The Dark Wind by Tony Hillerman

Okay, okay. Tony Hillerman is my guilty pleasure. I have read all of his mysteries at least once: this is the second or third time for The Dark Wind. If you like the southwest and you like mysteries, you will probably like Tony Hillerman. Pick one up (they don't take long to read).

-Jeff

Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney

A very good translation. The rhythm is never stilted and there are no forced rhymes. If you haven't read Beowulf, or haven't read in a while, this is a good one. And don't forget: there is lots of blood and drinking of mead.

-Jeff

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle's Farm by Betty MacDonald

It was funny when the little girl, Phoebe, is afraid of everything. Mrs. Piggle Wiggle does everything that a farm needs to do. She helped the people by curing them: The Can't Finder's Cure; the Fraidy Cat Cure; the Forget Her Pets Cure. All of them were my favorite ones. It was a good book. And that's all.

-Zoe

Ramona and her Father by Beverly Cleary

It is about her (Ramona's) father getting a job. I liked when she dressed up like the sheep. The dad decided to stop smoking. That was hard. But it made Ramona and Beezus happy.

I liked the book.

-Zoe

Ramona the Brave

by Beverly Cleary.

I liked when she got her shoe back from the dog. I also liked on the first day when she went to first grade. We are going to recommend it to people.

-Zoe

Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I liked when Almanzo hauled the logs. He hauled them with a bobsled. It was a little silly when he got up in the middle of the night when it was Christmas. I also liked the part about Almanzo's birthday because I liked when he got the yoke. This was a good book.

-Zoe

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

This was an amazing book. I would recommend it to everyone in the whole world, but it would be very difficult to read if you don't know any Spanish, which is peppered liberally throughout the book. It is also full of references to various sci-fi and fantasy tales (many metaphors are from The Lord of the Rings), but even though it is the tale of the people in a family which is cursed, it is not a fantasy book. Even though it is a tale of surviving (or trying to survive) horrible circumstances, it is not an Oprah book. And even though I learned a great deal about the Dominican Republic, it is not a history book. It was a very good book, and I really liked it.

-Amy