Assignment+7+-+Advance+Reader+Copy+-+due+April+12

Choose one of the galley proof copies that I have picked up at conferences. Give your advice on whether it is a suitable purchase for a school library and if so, what grade level you
 * Assignment 7 - Advance Reader Copy - your choice** - **due Monday, April 12th**

Judy Oakley //Alchemy and Meggy Swann// by Karen Cushman Clairon Books/March 31, 2012

This book would be a suitable purchase for a middle or high school library. Set in Elizabethan England, //Alchemy and Meggy Swann// is a quick read and a realistic look at the time period. Rather than focus on the Elizabethan royalty or aristocracy, Cushman takes the reader into the lower class lives of the period. In addition, young readers will be able to identify with the issues which plague Meggy: a physical handicap, isolation, dependency, and rejection.

Jean White //Lone Wolf// by Kathryn Lasky Scholastic Press, 2010 //Lone Wolf// is suitable for elementary, middle and high school levels. [RJR owns a publisher's copy.] The only difficulty the elementary level might experience would be the names of wolf hierarchy in that they are unusual spelling and pronunciations. This easy-to-read story follows a wolf pup whose birth defect places him to be abandoned/killed so as not to 'taint' the blood line. However, he survives, struggling for his identity since he is not raised by a wolf pack. His 'destiny' is one that changes the lives of Wolves of the Beyond. This book can be used on numerous levels. I found the book interesting but thought the ending seemed a bit rushed/abrupt concluding in the last few pages/chapter.

Jean Downey //Doormat// by Kelly McWilliams Random House Children's Book, 2004 //Doormat// would be a suitable book for a high school library. It explores the impact on the relationship between girlfriends when one becomes pregnant and the other is looked to for help. The book is straight forward in discussing the realities of the life of a pregnant teen and the reader will be able to identify with the protagonist as she explores the best way to help her friend.