Grades K - 1
Judith Byron Schachner
www.judithbyronschachner.com

Judith Byron Schachner - Brief Summaries

How the Cat Swallowed Thunder PB Age Range 4-8
Schachner's illustrations are hysterical as cat gets into all the mischief anyone can imagine - from tangling in the thread of his mistress's spinning wheel to climbing into the cupboard and creating chaos among the crockery. Never one to clean up his own messes, cat considers housework and pushing a broom "weary". Nonetheless, in Mother Holly's absence he spills the soup, and while trying to clean up turns the kitchen into a duck pond. He also releases feathers from a quilt, and makes a myriad of messes. Despite all this, Mother Holly dotes on her pet, just as we do on ours. Animal lovers have found a kindred soul. 40 pp.

I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie HC/PB Age Range 4-8
A slightly dizzying new spin on a well-loved cumulative rhyming song, illustrator Judith Byron Schachner has masterfully captured this ludicrous tale in hilariously haywire pen-and-ink drawings, splashed with watercolor. Kids will love this romping, rhyming frolic through a familiar favorite. 32 pp.

Mr. Emerson's Cook PB Age Range 4-12
In a picture book that weaves together fact and fiction, Schachner tells of her great grandmother, Annie Burns, who arrives from Ireland and becomes a cook at the home of Ralph Waldo Emerson. This curious man is so consumed by nature, thought, and writing that he has lost interest in food. Annie has no success with her good cooking until her mother sends her a cookbook she made as a child. 32 pp.

Skippyjon Jones HC/PB Age Range 4-8
My name is Skippito Friskito. I fear not a single bandito. My manners are mellow, I'm sweet like the Jell-O, I get the job done, yes indeed-o. Skippyjon Jones is no ordinary kitten. Oh, no. . . .He's actually El Skippito, a great sword-fighter ready to battle banditos the world over! With a little imagination and a whole lot of fun, this frisky cat dons a mask and cape and takes on a bad bumble-beeto to save the day. 32 pp.

SkippyjonJones in the Dog House HC Age Range 4-8
The Siamese kitty boy with the gigantico imagination has returned for another loco adventure. In his room for a time-out, Skippyjon Jones lets his imagination take him to a shack where his Chihuahua friends are yipping and yapping and hiding out from the Bad Bobble-ito, who has taken over their doghouse. 32 pp.

The Granny-Man HC/PB Age Range 4-8
The Siamese cat Simon may be getting on in years but this beloved family pet is enjoying a comfortable retirement. The geriatric cat's sedate golden years dramatically transform when a kitten arrives. Simon's tender care of his perky charge earns him a new name: the Grannyman. This story of old age revered and rejuvenated is a pleasure from the ends of its whiskers to the tip of its tail. 32 pp.

Yo, Vikings! HC Age Range 4-8
Emma, the author's own daughter, wanted her own viking ship for her birthday. This wonderful book is an account of how the author came to have a viking ship in her backyard. Fantastic illustrations packed with surprises, this is a must for anyone who knows a special kid! 32 pp.

Grades 4 - 5
Anna Myers
www.annamyers.info

Anna Myers - Brief Summaries

Assassin HC Age Range 9-12
Would you betray your president to win the heart of America's most celebrated actor?
Even people with good intentions can end up doing bad things, especially when they meet people with the power to persuade them to do almost anything, like John Wilkes Booth-the most charismatic and famous actor of his time. Anna Myers has crafted a provocative new look at the Lincoln assassination through the eyes of both a young White House insider and the assassin himself. An author's note provides the historical background to this tragic event. 192 pp.

Flying Blind HC Age Range 9-12
This coming-of-age story, set in the early 20th century, is rich in historical and environmental detail as well as adventure. Murphy, the psychic macaw; "Professor" Elisha Riley; and young Ben, whom the kindly professor adopted as a foundling, travel the countryside extolling Professor Good's Magic Elixir and reciting Shakespeare as part of their repertoire. In alternate chapters, Murphy and Ben narrate this engaging adventure, set in the early 1900s. 192 pp.

