My Interview

Heather Day Gilbert is a fellow author and a delightful lady. She recently interviewed me about my new book. Check out the interview at this link.

http://heatherdaygilbert.blogspot.com/2012/09/guest-interview-with-jennifer-s-burrows.html

My Book: MOST BEAUTIFUL

My mid-grade novel is out today, September 11. See the link below.

http://www.rfwp.com/book/most-beautiful-a-911-novel



It's thrilling to finally have my story in print. But I have to say that it was an honor and a privilege to write about the events that took place on September 11, 2001.

Jennifer Burrows

Dead End in Norvelt Audio Version

Readers, I have a treat for you today. The award-winning book I just highlighted for you, Dead End in Norvelt, is also available as an audio book from Macmillan Audio. A senior publicist sent me a link (below) to an audio clip of the book. The reader in the clip is the author himself, Jack Gantos! Now that's cool. Enjoy!

http://media.us.macmillan.com/video/olmk/macmillanaudio/deadendinnorveltclip.mp3

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

This month I decided to read present day award-winning children’s literature. Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos was published in 2011 and won the Newbery Medal in 2012.

Dead End in Norvelt is a unique mid-grade novel. The author, Jack Gantos, is the main character! After being grounded for the entire summer, Jack must help his elderly neighbor write obituaries. This is the closest thing to fun he is allowed to do. Jack doesn’t mind the work and even starts to appreciate the feistiness of his elderly neighbor. When old ladies around Norvelt start dropping dead daily, Jack begins to wonder if the ladies are being murdered. In the end, he finds out that they were being poisoned, but oddly enough, the motive was love. 

Dead End in Norvelt is humorous and entertaining from beginning to end. I recommend this book to 5th graders.

List of Recommended Books by Grade:

2^nd grade –

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Miss Holly Is Too Jolly, by Dan Gutman

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

3^rd grade –

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Among the Impostors by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

4^th grade –

Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

Louisiana's Song by Kerry Madden

The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

The Golly Whopper Games by Jody Feldman

5^th grade –

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Benjamin Pratt & The Keeper of the School by Andrew Clements

Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

6^th grade –

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

Dewey, by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter

The Wanderer by Sharon Creech

The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare. 

7^th grade and up –

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Pendragon Book One: The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

The Seventeen Second Miracle, by Jason F. Wright

The Bronze Bow

Reading can be a looking glass into places we’ve never been and times we’ve never lived. The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare is a perfect example of that. The book was published in 1961 and won the Newbery Medal in 1962.

The Bronze Bow is an historical fiction mid-grade novel. It’s about a troubled Jewish boy named Daniel who lives with his younger sister and grandmother. The story takes place in 1^st century Judea during the time of Jesus. Daniel’s father was killed by the Romans when Daniel was a young child. As a result, he’s angry with the Romans and his sister has gone mad. After Daniel is forced to work for a cruel blacksmith, he runs away into the mountains. There, Daniel is welcomed into a band of rebels led by a man named Rosh. Daniel lives in the mountains with the rebels for a couple years, but after his grandmother dies, he must go back to his village to care for his sister. Daniel takes over Simon the Zealot’s blacksmith shop after Simon leaves to follow Jesus. Daniel forms a band of rebels in the village, but soon discovers that their efforts weaken them, not the Romans. In the end, Jesus heals Daniel’s sister and Daniel gives up his hate of the Romans. 

I highly recommend this book to 6th graders.

List of Recommended Books by Grade:

2^nd grade –

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Miss Holly Is Too Jolly, by Dan Gutman

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

3^rd grade –

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Among the Impostors by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater 

4^th grade –

Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

Louisiana's Song by Kerry Madden

The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

The Golly Whopper Games by Jody Feldman

5^th grade –

Benjamin Pratt & The Keeper of the School by Andrew Clements

Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

6^th grade –

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

Dewey, by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter

The Wanderer by Sharon Creech

The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

7^th grade and up –

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Pendragon Book One: The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

The Seventeen Second Miracle, by Jason F. Wright

A Single Shard

This month I read A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park. The book was published in 2001 and won the Newbery Medal in 2002.

