Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery

Oh, it seems so wonderful that I'm going to live with you and belong to you. 

I've never belonged to anybody—not really.

That child is hard to understand in some respects. But I believe she'll turn out all right yet. And there's one thing certain, no house will ever be dull that she's in."

I've joined an online US Facebook children's book club. Next month our book is the famous US classic Anne of Green Gables (1908). Until last month I had not read this book. I shared this with one of our esteemed children's literature experts here in Australia and she was utterly shocked and so I felt compelled to now read Anne of Green Gables. I hunted around for a cheaper print copy but eventually I settled on reading an ebook. If you haven't read this classic here are some detailed notes about the themes and plot. You could also consider listening to the audio book - here is a five-minute sample. I also found some free examples. 

Did I love Anne of Green Gables? Not really. There were parts I enjoyed especially early in the story but after a few chapters I found it a bit repetitive and I grew a little tired of anticipating that every 'activity' would end in a disaster for Anne. 

What parts did I enjoy? 

• The rich vocabulary with words like betokened; wincey; alabaster brow; irreproachable; capricious; coruscations; prosaic; and tenacity

• The beautifully expressed descriptions of nature: 

" ... the orchard on the slope below the house was in a bridal flush of pinky-white bloom, hummed over by a myriad of bees."

"Very green and neat and precise was that yard, set about on one side with great patriarchal willows and the other with prim Lombardies. Not a stray stick nor stone was to be seen ..."

"Above the bridge the pond ran up into fringing groves of fir and maple and lay all darkly translucent in their wavering shadows. Here and there a wild plum leaned out from the bank like a white-clad girl tip-toeing to her own reflection. From the marsh at the head of the pond came the clear, mournfully-sweet chorus of the frogs."

"On both sides of the house was a big orchard, one of apple-trees and one of cherry-trees, also showered over with blossoms; and their grass was all sprinkled with dandelions. In the garden below were lilac-trees purple with flowers, and their dizzily sweet fragrance drifted up to the window on the morning wind."

"There were rosy bleeding-hearts and great splendid crimson peonies; white, fragrant narcissi and thorny, sweet Scotch roses; pink and blue and white columbines and lilac-tinted Bouncing Bets; clumps of southernwood and ribbon grass and mint; purple Adam-and-Eve, daffodils, and masses of sweet clover white with its delicate, fragrant, feathery sprays ..."

• I loved some of the characters especially Matthew Cuthbert and Diana. I also appreciated the tiny insights into Marilla and her slowly developing love of Anne. 

• The touches of humor:

"If Marilla had said that Matthew had gone to Bright River to meet a kangaroo from Australia Mrs. Rachel could not have been more astonished. She was actually stricken dumb for five seconds."

"She thought in exclamation points. A boy! Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert of all people adopting a boy! From an orphan asylum! Well, the world was certainly turning upside down! She would be surprised at nothing after this! Nothing!"

"But if you call me Anne please call me Anne spelled with an E. ... A-n-n looks dreadful, but A-n-n-e looks so much more distinguished."

"I have no hard feelings for you, Mrs. Barry. I assure you once for all that I did not mean to intoxicate Diana and henceforth I shall cover the past with the mantle of oblivion."

"Yes; but cakes have such a terrible habit of turning out bad just when you especially want them to be good,"

"Almost a month having elapsed since the liniment cake episode, it was high time for her to get into fresh trouble of some sort, little mistakes, such as absentmindedly emptying a pan of skim milk into a basket of yarn balls in the pantry instead of into the pigs' bucket ... "

"I've learned a new and valuable lesson today. Ever since I came to Green Gables I've been making mistakes, and each mistake has helped to cure me of some great shortcoming. The affair of the amethyst brooch cured me of meddling with things that didn't belong to me. The Haunted Wood mistake cured me of letting my imagination run away with me. The liniment cake mistake cured me of carelessness in cooking. Dyeing my hair cured me of vanity. I never think about my hair and nose now—at least, very seldom. And today's mistake is going to cure me of being too romantic."

• Character descriptions:

Anne - "A child of about eleven, garbed in a very short, very tight, very ugly dress of yellowish-gray wincey. She wore a faded brown sailor hat and beneath the hat, extending down her back, were two braids of very thick, decidedly red hair. Her face was small, white and thin, also much freckled; her mouth was large and so were her eyes, which looked green in some lights and moods and gray in others."

Anne - " ... the ordinary observer; an extraordinary observer might have seen that the chin was very pointed and pronounced; that the big eyes were full of spirit and vivacity; that the mouth was sweet-lipped and expressive; that the forehead was broad and full; in short, our discerning extraordinary observer might have concluded that no commonplace soul inhabited the body of this stray woman-child of whom shy Matthew Cuthbert was so ludicrously afraid."

