Charlotte's Web

White, E. B. (1952). Charlotte's Web. HarperCollins Publishers.

Plot: Wilbur is the runt of his litter of piglets, and when Mr. Arable the farmer decides to kill Wilbur, his daughter Fern begs him not to. It works, and it was love at first for Wilbur and Fern. When Wilbur gets older he is sold to Mr. Zuckerman and goes to live on his farm. Fern visits him as often as she can, but Wilbur is miserable and lonely, and then he hears a warm voice that belongs to Charlotte, a spider. They become good friends, but when Wilbur learns that the farmer plans to kill him to have him for dinner, he retirns to being miserable. Charlotte comes up witha plan to show Wilbur off as special, hoping this would save his life. She wrote "Some Pig" in her web, and an astonished Zuckerman did not kill Wilbur. She continued to write messages about Wilbur, and he soon became famous.

Genre: Fantasy, friendship

Suggested Reading Level: Grades 4-6

Subjects/themes: Friendship, farm life, death, animals, pigs, growing up, spiders.

Awards:

• Newbery Honor Book
• American Library Association Notable Book
• Horn Book Fanfare
• Massachusetts Children's Book Award
• Lewis Carroll Shelf Award

Also by E. B. White:

• Stuart Little
• The Trumpet of the Swan

Twilight (Film)

(2008). Twilight. Summit Entertainment.

Based on the book Twilight, written by Stephanie Meyer.

Directed by: Catherine Hardwicke

Starring:

Robert Pattinson
Kristen Stuart
Billy Burke
Peter Facinelli
Taylor Lautner
Cam Gigandet

Plot: Bella Swan has come to live with her father in Forks, a dreary cold, rainy town in Washington. She meets handsome Edward Cullen, who she is intrigued by and soon finds herself falling in love with him. The only problem is he is a vampire and the scent of her blood is like a drug to him. His love for her is stronger and he decides that staying away from her is not an option. Edward and his family have chosen not to drink the blood of humans, instead drinking the blood of animals to survive. One day Bella and Edward join his family for a game of baseball and a trio of vampires interrupt the game. The vampires smell Bella and a stand off begins between the two clans, so Edward takes Bella away to safety, knowing that the vampires won't give up until they get her.

Genre: Fantasy

Interest level: Ages 8 & up

Other movies in this series:

• Twilight Saga: New Moon
• Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Awards:

• 2009 MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance - Kristen Stewart
• 2009 MTV Movie Award for Best Fight - Cam Gigandet and Robert Pattinson
• 2009 MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss - Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart
• 2009 MTV Movie Award for Best Movie
• 2009 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Male Performance - Robert Pattinson
• 2009 Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor Drama- Robert Pattinson
• 2009 Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress Drama - Kristin Stewart
• 2009 Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Villain - Cam Gigandet
• 2009 Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Album Soundtrack

Mr. Popper's Penguins

Atwater, F. & Atwater, R. (1938). New York, NY: Little Brown and Company.

Plot: Mr. Popper is a house painter who regrets not ever traveling, especially to the North and South Poles. He idolizes an explorer named Admiral Drake, whom he had written to. While listening to a broadcast from the Antarctic, Admiral Drake mentions Mr. Popper from Stillwater and says to expect a surprise. Soon a box arrives and inside is a penguin! Mr. Popper names him Captain Cook after another explorer. To keep Captain Cook cool, Mr. Popper keeps him in the fridge and has holes drilled for ventilation and a handle installed on the inside so Captain Cook can come in and out whenever he wants. Mrs. Popper makes sure to buy shrimp for him to eat, though sea food gets expensive and they don't have much money. As it is, the family will have to live off of beans till Spring. Captain Cook gets ill, and Mr. popper writes to a curator of an aquarium wwho writes back that it might be loneliness, so he sends a female penguin named Greta to Mr. Popper. Captain Cook and Greta get along fine and have 10 baby penguins. Now Mr. Popper has 12 penguins, and to deal with the cost he and Mrs. Popper decide to create an act with the penguins because they are so funny and cute and they'll call them Popper's Performing Penguins.

