The Penderwick's by Jeanne Birdsall

Officially titled The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy, this book is worthy of its National Book Award and written by first time author Jeanne Birdsall. I know this is no new book, and many people have reviewed it with good and bad results. Personally, I loved it.
I thought it was a great "old-timey" type story. There weren't many frills and extra crazy events to distract from the original point of the author. (Which by the way was to write a book that reminded her of her own childhood favorites.) The characters were sweet, but yet each had their own voice as a strong young woman. There were lessons to be learned, characters to cheer for, characters to despise, and a setting to wish you could see in person. I felt better about myself for reading it. As if I had just read a book that I could share with my children and grandchildren. (Should there ever actually be children and grandchildren.) I actually love the fact that you are never really sure the time period in which this story takes place. I was so reminded of Little Women the whole time I read this book.
The book is just right for most ages, but not all readers. This book would take a strong fourth or fifth grade reader to read alone. It would appeal to many young girls and select few young boys. It would work best as a read aloud I feel.
One and only one complaint I had is a complaint I have had for other recently read books... THE NAMES, THE NAMES, THE NAMES! Is is necessary to name characters obscure names like Rosalind???? Skye (not bad, but not great either) Batty? Cagney?? Arundel Hall???? It is so distracting for kids trying to read a book on their own. That is one thing I would rather my students not have to deal with. Get with it. Kids don't care what the characters are named.
Other reviews:
What's New On the Book Shelves
The Neighborhood Librarian
Jen Robinson's Book Page
Bookshelves of Doom
a.book.in.the.life
As well as about 9,000 others...
Next up, some great new stuff! I am so excited for my pile of books from the library!
kidlitosphere

Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes

I know Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes is not a very new book or anything, but I just got to it. I am so glad I did! I really liked this book. I absolutely loved the way Henkes dealt with the subject of life and death and how fragile life is. I thought the young girl was so believable and so genuine. The book also taps in on a topic that I myself would have related to at Martha, the main character's, age. (Puppy love and the disappointment of an immature teenage boy's idea of fun) I thought the family of the book was realistic even though the father was a stay-at-home father, which is not the norm. I thought the dynamic of a father who was torn between following a dream or providing for a family, and the mother who was a little over-worked would ring true for many families today. The writing in this book is some of the best I have read this summer. Kevin Henkes has a wonderful way with verbs and drawing the reader into each and every sequence of the story.
That being said, I have to admit I felt the ending was a little abrupt and I would have liked to have seen more of the plot line resolved. I also felt the cussing in the book and some of the more risque topics might be a little too much for a fifth grade student. Although I would not hesitate to recommend it to some of my more mature readers.