The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier

The Night Gardener follows two abandoned Irish siblings who travel to work as servants at a creepy, crumbling English manor house. But the house and its family are not quite what they seem. Soon the children are confronted by a mysterious spectre and an ancient curse that threatens their very lives. With Auxier’s exquisite command of language, The Night Gardener is a mesmerizing read and a classic in the making.


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Mountain Dog by Margarita Engle

When Tony’s mother is sent to jail, he is sent to stay with a great uncle he has never met in Sierra Nevada. It is a daunting move—Tony’s new world bears no semblance to his previous one. But slowly, against a remote and remarkable backdrop, the scars from Tony’s troubled past begin to heal.

With his Tió and a search-and-rescue dog named Gabe by his side, he learns how to track wild animals, is welcomed to the Cowboy Church, and makes new friends at the Mountain School. Most importantly though, it is through Gabe that Tony discovers unconditional love for the first time, in Mountain Dog by Margarita Engle. ~ Kirkus Review



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Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo

The story begins with a vacuum cleaner. And a squirrel. Or, to be more precise, a squirrel who gets sucked into a Ulysses Super Suction wielded by Flora’s neighbor, Mrs. Tickham. The rather hairless squirrel that is spit out is not the same one that went in. That squirrel had only one thought: “I’m hungry.” After Flora performs CPR, the rescued squirrel, newly named Ulysses, is still hungry, but now he has many thoughts in his head. Foremost is his consideration of Flora’s suggestion that perhaps he is a superhero like The Amazing Incandesto, whose comic-book adventures Flora read with her father. (Drawing on comic-strip elements, Campbell’s illustrations here work wonderfully well.) Since Flora’s father and mother have split up, Flora has become a confirmed and defiant cynic. Yet it is hard to remain a cynic while one’s heart is opening to a squirrel who can type (“Squirtl. I am . . . born anew”), who can fly, and who adores Flora. Newbery winner DiCamillo is a master storyteller, and not just because she creates characters who dance off the pages and plots, whether epic or small, that never fail to engage and delight readers. Her biggest strength is exposing the truths that open and heal the human heart. She believes in possibilities and forgiveness and teaches her audience that the salt of life can be cut with the right measure of love. ~Ilene Cooper, Booklist

The Moon Over High Street, by Natalie Babbitt

12-year-old Joe has a secret he has never told anyone. For as long as he can remember, Joe has wanted to study the moon. He's worried that something bad might happen to it and then it will have to go away, so he wants to learn how to protect it.

Joe will be spending the summer with his Aunt Myra in Midville. Joe is nervous about the visit. He doesn't want to leave his friends because he's worried that they will forget about him. But, upon Joe's arrival, he discovers that Midville isn't so bad. And it doesn't hurt that Aunt Myra's neighbor, 12-year-old Beatrice, is beautiful and wants to spend time with him!
 
One fateful day, Joe and Beatrice meet Mr. Boulderwall, one of the richest men in the world. Mr. Boulderwall also has a secret. He needs to find someone to run his company when he retires, and he decides that Joe is the perfect candidate! But this would mean that Joe wouldn't be able to help the moon. He would have to focus on business instead.
 
Can Joe admit that his love of the moon is more important than wealth? Or will Joe keep his secret for the rest of his life and never tell anybody about his dream? Find out in The Moon Over High Street by Natalie Babbitt.


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