Tag Archives: fiction

All by Himself?

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written by Elana K. Arnold and illustrated by Giselle Potter

A child builds a masterpiece with some beautiful colored painted blocks and he does it all by himself. Or does he? This cumulative tale tells the story of the this boy’s masterpiece starting with the tree farmer, who plants a seedling many years before. An arborist cares for it and a woodcutter falls the mature tree. A woodworker carves blocks which are then painted by an artist. This artist packs them up and a driver delivers them to a toy store. The shopkeeper displays the blocks and they are purchased by a grandma, who brings them home to the child and he builds a masterpiece! Then it goes back to the beginning.

This story builds upon itself and is accompanied by watercolor and ink illustrations. Text is simple and repetitive. Students will jump in and “read along” as the story unfolds. While the story is cumulative, it also circles back to the beginning, which will be fun for the reader to follow.

Guest : a changeling tale by Mary Downing Hahn

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Thomas is a beautiful baby and his sister, Mollie, makes a mistake one day and tells him that. People are never supposed to tell the children how wonderful they are, because the Kinde Folk (a group of evil fairies) will carry off the child and replace it with a horribly ugly and ill-behaved one of their offspring.

This is exactly what happens to baby Thomas and the family is left with a biting, screaming changeling that Mollie calls “Guest”. This being throws the family into an upheaval as it wears Mollie’s mother down and drives her father away. Granny Hedgepath advises to keep the child safe and happy, so that the Kinde Folke will possibly (although highly unlikely) return Thomas. Mollie and her mother are near the breaking point, when Mollie decides to travel with Guest to the Darklands and hopes for a trade to bring her brother home.

Her journey is dangerous and may end in death. But, Mollie is determined to reclaim her brother, return Guest and make things right again for her family. Along the way, she meets some that may help and others that will try to kill her and keep her brother. The ending is a twisting and turning series of events that will surprise the reader almost as much as Mollie herself.

This is not a typical ghost story by Mary Downing Hahn. It is based on Irish myths and appears to be set in a village in the middle ages. Therefore, there is magic, both evil and good. An afterward explains the background of the story and might lead to further exploration. The fantasy elements work well and the story moves along. The scary parts are just scary enough and the reader’s imagination will paint some wonderfully dark pictures as the story progresses.

Recommended for libraries looking for more scary stories that have a bit of fairy dust (not the good kind!). Students will become invested in the journey and eventual, somewhat surprising, ending.

Helga Makes a Name for Herself by Meghan Maynor and illustrated by Eda Kaban

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Helga yearns to be a Viking, just like Ingrid the Axe. She begged for stories all the time – at bedtime, during her monthly bath and even fish-pickling time. Her parents tried to calm her ambition, telling her that she was a ‘farmersdotter’ and wouldn’t become a Viking. But, Helga didn’t let that squash her dreams – she and her pet wolverine spent their days doing all kinds of Viking stuff (at least she thought it was Viking stuff). One day, she heard that Ingrid the Axe was coming to town to recruit new members for her Viking crew. Ingrid and her wolverine headed down to town to pursue her dreams. She competed against other would-be Viking recruits and almost made it several times. She finally won a competition and just as Ingrid was about to speak, Helga’s parents ran up to apologize for their daughter’s silliness. Ingrid announced that Helga the Howler was invited to join her crew! The rest, as they say, is history. Helga the Howler and her trusty wolverine plied the oceans of the flat world, gaining fame and fortune as a might Viking Warrior!

This is a wonderful story of perseverance and following your dream, no matter how unlikely. Illustrations are cartoon-like and bright. The story moves along at a face pace with several chuckle-inducing asides along the way. There is also an author’s note and bibliography in the back that includes titles for further consideration and websites for exploration. Highly Recommended.

Gone Camping

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In a follow up to the popular Gone Fishing, a camping trip with grandpa is told through a variety of poetry forms. Siblings Lucy and Sam head off to the woods with grandpa when their dad comes down with a cold. Lucy is skeptical about the ‘fun’ of a trip, but Sam is all in. Their adventures, from setting up the tent to early morning fishing, are all part of a trip that goes from bad idea to wonderfully exciting for Lucy.

