RAR #27 Summer Reading: Making memories (& having fun)

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A fantastical twist to a tale of life on the prairie made this an instant family favorite at our house. Louisa Brody’s life on the Colorado prairie takes an unexpected turn when her father is locked away in jail and she is sent to live with the awful Smirch family. Can Louisa and her friends save her father from a guilty verdict?

FROM SARAH:

A Read-Aloud Revival community favorite. Rabbits with Swords! This story will inspire heroic virtue in your children (and who knows... maybe you too!). This is first in a truly wonderful fantasy series. Your kids can meet author S.D. Smith at his Author Access video replay in RAR Premium.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Heather and Picket are extraordinary rabbits with ordinary lives until calamitous events overtake them, spilling them into a cauldron of misadventures. They discover that their own story is bound up in the tumult threatening to overwhelm the wider world.

Also by Frances Hodgson Burnett (The Secret Garden), Sarah goes from princess to servant. Will she remain noble despite her circumstances?

The March sisters are each distinctive in their own way, but they band together to help their mother while their father is serving in the Civil War. The original version follows the girls as they grow into womanhood. Girls might enjoy identifying with a particular sister -- Meg, Jo, Beth or Amy.

Based on stories of the author’s grandmother, Caddie loves hunting and pranks, but refuses to be a “lady.” Set in Wisconsin in the late 1800s, Little House fans will love Caddie!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

When Charlie finds a golden ticket in a Wonka bar, it means he and Grandpa Joe get to tour the famous chocolate factory. They encounter the eccentric Mr. Wonka, Oompa-Loompas, and some very naughty children!

A swashbuckling tale full of heroes and action, The Black Star of Kingston takes place a century before RAR favorite The Green Ember.

Endorsed by Jim Trelease (The Read-Aloud Handbook), this collection is wonderful for littles.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Pride and Prejudice is a novel of manners by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story follows the main character, Elizabeth Bennet, as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education, and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of the British Regency.

**Description from Amazon: The bear’s hat is gone, and he wants it back. Patiently and politely, he asks the animals he comes across, one by one, whether they have seen it. Each animal says no, some more elaborately than others. But just as the bear begins to despond, a deer comes by and asks a simple question that sparks t...

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

The complete four-book boxed set of what is arguably the greatest fantasy epic of all time: The Lord of the Rings and its enchanting prequel, The Hobbit,

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

This award-winning contemporary classic is the survival story with which all others are compared—and a page-turning, heart-stopping adventure, recipient of the Newbery Honor.Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson is on his way to visit his father when the single-engine plane in which he is flying crashes...

In 1558, while exiled by Queen Mary Tudor to a remote castle known as Perilous Gard, young Kate Sutton becomes involved in a series of mysterious events that lead her to an underground world peopled by Fairy Folk—whose customs are even older than the Druids’ and include human sacrifice.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

The first book in the acclaimed Ready-to-Read series from Newbery Medalist Cynthia Rylant featuring Henry and his lovable 180-pound dog, Mudge.Henry, feeling lonely on a street without any other children, finds companionship and love in a big dog named Mudge.

**Description from Amazon: Explores the habitats and characteristics of mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, and fish.

**Description from Amazon: Four classic books from Newbery Honoree Gary Paulsen are now available in one boxed set: Hatchet, Woodsong, Dogsong, and Dancing Carl.This collectible boxed set of beloved titles from acclaimed author Gary Paulsen includes Dancing Carl, Dogsong, Hatchet, and Woodsong. In Dancing Carl, a teen’s ter...

**Description from Amazon: Perfect for aspiring sleuths--master crime-solver Encyclopedia Brown lets you crack the cases along with him!A set of the first four books in the classic mystery series starring everyone's favorite boy detective Encyclopedia Brown! Whether Encyclopedia is solving cases for his neighborhood friends o...

Newly orphaned Peggy Grahame is caught off-guard when she first arrives at her family’s ancestral estate. Her eccentric uncle Enos drives away her only new acquaintance, Pat, a handsome British scholar, then leaves Peggy to fend for herself. But she is not alone. The house is full of mysteries—a...

**Description from Amazon: A collection of verses about animals from the barnyard to the aquarium and the haunts of the lion and rhinoceros also includes verses about mythical animals

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Having a little sister like four-year-old Ramona isn’t always easy for Beezus Quimby. With a wild imagination, disregard for order, and an appetite for chaos, Ramona makes it hard for Beezus to be the responsible older sister she knows she ought to be…especially when Ramona threatens to ruin Beezus’s birthday party.

**Description from Amazon: When twelve-year-old Nate Twitchell takes care of an gigantic egg laid by one of his hens, he is shocked to find that it hatches into a triceratops. Reissue.

Here is a delightful look at childhood, written by master poet and storyteller Robert Louis Stevenson. In this collection of sixty-six poems, Stevenson recalls the joys of his childhood, from sailing boats down a river, to waiting for the lamplighter, to sailing off to foreign lands in his imaginati...

**Description from Amazon: This exquisite, deluxe edition contains the complete illustrated texts of both Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner. In full-color and featuring a satin ribbon marker, it is the perfect gift and a cornerstone of every family's bookshelf.Happy 90th birthday, to one of the world's most beloved...

**Description from Amazon: Meet Nan and Burt, and Freddie and Flossie -- two sets of twins in the Bobbsey family. Their adventures have thrilled generations of young readers. This volume collects the first 15 original Bobbsey Twins books (published between 1904 and 1922):THE BOBBSEY TWINSTHE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE COUNTRYTHE BO...

**Description from Amazon: The worldwide bestseller, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card comes to the screen at last in a major motion picture event in November 2013. Starring Hugo's Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, and Ben Kingsley, the movie is sure to inspire a new audience of fans to read the book that started it all. Once ag...

