The Tale of Depereaux

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo is a 269 page story of a small mouse, troublesome rat, a princess-want-to-be and how their stories all come together in the castle of the Kingdom of Dor. Despereaux was born a small mouse and the only living one of his litter. He does not do what other mice do, and falls in love with a human princess which is against the mice law. He is sent to the dungeon by the Mouse Council, where he meets the rat, Roscuro. Miggery Sow, also known as Mig, has always wanted to be a princess and moves to the castle. She and Roscuro take the Princess Pea to the dungeon so Mig can be princess when Despereaux saves his true love, the princess, from being stuck in the dungeon forever. This book is quite complicated to explain, but I recommend it to anyone.

My Side of the Mountain

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George is 177 pages of an adventure that Sam takes in the Catskills. He ran away from a home with 8 brothers and sisters, and lived in an old tree that was what he called home. Along the way, he meets and somewhat saves a falcon that becomes his companion and hunter for food. This book is about his experience in the mountains that was his home for a few years of his life.

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl is 283 of a sorrowful journey through the Holocaust translated by B. M. Mooyaart-Doubleday from Anne's Dutch writing. Anne was a Jew during the Holocaust and hid on the upper floor of an office building. She hid with her family, another family, and other individuals. This book is Anne Frank's diary where she wrote down her feelings in this difficult time. Before the end of the war, everyone hiding was captured by the Nazis and separated in various death camps. Anne and her sister died from sickness in the camps.

The Upstairs Room

The Upstairs Room is 196 pages of hardships a split up family had to go through in the Holocaust. Annie and Sini are split up from their other sister and father when they have to go into hiding because they are Jews. They lived the next few years of their life in an upstairs room, barely walking, talking, and going outside. A major setting in the story is the hiding place.
The hiding place is a major setting in the story. This is were Sini and Annie were squashed into to hide from the Germans. At one point in the story, the Germans are so close to them but didn't know they were there! It was a small almost cupboard-like space that they boarded up inside a closet so they would not be found. Miraculously, the girls made it out of the war to bring their family back together and start a "new" life.

A Wrinkle in Time

This masterpiece, A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'engle is 211 pages of a race in different dimensions to rescue Meg's father. Meg, Charles Wallace, the twins, and their mother have been longing for their father to come home from a scientific mission in the 5th dimension for the government. He hasn't been home in years. After running into some strange characters, they tesser to Camazots, Charles Wallace is taken over by IT, and rescue a longed for father. A main theme in this story is Love.

A main theme in this story is Love. If Meg did not love her father, she would have not traveled to strange places to save him. She wouldn't have risked her life to go back to Camazots to save Charles Wallace from IT if she did not love him either. Also, love is a big part of saving Charles... but you have to read this amazing story to find out how.