The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell
-Chris ColferAlex, a 6th grade know-it-all, and her brother Conner, a 6th grade sleep-in-the-back-of-the-classroom kid, are expecting a lonely 12th birthday as their mother, working overtime, tries to keep up with the bills after their father's sudden death. When they arrive home from school to find their grandmother waiting they are thrilled. Grandmother, who travels the world to help underprivileged children, surprises them by gifting them the very special old story book full of fairy tales that she and their father used to read them when they were young. Little do they know the book is about to take them on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure through places they had only ever imagined; meeting people they had only ever read about, and learning the mysteries of the heritage and the surprises of their future.
This book is great fun for all! A mixture of great fairy tales and unexpected twists and turns it will keep you reading all night!
Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce
-Stanley Weintraub
This story blew me away. A heartwrenching story of the trenches of WWI, where men struggled to keep spirits up amidst muddy uniforms, wet feet, and canned food. But for one night there was peace - and soccer games, Christmas trees, carols, and the sharing of food and cigars. This story brings you to the battle lines and into No Man's Land where the dead and dying are, for one night, given the proper respect they deserved as heroes. On Christmas Eve 1914, an unofficial truce brought these men back to humanity and humility and out of the nightmare they were forced into, knowing that the next day the men they were drinking and making merry with that night would once again become the enemy. But for one night, everyone was the same - good men no matter their nationality.
