Amazing Gracie / Sherryl Woods 320 p

Gracie MacDougal, a Paris luxury hotel executive, jets to Seagull Point, Va., the only place she remembers from her childhood to recover from her workaholic life style where she finds a waterfront Victorian house that calls her to make it a bread-and-breakfast and encounters the roadblock in the shape of Kevin Daniels, a laid back Southern charmer who is more interested in getting her to become a more relaxed woman—but not a dependent—he has enough people depending upon him.

Appeal: Character-driven, Amusing, Conversational, Engaging.

Decades Books: 1990

Where the Red Fern Grows / Wilson Rawls 212 p.

Hunting dogs are Billy's biggest desire; so much so, that he takes on any and every kind of job for two years to earn the money for two pups, Old Dan and Little Ann, which he trains to be the finest hunting team in the valley in this heartwarming coming of age tale of a boy growing up in the Ozarks.  Warning: a tearjerker ending.

Appeal:  Character-driven, Fast-paced, Haunting, Homespun, Moving, Strong sense of place

Decades Books: 1960

Cheaper by the Dozen / Frank B. Gilbreth 207 p.

Frank B. Gilbreth, master bricklayer, industrial engineer, pioneer of motion study, with his wife, Lillian, apply their considerable skills with scientific management to the rearing of their 12 children (6 boys, 6 girls) with hilarity, unexpected happenings, and normal sibling relations.

Decade Books: 1950

Appeal terms: Character driven; fast paced; funny; heartwarming; conversational; engaging, upbeat.

A delightful movie, more true to the book than the 2002 version, is the original, Cheaper by the Dozen (with Jeanne Crain, Myrna Loy) and its sequel, Belles on Their Toes.

Of Mice and Men / John Steinbeck 105 p.

During the Depression, migrant workers George Milton and Lennie Small, his simple-minded friend, dream of a place of their own while working on a ranch in the Salinas Valley, just as it is in their grasp, tragedy comes as Lennie follows his child-like instincts into deep trouble.



Decade Books: 1930

Banned Books

Banned in Ireland (1953); Syracuse, IN (1974); Oil City, PA (I977); Grand Blanc, MI (1979);Continental, OH (1980) and other communities.  Challenged through this decade.
For profanity and using God's name in vain; racial slurs; violent and contains obscenities; does not represent traditional values; derogatory towards African Americans, women, and the developmentally disabled.

Charlotte's Web / E.B. White 182 p.

Wilbur, the radiant pig, enjoys each and every day, in the barn where he take pleasure in visits from Fern, the little girl who saved his life, hanging with Charlotte A. Cavatica, a most resourceful spider, and his other barnyard friends; until an old sheep tells him what happens to pigs in December, which propels Charlotte to spin a grand plan to save him and makes him the most celebrated pig on the farm and perhaps in the county.

E.B. White said he wanted to write about the barn and entertain his children and himself...and this does it along with information about spiders, webs, weaving, and other farm animals.

Appeal factors: plot-driven, amusing, sweet, whimsical, conversational, fantasy

Newbery Honor Book

Decades Book: 1950

Five Children and it / E. Nesbit 237 p.

While digging a hole to Australia, three British children unearth a sand fairy that grants them their deepest wishes—wishes that last only till sunset and backfire with humorous results, making them realize that they must exercise care in their desires.

Stood the passage of time very, very well.

Plot driven, amusing, feel-good, conversational, whimsical

Readalikes: For those who enjoy the adventure in Lemony Snicket series about the Baudelaire orphans without dark element. Decades book: 1900

Winnie-the-Pooh / A.A. Milne 161 p.

Winnie-the-Pooh, with Piglet, Eeyore, and Christopher Robin experience adventures like nearly catching a woozle, meet a heffalump, explore the North Pole, and rescue Piglet who is entirely surrounded by water.

Read most delightfully by Peter Dennis who is everything Pooh Bear should be.

Appeal factors: Plot driven, amusing, feel-good, conversational.

Decades Books: 1920

O Pioneers! / Willa Cather 308 p.

When Alexandra Bergson's Swedish father dies, she shoulders the responsibility of her younger brothers, scraping out a living on the Nebraska frontier farm while pushing her family to greater successes, and endangering her family relationships in the process.

Character-driven, leisurely paced, bittersweet, strong sense of place

Decades books: 1910's