Asbjörnsen Fairy Tales

Asbjörnsen Fairy Tales

The Master Thief

The master thief follows the story of a boy who became the master thief. It was said that he could steel anything no matter what it was. When the squire heard of this, he did not believe it. He set up three tasks for the thief to do. If he could steel all three items then he would give the master Thief his daughter to wed. The master thief completed all three tasks, the last of which being steeling the squire's bed sheets out from under him and his wife, and left with the squires daughter and a good bit of money too.

Why the Bear is Stumpy Tailed

Why the Sea is Salt

The Fox as Herdsman

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Odd Boy Out

Odd Boy Out

Young Albert Einstein

Don Brown

©2008

32 Pages

Ages 4-8

Summary

As a child, Einstein was never completely understood. He was a baby with a fat head. He was an angry infant. He was a boy who never did what his teachers ask of him. He did well in school subjects that he liked and completely disregarded the ones that did not hold his interest. He had a great love for music and would practice his violin endlessly. Einstein was a high school drop out and therefore, even with his mathematical genius, could not get accepted to university. He actually went back to school to earn his high school diploma so that he could attend college. After college, he wanted to find a job teaching in university, but there was no one who would hire him. Instead, he got a job at a government patent office, married, and started a family. This did not stop him from wondering about space, light, and time. Though Einstein was a miss understood child, he grew up to be one of the world's greatest thinkers.

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The Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson and the

The Lightning Thief

Rick Riordan

©2006

400 Pages

Ages 9-12

Summary

Who would have ever thought that Percy Jackson would be a hero? Percy Jackson, a twelve-year-old boy with ADD and dyslexia, finds himself thrown into a world where the greek gods still walk the earth and monsters hunt him from around every corner. The son of a mortal mother and Poseidon, Percy winds up at a summer camp fro kids just like him--demigods more commonly known as half-bloods. It is there that Percy learns of the impending war between his father and Zeus, the god of the skies. It turns out that Zeus' lightning bolt was stolen and he blames the young Percy Jackson for the theft. Percy goes on a quest to retrieve the bolt from Hades and stop the war that would be the end of western civilization.

I have always had a soft spot for mythology. So, naturally, when I learned about what these books were really about, I could not stop myself from picking them up and losing myself in them. The writing style is absolutely hilarious and it is one series that you will never regret reading.

Other Books in the Series:

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan's Curse

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Last Olympian

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Landed

Landed

Milly Lee

©2006

40 Pages

Ages 9-12

Summary

Landed is the story of a young Chinese boy who was sent to join his father and brothers in America. However, there was a long and difficult process in order for him to be allowed into the country. For him to be accepted, he would have to pass a series of tests and answer a bunch of questions about his family and his home. Sun did not want to disappoint his family and was pleased when he was assigned a tutor to help him prepare for the questioning. Though he boarded the ship with his father, his father was let off straight into the harbor as a returning merchant. Sun, however, was sent to Angel Island where he was detained until they could question him. Sun wasn't too concerned when they asked him about his family. But he never could fully grasp the concept of direction. When he was asked which way certain houses faced, he could not answer. One day, he was handed a package of cookies that had come from his father. Inside the package was his brother's compass. With the help of the compass, Sun answered all of the questions correctly and was allowed to join his father and his brothers in San Francisco.

Though this was one of the longest picture books I have read in a little while, it was still fantastic. What captivated me most was not the story line, but rather it was the sheer amount of detail about Sun's journey. It told exactly what he wore and ate. It told of his friends and their background stories. And it told about every little worry and concern that entered his mind. Normally I don't think that would have interested me that much, but it was presented so well in this book.

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Saving Strawberry Farm

Saving Strawberry Farm

Deborah Hopkinson

©2005

32 Pages

Ages 4-8

Summary

This story takes place in the great depression when no body had much money to spare. On the fourth of July, Davey's family decided that, no matter how tough times were, they could spare something to celebrate the nation's birthday. The family decides to have a picnic and the mother sends Davey and his little sister down to the store to get some ice. It is at the store that the boy learns that one of the nicest ladies in town could not afford to make the payments on her farm and was about to lose it in an auction. The own gets together and decides to turn the auction into a penny auction (where all the people decided to keep the bid as low as possible so that the true owner can buy her farm back). That summer, they saved strawberry farm.

