Wonder

by RJ Palacio

August Pullman was always homeschooled until Auggie and his parents talk about it and decide he will go to public school for fifth grade. This is a scary decision because Auggie is different from other kids - the bottom of his face is pushed up and in, and his eyes are down lower - but his face is not deformed (calling someone's face "deformed" is not kind). Auggie is only different on the outside. On the inside he is just a regular kid that likes regular things such as reading comics and Star Wars.

The principal at the school is named Mr. Tushman (ha ha -  get it, "tush"?). He asks three kids to be nice to August - Jack, Julian, and Charlotte. The story is told from a lot of different people's perspectives (those three and other friends, his sister Via, and Auggie himself).

Auggie experiences some hurtful and sad times, but also some really great times. If you get sad really easy, you should not read this book--it's a tear jerker. If you are a dog lover, you might not want to read it; however, I am sensitive and a dog lover, and I still LOVED this book.

***DING, DING, DING***
(those are the "someone hit the lottery" bells)

I read a lot of books and I don't give many of them 5 worms (a lot of times I don't bother to review the ones that aren't that worthy of worms), but this book gets 5 worms, double thumbs up, 10 stars, and whatever else I can give it. It's a must read (but again, it is sad, so read with caution).

To learn more about this book and to watch a cool book trailer, visit the author's site here.

Rating:  5 out of 5 worms

Interest Level:  5 - 7
Reading Level: 5.0
Pages:  330

One Wolf Howls

By Scotti Cohn

This is a nice book for kindergarten or first graders who like wolves. This book counts wolves, from 1 to 12. On each page it has a pretty poem, and the illustrations are pretty awesome.

You will like this book if you like wolves, easy reads, and poems.

For more information, you can visit Sylvan Dell Publishing.

Rating: 3 out of 5 worms

Reading Level: 4.5
Interest Level: Ages 4 to 8
Pages: 32

Gregor the Overlander

By Suzanne Collins

 

This book is about a boy named Gregor from New York City. Gregor’s dad disappeared when he was 8. Three years later, Gregor’s 2-year old little sister, Boots, fell through an air vent in their laundry room. Gregor crawled in after her, and ended up falling for an hour through a foggy hole. When he finally landed he was in a different world, underground beneath New York City. Boots was sitting right there, and the two of them went on a grand adventure to find their missing dad. Will they make it back safely? Read and find out!

(dun, dun, duhhhhn)

If you hate creepy crawlies, you probably should not read this book. You will like this story if you like science fiction, adventure, and mysteries, and you are not terrified of icky sticky bugs or rodents.

I enjoyed the perilous (perilous means death-defying, dangerous, and risky) nature of this story. The super-sized bats, rats, spiders, and roaches made this book very exciting.

For more information about this book, check out the author's website here: Suzanne Collins.

Rating: 4 out of 5 worms

Interest Level: Grades 6 to 8
Reading Level: 4.9
Pages: 309