March's Book

The Crossover
by Kwame Alexander

March 17th (3rd Thurs)
8pm at Lisa D.'s

Summary
"With a bolt of lightning on my kicks...The cours is SIZZLING.  My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. Cuz tonight I'm delivering," announces dread-locked, 12-year old Josh Bell.  He and his twin borther Jordan are awesome on the court.  but Josh has more than basketball in his blood, he's got mad beats, too, that tell his family's story in verse, in this fast and furious middle grade novel of family and brotherhood.  

Josh and Jordan must come to grips with the growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as their story's heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer for the entire family.

summary from goodreads.com

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January's Book

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
by E.L. Konigsburg

January 15th (3rd Thurs)
8pm at Janice's

Summary:

Bored with her life, twelve-year-old Claudia Kincaid is ready for a big change. In fact, she wants to run away from home. But she doesn't like discomfort. She doesn't even like picnics. So an old-fashioned, knapsack kind of running away is out of the question. Instead of running from somewhere, she decides to run to somewhere — some place comfortable, and preferably beautiful. Where else, but the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City? Fare on the train from the suburbs takes three weeks of skipping hot fudge sundaes. Taking Jamie, the second youngest of her three brothers — the quiet one with the largest cache of money — with her, Claudia's life is immediately changed in a big way. Nights she and Jamie take baths in one of the museum's fountains and they sleep in royal beds in the museum's collection, despite the "Please do not step on the platform" sign. Every day they check out by 4:30 and reenter the museum around the back at 5:30. To remain inconspicuous, Claudia and Jamie join school-group tours by day, and when the museum closes, stand on the toilets in the bathroom stalls out of view from the guards checking for strays.

But she and Jamie's vacation from their "real" life turns into an adventure when Angel, a sculpture rumored to have been carved by Michelangelo, arrives. Will they solve a mystery that even the experts can't solve?

Author Konigsburg's tale of a young girl's escape into a search for identity — her own and Angel's — in one of the world's greatest museums was awarded a 1967 Newbery Medal, as well as named an American Library Association Notable Book, and "Best of the Best" by the School Library Journal. Illustrated by Konigsburg's own expressionistic line drawings, the book remains a modern classic.

Summary from www.scholastic.com

Discussion questions from www.scholastic.com

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November's Book

The Willoughbys
by Lois Lowry

Nov. 20th (3rd Thurs.)
8pm at Stacy's

Summary:
Abandoned by their ill-humored parents to the care of an odious nanny, Tim, the twins, Barnaby A and Barnaby B, and their sister, Jane, attempt to fulfill their roles as good oldfashioned children. Following the models set in lauded tales from A Christmas Carol to Mary Poppins, the four Willoughbys hope to attain their proscribed happy ending too, or at least a satisfyingly maudlin one. However, it is an unquestionably ruthless act that sets in motion the transformations that lead to their salvation and to happy endings for not only the four children, but their nanny, an abandoned baby, a candy magnate, and his long-lost son too. Replete with a tongue-in-cheek glossary and bibliography, this hilarious and decidedly old-fashioned parody pays playful homage to classic works of children’s literature.

summary from goodreads.com

Click here to view discussion questions from SweetOnBooks.com

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February's Book

The Secret Garden
by Francis Hodgson Burnett

Feb. 20th (3rd Thurs.)
8pm at Aimeè's

Summary:

Mary Lennox has no one left in the world when she arrives at Misselthwaite Manor, her mysterious uncle's enormous, drafty mansion looming on the edge of the moors. A cholera epidemic has ravaged the Indian village in which she was born, killing both her parents and the "Ayah," or Indian servant, who cared for her.

Not that being alone is new to her. Her socialite mother had no time between parties for Mary, and her father was both too ill and too occupied by his work to raise his daughter. Not long after coming to live with her uncle, Mr. Craven, Mary discovers a walled garden, neglected and in ruins.