"Diana was sitting on the sofa, reading a book which she dropped when the callers entered. She was a very pretty little girl, with her mother's black eyes and hair, and rosy cheeks, and the merry expression which was her inheritance from her father.

• And of course Anne's relentless imagination. 

How do you feel about the love story? I was a little frustrated that it took so long to reach this scene but I guess the stage is set for the sequel/s. Will I keep reading this series? Probably not but I might try to find the television series. 

Confession - I have been to Prince Edward Island twice (and yes I do live in Australia) but when I visited I had no interest in this famous book. My visit to island was fabulous though, because I had an introduction to a resident - a lady and her husband who were entitled to called themselves Islanders. I had been teaching in Alberta and a wonderful library volunteer had a connection with a family who lived on PEI. I am so glad I took hold of my courage and phoned them. It was an evening to remember ending with the wife and I sitting in front of their fabulous bookshelves exploring her huge picture book collection! I am sad I no longer remember their names. 

"I've always heard that Prince Edward Island was the prettiest place in the world, and I used to imagine I was living here, but I never really expected I would. It's delightful when your imaginations come true, isn't it?"

Here are our Book Club titles for 2025:

The Adventures of a Girl called Bicycle by Christina Uss

 

This book has so many ingredients that I enjoy in a good Middle Grade book:

• It's a page turner - there is just the right amount of tension
• Our hero is a young orphan of unknown heritage on a mission
• She must rely on her own determination, good sense and luck
• There is a map and a journey in this case right across the whole of the USA
• The journey contains hazards but as a reader you are sure the main character will make it!
• The food eaten on the journey, at times, is delicious and mentioned often enough that I was not worried that Bicycle would be hungry. She also has a comfortable tent to sleep in.
• Friendship is at the heart of this book
• There are wonderful inventions that are mentioned and the bicycles in this book are characters too and one has a collection of utterly perfect gadgets that I guarantee will amaze you

A little girl turns up at the monastery. She is wearing a t-shirt with the word bicycle. Now you know how she got her name.

The monastery is a very different place. The monks who live there are mostly silent. Actually that should say Mostly Silent. There is, however, one person who lives there who is allowed to talk - Sister Wanda Magdalena. She is a retired nun who works at the monastery doing all the "things that require a lot more talking than silence, like answering phones, making sure deliveries got where they were supposed to go, scheduling washing machines repairmen."  Sister Wanda previously belonged to the order of Nearly-Silent-Nuns but now that this little girl has turned up she will need to take care of her.

"If you don't live near a Mostly Silent Monastery, you may wonder what they are. The Mostly Silent Monasteries are part of an old an venerated order, founded centuries ago by a monk named Bob. One day, Bob observed that the human body is made with two ears but only one mouth. He felt this meant that we humans are supposed to listen more than we speak, so he vowed to be Mostly Silent and dedicated his life to listening to others."

Young Bicycle grows up in the monastery and she learns to be a good listener but Sister Wanda worries that Bicycle has no friends her own age so she organises to send the young girl to the Friendship Factory. Bicycle does not want to do this. She just wants to enjoy riding her own bike called Clunk. She also loves to read magazines about bicycles and watch movies about bicycle races. Watching these she discovers a famous bike rider named Zbigniew Sienkiewica or Zbig. He is from Poland but the exciting news is that he is coming to America. He will be at the blessing of the bicycles in San Fransisco on 8th July. Bicycle lives in Washington DC.  It is now late April. Bicycle has her bike, $154.20 in cash, her bike Clunk and a map of her route right across the country. Will she make it in time to meet her hero? What will Sister Wanda do? 

How did I come to buy this book?  A large chain store was having a book sale. I am always determined to find a book at these sales. I know books that mention the Texas Blue Bonnet award are usually splendid. Kirkus gave this book a star. AND most importantly I really like the cover. It is designed by Jonathan Bean.

There are a wealth of additional resources to use with this book (you could consider it as a class read aloud) here on the Texas Blue Bonnet page. Here is a list of  bicycle books curated by Christina Uss. This is her debut novel,

I won't explain this but here are the eight sacred words the silent monks can use:

yes, no, maybe, help, now, later, sleep (and) sandwich.

