THE LION, THE WITCH & THE WARDROBE by C. S. Lewis

C. S. Lewis is known by adults for his writings on Christian philosophy and theology, but to children, he is best known for his series THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA - a series that begins with this book.

In it, four English schoolchildren, sent away from London during World War II, have arrived in a mysterious manor. During a game of tag, the youngest girl, Lucy, goes to hide in the wardrobe... and stumbles through a portal to the magical land of Narnia, a world trapped in eternal winter by the White Witch. There, she meets and befriends Mr. Tumnus, the faun, before returning to the world on the other side of the wardrobe.


When she tries to tell her brothers and sisters about her adventure, they mock Lucy for her imagination - but then, they find out that she was telling the truth in the most chilling way.

THE SECRET GARDEN by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Ten-year-old Mary Lennox was quite the disagreeable child, who said what she felt and didn't care a pin for anyone else. Why, she didn't even shed a tear when her parents died!

But something happened when the orphaned Mary was transplanted from her parent's home in India to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle, her only living relative - like the roses in the secret garden which she found and nurtured, she grew and thrived. In the process of learning how to care for her garden, she learned how to care for the people around her, and for the first time made friends.

A gentle tale of the healing power of Nature and the wonders of friendship, this story has been beloved by children for nearly a hundred years, and will continue to be for many more.

HARRY POTTER & THE SORCERER'S STONE

Is there anyone who hasn't read this one, or at least heard of it?

Harry Potter was just the Dursley's orphaned nephew, used as cheap labor and housed in a tiny room under the stairs, until the owls came, with their letters telling him that he had been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witches and Wizardry.

Entering school was like entering a whole new world, one where he was rich, famous... and the target of one of the deadliest wizards the world had ever seen.

HOLES

Stanley Yelnats is one unlucky kid. I mean, who else could be just walking down the street and have a set of super-stinky sneakers bean him on the head? And if it did happen, what are the odds that those gross old tennis shoes would have been donated to a homeless shelter auction by an NBA star and worth $5000?

Now, Stanley's been sent to Camp Green Lake (which isn't green, and doesn't have a lake) to develop some character. Which in this case means to dig a lot of holes, in the company of some seriously tough youngsters who don't like him all that much.

Why holes? Turns out that the answer to that question is hidden in Stanley's own family history.

Want to know more? Read the book!

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME by Mark Haddon

Fifteen-year-old Christopher John Francis Boone is smart when it comes to numbers and science, but when it comes to people, he finds them utterly confusing. His autism makes human behavior a mystery, but he loves all animals, especially dogs. So when he finds his neighbor's dog killed by a pitchfork, he decides to investigate.

Along the way, he learns to face his fears, deal with a hostile and confusing world, and discovers family secrets.

MARLEY & ME by John Grogan

The subtitle of this book is "life and love with the world's worst dog" and it's pretty apt.

Marley started off well enough - a cute puppy brought home by newspaper columnist John Grogan. He chewed things, he made messes... but that's just what puppies do, right?

Despite Grogan's best efforts, however, Marley never outgrew that puppy destructiveness, nor his puppy playfulness. Instead, Marley grew up into an amiable, lovable, utterly boneheaded and troublemaking dog who never meant do cause havoc, but inevitably did.

There's a lot to laugh about in this book. There's a lot to think about . And always, there's the dog, and what it means to have a pet that becomes part of the family.

THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA by Michael Pollan

THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA: A NATURAL HISTORY OF FOUR MEALS is a study of four different meals, each one traced from its beginnings in field or farm to the dinner plate.

The first traces a meal from McDonalds, and discusses how much of our processed foods are based upon a single plant species: corn.

The second is a meal of mass-produced organic foods, and how the big-business organic companies are finding ways to apply the methodsof the factory farms to large-scale organic operations.

The third is a meal of locally-grown seasonal foods, grown and harvested within a few miles of its preparation and eating.

The fourth is a meal hunted and gathered from the land, unfarmed and scavenged from nature.

It's a thought-provoking look at the food we eat and the way it affects our lives.