Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

As you can imagine, any book that has received this many awards is bound to be good. Taking place in the Revolutionary War, our heroin is a young slave striving to stay together with her mentally disabled younger sister. Daily life of a slave and the challenges of right and wrong make for an interesting, heart-wrenching story of what so many slaves endured.

Warning: For those of us who like to read a series only when the next one is already published, be warned - the next book Forge is due out in October.

-Deena

Looking Like Me by Walter Dean Myers

Inspiring and unique. A goosebump inducing book! Looking Like Me encourages you to define yourself by all the things you are, a brother, sister, runner, dancer, writer, or reader. The illustrations are wild, a mixture of photography and paper cutouts of odd and whimsical things with a slight jazzy feel to it. The language is very simple with a simple rhyming pattern, but it isn't just simple type like most books but art unto itself. Different fonts, styles, colors, and placement, make reading it even more engaging and eye grabbing to kids. Very neat and artistic book. A celebration to the self.

-Jenny