Regina


 * Regina's Book Selections**

**Picture Book #1 - __Angelina, Star of the Show__** **Story by: Katharine Holabird** **Illustrated by: Helen Craig**

**This is a story about a little mouse who wants to be the star of the show. However, in order to get to the show she has to take a boat with her grandparents. The little mouse, Angelina, is so focused on practicing her dancing that she is constantly in the way and she is constantly thinking of herself and not of how to help her grandparents. Well, as she was practicing and not helping, she slipped on the boat and got covered in dirty oil. Her dress was ruined which means she couldn't perform. It was grandma to the rescue as she helped Angelina find a new costume. After that Angelina learned to be helpful and at appropriate times to practice her dancing.**

**This was a story that I felt was dealing with someone who is totally obsorbed in themselves and their own well-being. Angelina didn't help her grandparents but instead made things messier and harder for them just because she wanted to dance instead of help. However, this book does a good job depicting how when we help others and do what is asked of us how much more smoothly things go. It was when she began helping that there was time for her grandma to show her some dance routines and for her grandpa to play while she danced. When everyone pitches in and does there part there is more time to enjoy each others company. It is not what others can do for you; instead it is what you can do for others.**

**Picture Book #2 __A Suitcase Surprise for Mommy__** **Written by: Cat Cora** **Pictures by: Joy Allen**

**Zoran is a little boy whose mother has to leave sometimes for work. This breaks Zoran's heart. His mother came up with a good idea. She asked Zoran for something special of his that she could take with her so she would always have a piece of him with her. Zoran searches through all his toys for the perfect thing for his mommy to take with her. What he comes up with is the best gift of all.**

**With all the military families in America and all the parents who have to travel for work; I think this is a perfect book for them. Zoran has real feelings of missing his mommy. The way that mommy had Zoran pick out the special item for her to take with gave him a special job to do so he wasn't focusing on how much he was going to miss her. Instead he wanted something for her to have that would remind her all day of him. And when he found the perfect thing it made them both happy. I think that this is a good strategy for parents who travel to do with their children. It benefits both the parent and the child.**

**Picture Book #3 __Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse__** **Written By: Kevin Henkes**

**Lilly was a mouse who loved to go to school. Lilly also loved her teacher and wanted to be a teacher like him someday. One day, Lilly brought some items to school that she had bought over the weekend with her Grammy. Lilly was having troubles focusing and kept interrupting the class with the items she brought. She couldn't even listen to the teacher. When she finally crossed the line and had the items taken from her until the end of the day she became very angry. She even wrote an angry note with a picture to her teacher. Her teacher also wrote a note to her telling her that tomorrow would be better. Lilly felt so horrible for what she has said and written to her teacher. She had to figure out a way to apologize to him.**

**This is a good book for teachers to use when dealing with a student in class who doesn't listen very well. The point of the story was that her teacher was a good teacher and she was a good mouse. However, she didn't listen when the teacher told her pay attention and when she got in trouble she lashed out at her teacher. Later, once she realized how mean she was to her teacher she felt bad and wanted to make it up to him. Sometimes we have students who for some reason that day aren't listening or who are being distracting to other students. It might make that day a rough day but the fact is that tomorrow is a new day. We should be teaching to our students not to lash out when things don't go our way and that we can have a lot better day by following the teacher's directions because their directions are for the good of the class.**


 * Picture Book #4 __10 Little Rubber Ducks__ **
 * Written By: Eric Carle **
 * 10 Little Rubber Ducks discusses many different things from how they are made and shipped to different directions they can go. The 10 rubber ducks were created and then shipped out. However, they fell of the ship and they each drifted in different directions. The last one ends up with mother duck and her ducklings. As the ducks move toward their nest the rubber duck floats along with the current they make. Then as they quack goodnight to one another the rubber duck squeaks. **
 * This was a cute book that can be used by teachers when talking about the manufacturing of items. It can also be used to teach students about directions. The ducks went north, south, east, west, as well as up and down and left and right. As the teacher reads she could have the students help identify where these ducks are going. Then the animals that the ducks encounter once they go a direction are context clues to the area they are in. This book could be a great resource to get students talking about different things. **


 * Picture Book #5 __Julius: The Baby of the World__ **
 * Written By: Kevin Henkens **


 * Lilly is a single child who is preparing for the birth of her little brother. She helps out and is excited for her baby brother to be born. However, once her little brother, Julius, is born everything changes. Lilly feels left out because of all the attention that baby Julius is getting. That is until someone else expresses how much they dislike him. Then her feelings toward her baby brother change. **


