Honus and Me by Dan Gutman
This book is about a kid named Joe Stoshack and his love is baseball. He knows everything there is to know about the game. When he takes a job cleaning a bunch of junk out of his neighbor's attic, Miss Young, he finds a 1909 Honus Wagner card. The card was the most valuable card in the world! He tries to identify it by going to a collectible shop. The guy at the store tries to trick him into selling it for $110. When he goes to sleep that night, he's holding the baseball card, wishing he could meet Honus. The next day Joe finds himself face to face with the baseball legend Honus Wagner. Read more to find out WHAT HAPPENS!
I thought that the book was interesting because Joe went back in time and met the baseball player that played in 1909.
I would recommend this book to anybody who likes baseball. You can get his book in the Lower School and Middle School libraries.
- Tomasz
Shoeless Joe and Me by Dan Gutman
The story is about a kid named Joe Stoshack who can travel through time using baseball cards. In this book he is trying to save Shoeless Joe Jackson from the Black Sox scandal. The Black Sox scandal was where some White Sox players go paid a lot of money to lose the World Series.
Joe's mother has pictures of everybody in the family but she is missing two people, Grandmother Gladys and her brother Wilbur. Joe's mom asked him to take pictures of them.
Joe tries to tell people about the scandal and nobody believes him. But the people who are paying the money caught Joe blabbering. They locked him up and Joe nearly escaped.
The book always ends at Joe's baseball game.
You can find the book in the Knes and Rowley libraries.
- Jonah
Abner and Me by Dan Gutman
About the book Abner and Me, this book has a lot of time trave. The main character is Joe Stoshak. Stoshak and his mom go on a lot of adventures. They go on adventures like to stop the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Also John F Kennedy's assassination and try to stop that. This a a very fun book because it's really funny and has lots of cool adventures. Stosh goes back in time to see if Abner Doubleday really invented baseball.
You can find this book at the Knes and Rowley libraries.
- Pat
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
A Wrinkle in Time is a fantasy fiction novel about a girl named Meg Murry. All she wants is to find her father who has gone missing. The Murry family are the only people with hope of finding Mr. Murry. Throughout the book Meg, her brother Charles, and a new friend, Calvin, go on a crazy adventure to find Mr. Murry.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy fiction, or really anyone up for a good read.
You will be able to find this book in the Lab School libraries or really any book store. Also you can get this book from Ms. Frank.
- Stella
The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier
This story is about an African-American girl and boy, Molly and a Kip. They were both abandoned siblings. They pack and travel for a trip to an old creepy house. They did not intend to travel there but Molly was hired by a solicitor in the area. Sooner or later they come upon an old creepy/weird guy who happens to put a curse on their very lives.
I recommend this book to the type of readers who likes creepy fairy tale-ish stories. I think this book is a little bit slow and long, but you'll actually reach the climax.
You can find this book in the Knes Family Library.
- Keegan
Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin
Rain Reign is about a girl named Rose with autism. She lives with her father. Her best friend is her Uncle Weldon. She is in the 5th grade, like us. One day her father came home from the bar and brought home a dog that she named Rain. Later that week a Hurricane Susan comes and Rain runs away. Through the book the main problems are finding her dog, and finding out who are the dog's real owners, where is her mom, all on top of tackling school life and Hurricane Susan. Also she has an obsession with homonyms. Don't worry, it's a page turner.
I really love this book because I could not stop reading it. I also love this book because it wasn't hard to relate to, because she is in the 5th grade. I also like it because there was an emotional back story and there was an amazing climax. Also how many times do you read a book about a girl and a dog? Not that often. Something I didn't like is that the last few pages were sad and kind of left you hanging. They made you want to see if there was a book two.
Someone who might enjoys this book is a kid who has a dog that they love or anyone who lost their dog or anyone who wants a good book.
- Katie W
The White Mountain by John Christopher
The White Mountain is a book that takes place a century later than now when mankind is enslaved by the Tripods. When a child becomes an adult they get "capped:. A cap is a piece of metal fused into the flesh by a tripod, which can then make you think what they want you to think. Will, the main character, discovers all this when a man named Ozymandias comes into town and tells him. Before, this, he was excited to get capped. He and his cousin, Henry, leave town for the White Mountains. Ozymandias tells him about the mountains, where people are free from the tripods. They end up getting kidnapped, then a man name Zhanpole, or Beanpole, sets them free. He comes with them. They have many adventures, but at the end they get to the mountains.
