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All posts for the month March, 2014

I am Number Four, by Pittacus Lore

Published March 9, 2014 by Dagmar

number 4I am Number Four is a fast-paced, suspenseful science fiction novel for middle schoolers.

“They caught Number One in Malaysia.  Number Two in England. And Number Three in Kenya.  They killed them all.  I am Number Four.  I am next.”

This is the story of Number 4, a teenager who arrived on Earth from another planet called Lorien when he was a child.  He, and the other nine Lorien Legacies, are the last hope for the planet, destroyed by the Mogadorians.  Their plan is to strengthen themselves and return to fight for Lorien.

The children are bound by a charm — provided that they never meet, the ten children can only be killed by the Mogadorians in order.  Number 4 lives with Henri, his caretaker from Lorien.  Each time the Mogadorians kill one of the Legacies, Number 4 finds out because he feels a searing pain in his ankle that turns into a scar.  Number 4 has three scars now.

Number 4 looks just like any other teenager and would love to be just like any of the kids he knows.  Unfortunately, he and Henri have to change identities all the time, moving across the United States to keep safe, never being able to make long-lasting friendships or stay settled in one place.  Will Number 4 survive?

Don’t miss this exciting first book in the Lorien Legacies series.

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Journey, by Aaron Becker

Published March 4, 2014 by Dagmar

Journey Journey is beautifully illustrated wordless book and uses color very effectively to tell a story of a good deed and its reward.

As I paged through the book for my classes, I could hear my students whispering the story to themselves.  Their spontaneous applause when I finished the book matched my feelings exactly.  I love this book so much that I’ve shown it to countless adults since first reading it.

A lonely girl takes her red crayon and draws a door in her bedroom wall.  The door leads her into a beautiful forest filled with lanterns and lights.  There she finds a small stream.  She draws herself a boat and follows the stream to a beautiful city.  The city could be from medieval times with its stone walls and golden domes.  She floats through a city canal.  When she comes to the end of the canal, the girl draws herself a hot air balloon.  She flies away and sees a purple bird flying away from city soldiers.  When the soldiers catch the bird and place it in a cage, the girl steals the bird’s cage and frees the bird.  Caught by the soldiers herself, the girl is suspended in her own cage.  The grateful bird brings her a crayon so that she can draw herself a magic carpet.  The girl follows the bird until she finds a door.  When she opens the door…well, you’ll have to read Journey and find out what happens.

This is a book you won’t want to miss and that you and the children you read to are bound to read over and over again.