The Secret Tree by Natalie Standiford

4^th Grade and Up

This story is about Minty. Minty’s neighborhood is full of mysteries. One day she discovers a new mystery – a Secret Tree, with a hollow trunk that holds the secrets of everyone in the neighborhood. Secrets like:

I put a curse of my enemy. And it’s working.

I’m betraying my best friend in a terrible way.

No one loves me except my goldfish.

Raymond, a new boy, is also drawn to the Secret Tree, and together he and Minty watch their neighbors and try to match each secret to the right person.

I loved this book. The way Minty and Raymond went around the neighborhood, discovering which secret belong to which person was fun and exciting. Minty was going through to rough time in her life, that transitioning between child and pre-teen, trying to figure out who she is and who her real friends are.

This book has a lot of heart and the ending will make you feel all good inside. If you’ve read books like ‘Because of Winn-Dixie’ you’ll love this book.

Read All About It! by Laura Bush and Jenna Bush

Preschool and Kindergarden

Tyron Brown rules the school. He’s great at math, science and the monkey bars. But he’s not a big fan of reading. He thinks books are boring. But when some strange visitors start showing up at the classroom for story hour, he realizes that books can take you to amazing places.

I saw this book on display at the library and the cover was just so cute I had to see what it was about. The story and pictures are absolutely adorable.

This is an imaginative picture book that shows kids that reading is fun and encourages them to do so.

If you decide to read this book, check out the ‘BOOK LIST’ on the chalkboard for future book ideas.