Boy By Roald Dahl tells true stories from Dahl’s childhood. Stories range from Dahl’s earliest memories of the doctor cutting out his adenoids without anesthetic to the scary moments in school when he got in trouble by the headmaster. My favorite story was his memory of Cadbury giving samples to his neighborhood every so often. The family would taste test the chocolate bars and give feedback to Cadbury. This was part of Dahl’s inspiration to write Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Boy was a large part of the Roald Dahl Museum and gave some insight about Dahl’s childhood and where inspirations for some of his stories began. This book would be great for students who are doing an author study because it shows the reader why Dahl’s writing can be a little dark at times. Dahl’s childhood has a lot to do with the stories he wrote and the characters in his books.

Little Miss Sunshine is a children’s book written by Roger Hargreaves. It is a part of a series of books written by Hargreaves. The series is called Mr. Men and Little Miss series. Each book features a different character. The character is based on their personality or attributes. Little Miss Sunshine is one of the books. Little Miss Sunshine goes on vacation and passes a town called Miseryland. Because of how happy she always is, she wants to help this town turn happy. She stops at the castle and gets to meet the King. She is able to make him laugh and the town’s name changes to Laughter Land. These books are feel good books that provide kids with a chance to see multiple emotions and personalities.

Mary Poppins is a children’s novel written by P.L. Travers. The Banks family lives in London and is looking for a nanny. The family finds Mary Poppins and they hire her on as the family nanny. She turns out to be very strict and arrogant, but the children still love her. In the first Mary Poppins, there are four children: Michael, Jane, and twins Barbara and John. Mary Poppins also has some magical powers and takes the children on all kinds of adventures. They go on trips all over the world and do magical things like having tea parties on a ceiling and spending time with stars. This book takes readers on a fun adventure, while also learning how to use manners and get chores done in an exciting way.

The London Eye Mystery is a novel written by Siobhan Dowd. It is a mystery novel whose main character’s name is Ted. Ted’s cousin comes to visit the family and they all decide to go to the London Eye for a ride. Ted and his sister Kat watch their cousin Salim ride the London Eye. Ted and Kat begin to worry when Salim doesn’t get off the pod that he had gotten on. Ted has Asperger’s and develops an intense desire to figure out the mystery of how his cousin disappeared. In the end, the reader finds out that Salim had actually changed disguises with a friend so that he would not have to move. This book provides children with a fun journey of figuring out this mystery with Ted and Kat.

Matilda is one of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s novels. A young girl named Matilda lives with her family who does not love her very much. Her parents often neglect her, so she resorts to tricking her family and playing pranks on them. Matilda also relies on reading books to escape her unhappy home life. At school, the principal, Miss Trunchbull, also threatens Matilda. She finds comfort in her teacher, Miss Honey, and her schoolwork. Matilda soon discovers that she can do tricks with her mind. She uses these powers to eventually drive Miss Trunchbull away. The book has a very happy ending, as Matilda is able to move in and live with Miss Honey. Matilda shows readers that good will win over evil in the end!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl is about a young man named Charlie Bucket who wins one of five golden tickets and gets to tour Mr. Wonka’s Chocolate Factory that is full of secrets. Charlie is a very poor boy who lives in a small cottage with his parents and both sets of grandparents. Charlie and his Grandpa Joe go to the factory along with the four other children that won a golden ticket. All of the other children disobey Mr. Wonka and end up with something crazy wrong with them. At the end of the book, Charlie is rewarded for being so good by learning that when he is old enough he gets to take over Mr. Wonka’s Chocolate Factory! Charlie is ecstatic and his whole family, once impoverished, gets to move into the magnificent factory! This book teaches children that the kids that break the rules will be punished, but the kids that behave and are respectful get grand rewards. This book allows kids to learn a valuable lesson in a very exciting and crazy way. It is also a very good book to read because there is a movie based off of the book!

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo takes place during World War I. The book follows the life of Joey, a beautiful horse that lived on a farm with Albert, who took very good care of him and loved him. When the war hits, Albert’s dad sells Joey and Joey gets trained to charge the enemy, carry wounded soldiers, and drag heavy artillery. Albert was devastated when Joey got sold and he vowed that when he was old enough he was going to join the war and find Joey. Joey goes on many adventures and has many new loving owners that take good care of him. Luckily, despite charging the enemy, Joey lives. In one battle, Joey gets lost and runs off. He gets cut by some barbed wire and eventually some British soldiers find him and take him to the War Veterinary Clinic. As soon as Joey gets there, he gets washed and after he is cleaned, the boy that cleaned him begins to talk to Joey and all of a sudden Joey realizes it is Albert! Albert is so happy to see Joey, because Joey is the only reason he joined the war. He cannot believe he finally found him. In the end, after a few hardships, Albert gets to keep Joey. This book shows how strong the bond between people and animals can be and it also teaches children to never give up. Albert knew that his chances of finding Joey were slim, but he never gave up and because of this, his dreams came true. It was a heartwarming book to read, and it is now also a movie!

My Friend the Enemy by Dan Smith takes place during World War II. British Peter and his best friend Kim witness a German plane crash and they see a parachute. The two of them decide to sneak out past the curfew that is set because of the man in the parachute that the soldiers saw, but could not find. When they are exploring the plane crash, they come across the German. He is severely injured and Peter and Kim decide to hide him and take care of him because they are afraid the British soldiers will kill him if they find him. Kim, Peter, and the German man Erik become friends and Erik adores both Peter and Kim. Erik is only 19, the same age as Kim’s brother who is also fighting in the war. Peter’s father is fighting in the war, and one day he and his mom receive a telegram that Peter’s father was killed. Peter is devastated and begins to take out his anger on Erik, but Kim stops him. Some of the other boys in town begin to bully Peter and Kim and when Erik hears them being bullied right out of his hiding spot, he comes to help them because Kim got knocked down by one of the bullies and becomes unconscious after she hit her head on a rock. Erik rushes Kim to the doctor, risking his own life. In the end, the British soldiers do not harm Erik and they thank him for helping Kim. This book teaches children to get to know someone before deciding whether they are good or bad. One man’s enemy is another man’s friend.

The 100-Year Old Secret by Tracy Barrett follows the adventures of Xena and Xander who are related to Sherlock Holmes. They inherit his unsolved casebook from the Society for the Preservation of Famous Detectives, which Xena and Xander get invited to join because of Sherlock Holmes. The two kids take a lot of pride in solving the cases, and put all of their energy towards the cases . They work on solving a case regarding a famous painting that disappeared more than 100 years ago. They investigate together, and eventually the two children solve the case that no one else could. They are honored and everyone is amazed. This book teaches children that if you try hard enough, anything is possible. It also encourages everyone to not get discouraged and to never give up.

I was a Rat by Philip Pullman follows the adventures of a boy named Roger, who was once a rat. When Roger gets turned into a boy he turns up on the porch of an older couple Bob and Joan. Bob and Joan take him in and care for him, but one day Roger gets taken and Bob and Joan will do anything to find him. Roger becomes part of a circus because of the guy that took him, but eventually he escapes the circus. In the end, the princess helps Bob and Joan find Roger because Roger knew the princess when he was a rat and she just worked in a kitchen. Bob and Joan were so happy when they found Roger and they all lived happily ever after. This book teaches children to love and accept everyone, no matter how different they are. Everyone is special in their own way and they should not be judged because of it.