4R Book Talks – October 21, 2014

UNDER THE EGG by Laura Marx Fitzgerald

Mystery-Friendship-Art History

Only two people know about the masterpiece hidden in the Tenpenny home—and one of them is dead.

Her grandfather’s dying words lead thirteen-year-old Theodora Tenpenny to a valuable, hidden painting she fears may be stolen.

Then, Theodora Tenpenny spills a bottle of rubbing alcohol on her late grandfather’s painting, she discovers what seems to be an old Renaissance masterpiece underneath. That’s great news for Theo, who’s struggling to hang onto her family’s two-hundred-year-old townhouse and support her unstable mother on her grandfather’s legacy of $463. There’s just one problem: Theo’s grandfather was a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and she worries the painting may be stolen.

You may like: Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler by E. L. Konigsburg

The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary by Candace Fleming

School Story-Humorous

An unlikely teacher takes over the disorderly fourth-grade class of Aesop Elementary School with surprising results.

This funny, fast-paced book is guaranteed to make you laugh out loud. A “difficult”, rambunctious class of fourth graders finally meets its match when Mr. Jupiter is hired. Life at Aesop Elementary is never going to be the same. At the end of each chapter is a moral, as in Aesop’s fables.

You may like: Wayside School Series by Louis Sachar and Skinnybones Series by Barbara Park

Fly Away by Patricia Maclachlan

Family-Secrets-Courage

Everyone in Lucy’s family sings. Opera. Rap. Lullabies. Everyone, except Lucy. Lucy can’t sing; her voice just won’t come out…but she can write.

In an old Volkswagen van, Lucy and her family, along with a few cherished chickens, are on a road trip. They are headed to North Dakota to defend her Aunt Frankie’s farm from a swelling river. Just like singing, helping Aunt Frankie prepare for flooding season is a family tradition—even if Frankie doesn’t want the help. And this year, when the flood arrives, danger finds its way into the heart of Lucy’s family, and Lucy will need to find her voice to save her brother.

You may like: Edward’s Eyes by Patricia MacLachlan and White Fur Flying by Patricia Maclachlan

Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord

Friendship – Honesty – Photography

Lucy wants to find out wants to find out if her eye for photography is really special or only good enough.

Lucy and her family move to a small rural community in New Hampshire. With her new friend Nate, she plans to spend the summer taking photos for a contest, but pictures sometimes reveal more than people are willing to see.

As Lucy seeks out subjects for her photos, Lucy gets to know Nate. But slowly the camera reveals what Nate doesn’t want to see: his grandmother’s memory is slipping away, and with it much of what he cherishes about his summers on the lake. This summer, Nate will learn about the power of art to show truth. And Lucy will learn how beauty can change lives . . . including her own.

You may like: Rules by Cynthia Lord and Touch Blue by Cynthia Lord