A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

Interest Level: 5-8

Lexile: 720L

Reading Level: 4.4
Genre: Realistic Fiction & Historical Fiction

When the Sudanese civil war reaches his village in 1985, eleven-year-old Salva becomes separated from his family and must walk with other Dinka tribe members through southern Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya in search of safe haven. Based on the life of Salva Dut, who, after emigrating to America in 1996, began a project to dig water wells in Sudan.

A powerful story that reminds you how lucky we are to have access to something as simple as water. A must read for all middle school students. I highly recommend this book.

Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark by Ridley Pearson

Interest Level: 5-8

Lexile: 640L

Reading Level: 4.2

Genre: Fantasy

 Five kids are chosen to be Disney World hosts. They will be made into holograms and tell park visitors all about the park and its attractions. But there is a problem, every night when the kids go to sleep they slip into their hologram forms and return to Disney World. If that isn’t bad enough, there is an evil force at play terrorizing Disney World and beyond.

I love Disneyland. Although I have never been to Disney World, the setting is similar. I would love for it to be possible to be at Disneyland right now. I enjoyed the escape that this book provided. However, I did not find the characters or the plot engaging enough to read the next book in the series.