The '07-'08 Surrey Schools' Book of the Year

The Surrey Book of the Year is a book award program held in Surrey School District elementary schools every year. Students in Grades 4 to 7 are eligible to vote for their favourite book after they have read or listened to at least three books. After you have read one of these books, leave a comment on this blog and let the world know what you think of it! Happy reading!

Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost

GHOSTHUNTERS AND THE INCREDIBLY REVOLTING GHOST
by Cornelia Funke

Dripping sticky slime wherever it goes, an Averagely Spooky Ghost is hiding out in Tom’s cellar. Why? Be-cause he’s being haunted too - by a much bigger, way badder Incredibly Revolting Ghost. Confused? So is Tom! Good thing his Grandmother’s best friend just happens to be a world-famous ghosthunter...

The first in a new, ghastly fantastic series by the author of Dragon Rider.

The Tail of Emily Windsnap

THE TAIL OF EMILY WINDSNAP
by Liz Kessler

Emily Windsnap has lived on a boat her whole life - yet her mother seems oddly anxious to keep her away from the water. When she is finally allowed to have swimming lessons, Emily makes a startling discovery - she has a tail!

As Emily explores the kingdom under the sea with her mermaid friend Shona Silkfin, she learns a family se-cret, and braves the wrath of Nep-tune to find the fa-ther she has never met and reunite him with her mother.

Chu Ju's House

CHU JU’S HOUSE
by Gloria Whelan

When a girl is born to Chu Ju’s family, it is quickly deter-mined that the baby must be sent away. After all, the law states that a family may have only two children, and tradition dic-tates that every family should have a boy. To make room for one, this girl will have to go.

Fourteen-year-old Chu Ju knows she cannot allow this to happen to her sister. Under-standing that one girl must leave, she sets out in the middle of the night, vowing not to return.

Give My Regrets to Broadway

GIVE MY REGRETS TO BROADWAY
by Bruce Hale

It’s no mystery: Chet Gecko can’t sing. He can’t dance. He can’t act. Heck, he can’t even act normal. So why would he take the lead in Mr. Ratnose’s musical version of Shake-speare’s Omelet, Prince of Denver? A new case, natu-rally. The original leading man has disappeared, and something smells rotten in the realm of Ratnose. Did the third-act lip-lock with Shirley Chameleon scare him away? Or is foul play afoot? One thing’s for cer-tain: This mystery won’t be over until the fat gecko -- er, lady -- sings!

Into the Wild

INTO THE WILD
by Erin Hunter

For generations, four Clans of wild cats have shared the forest accord-ing to the laws laid down by their war-rior ancestors. but the ThunderClan cats are in grave danger, and the sinister Shadow-Clan grows stronger every day. Noble warri-ors are dying - and some deaths are more mysterious than others.

In the midst of this turmoil appears an ordinary house cat named Rusty...who may turn out to be the bravest warrior of them all.

Magyk

MAGYK:
SEPTIMUS HEAP - BOOK ONE
by Angie Sage

Septimus Heap, the seventh son of the seventh son, disappears the night he is born, pronounced dead by the midwife. That same night, the baby’s father, Silas Heap, comes across an aban-doned child in the snow - a newborn girl with violet eyes. The Heaps take her into their home, name her Jenna, and raise her as their own. But who is this mysterious baby girl, and what really happened to their beloved son Septimus?

Odd Man Out

ODD MAN OUT
by Sarah Ellis

A month on an is-land with Gran and five girl cousins - including Emily, who thinks she’s a dog. In a rambling house that’s about to be torn down, so anything goes (except demolish-ing load-bearing walls!). Picnics on the beach with cold wieners, string cheese, peanut butter crackers and ideas. Campfires, seal-watching and exploring tide pools.

And up in the attic, a mystery and memories are waiting.

The Onts: Secret of Dripping Fang

THE ONTS: Secret of Dripping Fang
by Dan Greenburg

Nobody wants to adopt the Shluffmuffin twins. Wally’s feet stink something aw-ful, and Cheyenne is allergic to everything. Then why are the Mandible sisters so eager to take them home? And what sort of old maids would choose to live in a place called Dripping Fang Forest, where zombies wander the woods singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and ten-foot-long glowing slugs want to suck the feet right off your ankles? Would it seem ungrateful of Wally to point out the Mandible sisters’ ex-tra arms? Or to ques-tion their all-chocolate, all-the-time menu? Or, um, to venture into the cellar, where the twins have been told to never, ever, ever, go? Now there’s nothing left for the Shluffmuf-fins to do but run - run for their lives!

My Story: The Trenches

MY STORY: THE TRENCHES
by Jim Eldridge

Sixteen-year-old Billy Stevens joins the military in 1919 to “kick the Kaiser back to Germany.” He lies about his age to join up, and is initially disap-pointed when he is assigned to the Royal Engineers because of his telegraph training. But soon enough he is sent to the Front where he experiences the terrible sights and sounds of the trenches.

Billy Stevens goes to war as an inno-cent boy and comes back as a man.

Stormbreaker

STORMBREAKER
by Anthony Horowitz

They told him his uncle died in a car accident. Four-teen-year-old Alex knows that’s a lie, and the bullet holes in his uncle’s windshield con-firms his suspi-cions. But nothing prepares him for the news that the uncle he always thought he knew was really a spy for MI6 - Britain’s top secret intelli-gence agency. Recruited to find his uncle’s killers and complete his final mission, Alex suddenly finds himself caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse.