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Luke–framed for a crime he didn’t commit. Will and Lyssa—sibling warfare out of control. Charla—athletic perfectionist. Ian—TV junkie. J.J.—celebrity kid gone bad. All six are condemned to a month out at sea with CNC, Charting a New Course, a sailing program designed to rehab troubled kids. When a fierce storm and a costly error by…

Zuno picks David Wiesner’s Three Pigs. A multiple Caldecott Medal winner, here Wiesner twists the tale of the three little pigs. If you are familiar with Wiesner’s work, such as Tuesday and Flotsam, you know to expect the unexpected. Join the three little pigs as they scamper from page to page and from story to story in…

Hateful: #1 – Is the Light On? “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who…

Every summer, Joey and his sister, Mary Alice, find themselves on a train from Chicago to Grandma’s small town somewhere on the way to St. Louis. Richard Peck’s A Long Way From Chicago takes place during the Great Depression and Grandma Dowdel doesn’t even have indoor plumbing. Yet Grandma delivers one surprise after another for…

Black and white illustrations mirror the simple text of Susan Marie Swanson’s House in the Night. Illustrator Beth Krommes employs scratchboard and watercolor to achieve her drawings. Kromme contrasts yellow with black and white to tell Swanson’s story of dark and light. I love the symbolism in this book. Its pages flow with hope and…

Hateful: #2 – TSL, Truth as a Second Language “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a…

Carolyn Meyers based her novel, White Lilacs, on the true story of the Quakertown community of Denton, Texas in the early 1920’s. In the White Lilacs town of Dillon, the white community encircles the black neighborhood. Twelve-year-old Rosa Lee tells the story of how white leaders decide to move the black community and convert their…

In Emily Arnold McCully’s Mirette on the High Wire, actors and entertainers from across the world stay at her mother’s Paris boarding house. A mysterious guest arrives one evening. Monsieur Bellini sets up a tight rope and practices every day. Entranced, Mirette secretly tries the high wire for herself. Monsieur Bellini agrees to train Mirette…

Hateful: #3 – Murder, in the Classroom, with the Mouth “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and…

In Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach, James longs to escape from the top of the hill where he lives with his horrible aunts, Sponge and Spiker. If you are familiar with Lemony Snicket’s Count Olaf, you’ll understand when I tell you that these ladies win hands down in a Creepy Guardian Contest. One…