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The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer is science fiction at its best. It is a novel set in some future in an area that used to be the southwestern United States, but now is an independent region called Opium, ruled by drug lords, cocaine producers and smugglers. Needless to say, the future in this book is dystopic, chaotic, and violent. It’s a lawless place where the only order comes from the iron-fisted control these drug lords can exercise over the people who live in their lands. We soon learn that, in this future, humans have mastered human cloning technology and that the main character, Matteo, is a clone. One of the more interesting aspects of The House of the Scorpion is the fundamental questions that surround Matteo. Are clones fully human? Nancy Farmer isn’t predicting that the American Southwest will become an independent drug lord-controlled country. Nor is she predicting human cloning - though the technology to produce human clones more or less exists today. She is using the setting of the future to gain some distance from the present, in order to comment on it. I think The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer is at the forefront of exploring, through literature, what it means to be human.

if you’ve ever picked up a copy of Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne, you’ll immediately notice that it is written with sophistication and a certain amount of dry British wit, employing turns of phrase not usually found in children’s stories. That is what sets the Winnie-the-Pooh books apart from all others. Interestingly enough, despite the success of their partnership, A.A. Milne and Ernest H. Shepard only had a working relationship and never became close friends.

Matilda by Roald Dahl is a story about a little girl named Matilda who is quite the opposite of her family. In fact, Matilda is hyper-intelligent, has a sense of justice, and possesses an insatiable love of learning. Matilda is born to two rather awful parents who have no interest in her whatsoever. To get back at her parents, Matilda engages in a series of practical jokes every time her parents engage in less than admirable behavior - which, unfortunately, happens on a rather regular basis. When Matilda starts school, she meets the two most important women in her life: the lovely Miss Honey (teacher) and the terrible Miss Trunchball (headmistress). Both women couldn’t be further apart in personality.

Ezra Jack Keats was the first author to introduce and subsequently cross social boundaries by being the first American picture book maker to give African-American characters a central place in children’s literature. The characters in Ezra Jack Keats’ books are inspired from the community around him. Many of his stories illustrate themes that all of us can relate to in one way or another. For example, some of his themes include, family life, the simple pleasures while growing up, and more complex problems that a child often encounters in his daily routine. His most famous characters include, Peter, Louie, Archie, Amy, Susie, Roberto, Jennie, Maggie, Willie, the dog, and the adults who preside over their lives. Each of Ezra Jack Keats’ characters’ is central to at least one story and then each pops up as a supporting character in others. The Snowy Day is Ezra Jack Keats’ masterpiece. The story perfectly captures the magical essence of experiencing the season’s first snowfall and the anticipation at the possibility of another enchanting day in the snow.

The pictures in Rosie’s Walk create tension and relief by the changes in the fox’s position and condition relative to Rosie as she peacefully takes a leisurely stroll around a barnyard.

The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson is illuminated with understated touches of golden watercolor, which evoke the warmth and comfort of home and family, as well as the joys of exploring the wider world.

It is no secret that Louisa May Alcott based Little Women on her own early life.

The story of Esperanza Rising is not only told with these fairy tale qualities in mind, but with a subtle magical element as well – an element that serves to connect her past, present, and future as she begins to recognize, understand, and appreciate qualities she never knew existed within herself.  Esperanza Rising is undoubtedly about the human experience before anything else.  In fact, Esperanza Rising provides an unforgettable journey against a metaphorical backdrop of crocheted mountains and valleys that brings a simple yet profound explanation and meaning to the cycle of life.  Although we know the time and place in Esperanza’s world, we are caught up by this magical element and by life’s subtle messages that appear at the most unexpected moments.

Do boys keep diaries? In Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Greg Heffley does at the advice of his mother. Anyway, it’s a new school year, and Greg Heffley finds himself thrust into middle school, where undersized weaklings share the hallways with kids who are taller, meaner, and already shaving.

SkippyjonJones by Judy Schachner is a story about a Siamese kitten who refuses to be an ordinary cat. Needless to say, his free thinking gets him in trouble. Having been confined to his room for a much-deserved time-out, SkippyjonJones resorts to his imagination for entertainment. He comfortably takes on the superhero persona of the great Spanish sword fighter Skippito and proceeds to have the adventure of his life. Readers are invited to live vicariously throughout his zany, wild, and over-the-top adventures.