The book tells the story of Simon, a young man with a big cat, who finds a kitten in a box in his backyard. Feeling pity for the kitten, Simon brings it into his home. But without his knowledge, the kitten gets into quite some trouble. It begins to fight with Simon’s other cat, and destroys everything in the home! Yet Simon always comes at the wrong times- when it looks like his cat is the culprit. This sparks a lot of arguments and competitions between Simon’s cat and the kitten.

The kitten is constantly playing tricks on Simon’s cat and getting itself into dangerous situations, such as playing with the hedgehogs or releasing the rabbits. It also ruins the cat’s litter box, and rips Simon’s pants and shoes! The fights are endless! It seems like the cat and the kitten will never be friends! But towards the end of the book, the cat and the kitten learn to get along. They begin to get used to each other, and they even become friends.

I enjoyed this book. It really gives you an image of what the story is trying to tell! I would recommend it to anyone, even young children. Through silly pranks and stupendous surprises, the story of Simon’s cat and the kitten is truly a great one. And the greatest surprise yet? The entire book is in pictures!

Ani was never important. She was always a quiet, insignificant little girl. Her mother, a short-tempered sardine seller, called her neska. At first, Ani thought this was an affectionate nickname. Yet then she found out it just meant girl. People often made fun of her for being the daughter of the sardinera (sardine seller). Growing up during Spain’s Civil War, Ani didn’t have an easy life. Her father was away, bravely fighting for Guernica, the city Ani lived in.

After years having no friends, Mathias moves into town. He is a young, free-spirited boy, who has a limping problem and walks with a makila, a walking stick. Could Mathias be her first friend? Ani is curious to know what the story behind his family is. After all, who would move to Guernica during this dangerous time? After a movie theatre mishap, Mathias discovers that his father is a spy! Suddenly, a world of promise is before him and Ani. They have the chance to help Mathias’s father and his spy group on their missions. Through many lies and confusing envelopes, the two friends succeed in their missions.

Yet on one terrible day, Guernica is bombed. The village is destroyed, and many are killed. Ani and Mathias manage to survive, but they lose everything. Their world is turned upside down. Left as orphans, they cannot get over the pain of losing their parents and all of their loved ones. Padre Inaki, the kind priest of the village’s church, takes Ani and Mathias into his home. They help his wife take care of all of the injured survivors. But wait- there is hope! Ani reunites with her father, but she must break the news to him that his wife has been killed. And her father cannot stay for long. He must return to continue fighting.

Through helping those in need, Ani and Mathias realize that they can make a difference, far beyond their own village.

I really enjoyed this book. I have to admit- I almost cried during certain parts of it. There are some chapters that may be intense for young children, and I would therefore recommend it to anyone ages 12 and up. Ani and Mathias’s courage is simply inspiring.

Gathering Blue is an amazing book about a young girl named Kira. Kira’s father had been killed on a hunt, even before she was born, and her mother has now died of illness. In Kira’s community, if you can’t do work, you might as well be brought to the field to be eaten by the beasts. Kira, who was born with a twisted leg, is too young to weave by herself, so she has the small job of picking up the scraps at the weaving shed. Now that both of her parents have died, Vandara, an evil woman in the community, wants Kira to be taken to the field.

Kira is taken to court. The judges decide that Kira can stay in the community, but now she will have a new job. Every year, the entire village would get together, and the “Singer” would sing a long song about all the good and bad things that had happened to the village. While he sang, he would wear a robe Because of her magnificent abilities in weaving, Kira will repair and restore the Singer’s robe. She will now live in the government building.

In the building, Kira meets Thomas the Carver. They eat their meals together and become good friends. Slowly, Kira begins to notice some strange things about her community. Could people be keeping secrets from her? Kira is determined to find out.

I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to anyone ages 12 and up. Kira’s courage is truly inspiring, and everyone should learn from her.

This book is a sequel to The Giver. Read Mairen’s review of The Giver.

When Caitlin Smith, a 10 year old girl who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome, experiences the tragedy of her brother Devon being murdered in a middle school shooting, she is desperate to find closure. Yet as she looks for closure, she realizes that this is not something simple to grasp. Her father, a widower, is still in terrible depression and grief over the loss of his son. Although Mrs. Brook, the school counselor, has sessions with Caitlin and tries to help her through this tough time, Caitlin still feels like no one understands her.

Before his tragic death, Devon was an eagle scout. He was working on making a chest as part of this position. The chest remains unfinished in the living room of the Smith home, and Caitlin’s father even puts a sheet over it. Caitlin tries to convince her father to finish the chest, yet he is still not ready.

