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

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (Film)

(2009). Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. Sony Pictures.

Run time: 90 minutes

Directed by: Phil Lord & Christopher Miller

Starring:

Bill Hader
Neil Patrick Harris
Anna Faris
James Caan
Bruce Campbell
Mr. T
Andy Sandberg

Plot: Wannabe scientist Flint Lockwood has been trying all his life to create something amazing but never succeeded, like his spray-on shoes that don't come off. He isn't very popular in his hometown of Swallow Falls, until he finally creates something that does work. He creates the Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator, which turns water molecules into food. The first time the device works it rains burgers all over the town. The mayor of Swallow Falls sees dollar signs and wants Flint to make it rain food three times a day, and to get tourists to come they rename the town Chewandswallow. He doesn't realize it yet, but Flint might have bitten off more than he can chew. Pun intended. =)

Genre: Fantasy

Interest level: ages 8 & up

Subjects/themes: family, growing up, science, food, romance.

The Witches (Film)

(1990). The Witches. Warner Bros.

Based on the book The Witches by Roald Dahl.

Directed by: Nicolas Roeg

Starring:

Anjelica Huston as the Grand High Witch
Jasen Fisher as Luke
Mai Zetterling as Grandma
Charles Potter as Bruno

Running time: 91 minutes

Plot: After the death of his parents, Luke and his grandmother move to England and she explains to him all about witches and how to spot them. She tells him of all the children she knows of who have mysteriously disappeared because of witches. Witches hate children. Look for purple eyes, gloved hands, itchy scalps, square feet with no toes. When Luke's grandma falls ill, she is advised to spend some time by the sea, so the two go stay at a fancy hotel. It just so happens that the annual witch convention is being held at the same htoel. Luke finds out too late and gets turned into a mouse, along with another boy named Bruno. Before he was turned into a mouse, Luke overheard the Grand High Witches plans for the witches of England to turn all the children into mice by putting a potion into chocolates. Luke must find his grandma and stop the witches!

Genre: Fantasy

Interest level: Ages 9 & up

Subjects/themes: witches, loss, family, England, fantasy. 

The Lightning Thief

Riordan, R. (2005). The Lightning Thief. Hyperion Books for Children.

Plot: 12 year old Percy Jackson gets into trouble a lot and doesn't do too well in school due to his dyslexia and ADHD. He just got kicked out of another school, Yancy Academy, during which a strange event occurred while on a school field trip with the math teacher, Ms. Dodds. Well, no one else remembers her, so Percy is confused. After school lets out, Percy returns home and goes on a trip with his mom Sally. They get an unexpected visit from Percy's best friend, Grover, who tells them they are in danger and they need to get to Camp Half-Blood right away. Percy finds out he is the son of Poseidon and that Zeus thinks he is the one who stole his master bolt. Everyone believes it was Hades who stole it, so Percy goes on a quest to find Zeus' master bolt, rescue his mother, and return the bolt to Zeus to stop the gods from waging war on one another.

Genre: Fantasy, adventure

Suggested reading level: Grades 5-8

Subjects/themes: greek mythology, destiny, family, friendship

Awards:

• School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
• American Library Association Notable Books for Children
• Mark Twain Award

Other Books in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series:

• The Sea of Monsters - Book2
• The Titan's Curse - Book 3
• The Battle of the Labyrinth - Book 4
• The Last Olympian - Book 5

The Fairy-Tale Detectives

Buckley, M. (2005). The Fairy-Tale Detectives. Abrams Books for Young Readers.

Plot: Sabrina and Daphne Grimm are orphan sisters since they lost their parents a year and a half ago, literally. Their parents just disappeared one day. They have gone to live with their so-called grandmother, the one their father told them died a long time ago. Relda Grimm is her name, and she lives with Mr. Canis and a huge dog named Elvis. They live in a strange town called Ferry Port Landing, which houses the Everafters, fairty-tale creatures and characters. Sabrina and Daphne soon learn their true family history and what lies for them in the future, but first there is a mystery to solve involving giants, Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk and many more fantastical creatures!

Genre: Mystery, Fantasy, Adventure

Suggested reading level: Grades 5-8

Subjects/themes: detectives, fairty-tales, family, mystery, legacy

Other books in The Sister's Grimm series:

• The Unusual Suspects
• The Problem Child
• Once Upon a Crime
• Magic and Other Misdemeanors
• Tales From the Hood
• The Everafter War
• The Inside Story

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Film)

(2010). Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. 20th Century Fox.

Directed by: Chris Columbus

Based on the book The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.

Starring:
Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson
Pierce Brosnan as Mr. Brunner
Kevin McKidd as Poseidon
Sean Bean as Zeus
Brandon T. Jackson as Grove
Uma Thurman as Medusa


Plot: Percy Jackson is the son of Poseidon, which makes him a half-blood or demi-god, he just doesn't know it. He is thought to have stolen Zues' lightning bolt, so is in grave danger. His teacher, Mr. Brunner and best friend, Grover, are actually a centaur and a satyr and take him to a training camp for children of gods to become fighters and heroes. On the way to the camp Percy's mother, Sally, gets turned to dust and sent to Hades by a minotaur. Percy must get his mother back, find the lightning bolt and return it to Zeus by the summer solstice to avoid a war between the gods.

