The Whisper

The Whisper
by Pamela Zagarenski

Does a book need words on its pages to tell a story?  One little girl thinks so and, when she borrows a special book from her teacher, she is dismayed to find that the beautiful pictures have no words to go with them!   A whisper, however, reminds her that the words for the pictures can come from inside her imagination and soon the little girl becomes a storyteller, imagining the right words for each picture inside the magical book.

This beautiful story, with outstanding illustrations, reminds us that within all of us is the ability to be a great storyteller if we just look deep within ourselves and use our imaginations! 

Author's website: http://www.pzagarenski.com/Home.html

Saving Lucas Biggs

Saving Lucas Biggs
by Marisa de los Santos & David Teague 

When Margaret's father is sentenced for a crime she doesn't believe he committed, she is forced to go against a longtime family promise to try to save her father's life.    Despite her father's warnings, Margaret realizes that she must use her family's ability to time travel to go into the past in order to keep Judge Biggs, who sentenced her father, from becoming the cruel man he grew up to be.  Will Margaret be able to change the past and save not only her father, but also Lucas Biggs?

Alternating between 1938 and 2014, Saving Lucas Biggs is a wonderful story of family, friendship, and justice.   While time travel is an important detail in this story, I find the book more of a historical fiction, asmuch of the story takes place in 1938.    I recently finished this book with a 5th grade reading group and it was a hit with them!    

The Night Gardener

The Night Gardener
by Jonathan Auxier

Everyone they meet caution Molly and Kip not to go to the Windsor house but,  knowing that this may be their only hope for work, the young siblings go anyway despite the warnings.   As they arrive at the home deep in the woods, they find the neglected house has been almost entirely taken over by a large, creepy tree that grows through it.    As she meets the Windsor family, including the unpleasant Mrs. Windsor, Molly becomes concerned about the unhealthy appearance of the family.   Despite the poor condition of the home and the peculiar family, Molly knows she and her brother have no other place to go and must stay and work as servants for the Windsors.

As they settle into the Windsor home, Molly becomes more suspicious that something odd is going on with the family and the home.   When she discovers that a strange, sinister man is going through the house at night, she realizes that there is something evil about the tree that has taken over the home.  

What a creepy story!  Readers who are looking for a suspenseful, scary book will love this one!    As I read this book, I was reminded of other books that involved creepy trees, including The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein and Juniper Berry by M.P. Kozlowsky.    Also worth noting about this book is that there's a good chance that it may be made into a movie, according to the author's website!

Author's website: http://www.thescop.com/