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There was once a man who loved rocks. He would collect them wherever he went, putting them in his pockets, keeping them on shelves in the gas station where he worked. Some folks said that he even had rocks in his head. “Maybe I have,” he said. “Maybe I have.”

But when hard times fell upon the country, the filling station couldn’t provide enough work for the young man anymore, and he roamed around town in search of another job. Regardless of where his job search led him, he always managed to visit the local science museum, where he could visit the rocks.

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Are you a tree hugger? If you love trees, then you will love The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. It is definitely one of the most touching books about a tree ever written. It tells a story of a very kind tree who loves a boy very much. As the boy grows, he asks the tree for various favors — a limb to swing on, a shady place to sit under, even a place to carve his girlfriend’s initials into.

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Cassidy Rain Berghoff wants very badly to “get a life.” You know, as in, having a social life that would make her teenage years worthwhile. Then, very suddenly, she loses her best friend, and decides to shut herself off entirely from the world. Six months pass, and Rain has succeeded in separating herself.

Then, something scandalous draws her quickly back into her Kansas community. You see, Rain’s Aunt Georgia lives on a nearby Native American camp, and Rain is asked to use her skills as a photographer to interact with the people. Her cultural roots are asking her to connect, while her teenage self is struggling with the fear that she will be hurt again. Check out Rain Is Not My Indian Name by Cynthia Leitich Smith to find out how Rain uses her past as well as her present to find her true self.

Once, when she was a child, Alice told her grandfather that she wanted to do as he had done. She too wanted to travel the world; she wanted to live in a house by the sea. Her grandfather encouraged her to also spread beauty wherever she may go.

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When Sarabeth loses her mother very suddenly to a heart attack, she has no where to go, and no other family to take care of her. Her mom’s friends, Cynthia and Billy decide to take her in. So, she moves into their tiny one bedroom apartment. They have a new baby, and Sarabeth finds herself feeling strange. It seems to her that she has become a burden to them, and has interrupted their lives. She wants to leave, but where on earth can she go?

Girlhearts, written by Norma Fox Mazer, a Newberry-Award Honoree, will take you into the life of a daring girl who has to learn to face life when everything has fallen apart.

This is the story of a teenager, Alice, and her mother, Christine, who move to New Zealand. Christine has dragged her daughter there in order to make a new start. Christine is to be employed, she thinks, as a sort of secretary by a rather eccentric old woman, Miss Fairchild. Christine is to write a history of the mansion where they now live. Her job turns out to be more of a housekeeper and nurse than secretary and it is very much in doubt that Alice’s step-father will show up. When he does, he is quite irresponsible, often leaving a mess for Alice and Christine to handle.

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Young Matt is on his own in the family cabin in Maine. He is there waiting for his father to return with his mother, hopefully before winter comes. But, this does not happen. Soon, his rifle disappears. Things get worse when he is attacked by a bear, then by a swarm of bees. Rescued by an old Indian, Saknis, and his grandson, Attean, Matt is asked to teach Attean the white people’s ways. As the boys come to know each other, Attean learns to speak English while Matt becomes a skilled hunter. Attean asks Matt to join the Beaver tribe and move north. Should Matt abandon his hopes of ever seeing his family again and move on to a new life? Find out the answers when you read The Sign of the Beaver, by Elizabeth George Speare.

Petite Rouge: A Cajun Red Riding Hood by Jim Harris and Mike Artell is a funny and very nicely illustrated story set in Louisiana.

When Grand-mFre comes down with the flu, Mama knows just what to do. She sends Petite Rouge, accompanied by her cat TeJean, off to Grand-mFre’s house with a basket of tasty food to help cheer her up.

On the way, Claude, an “ol’ hungry gator”, who wants a taste of Mama’s food, stops Petite Rouge and her cat. He soon discovers that snatching a bite will take more than a little threat!

Eager to sink his teeth into the goods, Claude dresses in a nightgown, duckbill, and flippers. After the feisty heroine and her cat teach Claude a hot lesson, he learns that gators should never try to eat dinner uninvited!

There are certain people in northern Scotland who know about a mermaid who inhabits the great pinnacles of rock that rise out of the sea not far from shore. Realizing that she must be protected, they always speak well of her. Young Eric, however, has refused to do so and speaks harsh lies about her. Soon, however, his boat smashes on the rocks and he is in serious peril. What happens to him after this? You’ll have to find out when you read Mermaid Summer by Mollie Hunter.

The Place of Lions by Eric Campbell is a survival story with some beautiful descriptions of Africa in general and lions in particular. On a journey into Tanzania where his father is to take a new job, the plane carrying Chris and his father crashes. His father has a broken leg and Chris is a little banged up, but not hurt too badly. The plane has crashed near where a pride of lions is staying and Chris is witness to incredible danger there. The older male is being challenged by a young one and only barely manages to maintain his supremacy after a fierce battle. Chris has, in the meantime, decided to go for help. Not far off poachers have machine-gunned elephants and incurred the wrath of two men who love Africa and are dedicated to preserving its wildlife.

The poachers find Chris but first drive away and then decide to kidnap him. Chris has been followed across the plain by the old, dying lion and a mysterious connection has been made as both head for a hill where the lion hopes to die and Chris hopes to find help.

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Monkey Island by Paula Fox is a crazy homeless settlement. The main character, eleven-year-old Clay Garrity ends up there because his parents have fallen victim to a series of unfortunate business dealings. Then, Clay’s mother mysteriously disappears. Clay then embarks on many adventures through this wild and crazy settlement. A wonderfully half-mad, sometimes drunk, philosopher named Calvin together with a young black adult, Buddy, help Clay survive on Monkey Island while he searches for his missing mother.

Monkey Island is an American Library Association notable book.

Tuesdayis a picture book by David Wiesner that appeals to a wide age range and its possibilities are endless. For those of you unfamiliar with this treasure, we start before the title page as we see frogs, peacefully at first on their lily pads and then slowly levitating. After the title page, we join a pond turtle as he looks up in amazement.

The book proper begins at sundown where text says: “Tuesday evening, around eight.” The frogs start flying solemnly at first and then with increasing glee as they fly through the town, entering houses, startling dogs and a man enjoying a midnight snack. The time is the only text given as the night continues.

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