One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate

One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate 217 pages

Ruby's story picks up a few months after the events of The One and Only Bob. Now living in a wildlife sanctuary, Ruby's caretaker from the elephant orphanage in Africa where she grew up is visiting. Seeing him again brings back a flood of memories both happy and sad of her life before the circus, and she recounts the time she spent in the African savannah to Ivan and Bob. --

I loved reading all the other books from this series.  What a wonderful writer Katherine Applegate is! This one was no disappointment! I enjoyed reading about Ruby's story and where she came from!

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

 Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen-368 pages

Jacob Jankowski falls on hard times after his parents unexpectedly die in a car accident in the 1930s. He joins the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show by accident after jumping their train. This is a story about Jacob and his time with the Benzini Brothers circus where he meets Marlena and works as a veterinarian for Uncle Al and August. Marlena is married to August who is the leader of the animal Menagerie. Jacob and Marlena quickly become star-crossed lovers, but can't act on it for fear of August and Uncle Al. Events unfold somewhat slowly early but very quickly near the end and this has a fairly surprising ending. I liked this book, although some of the things that happen are pretty sad. I would rate this 4 out 5 stars, though.

The Elephant's Girl. By Celesta Rimington

The Elephant's Girl by Celesta Rimington 324 pages A magical adventure about a girl with a mysterious connection with the elephant who saved her life, for fans of Katherine Applegate and Jennifer Holm.An elephant never forgets, but Lexington Willow can't remember what happened before a tornado swept her away when she was a toddler. All she knows is that it landed her near an enclosure in a Nebraska zoo; and there an elephant named Nyah protected her from the storm. With no trace of her birth family, Lex grew up at the zoo with Nyah and her elephant family; her foster father, Roger; her best friend, Fisher; and the wind whispering in her ear.Now that she's twelve, Lex is finally old enough to help with the elephants. But during their first training session, Nyah sends her a telepathic image of the woods outside the zoo. Despite the wind's protests, Lex decides to investigate Nyah's message and gets wrapped up in an adventure involving ghosts, lost treasure, and a puzzle that might be the key to finding her family. As she hunts for answers, Lex must summon the courage to leave the secure borders of her zoo to discover who she really is--and why the tornado brought her here all those years ago. I love elephants and I love Zoos so this book was just right for me. The fantasy part of the story was a little bit out of my genre, but made the story very interesting. I would recommend this to girls or boys who enjoy animals and adventure.

Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss

Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss - 72 pages

I enjoy the poetry of Horton. 

He found friends call Who's on a small speck of dust and tried to protect them.