Daughter of the Mountains

Author	Susan Fletcher
ISBN	0689830513

Originally reviewed on my blog, Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing.

Shadow Spinner by Susan Fletcher is set in Ancient Persia and it is a retelling of 1001 Arabian Nights. The original tale is the story of Shaharazad, the young woman who tells stories each night to the Sultan, ending before...

Author	Naomi Shihab Nye
ISBN	0689825234

An award-winning novel about identity, family, and friendship from renowned writer and editor Naomi Shihab Nye.

The day after Liyana got her first real kiss, her life changed forever. Not because of the kiss, but because it was the day her father announced that the family was moving from St....

Author	Barbara Cohen
ISBN	0688135633

In an ancient Arab nation, one woman dares to be different. Buran cannot—Buran will not—sit quietly at home and wait to be married to the man her father chooses. Determined to use her skills and earn a fortune, she instead disguises herself as a boy and travels by camel caravan to a distant city. There,...

Author

Eloise Jarvis McGraw

I really liked this book when I was 11, and I really liked this book twenty-one years later. Somehow Eloise Jarvis McGraw makes Ranofer, the main character, easily relatable without turning him into a kid that thinks, talks and acts like a twentieth century American kid who happens to be living in ancient...

Author	Meindert DeJong
ISBN	0064402002

Here's one I've picked up for my little guy's library. We can't resist a book with a shiny medal on the cover. I like to read kid books between my "grownup" books because they are easier to focus on during my "book hangovers". You know, when a particular book is so thought provoking that your mind is foggy...

Author

Kate Seredy

Jancsi is overjoyed to hear that his cousin from Budapest is coming to spend the summer on his father's ranch on the Hungarian plains. But their summer proves more adventurous than he had hoped when headstrong Kate arrives, as together they share horseback races across the plains, country fairs and...

Author	Richard J. Maybury
ISBN	0942617525

In "Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?" Richard Maybury uses historical events from Ancient Rome to explain economic principles. This clearly written book about economics is a remarkably easy and fun explanation of investment cycles, velocity, business cycles, recessions, inflation, the demand...

Author	Elizabeth Enright
ISBN	0152022724

Summer has a magic all its own.

When Portia sets out for a visit with her cousin Julian, she expects fun and adventure, but of the usual kind: exploring in the woods near Julian's house, collecting stones and bugs, playing games throughout the long, lazy days.

But this summer is different.

On...

Author	James Ramsey Ullman
ISBN	0064470482

The Citadel

It stands unconquered, the last great summit of the Alps. Only one man has ever dared to approach the top, and that man died in his pursuit. He was Josef Matt, Rudi Matt's father.

At sixteen, Rudi is determined to pay tribute to the man he never knew, and complete the quest that...

Author	Howard Pyle
ISBN	0486217841

A rich and engrossing thread of Romance runs through this tale of the motherless son of a valiant robber baron of Medieval Germany. Young Otto, born into a warring household in an age when lawless chiefs were constantly fighting each other or despoiling the caravans of the merchant burghers, is raised...

Author	Eloise Jarvis McGraw
ISBN	0140321705

Jim Keath has lived for six years as a Crow Indian when he learns that his two younger brothers and a sister are journeying west to take up land. Although Jim finds it difficult to fit in with the family he hasn't seen since childhood, and though they are wary and distrustful of him, Jim feels his duty is at...

Author	Katherine Paterson
ISBN	0064402819

Who is the man called Sabura, the mysterious bandit who robs the rich and helps the poor? And what is his connection with Yosida, the harsh and ill- tempered master of feudal Japan's most famous puppet theater? Young Jiro, an apprentice to Yosida, is determined to find out, even at risk to his own life.

Meamwhile,...

Author	Rhoda Blumberg
ISBN	0060086254

In 1853, few Japanese people knew that a country called America even existed. For centuries, Japan had isolated itself from the outside world by refusing to trade with other countries and even refusing to help shipwrecked sailors, foreign or Japanese. The country's people still lived under a feudal...

Author	Jean Fritz
ISBN	0142407615

This is the twenty-fifth anniversary of Jean Fritz's award-winning account of her life in China, and to honor this story, it is only fitting that it be added to our prestigious line of Puffin Modern Classics. This fictionalized autobiography tells the heartwarming story of a little girl growing up...