 * This is a wonderful book for parents to read to their children as they are preparing for their second child. Many times the first born is likely to resent their baby sibling because they are not used to the split of attention. They are so used to the attention being on just them that it is hard to adjust. This book has very real life qualities and can be used to help parents or adults to prepare themselves as well as their child for the birth of another child. **


 * Picture Book #6 __The Secret to Freedom__ **
 * By Marcia Vaughan **
 * Illustrated by Larry Johnson **
 * Great Aunt Lucy is telling her story of how she was a slave to her Great Niece. In this story she tells about how she watched as her parents were sold away from her and her brother. She tells about how her and her brother helped slaves escape. When the slave owner started catching on to her brother it was time for him to leave and escape himself. Lucy understood but it was not until much later that she found out that her brother lived and had made it to freedom. **
 * This is a great tool for teachers to use to teach their students about slavery and how the slaves were treated as well as how they escaped. It was through the use of quilts and their hidden meanings in their squares that they communicated what to do and when to be ready to leave. We should never forget the past because it is needed to shape the future so this does not happen again. This book would be good for upper elementary students because of the hard concepts as well as the snapshot of violence when the brother was whipped. This book shows how through our generations our stories are told and help shape the future. **


 * Picture Book #7 __Sloppy Joe__ **
 * By Dave Keane **
 * Illustrated by Denise Brunkus **
 * Sloppy Joe **** is an average boy who is very good at being messy. He just can't help it comes so naturally for him. His family and even grandparents have come to expect this of him so they do their best to prepare themselves for the messes that he makes. However, Joe does notice that there is a downfalls to being messy. It is that his friends parents do not allow him in their houses because he is so messy. He has to stay outside and wait for his friends. Finally Joe makes up his mind to not be messy anymore. At the time that he makes his mind up about cleaning up his whole family becomes sick. Joe find this to be a great time to take care of them and to show them he isn't messy anymore. In the end, even though he thinks he is not messy anymore he still is but as his parents tell him they still think him a special boy and you can hear the love in their words. **
 * I liked this book. It reminded me that no matter what someones downfalls are they are still worthy of being loved and accepted for who they are. This is a good lesson to teach students. **


 * Picture Book #8 __Bridget's Beret__ **
 * By Tom Lichtenheld **
 * Bridget was a young artist who loved to draw more than anything else. Whenever she started to draw or paint she would put on her Beret because all great artist wear Beret's. One day though a wind came up and took her Beret away. Bridget was so upset that she believed herself unable to draw or paint again. She stated that she had artist's block. One day her sister asked her to make a sign for her lemonade stand. At first Bridget declined but when her sister told her it wasn't drawing it was just making a sign then Bridget agreed to make her a sign. As she got started she began to add little bits of pictures even though she denied that she was drawing. She kept making more and more signs and kept making them different and more elaborate. She finally realized that it was not her Beret that gave her inspiration and technique but that she could draw even without the Beret. **
 * This book gives some good ideas for starting to draw or what to do when you don't know what to draw. In the back of the book is even some ideas to help inspire people to draw and paint. This would be a great book to read in an art class. All content areas should include reading so why not read to them or have them read about artist inspirations. **


 * Picture Book #9 __Grandma's Pear Tree - El Peral De Abuela__ **
 * Writen By Suzanne Santillan **
 * Illustrated By Atilio Pernisco **
 * This book is about a boy who goes against his grandmas wishes and plays by her pear tree and his ball got stuck in it. So the boy went to many different family members to ask for help and ideas of how to get the ball down. However, with each idea that the family members give him one more item gets stuck in the tree along with his ball. Finally, after running out of ideas he has to go to his grandma and tell her what has happened. Instead of being mad she helps him. In helping him though, she gets everything else down from the tree but ends up getting stuck in the tree herself. **
 * This book has many teaching qualities. The book shows how one thing can lead to another as the each person gives him different ideas to help lead to the next idea to help. The other teaching point is that once a word is used in its English version in the next sentence it is replaced by the Spanish translation of that word. The Spanish translation is in a different color so that it is recognized by the students. Using the context clues students can figure out what the Spanish word means in English. At the end of the book at the Spanish Vocabulary words are written out and can be used to teach the students Spanish. Kids at a young age have the capacity to learn two different languages and it seems like it might be best to start them out early and give them a head start. **