Publisher Blurb: Introverted Bicycle has lived most of her life at the Mostly Silent Monastery in Washington, D.C. When her guardian, Sister Wanda, announces that Bicycle is going to attend a camp where she will learn to make friends, Bicycle says no way and sets off on her bike for San Francisco to meet her idol, a famous cyclist, certain he will be her first true friend. Who knew that a ghost would haunt her handlebars and that she would have to contend with bike-hating dogs, a bike-loving horse, bike-crushing pigs, and a mysterious lady dressed in black. Over the uphills and downhills of her journey, Bicycle discovers that friends are not such a bad thing to have after all, and that a dozen cookies really can solve most problems.

Readers will eagerly join Bicycle and “pedal headfirst” into this terrific adventure, which is chock-full of heart and humor. Kirkus Star

The better news is that the book is also a hoot and a half. Filled to brimming with a good smattering of healthy quirk, it’s a quixotic quest book, a paean to the American landscape, and there are pigs. What else could you want? ... I can’t wait to read this one to my daughter when she’s just a little bit older. Elizabeth Bird School Library Journal

About the Texas Blue Bonnet Award:

The Texas Bluebonnet Award (TBA) reading program was established in 1979 to encourage Texas children to read more books, explore a variety of current books, develop powers of discrimination, and identify their favourite books. How does a book become a Bluebonnet book?...  In January, students vote for their favourite title. The author of the book receiving the most votes wins the Texas Bluebonnet Award (TBA) which is presented at the Texas Bluebonnet Award presentation held in the spring. You can see previous master list titles here. And here is the 2022-23 Master List. 

One more thing - you might like to investigate these Polish words. The first part here is what Bicycle intended to say:

Cześć, jak się masz
Mam na imię rower i przebyłem długą drogę, aby cię poznać

But what she says is: 

Chcesz włożyć zebrę do nosa?

The Great Elephant Chase by Gillian Cross

Tad watches in wonder as a showman entertains the crowd with a live elephant. When night falls he tries to find somewhere to shelter and oddly he finds himself in the train box housing the elephant. The pair immediately form a bond. When Tad is discovered by the owner of the elephant, Michael Keenan, the showman sees an opportunity. Tad can clean and care for Khush in exchange for his silence now that Tad knows the trick used by the showman. While the people stand and stare at the enormous beast Khush sweeps in with his trunk and lifts a young cripple girl up into the air. You can see this scene used for one of the older book covers below. When Khush puts her down gently, Michael Kennan rushes to her side and he gives her some green medicine. The girl stands up and she tosses away her crutches - seemingly cured. Micheal Keenan declare this is all due to an elixir he has administered to the young girl and he has plenty of bottles ready to sell but of course this is not true. Cissie is his daughter and this is a scam - a scam that makes the elephant owner lots of money.

That night, though, events take a dramatic turn. Michael Keenan and his eldest daughter are killed in a train accident. Cissie survives. Along comes a man called Hannibal Jackson claims Michael Keenan sold Khush just hours before the accident. He wants Khush and so now the race is on. Tad and Cissie need to protect and save Khush. Cissie is sure the contract of sale is a fake. She wants to reach her friend Ketty but Nebraska is 2000 miles from Pittsburgh. 

The writing in The Great Elephant Chase is so atmospheric. You will feel every splash of water as the children travel along various rivers, you will know exactly how the skin of an elephant feels, and you will shudder each time Mr Jackson and his despicable companion Miss Esther appear and nearly catch hold of Khush. Tad and Cissie are the heroes of this story but it is Khush who will win your heart. This book would make a terrific family or class read aloud but when you do this I suggest you will need to grab a map because the story involves a long journey down the Ohio River, the Mississippi River and the Missouri River over 2000 miles through many US States.

When I read The Girl who Stole an Elephant in May, 2020 I thought of The Great Elephant chase so when I saw a disposed copy in a school library I happily picked it up to read again.

There's a suspenseful race to the finish and a satisfying number of surprises Kirkus

I read the whole book in one sitting - yes it is that good and this book is still available at a really good price. The Great elephant chase was first published in 1992. It won the Whitbread Children's Book Award and the Smarties Prize. Here is an interview with Gillian Cross. You can read more plot details here and here is a website for Gillian.

Here are some of the older covers. As usual I find all of these different designs very interesting. 

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart

First off you might like to grab a map.  I'm in Australia so my knowledge of American states is fairly basic. Coyote and her father live in a bus. It's a converted school bus which they have named Yager. They don't have a destination. They just travel from place to place, across the US continent, occasionally picking up a traveler. Coyote believes she has to look after her dad. They are both suffering after the death of Coyote's mum and two sisters but this topic is banned and so while the pair are moving forward on their journey (they have been traveling for five years) they are not moving forward with their grief.

