Reading - The Story of Doctor Dolittle

The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting

A Junior Fiction

Doctor Dolittle likes animals.  In facts, he likes them so much he fills his house with every kind of creature imaginable, and even learns to talk their language.  When the doctor hears of a terrible sickness among the monkeys in Africa, he and his animal friends set off on ht emost unforgettable adventure .....

Reading - A Crazy Little Thing Called Death

A Crazy Little Thing Called Death by Nancy Martin

 

 

Nora Blackbird has made the society pages yet again. The impoverished Philadelphia heiress has agreed to wed Mick Abruzzo, son of New Jersey’s most notorious mobster. Now Nora has to help him survive the Blackbird curse: Every time a Blackbird sister marries, the groom is bound to die. But Nora’s superstitions are eclipsed by some ominous news. Penny Devine, ex-Hollywood starlet and daughter of the Philadelphia Devines, has disappeared, and strangely, her family is very eager to have her declared dead. When it’s revealed that Nora has inherited Penny’s extensive couture wardrobe, eyebrows rise even higher. The only way for Nora to keep her name clear and save her sanity is to snoop among the snooty…until she sniffs out the truth.

Reading - Daisy and the Trouble with Life

Daisy and the Trouble with Life by Kes Gray

A Junior Fiction

 

You absolutely can't go anywhere at all when you're grounded, so Daisy has plenty of time to think about what she's done. If only her pocket money hadn't run out and if someone hadn't dropped a strawberry candy on the pavement and if strawberry candy wasn't Daisy's absolute favorite, things could have turned out differently. Who knew that it had invisible red germs that are so totally teensy and that Auntie Sue says give you tummy trouble? Daisy's trips to the bathroom are interspersed with hilarious musings about the trouble with everything, from her goldfish Freddie who thinks it's a dolphin, to the school name-caller Jack Beechwhistle, and garden hoses that don't do as they're told. Now, if only Daisy can find a word to rhyme with hippopotamus, she and Gabby can magically turn her next door neighbor's cat into a hippo. When she's un-grounded and off the toilet, of course.

Reading - Bombs on Aunt Dainty

Bombs on Aunt Dainty by Judith Kerr

A Junior Fiction

 

It is hard enough being a teenager in London during the Blitz, finding yourself in love and wondering every night whether you will survive the bombs. But it is even harder for Anna, who is still officially classified as an “enemy alien”. Those bombs are coming from Germany – the country that was once her own. If Hitler invades, can she and her beloved refugee family possibly survive?

Reading - Murder Melts in Your Mouth

Murder Melts in Your Mouth by Nancy Martin

 

Down-to-earth debutante Nora Blackbird is having a meltdown.  Her sister Libby got herself run over by a Rolls-Rouce and is recuperating at the Ritz, leaving her five kids in Nora's charge.  And sis Emma Blackbird is on the brink of another bender.

 

Fortunately Nora has some time on her hands to deal with these mishaps - until noted Philly philanthropist Hoyt Cavendish takes a swan dive from an office balcony and Nora's friend Lexie stands accused of the murder.  Then her scheming parents suddenly reappear, sending all three Blackbird sisters in to a panic.  Now Nora must uncover her parents' scandalous high jinks before she winds up taking the heat .... and strangling her father with his own ascot.





Reading - Boy Overboard

Boy Overboard by Morris Gleitzman

A Junior Fiction

Jamal loves playing football, which isn't easy if your goalie only has one leg and you keep having to dodge landmines to get your ball back. Jamal's stubborn little sister Bibi is even better at football than Jamal. But girls playing football is against the law in Afganistan. When it is discovered that Jamal's mother has been secretly running a school, the family must leave their home immediately and begin a long and dangerous journey to Australia. The children survive separation from their parents, hunger, and violent smugglers only to find that Australia isn't as welcoming as they had thought but, even though they face an uncertain future, Jamal, Bibi and their parents know that as long as they are together, that is all that matters.