BOOKS TO BORROW

“Eleven” by Patricia Reilly Giff, Wendy Lamb Books, 165 pages

Read aloud: age 8 and older

Read yourself: age 9 and older

On the eve of his 11th birthday, Sam McKenzie scours the house looking for his hidden gifts. When his search leads him to the attic, what he finds disturbs him greatly. A locked box with a newspaper hanging halfway out of the lid reveals a picture of Sam as a little boy. Sam wants to know what the article says, but Sam can’t read. The only words he can make out are “missing” and his first name, Sam, but a different last name — Bell.

What does this mean? Has Sam’s life been a lie? Is his gentle, loving grandfather, Mack, really his grandfather? And why does Sam keep dreaming about the number 11?

Sam needs the help of someone he can trust to read the article to him. Caroline, the new girl at school, agrees to help Sam unravel his past, and as they work together they forge a friendship that neither one had ever experienced before nor believed could happen. 

LIBRARIAN’S CHOICE

Library: Salem Free Public Library, 264 Hartford Rd., Salem

Library Director: Rachel Gaither

Choices this week: “Froggy Goes to School” by Jonathan London; “Three Good Deeds” by Vivian Vande Velde; “Lightning Thief” by Rick Riordan 

BOOKS TO BUY

“The Most Wonderful Thing in the World” by Vivian French, illustrated by Angela Barrett, Candlewick, 2015, 32 pages

Read aloud: age 4 to 8

Read yourself: age 7 and 8

Long ago, there was a beautiful kingdom ruled lovingly by a king and a queen. The king and the queen had a beautiful daughter, Lucia, whom they cherished dearly. One day, the king told his wife that the day will come when Lucia will rule the kingdom. With this thought, the two realized Lucia’s husband would be the king, but Lucia wasn’t married nor did she have a suitor.

Inquiring with Wise Old Angelo as to the best way to go about the difficult task of finding a suitable husband for Lucia, Angelo replied, “You must find the young man who can show you the most wonderful thing in the world.” Delighted with Angelo’s counsel, a proclamation was sent out to lands near and far.

For many days thereafter, the king and queen met with one suitor after another, each presenting elaborate gifts. Despite the rich and sometimes mysterious gifts, none struck the king and queen as adequate until, at last, a shy young man showed the king and queen what they had known all along — the most wonderful thing in the world. 

“When Sophie’s Feelings Are Really, Really Hurt” by Molly Bang, Blue Sky Press/Scholastic, 2015, 36 pages

Read aloud: age 4 to 8

Read yourself: age 7 and 8

Sophie loves to paint, so when her teacher tells the class to find a tree that they like a LOT, look at it carefully, and the next day they will paint that tree from memory, Sophie is excited. Sophie already has a favorite tree — a big beech tree in the woods close to her house. Sophie studies her tree carefully and tucks her memories in her mind for class tomorrow.

As Sophie begins her painting, she feels certain she will be able to express how much she loves her tree. But her gray tree trunk looks sad to Sophie, and her tree isn’t sad at all. Suddenly, Sophie has an idea about her choice of colors, but when her classmates see what she has painted, they laugh at her and Andrew tells her, “You did it WRONG.”

Luckily, Sophie’s teacher helps all the students understand that there are many ways we express ourselves and that our differences are both good and make the world and life interesting.

kendal@sunlink.net