Graveyard Girl HC Age Range 9-12 During the yellow fever epidemic in Memphis in 1878, twelve-year-old Eli and Addie, a young child he befriends, have both lost their families to the disease and struggle to survive with the help of Grace, a girl who tolls the graveyard bell for the dead and records the names of those buried. 128 pp.

Hoggee HC Age Range 9-12 Howard doesn't want to work the canal all his life and his poor judgment has gotten him in trouble before, but refusing to accompany his older brother home has meant sleeping with mules for warmth all winter and fighting dogs for scraps of food. Starved and miserable as he is, he can't help wondering what is wrong with one of three granddaughters of a man who has befriended him. Howard follows his heart when he discovers sign language and his natural teaching ability. 160 pp.

The Keeping Room PB Age Range 9-12
When Colonel Joseph Kershaw leaves Camden, South Carolina, to lead the American rebels in their struggle against the British, he leaves his son Joey behind as the man of the house. But what can a 13-year-old do when General Cornwallis comes into town and makes the Kershaws' home his headquarters, and begins hanging American prisoners in the family garden? Joey is determined to get revenge--even if he has to risk everything. 144 pp.

Red-Dirt Jessie PB 108 pp Age Range 9-12
12 year old Jessie is growing up in Oklahoma during the dust-bowl depression. When her sister dies of pneumonia, her father sinks into a depression. Jessie comforts her mother and watches after her brother H.J. When her aunt and uncle leave their farm to try their luck in California, Jessie tries to make their nearly wild dog a pet. She finds a connection between rescuing the dog and rescuing her father. Feel the heat of the summer and the hard work it takes to survive through Anna Myers depression era story.

Rosie's Tiger HC Age Range 9-12
Rosie's older brother, Ronny, means the world to her, especially since their mother died. But when Ronny went overseas to fight in Korea, he left Rosie and her father to fend for themselves. Now he's returning from the war with a Korean wife and her young son, and Rosie fears she will lose him forever. Maybe her new friend, Cassandra, with her strange confidence and claims to magical power, can help Rosie keep Ronny for herself. Rosie has no doubt that Cassandra's magic is real, but getting rid of Huyanni and Young So is a big request - and sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for.

Tulsa Burning PB Age Range 9-12
The day he buried his pa, Nobe Chase lost everything-his father, his home, and his dog, Rex. Worst of all, he had to move into town to live with bigoted Sheriff Leonard That day, Nobe found a new purpose for his life-revenge. Hate takes over his life, burning out of control inside him. Nobe learns how dangerous hate can be when it is unleashed in a fury of fire and gunpowder during a race riot in nearby Tulsa. When the violence spills over into his hometown, Nobe must decide what kind of man he is going to become-one driven by vengeance or one driven by courage. Based on true events in Tulsa, Oklahoma, during May of 1921. 184 pp.

Grades 2 - 3
Robert San Souci
www.rsansouci.com

Robert D. San Souci - Brief Summaries

* Some of Robert San Souci's books deal with ghosts, goblins and other things that go bump in the night. You will find an asterisk next to these titles.

A WEAVE OF WORDS: An Armenian Tale Retold HC Age Range 5-8
When a Prince meets the weaver's daughter, he feels certain that she will marry him. After all, he is rich and powerful. But she wants more. "When you can read and write, and learn a trade," she tells him, "I will be satisfied." The prince proves himself equal to the task. In return, she learns how to ride and use a sword, and together they rule the kingdom. But their fortunes turn when the prince is taken prisoner. Only then do he and the weaver's daughter understand the full importance of their newfound skills.

*A TERRIFYING TASTE OF SHORT & SHIVERY: Thirty Creepy Tales HC Age Range 8-
Creepy classic and contemporary stories form Australia, Germany, India, El Salvador, and elsewhere -- including a healthy helping of American apparitions -- will keep readers and listeners scared stiff.
BRAVE MARGARET: An Irish Adventure HC Age Range 5-10
In this Irish fairy tale, when a ship arrives in the harbor, Margaret seizes the chance to see the world. But the adventure brings danger, and soon she must face a sea serpent, a giant, and a sorceress who wants to make Margaret a pawn in a plan of her own. A magic ring, an enchanted sword and the discovery that she is as brave as any man bring Margaret and her true love safely home. 40 pp.