Each poem tells part of the story and is labeled with the poetry form, which is described in the back of the book. Poetry rhythm, rhyme and techniques are also explained, making this book multi-faceted. It is a series of short poems that expand into a full story for the reader. In addition to reading this for fun (highly recommended), this book can be used very successfully for a poetry unit.

Illustrations are done in black ink and are scattered liberally throughout the story. They add to the fun and exuberance of the words.

This book is a wonderful tribute to time spent with a grandparent. Adventures range from worries about possible critters in the tent to yummy s’mores and cannonballs into the lake. Who wouldn’t love to spend time with a grandpa (or any loving adult) doing just that?

Athena & the Magic Land

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Modern day, normal Athena is on her way home from school and playing a video game along the way. She is engrossed in the game, which includes a cute digital dog named Oliver when she has a run-in with mean girl, Medusa. These people sound familiar. Not surprisingly, Athena gets swept up in a magical storm that sends her close to Mt. Olympus wearing clothes that look suspiciously Greek . A tiny goddess, Hestia, advises her to walk along the ‘Hello Brick Road’ (also familiar…) to meet Zeus, who can help her return home. Along the way, she meets up with a Medusa who looks a lot like the nasty one from home, but has snakes for hair and wants her magical sandals so badly she’ll turn Oliver to stone. Athena also helps a new friend, Persephone, who tags along hoping to ask for some magic help from Zeus, too.

We don’t find out in this book whether they make it to Mt. Olympus yet. That sets us up for future books and adventures. Black and white illustrations move the story along and unfamiliar words and characters are explained on the “Cast of characters” page and “Word List” page. There are also questions at the back for reflection. This is a simple read that will be perfect for those readers that want to move away from picture books, but aren’t quite ready for chapter books. The story line is a bit saccharine, but does introduce some mythological characters and might pique interest in further exploration.

What is Inside This Box?

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Monkey has a box and tells his friend, Cake, that there is a cat inside. This cat is magic, though. If the box is opened, he disappears! Cake questions this logic and he and Monkey have a spirited discussion about it. Cake is sure that there is no cat in the box, because there is a magic dinosaur in the box. And, this dinosaur disappears when the box is opened. The two friends eventually determine that they will never really know and walk away toward some pie. After they leave, a cat peeks out of the box and rides away on a dinosaur’s back.

This cute nod to Schrodeinger’s cat has simple illustrations on uncluttered pages, reminiscent of Mo Willem’s Elephant & Piggie. The text is dialogue and each character has a different color of speech bubble, making it easy for the reader to determine who is speaking at any given time. The friendship is real and they can agree to disagree in an amicable fashion, which is a lesson in itself. Early readers will enjoy the story and the characters and wonder themselves about the contents of the box!

Surfboard to Peril

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Miss Mallard, well-known “ducktective” has a big case to solve. She is vacationing in Hawaii and surfing with her instructors, Kai and Kawai when she hits a mysterious rock with her surfboard. It turns out that it is an ancient stone that proves the land is owned by both villages nearby. As the villagers are celebrating the stone and the answers it provides, it disappears! Miss Mallard is on the case. She dusts the area for featherprints and finds a suspicious keychain. She has three suspects, an archaeologist (Horace Shoveller), an old sailor (Joe Scaup) and a builder (Clyde Pochard) who is interested in developing the land. Through her quick wits and deductive reasoning, Miss Mallard captures the thief and restores the stone to its rightful place.

This story is a nice introduction to early chapter books, with a list of characters/descriptions in the front of the book and a glossary of potentially unfamiliar words in the back. Illustrations are black and white and the words are in larger font. Readers will enjoy this quick read and will enjoy the mystery that Miss Mallard solves for them.

