I'm so glad I've been participating in the Reading to Know Book Club this year. It's introduced me to books that I should have read as a child yet hadn't even heard of before. The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge was one of these books. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken is another.

(It's also another book club book that I had some difficulty getting my hands on. The local library didn't have their copy on the shelves. They finally tracked it down in the Bookmobile, and said it hadn't been checked out in 14 years. How sad! Hopefully my checking it out bought it a few more years of life on the library shelves.)

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase embodies an element that all great classic children's literature has and that modern children's literature seems to be missing - simplicity. Life is simple and straight-forward, and the story is told simply and straight-forwardly. That doesn't mean that it's a happy book. A lot of terrible things happen to Bonnie and Sylvia. And you have to wait for the happy ending until nearly the last page. Life was scary and sad for them for a long time.

But I still came away from the book feeling refreshed. All the clutter of modern life was stripped away. Decisions were black and white; people were good or evil. Love and family were all-important. Loyalty to those you loved existed. Strangers would help you.

There's nothing wrong with modern children's books. But every once in awhile, it's necessary to read a classic like The Wolves of Willoughby Chase to remind us of the basics of life and how we should (and shouldn't!) treat one another.

Confession right up front: I had never heard of this book before seeing it on the Reading to Know Book Club list. It took some tracking down to find a copy of it - my two local libraries didn't have it. I ended up having to request from the neighboring county's library system. I figured this was not a very well-known book.

Then I did a little poking around online about it. And do you know what comes up an awful lot when you search The Little White Horse? That J.K. Rowling said it was her favorite book as a child. I guess it's not that obscure after all.

Secondary Confession: I am incredibly sad that I didn't read this book as a child. This would have fit perfectly right between Anne of Green Gables and the Chronicles of Narnia. It's a book I would have loved at first reading, and subsequently reread repeatedly. I would have gladly retreated to Moonacre Manor whenever I could. Unfortunately, I had to wait until I was nearly 30 to have my first experience with this book.

And yet, the result is the same. I absolutely loved it. I will gladly reread it anytime, and I plan on getting ahold of a copy of my own as soon as I can. So what is it about this book that is as magical at age 29 as it would have been at age 9?

The characters - I would like a Robin of my own. And a Marmaduke Scarlet to cook me my meals, while we're at it.
The animals - Animals that are more than just animals. They are protectors and friends who will never lead your side. And they're just as intelligent as you always suspected they were.
The heroism - When Maria knows she is right, nothing will get in her way. Not scary heights or stubborn Black Men.
The romance - Who doesn't love a happy ending? And everyone gets one in this book by being united with the person they were always meant to be with.
The message - As an adult, I appreciate the balance between fantasy and God. Magic and fantasy don't preclude God. He is in everything, and it is only in putting Him first that we can truly find peace.

I am so glad to have been introduced to The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge. And I am glad that one day, I will get to introduce it to my future children and watch them experience it for the first time. It's sure to be just as magical as my first read.

I've decided that it's a really good thing that Little House on the Prairie was February's selection for the Reading to Know Book Club. Reading this book made me discover just how woefully ignorant I am about Little House on the Prairie. For example, I didn't know that this was the second book in the series. Little House in the Big Woods comes first. I just assumed, since the series was essentially called Little House on the Prairie, that it was the first book. Yup, I was pretty ignorant.

As you can tell, I never read this series when I was a kid. They sat there on the bookshelf, occasionally tempting me. But the couple of times I tried to pick them up, they just couldn't hold my interest. This is rather strange, since I read Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink repeatedly as a child, and they're essentially the same story. I've never seen the television show, either.

All this meant that it was high time I picked up one of the books in this series, and I'm oh-so-glad I did. Little House on the Prairie tells a simple story that is really not that simple. Life wasn't complicated by technology and social media. Each day passed slowly, living in the outdoors. But that's exactly what made it not so simple. Can you imagine living as the Ingalls family did? To pack everything on your wagon, leaving all the furniture behind - after all, you can simply make more. To build a house in a random spot from what you can find on the land. To hunt for each night's supper - otherwise, you won't eat. I guess I am truly a child of the twenty-first century, because I truly cannot fathom being totally self-reliant like that. Settlers who lived in this way just gained an awful lot of respect from me.

I'm sure Laura Ingalls Wilder's treatment of the Indians is a source for much controversy. We all cringe when we read, "The only good Indian is a dead Indian." And while that was an accurate portrayal of many settlers' feelings at the time, it isn't the opinion of Charles Ingalls and his family. Charles views Indians as individuals, as human beings - not savages, as his neighbors do. He offers them respect and peace. Which makes me wonder if this was really Charles' opinion at the time, or was this Laura trying to make her father look good in retrospect?

It took me much too long to truly discover this series. But now that I have, it won't be much longer before I add the rest of it to my repertoire. I just need to go get them from my childhood bookshelf, dust them off, and enter the world of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Unicorns with an attitude. Escapee griffin cubs. A hibernating kraken (or is it?). Do I need to say more to get you to read The Menagerie?

The Menagerie is a refuge for mythical creatures. It is top secret, obviously, but somehow six griffin cubs have escaped. And the supervisory agency is performing an inspection in two days. Luckily, Logan, the new kid in town, discovers one of the griffin cubs underneath his bed. Although outsiders are strictly forbidden from becoming involved in the Menagerie, his skills at griffin-cub-finding allow him to make friends with the animals and the family who runs it.