 * Picture Book #10 __Morning Glory Monday__ **
 * Written By Arlene Alda **
 * Illustrated By Maryann Kovalski **
 * This is a story about city where everyone seems to be unhappy and grumpy. A little girl noticed how even her mother became unhappy in the city and missed their old home in Italy very much. Nothing the girl or her dad did seemed to make the mom very happy. The mom just went about her business and seemed very sad. The girl and her father took the mother out one nigth to Coney Island to get the mother out of the house. The little girl won some seeds as a prize at a game that she played. She was disappointed but hoped that the flowers would cheer her mother up so she planted them. Then one Monday morning the flowers started to sprout out of the soil and this made her mother very happy. The flowers grew and grew until they were on every building and could be seen all over. This not only made her mother happy but all those grumpy people that she knew also became happy. It is amazing how flowers can have such an impact on the way people act and view life. The flowers seemed to give people hope and a reason to be happy. Sometimes it is the smallest things that can make the biggest differences. This would be a good book to read in the Spring as winter is starting to disappear. The students could then plant flowers as a project in school after reading this story. **


 * Picture Book #11 __Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School__ **
 * Written By Herman Parish **
 * Illustrated By Lynne Avril **
 * Amelia Bedelias is a little girl who is starting her first day of school. The thing about Amelia is that she takes everything literally so when the P.E. teacher teaches the students to run like chetahs Amelia gets on her hands and knees and runs on all fours and making cat noises. When the teacher told Amelia to stop getting up so much and to glue herself to her chair Amelia does just that. She glues herself to the chair. It is an interesting first day of school and she makes many friends and the teacher learns not to make analogies with Amelia because she takes them literally. **
 * This is a good book to teach students about how some words have different meanings and about analogies. Some things are meant to take literally and some things are just figures of speech. This is a funny book to get students thinking about these things. **

**Picture Book #12 __On Noah's Ark__** **By Jan Brett**

**This telling of Noah's Ark is through the eyes of Noah's grandson. He watches as Noah builds the ark and then describes what it was like in the ark. This was cute way of allowing kids to see the story through another child's eye. The pictures are so beautiful and they capture the uniqueness of the animals. This would be a great story to use during Sunday School or if you taught in a private school. The text of the book is simple so that young readers could read it.**

Picture Book #13 __I Need My Monster__ Written By Amanda Noll Illustrated by Howard McWilliam

Most kids are afraid of the monster under their beds. However, this is not the case for the boy in the book. This boy loves to have a monster under his bed. However, on this particular evening his monster has decided to go fishing so he must deal with a substitute monster. Many monsters come and try to scare the boy but none of them had all the characteristics like his monster, Gabe. Try as he might he had to turn down each of the substitutes. Then after exhausting all his options his monster Gabe comes back because fishing wasn't as much fun as scaring the boy. The boy was so relieved because without Gabe under his bed to keep him in bed then he wouldn't be able to sleep.

This is a silly book that kids will enjoy because it shows a boy not being afraid of the monsters under his bed. Instead he finds most of them silly and not scary. This could be a good book to read to your kids if they are scared of going to sleep alone a nights.

Picture Book #14 __Otis__ By Loren Long Otis was a tractor who loved his farm. After a long day working with the farmer, Otis would go about the farm and play and have a good time. Then one day the farmer brought in a new calf who was scared. As she listened to Otis puff in the stall next to her she was able to calm down and sleep. After that the two were inseperable. They were instantly best friends. One day though, the farmer came home with a new tractor and Otis was placed at the back of the barn. The new calf did not like that sounds of the new tractor and was sad when Otis would not play with her. Then one frightful day, the calf got stuck in a mud hole. Try as he might, the farmer could not get her out. The new tractor scared the calf and she slipped further down in the mud. At the last moment the calf heard Otis puff his way down to the pond. He calmed the calf down enough that she could get out of the mud. Even though Otis was not used for field work anymore, he still had a place with the farm animals and they were comfortable with him.

This is a good book to talk about change and getting older. As we get older our roles change and it is not always a bad thing. This book could be used to explain this to kids. It was very cute and the way the tractor and the cow became best friends.

Picture Book #15 __Heidi__ Written By Johanna Spyri Illustrated By Maja Dusikova

Johanna Spyri did an excellent job of taking a well known young adult book and turning it into a children's book. Johanna stayed very close to the original plot line while condensing if for young children to read. Heidi is a girl who was brought to the mountains to live with her grandfather. She instantly fell in love with the mountains and all the people there. When she went away from the mountains her heart yearned to go back. While in the city she made friends with the girl whose companion she was meant to be. Heidi's homesickness eventually led to her being able to go home and with that the promise of visits from her friend Klara who was wheelchair bound. When Klara came to visit Heidi and a goatherder friend of hers helped Klara learn to walk again. As Klara was picked up it was decided that Heidi would be allowed to live on the mountain with her grandfather. Nothing could have made her more happy.

