One of my students read this book last month and told me it was terrific.
Here is the blurb :

"It's 1939 and a group of children have been evacuated to Misselthwaite Manor. Emmie is far from happy to have been separated from her cat and sent to a huge old mansion. But soon she starts discovering the mysteries of the house: a boy crying in the night, a diary written by a girl names Mary, and a garden.  A very secret garden."


A few years ago a friend recommended a beautiful film Belle and Sebastien.  Last month I was standing in a bookshop looking at their 'classics' shelf when I spied the book of Belle and Sebastien.  I adored the film.  I had no idea this book was written in 1965 and has its origins in a French television series.
Here is the blurb :

"There she was, standing tall, motionless save for the plume of her tail as it beat the air.  She saw him. She bent her head towards him. Was she going to jump? He no longer felt any fear, and it he too stood still it was because an unknown force compelled him to hold his ground before the animal now watching him  He called to her very softly " 'Belle ..."

When I started to list Paper Things here I thought I should check the author.  I am happy to discover Jennifer Richard Jacobson is the author of the little Andy Shane series.  These are for a much younger audience but I did enjoy Andy Shane and the Barn Sale mystery and I often recommend. I do like the cover of this book but reading the blurb it sound like it will be a difficult and emotional book to read.
Here is an extract from the blurb :

"When Ari's mother died four years ago, she made Ari promise that she and her older brother, Gage would stay together always. So when Gage decides he can no longer live with their bossy guardian, Janna, Ari knows she has to go with him, even though they don't have an apartment yet. Instead, Gage and Ari 'couch surf' crashing with friends or sneaking into shelters to escape the cold Maine nights."

You may know I loved Out of my Mind also by Sharon M Draper so I am looking forward to Stella by Starlight. This book opens with two children watching the Klan "Nine robed figures dressed all in white. Heads covered with softly pointed hoods. Against the black of night, a single wooden cross blazed." Our grade five classes talk about Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks so I will be interested to read another account of life during segregation in America.
I found an interview with Sharon M Draper talking about her inspiration for this book.