Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland anyone? That’s what I channeled after a few chapters of Furthermore. Maybe it was because the story was unlike any fairy tale I’d read. Once I’d accepted that flowers were a food staple and the sky suffered from loneliness, I gladly jumped into the story. In a town where magic is thought to be linked to color, poor 12-year-old Alice is almost completely white. Her only support has been Father, who has gone missing years ago. When her former enemy Oliver offers to help her find her Father, Alice jumps in (literally) into the strange world of Furthermore, where Father has been trapped. Besides a rich, imaginative story, I loved the messages woven in. “Change the way you see, not the way you are” and “Not knowing is only temporary if you have a mind to figure things out.”
Middle grade
Coming of Age

Arnie the Doughnut

by

Laurie Keller

Think YOU have it hard? Try being a sprinkle doughnut named Arnie.
He arrives in the world at 5:15 AM, born at the bakery. Then he’s deep fried, iced, sprinkled, and given his donut name. (Did I tell you it was Arnie?) Next, off to a grand adventure. Or is it grand, after all? Arnie’s tickled as Mr. Bing picks him up. “Oh, isn’t that cute?” he thinks, “He wants to hold me.” HA! You know what happens next. Or, do you? A surprising solution saves Arnie and satisfies Mr. Bing. The artwork is for kids and grown-ups (tiny hilarious captions alongside the main action) makes this fun to read aloud.
Read Aloud and easy reader.

Every time you read a story, you’re casting a spell of magic. So, what could be better than imagining yourself yourself in a world where fairy sprites light the night, a mandrake plant becomes a man, and fairy tales are true?  That’s the world of 12-year-old Sophie until the city’s leaders have decided that magic and imagination are dangerous. Fantastical creatures are killed, imprisoned or banished, Sophie stumbles across an unusual book of “Who?” that refuses to be destroyed and wants only Sophie to be its owner. A fantastical cast of characters help or hinder Sophie as she attempts to uncover the books” meaning. It’s Sophie, Peter Nimble, a deft thief who blindfolds himself and Sir Tode, a knight who has been turned into a chimera of man, horse and cat, who save the world of imagination.

Ages 8 and up.

Strong female and male characters