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?

The Song Spinner

 

Title: The Song Spinner

Author: Pauline Le Bel

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Ages: 8 - 14

    Back Cover Synopsis: 

    In the land of Pindrop, noise is forbidden. Not even the sweet song of a bird is tolerated. But Aurora hears music in her head. So while she does her whispering exercises like other good children and wears her regulation Hushcloth, she dares to dream of a different life. It's not surprising then that Zantalalia should be the one to offer her more than dreams. Banished to the Water World because she refused to stop singing, Zantalalia has secretly returned to Pindrop in time for the Sunwatch.

    Why has she returned on the eve of the winter festival? What is the Song Spinner? Who has put the songs inside Aurora's head? And what chance do dreamers like Aurora have against Captain Nizzle of the Noise Police, who enforces the Hush Laws at any cost? Aurora is determined to find the answers in this lyrical fantasy with a score of fascinating characters. 

Elska

Title: Elska

Author: Catherine Hapka

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 6 - 12

     Back Cover Synopsis: 

    ~ Iceland, Circa AD 1000 ~

    Elska is a silver dapple Icelandic filly. She spends summers frisking about the countryside and winters in the farmyard, where the girl human Amma takes special care of her. But when a powerful neighbor notices Elska, her contented life suddenly changes. Here is Elska's story . . . in her own words.

Caddie Woodlawn

 

Title: Caddie Woodlawn

Author: Carol Ryrie Brink

Rating: ★★★★☆

Ages: 8 - 15

    Back Cover Synopsis: 

    Caddie Woodlawn is a real adventurer. She'd rather hunt than sew and plow than bake, and tries to beat her brothers' dares every chance she gets. Caddie is friends with Indians, who scare most of the neighbors - neighbors who, like her mother and sisters, don't understand her at all. 

    Caddie is brave, and her story is special because it's based on the Life and memories of Carol Ryrie Brink's grandmother, the real Caddie Woodlawn. Her spirit and sense of fun have made this book a classic that readers have taken to their hearts for more than seventy years. 

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.

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.

Island of the Blue Dolphins

Title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

Author: Scott O'Dell

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 8 - 16

    Back Cover Synopsis: 

    Far off the coast of California looms a harsh rock known as San Nicolas Island. Blue Dolphins splash in the water surrounding it, sea otters play in the kelp beds, and seabirds roost in its crags. Once, Indians also lived on the island - until one day they decided to leave and sailed to the east. 

    A young girl was left behind.

    Karana is that girl. Year after year, she waits for the ship to come back. But it never does. Finally, she realizes she must make a fateful choice: follow her people on her own or remain alone on the island for the rest of her life. 

The Jungle Book

Title: The Jungle Book

Author: Rudyard Kipling

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 8 - 14

    "The Tiger's roar filled the cave with thunder. Mother Wolf shook herself clear of the cubs and sprang forward, her eyes, like two green moons in the darkness, facing the blazing eyes of Shere Khan. 'The man's cub is mine. . . . He shall live to run with the Pack and to hunt with the Pack; and in the end, look you, hunter of little naked cubs, he shall hunt thee.'"

    When Mowgli the young Man-cub wanders into the jungle one day, he is adopted by the wolf pack. With help from Baloo the Bear and Bagheera the Black Panther, they teach him the laws of the jungle. Mowgli's fearless adventures are featured in the enduring stories and poems of The Jungle Book, along with tales of many other favorite characters, such as the mongoose Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and Toomai of the Elephants.

Owls in the Family

Title: Owls in the Family

Author: Farley Mowat

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 6 - 12

    When Billy rescues two young orphaned great horned owls and takes them home, he has no idea what he's in for. Before long, his new friends, Wol and Weeps, have turned his family and the town they live in upside down. The problem is that Wol doesn't realize that he's an owl. After all, he stands on two legs and can climb trees, just like the other kids. He'll eat anything that's served at the dinner table (except, of course, parsnips). He loves playing practical jokes on Mutt, the family dog. And wherever Wol goes, mayhem is sure to follow, whether it's a stampede at the local pet parade or a traumatized teacher. 

Adam of the Road

 

Title: Adam of the Road

Author: Elizabeth Janet Gray

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 8 - 15

    Back Cover Synopsis: 

    Eleven-year-old Adam loved to travel through the open roads of thirteenth-century England with his father, a wandering minstrel, and his red spaniel, Nick. But when his father suddenly disappears and Nick is stolen, Adam finds himself alone searching these same roads filled with rich merchants, Pilgrim's with cockleshells upon their hats, farming folk driving pigs to the fair, minstrels and priests, saints and thieves - and somewhere in the crowd his father and his dog. 

