From the same author as RULES this novel shares a friendship between a small town girl from Maine named Lily and a daughter of a migrant worker named Salma.  

Lily has a blind dog named Lucky who wonders away and into the blueberry fields of eastern Maine where Salma is working.  Salma catches him and the beginning of a beautiful friendship begins.  Both girls learn important life lessons from each other while working together to help Salma win some much needed money at the county fair.  

This book tackles such big ideas as: prejudice, family, friendship, acceptance and love.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

This book is like no other I have read.  With the integration of pictures and words, this author creates suspense, emotion and character in his words!
Hugo is an orphan boy clock keeper who must steal to stay alive.  His lonely life takes a turn when he meets an eccentric young girl and a mean, bitter old man who run a toy booth in the train station where he lives.
This spellbinding mystery is like no other!  I know you will enjoy Hugo's perseverance and his determination to prove his secretive ways are not for bad!
ENJOY!

The BFG by Roald Dahl

I made a little summertime bargain with my boys: I would take them to the theater to see The BFG, but only after we read the book. This is the sort of thing that happens when you're stuck with a librarian for a mom.

When I was in 5th grade I read almost all of Roald Dahl's books. I read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I read James and the Giant Peach, I read his autobiography, titled Boy. Somehow, I missed The BFG. As I was reading this with my boys it came back to me how much I loved Roald Dahl. He was exceptional at making magic and wonder seem to fit into the everyday.

Ten-year-old Sophie has insomnia. That means she is awake when everyone else is asleep. One night, she sneaks a peek out of the window of the orphanage where she lives and spies a giant. Worse, the giant spies her, too! The giant scoops Sophie up and carries her far, far away to the Land of the Giants. There, she learns that her giant, The Big Friendly Giant (BFG for short), will not eat her, but the other giants will. Appalled, Sophie concocts a plan to permanently stop the giants from eating people.

In The BFG, Dahl creates an unlikely hero with a magical gift and a silly language all his own. My kids fell over laughing at some of the words he used and the way he used them!

(And don't forget, read a book that became a movie is one of the squares in our Summer Reading Bingo!)

The Paper Cowboy by Kristin Levine

Do you like cowboys?  Stories about family?  Interested in a setting that is minutes away from where you live?  Then check out The Paper Cowboy!  This historical fiction takes place in Downers Grove, IL....not too far from Wheaton.  In this book, the main character, who wishes he could be a real cowboy, is faced with issues and problems in school, at home, and in life.  His name is Tommy, and while he has flaws, and struggles with friendships and bullies, he has a huge heart and is likeable.  Tommy is given the opportunity to help his community come together, work together, and prove he really has many cowboy characteristics.   This story also portrays life in the 1950s, and the characters struggle with fear related to the Cold War and McCarthyism.  Check out The Paper Cowboy for great character portrayal and a bit of local flavor!

This Is Sadie by Sara O'Leary

Sadie may be little, but her imagination is enormous. She sails a cardboard box across a wide ocean and back to her room before breakfast. Sadie then takes us along as she spends a perfect day with friends, some of them real and some of them from the pages of books. As she becomes a mermaid, a boy raised by wolves and the Mad Hatter at Alice's tea party in Wonderland, Sadie reminds us that our imagination has no limits (and that books are a great way to feed our imagination)!

Octopus Alone by Divya Srinivasan

Shy Octopus loves looking out of her cozy cave, watching the lively animals of the coral reef play. One day, three playful seahorses discover her cave and want to play with her. Octopus tries to shoo them away before giving up and gliding out of her cave to hide in the big, wide ocean. She travels far across the sea to escape the playful seahorses and finally finds a gloriously empty expanse of sea where she can be totally, happily alone.

After spending some quiet time alone, observing a jellyfish and an enormous whale, Octopus discovers that she's had enough of being alone and is ready to return to her active reef.

The story of Octopus reminds us that it's okay when we don't want to play and it's okay to retreat into a quiet, safe place when we feel overwhelmed.

See You Next Year by Andrew Larsen and Todd Stewart

See You Next Year tells the story of a girl who sets off on a family vacation to the beach. They go to the same beach every year and stay in the same motel. The girl looks forward to the familiar comfort.

This year, something changes and she makes a new friend. Though her vacation is not what she expected, she learns that different can be good!

This picture book is a great summer read, with soft beachy pictures and text that captures these long, slow, magical summer days!

(This is a book I borrowed from the Wheaton Public Library!)