Genre: Humor

Suggested reading level: Grades 4-6

Subjects/themes: penguins, explorations, follow your dreams, daydreaming, humor.

Awards:

• Newbery Honor 1939
• Young Reader's Choice Award 1941

Claudia and Mean Janine

Martin, A. M., & Telgemeier, R. (2008). New York, NY: Scholastic.

Plot: Claudia feels like her genius older sister Janine is the favorite. She always gets good grades and Claudia is a "C" student. Her parents think that Janine's studies are more important than Claudia being a part of the Baby-Sitter's Club, and are always asking her to do things that interfere with her baby-sitting duties instead of asking Janine. When Mimi, Claudia's grandmother, has a stroke after an argument with Claudia about fighting with Janine, Claudia feels like it was her fault. Claudia volunteers her time to help Mimi recuperate, while the rest of the baby-sitter's begin a new summer platgroup for their children that they baby-sit for. Will Claudia and Janine ever see eye to eye and get along?

Genre: Graphic novel

Suggested reading level: Grades 4-6

Subjects/themes: sibling rivalry, friendship, clubs, baby-sitting, summer, education.

Other books in this series:

• The Truth About Stacey
• Mary Anne Saves the Day
• Kristy's Great Idea

Twilight

Meyer, S. (2008). Twilight. Thorndike Press.

Plot: Bella Swan has just moved to Forks, Washington to live with her dad. She meets the handsome Edward Cullen, who at first seems repulsed by her, but later can't seem to stay away from her. Bella's friend Jacob tells her the stories of the Cold Ones and she puts the clues together. Edward is a vampire. After Edward saves her life in Port Angeles, the two decide not to fight it anymore and that they are going to be together. They are falling in love, passionately. Edward and his family of vampires don't drink human blood, but other vampires do and once they catch Bella's scent she is in serious danger!

Genre: Fantasy

Suggested reading level: Grades 6 & up

Subjects/themes: Vampires, love, family, Washington, school, death, revenge.

Awards:

• School Library Journal Best Books of the Year 2005
• Bluegrass Award 2007
• Garden State Children's Books Award 2008
• Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award 2008
• Garden State Teen Book Award 2008

www.kidsreads.com (Website)

http://www.kidsreads.com/

Genre: Informational Website

Interest level: Ages 8 & up

Content: I found this website when I was searching for books that had been turned into films for the media group project. It was very useful because this site has a section dedicated to listing these films, with film information and the plot of the movie. If you are interested in finding out what books will be coming out soon, Kidsreads has you covered. Want to test your knowledge of Harry Potter? How about the Mostly Ghostly series? Take the Kidsreads Trivia Challenge and see how you do! There is a list of books recommended for boys, which is a good way to start a reluctant reader out. Looking for book reviews by a credible source? Look no further! Love a good series, check the Kidsreads section on series books. There is so much to check out on this website that a book lover would enjoy. Now get going!

Subjects: Books, trivia, authors, reviews, movies, new in paperbacks, podcasts.

Similar sites:
http://www.teenreads.com/

The View From Saturday

Konigsburg, E. L. (1996). The View From Saturday. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Plot: Sixth graders from Epiphany Middle School in New York have never beaten the seventh and eighth graders during the Academic Bowl, but Mrs. Olinsky's team did it. They took it all the way to the championships and won that too. But the question remains: How did she choose her team? This book takes you on each journey that Noah, Nadia, Ethan and Julian went through before they became The Souls and the closest of friends, and a tea party that changed everything.

Genre: Realistic fiction

Suggested Reading Level: Grades 5-8

Subjects/themes: Academic competition, prejudice, confidence, friendship, bullying, divorce, marriage, family.

Other books by E. L. Konigsburg:

• From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
• Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and me, Elizabeth

Awards

• Newbery Medal