A Single Shard is my all-time-favorite Newbery winning book. I have had the honor of meeting Linda Sue Park and she is as gracious as she is talented. If you read any of the books I recommend – you must read this one.


A Single Shard is an historical fiction mid-grade novel. It’s about an orphaned Korean boy named Tree-ear who lives under a bridge with his care-taker Crane-man, who is disabled. The two are as close as father and son. Crane-man has raised Tree-ear to be a resourceful and honorable young man.

Tree-ear is fascinated by the talents of a local potter named Min. After accidentally breaking some of Min’s pottery pieces, Tree-ear begins working as an assistant to Min in order to pay off the debt. Tree-ear dreams of making a pot himself one day, but is never taught by Min.

After an emissary from the palace visits Tree-ear’s town, Min’s pottery pieces must be transported to a far away city in order for Min to receive a royal commission. Tree-ear volunteers to deliver Min’s pottery to the palace, even though Min has refused to teach Tree-ear how to make pottery.

On the journey to deliver Min’s pottery to the palace, Tree-ear is attacked by robbers and they hurl the pottery over a cliff. Tree-ear is devastated. He feels that he has failed his master. Being the brave and honorable young man that he is, he goes to the bottom of the gorge and finds a single shard of Min’s pottery intact. Tree-ear delivers this one piece to the royal emissary. The piece is such a magnificent work of art that Min gets the royal commission.

This book is incredible. Ms. Park's story will carry you away to live under the bridge with Tree-ear and Crane-man. Her writing style is concise and poetic. You will be hooked on the first page.

I recommend this book to 5th graders and anyone that loves an underdog story.

List of Jennifer's Recommended Books by Grade:

2^nd grade –

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Miss Holly Is Too Jolly, by Dan Gutman

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

3^rd grade –

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Among the Impostors by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

4^th grade –

Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

Louisiana's Song by Kerry Madden

The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

The Golly Whopper Games by Jody Feldman

5^th grade –

Benjamin Pratt & The Keeper of the School by Andrew Clements

Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

6^th grade –

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

Dewey, by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter

The Wanderer by Sharon Creech

The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

7^th grade and up –

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Pendragon Book One: The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

The Seventeen Second Miracle, by Jason F. Wright

Call It Courage

This past month I read Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry. The book was published in 1940 and won the Newberry Medal in 1941.

Call It Courage is a historical fiction mid-grade novel. It’s about a 10-year-old boy named Mafatu who is the son of the chief in a Polynesian tribe. Mafatu’s name means stout heart, but he is afraid of the sea. Mafatu is an embarrassment to his father and a laughing stock in his village. One day he leaves his village and heads out to sea in a canoe. Mafatu knows he must conquer his fear. After being thrown about in a hurricane, Mafatu lands on an island far from his home. He must fend for himself and build a canoe to return to his island. But first he proves his courage to himself when he kills a wild boar, a hammerhead shark, and an octopus. After narrowly escaping death at the hands of “man-eaters,” Mafatu returns to his village as a young man filled with courage.

I enjoyed this book and I think it could win the Newbery Medal today. I recommend it to 4th and 5th graders.

List of Recommended Books by Grade:

2nd grade –

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Miss Holly Is Too Jolly by Dan Gutman

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

3rd grade –

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Among the Impostors by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

4th grade –

Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

Louisiana's Song by Kerry Madden

The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

The Golly Whopper Games by Jody Feldman

5th grade –

Benjamin Pratt & The Keeper of the School by Andrew Clements

Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

6th grade –

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

Dewey by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter

The Wanderer by Sharon Creech

The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

7th grade and up –

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Pendragon Book One: The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

The Seventeen Second Miracle by Jason F. Wright