According to an Aesop fable, the one about the hares and the frogs, 'There is always someone worse off than yourself.' Well Georgina Hayes figures that Aesop must have been stupid, because there was no one worse off than she. After her dad left the family with not enough money to pay the rent she, her mom, and her little brother had been living in their car. They cleaned up in the mornings in the bathroom at McDonold's or the drugstore or the pancake house and then went to school in wrinkled, dirty clothes. So when Georgina sees an old tattered sign offering a $500 reward for the return of someone's dog, she thinks she has the answer. After all stealing someone's dog to get a reward is OK if your really, really desperate. Or is it?

Awards nominated: Blue Stem Nominee 2011

Reviewed by: caroll

Date read: 5/5/2010

ISBN-10: 0312561121

ISBN-13: 9780312561123

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Georgina and her mother and brother are living in their old car after being evicted from an apartment. They were left almost penniless when their dad/husband left. Georgina's mama is busy with two jobs while the kids are in school. Georgina wants to help mama and especially wants to quit living in the car; so she concocts a plan to do so. She plots all the steps to accomplish the plan but may have forgotten a step or two. This young girl is presented in a passionate way by the author. Will she develop a more keen sense of what's right when everything else seems wrong?

Awards nominated: Bluestem Nominee 2011

Reviewed by: cj

Date read: 7/12/2010

ISBN-10: 0374334978

ISBN-13: 9780374334970

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Wanda Petronski only has one faded blue dress that she wears to school every day. One day, Wanda boasts that she has 100 dresses at home in her closet. After that, Peggy and the other girls tease Wanda about her dresses. Maddie feels bad about the teasing, but does nothing to stop it. After Wanda disappears from school, Maddie regrets standing by while she was treated unkindly. The surprising ending shows that Wanda wasn't making things up, after all. This is a gentle book with a powerful message about kindness and accepting those who are a bit different.

Awards won: Newbery Honor book 1945

Reviewed by: msp

Date read: 10/7/2010

ISBN-10: 0152051708

ISBN-13: 9780152051709

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Having always lived in the shadow of her fabulous older sister, thirteen-year-old Floey decides to reinvent herself, after her sister gets married, and moves away. Despite the success a new attitude, and some hair dye make, a major setback occurs when her cousin posts Floey's private diary on the Internet, and leaves her on her own to handle the disaster.

Reviewed by: sc

Date read: 3/27/2009

ISBN-10: 0440420466

ISBN-13: 9780440420460

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Cassie would give anything to be a famous dancer like Miranda Farren, who is a part of the dance troupe for the pop singer, Stella. Cassie is a wonderful dancer, but she is scared to dance in front of people. Why can't she be confident like Jake? How will she ever make her dancing dreams come true if she can't even make it through a recital? This early chapter book has lots of pictures and is perfect for readers just beginning to read chapter books.

Similar books: Ballerina Dreams series by Ann Bryant; Gym Shorts series by Betty Hicks

Reviewed by: emc

Date read: 9/29/2010

ISBN-10: 1580893384

ISBN-13: 9781580893381

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