Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hall

When Mrs. Ritter first recommended this book to me, I wasn't very excited about it because the cover said that it was by the author of Princess Academy, and I'm not one for -- well -- princess books.   I didn't want to hurt Jane's feelings, either, so I took the book home for summer reading and set it on my end table, where it has been gathering dust ever since.

I picked it up early this afternoon and just now finished it because I couldn't put it down.  First off, it has a map of the make-believe Eight Realms at the front of the book.  This put me in mind of The Hobbit and The Dark is Rising, two of my all-time favorite books.  Also, it turns out that this book is loosely based on the fairy tale, Maid Maleen, and I love fairy tales.  Some of darkness characteristally found in Grimms' tales is present here in the form of magical animals, evil wolves, and shape shifting humans.  The author blends these images with those of the historical tyrant, Genghis Khan, in a way that makes for fascinating reading.

As I read, I was constantly worried about what was going to happen next.  I found myself trying to put pieces of the story together in a way that made sense before the author told me what was going on.  Sometimes this worked and I'd think to myself, "That's just what I thought!"  Other times, the plot would twist and I'd be surprised by what happened; I liked that.

Animals play a big part in this book and, in the acknowledgement, Sharon Hale says that a portion of the proceeds from this book go to Heifer International, an organization that distributes farm animals to needy families around the world.  I admire the way she used her respect for domestic animals to enhance her story and then turned around and donated money to an organization that provides farm animals to people throughout the world because it seems like her personal ideals fueled her creativity as a writer, or vice versa.

This book is available in our school library and I highly recommend it.  It's a 10, for sure.

Fever 1793, by Laurie Halse Anderson

   This book is a great summer read for kids between 5th and 6th grade because it takes place during colonial times in Philadelphia, the U.S. capital at the time of the story. After finishing 5th grade, kids have enough background knowledge about this time for the story to make sense.  

One of the things I really like about this book is that it has several authentic components: the yellow fever epidemic of 1793, the battle of the doctors, the first hot air balloon in the United States, the Free African Society, and the popularity of coffeehouses. The author recreates the fear and panic of the situation without going overboard with gross details.

Usually, I take a while to read a book, but I read this book in two sittings because I just couldn't put it down!