by Julianne Donaldson
Unconditional Recommendation: A darling story of an innocent, whimsical 17-year-old girl who learns to embrace the love and acceptance she didn’t think would be hers.
Genre: Historical Romance
Unconditional Recommendation: A young boy and a talking horse escape captivity and flee north to Narnia only to end up trying to save it from a prideful Calormene prince.
Genre: Fantasy, Christian Allegory
Unconditional Recommendation: Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy return to Narnia to aid Prince Caspian and Aslan in their endeavors to take back Narnia from the Telmarines.
Genre: Fantasy, Christian Allegory
Unconditional Recommendation: Four children travel through a wardrobe to Narnia and assist the lion Aslan to triumph over the White Witch, who has cursed the land with eternal winter.
Genre: Fantasy, Christian Allegory
Unconditional Recommendation: 11-year-old Melody overcomes the limitations of her cerebral palsy to communicate with others and finally share the thoughts and smarts that have been locked away inside her mind.
Genre: Contemporary
Unconditional Recommendation: Thrust into another world, young Cara must make friends with fantastical creatures in order to keep a magical amulet out of evil hands and fulfill her grandmother’s request.
Genre: Fantasy
Unconditional Recommendation: A little mouse discovers the truth and her courage when she defies the menacing great horned owl and journeys out of bounds to find a new home for her family.
Awards: Boston Globe–Horn Book Best Fiction Award (1996), New Mexico’s Children Choice Award (1999), National Christian School Association, Crown Classic (1998), Maryland’s Children’s Choice Award (1998), ALA Notable (1996)
Unconditional Recommendation: Half-witch Kiki with her black cat Jiji follow witch tradition and fly off to find a new town to make home for her 13th year in this darling coming-of-age story.
Genre: Fantasy
Unconditional Recommendation: In this fairytale retelling, Ella, cursed by a fairy to obey every command, sets out to break her curse and protect those she loves.
Awards: Newbery Honor (1998), Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature (1999), Grand Canyon Reader Award for Teen Book (1999), Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award for Grade 6-9 (2000), Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award (1999)