The CB Bookshelf

A (hopefully) complete list of some of the treasures out there :)

Let me start by thanking Esthelle for coming up with the term "Candy books." Soo...thank you Esthelle! Also, you guys can add to this, because I really need some more summer reading. I've already worked my way through Booksy Owly's list, and I still have 3/4 of a month until school starts (August 1st, but summer assignments are trickling in!)

So, let's begin. I'll start with classics. How do I determine the classics from other books? Some are easy, such as Little Women, The Call of the Wild, etc. But I know others are more difficult. So I'm using Michael Clay Thompson's Classics in the Classroom, which is a good read if you are the educational literature type like me. It isn't a story; it's a well-written and fairly interesting teacher's guide. The next section will be Books You Learn From/Books with Depth which are not quite classics but are valuable reads all the same. Last will be Candy Books, which are those rush-through types of books that are usually action-packed but are not gems in the literary world. Note: I will not write any books on here that I have not read.

Classics 

Historical Fiction

A Gathering of Days

This story is an excellent depiction of a girl growing up in England (like a long time ago when girls still wore dresses). I had to read it for school and didn't particularly enjoy it, but there were good parts. The characters are very realistic and you begin to love them as you read their interactions with each other. It is written in diary format and thus from the main character's perspective, and I feel that the voice of the writing is too mature for her age. 

Caddie Woodlawn 

Oh I love this story sooooo much! It's been years since I last read it, but Caddie is a heroine which you will fall in love with immediately (this also takes place back when girls wore dresses). Her adventures will keep the pages turning, and at one part you're gonna cry. Definitely for younger readers (9-11) but it's so timeless!

Big Wave

I can't tell you how many times I've read this shorter but impactful story about a dam breaking and everything flooding (see, I'm really bad with settings). A girl is separated from her family and forced to float on a mattress in a sea of confusion. The characters she meets are described amazingly.

The Cat Who Went To Heaven

Who says you can't "waste" your time on short novels? I love this story, even though it's been years since I read it. It takes place in a foreign country (India???) and the religion has something against cats. But then there's this guy, and some cats. Okay, that's a terrible summary, but I can't remember the setting and I don't want to give the epic story away! You know, I'm not sure if it's historical or not. Depends on your definition of it. 

The Diary of a Young Girl

Oh, it is every writer's dream to be so published and famous by such a young age, but sadly, Anne Frank never saw her diary published. I'm sure you all know the story, but it's amazing and heartfelt (and kind of boring at times, but her insight and humor adds spice). I'd recommend reading the abridged version, not because it is hard to wade through, but because it is a teenage girl's unedited feelings. I myself read the abridged version. 

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch 

What's not to love about this super smart, capable hero? Nat Bowditch is better at math than the peeps who wrote the math books, and changes shippy stuff forever. Aside from the math/voyages part of the story, his family life is really interesting too. Okay, this sounds boring, but it's amazing and colonial and gee I'm really bad at summaries! It's sad, too. Lots of dying. The characters are lovable, there's loads of ship-related action, and except for him kissing a girl when he's shucking corn and gets red kernels, there isn't that much romance.

To Kill a Mockingbird

You probably have all heard of this one, and I know not everyone will be allowed to read it. Told through the eyes of a young girl, the book is set in segregational America. There is a lot about Scout (main character) and Jem (JEM LOUISE MARGARET! Just kidding, it’s her older brother) and their adventures. It’s a really great read and will keep you interested. One of the plot lines is about Boo Radley, who supposedly lives in the house next to Jem and Scout. Jem, Scout, and their friend try to look through the window and other things to see if the rumors about the mysterious Boo Radley really are true. Meanwhile, their father ( a lawyer) defends a black man. Really great. Some mature topics, but they are observed from the eyes of a child. The movie’s great to. I think I watched it one the way to Florida, and there was only like one part that my younger brother couldn’t watch with me.

Strawberry Girl

Oh my goodness!! Another great one, though geared towards younger readers. It’s about a feud between two families, the Slaters and the Boyers, set in rural Florida back when girls had to wear dresses. The Slaters aren’t evil, and the Boyers aren’t perfect, and their “enemyness” comes gradually. You will love every single character! 

Call it Courage 

What do you call a story a story of a boy who gets shipwrecked alone on an island and has to make a living for himself? Hmmm… I think I’ll call it courage. 

Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry

This might be the first book that I’ve ever cried over. It’s about a black family in segregational USA. Cassie (main character) and her family are trying to hold onto their land as people threaten their family. In the end, you’ll feel the pain of the bad guys and good guys, and the hurt that everybody went through during this time. 

The Little House novels

Do I really need to summarize these, people? 

The White Stag

It’s really boring. Don’t read it. 