Each week Coyote makes a call to her Grandmother who lives back in their home town of Poplin Springs, Washington State. The news delivered by her Grandmother is a catastrophe for Coyote. Just before her mother and sisters were killed in a road accident the four of them buried a memory box in a local park. Coyote learns the park is being dug up to make way for a new intersection. Coyote is in Florida when she hears this news. Now she has to work out a way to get her father to drive 3,600 miles to Washington State and he cannot know why they need to go home.

Along the way, with Coyote desperately trying to make her dad hurry, they collect a few passengers. A new special friend for Coyote  - a boy named Salvador, a musician named Lester, a cat called Ivan, Val, a teenager who is running away from home, a goat, Salvador's mum Esperanza Vega and her sister Concepcion.

I started this book on Sunday afternoon and finished it midday Monday. Yes it is that good - reading this book over the last 24 hours became my addiction.

Colby Sharp video review:
"A remarkable book"
"One of those books you're just on the edge of your seat."
"You'll find things that need to get done aren't getting done because you're choosing this book over ... doing the dishes or folding the laundry or watch Netflix"
"If you're in a reading rut and you're looking for a book that you'll just have to keep turning pages .. read this book!"

Dan Gemeinhart talks to Mr Shu about the book cover the writing of this book. Here is a teachers guide and set of discussion questions from the publisher. Here is an audio sample from Chapter One.

In an interview for Horn Book Dan Gemeinhart said he loved journey stories such as A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park (I adore this book); Bud not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (this book has scenes that will linger with me forever); and two other books I need to put on my to read list Under a Painted sky by Stacey Lee and Train I ride by Paul Mosier.

Click these review extracts to read more about the plot and characters.

It's a grand old journey across the United States in search of a pork chop sandwich with a gang who can name their favorite book, their favorite place and their favorite sandwich.  It's a tale of pain and grief and choices and sharing and opportunity and Uno and a wise cat and all the richness of a life. A Book and a Hug

In this book, the author builds trust between the reader and the author. So much so that you can have a scene where two characters scream their secrets into the wind on the top of a moving school bus and it’ll feel real and earned rather than a sneaky plot device meant to further the characters’ emotional growth in the eyes of the reader. Elizabeth Bird School Library Journal

I would pair The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise with Savvy by Ingrid Law. I am putting US and UK covers.  Look closely for the pink bus.

When you read The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise you will also want to read The One and Only Ivan (remember I told you the cat is called Ivan) and Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan.

The curious world of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

"I thought about it and realized that I, too was an explorer.  Hadn't I crossed the wide ocean to England with Mr Dickens? Hadn't I drifted down the great Mississippi with Huck? Didn't I travel in time and space every time I opened a book?"

I adored The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate so I waited a little while before beginning this second installment.  I was worried it might not be as good as the first.  There was no need to worry at all. The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate is just as good as the first book.  You could actually read this one without reference to the first because Jacqueline Kelly includes just the right amount of recapping and back story but because I loved the first book I recommend you try to start from the beginning.

In some ways Calpurnia (Callie Vee) has a small life.  She has never traveled beyond the nearby town, she has not been to the ocean and she is expected to learn the ways of a lady.  Luckily Callie is a curious girl who sees so much potential and wonder in her world.  With the support of her very well read Grandfather, Callie is able to ask lots of questions and receive guidance in how to explore the answers.  Her grandfather has an extensive library which Callie is able to use and in this second installment she is also able to explore the wonderful book collection owned by a local veterinarian  Dr Pritzker.  We see Callie make an astrolabe, a barometer and begin a series of animal dissections beginning with a grasshopper then a frog.

Callie has learned to observe her world in a scientific way but sadly she is also living at a time when girls are not given any credit for their intellect.  Callie, for example, is given only $5 when her father returns from assisting with the Galveston Hurricane while her brothers are given $10.  Worse though, is the way her expectations of university study are totally crushed.

"I suddenly realized that the moment and the stage were mine.  ... 'Well, Calpurnia, we might be able to, uh, send you to college for a year. That should be long enough for you to  earn your teaching certificate, I should think.'  I couldn't believe what I was hearing. One year. Not two. .... the injustice of it overwhelmed me.  Then what popped into my head was the question that ... I'd be waiting to ask my whole life.  ... 'How is that fair?"

The year is 1900.  There is change in the air.  Callie discovers the wonders of the typewriter thanks to her older cousin who has come to stay with the family following the hurricane.  Travis is still obsessed by animals and so Callie is able to learn more about armadillos, a blue jay, a black-spotted newt and a dog named Scruffy that is half coyote.  Callie also opens her first bank account and in this scene her father redeems himself.

