Circus Mirandus, Cassie Beasley. Micah is on a quest to save his grandfather, Ephraim Tuttle, who lies in bed waiting to die. His great aunt Gertrudis, come to help out, is strict and won't let Micah spend too much time with his grandfather and his crazy circus stories, but on his rare visits with him, Grandfather Ephraim tells Micah that the stories are true and that Micah has to find the get the Lightbender to come and fulfill his long ago promise to Ephraim when he offered him one miracle. Along with his new best friend, Jenny Mendoza, she and Micah, sneak out, find their way to the awesome Circus Mirandus, but without a ticket, they are denied, until Micah realizes he has his quipo, a school project full of perfect knots, that it is accepted as an invitation - much better than a ticket. Making their way through all the dizzying circus acts, they finally find the Lightbender, begging him to come save his grandfather, but it is not as easy as Micah thought. He is directed to Rosebud's little wagon where she gives him a potion to give his Ephraim, which Micah does. Miraculously, he is up and out of bed and he and Micah spend the entire day and night together, much to the chagrin of Aunt Gertrudis. It is a night of enchantment, story telling and memory building. When Ephraim goes to his bed again, Micah learns more about the miracle and who it was truly intended for.

This is a wonderful story by a first time writer. Reminiscent of The Polar Express, written by Chris van Allsburg, this is a story for those that truly believe. Read it and be enchanted.

Paper Things, Jennifer Richard Jacobson. Ari, age 11, and Gage, her brother, age 19, are on their own and homeless. Being orphans, the home they had with Janna is not working for Gage and he insists he can take care of his younger sister on his own. Shuffling from couch to couch, floor to floor, or when necessity calls, the homeless shelter, they trudge with their few belongings from place to place. Lack of food, wrinkled clothes, disheveled hair, and a hungry stomach get to be too much for Ari to hide from her best friend, Sasha, and others suspecting things are not going so well. Her comfort is her years of "paper things" she has cut from catalogs to make families and homes and comforts that she, herself, does not have.

Reggie and his dog, Amelia who make their home in a rented storage unit, offers them a night of respite and he makes Ari a paper airplane using a Jiffy Lube advertisement. Coincidentally Gage lands his first job at Jiffy Lube . . . leading Ari to believe his planes make wishes come true. With Sashi pulling away and making new friends, Ari finds a new friend in Daniel, the weird kid with a bucket list of things to do before moving on from Eastland Elementary.

With the growing concern of more and more students living in poverty and without homes, this is such a story and how well some students can hide their situation. It gives us a glimpse into the life of one girl trying to remain true to her home with her brother doing his best and the one with Janna that may not include Gage.

Rain, Reign, Ann Martin. Rose Weldon is a fifth grade autistic girl that has her own school para pro and is a collector of homonyms. In her notebook of alphabetized homonyms, she leaves blank spaces for new additions; however, if there is not enough space to add a new pair or trio, she starts the entire list over again. Rose lives with her dad, who gets impatient with her perseverations and obsession for following rules. Her mom left years ago, but her adoring uncle takes her to school each day and picks her up. One day, her dad brings home a stray dog that he found and Rose names him Rain/Reign because he was found in the rain. They become inseparable.

Hurricane Susan is approaching and the community begins to prepare. She comes with a vengeance: closing school, knocking out bridges, falling trees, but all survive. In the middle of repairing the damages, Rose's dad lets Rain out but forgets to bring her back in. Rose doesn't understand how he could do that . . . and without her collar for identification. She creates a plan for locating her by identifying all the animal shelters within a several mile radius of home and calling each one. Days and days pass. Finally, a shelter has a dog that fits Rain's description; however, when Rose and her uncle get to the shelter and identify her, they learn that Rain is actually named Olivia due to a microchip planted by her "real" owners. Being the rule follower that she is, she sets out to find Rain's true owners.