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The New Girl... and Me

The New Girl... and Me

Jacqui Roppins

©2006

32 Pages

Ages 4-8

Summary

This Books is not long at all but it is a darling little story about learning to talk to other people. The story follows a little girl who just had a new girl come to class. There the teacher tells her to tell the class her name. When all she says is "I have an iguana" the teacher tells the class that her name is Shakeeta and that she wants them all to make her feel at home. The girl doesn't really understand the phrase. She wonders what Shakeeta's home must be like if she could ever feel "at home" at school. At school all of the girls want to show her around. But there is a mean boy who makes fun of her and won't let her play soccer with the rest of the kids. The two girls become friends after the main character's shy inquiry about Shakeeta's iguana.

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He Took My Lickin' For Me

He Took My Lickin' For Me

Timothy Robinson

©2003

32 Pages

Ages 4-8

Summary

Many of you have probably heard this story circulated through emails--I know that is the first place that I heard it. So when I fond it in picture book, I knew that I had to read it. This is the story of a group of wild boys who seemed to chase every teacher out of the class room. However, one young teacher believed that he had what it took to tame these boys. The first day he was there, he had the boys draw up rules for the class that everyone would have to follow. The boys shouted out some rules that they thought would be good ones to have. One shouted out "no stealing." In response to this, the teacher asked what the punishment should be for stealing. After all, without a punishment, no one would obey the rule. The boys came up with the idea that if someone was caught stealing then they should get ten lashes without a coat. Well the days past and all seemed well. However, the day came when Big Tom came in and told the class that someone had stolen his lunch. The teacher questioned the boys and fond the thief to be a little boy named Jim. He called the boy to the frond of the class and told him to take off his coat. The boy told the teacher that he would take his licking but asked that he be allowed to keep his coat on. The teacher told the boy that he had agreed to live by the same rules as all of the other boys and that included taking his coat off for the licking. Jim took off his coat to reveal that he was not wearing a shirt. When the teacher questioned him, Jim told him that his dad was dead and his mom was very poor. He only owned one shirt and it was currently being washed. It was then that Big Tom stood up and insisted that he take Little Jim's licking. The teacher agreed but after the fifth stroke the rod broke.

I have to admit that the first time I read this story, I cried like a little baby. If this is the first time you've heard of this story, I'm sorry that you read it here and not the actual story. Please, if you have not read the story, please find it. It is a story that should be read by every one at least once in their lives.

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A Year Down Yonder

A Year Down Yonder

Richard Peck

©2000

130 Pages

Ages 9-12

Summary

This story is set in the years of great depression. No one in the U.S. has a lot of money and so young Mary Alice is sent to live with her grandmother in the country until her parents are able to take care of her once more. Mary Alice isn't too keen on the idea. Her grandmother has never exactly been normal and the couple weeks she usually spent with her in the summers was more than enough. To add more on to the situation, her brother--who was usually with her during the summers--was sent away to work and would not be with her this time. Mary Alice arrives in the little town knowing what to expect but still wary. She is taken to school where she realizes at once she won't fit in. As a big city girl in a small town, most people didn't like her. Over the course of months, she comes to know and understand her grandmother a little better and makes a friend of one of the younger girls. Mary Alice sees her grandmother for who she is--a hardworking and fiercely loyal woman who does what she has to to bring balance into her little world.

A Year Down Yonder is a wonderful book filled with incredible humor. The grandmother is wild and out of control with a surprise every which way she turns. I have never really been one to thoroughly enjoy historical fiction, but this book broke down that wall. The humor will captivate you and granny will never seise to amaze.

