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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…

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…

Hateful: #4 – Good Guys Gone Bad “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…

Lois Lowry’s Silent Boy touches the subject of special needs children in the early 1900’s, an era that was ill-equipped to help such kids. We learn, through the eyes of six-year-old Kate, about Jacob, a boy who Kate’s father describes as “different.” A friendship grows between Kate and Jacob, though Jacob rarely speaks. When a sequence of…

Hateful: #5 – Speed Work “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 stirs up…

Great-uncle Matthew, G.U.M. for short, collects fossils. He happens upon three rare specimens in his travels—Pauline, Petrova, and Posy. Care for these new “specimens” falls to his niece, Sylvia, and her nurse, Nana. G.U.M. disappears for years at a time and the family finances dwindle. Pauline shows promise as an actress. Petrova loves anything mechanical,…

Hateful: #6 – Family Court “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 stirs up…

Theodore Taylor’s Cay opens in the stunning setting of Curacao, a Dutch island off the Venezuelan coast. German submarines lurk nearby as World War II touches even the sunny Caribbean. Young Phillip and his mother seek to escape danger by fleeing to the United States, but their ship is torpedoed by the Germans. In the rush…

Hateful: #7 – Dog Ears “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 stirs up…