Miles from Nowhere by Barbara Savage

I took a break from Battle of the Books books to finish reading a book I had started back in August or September. Miles from Nowhere is the story of a couple from California who bicycled around the world in 1978 and 79. They encountered brutal headwinds all the way across South Dakota, were routinely forced off the road by rude drivers in Florida, and then faced dirt and rats in Egypt, dysentery in India, heat, humidity and bandits in Thailand... wow! I could never have survived the trip! And this was back in the late '70s when there wasn't all kinds of fancy, lightweight equipment available. They had chosen to do the trip because they didn't want to look back on their lives when they were older and find that they had never done any of the things they'd wanted to do. Despite all the discomforts, they saw all kinds of amazing things on their trip and made friends all over the world. What an experience! I wondered how different things would be if someone did the same trip today (but I'm not volunteering!). My mother-in-law gave me this book as a birthday gift. I really enjoyed reading it.

Night of the Twisters by Ivy Ruckman

In June of 1980, Grand Island, Nebraska was hit by seven tornadoes in a period of three hours. Night of the Twisters is based on this event. Most of the story follows two boys who are alone in the house when the storms hit. The house is demolished, but the boys survive and now must try to find the rest of their families and help in rescuing their neighbors. A real page-turner.

Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm

I've been meaning to read this book since it came out with really good reviews in 1999. It's a Newbery Honor book and is based on the author's grandaunt. The story takes place on the Nasel River in the state of Washington in 1899. May Amelia is the only girl in her family-- in fact, the only girl in the whole Finnish-American settlement on the Nasel River. She has 7 brothers and is a character you've gotta love. Although the main character is a girl, boys will enjoy this book, too. Nothing "girly" here-- May Amelia does go to a dance in Astoria one night, but finds it boring and doesn't stay long. Instead she has an adventure with a Chinese boy who is a friend of hers who tells her that she's not very good at being a girl, but is "heaps more fun than a real girl." Great characters and a beautifully told story.

Three Days by Donna Jo Napoli

Ooh, this one is hard to put down! Eleven-year-old Jackie has accompanied her father on a three week long business trip in Italy. Everything is going great until her father suddenly dies from a heart attack on the way back to their hotel one night. Unable to speak the language, Jackie is picked up by two men in a white car. She is sure they are taking her to the hospital or the police, but as they continue to pass exits on the highway, she realizes they must have something else in mind. The rest of the story tells what happens during the next Three Days. It was hard to stop reading long enough to write those Battle of the Books questions!

Earth To Matthew

Okay, so here's my strategy... before I lose momentum, the plan is to read as many of next year's Battle of the Books books as I can-- AND write the questions to go with them. So I started with Earth To Matthew by Paul Danziger. Danziger is not one of my favorite authors, so I didn't expect this to be my favorite of the B.B. books. Matthew is a sixth grader. He's got an older sister who drives him crazy, a girl at school who is his arch enemy, and another who is his first real "girlfriend". This whole girlfriend thing is kind of confusing to Matthew, who often thinks he would be having more fun with the boys. Part of the story takes place during a field trip to the Franklin Institute Camp-In, which should be familiar to some of our kids and fun to read about. Earth to Matthew should be a quick, easy read for our 5th and 6th grade teams.