In school, Caitlin has trouble with friends. No one wants to befriend her because of her syndrome and because they do not want to create an awkward situation after the loss of her brother. Caitlin doesn’t think she will ever find a friend, until she meets Michael, the son of the principal of Devon’s middle school, who had also been killed in the shooting. Could Michael be her first friend?

Throughout the book, Caitlin tries to deal with the troubles of her life. She works hard to adapt to life without her brother. Towards the end, Caitlin begins to understand what finding closure is all about.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a little tough, so I would recommend it to anyone ages 10 and up. Caitlin’s story is inspiring. I learned so much from the way she deals with the challenges in her life.

AUTHOR: Avi

Ida Bidson is devastated when she hears that her teacher, Miss Fletcher, must travel to take care of her sick mother, and therefore her one-room school is closing. Since it is almost the end of the school year, Mr. Jordan, the mean head of the school board, decides to save money and refuses to hire another teacher to substitute. This ends all of Ida’s dreams of taking her exit exams, and maybe going to high school! But wait… could there be a solution?

Tom Kohl, Ida’s best friend who is in eighth grade with her, tells her that he thinks she should be the teacher. At first, Ida is quick to decline the idea. But as she thinks more about it, she starts to convince herself that maybe, just maybe, she could be the teacher! After all, that is what she wants to do in life! So after voting with the class, Ida Bidson, who is only 14 years old, becomes the teacher. Yet the kids know that if they tell the school board, Ida will not be allowed to be the teacher, so they make it a secret school. At first, Ida has some troubles. It’s not easy to teach seven children in one room, especially if the kids are from first to eighth grade! Yet soon enough, Ida begins to get
used to playing the role of “Miss Bidson”, and is a great teacher.

One day, the school board finds out about the secret school. Will they close the school down? Or will Ida speak up and find a way to allow the school to continue?

I really enjoyed this book. Although it is an easy reader, I would recommend it to anyone. The book is great for ages eight and up. The characters are well developed, and sometimes the suspense of the story is unbearable!

BOOK NAME: Calli Be Gold 
AUTHOR: Michele Weber Hurwitz

Calli Gold is the youngest in a family of overachievers. Her sister is an ice skater and her brother
is a basketball champion. The family calendar has different colored Post-it notes on it; one color
for every member of the family. The one who has the least Post-it notes is Calli. She doesn’t
have ice skating practices or basketball games. As a matter of fact, she doesn’t have a specific
talent. Calli’s parents keep tossing her into different activities, hoping that one day she will
find her life’s dream. But Calli thinks she’s fine just the way she is! Yet that’s not enough in her
family. “Be Gold” is the family motto, and if you’re not an expert at something, it’s almost like
you’re not part of the family.

When Calli’s teacher informs the class that they will begin a “Peer Helper Program” with the
second grade, Calli is paired with a boy named Noah Zullo. At first, Noah seems impossible to
be with. But something about him makes Calli not give up, and try her best to be patient with
him. Sure, he may be strange, but that doesn’t stop Calli from working with him.

Can Calli work with Noah, and find her talent at the same time?

I really enjoyed this book. Although many books have the same basic story line, the author uses
many details that make it different and exciting. I definitely recommend this book to anyone
ages 8 and up.

I am so excited to review Secrets from the Sleeping Bag. After reviewing Gossip from the Girls’ Room and Rumors from the Boys’ Room, I am proud to say that this book is just as awesome, just as juicy, and just as hilarious as the other two!

Sofia Becker, a.k.a. Blogtastic Blogger, is back, and she’s going to spend the summer with herbest friend Nona at Camp Krakatow (which mysteriously sounds a lot like Crack-a-toe)! There’s just one problem: How can she write on her Blogtastic Blog if she’s at camp? Sofia decides to bring her notebook, and she’ll post everything she writes when she gets back.

Sofia is bummed when she finds out that she and Nona have been put in different bunks. The girls’ bunks are named after butterflies, and Sofia’s bunk is called the Gray Hairstreaks! Yuck! In addition to that, some girls in Sofia’s bunk are… interesting. There’s Gabby, who can’t stop talking, there’s Olivia, who yells at everyone and never likes what anyone says, and Sofia’s counselor is the meanest one in all of camp! At first Sofia hates Camp Krakatow, but then things start getting better! Sofia likes the activities, and the Gray Hairstreaks and Monarchs bunks even have a prank war with each other! Sure, maybe Sofia had a few mishaps, like accidentally attaching tissue paper to her hands with super-glue, or falling out of her canoe, but overall,
things work out great! With every day at Camp Krakatow comes another adventure!

