Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
Olive is a sweet little dog who finds a giant heart on her front door step that was dropped from her friend, a flying dog with wings. She thinks it is an accident and must return it to him. She gets help from a fast talking squirrel and a helpful web-weaving spider.
This is a delightful, humorous book with a twist on words: "All of my love"/"Olive, My Love"
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Romeo and Juliet Code by Phoebe Stone
4th - 6th Grade
Felicity is 11 years old. She lives in London during World War II. Germany is bombing London so many children are being sent away to distant relatives to live. Danny and Winnie, Felicity's parents, decide to take her to Bottlebay, Maine in the USA. The journey to America is dangerous. The Atlantic Ocean is filled with German U boats.
When they arrive, the family's welcome is cold and distant. Felicity has never met these relatives before. Uncle Gideon is Danny's brother. He greets them but seems angry. Despite his feelings, he still talks to Danny, but not Winnie. When Winnie's hat blows down the beach Uncle Gideon is the first to retrieve it for her. Gram stays in the house. Later Felicity meets Aunt Miami who adores Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and recites lines to the play often. There is a room upstairs with someone the family calls Captain Derek. He never leaves his room. Felicity's relatives are strange and mysterious.
Felicity thinks her parents went back to London but when a letter from Portugal arrives in the mail with Danny's writing on it she wants to find out what is going on. Uncle Gideon keeps the letter and others locked in his office but one day Felicity and Derek devise a plan to get a letter. They discover the letter is written in code. Will they ever break the code and find out who is sending Uncle Gideon these letters and why?
This book is a little slow at the start but stick with it because the story line and relationships come together in complex, interesting ways. And yes there is some romance as well. How can the title include Romeo and Juliet and not have romance bloom in its pages?
Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
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