Edison Beaker, Creature Seeker: the lost city

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Edison Beaker believes that he will never be a Creature Seeker (after book #1). But, Gigi (his great grandma) has other ideas. She tells Edison that he is ready to be a Creature Seeker and must find the Spark to light the city of Pharos. Otherwise, it will be forever sunk into gloom and the evil Baron Umbra and the Underlings will rule. Edison and his sister, Tesla, go to Gigi’s house to locate her book, which will explain everything. Thankfully, Gigi gave Tesla a monster detecting bracelet before they left, because Underlings come after them as they are looking for Gigi’s book. Their friend, Knox, from the Underwhere helps them escape the Underlings and they go through the Night Door to save Pharos.

Baron Umbra won’t let that happen easily and it takes the three intrepid heroes and a new friend, an Underling named Smudge, to return the light to Pharos and save the city. Along the way, they discover that true friendship, family and loyalty can go far in making the world better.

Colorful illustrations and a little bit of scariness make this a nice elementary level graphic novel. The classic good versus evil is woven nicely into the story. The main characters are loyal, brave and accepting of others (although Tesla was much quicker than Edison in that respect). In case you might want more – the last page has a huge hint that the story will continue…

Snail & Worm: All Day

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Snail and Worm star in three lovely stories in this sweet picture book for early readers. In Best Day Ever, Snail defines a “good day” very differently. His day didn’t go too well, but others had wonderful experiences and he was happy for them; hence, the best day ever! The Spooky Cave is a story about a dragon…er, turtle, that scares Snail enough to cause him to ‘run’ away even though Worm tries to tell Snail that the animal is really a turtle. And, the third story is A Bedtime Story that highlights the sweet relationship of these two friends. The pen and watercolor illustrations lend themselves to the simple story line quite well. Characters’ emotions are displayed and add to the humor of the book.

Give this book to readers who enjoy friendship stories like Elephant and Piggie or Frog and Toad. Snail & Worm have the same sweet, loyal friendship and will be a welcome addition to your collection.

Penguinaut!

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Poor Orville! All his friends at the zoo are bigger and have more adventures than him. So, he decides to go on a really, really big adventure. He is going to fly to the moon! He plans and builds and has some disasters, but he keeps working until he makes the perfect rocket. He says goodbye to his friends and flies to the moon, where he jumps, dances and has the best adventure all by himself! He feels a little lonely and finds a note from his friends. He flies back to earth where he has the greatest adventure of all – being with his friends.

This is a sweet story about friendship and perseverance (and a penguin). The illustrations are simple and the text flows well and becomes a part of the illustration (“Orville was small. His friends were BIG.”). While the story is really about friendship; it also introduces the concept of perseverance as Orville tries, fails and tries again until he successfully flies to the moon. The end is wonderful and students will agree that adventures are best with friends.

Vampires on the Run

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Quinnie Boyd is once again faced with the possibility of solving a mystery. Her friend, Ella, has just welcomed her long-time family friends, to whom she refers as aunt and uncle, to her Maiden Rock, Maine home.  Aunt Ceil and Uncle Edgar Waterman are famous authors of the best seller Transylvanian Drip, the latest installment in their vampire novel series. This sleepy Maine town is excited to be hosting the famous vampire writers. Eccentric barely describes the looks and behaviors of the duo. Meanwhile another pair of odd individuals come to town for a fishing vacation and a new family with a teenage son relocates to Maiden Rock. Quinnie quickly makes friends with Dominic, the new kid, and the two of them become almost inseparable. They begin to notice mysterious occurrences that appear to be linked to Ella’s aunt and uncle.  In an attempt to prove Ceil and Edgar are real vampires, Quinnie and her friends discover another secret that threatens the safety of the citizens and visitors of Maiden Rock. A quirky story, this book will leave readers looking forward to the next Quinnie Boyd Mystery release.

Yours Truly

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Truly Lovejoy is back in this second installment of the Pumpkin Falls Mystery series. Readers do not need to have read book one, Absolutely Truly, in order to follow the storyline of this book.  The author references elements of book one, but provides context so book one details do not detract from this story. In the second book, Truly learns about her namesake and the history of the house she now calls home in Pumpkin Falls, New Hampshire. As the story develops, there are multiple mysteries that interconnect to reveal the rich history of the area and the founders of the town. Truly and her friends call themselves the Pumpkin Falls Private Eyes, and they work together to crack a maple syrup crime and settle a town feud. Along the way, Truly also investigates her family’s history, uncovering a local connection to the underground railroad and uses her quick wit to find her younger sister when she goes missing. With a complex mystery to solve, historically accurate details, and engaging and realistic family and friendship complications, this book will be a winner with mystery, historical, and realistic fiction readers.   

