November/December 2013
— A boy walks through a snow-covered birch forest at dawn, observing animals in perfect harmony, until a bright light returns him to his bedroom and the start of a school...
— The Mighty Miss Malone, by Christopher Paul Curtis; Wendy Lamb Books: New York, 2012; $15.99 Usually I can tell whether I like a book or not within the first chapter....
— A girl shovels snow to earn money for Christmas presents, then must choose between a bracelet she wants and a gift for her sister.
— On Christmas Day, a girl discovers one of her ducks killed by a weasel, then incubates the duck's last egg to hatch a duckling she names CJ.
— A girl moves from Seattle to rural Idaho, finds a favorite spot under a tree to sketch the landscape, and appreciates the peace of country living.
— Summer of the Wolves, by Polly Carlson-Voiles; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers: New York, 2012; $15.99 Polly Carlson-Voiles’s Summer of the Wolves is a wonderful book about a...
— A teenage boy struggles to get his four-year-old sister to bed during a foggy night, finally outsmarting her with a clever intercom trick after she hides.
— Two friends climb an abandoned water tower at night, where one confronts his fear of heights while discovering his fearless friend has her own hidden fear.
— A girl draws a smiley face on a foggy bus window during a rainy morning, creating her own small moment of brightness against the gloom.
— A girl with amber eyes discovers she's a daughter of Bastet, joining a pack of feline women who hunt together under the stars.