__ Heidi __ is a story of a sweet, young girl who makes friends with all she meets. She loves being able to make a difference in people's lives and loves the beauty of the mountains. This book would be appropriate for any age. The book will allow students to imagine what it would be like to live simply in the mountains and be content and joyous about it. It is a beautiful book.

Picture Book #16 __Just Grandma and Me__ By Mercer Mayer

This is a sweet story about a boy and his grandma and their time together at the beach. It is a simple book about everything that they do and his experiences with his grandma. He builds her a sandcastle, he buys hotdogs (even though he drops them in the sand and washes them off in the water), he sets up the umbrella for her. The boy seems to love doing these things for his grandma and spending time together just the two of them.

This book is an easy read that first graders could probably read if not but with a little help. It is sweet and simple and to the point and kids can relate to the story by remembering things that they have done with their grandmas or times when they have gone to the beach. This would be a great way to introduce a writing project. Students could be asked to write about a time that they spent with a grandparent and what they did together. They could even draw their own pictures to go along with their story.


 * Picture Book # 17 __Let's Do Nothing__**
 * By Tony Fucile**
 * This is a fun story of two boys who think that they have done everything that there is to do. So they come up with a plan to do nothing. They imagine themselves being statues but the one boy moves because he imagines pigeons coming to poop on him as a statue. Each time they pretend to be something solid that doesn't move there one boy thinks of something that causes him to move. Finally they decide to just sit there and not breathe and not blink! Impossible!! The boys figure out that they were designed to always be doing something so that what they do. They find something to do!**
 * What a funny book about the imaginations of kids and the way that they view things. Their whole lives revolve around themselves and their homes and schools and they believe that they have done everything possible. But they find out that there is so much there is left to do! These are two funny characters that kids will laugh along with as the story goes on.**


 * Picture Book #18 __The Hallelujah Flight__**
 * Written By Phil Bildner**
 * Illustrated by John Holyfield**
 * The is the story of two African Americans who wanted to fly from sea to shining sea over America. These two men set off with the hopes that as they went people, out of the kindness of their hearts, would donate food and gasoline to them on their way in return for writing their names on the wings of their airplane. As they went they encountered many things including storms and prejudice. Each negative thing that they encountered, once overcome, they would exclaim to one another, "Hallelujah!" When they finally reached their destination someone asked what they called their flight. Their response was, "The Hallelujah Flight."**
 * This is a great book to help introduce many different history topics. Students could track their flight on a map by the cities that they landed in. This could also be an introduction to the many different people who contributed to our use of transportation throughout history or the introduction to the prejudices that African Americans faced. This was a well written book with fabulous pictures that takes the kids along for the ride across the country.**


 * Picture Book #19 __Paula Bunyan__**
 * By Phyllis Root**
 * Illustrated By Kevin O'Malley**
 * This is a fun book about Paul Bunyans sister. Now Paula was just as large as Paul. She seemed to be too big for the town that she lived in and so after Paul went off to become famous she decided to head up north to the North Woods where the trees were said to reach the sky. Paula made her way there and once there she was so happy. She made friends with coyotes and a bear. She sang with the coyotes every night and did not have to worry about breaking anyones things. There were men though who came to tear down the forest that she had come to love. With her quick wit she was able to save the forest and began to replant all the trees that had been cut down.**
 * This is a tall tale book about a larger than life woman. It is a book that second graders could probably read on their own. This book forces the readers to use their imagination throughout the book.**


 * Picture Book #20 __Gumbrella__**
 * Written By Larry Root**
 * In this book Gumbrella is an elephant who loves to take care of other animals when they are sick. She starts out with one patient. When he is better he asks if he can go but she said that he is not well enough to go. As times goes on and more patients are brought in Gumbrella is happier and happier because she has begun to cook for them, take care of them, give them bathes, sew hospital gowns, and evening programs were being planned out. The animals though get very homesick and want to go home now that they feel better. One night they sneak out and it breaks Gumbrella's heart. Her brother goes out and gets all the animals and together they bring Gumbrella out and they take care of her as she took care of them and in doing so they healed her broken heart.**
 * Who would have thought that an elephant could be a doctor and take care of little animals like mice and birds. In this imaginative story of Gumbrella, children will learn about taking care of each other and what it means to help but then to be able to let our friends go home. Children love to play and get upset when playtime is over so this might be a good book to use to show kids that it is okay for our friends to go home. They will come back and they are still our friends.**