CENDRILLON: A Caribbean Cinderella HC/PB Age Range 5-10
As a Caribbean fairy godmother sets the record straight, her spirited telling provides a fresh twist on a beloved tale. A poor washerwoman, she longs to help Cendrillon but doesn't see how until the girl falls in love with a rich man's son. Then she uses her magic wand to create carriage, horses, coachman, and gown so Cendrillon can attend her true love's birthday celebration. 40 pp.

CINDERELLA SKELETON: A Fractured Fairy Tale in Rhyme HC/PB Age Range 5-10
In this frightfully delightful version of Cinderella, the main character is not a beautiful maiden forced to sweep the ashes from the fireplace but a spindly skeleton whose chores include hanging up cobwebs, arranging dead flowers, dirtying the floor, and feeding the bats. 40 pp.

CUT FROM THE SAME CLOTH PB Age Range 8 & up
This collection of American folktales spans the U.S. with fifteen stories of larger-than-life women from myth, legend, and tall tale. From Molly Cottontail, who can outwit any critter in the woods, to Hekeke, who slays a giant single-handedly, here are fifteen funny, stormy, vivid, and always entertaining tall tales of legendary American women. 160 pp.

*DARE TO BE SCARED: Thirteen Stories to Chill and Thrill HC Age Range 8-
Drawing on legends, folklore, cultural traditions, and the author's imagination these never-before available tales are ideal for telling around campfires, during summer sleepovers, or for reading under the covers while listening for the patter-patter or scritch-scritch of . . . well, you'll have to read these stories to find out. 168 pp.

*DOUBLE-DARE TO BE SCARED: Another Thirteen Chilling Tales HC Age Range 8-
As in the first book, San Souci uses elements of urban legend and folklore to weave powerful and suspenseful yet age-appropriate stories that youngsters will revisit, finding new meaning with each reading. Malicious ghost children, demon cooties seeking revenge, haunted houses, and hungry creatures leap from the pages and into readers' imaginations with spine-tingling results. 170 pp.

*EVEN MORE SHORT & SHIVERY: Thirty Spine-Tingling Tales PB Age Range 8-
This exciting mixture of classic and contemporary tales from Mexico, China, Poland, Nigeria, and other lands near and far is perfect for hair-raising reading!

FA MULAN: The Story of a Woman Warrior PB Age Range 5-9
This is a retelling of the inspiring, original Chinese poem in which a brave young girl masquerades as a boy and fights courageously against the Tartars in the Khan's army. 32 pp.

KATE SHELLEY: Bound for Legend HC Age Range 5-10
Once in a while an ordinary person performs a deed so brave and unexpected that we remember it long afterward. Kate Shelley was such a person. In 1881 this Iowa teenager risked her life to save the survivors of a terrible train wreck and warn an oncoming train of the danger ahead. Her courage and humanity made her a legend in her time -- and still resonate for us today. 32 pp.

LITTLE GOLD STAR: A Spanish American Cinderella Story HC Age Range 5-10
Robert D. San Souci retells this popular folktale in a lilting narrative that includes all the magic of the beloved Cinderella story and traditional elements from Spanish tales. 32 pp

LITTLE PIERRE: A Cajun Story from Louisiana HC Age Range 5-8
A very tiny but clever boy outwits his older brothers, an ogre, an alligator, and a giant catfish to rescue a rich man's daughter in this Cajun version of the French fairy tale, Tom Thumb. 32 pp.

*MORE SHORT AND SHIVERY: Thirty Terrifying Tales PB Age Range 8-
A companion volume to Short and Shivery, this book features a wonderful mix of more scary stories from around the world, both classic and contemporary. The stories will make good read-alouds...on a dark and thundery afternoon.

