Ted's little sister, Vicki, has a new friend named Marella, and she's a ghost. Vicki isn't afraid of Marella, who's a little girl like she is, but she is afraid of the bad lady who is chasing Marella. While investigating the ghost, Ted discovers a journal, left by his great-great-grandmother, Winifred, relating her story of assisting runaway slaves who drowned in the canal behind the house. And Ted's family still lives there. Why are the ghosts following Ted's sister? Was his house really a station in the Underground Railroad?

Similar books: Ghost Soldier by Elaine Marie Alphin; The Backyard Ghost by Lynn Cullen; The Battlefield Ghost by Margery Cuyler

Reviewed by: sc

Date read: 4/13/2009

ISBN-10: 0152064672

ISBN-13: 9780152064679

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Protecting the spotted owl cost Borden Watson's father his logging job in the old growth forests of northern California, and Borden vows to destroy any spotted owl he sees. He sets off into the forest and returns with what he assumes to be a barred owlet that has fallen from its nest. But as the owl matures, it becomes clear that the Watson family has taken in the enemy.

Reviewed by: sc

Date read: 3/27/2009

ISBN-10: 0064406822

ISBN-13: 9780064406826

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The Queen's Thief is caught in a rival kingdom after boasting that he can steal anything. Gen is released into the magus' care, and they travel to a distant land where Gen must steal a precious stone from a temple of the gods. Thrilling and suspenseful, this Newbery Honor book is set in a mythical land with many gods, who's stories are intertwined with Gen's. Sequels are The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia.

Similar books: Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan; Bloody Jack series by L. A. Meyer

Awards won: Newbery Honor 1997

Reviewed by: djd

Date read: 8/10/2009

ISBN-10: 0688146279

ISBN-13: 9780688146276

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Everyone's heard the story of Jack and the beanstalk, and how Jack's little adventure made him a very rich man. But have you ever heard about Nick's climb up the beanstalk? Things up in the clouds are much different now than they were way back when Jack made his climb. If you like this one, try The Brave Apprentice also by P.W. Catanese.

Reviewed by: sc

Date read: 4/29/2009

ISBN-10: 0689871732

ISBN-13: 9780689871733

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After Garnet Linden finds a silver thimble, her life becomes much more exciting. Rain comes to end the drought which had threatened their crops and animals. An orphan boy comes to their farm and becomes part of their family. Garnet and her friend get locked in the library. She gets to run the threshing machine but falls asleep at the wheel. And all summer long, she is fattening her pig for the County Fair. Read about the quiet adventures of Garnet and her 'magic' thimble on a Wisconsin farm in the 1930s

Awards won: John Newbery Medal

Reviewed by: hap

Date read: 1/28/2011

ISBN-10: 0805003061

ISBN-13: 9780805003062

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