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Tari Tharp's "Great Reads" from the Children's Department of the Oxford Lane Public Library

Juvenile Fiction:

Earthborn by Sylvia Waugh. Nesta learns that her parents are aliens from another world, sent here as researchers years ago, and now the family has received orders to leave earth.

Blister by Susan Richard Shreve. Alyssa finds ways to attract notice during a time of turmoil in her family.

Beloved Dearly by Doug Cooney. Ernie and a group of his friends start a pet funeral business, complete with an official "cryer".

The Great Good Thing by Rod Townley. What if the characters and settings in books were REAL, with the true action taking place when the book is closed? The sequel to this is Into the Labyrinth.

Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech. Twins Dallas and Florida have never had a successful placement from the orphanage, and have their doubts about living with the older couple in Ruby Holler who need someone to accompany them on their adventures.

Shaper by Jessie Haas. Chad is grieving the death of his dog, Shep, and upset that his family thinks the new dog Queenie could take its place.

Saffy's Angel by Hilary McKay. Saffy searches for the angel left to her by her grandfather, aided by her loving and quirky aunt and cousins.

Juvenile Non-fiction:

1000 Inventions and Discoveries by Roger Bridgman. Highlights a multitude of inventions and discoveries from 3 million B.C. to the year 2001.

Bull's Eye by Sue Macy. A look into the life of Darke County Ohio native Annie Oakley.

Inventing the Future: a photobiography of Thomas Alva Edison by Maree Delano.

The Wright Brothers: How they invented the airplane by Russell Freedman. Not a new book, but a very readable story of the quest to be first to build a flying machine.

Picture Books:

Sailor Moo, Cow at Sea by Lisa Wheeler. A story in rhyme about a cow who has adventures at sea, falls in love with and reforms Angus the pirate bull, and lives happily ever after with him and their little calf, Half and Half.

Plantzilla by Jerdine Nolen. There is something very unusual about the classroom plant the boy brings home to care for during the summer.

David Gets in Trouble by David Shannon. David has an excuse for every misbehavior, from burping to pulling the cat's tail, but eventually he feels remorse and needs the
reassurance of Mom's love.

Suggestions for those who have read Harry Potter:

Books by Lloyd Alexander

The Narnia Tales, a series by C.S. Lewis

The Indian in the Cupboard series by Lynne Reid Banks

The Redwall series by Brian Jacques

The Time Warp Trio series by Jon Scieszka

The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper

Rebecca Smith's list of Teen Literature

Prairie Whispers by Frances Arrington

"Only twelve-year-old Colleen knows that her baby sister died just after she was born and that Colleen put another baby in her place, until the baby's father shows up and makes trouble for her and her family on the South Dakotaprairie in the 1860s."

Hole in my Life by Jack Gantos

Gantos' autobiography is an engrossing account of when in 1971 he smuggled 2000 pounds of hash into New York City from the Island of St. Croix and his punishment of 15 long and harrowing months in a federal penitentiary in Kentucky.

My Not-So-Terrible Time at the Hippie Hotel by Rosemary Graham

It is the first summer after her parents' divorce when 14 year old Tracy is dragged, along with her brother and sister, to spend with their father at Fransworth House on Cape Cod. It is a place run by an ex-hippie for divorced
parents to spend quality "together time" with their children. The summer takes a turn for the better after Tracy meets Kevin.

Hanging on to Max by Margaret Bechard

When high school senior Sam's girlfriend decides to give their baby up for adoption Sam can't handle the idea of some stranger raising his son. He decides to take on the responsibility of raising Max alone. But can Sam handle all the demands of fatherhood, school and work?

The Bag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier

A seven year old girl is dead and 12 year old Jason was the last one to see her. Therefore he is targeted as the prime suspect. In order to solve the case the infamous and relentless interrogator Trent is called in to handle
Jason. With demands from the police and community to have the murder solved Trent's goal is to receive a confession from Jason not the truth.

Memories of Summer by Ruth White

It is 1955 the year that 13 year old Lyric find her whole world changing after her father moved the family from the hills of Virginia to Flint, Michigan in order to find work. Once settled Lyric notices that the change has taken a
devastating toll on her sister Summer who begins descending into mental illness.

Kissing Doorknobs by Terry Spencer

For 14 year old Tara her quirks and compulsions such as arranging food on he plate, non stop prayer after someone swears, avoiding cracks in sidewalks and
kissing her hand after touching doorknobs all rule her life.

For the female caller who asked for light reading I would recommend the following books by Elinor Lipman:

The Inn at Lake Devine
Isabel's Bed
The Pursuit of Alice Thrift
Then She Found M

LISTENER CONTRIBUTIONS

From Glenna in Middletown

1. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
2. The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
3. The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester
4. Excavating Jesus: Beneath the Stones, Behind the Texts by John Dominic Crossan and Jonathan L. Reed
5. The Butcher's Theatre by Jonathan Kellerman
6. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
7. The Collected Stories of Elizabeth Spencer
8. The Dirty Girls Social Club by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez
9. Basket Case by Carl Hiaasen
10. Living History by Hillary Clinton

Jim Reiss, Professor of English & Editor,
Miami University Press suggests:

BIBLIOPHILIA by Michael Griffith.

Jim says, "...the second book by a young novelist. Stylistically and in terms of substance it's a masterpiece about the shenanigans that go on in a university library. Its polysyllabic title may be off-putting to some of your listeners, but its laugh-out-loud hilarity makes it the freshest, most uplifting book I've read in 2003. Actually, it's a novella, plus some short stories.


From Virginia in Middletown:

" The Middletown Branch of the American Association of University Women has sponsored a book discussion group for almost 10 years. We read fiction and nonfiction, mostly by women authors. The group has a website at:

www.orgsites.com/oh/joyluckclub