 * Picture Book #21 __Princess Penelope__**
 * Written By Todd Mack**
 * Illustrated by Julia Gran**
 * This is a book about a young girl who was told that she was a princess by those who loved her very much. They would read to her stories about princess and so throughout the book Penelope explains the roles of a princess and how they are similar to her because she is a princess. Penelope is a girl who sees herself in a world where she is a princess just like the ones in her stories.**
 * It is interesting how Penelope compares herself to the princess in her books. She explains that princess sit on many thrones and in the pictures is shows that one of her thrones is the time-out chair. It is interesting that she still considers this a throne. Her parents are kings and queens but in the pictures it too shows them as her servants who bring her meals. To Penelope though, they are not the same people. This would be a good conversation starter with kids to describe how Penelope views things as compared to reality. The students could compare her imagination with what they perceive as real.**

Intermediate Book #1 __Bink and Gollie__ Written By Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee Illustrated by Tony Fucile

Bink and Gollie are two friends that are very different but tend to do most things together. This book is split into three different parts that deal with different things that happen in their friendship. In the first part the two learn about compromise. In the second part, the two friends learn about needing time alone to accomplish things but being able to share the accomplishment at the end. The third part deals with one friend being jealous about something else taking the time of her friend. In the the girl finds out her real worth to her friend and finds she has nothing to be jealous about. This book deals with real life issues that can come up between friends. It is good for young readers to read this and learn how to be a good friend. Young readers can also see from the book that even though people are different we can still be friends. Young readers will learn that to love their friends for their differences.

Intermediate book #2 __The Lemonade War__ Written By: Jacqueline Davies

The lemonade war is about siblings who are normally good friends. However, with the start of a new school year approaching rapidly and the youngest one skipping 3rd grade and being put in her brother's 4th grade classroom tempers begin to flare. The book is about how the two siblings begin to quarrel with one another and once they start hurting each other it begins to spiral out of control. Each of them feels bad for their harsh words and mean actions but they are so upset that they seek revenge.

This is a good book to have siblings read. Or this would be a good book for a student who has a sibling and it helps them relate more to the story. In the end of the story the two are friends again and realize how much they missed each other while they were fighting. This is a good life lesson for all.

Intermediate Book #3 __Farmer Boy__ Written By Laura Ingalls Wilder

Illustrated By Garth Williams

This is a great book about the life of a 9 year old boy living his life on a farm in the days of pioneers. The whole book centers around this boy and what it was like for

him living on a farm over a 1.5 year time span. The book goes into detail about everything that farm life consists of; rising early to do chores, working in the fields all

day, doing the evening chores. Every part of the farm has a reason. They have certain animals that provide transportation or food, certain animals that provide them

with clothing. They have crops that allow them to eat and they have other crops to feed to the animals. There never seems to be any down time they are always

working on something else and the whole family has to take part. When there is a late frost in spring the whole family has to work overnight to try to save the corn.

This is a great book to show how children had to respect their elders and what their place was in a family. Such care was given to everything that they did.

This would be a great book for middle school aged kids. They could compare the life of this boy to their own life and see the similarities and differences. The book

also deals alot with respect of others, respect for God, respect of the animals and the farm and how they all are intertwined and create a balance.

Intermediate Book #4 __Little Town on the Prairie__ Written By: Laura Ingalls Wilder What a wonderful book for young girls to read about how they were to act back in the frontier days. Not only is this a great book for young ladies to read about the past but it also says something about how young girls are supposed to act now in accordance with respect for adults and others. I was suprised that as a 15 year old in this book that Laura had to learn so much in school. School was much harder back in those days and the kids rose to the challenge. Everyone was expected to work hard inside and outside of school. This book also has a good grip on community and church and how these things are so important. I thought this was a wonderful book about a young girl who is struggling into womanhood and is learning all the time. She is always thinking of her family before herself and while also trying to fit in with the other girls at school. I can see why even though times are different now then back then how this book can teach a lot of life lessons to the girls of this age.

