Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan

Otto meets three mysterious women in an enchanted forest who give him a magical harmonica along with strange clues.  Years later 3 children become bound together with this same harmonica, Friedrich from Germany, Mike from Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California during World War II.  This magical harmonica seems to rescue them by finding a father taken away, protecting a brother, keeping a family together and ultimately saving someone from death.  If you like historical fiction and mysteries you are going to love this book.  This book is long but it is worth reading and is one of my favorites.

Historical Fiction                                                                                              Mrs. Bender

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson

  

Astrid's mom takes her and her best friend Nicole on a surprise trip to a roller derby competition.  Once Astrid sees this she is hooked and wants to be on a roller derby team.  Astrid starts training at a summer camp for roller derby but then her and her best friend Nicole for the first time decide not to spend the summer together and Astrid to starts to notice that Nicole has become friends with her worst enemy!  Astrid makes a new friend Zoey who is also on the team and she helps Astrid become a better skater and she also helps Astrid to dye her hair blue.  Roller girl is written in a comic book form and is a quick read.  I would recommend this book if you are looking for a fun book to read.

Graphic Novel                                                                                              Mrs. Bender