The author pulls at the reader's heartstrings with tenderness. Do we want Rose to find Rain's real owner? Aren't we happy that Rain and Rose have one another? Will Rain want her previous owner more than Rose? Will Rain's previous owner see the love between Rose and Rain? The ending brings surprises, tears and smiles. Be prepared to fall in love.

Counting by 7's, Holly Goldberg Sloan. A wonderful story of Willow Chance and her search for a new home, after her parents are killed in a car accident. She is on her way home after getting ice cream with her school counselor, Dell Duke, her new found friend, Mai and Mai's older brother, Quang-ha when they notice emergency vehicles in her driveway. Willow's world is immediately shattered.

Upon receiving the only perfect test score on the school state test, her teacher assumed she cheated and refers her to the school counselor, Dell Duke. Willow is actually a genius, but her interest in the natural world and counting by sevens comes to an abrupt halt after the death of her parents. Pattie, Mai and Quang-ha Nguyen, allow her to stay with them temporarily. Quang-ha finds her a nuisance, but Pattie and Mae warm to her instantly, as does Dell. Each character, including Jairo, the taxi driver, rally around Willow, forming a quirky and unconventional, family relationship. The day finally arrives; however, when Lenora Cole, the social worker, calls to tell her she has a court date for her to be placed with a foster family. The ending will delight readers, leaving warm fuzzies through and through.

The Boy on the Porch, Sharon Creech.This is an adorable book about John and Marta finding a young, sleeping boy on their porch one morning. The boy, Jacob, does not speak and cannot provide any background information. All they have is a note saying that Jacob is a good boy and they will be back soon. Days, weeks, months pass and no one in town knows anything and no one comes to claim him. The three form an unlikely family and the little boy fills the heart of John and Marta with joy and smiles. Indeed, one day, his father does come to claim him. The rest I'll leave for you to read. Is it sad? Yes, but I don't think you'll be disappointed.

A Snicker of Magic, Natalie Lloyd. As soon as Felicity Pickle's mom feels it is time to leave, she ups and moves her and her sister, Frannie Jo, to a new place, a new house, a new school. Nowhere does she call home, until they venture into Midnight Gulch, Tennessee, a place once full of magic but also a curse that took it all away. Felicity collects words and keeps a blue book full of them where "lonely" seems to be a recurring theme. She meets Jonah, aka Beedle, who changes the lives of others, as well as her life in ways that she never expected. They strike up a deal that she will use her collection of words to write and read a poem at "the duel" forcing her artistic mother to hang around a bit longer. Not only does the poem touch a part of her mom's heart, it moves her to finally begin painting again. The small town holds many stories and tales and secrets that Felicity sorts through to learn more of her own background. But through it all, she finds a home and learns that Midnight Gulch still has a "snicker of magic."

This is a lighthearted story that would make a nice read aloud. It is one about loss and loneliness, hope and a home. It leaves you with a sense of contentment and happiness.

Keeping Safe the Stars, Sheila O'Connor. Pride, Nightingale and Baby Star, orphaned siblings, are taken under the wing of their grandfather, Old Finn. Chapter one begins with Old Finn, the small town hermit, taking himself to the local hospital, telling the kids to stay with Miss Addie until he returns. However, he does not return and Miss Addie is old and not able to provide any direction or support. The kids make the long trek to the hospital, only to learn that he was transported to the big city hospital for encephalitis. With no money, little food and the fear of being put into the foster system, they make signs advertising pony rides and selling cookies and souvenirs to raise money for the Greyhound tickets needed to get to him. Among their few customers are Nash, a journalist and his daughter, Sage, who keep coming back trying to get more information for his story; but the lies that Pride tells, just don't work for him. Searching for money, Pride comes across a stack of love letters to Old Finn from Justine, a painter, currently living in the city. Using their precious dimes for phone calls and the help of the local librarian, they track her down. She instantly comes to their aid.

This story, with a strong female protagonist shows the love and compassion for a grandfather, while desperately missing her mother. With little resources, Pride makes decisions that make her sister, Nightingale, uncomfortable because of the lies she tells. It is a story about family and opening ourselves up to others and allowing them to help in our time of need.