I would recommend The White Mountains to people who liked The City of Ember, and people who like realistic fantasy.
This book is available at the Chicago Public Library and the Knes and Rowley libraries.
-Asher
First Light
The main character in First Light is Peter. He and his mom and dad go to Greenland for his dad's job. Peter discovers a red ring in ice during a walk. On the other side of the ice is a passageway leading to Thea's hidden world. Peter helps Thea and her injured friend Matitias on their way back to Thea's world called Gracehope. Peter helps Thea discover new things and Peter discovers new things about him that will change his life.
I recommend this book to people that like books that have all the parts of story fit together, hidden words, and friendship along with family.
You can find this book in the Knes Family Library.
The Tale of Despereux by Kate DiCamillo
This book tells the tales of Despereux, a young mouse who was born in the light of a castle, a filthy rat who was born in the darkness of a dungeon, a poor girl who was sold and abused, a death from soup, and a beautiful young princess. I would recommend this book to people who like animal books, fiction books, or mystery books. My opinion of the book is that it was a good, funny, happy and mysterious book but it was kind of confusing, switching from chapter to chapter. It was also hard to follow the book when a bunch of things were going on. Overall this was a GREAT book!
You can find this book in most libraries and in Ms. Frank's classroom.
-Leila
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
I read Tuck Everlasting. It was okay, but it wasn't my favorite. I didn't like it that much. It had a lot going on in so little time. I didn't understand the magic spring and the man in the yellow suit was dead in no time and Mae Tuck just escaped from prison so easily. I know it didn't take place in the 21st century, but it didn't seem as believable as it could've been. It was well written, but I couldn't relate to it at all. In the book it wasn't clear if the the girl, Winnie, went to school or if she had any friends or if they live in the US or Europe or what. I thought it would get more exciting and it did but you got new info every paragraph. I don't regret reading Tuck Everlasting, I just didn't like it, and that is okay.
You can find Tuck Everlasting in the Knes Librayry and in most libraries.
-Cassia
Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements
This book is about a boy named Bobby Phillips who wakes up one day and he is gone, just gone. So then he finds out he is invisible and has to figure out why and how so that the State (which thinks he is missing) does not arrest his parents.
• I think this is a very good book but it can sometimes get really cringy.
• You can find this book in Ms. Frank's classroom and in most libraries.
• I recommend this book to people who like adventure and a kinda sciency book.
-Eileen
Nightingale's Nest by Nikki Loftin
I would recommend this book to people who like sad stories or people who like a little realistic fiction (magical) or to people who like sad/happy books.
Summary: A boy named "Little John" hates trees because his little sister died falling out of one. He sees a girl in a tree singing the most beautiful melody he's ever heard. He wants to get her out of it because he doesn't want her to fall. She's sitting in a "nest" apparently because she's waiting for her parents. He creates a strong bond with her and then faces a tough decision between his family and her.
You can find this book at most libraries and probably at most book stores.
-Katie S.
Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan
Homeless Bird is an amazing story about a young (very) girl named Koly who is arranged to marry a boy named Hari. Hari's parents don't really want Koly, they just want the money and riches she will bring them, for Hari is very ill. The parents intend to use the money to cure him, but it is still heartbreaking to live with people who don't want you. For a long time Koly is pretty much their maid, not their daughter-in-law, and she is miserable. Later they go to the city of Varanaisi to try to cure Hari, but sadly that doesn't work. After a few more years, Koly and her mother-in-law are the only ones left for Hari's dad passed too. They go out to live with the mother-in-law's brother. Along the way something happens and Koly has to make her life again. Alone. I recommend this book to anyone who loves page-turners and who loves a sad book that turns out happy.
You can find this book in the classroom library - just ask Ms. F or in the Knes Family Library.
- Miriam
Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
This book is about a fox who is very clever and three farmers trying to get rid of him. Mr. Fox always outsmarts them and steals food from their farms. It is a very good book with a good amount of humor, but not too much so it makes it not interesting. People who like animals and also realistic(ish) fiction would like this book!
You can find this book at the Knes Family Library, Mrs. Franks room, Kindle, etc.
-Jimi