*SHORT & SHIVERY: Thirty Chilling Tales PB Age Range 8-
SHORT & SHIVERY invites you into the world of hair-raising tales chock-full of chills. The thirty stories in this book have been carefully selected from international ghost lore and skillfully retold with ghastly details and strong, shuddery endings. 75 pp.

SOOTFACE: An Ojibwa Cinderella Story PB Age Range 4-8
A spellbinding Native American version of the well-loved Cinderella story.

*THE BOY AND THE GHOST: A Folktale from the American South PB Age Range 4-8
An African-American retelling of the familiar folk tale in which a poor boy hopes to win a fortune for himself and his family by spending the night in a haunted house and bravely standing up to a frightening ghost. .

THE FAITHFUL FRIEND: A Story from the Caribbean HC/PB Age Range 5 & up
An exciting tale of friendship overcoming the snares of wizardry.

THE RELUCTANT DRAGON HC Age Range All
The original "St. George and the Dragon" story is a frightening tale. Kenneth Grahame modified this bloody tale for the consumption of the very young, and turned it completely on its head. This dragon would rather sleep than slay, purr than prey, and his true nature is discovered by a tow-headed young boy who gradually becomes friends with the pacifist, poetry-loving beast ("why I wouldn't hurt a fly."). 40 pp.

THE SECRET OF THE STONES: An African American Folktale HC Age Range 5-
In this folktale with roots in both Arkansas & Zaire, a childless couple tries to rescue two orphans who have been turned into pebbles. When they try to find out who is doing their chores while they are working in the field, a childless couple discovers that the two stones they have brought home are actually two bewitched orphans. Illustrated by James Ransome. 40 pp.

THE TALKING EGGS: Adapted from a Louisiana Creole Folktale HC Age Range 5-10
A tale of two sisters: one spoiled and lazy but her mother's favorite, the other sweet but forced to fetch and carry and do all the hard work for her mother and sister. Her life is miserable until one day her kindness to an old witch-woman takes her to a miraculous world where cows have two heads and bray like mules, and rabbits in fancy dress dance the Virginia reel. Strangest of all are the talking eggs, which prove that beauty may hide ugliness while the plainest of objects may conceal treasure within. .

THE TWINS AND THE BIRD OF DARKNESS: A Hero Tale from the Caribbean HC Age Range 5-
When the baleful Bird of Darkness, its seven eagle-like heads on serpentine necks, claims an island princess for its own, twin brothers set out to save her. But the twins are opposite in nature: Soliday is altruistic and hardworking, while lazy, conniving Salacota happily betrays his own brother. 40 pp.

The Well at the End of the World HC Age Range 5-8
Princess Rosamond isn't your typical princess. She prefers good books to good looks and keeps both the royal accounts and the castle drawbridge in working order. When her greedy stepmother and stepsister scheme to spend the royal treasury and her father, the king, falls ill, Rosamond must set out in search of the one thing that can cure him -- the healing waters found in the magical well at the end of the world. 48 pp.

TWO BEAR CUBS: A Miwok Legend form California's Yosemite Valley HC Age Range 5-10
In this story about the value of all beings, the nature of courage, and other themes, young readers will discover how two bear cubs are saved, learn the traditional Miwok tale of how a rock grew to become one of Yosemite's most famous landmarks, and come to realize that being a hero has very little to do with one's size. Includes notes about the Miwok, related reading, and Internet resources for teachers. 36 pp.

ZIGZAG HC Age Range 3-7
When the dollmaker creates Zigzag from scraps, she promises him, "Some child will love you". This gives the strange-looking doll hope. But the other dolls and stuffed animals in the shop don't want such an ugly toy around. They force Zigzag to leave. Clinging to the promise that a child will someday love him, little Zigzag sets out on a journey to find a home. 32 pp

Suzanne worked as a news reporter in Asia for 12 years, serving in Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka with United Press International. She returned to Pakistan in 1985 to assess the lives of poor rural women on an assignment with the United States Agency for International Development. Possessing a reporter's eye for detail, Staples gives an "insider's" view of Asian culture without imposing judgment or injecting American values. Her experiences in these places led her to write novels like: Shabanu, Haveli, Shiva's Fire and Under the Persimmon Tree. Shabanu and Haveli both deal descriptively with a young girl coming of age in Pakistani culture. You may want to read theses books first and discuss the issues with your child if they are not already aware of them. These books are well-written and great reads for the more mature middle schooler.