"Everything is fine, Father. ... I have come to open an account.' ... 'Why on earth do you need that?' I thought quickly.  'You're always telling us to save our money, so I thought this would be the best place to do it' ... 'it's an excellent idea, and you shall set a good example for them (the boys). Come, I'll introduce you to the president, and we'll get you started."

Callie deposits $7.58 - her life savings but there is a promise of more money to come.  She is now working for the vet and he his paying her to type is labels and accounts, she has her weekly allowance and some of the farmers give her small payments when she makes deliveries for Dr Pritzker.


Instead of giving up, Callie Vee comes up with a plan to prevail, teaching the readers that, no matter the circumstance, you can achieve more; try harder and let those nay-sayings fall on deaf ears.  Kinderlit

But not to worry….Callie, the witty and sincere narrator, is “smart as a tree full of owls” and won’t be denied her dreams of being a veterinarian or anything else she puts her mind to.   Kirkus

Kelly seeds the story with enough small, stinging incidents of gender discrimination that when eventually Callie stops weeping over “the hard fact of being a half citizen in my own home” and determines to find a way to fulfill her ambition, it’s both believable and cheer-worthy.   Horn Book

The evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

"It turned out to be not a book at all but a wooden box trickily carved and painted to look like a calf-bound volume. Strange, I fiddled with it and found the catch and the box opened. Inside was a waxed paper parcel containing a thick roast beef sandwich. ... Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life really."

This is a description of a gift to Callie (Calpurnia Virginia Tate) by her Grandaddy.  None of her six brothers have even dared to talk to him but over the summer of 1899-1900 Callie ventures into his world - his workshop, his scientific endeavours and discovers her own passions and curiosity.  She reads the work of Darwin and her grand father shows her how to record her observations in her notebook - how to observe the world.

In 1899, though, a young lady is expected to learn sewing, knitting, cooking and housekeeping. Callie is eleven, almost twelve, and she has no interest in these things.

"My biscuits were like stone, my samplers askew, my seams like rickrack. ... My mother's life was a never-ending round of maintenance. Not one single thing she did ever achieve but that it had to be done all over again, one day, one week or one season later. Oh the monotony."

Callie does her best to rage against her mother's expectations so she can follow her desire to study plants and animals.  She has a warm relationship with her brothers but they do not share her interest. The title is simply perfect as we watch Callie evolve into a different girl aided by the gentle and wise encouragement of her precious grandfather.  Each chapter also begins with a quote from Darwin's famous book The Origin of the Species.

You can see this book is a Newbery honor book. I read all 338 pages in one day - yes it is that good!

Here is an excellent and very detailed review in the School Library Journal.  Read about Jacqueline Kelly and the sequel to The evolution of Calpurnia Tate.  Take a look at the Kirkus star review.  here is an interview with Jacqueline Kelly well worth reading.  Listen to this audio sample taken from page 14.

As an added bonus there are some wonderful words in this book :

quadroon
pestiferous
chivvied
repose
citadel
tenuous
perspicacious

I would follow this book with Chains and of course the sequel - The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate.

Set in a time of great change, this story combines humor, beautiful writing, and unforgettable characters, to give readers a book that they will remember long after 

the last page is read.

Wish upon a unicorn by Karen Hesse

"Hannie and I were walking home from school when we saw a unicorn in Newell's field. It wasn't a real unicorn. There's no such thing as a real unicorn.  It was just a stuffed thing, propped up against the fence post."

When they find the unicorn Mags knows it cannot really grant wishes but then oddly two wishes (fairly simple ones) do come true so perhaps it is time to make the biggest wish of all.

"I just wanted to be like everyone else, living in a house big enough so we wouldn't be tiptoeing around Mama sleeping on the living room couch in the middle of the day. ... I wanted to look and act and be just like the other kids at school and not be embarrassed about who I am."

Wish on a Unicorn is a very short book with just over 100 pages but it is an emotional story about a life in poverty, the struggles of living with a disabled sibling, the desperate need to fit in with your peer group and the need to protect the ones you love. Mags also has to contend with a bully, her mother's moods and trying to keep her brother Mooch out of trouble.

Mama works all night and sleeps through the day which means younger brother Mooch is left to roam the neighborhood - he is not yet old enough to attend school.  Little sister Hannie is eight.  "She looks normal enough ... Mama's says she's slow on account of she didn't get enough air to breathe when she was being born."

There were moments in this book when I simply had to stop reading.  One of the first wishes by Mags is for new clothes.  Perhaps coincidentally a bag of almost new clothes arrives from her aunt.  Among the collection is a special sweater with a penguin on the front.  Mags wears it to school hoping this will make Alice and Patty Jo might notice her. I just hoped they would like it and not ridicule her. There is another scene late in the story when Mags tries to cross a busy highway - it is truly terrifying.