**Description from Amazon: In 1959, Jean Craighead George published My Side of the Mountain. This coming-of-age story about a boy and his falcon went on to win a Newbery Honor, and for the past forty years has enthralled and entertained generations of would-be Sam Gribleys. The two books that followed--On the Far Side of the...

**Description from Amazon: The government sends Brian back to the Canadian wilderness in this beloved follow-up to the award-winning classic Hatchet from three-time Newbery Honor-winning author Gary Paulsen!   Two years after Brian Robeson survived fifty-four days alone in the Canadian wilderness, the government wants him to...

**Description from Amazon: A 2014 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor BookA dog with a ball is one of the most relentlessly hopeful creatures on Earth. After his best little-girl pal leaves for school, this dog hits up yoga mom, baby, and even the angry cat for a quick throw. No luck. Forced to go solo, the dog begins a hilarious one-...

**Description from Amazon: Only Amber Brown can handle her best friend moving away with such honesty, humor, and heart.Amber Brown and Justin Daniels are best friends. They've known each other for practically forever, sit next to each other in class, help each other with homework, and always stick up for each other. Justin ne...

**Description from Amazon: Good Wives is the second story about the March family.Three years on from Little Women, the March girls and their friend Laurie are young adults with their futures ahead of them. Although they all face painful trials along the way - from Meg's sad lesson in housekeeping to Laurie's disappointment in...

They're Puffin Classics for a reason, it's because they're the best.Step up to the Round Table and join the knights of the Realm!King Arthur is one of the greatest legends of all time. From the magical moment when Arthur releases the sword in the stone to the quest for the Holy Grail and the final t...

**Description from Amazon: Elana, a member of an interstellar civilization on a mission to a medieval planet, becomes the key to a dangerous plan to turn back an invasion. How can she help the Andrecians, who still believe in magic and superstition, without revealing her own alien powers? At the same time, Georyn, the son of ...

**Description from Amazon: Based on The Railway Series by the REV. W. AWDRY A is for All Aboard! Filled with fun photographs from the popular TV show, Shining Time Station, Thomas's ABC Book will delight children while teaching them the alphabet along the way.

**Description from Amazon: "I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but I see you are unarmed." - William ShakespeareArm yourself with this volume from the Knickerbocker Classic series, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, including 16 comedies, 10 histories, 12 tragedies and all the poems and sonnets of the world's ...

FROM SARAH:

Redwall Abbey is a quiet and peaceful place, just as the mice like it. But an evil one-eyed rat wants ownership of the abbey. An unlikely hero emerges in this action packed tale, which might be a good pick for fans of The Green Ember.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

The question in this first volume is resoundingly clear: What can the peace-loving mice of Redwall Abbey do to defend themselves against Cluny the Scourge and his battle-seasoned army of rats?

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

The Cuthberts are expecting a boy to help work on their farm, Green Gables. Instead, they get “Anne with an e,” who will surely win girls’ hearts with her spunky personality and big imagination.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Originally published in 1964, this three-book series follows “Taran the Assistant Pig-Keeper” on his quest to become a hero. Filled with references to Welsh mythology and lots of humor.

FROM SARAH

Four short mysteries starring the sweet Father Brown. Kids will love the subtle action, and trying to figure out whodunnit!

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Adaptations of 4 of Chesterton's Father Brown mysteries for young readers: "The Blue Cross," "The Strange Feet," "The Flying Stars," and "The Absence of Mr. Glass."

**Description from Amazon: When Bear, a mysterious young man, lands on Blanche and Rose Brier's doorstep in New York City, the two sisters have conflicting opinions on whether or not he is dangerous. Even as Blanche learns to trust him, her fears that Bear's friendship threatens their family prove terrifyingly true. A modern...

FROM SARAH:

On Tuesdays, the Castle changes. Sometimes it adds a new room, a turret, a staircase... or even a whole wing. This one is fun, fun, fun. I bet you'll hear "Just one more chapter, pleeeease!" from everyone in the room. Your kids can meet author Jessica Day George in RAR Premium in 2020.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Tuesdays at Castle Glower are Princess Celie's favorite days. That's because on Tuesdays the Castle adds a new room, a turret, or sometimes even an entire wing. No one ever knows what the Castle will do next, and no one-other than Celie, that is-takes the time to map out the new additions.

**Description from Amazon: In 1900, Mandie is searching her dead uncle's mansion for a missing will when she finds a secret tunnel and strangers who claim to be her relatives

**Description from Amazon: In the tradition of American Girl, each book in this series is a clever mix of past and present that brings a different era to life through a story told from the perspective of a beloved doll.Sisters Lila and Rose, ages 8 and 10, are spending the year with their eccentric grandmother (who runs a dol...

FROM SARAH

Jo of Little Women fame is all grown up and has started a school. Homeschoolers might find some tips and ideas in this sweet sequel.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In the treasured follow-up to Little Women, Jo March returns as a mother of two sons and schoolmaster to twelve orphans. Now Jo Bhaer, literature’s beloved heroine has transformed Plumfield, the decorous New England estate of the March sisters’ youth, into a progressive school.

FROM SARAH

The third in the series starting with Little Women and followed by Little Men. The boys in Jo's school have grown up in this bittersweet finale.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Set 10 years after Little Men, Jo's Boys revisits Plumfield, the New England school still presided over by Jo and her husband, Professor Bhaer. Jo's Boys — including sailor Emil, promising musician Nat, and rebellious Dan — are grown. Jo remains at the center of this tale, holding her boys fast through shipwreck and storm, disappointment...and even murder.