Kids Books - Literature

Natalie Babbitt, the author of Tuck Everlasting, sweeps readers along on the thought-stirring journey of Winnie Foster when she meets the eternally unaging Tuck family. The well-crafted characters included eleven-year-old Winnie Foster, a young girl who yearns to escape the confines of her yard and to be free of proper, beautiful clothing--and finally gets her wish. The Tuck family includes Mae Tuck, the caring, mentally old mother of the family, Angus Tuck, the weary father who wishes the Tucks could someday age and die to allow them back into the “wheel of life”, Miles, the oldest of two brothers whose wife left him under the belief he had sold his soul to the devil to say young, and Jesse, the eternally seventeen-year-old boy. There is also the eternally living horse, the yellow-suited man, and the somewhat dim constable. The book is set in the fictional town of Treegap, where there is a wood. In the middle of the wood, there is a pleasant touch-me-not cabin, in which the young Winnie foster lives with her parents and grandmother. The young girl escapes into the wood one day, and finds a spring, as which a boy, Jesse, is resting. When she sees the boy, she asks to drink from the spring, being dreadfully thirsty, but Jesse panically tries to stop her, and eventually Mae and Miles arrive, halting Winnie from drinking the water which would bless--or curse--her with eternal life. What follows is a story that can change how readers think forever. Personally, I admire Natalie's writing style and admire her ability to tell the story of the Tucks so creatively. She made me think a lot about what it might be like to live forever--is it really a good thing to never grow old? She also makes it easy to envision the wood and treegap in my mind’s eye; the amber and emerald light filtering through green leaves to the forest floor, the eternal ash tree, the animals, and the way she explains how things connect together. Samples of her writing style: “His tall body moved continuously; a foot tapped, a shoulder twitched. And it moved in angles, rather jerkily. But at the same time he had a kind of grace, like a well-handled marionette. Indeed, he seemed almost to hang suspended there in the twilight. But Winnie, though she was half charmed, was suddenly reminded of the stiff black ribbons they had hung on the door of the cottage for her grandfather's funeral.” “Into it all came Winnie, eyes wide, and very much amazed. It was a whole new idea to her that people could live in such disarray, but at the same time she was charmed. It was… comfortable. Climbing behind Mae up the stairs to see the loft, she thought to herself: ‘Maybe it's because they think they have forever to clean it up.’ And this was followed by another thought, far more revolutionary: ‘Maybe they just don't care!’” “There was a clearing directly in front of her, at the center of which an enormous tree thrust up, its thick roots rumpling the ground ten feet around in every direction. Sitting relaxed with his back against the trunk was a boy, almost a man. And he seemed so glorious to Winnie that she lost her heart at once.” “She rocked, gazing out at the twilight, and the soothing feeling came reliably into her bones. That feeling—it tied her to them, to her mother, her father, her grandmother, with strong threads too ancient and precious to be broken. But there were new threads now, tugging and insistent, which tied her just as firmly to the Tucks.” This book, despite being slightly short, really makes you think, and I love it--I plan on re-reading it until my eyes burn out. It makes the reader think and consider what it would be like to live forever, and it really makes you second-guess your first thoughts of immortality. It’s most certainly a must-read for anyone! -Dakota Corr.

I totally LOVE the secret series, it's super funny but it's mysterious too! Then there's tons of cool, magical things and creatures! The book is about two boys, Yo-Yoji, Max-Ernest (the boy with 2 names) and one girl, Cassandra, and on a trip to a museum, Cassandra accidentally breaks a finger off a mummy, and this led them to an adventure, and in the end of the book, they found out The Secret, a secret that was hunted down for centuries.

OH MY GOODNESS. I knew the third, often regarded as final, book in the Legend series was bound to cause some heartbreak, but I was absolutely crushed—in the best way possible—by the ending. Throughout the novel, millions of emotions kept building up: Day and June's sadness from being apart, their desperation and need to be with each other, but also the hesitance, anger, and anguish festering between them. Their relationship is developed in such a way I have never seen before. Amidst their conflicting emotions, a war between the Republic and the Colonies is in full swing, with Day and June at the heart of it. A new plague variant is spreading across the Colonies from the Republic, but the Republic does not have a cure—yet. By the end of this thrilling novel, the ball drops, and the war is resolved while a major crisis changes the trajectory of Day and June's relationship forever. So, so good. Five stars, always.

Nancy Drew, a 18-years-old girl who is often helping her father, Carson Drew, a lawyer to handle the cases. Until Nancy gotten herself wounded up in her very first case, A Secret of the Old Clock. The first book is about one man who recently passed away have promised people that he knew to get their wills. And in the ending Nancy had solved it. And in second book, Nancy met one 16-years-old girl, Laura Pendleton who is an orphan and took under control of the fake Aborn couples. In the ending of Book 2, Nancy have found the real Aborn couple and the fake Aborn couples were acted by the Dowds. And in the third book, Nancy and her cousins, George and Bess have flew to France with Nancy's father, Mr. Carson Drew to solve the mystery of 99 steps. One man, Claude Aubert was in the jail in States while another one, Claude's twin, Louis is still around the country of France. In the ending , Nancy had solved the case, again. I would definitely recommend this book for mysterious lovers! - Happy Reading!