Realistic Fiction

Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Prob all you peeps know about Tom Sawyer, but have you actually read the book? Here’s how it works, I’m going to say: go read it, and you’re gonna take it out from the library. Ready? Oh wait, I forgot to tell you what it’s about. So Tom looks for treasure, and he actually finds it, and a lot more besides as he uncovers a whole bad guy scheme of sorts. And someone gets murdered, and the wrong person gets arrested, and only Tom and Huck know he’s innocent. It’s actually really quite hilarious. 

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

If Tom Sawyer was “quite hilarious,” Huck Finn is enormously funny. Huck’s father is back, and his free days are over. He has to concoct a plan to escape. Once he manages that, he runs away and is joined by a runaway slave, a “king” and a “duke.” They go on one crazy adventure up a river, almost get killed by feuding families, get mixed up in an inheritance intended for someone else, and dress up like girls :)

Bridge to Terabithia 

Jess isn’t close to his family (except for his little sister Maybelle), and he doesn’t have any friends. So when Leslie steps into his life, his whole world changes. She shows him a whole new world that he’s been oblivious to: the world of magic all around him. It only takes a spark to start a flame of imagination. Leslie’s made-up world is his relief. Really, purely beautiful. I cried over this in the green room of a theater during a few shows. WHY IS IT BANNED PEOPLE IT ISN’T BAD! 

Great Gilly Hopkins

Gilly Hopkins has moved from home to home by catastrophes of her own design while waiting for her beautiful mother to come rescue her. She’s especially ready to leave a particularly weird home, or so she thinks. ALSO BANNED, FOR GOODNESS SAKES.

Jacob Have I Loved

Do you like to cry? No? Then don’t read this book. And if you get library fines because you cried all over the pages, don’t say I didn’t warn you. It’s about a girl who’s “perfect” twin stole everything from her: her name, her success, (then later) the person she kind of wanted to marry, and even a little bit of her character. But she grows up strong anyways, even if she is the hated older twin. A rather emotional read. 

It’s Like This, Cat

This is just a story. Just a fragment of life pulled right from a teenage boy’s experiences. The characters, emotions, and of course, little fuzz-balls, all come together beautifully. 

Anne of Green Gables

If you haven’t read it, it’s because you’re a boy or you don’t like realistic fiction or you don’t like classics. Or you have some strange reason which I would like to hear. 

From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler 

What do you get when you cross two runaways hiding in a museum with an elderly lady who has tons of files? Statuary! Wait…what?

Up A Road Slowly

Growing up: it’s something that happens. Slowly. It’s something that’s marked with adventures. And it’s also a really great book. WHEEE! 

Old Yeller

So you still feel like crying after reading Jacob Have I Loved? See if you have any tissues left. Dog stories are always so sad (except Lassie Come Home, which was awesome). 

Julie of the Wolves

It’s about a girl who runs away and has to live with the wolves in the tundra of Alaska. Really great. In other news: my summaries are getting worse!! Just read the book. You’ll love it!

The Slave Dancer

Gah! How am I supposed to remember every single setting? That’s why I read books over and over and over and over again. Okay, so I think it takes place in England. It’s about a boy who stows away on board a ship, only to learn that it is a slave ship. He eventually ends up playing music for the slaves to dance to as exercise. 

Ginger Pye

Welcome to day two of me writing summaries! Well, you don’t know a day has passed since I haven’t posted it yet, but let’s just say that this is taking longer than I thought. So Jerry Pye wants a dog, and he gets one, that’s really smart too. But one day, Ginger disappears. Poof. As the years go by, they start to think that someone took Ginger, and think back to a couple strange occurrences (and an old yellow hat) that may or may not have been linked to their dog’s disappearance. 

The Twenty One Balloons

Okay, This is one of my faves on the list. It is so AMAZAPIE! And funny. Sooooo funny!  It's about this guy who wants to live in a balloon, but he crashes onto this crazy, supposedly uninhabited island, and is introduced to a completely different society from anything he's ever seen before! Don't let the boring begining turn you away. At least read the part about the cupola and then the floating couch and the doctors. Funny-funny and kind of metaphoric.

The Summer of the Swans

What’s-her-name’s (ackkk? Is it Wanda? I remember the story but not the characters *adds book to a list of things I need to read for the third time*) brother disappears, and she has to find him. And she just might need a little help from someone who might not have deserved her prejudice against him. 

A Stranger at Green Knowe 

Hanno, a gorilla, has escaped from the zoo. And he just might be hiding at the mysterious and almost magical Green Knowe placey-place. Really worth the read—awesome and well written.

Fantasy 

The Prydain Chronicles 

So Taran (isn’t that how you spell his name?), the assistant pig keeper, gets swept up into an adventure that’s way beyond anything he’s ever dealt with. And Gurgi is so adorable! And there’s a movie…right?

Thisith Endeth The Classiceth Sectioneth. Keepeth lookingeth for moreth!

 

Oh, Rose bud! What a great list. Thanks for taking the time to compile it!

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