This was an extremely refreshing and fun read. The idea of the Menagerie is so imaginative. Each mythical creature is given its own personality and quirks. The main human (or human-ish) characters are written with depth and have extremely amusing interactions. The plot is suspenseful and twisty and has all the right things to keep you reading breathlessly to the very end. The authors, Tui and Kari Sutherland, are sisters, and you can just tell they had tons of fun writing this book. It shows in every word.

For a fun, entertaining, and mythical read, enter the world of The Menagerie. You will not regret it. (Although you may find yourself wanting a griffin cub.)

This is really two books in one. The first half of the book introduces Hazel and Jack – two best friends who rely on each other for everything. We follow Hazel through her school day of getting bullied and not fitting in. And then we see her with Jack after school, and they just fit. The second half of the book is a fairy tale. Think Hans Christian Andersen or the Brothers Grimm. Jack is kidnapped by a snow witch, and it’s Hazel’s task to enter the enchanted forest to bring him back to reality.

This dual story is both this book’s greatest asset and its greatest liability. It’s an asset because it sets this book apart from every other book following two best friends who grow apart. It’s a twist you would never expect, since the first half is regular realistic fiction. But even though I like fairy tales and I like the idea of the twist, I liked the first half of the book better. Ursu’s writing is phenomenal. Her descriptions of the characters and their feelings are so spot on. When Hazel entered the enchanted forest, though, some of that seemed to get lost. The fairy tale elements became the focus. It was almost as if Ursu was cramming all of the oblique fairy tale references she could into the narrative. Hazel’s progress as a character took a backseat. And the ending, to me at least, was rather anticlimactic. If the second half had lived up to the promise of the first half, this book would be on my to-buy-immediately list. As it is, I’ll definitely keep an eye out for a copy to add to my classroom library. This is a book many children would enjoy.

I have to reiterate that I loved Ursu’s writing and her grasp on the characters. Hazel was such a realistic character, almost as if Ursu was living inside the head of a fifth grade girl. I’ll gladly pick up other books by Anne Ursu just to re-experience seeing the world through her eyes.

Let me just say up front that I loved this book. I even did a little “I love this book!” happy dance when I finished it. And immediately put it on my books-to-buy list. You should read it (did you pick up on that yet?).

Mr. Lemoncello is a game-maker extraordinaire with a vested interest in the library of Alexandriaville. He is the mastermind behind the brand new library, which includes holograms and video games complete with smells. Kyle Keeley is a typical twelve-year-old, enjoying life and not putting tons of effort into anything – except games. He loves playing games of all sorts. Which is why, when twelve twelve-year-olds get to spend the night in the library before it opens, he has to be one of them. It turns out, though, that getting into the library is the easy part. Getting out? It’s a bit trickier.

This book has it all – books, libraries, puzzles. It’s funny, and it keeps you guessing. The characters are lovable, especially Mr. Lemoncello, who is a slightly wackier Willy Wonka. This is a book that kids (I can’t wait to read it out loud to my students) and adults (book-lovers and puzzle-lovers alike) will equally love. Once you enter the world of Mr. Lemoncello’s library, you’ll never want to escape!

Kate, Michael, and Emma are the orphans that no one wants. Except they’re not really orphans – their parents had to leave them when they were children to protect them. Kate, Michael, and Emma don’t know that they are anything special. But they’re about to find out.

The last orphanage they end up at turns out to be a magical city, cut off from the rest of the world. When they find a strange book in the basement, they end up travelling back in time, discovering what is so eerily strange about this town, saving the day (after many near-misses), and finding the Emerald Atlas. I know, I know. It sounds like I just gave away the ending. But that isn’t anything you couldn’t have guessed before reading this book. Well, maybe the travelling back in time part. . .

That’s not to say that this book is predictable. There’s enough twists and turns to keep any reader surprised. John Stephens’ world is intricate, especially with the whole time-travelling thing. That will complicate any plot, and it does so delightfully in this book. Kate, Michael, and Emma just made my heart break – believing that they are unloved and unwanted, yet fiercely devoted to each other. This is a book about love and family, encased in an extremely enjoyable story. If you enjoy The Hobbit or the Chronicles of Narnia, this is a great addition to your bookshelf. And better yet – it’s only the first in a series. There’s more Kate, Michael, and Emma to come!

Emily Elizabeth Davis’ mother has already decided what Emily will be when she grows up. That’s a pretty common premise for many books. But the delightful twist in Destiny, Rewritten is that it’s not because Emily’s mother is a super powerful executive or a micromanaging parent. It’s because she believes in fate. And destiny. The day before Emily was born, her mother bought a book of Emily Dickinson’s poetry and wrote an inscription in it: “Emily Dickinson is one of the great poets. The same will be said of you one day.” So there it is. Emily Elizabeth Davis will grow up to be a poet.

Eleven-year-old Emily is not so sure she agrees with this plan, but how can she tell her mother that? Then her precious book of Emily Dickinson’s poems, where her mother has written all the important moments of Emily’s life, is accidentally given away to Goodwill. Emily has to do whatever it takes to get it back, even if that means lying to her mother, skipping school, or even (gasp!) stepping on the cracks in the sidewalk. It’s a journey that takes Emily far outside of her comfort zone and stretches her as a human being. She has to decide if she believes in fate and learn how to control her own destiny.

This is a very enjoyable and quick read. Emily’s voice shines through clearly in the narration. She is definitely someone I would like to be friends with if I were eleven. I loved the twist of her mother choosing her future because she believes in destiny. It’s a refreshing change from the overly controlling mothers found in many other books. The message of deciding who you will be for yourself is an important one for today’s kids. I’d recommend this book to any middle school girl as a book about learning who you are.