Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio by Peg Kehret

Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio by Peg Kehret is the true story of Peg Schulze (Kehret), and her experience with polio at age 12. She was in 7th grade in Austin, Minnesota when her leg began twitching uncontrollably. As she left her chorus class, her legs buckled and Peg fell in the hall. When she got home from school that day, she was exhausted and had a high fever. This was the beginning of a long battle with polio, a disease that paralyzes people and causes strong and uncontrollable and excruciating muscle spasms. Through this painful and terrifying experience, Peg fought hard for recovery.

This book was AWESOME!! I was vaccinated against polio as a child, like all children are today, so I never feared this disease. I never really knew what the disease did until I read this book. I have had many 6th graders recommend this book to me, and now I see why - it is honest and triumphant. I will certainly be passing on the recommendation to new readers!

This video shows Jonas Salk, the inventor of the polio vaccine, and discusses some of the effects of the disease.

Time of the Witches by Anna Myers

Time of the Witches by Anna Myers is about Drucilla and Gabe, two children who were born on the same day and grew up together. They moved from foster home to foster home until they were 12, when they were separated - each being placed with a different family in Salem Village. Dru's family, Thomas and Mistress Ann Putnam, is very strange, while Gabe's is kind and loving. Unfortunately, Dru, seeking only acceptance and love from her new family, finds herself wrapped up in her adoptive family's dangerous game of accusing anyone who opposes them of witchcraft. Not only are the accused tried, but they end up hanged! Dru and Gabe drift further and further apart as she continues to support her strange family - that is, until Ann Putnam accuses Gabe of witchcraft! Dru must devise a plan to free Gabe and all the other innocent prisoners without being accused of witchcraft herself!

This was a great book! The author included some information about the Salem Witch Trials at the end of the book. While Dru and Gabe were fictional characters, most of the others in the story are real! The way this story unfolds is amazing. Ann Myers made it easy to see how people can get caught up in something so crazy.

After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick

After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick is the sequel to Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie. In this story, Jeffrey is in 8th grade and his cancer has been in remission for over 5 years. Life for Jeffrey has changed dramatically since his cancer fight. His brother, Steven, has moved to Africa to "take a break", his thinking/processing has been affected by the chemo-therapy drugs (making it hard to focus and work through problems), and he gets his first girlfriend! His best friend, Tad, a wheelchair-bound cancer survivor, begins tutoring Jeffrey in math when they find out that he is in danger of repeating 8th grade due to low standardized test scores. In return, Jeffrey begins working in the gym with Tad, trying to help him get back on his feet so he can walk across the stage at 8th grade graduation. But then, things take a startling turn for the worse...

This book was AWESOME!! It is definitely a sequel, but it could also be read as a stand alone novel. I liked it just as much as Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie. This book gives a very realistic view of what it's like to be a kid who has survived cancer, and how the whole experience changes everything.

The Fairy Tale Detectives (Sisters Grimm Series #1) by Michael Buckley

The Fairy Tale Detectives (Sisters Grimm Series #1) by Michael Buckley is about Sabrina and Daphne Grimm, two girls who have been in the foster system ever since their parents disappeared. After many different (and terrible) placements, the girls end up with someone who claims to be their grandmother - Relda Grimm. Sabrina, the older sister, is skeptical of this woman and her strange friend, Mr. Canis, especially when they start talking about fairy tale creatures as if they are real! Daphne, on the other hand, is a true believer and really enjoys Relda Grimm's stories. Sabrina changes her mind about her grandmother when a giant (yes, a giant!) kidnaps Relda and Mr. Canis. The girls realize they'll need all of their grandmother's magical elements if they hope to save them and the town from the giant's rampage. The girls accept their destiny as Fairy Tale Detectives, and begin their adventure. Along the way they meet Jack (of Jack and the Beanstalk), the magic mirror, Prince Charming (the mayor), the 3 little pigs, and a whole host of other fairy tale characters!

This was a great book! It was recommended to me by a student (Emma), and I absolutely loved it! The illustrations were out of this world, and the author's descriptions were phenomenal. I enjoyed reading about the fairy tale characters and how they hid themselves in "the real world". I am looking forward to reading the second book in the series, The Unusual Suspects.

Eve of the Emperor Penguin (Magic Tree House Series #40) by Mary Pope Osborne

Eve of the Emperor Penguin by Mary Pope Osborne is the 40th book in the Magic Tree House Series. In this book, Jack and Annie have to find the 4th secret of happiness for Merlin before he fades away from his sadness. Their adventure takes them to Antarctica where they search for the "ancient crown" in and around a live volcano, Mount Erebus. What they find will both shock and amaze you! They must return to Camelot with all 4 secrets of happiness before the day ends in order to save Merlin. Will they make it in time?

Believe it or not, this was the first Magic Tree House book I've ever read! I read it with my son for his school's Read-a-Thon. I really liked the adventure and the positive messages in the story. I also liked the facts page at the end, describing what it's really like in Antarctica. There are so many books in this series, I think we'll be able to find good books to share for quite some time!

What the Dickens by Gregory Maguire

What the Dickens by Gregory Maguire is about an orphaned Skiberee (more commonly known as a tooth fairy) named What the Dickens. He doesn't know where he came from or where he is or even what he is. During his first few hours of life he meets a family of birds who take him under their wings, an evil cat named McCavity who What the Dickens desperately wants to impress, and another Skiberee named Pepper. Pepper is trying her hardest to become an Agent of Change - a tooth fairy who retrieves teeth in exchange for money. Unfortunately, her encounter with What the Dickens makes her late in returning to her home and she is demoted! The other Skibereen are not fond of strangers, and are not welcoming to What the Dickens. The Crown (the head of the Skibereen) sends Pepper on a final mission - to retrieve two teeth and to "lose" What the Dickens in the process. The plan goes awry when Pepper is captured by a human child (who happens to be McCavity's owner) and What the Dickens must complete the nearly impossible mission alone, knowing that he may never see Pepper again. They both must break all the rules in order to survive and prove themselves to the Skibereen.

I really liked this book. The story is told by Gage, the older cousin to three kids who are stranded in their rural home (without their parents) during the worst storm of the century. It is told as a fairy tale, although the ending leaves one wondering if it all could have really happened!