Karen Hesse really captures the right tone with her expressions in this book :

"I wasn't moving my skinny self over there in any hurry."
"Hannie runs slower than cold gravy"
"Hannie's as stubborn as boot leather"
"Even if you're turned inside-out hungry"
"he was clinging like an old bean creeper to a pole"
"her mouth sweet and round like a pink-iced doughnut"
"It felt worse than sour milk on an empty stomach"

Karen Hesse really did see a unicorn toy in a field and this incident inspired the book Wish upon a Unicorn. Our copy of this book has a question and answer section at the back where you can read more about this talented writer and award winning writer.

I am a huge fan of Karen Hesse.  Read my reviews of Out of the Dust, Sable and Lavender.   You might also like to read Waiting for Normal it has a similar theme, tone and setting.

Here are two other covers - which one do you prefer?

Serafina and the black cloak by Robert Beatty

Serafina must seek the answers that will unlock the puzzle of her past.

Start with the trailer for this book - it is fabulous.

Now read this book - Yes!! you must read this book you will understand what I am about to share. I started this book last night thinking (as usual I would read a few pages).  I read over 100.  Today I took the book to a meeting.  I sat in the car and grabbed a few reading minutes. At chapter 24 something truly terrifying happens and I had to stop reading to get to my meeting!  Waiting to get back to this book was agony.

Serafina works with her Pa at the Biltmore Estate owned by the Vanderbilt family.  Serafina seems not quite human : "She had a skinny little body, nothing but muscle and bone .. Her long hair wasn't a single color like normal people had, but varying shades of gold and light brown. ... She had large, steady amber eyes. She could see at night as well as she could during the day."  This last skill is important because it is her job to catch rats around the house.  She is the CRC - Chief Rat Catcher although the Valerbilts don't even know she exists.

One night Serafina witnesses some thing truly frightening.  She sees a little girl in a yellow dress being chased through the dark corridors of the house by a man in a huge black silk cloak.  "He tangled her in his arms. She flailed and struck him in the face with her tiny fists .... the folds of the cloak slithered around her like the tentacles of a hungry serpent ... Then the fold closed over her, the scream went silent and the girl disappeared, leaving nothing but the blackness of the cloak."

This little girl, who is now missing, is called Clara.  She is the first of many missing children. Together with her new ally and friend Braeden Vanderbilt, nephew to Mrs and Mrs Vanderbilt, Serafina knows this is a mystery which must be solved but at what cost?  The final scenes will leave you gasping.

Read this review by my fellow blogger Mr K.  This is how I discovered this gem.  You can read  part of the first chapter on the Disney web site.  Good news there is a sequel - it is now on my shopping list.  Here is a set of teaching notes and a set about the vocabulary used in the book which is set in the Southern United States.

After reading Serafina and the black cloak I suggest TheThickety series, Fire girl or Fearless by Tim Lott.  All of these books are for very mature Primary readers.

Beatty spins an enchanting mystery through lonely Serafina's golden eyes. As she begins to defy her loving, protective father and involve herself in the estate’s doings, she comes ever closer to uncovering the villain and the secret behind her own origins. Each new clue adds another brush stroke to this keenly perceptive portrait of a young girl searching for answers 

about herself and the world around her. 

A snicker of magic by Natalie Lloyd

"A snicker?"

"That's magic leftover," Jonah explained.  

"Not good for much, not as fancy as it used to be - but enough to make it special."

There are some books, the best books really, that are so beautifully told that you just feel as though you are really there - in that town or school or home.  I have just spent three days in Midnight Gulch, Tennessee with my new friends Felicity Juniper Pickle, her best friend Jonah Pickett, her wise little sister Frannie Jo and all the other wonderful people of this magic town who are connected in ways you just need to discover.  I have also fallen in love with the idea of collecting words.  Felicity sees words hovering over people - real words and invented words but always true words.  This is such a terrific idea and by the end of A snicker of magic I wanted to collect all these words and put them in a jar for myself. This is a bit like the idea behind Donavan's word jar and the magic reminded me of A Tangle of Knots and Savvy.  The other lovely ingredient in this book comes from the town ice cream factory. You will want to eat huge spoonfulls of :

• Andy's snickerdoodle sucker punch
• Day's chocolate orange switcheroo
• Marsh-Mallory Mocha Delight
• Jim's just-vanilla's-all-I- want

