Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl

Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl follows the adventures of a father and son (the mother died when the son was a baby) on their various adventures, including getting back at a pompous fellow with far too much money named Victor Hazel.

Will they be able to pull off their trick? (It involves a lot of pheasants.) Well, maybe they can with the town policeman and the vicar's wife and baby son on their side! (Even after the baby was pecked at by several pheasants.) But Victor Hazel is a pretty nasty man! Read the book and find out what Danny and his father are able to pull off!

Fablehaven book 1, by Brandon Mull

Fablehaven, book 1 by Brandon Mull begins the exciting careers of Kendra and Seth Sorenson when they first go to Fablehaven, a magical preserve that their dad's parents are caretakers of.

The two, mostly because of Seth being an idiot, get into all sorts of trouble and danger, and find themselves in a situation where they need to rescue others. When the rescue operation goes awry and Kendra is the only one who can do anything to save the others, will she just give up? Or will she find a way to save everyone? This is a great middle grade book, but anyone who enjoys magical adventures would like it.

The Horse and His boy by C.S. Lewis

The Horse and His Boy, by C.S. Lewis, is the only story that takes place in Narnia where the protagonists are native born Narnians (well, Aravis is Calormen, but still in that world). Shasta, a boy whom we would call Caucasian, is raised in a land by a Calormen man that we would call Middle Eastern. He calls the man "Father", but wonders sometimes why they look so different.

One night, he gets a shock. Overhearing Arsheesh (his supposed father) talking to a rich man, he discovers that Arsheesh is not his father, and is willing to sell him to the rich man. Uncertain what to do, he is talking to himself about the problem, when the rich man's horse speaks up. It turns out that the horse, Bree, was born a Narnian talking horse, and was kidnapped as a foal. Together, the two plan their escape. A few days later, they meet Aravis and Hwin, a Calormen girl about Shasta's age, and a talking Narnian mare with a similar story to Bree's. The four decide to escape together. During the course of their escape they meet most of the Pevenseses from the other books, and of course Aslan. But with Rabadash the crown prince not far behind them, will they make it to Narnia safe? Read the book (or listen to the audio like I did) and find out!

The Labyrinth directed by Jim Henson

The Labyrinth movie, directed by Jim Henson, was one of my favorite movies from my childhood. A young woman named Sarah, in a moment of frustration, wishes her baby brother to be taken away by goblins, and that's exactly what the goblins and their king do, wisking little Toby away from his home and into the Labyrinth!

Sarah chooses to go after him to save him, regretting her earlier wish, but the Goblin King works to stop her. Despite this, she finds friends who help her work her way through. But will they make it to the center of the Labyrinth in time? The goblin king only gave Sarah 13 hours to reach her brother, after which he would turn the baby into a goblin, too!

George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl

In George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl, little George Kilicranky is bullied by his mean grandma, especially when his parents aren't around to witness it. What does he do to get back at her? Invent his own medicine for her of course, and give it to her instead of her regular medicine.

What are the results? Some pretty crazy ones! Grandma grows so tall, she breaks through the ceiling into the second story, and again through the roof. What happens after that? Some more pretty crazy stuff! I appreciated the warning that the things that go into the medicine in the fictional story would not work the same way in real life, and could actually be dangerous. (The ingredients include, [among many hazardous things] engine oil, paint, and other things that would actually poison and kill a person in real life.)

Holes by Louis Sachar

Holes by Louis Sachar is a story about a boy named Stanley Yelnats who doesn't seem to have the best luck. His dad doesn't, his grandpa didn't, his great grandpa didn't, and his great great grandpa didn't either. The reason? His great great grandpa, Elya Yelnats forgot to keep a promise to an old lady friend, and he and his family were cursed with bad luck for eternity unless... Well, Stanley, because of his bad luck, is blamed for something he didn't do, and is sent to Camp Green Lake, a correctional facility for boys.

There, he meets X-ray, Armpit, ZigZag, Magnet, Squid, and Zero (all nicknames of course) and is required to dig a hole every day for the duration of his time there. The Warden, Mr. Sir, and Mr. Pendanzki all say it's to build character, but Stanley starts to suspect it's actually because the Warden is looking for something.

Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery is a delightful story about an eleven year old orphan who goes to live on Prince Edward Island in Canada with the Cuthberts, Matthew and Marila, brother and sister, an old bachelor and old maid who have had very few dealings with children.

But the siblings decide they need help with the farm, and want to adopt a boy. Somewhere along the communciation trail, there is a mix-up, and a girl is sent instead. But the Cuthberts aren't as quick to send little Anne Shirley back to the orphanage as Marila at first thought. What adventures will Anne Shirley get into after she begins like at Green Gables in the small town of Avonlea?