Sparrow Girl by Sarah Pennypacker

The elders in Ming-Li’s village in China have decreed that all sparrows be killed because they eat too much of the wheat crop. Over the course of three days they decimate the population. Ming- Li makes a vow with her older brother to save as many of the sparrows as they can. In the end she was only able to save the lives of seven, yet the sparrows she protected end up saving the village. Therefore, she becomes known as “Sparrow Girl.” Apparently, this picture book is based on a true event called “The Sparrow War” which took place in 1958 in China. There were two things that caught my attention while reading this book. The first thing was the illustrations, which were well drawn and supported the story, but the characters didn’t really look Chinese. The other thing I noticed was the text. It was extremely small, but easy to read due to the type of font. I think this would be a good book to use in an English class, to show how real events can be semi-fictionalized and made into story books.

Jake Ransom and the Skull Kings Shadow by James Rollins

Jake Ransom’s parents were famous archeologists who disappeared a couple of years ago. One day Jake gets a weird package and the next thing you know Jake and his older sister Kady are transported into the strange world of Calypsos, located thousands of years in the past. Jake realizes that in addition to having to watch out for the Skull King, who is trying to take Calypsos over, that this world could lead them to the answers of why their parents disappeared. This is the first book in this series and it reminded me of a cross between the Percy Jackson series and the movie “National Treasure”. It is definitely action packed and full of adventure. I thought it was a little on the predictable side, but for younger reluctant readers, especially boys I think this would be a good suggestion and one that would keep their attention.