But be very careful before you dip into Blackberry Sunrise.  "People buy it by the gallon because it helps them remember.  The problem is that you don't know what kindof memory this ice cream's going to dredge up.... if the blackberries taste sweet, you remember something good. But if you take a bite and the blackberry are sour, well ... "

A gulch is a narrow valley with deep sides.  This makes it perfect for a small community and perhaps for a place where you can feel safe and at home. Midnight Gluch is a town with a long history and with citizens famous for many different types of magic.  Sadly years ago magic seems to have left the town when two famous brothers, Stone and Berry Weatherly, known as the Brothers Threadbare held their famous duel in 1910.  When Stone lost the duel, after three days of frantic music, magic left the town and worse a curse descended.  It is now nearly a century later and Felicity feels she is cursed. Her mum is a wanderer.  The little family of three never stay long in any one town but as our story begins they arrive back in Midnight Gulch - the town of her childhood.

Here are some words from this book :
splendiferous
spindiddly
everlasting
snickerdoodles
clutzerdoodle
spunkter
siffle-miffle
apple fritter
hope
believe

Read this splendid review in the New York Times.  This reviewer loved A snicker of Magic so much she is predicting it will reach the Newbery for 2015.  "Every so often a book comes along where you say to yourself, “I feel privileged to know that I live in a world where books like this exist.” They are books that are forever imprinted upon your heart, a heartprint book if you will."

Apart from the books I mentioned above after you read A snicker of Magic you should look for Waiting for Normal and Pie.   Here is a blog site for the author who actually has a dog called Biscuit. Activities for this book from Scholastic.  Below I have included covers from the Italian and German editions of this book. You can listen to part of the story here. I do hope I have convinced you to read this magical book - I promise you will not be disappointed.

this tale offers all the other earmarks of fine storytelling, including colorful, eccentric characters, an original, 

highly likable narrator and a mighty “spindiddly” plot. 

Bag in the wind by Ted Kooser illustrated by Barry Root

"One cold, windy morning early in spring, a bulldozer was pushing a big pile of garbage around a landfill when it uncovered an empty plastic bag."

Thus begins the journey of a plastic bag over the fence where it is eventually found by a girl collecting cans.  She leaves the bag with the lady at the gas station who has paid for her recycling but the bag blows away again and is found by a homeless man.

"A tall man with long hair and a beard came limping along the side of the road, using a metal crutch. The bag came rolling along the shoulder toward him and he caught it with the tip of his crutch.  He leaned down and picked it up and wadded it into his pocket"

The bag 'escapes' again and is found by several more people until finally it returns to the little girl who had been collecting cans.  She has saved her money and has come into a second hand store to buy a baseball glove and ball.  Bag in the Wind is a lyrical exploration of an important environmental topic.  Here is some background reading about the problems with plastic bags.  The setting for Bag in the Wind is American but there is an Australian campaign to reduce or eliminate the use of bags which is also worth exploring with your students.  Bag in the Wind is in our Picture book collection but it could also be placed in Non Fiction because it does have excellent pages of factual information at the back.  Here is an excellent Q&A with Ted Kooser and a poster you could use to promote this special book.

You might like to also read my review of House Held up by trees also by Ted Kooser.

The exquisitely observed narrative renders the American landscape’s dubious symbiosis—nominally natural, persistently industrial—worthy of a child’s attention: “There were lots of young trees along the ditch, their twigs covered with hard little buds that would soon open, and the bag got caught on a branch and hung there the rest of the night, flapping and slapping in the wind.” 

Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner

On first glance this looks like a simple short junior novel. It is in fact none of those things.  This is the story of little Willy who lives with his grandfather in the wilds of America in the mid nineteenth century.  Life on the potato farm is complex and huge debts have been accrued with the tax office   Willy's granddad does not know what to do and so he simply shuts down. He takes to his bed unable to move or speak.

Willy owns a very special dog called Searchlight. "Searchlight was a big black dog.  She had a white spot on her forehead the size of a silver dollar.  She was an old dog - actually born on the same day as little Willy, which was over ten years ago."

When his grand father will not get out of bed or respond to his surroundings, Willy calls the doctor.  It is clear something is deeply troubling the old man but the doctor says that while there is nothing wrong with him physically until they can find out the real worry he may just waste away. Willy is determined to keep the farm going including harvesting the potato crop. He does this with the help of Searchlight.  Then he sees a poster in town advertising a dog race.  The prize is five hundred dollars - enough to clear all the debt but Willy will be up against a serious rival an Indian man called Stone Fox.

This year I thought I would re-read some favourite or memorable books.  I am so glad I picked up Stone Fox.  This is a powerful story of love and loyalty and the final scenes of the dog race will linger with you long after you have closed the cover.

