BOOKS TO BORROW

"Woods Runner" by Gary Paulsen, Wendy Lamb Books, 164 pages

Read aloud: age 10 and older

Read yourself: age 11 and older

Thirteen-year-old Samuel lives with his parents on the edge of the wilderness in the British colony of Pennsylvania. Samuel's life is peaceful, and he is more at home in the wilderness than anywhere else.

All of that changes one evening when Samuel returns home after hunting to find his neighbors murdered and his parents missing. The rumors had been right - the American patriots had begun their battle against the English, and the war had reached Samuel's home.

With his parents taken prisoner by the British and Iroquois, Samuel follows their trail deep into enemy territory to try and free them.

LIBRARIAN'S CHOICE

Library: Wheeler Library, 101 Main St., North Stonington

Library Director: Amy Kennedy

Choices this week: "Through My Eyes" by Ruby Bridges; "When Marian Sang" by Pam Muñoz Ryan; "Go Away Big Green Monster" by Ed Emberley

AT THE BOOKSTORE

"Murphy: Gold Rush Dog" by Allison Hart, illustrated by Michael G. Montgomery, Peachtree, 2014

Read aloud: age 7 and older

Read yourself: age 8, 9 and older

Murphy the dog has escaped his dreadful life on a dogsled team in Alaska. As he searches for food and a family, he meets young Sally and her mother who have fled from their domineering family in Seattle. Sally and her mother are determined to make a new life for themselves in Gold Rush Alaska, and with Murphy by their side they find companionship in a land dominated by gold-crazed men.

Though Sally and her mother work hard to make ends meet, it becomes apparent that they may have to give it all up and return to Seattle. Sally and Murphy strike out to find gold with the hope of securing enough to stay in Nome. But there is far more danger in the vast wilderness than Sally had imagined.

"Fiona's Lace" by Patricia Polacco, Simon & Schuster, 2014, 44 pages, $17.99 hardcover

Read aloud: age 4 to 9

Read yourself: age 8 and 9

Patricia Polacco's great-great-grandmother Fiona was born in a small village in Ireland. While Fiona lived there, her mother taught her how to make lace. Times were hard in Ireland, and the family moved to Chicago in search of a better life. In America, everyone had to work to make ends meet. In Finoa's spare time she continued to make lace, eventually selling her works of art to a dressmaker. And while the income was helpful for the family, they would soon discover Fiona's lace would provide a much greater service than any of them could have anticipated.

kendal@sunlink.net