Do you like dogs? If so, you will love this book. It's 1929, and Tom Campbell has always wanted a dog and a real family instead of the people in the orphanage. Tom&'s wish for a family is coming true; he's going to live with the Murrays, a fishing family on an island off of Newfoundland, Canada. On the boat trip to the island, Tom rescues a dog that's swimming in the ocean. Soon Tom and Thunder are inseparable. Thunder is a remarkable dog, and several times he saves people's lives and warns them of danger. Tom's neighbor, Bert, is jealous of the dog and advertises him all over Newfoundland. When Mrs. Murray becomes pregnant, Tom is afraid they won't want him anymore. Will the dog's owner appear? Will the Murrays still want Tom? Read this wonderful book to find out.

Reviewed by: sc

Date read: 4/28/2009

ISBN-10: 0689864043

ISBN-13: 9780689864049

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Jason's sulking in his room, feeling miserable, when his black cat, Gareth, speaks. It doesn't surprise Jason too much that Gareth can talk. What does surprise him is what Gareth says: while he doesn't have nine lives, he can visit nine different lives in any place and time. As it happens, Gareth can take Jason with him. If Jason and Gareth are separated, Jason will not be able to travel home. Their first stop is ancient Egypt. In Egypt, Gareth is snatched. Can Jason find his way home again?

Reviewed by: emc

Date read: 4/30/2010

ISBN-10: 0805072705

ISBN-13: 9780805072709

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This wordless picture book is great for dinosaur lovers. A bird flies into a museum full of dinosaur skeletons, and as it weaves among them, it flies into a real environment where living dinosaurs are roaming the land. The concept of time in this book is fluid, and present and past blend into one another. While there are no words in the book, the narrative is dynamic, as we follow the bird's trip and watch it escape the jaws of a dinosaur in an unexpected way. This book won a Caldecott Honor, and Rohmann is clearly an artist, as each spread of pages captures a scene with rich colors that give life to the scenery and fluid composition that draws the viewer into the action.

Awards nominated: Caldecott Honor 1995

Reviewed by: emc

Date read: 2/26/2010

ISBN-10: 0517595990

ISBN-13: 9780517595992

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Drew isn't happy to be away from his parents for the summer at his great-aunt's spooky house. Strange things are happening, like when he smells food that isn't in the house and sees faint images of women crying next to his bedroom door. Then one night, a boy who looks just like him emerges from the attic. It turns out that the boy comes from the past, where he is dying. The only way he can survive is if Drew agrees to switch places with him. Drew agrees, and suddenly he is living eighty years in the past, pretending to be someone he's not. Will Drew ever find his way back home?

Reviewed by: emc

Date read: 1/28/2010

ISBN-10: 0395665566

ISBN-13: 9780395665565

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The book is about four children who go back in time and do things in history with a magic toad. This is the sequel to The Knight's Castle.

Reviewed by: St. Charles Reader

Date read: 10/27/2009

ISBN-10: 0152020756

ISBN-13: 9780152020750

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