Breadcrumbs

Replete with allusions to the best in modern children's literature, while at-heart a retelling of the classic Hans Christian Anderson tale The Snow Queen, Breadcrumbs is a bookworm's dream come true. Meanwhile, it also captures a universal theme: the insecurity of the changing dynamics that beset tween boy/girl friendships, making it appealing to a wider audience. This, my second reading, was as a read aloud to my 6th graders, who were mesmerized. I'm more than a little in love with this book. It will live on a shelf with Cornelia Funke's Inkheart, Anna Quindlen's How Reading Changed My Life, and Jonathan Franzen's essay "How To Be Alone," and I will call the shelf, "Ode to the Reading Life."