Readers Advisory
Kurtz, Jane. The storyteller’s beads. During the political strife and famine of the 1980’s, two Ethiopian girls, one Christian and the other Jewish and blind, struggle to overcome many difficulties, including their prejudices about each other, as they make the dangerous journey out of Ethiopia.
Williams, Mary. Brothers in hope : the story of the lost boys of Sudan. Eight-year-old Garang, orphaned by a civil war in Sudan, finds the inner strength to help lead other boys as they trek hundreds of miles seeking safety in Ethiopia, and then Kenya, before being offered sanctuary in the United States many years later.
Roberts, Willo Davis. Hostage. Eleven-year-old Kaci and her nosy elderly neighbor Mrs. Banducci are kidnapped and held hostage after Kaci accidently interrupts burglars in the process of robbing her house.
Giff, Patricia Reilly. Kidnap at the Catfish Café. Assisted by her cat Max, sixth grader Minnie starts up her new detective agency by investigating a kidnapping and a thief who will steal anything, even a hot stove.
Roberts, Willo Davis. The kidnappers : a mystery. No one believes eleven-year-old Joey, who has a reputation for telling tall tales, when he claims to have witnessed the kidnapping of the class bully outside their expensive New York City private school.
Norton, Mary. The Borrowers aloft ; with the short tale, Poor stainless. The Borrowers, a family of tiny people, are kidnapped from their home in Little Fordham and held captive in an attic.
Bosch, Pseudonymous. This book is not good for you. Cass’s mom is kidnapped by the evil dessert chef, Senor Hugo, who requests the legendary tuning fork as ransom, leading Cass and Max-Ernest to try finding the magical instrument in time.
Shaw, Janet. Kaya’s escape! : a survival story. In the winter of 1764, after Kaya and her sister are kidnapped from their Nez Perce village by enemy horse raiders, she tries to find a way to escape back home. Includes historical notes on education and learning among the Nez Perce Indians.
Paratore, Coleen Murtagh. Sunny Holiday. Spunky third-grader Sunny Holiday tries to make the best out of every situation, and even though her father is in prison, she and her mother count their blessings and manage to find joy in every day.
Frederick, Heather Vogel. The Mother-Daughter Book Club. The mothers of four very different sixth-grade girls pressure them into forming a book club, and find, as they read the classic novel “Little Women,” that they have more in common than they thought.
Schroeder, Lisa. It’s Raining Cupcakes. Twelve-year-old Isabel dreams of seeing the world but has never left Oregon, and so when her best friend, Sophie, tells her of a baking contest whose winners travel to New York City, she eagerly enters despite concerns about her mother, who is opening a cupcake bakery. Includes recipes.
Hass, Robert B. African critters. National Geographic photographer Robert B. Haas shares his experience in Africa and his wildlife photographs and provides information about the animals of the continent.
Harley, Avis. African acrostics : a word in edgeways. Contains color photographs of various African animals, each with a lighthearted poem that contains acrostics.
Hansen, Rosanna. Caring for cheetahs : my African adventure. The author describes her experiences working at a nature reserve owned by the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia, Africa, and shares what she learned about the endangered animals and what is being done to protect them.
Joubert, Beverly and Dereck. Face to face with lions. Dereck Joubert shares the experiences he and his wife have had while studying and photographing lions in Africa for twenty-five years, and provides information about the lives of lions, their eating habits, behaviors, and uncertain future.
texasbluebonnetaward 