The Incredible Journey

 

Title: The Incredible Journey

Author: Sheila Burnford

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 8 - 18+

    Back Cover Synopsis:

    Home lay to the west, his instinct told him; but he could not leave the other two - so somehow he must take them with him, all the way.

    Three beloved pets - Luath, a young Labrador retriever; Tao, a Siamese cat; and Bodger, an old bull terrier - have been separated from their family. Luath makes the decision to head for home, setting out with his companions on an incredible journey through the wilderness of northwestern Ontario.

    They do not know the dangers they will face. They do not know that winter is approaching, or that home is four hundred kilometres away. They will be separated by a rushing river and attacked by wild animals. They will face injury, starvation, cold and sheer exhaustion. Individually, they would never survive. But together, can they find their way home?

Up from Slavery

Title: Up from Slavery

Author: Booker T. Washington

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Ages: 15 - 18+

    Back Cover Synopsis: 

    The autobiography of Booker T. Washington is a startling portrait of one of the great Americans of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The illegitimate son of a white man and a Negro slave, Washington, a man who struggled for his education, would go on to struggle for the dignity of all his people in a hostile and alien society. 

Five Children & It

Title: Five Children & It

Author: Edith Nesbit

Rating: ★★★★☆

Ages: 6 - 16

    Back Cover Synopsis: 

    The five children are Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane and the Lamb, their baby brother. And 'It' is the Psammead that lives in the gravel pits. It is furry and fat with hands like a monkey's - and, when it's in the mood, has the power to grant wishes. The children discover that wish-making is fun at first, but sometimes, when wishes come true, fun can soon turn into trouble . . . 

Minn of the Mississippi

Title: Minn of the Mississippi

Author: Holling Clancy Holling

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 6 - 18+

    Back Cover Synopsis: 

    A turtle hatched at the source of the Mississippi is carried through the heart of America to the Gulf of Mexico.

Small Acts of Amazing Courage

Title: Small Acts of Amazing Courage

Author: Gloria Whelan

Rating: ★★★★☆

Ages: 13 - 18+

     Back Cover Synopsis: 

    As an English girl in India in 1918, Rosalind is alone. Ever since the death of Rosalind's brother, Edward, Rosalind's mother hasn't been the same. Her father, away at war, wishes for Rosalind to live in England and get a proper British education. England is "home" to Rosalind, but she has never been there. 

    Rosalind awaits the return of her father from the war, and more and more she ventures out onto the streets. There she learns of a man named Gandhi and hears talk of how India must be free to rule itself. Then late one night she makes a fateful discovery. She knows that she should not be seeking out the beggars who live under the bridge near the river, but she wants to help, even if her parents will never understand.

    National Book Award recipient Gloria Whelan weaves a captivating story of love and family, secrets and sisterhood, and most of all, identity.

The Hawk and the Dove

Title: The Hawk and the Dove

Author: Penelope Wilcock

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 12 - 18+

    Back Cover Synopsis: 

    Father Peregrine is appointed Abbot of St Alcuin's Benedictine abbey. An arrogant, impatient man, a hawk trying hard to be a dove - his name in religion is "Columbia" - he is respected, but not loved. 

    A sudden, shocking act of violence changes everything. As the story unfolds, this community of monks, serious about their calling but as flawed and human as we are, come to love their ascetic but now vulnerable leader. 

    They lived six centuries ago, yet their struggles are our own. Finding our niche; coping with failure; living with impossible people; and discovering that we are the impossible ones. 

Pride and Prejudice

Title: Pride and Prejudice

Author: Jane Austen

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 14 - 18+

    Back Cover Synopsis: 

    Pride and Prejudice, which opens with one of the most famous sentences in English Literature, is an ironic novel of manners. In it the garrulous and empty-headed Mrs Bennet has only one aim - that of finding a good match for each of her five daughters. In this she is mocked by her cynical and indolent husband. 

    With its wit, its social precision and, above all, its irresistible heroine, Pride and Prejudice has proved one of the most enduringly popular novels in the English language. 

Pagoo

 

Title: Pagoo

Author: Holling Clancy Holling

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 6 - 18+

    Back Cover Synopsis: 

    An intricate study of tide pool life is presented through the story of Pagoo, a hermit crab.

The Little Prince

 

Title: The Little Prince

Author: Antoine de Saint Exupery

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 12 - 18+

    The little prince lived alone on a tiny planet no larger than a house. He owned three volcanoes, two active and one extinct. He also owned a flower, unlike any flower in all the galaxy, of great beauty and of inordinate pride. It was this pride that ruined the serenity of the little prince's world and started him on the interplanetary travels that brought him to Earth, where he learned, finally, from a fox, the secret of what is really important in life.

    There are few stories that in some way, in some degree, change the world forever for their readers. This is one.

A Long Walk to Water

Title: A Long Walk to Water

Author: Linda Sue Park

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 12 - 18+

    Nya goes to the pond to fetch water for her family. She walks eight hours every day. 

    

    Salva walks away from his war-torn village. He is a "lost boy" refugee, destined to cover Africa on foot, searching for his family and safety. 

    Two young people . . . two stories.

    One country: Sudan.

