THE LAST DRAGON by Silvana Di Mari

Grades 5-8; 361 pages; fantasy. 

 "Translated from the Italian. After his village is ruined by a flood, Yorsh, the world's last elf, reads writing on ancient ruins and realizes that in order to stop the torrential rains, he must find the only remaining dragon." :

My Comments
I am in the middle of this charming, funny and poignant book. The elf is the show stopper. He is exasperatingly passionate and firm in his convictions, but entirely lovable. Entertaining, poignant and humorous. I want to find out what will happen - a good sign.

THE GREEN GLASS SEA by Ellen Klages

Historical Fiction, Los Alamos, World War II, Manhattan Project

321 pages.

"While her father works on the Manhattan Project, eleven-year-old gadget lover and outcast Dewey Kerrigan lives in Los Alamos Camp, and becomes friends with Suze, another young girl who is shunned by her peers." :

Follett Library Resources

The intriguing title and cover alone drew me to this book initially. The perspective of a child in the Los Alamos community during the Manhattan Project years is matter of fact, concerned more with the immediate concerns of absent parents and bullies. The Project's influence looms on the periphery, but the story centers on one child's life and that is the startling effectiveness of this story.

THE MOORCHILD by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Fantasy

241 pages.

Book Description
"Feeling that she is neither fully human nor "Folk," a changeling learns her true identity and attempts to find the human child whose place she had been given." Newbery Medal/Honor 1997 :

My Comments

I read this book a few years ago and list it as one of my favorites. I am reminded of it as I continue to listen to Summerland by Michael Chabon during my morning and afternoon commutes. Both stories tell a fascinating story of fairies and changelings, a story of worlds in peril, and a longing for identity. The Moorchild is timeless and complex, a good choice for advanced elementary through adult.