Limited Edition Read-a-Thon 2010 t-shirts are now available. Only $13.99, including US shipping! For more details and to order yours, visit the Read-a-Thon shirts page.

A Girl of the Limberlost (Paperback)
by Gene Stratton-Porter
ISBN: 1604594497

Price: USD 7.49
16 used & new available from USD 7.48

Elnora Comstock is determined to go to high school. On her first day, she is laughed at for her hair and dress styles, her lunch is stolen, and she is told that she must buy her own books. Elnora’s mother refuses to help her daughter succeed, so Elnora is forced to raise money to buy school supplies all by herself, though the Comstock’s kind-hearted neighbors help where they can. Elnora finds out that she can collect and sell the Limberlost moths for a good price and she begins saving for high school and college. In between school and moth collecting, Elnora tries to find the story behind her mother’s lack of love.

Although it is usually listed as first, A Girl of the Limberlost is actually the sequel to Freckles. It can stand alone, but some characters from the first book make an apperance which may cause some confusion if the reader is not acquainted with them. That said, the plot of this book involves so much more than a girl paying her way through high school. Rather, A Girl of the Limberlost is a well-developed, beautiful story to which a summary cannot do justice.

Chester Cricket’s New Home (Paperback)
by George Selden
ISBN: 0440412463

Price: —
56 used & new available from USD 0.10

Chester Cricket’s beautiful stump by the brook has been squashed, and he is forced to move down the brook to a pond with Simon the old turtle, and Walter, a rather eccentric water snake, while he looks for a new home. Animals all over the Old Meadow volunteer to let the cricket stay with them, but he despairs of ever finding a real home again—not knowing that some of his friends have a trick up their sleeves.

A fun, light-hearted story, good for the whole family to enjoy. Though Harry and Tucker from A Cricket In Times Square don’t make an appearance, many other unique characters in Chester’s neighborhood do. Good for a short read.

Tree Castle Island (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (School & Library Binding)
by Jean C. George
ISBN: 0613670078

Price: USD 16.00
1 used & new available from USD 16.00

Jack loves the Okefenokee swamp where his Uncle Hamp lives. He’s just built his own canvas canoe and he has permission to stay out in the swamp with it, so he goes exploring. But when an alligator causes a shipwreck and Jack is stranded, he discovers a secret about himself that he never thought was possible.

Tree Castle Island starts out with all the components of a leisurely paddle through the swamp and then, like a meandering river, turns to the plot about halfway through. Though the story is interesting and the author masterfully works into the story all kinds of facts about wildlife in a swamp, the ending feels a bit rushed. For a story with a problem that builds and plagues the characters for a solution for so long, it certainly feels abrupt to have the solution spelled out in one short chapter with no real resolution.

Warton and the Traders (Paperback)
by Russell E. Erickson
ISBN: 0440494109

Price: —
8 used & new available from USD 0.99

Warton sets off once again to visit his Aunt Toolia, this time to deliver some canned goods. On the way, he meets two woodrats and helps them escape from a wildcat. The woodrats tell Warton that they live in The Bogs and that the wildcat had been plaguing their colony for several days. When he arrives at his aunt’s house, Warton finds that Aunt Toolia has been missing for some time and, with the help of a whippoorwill, finds her in the the dangerous Bogs caring for an injured fawn. Knowing that two small toads cannot possibly cart enough food for such a large animal, Warton leaves to locate the colony of woodrats and enlist their help. But the woodrats insist that everything be a trade, and Warton has nothing to offer in return for their help in feeding the fawn—unless he can find some way to get rid of the wildcat.

Warton and the Traders is perfect for younger readers who want more than a short picture book, but it is written in a way that appeals to the older crowd as well. The story is well-told, amusing and has no objectionable material. Warton and the Traders is part of a series about Warton and Morton, the first being A Toad for Tuesday, with the others following in no particular order.

Hey everybody!

We’ve been working on getting some Read-a-Thon shirts for you, and we can do them if we get enough orders to cover our minimum purchase.

So, would you buy a shirt like the ones below (available in navy blue or chocolate brown) for $13.99, which includes US shipping?

Here’s a mock-up of what they’ll look like:

Here’s a closer look at the design:

If enough people say yes, we’ll make them and take orders.

The Whisper of Glocken: A Novel of the Minnipins (Paperback)
by Carol Kendall
ISBN: 0152025170

Price: USD 6.00
49 used & new available from USD 0.10

Five years after the invasion of the Mushrooms, a new problem has arisen. The Watercress river, flowing through the valley of the Minnipins, has changed direction and begun flooding the towns. Five unlikely heroes, Glocken, Silky, Scumble, Gam Lutie, and Crustabread, are commissioned by the five old Heroes to journey outside the valley and find the source of the flooding. With them goes the ancient Whisper Stone, which has been passed down through Glocken’s family for generations, and contains the secret for finding the legendary Whisper of Glocken, a bell now known only in pretend-stories.

This was an interesting read, but I don’t like it as much as its prequel. Some important parts of it seemed a bit vague and confusing, and sometimes I’d get turned around and couldn’t figure out exactly where the main characters were. It’s also more strange than the first book, because the Minnipins spend most of their time outside the valley, where they meet strange creatures and plants, and even full-size humans. Overall, not as good as The Gammage Cup, but it might be worth reading just for the sake of reading it.

Secret Water (Swallows and Amazons, No 8) (Paperback)
by Arthur Ransome
ISBN: 1567920640

Price: USD 11.21
38 used & new available from USD 4.00

The Swallows and Amazons return for another imaginative adventure! This time the Swallows’ youngest sister Bridget comes along on an exploring and mapping expedition as the children are “marooned” by their parents on the islands of Secret Water. However, mapmaking is threatened by war when the Eels, a “savage tribe” of four other children camping on one of the other islands, want the islands to themselves and attempt to drive the Swallows and Amazons away.

Let’s deal with my one problem with this book first. The “savage tribe” of Eels imaginatively goes the whole nine yards into playing savages, including a pretend human sacrifice to the Great Eel and a very un-pretend blood brotherhood ritual. Anybody with a sense of humor will find these parts funny, but some might consider them a bad influence. I’m in the former camp, so with that out of the way, let me tell you what I like about Secret Water.

It’s a charming, witty, exciting story full of lots of imagination and humor. Adventure? Plenty. Marooned explorers, unexplored islands, attacks from savages, and thrilling escapes. There’s something here for everybody, and you can’t help but wish that you were inside this story.

Today is the last day that you can register to join the Incredibooks Summer Read-a-Thon. Don’t miss the fun. Visit the sign up page and get in on the action.

If you’re already in the Read-a-Thon, thanks for joining. See you in the Read-a-Thon thread!

We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea (Godine Storyteller) (Paperback)
by Arthur Ransome
ISBN: 0879239913

Price: USD 11.21
60 used & new available from USD 2.84

While awaiting Commander Walker’s return in Harwich, John, Susan, Titty, and Roger make friends with the sailor of the Goblin. Mrs. Walker gives them permission to sail up and down the river for a few days until their father arrives. When the sailor disappears ashore, however, and the anchor drags, the Walker children find themselves being swept out to sea on a very real adventure.

Whereas most of the other books contain more imaginative, light-hearted adventures, the dangers in this story seemed more present and real. The children are, after all, at sea by themselves. It’s an exciting read, though sadly the Amazon pirates never show up. Nevertheless, it’s probably one of my favorite Swallows and Amazons books.