It's the End of the World . . . .

A popular theme in teen books is the world ending.  Whether this is a natural disaster that causes the world go back to the Stone Age or a plague that wipes out all the adults on earth, it's a great story.  Here are some books featuring teens facing the end of the world . . . .

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Through journal entries sixteen-year-old Miranda describes her family's struggle to survive after a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen
After his parents, two sisters, and he have spent six years in a vast underground compound built by his wealthy father to protect them from a nuclear holocaust, fifteen-year-old Eli, whose twin brother and grandmother were left behind, discovers that hisfather has perpetrated a monstrous hoax on them all.

Icons by Margaret Stohl
After an alien force known as the Icon colonizes Earth, decimating humanity, four surviving teenagers must piece together the mysteries of their pasts--in order to save the future.

Gone by Michael Grant
In a small town on the coast of California, everyone over the age of fourteen suddenly disappears, setting up a battle between the remaining town residents and the students from a local private school, as well as those who have "The Power" and are able to perform supernatural feats and those who do not.

Storm by Donna Jo Napoli
Having lost her family in a massive flood, sixteen-year-old Sebah finds her way onto a gigantic ark, where she must conceal herself from Noah and his family until it is safe for her and another stowaway to slip away.

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
To get away from her pregnant stepmother in New York City, fifteen-year-old Daisy goes to England to stay with her aunt and cousins, with whom she instantly bonds, but soon war breaks out and rips apart the family while devastating the land.

More Books --
After the End by Amy Plum
After the Snow by S.D. Crockett
Alien Invasions & Other Inconveniences by Brian Yansky
The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch
Exodus by Julie Bertagna
The Fury by Alexander Gordon Smith
Hole in the Sky by Pete Hautman
Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block
Quarantine: The Loners by Lex Thomas
Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony
The Rule of Three by Eric Walters
Shipbreaker: A Novel by Paolo Bacigalupi
A Small Free Kiss in the Dark by Glenda Millard

Secret Codes and Decoder Rings

I am fascinated by stories of spies and their missions.  This week I thought I would share some great spy stories for kids . . .

Shadow on the Mountain by Margi Preus
In Nazi-occupied Norway, fourteen-year-old Espen joins the resistance movement, graduating from deliverer of illegal newspapers to courier and spy.

Spy School by Stuart Gibbs
Twelve-year-old Ben Ripley leaves his public middle school to attend the CIA's highly secretive Espionage Academy, which everyone is told is an elite science school.

The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur G. Slade
In Victorian London, fourteen-year-old Modo, a shape-changing hunchback, becomes a secret agent for the Permanent Association, which strives to protect the world from the evil machinations of the Clockwork Guild.

STORM: The Infinity Code by E.L. Young
In London, the teenaged geniuses of STORM, a secret organization dedicated to eliminating the world's misery through science and technology, uncover plans for a deadly weapon and race to find and dismantle it, then confront the corrupt scientist behind the scheme.

Thunder Raker by Justin Richards
Follows the misadventures of an ordinary boy, Alfie at an extraordinary school for young spies.

More Spy Stories --
Andrew North Blows Up the World by Adam Selzer
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
 Lulu's Mysterious Mission by Judith Viorst
Owen Foote, Super Spy by Stephanie Greene
Shakespeare's Spy by Gary Blackwood

Rainy Reads

We are faced with a whole week filled with rain.  Here are some great rainy-weather reads for young children.

Tap Tap Boom Boom by Elizabeth Bluemle
As a thunderstorm sweeps into the city, the people of the neighborhood rush into the subway to wait out the wind and weather.

The Deep, Deep Puddle by Mary Jessie Parker
During an overnight rainstorm, a large and deep puddle forms across a city street, and the next day increasing numbers of creatures or things disappear into it, from one shaggy dog to nine robbers.

My Side of the Car by Kate Feiffer
Sadie and her father have been planning a trip to the zoo for a long time but something always gets in the way, so when they finally start out and her father sees some raindrops, Sadie insists there is no rain on her side of the car.

Cloudette by Tom Lichtenheld
Cloudette, the littlest cloud, finds a way to do something big and important like the other clouds.