Notes from the Dog by Gary Paulsen

14-year-old Finn lives with his dad and his amazing dog, Dylan. He's hoping for a summer where he doesn't have to talk to anyone except his buddy, Matthew. That changes when he meets Johanna, the graduate student who is living next door - she's very cool and she has breast cancer. Finn comes out of his shell as he helps Johanna raise money for the cause and as he takes to heart the notes that Dylan brings to him (written, of course, by Johanna).

William S. and the Great Escape by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

12-year-old William S. Badgett is the big brother who must lead his two sisters and brother away from their abusive father, who wants to make sure all his children are at home so that he can collect as much "New Deal" money as possible. William is anxious to drop his last name and become William S - probably for Shakespeare. Having played Ariel in a school play, he has become a Shakespeare aficionado. Many references to Shakespeare quotes and plays. Upper elementary

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

I picked up this book because of the amazing full-color illustrations (by the author herself). As I read the book I kept thinking about all the elements of folktales that it included. Sure enough, Lin explains in the back of the book that it is based on stories from Chinese folktales. Minli, is the daughter of poor parents who live near Fruitless Mountina and the Jade River. Minli spends a coin on a goldfish that is supposedly going to bring her good luck. She sets off to find the Old Man of the Moon* who might tell her the true secret to good fortune. She is off on a quest filled with dragons, talkng fish and othre mystical elements. Grades 3-6.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

"So Mom got the postcard today." That's how this novel, set in New York in the 1970s, begins. We are quickly introduced to Miranda and her mother, who is practicing for the $20,000 Pyramid. 12-year-old Miranda is hooked on a book about Meg and Calvin and time travel. (We recognize it almost immediately as Wrinkle in Time). We also meet Marcus who understands Miranda's obsession with the time travel book. This is a bit of realistic fiction, science fiction, and just plain fun. A page turner for middle school children.

Very ironic - I recently visited the Riverside Public Library. On the outside is the phrase, "There is no past so long as books shall live," by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, a Victorian novelist, who also penned the phrase, "It was a dark and stormy night." It just so happens that this is also the phrase that begins A Wrinkle in Time.

Operation Redwood

Julian Carter-Li is staying with this aunt and uncle while his mother is on assignment in China. A sick day spent in his uncle's office leads him to an e-mail that declares his uncle to be a "moron and world-class jerk." Plans are under way to cut down a redwood forest located next to the farm of Robin Elder and her family. And Robin is out to save the trees. It's a realistic fiction book (reminds me of Hoot) that shows what happens when children stand up to big corporations. The characters, Julian, Robin (who is home-schooled) and Danny Lopez, come to life through their e-mails. Great story for middle schoolers.

The Postcard by Tony Abbott

I was attracted to this book because of the illustrations - old postcards from Sarasota, Florida, but it was the fast-moving pace of the story that kept me reading. 13-year-old Jason helps his father clean out his recently deceased grandmother's home. An old postcard of a soon-to-be demolished hotel leads him on a search to find an old manuscript that might lead to the story behind his grandparents' romance. Grades 6-9.