    This mesmerizing dual narrative follows two threads -- one unfolding in 2008 and one in 1985 -- with one hopeful message: that even in a troubled country, determined survivors may find the future they are hoping for.

Jane Eyre

Title: Jane Eyre

Author: Charlotte Bronte

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 16 - 18+

    Back Cover Synopsis: 

    Orphaned and penniless, Jane Eyre arrives as a governess at the home of the dark and brooding Mr. Rochester. Before long he has captured her heart. But what terrible secret is lurking at the top of Thornfield Hall? 

    Charlotte Bronte's classic story of passionate and forbidden love, has thrilled and horrified generations of readers. 

To Kill a Mockingbird

Title: To Kill a Mockingbird

Author: Harper Lee

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 15 - 18+

    Back Cover Synopsis: 

    The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy, Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill a Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pultizer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.

    Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill a Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior - to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. Now with over 18 million copies in print and translated into ten languages, this regional story by a young Alabama woman claims universal appeal. Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded as a masterpiece of American Literature.

Hatchet

Title: Hatchet

Author: Gary Paulsen

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 12 - 18+

    Back Cover Synopsis:

    Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson is on his way to visit his father when the single-engine plane in which he is flying crashes. Suddenly, Brian finds himself alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but a tattered Windbreaker and the hatchet his mother gave him as a present - and the dreadful secret that has been tearing him apart since his parents' divorce. But now Brian has no time for anger, self-pity, or despair - it will take all his know-how and determination, and more courage than he knew he possessed, to survive.  

Animal Farm

Title: Animal Farm

Author: George Orwell

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Ages: 15 - 18+

    Back Cover Synopsis:

    First published in 1945, Animal Farm has become the classic political fable of the twentieth century. Adding his own brand of poignancy and wit, George Orwell tells the story of a revolution among animals of a farm, and how idealism was betrayed by power, corruption and lies. 

Johnny Tremain

 

Title: Johnny Tremain

Author: Esther Forbes

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 12 - 18+

    Back Cover Synopsis:

    The year is 1773; the scene is Boston.

    Johnny Tremain is fourteen and apprenticed to a silversmith. He is gifted and clever and lords his talent over the other apprentices - until tragedy strikes. A crucible of molten silver breaks and the silver spills over Johnny's right hand. The hand is so badly burned, it's useless - and now, so is Johnny. 

    Since he is no longer able to become a silversmith, Johnny's life takes a new path, one that will bring him in touch with Paul Revere, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and other Boston patriots and with all the exciting currents that will lead to the Boston Tea Party and the Battle of Lexington. Johnny's dream of being a silversmith may be dead, but he has discovered a new dream that will make him a part of American history. 

Swallows and Amazons

 

Title: Swallows and Amazons

Author: Arthur Ransome

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 8 - 18+

   Back Cover Synopsis:

     The Walker children - also known as Captain John, Mate Susan, Able Seaman Titty, and Ship's Boy Roger - set sail on the Swallow and head for Wild Cat Island. There they camp under open skies, swim  in clear water and go fishing for their dinner. But their days are disturbed by the Blackett sisters, the fierce Amazon pirates. The Swallows and Amazons decide to wage war and so begins a summer of unforgettable discoveries and incredible adventures. 

Letters from Father Christmas

 

Title: Letters from Father Christmas

Author: J. R. R. Tolkien

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 6 - 18+

    Read through the adventures and mishaps of Father Christmas and the North Polar Bear in a collection of letters from Father Christmas to Tolkein's children. Captivating, enthralling, and hilarious, this book is a must read for all.

The Yearling

 

Title: The Yearling

Author: Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 10 - 18+

    Back Cover Synopsis:

    In this classic story of the Baxter family of inland Florida and their wild, hard, satisfying life, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings has written one of the great novels of our times. 

    A rich and varied story - tender in its understanding of boyhood, crowded with the excitement of the backwoods hunt, with vivid descriptions of the primitive, beautiful hammock country with humor and earthy philosophy - The Yearling is a novel for readers of all tastes and ages. Its glowing picture of life that is far and refreshingly removed from modern patterns of living becomes universal in its revelation of simple courageous people and the abiding beliefs they live by. 

The Curve of Time

 

Title: The Curve of Time

Author: M. Wylie Blanchet

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Ages: 12 - 18+

   Back Cover Synopsis:

     This is a biography and an astonishing adventure story of a woman who, left a widow in 1927, packed her five children onto a 25-foot boat and cruised the coastal waters of British Columbia, summer after summer. 

    Muriel Wylie Blanchet acted singled-handedly as skipper, navigator, engineer and, of course, mum, as she saw her crew through encounters with tides, fog, storms, rapids, cougars and bears. She sharpened in her children a special interest in the ancient Haida culture and in nature itself. In this book, she left us with a sensitive and compelling account of their journeys. 

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Title: The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Author: Brian Selznick

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 10 - 18+

   Back Cover Synopsis:

     Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks - like the gears of the clocks he keeps - with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the train station, Hugo's undercover life and his most precious secret are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery. 

    With 284 pages of original drawings, and combining elements of picture book, graphic novel, and film, Brian Selznick breaks open the novel form to create an entirely new reading experience. Here is a stunning, cinematic tour de force from a boldly innovative storyteller, artist, and bookmaker.