312 pages
Best for grades 3-6
Looking for good winter book for these cold days? I picked up Breadcrumbs and could hardly put it down!
A re-telling of the lesser-known Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale "The Snow Queen" Breadcrumbs is a book for people who like books. It is full of allusions to both classic and newer fantasy books for kids (The Golden Compass, Narnia, A Wrinkle in Time, When You Reach Me, Coraline, etc...), as well as classic fairy tale scenarios, but still has plenty of originality and adventure to keep the story moving quickly.
The first half of Breadcrumbs is realistic fiction. We follow Hazel to her new school where she doesn't quite fit in. Her dad recently moved away, and her life is in flux. One constant in her life is her best friend and next door neighbor Jack. They imagine impossible worlds, with comic book super hero powers, baseball, and drawings, not unlike Bridge to Terabithia. Until one day when Jack changes. A piece of glass no bigger than a grain of sand lands in his eye and his heart and he beings to freeze. A white which comes from the woods and takes him away and no one seems to notice except Hazel. Now she has to get him back.
The second half is pure fantasy novel-- Hazel's journey through the woods, against all odds and advice to find her best friend and bring him home. Will she make it? or will the wolves, witches, wizards, and woodsmen get the better of her?
This book not only makes for a great silent reading book, but also and excellent read-aloud for any older elementary schooler.
Click here to view Breadcrumbs in the catalog.
-JW-