The Scourge

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Ani Mells falls from one small problem into an entirely different, huge problem.  After falling from a tree, she is taken into custody to be tested for The Scourge – the fatal and incurable disease sweeping through the land. Her best friend, Weevil, seeing her capture finds a way to join Ani.  Together they find themselves in a holding cell, waiting to be tested. Not new to close scrapes, the two escape. Unfortunately Ani is recaptured, tests positive, and is sent away to finish her days with other Scourge victims. Ani doesn’t know how to be a compliant, docile captive and Weevil finds a way to join Ani in captivity. Together, they plan to escape, disease and captivity.  During their time in the isolated Scourge colony, they begin to piece together the mystery of the disease, the care and the treachery of Governor Felling and the lengths to which she will go to remain in power.  Ani, a natural leader, along with Weevil, plot to unite the colonist and foil the Governor’s plan. The story is action packed and readers won’t want to put it down. Another hit by Jennifer A. Nielson.

The Gathering

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Five kids, living in different parts of the country, who do not know each other, are each drawn to Larkspur House.  For Poppy, who is at an orphanage, Larkspur is a connection to her past.  To Marcus, Larkspur is an opportunity to study music, unhampered by his family. To Azumi, it represents distance from a family tragedy. To Dylan and Dash, the Hollywood twins, it is another chance to star in a movie. Whatever the pretense, each child makes his/her way to Larkspur where nothing is as it seems and nothing is as promised.  Broken promises yield to Larkspur’s dark past and the kids must band together to survive the hauntings of Shadow House. Kids who are looking for a thrill will like this book. Complete with the Shadow House app, available for free download, kids will enter the haunted world through the written word and augmented reality software.

First Class Murder

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Journey back in time to Europe in the 1930’s and take a train ride on the Orient Express.  Our heroines, Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells, just finished school term and are taking a journey with Hazel’s father. They have been given strict instructions to avoid detecting. This is something they cannot do when a mystery lands in their laps. In order to find a murderer and a spy, they must employ their deductive reasoning skills once again even at the risk of upsetting Hazel’s father and placing themselves in danger. The title can stand alone or may be read in order with the other books in the Wells and Wong Mystery series. A recommended read for who-done-it enthusiasts.

When Friendship Followed Me Home

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When Friendship Followed Me Home is a story about friendship and growing up. Ben Coffin spent many years in the foster care system. Finally finding a home to call his own, his life progresses steadily. He mostly keeps to himself and enjoys spending time at the local library. Books are his friends; the library his domain. The librarian knows his reading preferences and suggests books to check out. One day, a small dog follows Ben into the library and then home. On that same day, Ben meets the most amazing girl he has ever met, Halley – like the comet. A friendship blooms and a creative partnership is born. Together Ben and Halley embark on a journey to write a story. Then, when life is progressing smoothly, Ben’s adoptive mother dies, Ben and his four-legged friend, Flip, find themselves living with his aunt and her husband. Unfortunately, this is not an ideal situation as Leo doesn’t have the temperament to be a father. Halley’s family ends up opening their home and hearts to Ben and Flip.The relationship that develops between Ben and Halley’s family is heartwarming. Halley is sick, and the Lorentz’ are struggling with Halley’s physical decline. Ben learns that unlike writing a story, you cannot write a new ending to life. You can, however, choose your path and the people you call family.  This was a touching story that is a great choice for realistic fiction lovers.