I loved this book! Sofia is hilarious! I love what she writes in her notebook! I would recommend this book to anyone ages 10 and up. It will definitely have you rolling on the floor!

BOOK NAME: Toliver’s Secret
AUTHOR: Esther Wood Brady

Ellen Toliver lives in New York with her mom and grandfather during the American Revolution.
She leads the normal life of a young girl, except for the fact that her house is filled with
redcoats (British soldiers). Her grandfather is a barber, and all of the soldiers come to his shop.

One day, Ellen catches her mother baking a snuffbox inside a loaf of bread. When she asks what
the purpose of this mysterious bread is, her mother merely dismisses the question. Ellen gets
suspicious. Why would her mother be baking a loaf of bread with a snuffbox hidden inside?
When her grandfather is injured on the ice, Ellen finds out the story. Her grandfather is a spy for
the Americans, and in that snuffbox is an important message for General Washington. Ellen’s
grandfather was going to deliver the message, but now he can’t!

Suddenly, it’s all up to Ellen. She will deliver the message. The instructions sound simple
enough: Disguise yourself as a boy, cut your hair, go to the harbor, get a boat ride to Elizabeth-
town, and give the loaf of bread to a man named Mr. Shannon. Ellen agrees to take the
message for her grandfather. Yet everything goes wrong! First, she ends up on a ship filled with
British soldiers, and then she ends up ten miles away from where she has to be! At times, Ellen
feels like turning back and going home, but she doesn’t give up. The entire country is depending
on her!

I really enjoyed this book. It may be easy for kids ages 10 and up, but is still definitely a great
read! Ellen’s display of courage and determination is something we can all learn from. I would
definitely recommend this book to anyone.

BOOK NAME: Beacon Street Girls: Worst Enemies/Best Friends
AUTHOR: Annie Bryant

Try being a girl who has lived in Australia, Africa, and Paris, and is now moving to Brookline. Try having no friends. Try accidentally zipping the tablecloth from the lunch table in your pants on the first day of school, and humiliating yourself in front of the entire cafeteria! You would not want to be Charlotte Ramsey.

Charlotte has just moved. She is going into seventh grade, and she doesn’t know anyone. On the first day of school, her homeroom teacher, Mrs. Rodriguez, assigns lunch groups. Charlotte is put with three girls; Maeve, Katani, and Avery. Lunch doesn’t go too well. The girls don’t get along. Things only get worse when Charlotte zips the tablecloth into her pants and walks off, drenching the girls in milk and French toast!

Katani tells their teacher that the lunch group is not working out. They finally settle on an agreement: the four girls will have a sleepover. After that, if they still don’t get along, they can switch lunch groups. The sleepover turns out surprisingly well, and Charlotte starts thinking that, just maybe, she has found new friends. But then Charlotte tells a big lie, and her friends find out the truth. Will Maeve, Katani, Avery, and Charlotte ever be friends again?

I really loved this book! I can relate to a lot of the troubles that the characters have (though I can’t relate to zipping a tablecloth in your pants!). The book is extremely well written, and makes you feel like you are in the story, experiencing the troubles of friendship and moving, and the excitement of finding new friends.

BOOK NAME: The Meanest Doll in the World
AUTHORS: Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin

Annabelle Doll, Tiffany Funcraft, and the rest of their families are dolls with secret lives. When the Palmer family, the people that own them, are asleep or away, the dolls move around and visit each other’s houses.

One day, as Annabelle and Tiffany are on their way back from an exploration in the attic, they suddenly hear the Palmers coming home. Caught on the spot, with no idea what to do next, Tiffany and Annabelle see one of the human’s backpacks, and hide in there. They stay there for the night, but in the morning, they find themselves in a place no live doll would ever dare go to: SCHOOL. They realize that they will be stuck there until the Palmer’s daughter finishes school. Tiffany decides to tour the building. Although Annabelle is a little hesitant at first, she agrees to tag along.

Oh no! The kids start getting out of class, so Annabelle and Tiffany jump into a backpack that they think is the right one. Very quickly, though, they realize that they are not in the Palmer’s house. They learn that in this new home, the dolls are alive as well, and there is one doll, named Mimi, that thinks she rules over all dollkind. When Annabelle and Tiffany are able to decrease Mimi’s power, they jump into the backpack they came in, and hope that when they get to school, they will find the right backpack and get back to the Palmer’s house. Little do they know that Mimi wants revenge on them, so she follows them all the way home. What will the dolls do about Mimi in their home? How will they catch her? How will they stay safe?

I really loved this book! It provides you with a look on the human world from a different perspective. When I read the book, I felt as though I was a doll with a secret life as well, going on all the adventures. I would recommend this book to anyone ages 9 and up.