Other Books in the Series:

A Long Way from Chicago

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Beauty

Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of

Beauty and the Beast

Robin McKinley

©1993

256 Pages

Ages 9-12

Summary

This is a marvelous book that gives a wonderful twist to an old story. This is the story of Honour, a girl who never really liked her name. When she was young, she insisted that people call her beauty. Although she never grew into it, the nickname stayed. She was one of three daughters of a wealthy merchant until one day he lost everything. The family was forced to move north to the home of one of the sister's fiance. There they learned about how to work hard. Most importantly, they learned of the existence of magic. Their life seemed to be picking back up. Everything changed when the father stumbled across the mansion of a prince on his way home from a distant city. There he discovered a beast ready to kill him. The father begged the beast to let him go, telling him of his daughters and how he must return to them. The beast let him leave with the promise that he would return one month later with one of his daughters. The father didn't like the idea, but Beauty insisted that she be allowed to return in her father's place. Though the beast was nothing but kind and doting on Beauty, she could not bear to be around him. Every night he asked her to marry him and every night she told him no. Beauty became homesick and pleaded for the beast to let her return home. He let her leave but made her promise that she would only be gone a week because he would die with out her there. She ended up staying home for more than a week, but on the eighth day she had a dream that told her the beast was dying. She hurried back to the castle and found the beast as he lay dying. There she told him that she truly did love him and that she would marry him. There, the enchantment was broken and the beast turned back into a human.

I liked this book mainly because of all the little twists and turns. It is a classic story but with little tweaks that keep it interesting. For instance, there are the servants of the beast who are invisible. Where ever she goes in the castle, the door to her room will follow. Its the little things like that that made me smile and want to keep reading.

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The Story of Ruby Bridges

The Story of Ruby Bridges

Robert Coles

©1995

32 Pages

Ages 4-8

Summary

This adorable picture book tells the story of young Ruby Bridges who was one of the first children chosen to begin integrating public schools. It begins by telling the reader about Ruby and how her family went to church every week. On the first day that Ruby went to school, there was an angry mob outside of the school and she had to be escorted to class by the National Guard. Inside the class room, there were no children and only one teacher. All of the parents refused to send their children to school with a black girl and all of the teacher refused to teach in a school with a black girl. Ruby was all alone except for the one teacher who volunteered to teach the little girl. One day, as the teacher watched Ruby walk to school, she saw her stop in the middle of the crowd and start to speak. The teacher was horrified and knew that if she didn't keep moving that the crowd was likely to harm her. When she asked Ruby why she had stopped, Ruby told her that every day on her way to school, she stopped about a block away and said a prayer for the angry people. That day she had forgot to say her prayer and did so as soon as she remembered.

This story is truly inspiring. It is hard to imagine what it would be like to be in Ruby's shoes. But I know one thing for certain. It would be hard to keep up the moral that that little girl had. I don't think that I would have had the temperament needed to be willing to pray for the people who threatened her life every day. Ruby had to endure death threats and so much more. On of the most vivid things that sticks out in my memory is that every day someone brought a casket with them to the school and displayed a black doll inside the casket. That is unnerving to me. I can't even imagine what it must have been like for the little girl. This book, however, does not go into much detail about all of the gruesome aspects of Ruby's experience. Rather, it focusses on Ruby's courage and is a wonderful book for any age.

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The Great Gilly Hopkins

The Great Gilly Hopkins

Katherine Paterson

©1987

160 Pages

Ages 9-12

Summary

Gilly never really knew her mother. The young girl had been in foster care since before she could remember and she hated it. Gilly hated everything. She lived on the philosophy that the only way to survive was to look out for your self and take advantage of other people if it served your purposes. Gilly hadn't always been so cynical. She had once been loved by a family. She had even gone so far as to call her foster mother "momma." This was a thing of the past. Gilly's philosophy emerged on the day that the family moved to Florida, leaving her behind with the "trash." Ever since that day, Gilly set her mind to doing everything she could to drive away her foster families and figure out how to be reunited with the mother she had never known. From her third foster home, Gilly writes to her mother, telling her outrageous lies in order to provoke her to come get her daughter. When this doesn't seem to work, Gilly begins stealing money to save for a bus ticket. However, Gilly comes to love her new foster mother and just as she decides that she doesn't want to leave, she is picked up and taken away by her grand mother. It is at her grandmother's house that she learns that her mother had never cared about her. The woman she had been obsessing over for some time didn't love her at all.

This is an amazing book about learning to love and be loved. It is both hilarious and heart wrenching to read about the snot-nosed little girl who put up so many walls around her. She is a trouble maker and yet should be a heroine for every troubled child.