Here is a set of teaching notes.  Here is a moving trailer.

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

Re-reading books falls into three categories for me. Firstly, I re-read books every year to students in my library.  There are some books like The Amazing Adventures of Chilly Billy by Peter Mayle that I have now read hundreds of times.  Secondly there are books I want to read again but somehow cannot find the time. I look at them longingly in my library and hope one day I can pick them up but there are always so many new books to explore.  Thirdly there are books like Sarah, Plain and Tall which I do occasionally re-read just for the shear love of the story.  I do not really have a top ten or top twenty book list but if I did Sarah, Plain and Tall would certainly make the list.

Looking at the publication date of 1985 I imagine I must have read this book when it was first published although I have no real memory of this.  I have tried on a few occasions to read this book aloud to students but the first chapter does make me cry every time.

"What did I look like when I was born?' 'You didn't have any clothes on,' I told him.  'I know that,' he said ... 'And she named me Caleb,' he went on filling in the old familiar story.... 'And Mama handed me to you in the yellow blanket and said ..' He waited for me to finish the story, 'And said ..?' I sighed. 'And Mama said , 'Isn't he beautiful, Anna?' 'And I was,' Caleb finished.  Caleb thought the story was over, and I didn't tell him what I really thought.  He was homely and plain, and he had a terrible holler and a horrid smell.  But these were not the worst of him.  Mama died the next morning. That was the worst thing about Caleb."

Quoting this section from page two of this very famous book I have just noticed the blanket was yellow.  This is significant because when Sarah arrives to join the family and possibly marry Pa she is wearing a yellow hat.  A beautiful memory of Mama is that she sang.  Anna asks Sarah in a letter if she likes to sing.

"Dear Jacob, I will come by train.  I will wear a yellow bonnet. I am plain and tall. Sarah.  ... Tell them I sing..."

I think Sarah, Plain and tall resonates with readers because it has such honesty.  Patricia MacLachlan based this book on a true event in her family history.  There is a movie of this book but I strongly recommend reading this very short novel first.  It only takes about one hour to read right through. If you enjoy Sarah, Plain and Tall you should also read Black-eyed Susan.  I do wonder that I am drawn to these books about life as an early settler in America.  It probably goes back to all the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder I read as a child. I simply devoured those books.  There are four more books in the series about Anna and Caleb.  The cover I have put here is not the same as my copy.  I have the Puffin edition from England.  Here is a very comprehensive set of teaching notes.  I also own a cassette tape of this story read by Glenn Close.  Click these links if you want to read more of the plot or a detailed review.

Black-eyed Susan by Jennifer Armstrong

Here is another old book which we have had to take out of our library due to wear and tear. Black-eyed Susan is a mix of Little House on the Prairie and Sarah Plain and Tall. I need to hunt for a replacement copy (1997).

Susie lives on the plains of Dakota. Even though I am not at all familiar with this landscape, Armstrong is such a lyrical writer I have a vivid picture in my mind from her words. 

“There wasn’t a tree within twenty miles of us, just some twisty box elders and cottonwoods along the creek … we shared the view again seeing how the land lay about us and fell in swells and rises, the movement of the wind visible in the movement of the grass.”

Susie lives in a sod house made from the earth with her mother and father but while Susie celebrates life every day by standing on the roof, arms outstretched to welcome the sun, her mother is living in the fog a deep depression. She can no longer leave the house and seems unable to smile or enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

Susie and her father travel to town. Susie sees a piano for the first time and has fun interacting with the owners of the local general store. On the way home they meet up with a family of eight from Iceland who are moving west to start a new life. Susie and her father invite them to stay the night and this encounter becomes a turning point for Susie’s mother. She can now move on with her life and she might even bake a pie!

The title comes from the flowers her father plants each year on the roof of their sod house. 

“Every spring he planted them thick on the roof .. and when they bloomed in summer you could see our house standing out from the green prairie from just miles away.”

I probably should not have reviewed this book since it is no longer in our school library but perhaps you will be lucky and find one somewhere. If not you must read Sarah Plain and Tall and you might also enjoy Hill Hawke Hattie by Clara Gillow Clark. There is also a sod house in the Laura Ingalls Wilder book On the Banks of Plum Creek. You can see some photos of actual sod houses here. 

This happy ending seems a little unrealistic, but children will find it satisfying. The story has a strong sense of character, e.g., Susie's language as she narrates depicts a child in love with the literature her mother reads in their isolation. The emotional hardships of pioneer life are made clear in a loving family story. Kirkus