The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder 215 pages

This was one of those books I'd heard about, but had put way down on my list.  Only recently I read another book about challenged and banned books and it put The Egypt Game at the top of my to-read list.  It's no wonder this book is a classic and a past Newbery honor book.  It is a book that any kid can relate to, the desire to find the people who will understand you, the imagination and creativity that happen naturally when kids are left on their own for entertainment, and the excitement of creating your own world are all very engaging and inspiring.  Of course, there's a bit of mystery and suspense thrown in just for fun, too.  If you haven't read this one since you were a kid, or if you have a kid 4th grade or older, this should move to the top of your to-read list, too! 

The Secret of Goldenrod by Jane O'Reilly 370 pages

This book made the preliminary nominees for the Mark Twain award, but didn't make the cut to final nominee.  It gave the impression that it was going to be a ghost story, but certainly never followed that track.  I'm still not sure what the explanation for the odd...very odd happenings would be, if not haunting, but it was made very clear throughout the book that this was not the solution.  Most of the children who have read it tell me they absolutely love it, so I'm going to go with their review.  It was a sweet story about a lonely girl finding her place in a new setting, but it never really wowed me.  That being said, there were some very nice touches to the book, so it's worth placing in the hands of kids 3rd grade and up.