The Sign of the Beaver

Our rating: ****

After they finish their cabin in Maine, Matt’s father starts back for Massachusetts, leaving twelve year old Matt behind to guard the cabin. Matt has fun living by himself, until he tackles a nest of bees. An old Indian chief and his grandson Attean have been watching him and decide to help Matt out. In return, Matt agrees to teach Attean to read and speak English. The two boys resent the forced friendship at first, but end up doing everything together. What will Matt do when his father returns?

Well, this is a great book. I gave it four stars, because it’s a bit slow at the start, but it picks up later. You will learn a lot of interesting things about Pioneers and Indians. There was a TV movie of this book called Keeping the Promise, but I haven’t seen it.

The Hundred Dresses

Our rating: ****

Wanda Petronski says that she has a hundred dresses all lined up in her closet. The other girls at her school laugh and make fun of her. Everyone knows that Wanda only has one dress, the faded blue one she wears day after day. One girl, Maddie, wants to stand up for Wanda; but she’s afraid of being picked on also. When Wanda leaves town, it seems impossible that Maddie will ever be able to apologize.

This is quite a story. A great example of why you shouldn’t tease people. You’ll probably end up sorry, but, as in this story, unable to apologize. The writing style is very nice. Eleanor Estes did a great job on her books. I very much recommend that you read this.

Along Came a Dog

Our rating: ****

The only red hen in the man’s henhouse has frozen her toes off. The man’s boss advices him to kill the hen, but the man is very attached to her. He decides to keep the hen. Unfortunately, the red hen is repeatedly mobbed by the other hens. Her only protector is a large black dog who even steals eggs for her. But the man doesn’t trust the dog. He tries to lose it in the city. But the dog has appointed himself to protect the red hen, his only companion.

This is a very heart-warming story. It’s more about the hen and the dog than the man, so the man doesn’t really have a name. Not quite as good as some other books by DeJong, but still enjoyable. I very much recommend this book.

The Wheel on the School

Our rating: *****

Lina, a girl in the little Dutch village of Shora, wonders why the storks no longer come to nest on the roofs of the houses. With a little thought, Lina realizes that all the roofs are too sharp. They need wheels on top for the storks to nest in. So she sets out, with the help of the other six school children, to find a wheel. But it’s not that easy. There are no usable wheels in Shora, Nes, or any other near-by village! How will they find one?

This is one of the best books that I have ever read. There’s plenty of action, and I like the way the whole village has to work together to get a wheel on the schoolhouse roof. The only bad thing I can think of about this book are the character names, which are a little different from what you would normally see. But what do you expect from a book set in a Dutch village? I definitely recommend this book as a must-read.

Adam of the Road

Our rating: *****

At the abbey of St. Alban, Adam is waiting for his father, Roger the minstrel, to come and take him out of school. However, when Roger finally comes, Adam must say goodbye to Perkin, his best friend. Adam and Roger, along with Adam’s little dog, Nick, set out on the road with adventure after adventure, including losing Bayard, their war horse, and even Nick being stolen!

An adventure-packed book! I definitely recommend it!