I love this book because max is tough and so strong and fang is so cool. I also like when when they have to fight to get out of a bad situation. last I like it when it becomes fangs blog randomly.

Inheritance by: Christopher Paolini Reviewed by: Nick Drown Gr. 7 “Inheritance” by Christopher Paolini takes place in the ancient realm of Alagaesia where a hero’s struggle for the final battle against his antagonist Galbatorix - the evil king of Alagaesia - may or may not be successful. The kingdom of Alagaesia is a lot like the middle ages in the sense that there are castles and dragons, swords and shields. Elves, Dwarves, Urgals, and Ra’Zac roam the kingdom and make their civilizations throughout the Empire. The hero is Eragon and he is struggling to win the war against Galbatorix. Many times he has tried to thwart the mad king’s plans, and many times he has failed. Galbatorix is a usurper and his people live in fear. Eragon hopes to stop Galbatorix’s reign of terror by overthrowing him. Galbatorix seems to be winning the battles with the laughing dead - men who can feel no pain. Eragon must beat him or the Varden will die. Even though they are winning, the Empire is very worried. Galbatorix is insane, and the Varden have ACTUALLY captured two of their strongest cities: Gil’ead and Dras-Leona. The, Empire send out hundreds - even THOUSANDS of men but the Varden win most of the battles no matter what the odds. Now, because of a werecat’s prophecy, Eragon must journey to the Rock of Kuthian in order to find the power that will help him fight against Galbatorix. This could very well be the turning point of the war. What he finds there is legendary, perhaps even more than he can handle. He finds his true name and unlocks the Rock of Kuthian, which is the Vault of Dragon Souls, but, can he control what he finds? Saphira, Eragon’s great dragon, is one of the three dragons left on Alagaesia after Galbatorix’s purge and almost Extinction of Dragons. Saphira battles the two other dragons, Thorn and Shruikan, endangering her safety and the safety of her race. With two Dragons against her, can Saphira defeat her foes? However, unfortunately, if she kills them, she is the last of her kind. “Inheritance” by Christopher Paolini is a truly wonderful book and is full of action, adventure, suspense, and surprises that are unforgettable.

The Fellowship of the Ring is the sequel to the Hobbit, but is technically the first book in the three-book series, the Lord of the Rings. This story takes place in Middle- Earth, a unique fantasy land that is filled with magical creatures. There's a lot of background information, but at present, a hobbit named Frodo is given an ancient ring, forged by evil, which he must destroy in a far-off land. He is accompanied by a Fellowship (group). And so begins a magical story brimming to the top with adventure, excitement, and danger! This book is great, except it's pretty hard to understand and uses large vocabulary (even I was confused at some parts!). But don't let that stop you from reading it! This is one of the great classics that is not-so-classical, which I believe everyone should read at some point. If you like fantasy and action, this is a must- read!

Perfectly assembled into a masterpiece from tidbits of stories written for his son, Mr.Flanagan has crafted a story that has the right amount of action, humor, and romance, that will be worth staying up all night reading. The story follows the path of a young boy named Will and his other orphaned friends, who must choose their path of life on Choosing Day. Will like his friend Horace wants to enter Battleschool or Horseschool is denied because of his tiny stature. Later on, however, Will climbs a possible 4-story tower to see what the mysterious Ranger Halt had written about him. In the process, Will is accepted to be trained as Ranger under Halt. Throughout the story, we follow Will's training, the hardships that follow and how he becomes acquainted with his "enemy" Horace. Finally, the story ends with an epic battle with Good v.s the evil Morgarath which continues in Book 2 of the series. 5/5 stars this book is a must-read. Happy Readings! bean_boy

This book takes place before A New Hope begins. Princess Leia of Alderaan, more known as Leia, takes on her princessly tasks with duty and purpose. To prove to be the rightful heir to the throne, Leia must prove herself with three tasks- demanding her true spirit, body, and heart. However, it's hard to truly be excited about these tasks when your parents have been pushing you away and been in more secrecy than before. With time and lessons as well as new friends, this backstory of the famous Princess Leia is a great book for anyone looking for more depth about the famous female fighter in the Star Wars trilogy. Happy reading!

Inside out and back again is a book of well written poems. Although I prefer fantasy, this book is very intresting. It's about a Vietnemese girl named Hà who is forced to flee her home due to the Vietnemese war. She runs away on a ship with her mother and three older brothers and thousands of other vietnemese people. Then Hà moves to Arizona with her family and learns english. This book is also unexpectedly humorous. A specific part of the story that gave me a laugh was when Hà plucks the arm-hair of a man with bright golden-red hair out of curiosity. I reccomend Inside out and back again to grades four to seven.