Random titles

Natale Ghent's Piper (2000) is a fine read if you have students who are very interesting in dogs who herd sheep. Wesley saves the runt of a litter and works hard to make Piper into a successful working dog. Wesley has issues in her life-- her father has passed away and she and her mother are living with a relative, she has a crush on a boy whose family also raises dogs, Piper does well in some herding competitions, but becomes badly injured, raising the question as to whether or not the dog will be able to remain. This was a perfectly fine book, but a bit trite in many respects.

Diana Hendry's Harvey Angell and the Ghost Child(1997) is the second in an English series. The first (Harvey Angell) is briefly summarized in the first chapter, so the book stands alone well enough. Hendry portrays a slightly mad English family that takes a trip to the beach and gets involved with a haunted house in a style reminiscent of Roald Dahl or Philip Ardagh. A bit over the top, but oddly engaging.

I did not purchase either of these books-- I am grateful to have them housed in my library but bought for a summer intervention program. Still, some of the choices were a bit odd, and I wish that the purchaser had asked for my opinion. These two I can move; Ginger Pye is a doubtful seller!