Revenge of the Green Banana

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Revenge of the Green Banana reads like a memoir and many aspects of the fictional tale are true, but the book is considered a work of fiction – historical, humorous, and realistic. The story begins in 1958 with Jim Murphy beginning the sixth grade. He is determined that this year will be different than all of the others. This year, he will change his ways and become a serious student who is dedicated to academic excellence. Unfortunately, the teachers at St. Stephen’s Catholic School are not privy to Jim’s transformation. Jim finds himself a student in Sister Angelica’s class. Jim soon learns that Sister Angelica has a file on him and a chip on her shoulder. Jim’s journey into academic and social excellence is short lived and quickly transforms into a revenge plot to destroy his new teacher. Along the journey of revenge, Jim learns important life lessons both in and out of school. He soon questions his desire to destroy this new teacher and isn’t sure how to change the course of action. Kids will get a nice chuckle out of this book.

The IT Girl

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Anna Huntley wakes up one day to find her entire world changed because her dad is dating the super famous actress, Helena Montaine. Anna is thrust into the celebrity world as an IT girl.  Unfortunately for Anna, she is not a typical IT girl. She lacks the refinement, grace, and fashion sense of her to-be 17-year-old step sister, Marianne. In this humorous first installment, Anna must learn to be an IT girl. She learns that the image doesn’t make the person and she discovers the true meaning of friendship. This quirky character will bring a smile to your face. Readers who enjoy The IT Girl will easily slip into the humorous world of Louise Rennison’s Confessions of Georgia Nicolson Series.

The Daring Escape of The Misfit Menagerie

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Misfit Menagerie

“Smalls the sun bear, Tilda the Angora rabbit, Rigby the Komondor dog, and Wombat the wombat are the four animals that make up “the misfit menagerie.”
Together they’ve always lived a happy life on Mr. Mumford’s farm. That is, until one fateful evening when Mumford, loopy from elderberry wine, accidentally loses them to the dastardly circus owner Grande Master Claude. Suddenly, these animals are forced to perform death-defying tricks and live in filthy, cramped cages as members of Claude’s traveling circus. But all hope is not lost! Claude’s nephew Bertie and his friend Susan, a circus acrobat, are equally fed up with Claude’s evil ways, and together they might just have what it takes to find their ticket out of the circus.” Amazon.com

Resnick is a writer who creates characters worth caring about and a plot line that keeps the reader engaged.  However, the abuse that occurs is harsh.  Once the reader has begun to care about the characters it is very hard to read the detailed description of their individual cruel treatments and sufferings. An angry elephant, a hot-to-trot Zebra and an elderly monkey who has given up on life are a few of the side characters.  These animals are starkly contrasted by the main animals: a wombat, a sun bear, a Komondor dog and an angora rabbit who live an idyllic existence until a cruel circus master swindles them away from their loving owner.  The circus master also “owns” two children.  One performs in the circus and the other does everything necessary to help keep a circus running.
The story line is very engaging and the writing style is fluid and descriptive. Perhaps a bit too strong in many instances where the cruelty and abuse is concerned. The harshness without redeeming or redemptive outcomes makes me rate this book as not recommended.
There is a sequel and perhaps that will add light and meaning to this work.

Sidney & Sydney: Book 1 Third Grade Mix-Up

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sidney and sydneyThe start of a new school year and the start of third grade.  What could induce more uncertainty and nervousness?  How about stepping into the classroom on the first day and seeing that your teacher spelled your name wrong.  Should you speak up? Perhaps it’s better to just sit down and not make a fuss about it.  After all the teacher, Mr. Luther,  is known to be grumpy.

Ah, the trials of third grade!  Sydney (spelled with a “y”) meets her gender counterpart (Sidney with an “i”) on that first day.  They soon find out they have a lot more in common than just a same first name.  This is a story of friendship that elementary students will like to read about.  The dialog is very realistic and the characters are well written and believable.  The story line is engaging without being trite or overly predictable.  Jakubowski seems to accurately understands her audience.

The story is heavily illustrated, in full color, by Luisa Montalto. Most of the illustrations are full page, centering on the characters with little to no background distractions. The opening pages give an illustrated bio of the characters and the end pages give further info and insight into the characters.  I can envision many of my students trying to copy Montalto’s clean style and creating a Sydney or Sidney of their own.

