Thursday, November 12, 2015

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM by Robert C. O'Brien


     Mrs. Frisby and her children move each spring from their winter home in the garden to their summer home by the creek.  But before they can move Timothy catches pneumonia.  Timothy has always been a sickly mouse and doesn’t recover as fast as the other children.  Mrs. Frisby is desperate for help.  The wise owl tells her to ask the rats.  The rats on the farm keep to themselves and help no one, but she needs help, so off to the rats she goes.  Mrs. Frisby soon finds out that these are not normal rats and that her husband had helped them in the past.  It is because of the kindness and help her husband had given them, they decide to help her. 
     I first fell in love with this book in the 4th grade when our teacher read it aloud.  It is now one of my favorites as an adult and I invite you to pick up this oldie but goodie! 


Friday, November 6, 2015

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

     Another great story delivered by Heather Gudenkauf. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. The fact the Calli Clark is a selective mute caught my interest right away. I kept on reading to find out exactly why she did stop talking., and I wanted find out what happened to her best friend, Petra Gregory as well.
     I love Gudenkauf's way of having each chapter written from the view of one of the characters. This means you see the way Calli feels about things and them the next chapter will be her brother speaking, then her mother, the sheriff and so forth. She rotates through the characters, building the story to it's finish. Very good.