A HUNDRED HORSES

When Nell is send to stay with her aunt during school break, Nell is not very happy about the arrangement.  She has to spent time with cousins she has never met and an aunt who she has not seen for years.  Like many things in her life, she feels like she is never a part of the decision making process. When Nell's father took off, she was left in the care of her mother and always did what her mother said despite having her own opinions. The experience she encounters at her aunt’s house is nothing she expected.  She discovers that she is not the only one who has secrets.  She encounters a girl, Angel, who also has secrets of her own.  Despite their initial hostility, the girls discover that they share more in common than their love of horses.  The girls work together to try to save one hundred horses that are about to be sold at an auction and during the process, they come across some adventures that completely change their lives.

A Hundred Horses, by Sarah Lean is a wonderful story of two girls, who living two very different lives, are brought closer together by the secrets they share as well as through their love of horses. Students grades 4-6 would enjoy this reading. 

INVISIBLE SHADOWS

After his father’s sudden disappearance, 12 year old Cully takes a job at Batty’s Antique Shop to help with the family finances.  Little does he know that old man Batty is interested in more than antiques.  He collects (really, though, steals) people’s shadows, which seems weird at first, but even weirder when Cully sees how people react once their shadows are in the hands of Mr. Batty.  With the help of friends, Cully uses unique spy tactics to solve the mystery of where his father went and what Mr. Batty does with those shadows once they no longer have an owner.

A cross between mystery, fantasy, and spy novels, The Shadow Collector’s Apprentice by Amy Gordon will appeal to readers in 4^th – 7^th grades. 

A PAULSEN OLDIE BUT STILL A GOODIE

Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen

This summer, he'll be living with the Larsons, distant relatives of his, on their farm. Every so often, he packs up and get sent off to live with some relative or other due to the fact that his parents are drunks or "puke drunks" as his cousin Harris puts it. living on the farm with foul mouth, mischievous cousin who gets him into all kinds of hilarious scrapes - playing cowboys and Indians with the farm animals, being charged by the farm's bull, kicked unconscious in the head while milking the cow.

A funny and unforgettable summer for Harris and any reader in 4th grade and up.

HARVEST TIME FAVORITE

Every now and then we all have one of those nights where sleep just does happen. One where our thoughts or other distractions keep those eyes glued open. In the classic title, Barn Dance by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault that's exactly what happens. Music comes wafting it's way through the air from the barn into the room of a young boy. The rhythms are so enticing that he sets off following them to the barn and what's happening there is a very unusual sight...the animals are having a hoedown!

Parents read this one to yourself before sharing it, as if it is read at the author's intended pace the reader's voice becomes the music of the dance. A magical experience.

INTERNET+13+BOY=TROUBLE

Puberty hits Eddie like a sledge hammer but when his mother finds out he's printing and looking at inappropriate pictures behind her back and lying to her on top of it, she ships him off to her uncle's farm. A farm where there's nothing to do. Nothing that is until he sees a gorgeous girl working in the store across the field. Intrigued by her but not sure how to approach her, he watches and begins to notice the things and people around him. And what he notices and finds out aren't always pretty.

Double Click for Trouble by Chris Woodworth is a worthy coming of age novel for mature readers 6th & up.

IT'S A DOG'S LIFE

Dill loves her dog named Dead-End. He only listened to her mom though, and now her mom is ... well, she's not around any more. Dead-End keeps disappearing and rumor has it there's a pack of dogs running around their rural community killing sheep. Dill hopes it's not her dog doing the killing, but she hardly has time to go look for him when she's cooking for her dad who spends all his time at work, and taking care of her grandpa, who hasn't been the same since her mother...left. Not to mention her job at the barn where she does her horseback training. If only her mother were still here. Action packed with tense sadness as its climax driving force, DOG GONE by Cynthia Chapman Willis will have you reluctantly reading through some pretty emotional situations just to find out what happens. For 4th -8th grades.