Book Talks for the 
2013-2014 ORCA Nominees
Elementary Division

Abe Lincoln at Last (Magic Tree House #47) by Mary Pope Osborne
Jack and Annie are known by readers the world over for their time-traveling adventures which begin in their Magic Tree House. This time, they find themselves whisked back in time to the beginning of the Civil War as Jack and Annie are off on an adventure with Abraham Lincoln.  Not only Abraham Lincoln the 16th president but also Abe Lincoln the boy as they seek a magical object that will save Penny, their friend Merlin’s beloved penguin.  Yes, Merlin the Magician is their friend.   However important the magical object is, even more important is helping Abraham Lincoln save his country.  If anyone can do it, Jack and Annie can.  Join them for this adventure into the past.

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens		
Kate is determined to keep the promise she made her mother and watch over her younger siblings, Michael and Emma.  Not an easy thing to do after her mother and father disappear and the three children are sent to an orphanage.  The first orphanage, the one with the nuns, is rather pleasant with kind teachers and decent food.  But that doesn’t last when Michael’s obsession with dwarves and Emma’s propensity for fighting prove more than even the nuns want to deal with.  One orphanage after another decides the children aren’t wanted so they get passed on to another, even grimmer place.  When they prove too incorrigible for the Incorrigible Orphans Home they are sent to an orphanage where they are the only children.  Michael keeps hoping that dwarves will be part of their life but it’s not until they find the strange green book that sends them back in time and their fantastic adventures begin.

With magic, mystery, dwarves (which make Michael very happy), laughs and adventure, The Emerald Atlas is the first book of Kate, Michael and Emma’s amazing adventures.  If you are a fan of Harry Potter you definitely want to give John Stephen’s book a try.

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
A poignant tale, told in beautiful verse, of ten-year old Ha’s journey from war torn Vietnam to Alabama in 1975.  Ha tells of her life before the journey, a life of struggle as her single parent mother works for the Navy, trying to keep her family together and Ha’s brothers in line.  It is also a life she knows, food she’s accustomed to, landscapes that are familiar to her.  Then came April 1975 and Ha’s family had to flee before her mother was taken away to a ‘re-education’ camp.  Readers learn about the refuge camps, the decision about where the family will live; France, Canada, the United States?  Ha’s mother is insistent that they go to America where they settle in Alabama because there are people there who will sponsor, help them start their new lives, them.  Ha must learn to live in an American house, eat American food, attend an American school, deal with racism and bullying, speak the American language.  Her experiences ring so true because this is the author’s story as well.   Deceptively easy to read, Ha’s tale will help readers understand what it is like to be an immigrant child in the United States.  Immigrant children will find a friend whose experiences could mirror their own.
Winner of the 2011 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature and a 2011 Newbery Honor Award.

Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver
Liesl’s wicked stepmother confines her to the attic after Liesl’s father dies in this delicious re-imagining of classic fairy tales.  Liesl is so very lonely, only mice and shadows for company, until Po and Bundle appear in her room.  Po is a lonely ghost, come from the Other Side seeking a friend which it finds in Liesl.  Bundle is a ghost-pet but is it a dog or cat?  As Po explains, “Things are different on the Other Side…blurrier.”  Oliver’s book promises to be a fine tale to this point, then Will, a delivery boy, mistakenly switches a box of the strongest magic in the world with one containing the ashes of Liesl’s father.  Oh, what adventures begin then!  Liesl, Po and Will journey far trying to fix the chaos that pours forth when the box of magic is opened.  This wonderous tale of magic and friendship is delightfully illustrated by Kei Acedera with spot drawings throughout.

HarperKids book trailer found here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO7ODAjwI74 

PIE by Sarah Weeks
Alice’s Aunt Polly had been the Pie Queen of Ipswich since long before Alice was born.  When Aunt Polly dies, she takes her secret recipe for the world’s best pie crust with her.  All she left Alice was her very overweight cat, Lardo, to who she had left her secret recipe.  Alice didn’t mind having Lardo but she sure missed her Aunt Polly and, yes, her Aunt Polly’s pies.  It is up to Alice and her friend Charlie to discover where Lardo has the secret recipe but they are not the only ones looking.  Every baker in town is out to win the Blueberry, grand prize for the annual Ipswich Pie Contest.  Now that Aunt Polly is gone, they all think that if they could just find that recipe, the prize would be theirs.  PIE is author Sarah Weeks homage to homemade pie, friendship, families and the joys of community.   A cozy read filled with wonderful pie recipes that just might send you off on a hunt for the perfect pie crust recipe.

Vanishing Acts by Phillip Margolin and Ami Margolin Rome
Madison Kincaid has two main interests: soccer and solving mysteries. Those two strengths of hers come together in this book when her best friend, fellow soccer enthusiast, Ann suddenly disappears at the end of summer. She was supposed to come back from a family trip to Europe, but never shows up at school. Ann is determined to use her detective skills,that she inherited from her lawyer father, to find out what happened. Along the way she makes a new friend, Jake Stephenson, who helps her to try to solve Ann’s disappearance, as well as her father’s case that involves the supposed murder of her second grade teacher. Together they form a crack investigation team. The entire story is set in Portland, Oregon, since that is where the two authors are from. It is a great double mystery that should entertain everyone.

Young Fredle by Cynthia Voigt
In the land of mice, conformity is the absolute rule to stay safe.  No individuality allowed!  Fredle, however, is a young mouse with curiosity who wants to try new things, see new places, eat new food.  It is this curiosity that gets Fredle shoved out of his family’s nest and into the kitchen of the human house they live in.  Fortunately for Fredle, it is the Missus who gets her way and Fredle is caught and released outdoors, a place he’s never been.  There Fredle sees moonbits (stars) for the first time thus begin his wonderful adventures in the great, big world.  He meets barn mice and dogs and tastes delicious new foods.  He learns to run for cover whenever threatened and there is much to threaten a small pantry mouse out in the world for the first time.  Newbery winner Cynthia Voigt gifts readers with a delightful story that begs to be read aloud.  Add the pleasures of abundant spot illustrations by Louise Yates.

Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke
Zita the Spacegirl is a fun, captivating tale of friendship and redemption from Flight veteran Ben Hatke. It’s about a girl who was playing outside with her friend, Joseph, when all the sudden a futuristic device came crashing to earth. Zita pushed the “big red button” and it sucked Joseph into another dimension, so Zita obviously had to go after him. They landed in a world that was about to be destroyed and was full of strange creatures, some of which thought Joseph was going to save their world. Zita joined forces with Piper, Mouse, One and Randy to save Joseph from the Scriptorians and send him back to planet earth. 
 
(based on a review from goodreads.com)