Age: High School
Tough Issue: Abuse, Abduction, Abandonment

"A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey's younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won't let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn't spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down."

A dark premise that has a remarkable amount of hope. With the help of a caring father and stepmother, Carey is able to persevere after such a traumatic upbringing through patience, honesty, and a willingness to trust again. Readers that enjoy a good heart-wrenching tale of perseverance and are drawn to twist endings will be hooked until the end.

Age: High School-College
Tough Issue: Child soldiers

Obviously a tough read, Ishmael provides a glimpse into his life running away from a civil war in his country of Sierra Leone until he gets swept up into the battle. Although Ishamel is in his younger teens throughout the book and the writing style is easy to read, the subject matter is not necessarily suitable for middle school children who may not comprehend the extreme circumstances of the book. Ishamel provides no flowery language, just straight facts focusing on the harrowing story of how young boys fall into the soldier life in order to survive and stay in the soldier life because they know no other family and have found worth in pride in their skills. With only these mastered skills to kill, Ishamel describes his path to rehabilitation through school and, more importantly, forgiveness.

Age: Preschool-2nd grade
Familiar Experience: First time on the diving board
Sports: Swimming
Emotions: Being brave

It must be challenging to write and illustrate a book that tackles the concept of fear. You would have to make it real enough to be relatable but not scary enough that it further reinforces the fear of the listener. Cornwall achieves this middle ground, providing bibliotherapy for children afraid of the diving board and/or with other fears of new and daring experiences. I could feel the rough edge of the board when she describes Jabari just before he dives in. His father and baby sister wait in the pool at the bottom and celebrate Jabari's bravery.

Age: Toddler-1st grade
Nature: Gardening
Food: Garden vegetables

Emotion-packed, rich illustrations depict the destructive seeds of selfishness versus the sweet seeds of kindness, collaboration, and hard work. Short sentences with a couple wordless pages make this an excellent read-aloud to a big group.

Age: Preschool-Kindergarten

Friends: lift each other over cracks, brave the scary things for you, never leave anyone behind, and give you directions if you need them.

A superbly written story about the exclusion of a little boy and his pet from the local Pet Club based solely on his pet being an elephant. Realizing they aren't alone, the little boy meets another girl and her pet skunk and decide to create their own all-inclusive space.

This book can open up great discussions about true friendship, being left out, making a change, and forgiveness.

Age: (not-for-the-feint-hearted) Teen-Adult
Fairytales: loose incorporations of Fairytale elements like werewolves, ogres, knights, witches, and woodsmen;

Spoiler

Two tales in particular were Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Rumpelstiltskin

At times gruesome and with actual death, this is a much darker story that incorporates a land where stories become real.

Spoiler

But, in the end, was it all a psychically formed limbo while the main character was in a coma? Did his subconscious create a game that was a parallel to his real-world fight to stay alive or do the marks on his arms after he wakes up reveal his true encounters in the magical realm?

Family: Father and son

While sorting laundry, dad finds some random objects. Just before he throws them away, his son Jim weaves some miraculous tales to explain their origins. With his father egging him on, clearly Jim has grown up in a world of stories and cannot help but create his own. Kind of annoying to hear the child constantly disregard his father's contributions to the story but authentic nonetheless.

Age: Preschool-1st grade
Sports: Camping, Hiking

Bear and Mole get ready to hike up the mountain to get a better view of the stars but Mole is scared of getting lost in the dark. Bear then explains an "origin story" of the moon and stars to Mole, his friend (or adopted child). Great read-aloud potential for the classroom or storytime for the older ones.

Age: Toddler-Kindergarten

A school-aged punk-rock boy is confident in his uniqueness but gets lonely at times. But it only takes finding one friend--or more--who are a little different to change things for the better. The stark ink and paper artwork is wonderful and edgy for the boy's personality with graffiti-reminiscent font. A perfect read-aloud for class due to its brevity but the simple text simplifies the message that loneliness can be easily overcome.

Age: Preschool-1st grade
Food: Apples, cows,--and you!

This monster's hunger cannot be stopped as he proceeds to devour everything in the book. And now he sees you! Although the text is suitable for a younger audience, the monster gets a little scary in the end--a great spook for an older audience.