Dangerous Skies PB Age Range 10-14
In the Chesapeake Bay area in the 1700's two close friends, a white boy and an African American girl, find their relationship threatened when they discover a corpse. An absorbing "who-done-It" that pits the loyalty of childhood friendship against the hypocrisy and racism of the adults in their lives. 240 pp.

Shabanu : Daughter of the Wind PB Age Range 12 and up
This story is a beautiful portrayal of the life of a girl growing up among camel-dealing nomads in modern Pakistan. Shabanu knows the way her people, the Cholistanis, have always lived: a daughter abides by her father's decisions, a wife obeys her husband's wishes. Yet Shabanu is strong-willed and independent. As the arranged marriage of Shabanu's sister Phulan approaches, and with her own wedding planned for the following year, Shabanu confronts her fear and apprehension. She scarcely knows the man she is expected to wed. What if she does not obey? Before the ceremonies take place, however, disaster strikes. Shabanu's thorny, poignant coming-of-age will capture the attention of readers young and old. 288 pp.

Haveli PB Age Range Young Adult
In a follow-up to Shabanu, the fourth wife of wealthy Pakistani landowner Rahim is still in her teens; her only child, Mumtaz, is nearly five. This is the story of the marriage of a young nomad girl who was forced to marry a wealthy landowner in order to settle a family feud. This book gives a glimpse into many layers of Pakistani culture. It especially illuminates the role of women in that society. 336 pp.

Shiva's Fire HC/PB Age Range 11 and up
If not for references to modern technology, this tale set in India might defy chronology; the folkloric narrative, primal settings and universal themes confer a timeless quality. Parvati, the heroine, has a mystical aura; some villagers think she carries doom because her birth coincided with an unprecedented cyclone that devastated the entire region. Only her mother Meenakshi loves and believes in her, protecting her from the their curious and hostile stares. The guru Pillai, a famous Indian dance teacher, hears of Parvati's talent and comes to offer her a position in his dance school, or "gurukulam," in the large city of Madras. Once there, she questions her destiny, or "dharma," as she experiences both a devastating loss and a blossoming romance; "...she thought about the mystery of dharma--how some things were very difficult to accept, while others opened as simply and as naturally as a flower." But through it all, the fire of Shiva burns within her, and Parvati knows that, despite all other callings, she was born to dance. 288 pp.

The Green Dog: A Mostly True Story HC/PB Age Range 9-12
In this fictionalized memoir, Staples remembers a blissful summer before fifth grade, when the dog of her dreams miraculously appears at her family's door. What follows is a perfectly riotous summer with Jeff getting into laugh-aloud trouble at every turn. But summers, even the best of them, end, and this perfect relationship must come to a bittersweet ending as well. In this "mostly true" story, Staples has perfectly captured the feel of a Pennsylvania lakeside summer in the late 1950s. 144 pp.

Under the Persimmon Tree HC Age Range 11 and up
In the mountains of northern Afghanistan after 9/11, Najmah watches in horror as the brutal Taliban kidnap her father and older brother. Will they ever return home? When her mother and baby brother die in an American air raid, she stops speaking, and, disguised as a boy, makes a perilous journey to a refugee camp in Pakistan. In a parallel narrative, Nusrat (her American name was Elaine), who converted to Islam when she met Faiz in New York, has set up a rough school for the refugees. She has had no news of Faiz, her husband, since he left to establish a clinic in the north. The two stories come together when Najmah and Nusrat meet in the camp, where they wait in anguish for news of the people they love. 288 pp.