Author	Ann Weil
ISBN	0140328580

The minute he saw the boat with the red sails moving into the harbor, Michele knew that something exciting was going to happen. It was the biggest and most beautiful ship fourteen-year-old Michele had ever seen. Sailing on the ship were three men who would come to stay at Michele's parents' inn. The men...

Author	Madeleine A. Polland
ISBN	1883937086

Two cultures, two faiths, struggle against each other in this exciting story by Madeleine Polland. You can almost hear the clash of arms and taste the Great Hall feasts in this authentic recreation of 9th century Europe, when Viking raiders ravaged the coasts of Ireland. Amid the battles and shipwrecks...

Author	Huynh Quang Nhuong
ISBN	0064401839

An ALA Notable Children’s Book and a Booklist Editors’ Choice, about one young man’s memories of the land he called home.

The land I love was lost to me forever.

Huynh Quang Nhuong grew up in the highlands of Vietnam, next to the jungle teeming with wildlife. Encounters with tigers,...

Author	D. Jeanene Watson
ISBN	0880620129

Serving the Poorest of the Poor Agnes and her family lived in Macedonia in eastern Europe. Agnes eagerly read letters by missionaries from faraway places. She especially enjoyed the letters from Calcutta, India. Eventually Agnes arrived in Calcutta where she taught young, well-to-do girls. They...

Author

Wayne Grover

Yes, I know this is not a new book. But, it is such a good one and so often overlooked, that I wanted to mention it here. It is not your typical classroom read aloud-it is a little slow and dry at parts and the teacher should really pair it with other materials to build background knowledge on Saudi Arabia. However,...

Author	Carolyn Treffinger
ISBN	0802774687

While I do in some if not actually in many ways consider Carolyn Treffinger's Li Lun: Lad of Courage both readable and inspiring (that is to say I find the main protagonist's, I find Li Lun's courage, his inventiveness and his skills at solving the multitude of problems that his being sent to plant and grow...

Author	Pearl S. Buck
ISBN	0064401715

Kino lives on a farm on the side of a mountain in Japan. His friend, Jiya, lives in a fishing village below. Everyone, including Kino and Jiya, has heard of the big wave. No one suspects it will wipe out the whole village and Jiya's family, too. As Jiya struggles to overcome his sorrow, he understands it is...

Author	Holling Clancy Holling
ISBN	0395266815

Delightful! Holling tells a multi-generational story about fatherhood, the wonders of the natural world, the joy of discovery, and the pride of hard work, all in 27 single-page chapters. Each chapter is told in lively, poetic prose and faces a gorgeous full-color illustration. The margins are filled...

Author	Janet Benge
ISBN	1576581470

I have been wanting to read about William Carey for years. It was perfect to read to my children who are nine and eleven years old. We were doing a study on India. This book was the last part of the study.

This book really covers a lot. The first half of it talks about Williams time as a child being a weaving...

Author	Janet Benge
ISBN	1576581489

Inspiring book about a woman's journey for 39 years in the deepest area of the African jungle. She would take very limited furlough and serve these people in any way she could. She helped the people break from their dangerous and deadly practices by offering education, medical care, and hope. She rescued...

Author	Mitali Perkins
ISBN	1580893082

The Rickshaw Girl is a fictional story about a young girl growing up in Bangladesh named Naima. In order to make ends meet, her father had to borrow money to buy a rickshaw and must make payments. Naima wants desperately to help her family, but girls are not allowed to work, and she has no brothers to take...

Author	John Bytheway
ISBN	1570087245

Some people are experts at feeling rotten. No matter what happens, they can always find a cloud attached to their silver lining. How do they do that? How do miserable people get that way? This book has the answers! With surefire suggestions like "Recycle regrets," Take counsel from your fears," "Relive...

Author	Brandon Mull
ISBN	1629726168

Cursed by the Key of Forgetting, Seth has lost all memory of his past—his relationships, his experiences, and who he really is. For now he will align with his new mentor, Ronodin, the dark unicorn, who takes him to the Phantom Isle, the secret gateway to the Under Realm. Though Seth is not formally a prisoner,...

Author	Beverley Naidoo
ISBN	0064402371

If only Mma was here, Naledi wished over and over. . .

Mma lives and works in Johannesburg, far from the village thirteen-year-old Naledi and her younger brother, Tiro, call home. When their baby sister suddenly becomes very sick, Naledi and Tiro know, deep down, that only one person can save...