Intermediate Book # 5 __Sarah, Plain and Tall__

By Patricia MacLachlan

This is a delightful little book about a family who has spent many years without a mother. The mother died after giving birth to her second child, her son. After many years the father puts an ad in the newspaper requesting a wife for himself and a mother for his kids because it is time for them to move on. This tale is one of Sarah, who answers his reply in the ad and come from Maine to see if the family was a good fit for her and her the family This book is inspiring of how much children need a mother in their lives and how people from different places can come together and find commonalities. Throughout the book they worry that Sarah will return back to her home because she misses it so much but at the end she tells them that she will always miss her old home but if she left she would miss them more.

This book has many different teaching qualities about life and finding the joys in little things and living life to its fullest. It also talks about the differences between different places but how there are also commonalities. I had never read this book in school but once I read it I enjoyed it.

Intermediate Book #6 __Because of Winn-Dixie__ By: Kate DiCamillo

This is a book about a preacher's daughter who just had to move to a new town with her father and her mother left her a long time ago. The girl who is 10 years old is sad because of all the things that life has dealt her and she has no friends in this new town. Then in a crazy event at the grocery store she ended up taking a stray dog home with her. That was the beginning of a beautiful relationship between herself and Winn-Dixie the dog. Through the dog she was able to make friends with people around town in the oddest places. She learned about how everyone has saddness in their lives and that friendship and relationships can help bring people out of their saddness. This is also a book where she learned not to judge people without getting to know them first. At first glance they might seem mean or angry but in reality they might be looking for a friend too and they might have saddness in their life too. This is a wonderful book about friendship and finding it in the oddest places and what that friendship can become for each. It was a great book that kids can get into.


 * Young Adult Book #1 __Surviving Antartica Reality TV 2083__ **
 * Written By Andrea White **
 * This book was action packed that kept you wanting to read more. This book takes the reader into the not to distant future where there are no schools and everyone learns through watching tv reality shows. The government has even colapsed and EduTV is what has taken over. There have been many reality shows and they have been so dangerous that grown people have died. However, the ratings of the shows have gone down and so they have now resorted to a new tv series which include fourteen year olds trecking across Antartica with the bare minimums trying to make it to the south pole. **
 * This is a riveting book that young adults could really get into. Not only are the characters in the book around their same age but technology as we know it is starting to take over and become a common way of life. I think that this book would be good as students learn about explorers like Robert E. Scott who historically did what these characters are doing. This book would also be good for students who are studying geography and to map out where they think the characters might have been. Overall, this was a good clean book that really makes the reader a part of the experience and asking themselves which character they might relate to the most and how they might do in these conditions. **

Young Adult Book #2 __Beastly__ By Alex Flinn

This is a wonderful book that takes place in current society. However, even though it takes place in current society it weaves in the story of Beauty and the Beast but in a modern way. This story has very real applications as to how we treat each other depending on how someone looks instead of what is on the inside. The book does a wonderful job showing people's true colors and making the reader look into their own life to examine if they are like the mean kids who only look at what someone is wearing or how they look or are you as the reader someone who looks at the persons insides. This would be a great book to use in classrooms to get students thinking and to help with bullying issues. This could also be used to prevent bullying. It was an amazing book that I did not want to put down. I love the way the book incorporated themes like roses throughout the book and sticking to the main themes in Beauty and the Beast. I would think this book would be good for high schoolers since it does have some kissing and foul language in parts.

Young Adult Book #3 __As Easy As Falling Off the Face of the Earth__ By Lynne Rae Perkins

This was an interesting story about a boy whose is traveling on a train to camp in the summer when all sorts of bad luck hits him. The train leaves without him in the middle of nowhere, he loses his shoe, he gets hit in the eye by a chain when he finally reaches a town. He finally comes across some good luck when he runs into a man named Del who decides it is up to him to help Ry, the boy. While Ry is out in the middle of nowhere, his parents are on vacation in the caribean islands and bad luck strikes them too and they lose their cellphone and have no idea that Ry is lost. His grandfather is staying at their house looking after their two dogs when he befalls bad luck and falls and hits his head and ends up wandering around without any short term memory. As the story unfolds, Ry and Del, using many different forms of transportation try to get Ry home to find out that things have gone dreadfully wrong for everyone else. They decide to go in search of his parents. Anything could go wrong and does go wrong in this story but as they drive, fly, and sail, they persist and find out important things about themselves along the way.

Throughout this book Ry overcomes many different obstacles that are put in his path. Through the good nature of total strangers he is able to make the journey. This just goes to show how everyone impacts everyone else and just by helping someone out you might be making things so much better for them or much more manageable.