Mrs. Smith's Recommended Reads
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.
Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
In 1903, when Jack London first published his novel, “The Call of the Wild”, the first edition of 10,000 copies sold out immediately. Since that time it has remained as one of the most popular stories by an American writer. London called on his experiences of living in the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush where harsh treatment of sled dogs was common. Through his central character, a dog named Buck, he tells a simple but powerful tale of primitive survival, trust and love. H.L. Menken wrote of London's story, "No other popular writer of his time did any better writing than you will find in Call of the Wild.”
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Anyone who lived through the 1980s may find it impossible—inconceivable, even—to equate The Princess Bride with anything other than the sweet, celluloid romance of Westley and Buttercup, but the film is only a fraction of the ingenious storytelling you'll find in these pages. Rich in character and satire, the novel is set in 1941 and framed cleverly as an “abridged” retelling of a centuries-old tale set in the fabled country of Florin that's home to “Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passions.”
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Read The Chronicles of Narnia in its entirety with this seven book box set, containing mass market paperback editions of C. S. Lewis's classic fantasy series. The box features stills from the third Narnia movie, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and the books have cover art by Cliff Nielsen.
C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia has captivated readers of all ages for over sixty years, enchanting them with a magical realm where worlds come and go at the toss of a ring, where boys and girls become kings and queens, where there are more talking creatures than people.
This box set includes all seven titles in The Chronicles of Narnia—The Magician's Nephew; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; The Horse and His Boy; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Silver Chair; and The Last Battle—with the original black-and-white interior illustrations by Pauline Baynes.
The journey begins even before the Dawn Treader sets sail and ends long after its voyage, so don't miss out on any part of this definitive fantasy series of our time!