In The Secret Zoo, by Bryan Chick, the reader is taken on a fantastical journey that begins with the mysterious disappearance of Megan, a lover of animals who is last seen at the city zoo. Megan's brother and two friends, the Action Scouts, infiltrate the zoo, and begin a journey deep into an incredible secret and dangerous animal world, aided by a few unique friends, including a penguin, a very large polar bear, and a very smart hummingbird. The adventures of the Secret Zoo will be continued soon in a sequel.
R is for Rachel is by Patricia Reilly Giff, also the author of Storyteller which brought the reader back to the time of the American Revolution. This new novel takes us back to the Great Depression of the 1930s when many Americans were poor and out of work and President Roosevelt was just beginning to help the country with his New Deal. Rachel tells the story of the year her two siblings and her father are forced to move from the city to a dilapidated farm in the hope of a job for her father and a chance to grow their own food. But things get worse as her father loses his job and has to travel far for another, leaving the children to fend for themselves and take care of the farm. A great story of perseverance and family working together even though each sibling's personality, talents, and skills are very different.
Words with Wings by Nikki Grimes is a novel told completely in short narrative verse... poetry, by Gabriella, who is starting a new school and finds it desperately hard to focus when the words and sights all around her take her thoughts far away in wonderful daydreams. Friends and good grades are hard to achieve until her teacher helps Gabriella find a way to capture her daydreams and still find a time to focus on schoolwork.