Genre: Fantasy, Film

Interest level: ages 10 & up

Subjects/themes: destiny, greek mythology, adventure, family

Personal thoughts: I really liked the book, so I was a little disappointed by some of the things they left out. The story was a bit different, especially with the way the gods are portrayed as caring parents that are forbidden to see their children, when in the book it was because they were considered "deadbeat parents" who are too consumed with themselves. Miss. Dodd's character was minimal and the scene in the museum was downplayed. The movie is ok, but the book is way better.

The Witches

Dahl, R. (1999). The Witches. Turtleback Books. Illustrated by Quentin Blake.

Plot: A young boy who has recently lost his parents is living in England with his Norwegian grandmother. She is an expert on witches, and teaches him how to look out for them. On a vacation at a hotel they find themselves among hundreds of witches, for they are having their annual convention at the same hotel! The young boy finds himself locked in the same room with these witches, they turn him into a mouse and he must get to his grandmother because the witches are plotting to turn all the children in England into mice!

Genre: Humor, Fantasy

Subjects/themes: witches, death, magic, family

Suggested reading level: Grades 4-6

Other Books by Roald Dahl:

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• The BFG
• Matilda
• Fantastic Mr. Fox

Annotation: Do you know how to spot a witch? They aren't easily recognizable. They could be any woman, your next door neighbor, the woman walking across the street, your teacher even. There are witches everywhere, and if you want to be prepared (and I think you should be) then you will want to read this book!

Falling In

O'Roark Dowell, F. (2010). Falling In. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.

Plot: Isabelle Bean is different from the other children at her middle school and from her mom. She doesn't have any friends, either. She likes to talk in riddles and dress different, like wearing these red, pointy-toed boots. One day she notices buzzing in her ears and starts listening to it rather than her teacher, who isn't amused and sends her to the principal's office.

Isabelle falls through a door at the school nurse's office into a different world where everyone is afraid of a witch, so parents have their children moved around differnt camps so the witch won't find them and kill them. When she wanders into one of these camps the children there think she is a witch. So she goes in the direction where she can find the witch because she's curious and likes adventure. She meets Hen, who has lost her siblings on their way to camp.

Isabelle and Hen are found by an old woman named Grete, an herbal healer. Isabelle has hurt her ankle and Grete nurses her back to health. While staying with Grete because it is safe, Isabelle finds some very interesting things about herself, Grete and her mother, as well as the tale of the wicked witch supposedly terrorizing this other world.

Suggested reading level: Grades 5-8.

Genre: Fantasy

Character description:

Isabelle Bean- Always knew there was something different about herself, finds out what it is while in another world.

Hen- Scared of the evil witch, has to take care of her siblings, has a knack for herbal medicine.

Grete- Once married and had a family, child taken by fairies, knows herbal medicine, lives in the woods.

Jacob- Hen's brother, thinks Grete is a witch and almost kills her, by accident.

Other Books by this author:

•  Shooting the Moon
• Chicken Boy
• Where I'd like to be
• Dovey Coe

Annotation: What would you do if you fell into another world that is being terrorized by a witch? Would you go looking for that witch? Isabelle Bean plans to do just that, and her lifelong feelings of knowing that she is different and wanting to know why will be answered during her adventure.

The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book. Neil Gaiman. IIlustrations by Dave McKean. HarperCollinsPublishers, 2008.

312 pages.

Genre: Fantasy, Mystery

Reading Level: Grades 5-8.

Plot: Nobody "Bod" Owens has been living in a graveyard since he was a baby after the murder of his family by a man named Jack. He has been raised and taught by ghosts and has a guardian to keep him safe from Jack, who is still out there among the living looking for him.

Awards:

• Newbery Medal
• Carnegie Medal
• ALA Notable Books for Children
• Book Sense Book of the Year

Other Books by the Author:

• Coraline
• M is for Magic
• Stardust

Personal Notes:
There are some very memorable characters in this book, one of my favorites being Silas, Bod's guardian. He captivated me with his ability to leave the graveyard and go searching for the man Jack, and his love for Bod was really endearing, looking out for him and getting him food and books to read. He is fascinating because the reader doesn't really know what Silas is, because there is a part in the book where he gets hit by a car and is hurt, which means that he can't be a ghost. Great read and highly recommended for fantasy lovers or mystery lovers because there is a bit of mystery underneath the ghosts, werewolves and ghouls.

Ella Enchanted

Ella Enchanted. Gail Carson Levine. Harper Collins Publishers. 1997.


232 pages


Plot: Ella lives in the town of Frell, cursed by the gift of obedience by the fairy Lucinda. She has to do what anyone tells her to do. She has a gift for languages, charms ogres and wins the heart of prince Char but can't let him know she loves him too because her curse would only bring him trouble. She must find a way to be rid of her curse!


Genre: Fantasy


Reading Level: Grades 5-8


Note: There is a movie of the same name based on the book featuring Anne Hathaway. I plan on checking it out because I really enjoyed the book. This book was fun, clever and had a strong, intelligent female character who wasn't afraid of an adventure!


Awards:

• Newbery Honor Book
• ALA Notable Books for Children
• School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
• California Young Reader Medal

Other books by Gail Carson Levine:

• The Two Princesses of Bamarre
• Fairest