DOGS CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE IN SURPRISING WAYS!

Sugar Mae Cole has a father who's never there.  Her mom keeps taking him back, and then he just breaks her heart again and again. After her grandfather died, things have been getting worse for her and her mother, but at least Sugar Mae has a positive attitude and can let her thoughts flow in her writing.  The best day to come along is when Sugar Mae is given Shush, a shy puppy who's owner couldn't keep her. The worst day is when Sugar Mae, Shush, and her mother get evicted from their home and have to live in their car.  ALMOST HOME by Joan Bauer is an emotional story, with a lot of entertaining characters weaving in and out of Sugar Mae's life.  Despite all the things that go wrong, though, everyone tries to look on the bright side and make the best of things. 

For grades 4 and up.

MARCH 2013

SWALLOWED WHOLE

THE YEAR THE SWALLOWS CAME EARLY by Kathryn Fitzmaurice is very well written for an author's first novel. Set in a small oceanside town, Eleanor "Groovy" Robinson witnesses her father being taken to jail. Turns out, it's her mother that's sent him there, and all of a sudden her normal world swirls into chaos. She's so upset she can't even do the one thing she loves - cooking. She discovers unlikely friends in peculiar people and places, and comes to terms with things not always being what they seem. Very easy to read, with vivid imagery and an engaging plot. For grades 4 and up.