Visit Capstone to have students read bios on Sydney and Sidney and there respective friends.  Also there are two downloads: “How funny are you?” and “Are you a good friend?”  Both of these quizzes are the type with no definitive right or wrong answers.  They are the type that sum up your answers with “If you have mostly “A” answers you are….

 

 

Finding Zasha

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This is the prequel to Saving Zasha and is set in 1941 during the German invasion of Russia.

The main character is twelve year old Ivan. After an intense bombing of his home city of Leningrad, Ivan and his mother are forced to leave their home. The company Ivan’s mother works for is moving operations to the Ural mountains for safety and continued productivity.  Ivan is not allowed to go with her; therefore, she is forced to make the heart wrenching decision of separating from her only child.  Mom decides to send Ivan to live with her brother Boris who lives 70 miles away.

Ivan’s new city is soon overtaken by the Germans and Ivan inadvertently becomes an entertainer for the German commander, Major Axel Recht, a cruel and ruthless man. Axel has two German Sheppard puppies that he is training to hunt and kill Russian citizens. Ivan is horrified at the intended use of these beautiful creatures and appalled at their cruel treatment, so he makes up his mind to steal the dogs away from Axel.  Axel is a man who callously and blatantly punishes anyone whom he perceives to have crossed him in any way. Ivan realizes that Axel in all likely hood will literally kill him for what he is about to do, but he feels compelled to steal the dogs regardless of the potentially dire consequences he could face.

This prequel gives the reader introduction to characters and motivations that are in the first book Saving Zasha.  This is an interesting read for upper elementary and middle school students. Both boys and girls will enjoy the story. The beginning hooks the reader with the bombing of Leningrad.  The story lags just a bit in the middle and the end wraps up just a little too quickly; however, Finding Zasha is still a very engaging read.

The Curiosities: a Collection of Short Stories

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I am not usually a fan of short story collections; I like really long books, long enough that I feel like the characters are friends by the time I finish reading. However, this collection of stories was delightful. I was engaged from the first story to the last. All three authors, Gratton, Stiefvater and Yovanoff, are popular young adult authors. They created a website, www.merryfates.com, as an avenue for experimentation and critique. This book is a selection (more than 25) of the more than 250 works the three have posted online. Some of the stories originated from an image, others from an idea, a sentence or a common prompt. Just as good as the stories themselves are the comments and illustrations of the authors. Every story begins with an introduction by one of the Merry Fates and comments from the author and has handwritten notes by any or all of the authors throughout the story.  The selections range from stories about the fey and serial killers, to pyromaniacs, dragonslayers, berserkers and ghosts. This would be a wonderful book for any teen who wanted to become a writer.

Dragonbreath: Revenge of the Horned Bunnies

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Danny Dragonbreath is excited about going to summer camp this year.  That is until he finds out his younger cousin, Spencer, is going too. The disappointing news is tempered by the fact that his two best friends,Wendell and Christiana, will be going too. Things start looking up even more when the group has a mystery to solve.  Who is stealing the jackalopes from the camp?

A mix of graphic novel and heavily illustrated text, this series is a student favorite. Funny, witty and an imaginative escape.  Highly recommended.

 

 

 

Farm Boy: The Sequel to War Horse

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In this sequel to War Horse readers find out more about what happened to Joey (the horse) and Albert, the boy who loved him.  Readers who haven’t read War Horse are brought up to speed by Morpurgo’s well placed summary of the preceding story.  In Farm Boy, readers learn more about Albert’s own family and the generations that follow.

At the center of this heartwarming story is an old, green Fordson tractor that is covered in cornstacks at the back of the barn.  The story unfolds mainly by Albert’s great-grandson’s narration; however, Albert’s son (Grandpa in this story) does add his own tale in the middle of the story.  Morpurgo has nicely dovetailed in Grandpa’s voice through the use of a handwritten letter from Grandpa to his grandson.   The letter is titled “Grandpa’s Story” and it tells a different tale about Joey and how the old, green Fordson tractor was obtained.

An enjoyable read that would be great as a read aloud choice.