The Family Under the Bridge

 

Title: The Family Under the Bridge

Author: Natalie Savage Carlson

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 6 - 14

    Back Cover Synopsis: 

    Once there was an old man named Armand who lived under a bridge in Paris. Everything he owned could be pushed around in an old baby buggy without a hood - it was easy for him to move from place to place. Armand loved his solitary, carefree life. Children, he said, were like starlings, and one was better off without them. 

    But the children who lived under the bridge knew a true friend when they saw one, even if that friend was a little bit grumpy to begin with. And it did not take Armand long to see he had gotten himself a ready-made family - one he loved with all his heart, and one he would have to find a better home than the bridge.  

The Magician's Nephew

 

Title: The Magician's Nephew

Author: C. S. Lewis

Rating: ★★★★☆

Ages: 9 - 15

    Back Cover Synopsis: 

    NARNIA . . . where the woods are thick and cool, where Talking Beasts are called to life . . . a new world where adventure begins. 

    Digory and Polly meet and become friends one cold, wet summer in London. Their lives burst into adventure when Digory's Uncle Andrew, who thinks he is a magician, sends them hurtling to . . . somewhere else. They find their way to Narnia, newborn from the Lion's song, and encounter the evil sorceress Jadis before they finally return home. 

Pollyanna

Title: Pollyanna

Author: Eleanor H. Porter

Rating: ★★★★☆

Ages: 7 - 14

     Back Cover Synopsis: 

    When orphaned Pollyanna Whittier comes to live with her stern maiden aunt, the entire town of Beldingsville is affected by the bubbly nature of this lively eleven-year-old. Not only is she perpetually cheerful, she also brightens the lives of everyone she meets. 

    How does Pollyanna manage to be so eternally optimistic? How does she spred her bright outlook amont the sick, sad, and abrasive people of the town and transform the life of her lonely aunt? It's the "glad game", she says, describing the antidote to hardship and depressed spirits. But in a serious accident, the town almost loses its "Glad Girl", and everyone looks for a way to make this youngster happy again. 

 

The Secret Garden

 

Title: The Secret Garden

Author: Francis Hodgson Burnett

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 6 - 14+

   Back Cover Synopsis:

     One of the most beloved children's books of all time and the inspiration for a feature film, a television ministries, and a Broadway musical, The Secret Garden is the best-known work of Frances Hodgson Burnett. In this unforgettable story, three children find healing and friendship in a magical forgotten garden on the haunting Yorkshire moors. 

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.

Willowmere

 

Title: Willowmere

Author: Andrea Cox Christen

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 8 - 16

    Back Cover Synopsis:

    "To Pea, Love Mom" . . . reads the necklace twelve-year-old Pea finds stuck high in the willow tree Mom had planted long ago on their ranch. Pea doesn't know how it got there. If Mom were alive, she would ask her. 

    But when Pea takes the necklace, the tree reveals a secret tunnel to Willowmere - a magical world built by her mom's stories. 

    Pea crawls through the tunnel and realizes that Willowmere is crumbling. Frightening dangers lurk behind each tree, and magic is deteriorating into chaos. All she learns seems to contradict everything she knows. 

    But could Mom still be alive in Willowmere? If Pea can learn to trust her new friends, and harness the power of stories, she might just save the world. 

    But she'll have to save herself first. 

Esio Trot

Title: Esio Trot

Author: Roald Dahl

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Ages: 6 - 14

    Back Cover Synopsis:

    Mr Hoppy loves Mrs Silver. Mrs Silver loves Alfie the tortoise. Sometimes Mr Hoppy wishes he could become a tortoise. Until one day he finds a way to win Mrs Silver's heart, with the help of a little magic and some cabbage . . .

Horse Diaries - Penny

 

Title: Penny

Author: Whitney Sanderson

Rating: ★★★★☆

Ages: 6 - 12

    Back Cover Synopsis:

    Penny is a blue-eyed palomino paint mare with a taste for adventure! She and a boy named Jesse search for gold in Northern California. After striking it rich and then losing everything, Jesse and Penny join the Pony Express. The job is a tough one, but Penny loves a challenge! Here is Penny's story . . . in her own words.