Soon she meets her servant Martha's brother Dickon, a robust country boy nourished both by his mother's love and by the natural surroundings of the countryside; and her tyrannical cousin Colin, whose mother died giving birth to him. So traumatized was Mr. Craven by the sudden death of his beloved wife that he effectively abandoned the infant Colin and buried the keys to the garden that she adored. His son has grown into a self-loathing hypochondriacal child whose tantrums strike fear into the hearts of servants.

The lush garden is now overgrown and all are forbidden to enter it. No one can even remember where the door is, until a robin leads Mary to its hidden key. It is in the "secret garden," and with the help of Dickon, that Mary and Colin find the path to physical and spiritual health. Along the way the three children discover that in their imaginations—called "magic" by Colin—is the power to transform lives. (From the Penguin edition—image, top-right.)

summary from www.litlovers.com 

Click here to visit the library website and reserve your copy.

Click here to view discussion questions from www.litlovers.com

July's Book

The Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster

July 19th (3rd Thurs.)
8pm at Janei's home

Summary:
A Journey to the Lands Beyond...
For Milo, everything's a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only because he's got nothing better to do. But on the other side, things seem different. Milo visits the island of Conclusions (you get there by jumping), learns about time from a ticking watchdog named Tock, and even embarks on a quest to rescue Rhyme and Reason! Somewhere along the way, Milo realizes something astonishing. Life is far from dull. In fact, it's exciting beyond his wildest dreams...

summary from www.goodreads.com

Click here or on the picture 

to go to the library website

 

September's Book

Rowan of Rin
by Emily Rodda

Sept. 1st (1st Wed)
8pm at April Dawn's

Summary:
Because only he can read the magical map, young, weak, and timid Rowan joins six other villagers to climb a mountain and try to restore their water supply, as fears of a dragon and other horrors threaten to drive them back.

Summary from www.library.pima.gov

Click on the picture to go to the library web site

July's Book

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow

by Jessica Day George

July 8th

8pm at Shelly's

The library has several copies available, click on the book cover to go directly to the library's web site.

Summary:

"Blessed, or cursed, with an ability to understand animals, the Lass (as she's known to her family) has always been an oddball. And when an isbjorn (polar bear) seeks her out, and promises that her family will become rich if only the Lass will accompany him to his castle, she doesn't hesitate. But the bear is not what he seems, nor is his castle, which is made of ice and inhabited by a silent staff of servants. Only a grueling journey on the backs of the four winds will reveal the truth: the bear is really a prince who's been enchanted by a troll queen, and the Lass must come up with a way to free him before he's forced to marry a troll princess."--Information provided by publisher.

February's Book

The City of Ember

by Jeanne DuPrau

February 11th (Wednesday)

8pm at Judy's

The Library has several copies of the book but several on hold so reserve your copy early! It is also available on compact disc with fewer holds for listening in 7 hours. Click on the bolded words for a link to the library web site.

FYI: There are a few bookclub readers that have the book already, watch your email to see if someone will lend you their book when they are done.

Summary:

In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina finds part of an ancient message that she is sure holds a secret to save her underground city from ruin, but Lina and her friend Doon must decipher the message before the lights go out on Ember forever.

October's Book

Princess Academy

by Shannon Hale

October 9th at Shelly's

Summary:

While attending a strict academy for potential princesses with the other girls from her mountain village, fourteen-year-old Miri discovers unexpected talents and connections to her homeland.

August's Book

Kira-Kira
by Cynthia Kadohata

August 14th at Aimeè's

Summary:
Chronicles the close friendship between two Japanese-American sisters growing up in rural Georgia during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the despair when one sister becomes terminally ill

June's Book

The Westing Game
by Ellen Raskin

June 12th at Nanette's

Summary:
The mysterious death of an eccentric millionaire brings together an unlikely assortment of heirs who must uncover the circumstances of his death before they can claim their inheritance.

March's Book

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
by Kate DiCamillo

March 13th at Jenn's

Summary:
Edward Tulane, a cold-hearted and proud toy rabbit, loves only himself until he is separated from the little girl who adores him and travels across the country, acquiring new owners and listening to their hopes, dreams, and histories.