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The cello of Mr. O

The Cello of Mr. O

Jane Cutler

©1999

32 Pages

Ages 4-8

Summary

I absolutely adored this book. In the past, I haven't really been too crazy about historical fiction books, but I highly recommend this book. This picture book follows the life of one young girl who is still getting used to the changes the war has brought to her. She lives in Germany during WWII and is still not quite comfortable with her new life. She tells of how the supply truck comes every wednesday to bring food to the people in the town. While all the neighbors wait outside in the cold, the girl introduces the readers to one old man in particular. She tells of how none of the children like Mr. O because he doesn't seem to like any one else. They pull pranks on him and do everything they can to upset his life. Nevertheless, Mr. O generally stays in his room and just plays his cello. One day, when the supply truck came, it was bombed. After that, the supply truck didn't come to their town. The next Wednesday, when everyone was reminded about how there would not be any more outside help, Mr. O carried a chair and his cello out side and sat in the middle of the square. There he played the cello and made everyone fell much better about their predicament. This was not allowed to last. Too soon, one day when Mr. O took his cello out in the middle of the square, someone blasted his cello into pieces. The girl realizes what this might mean to the accomplished musician and continues to draw him a picture and give him a harmonica so that he might continue to play his magnificent music.

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Lincoln: A Photo biography

Lincoln a Photo biography

Russell Freedman

©1989

160 Pages

Ages 9-12

Summary:

I have never really been one fore biographies. I love stories of fantastic or imaginary places. Therefore, it is no wonder that this book didn't really capture my imagination. This book details the life of President Abraham Lincoln from when he was but a small lad right up and past his assassination. You learn things about Lincoln such as his fierce drive in businesses that ended up failing and how he became a successful lawyer with less than one full year of formal education. All in all it is a good book. It has wonderful pictures of the time that few have seen before--many of which did pull at my heart. However, unless you thoroughly enjoy reading biographies, I wouldn't recommend this book.

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Love that Dog

Love That Dog

Sharon Creech

©2003

128 Pages

Ages 9-12

Summary:

Love that dog is a magnificent book designed to get preteens interested in reading and writing poetry. It is written in the first person of a young boy who doesn't want to write poetry because he thinks that it is for girls. However, he is pressed by his teacher who keeps presenting the class with new poetry to expand their mind. Though he doesn't seem to understand the poetry at first, he comes to love and appreciate the joys of poetry. He gets the opportunity to meet his favorite poet who makes a special trip to his school.

I didn't think that I was going to like this book. Perhaps that is mainly because I didn't really bother to find out what it was about. I think the title and the cover in combination didn't really turn me on to the book, but once I started, I could not put it down. It is a quick read, but a wonderful read.

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Star Girl

Stargirl

Jerry Spinelli

©2002

208 Pages

Young Adult

Summary:

Stargirl is a wonderful little novel about learning to accept and understand people for who they are. Leo seemed to have everything he wanted from life. He wasn't the most popular person in school, but he wasn't disliked either. Everything in his school had its place until stargirl arrived on his first day back from summer. Stargirl wasn't like other girls. She wore long, flowing dresses, didn't wear make-up, and carried around a ukulele which he played on a regular basis. She was weird. And so Leo couldn't understand why he couldn't stop thinking about her. Even through the curious things she did, somehow stargirl became the most popular girl in school. Everyone liked her and Leo realized that he did too. However, everything changed when she was made a cheer leader and started cheering for the other team. You see, stargirl doesn't just cheer for one person, she cheers for everyone. She wants to make everyone happy and she wants everyone to succeed. This becomes a problem when the entire school turns against her for the things she says in support of the opponent. Leo finds out what it feels like to be despised when he winds up as Mr. stargirl and is therefore hated by the whole school. Leo understands that the only way to get his old life back is to sever all ties with stargirl. When she stops showing up for school, he begins to wonder if he did the right thing. Years later, he is still not sure.

I didn't really think that I was going to like this book. I had heard that it was a really girly book and that has never really been my thing. I was surprised to learn that the book was actually told from the point of view from a book

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